While waiting for "Tianban" to premiere, "Rules Street" also quietly began filming.
Before filming began, Shang Yechu went to see Gu Wenhua to inquire about filming arrangements.
Gu Wenhua hadn't even had time to change out of her pajamas when she saw Shang Yechu, and she was a little embarrassed: "Why are you here? I thought it was Aunt Song."
Shang Yechu entered carrying a lunchbox: "The computer is about to start up, I came to talk to you about something."
After entering and putting down her lunchbox, Shang Yechu couldn't help but glance at Gu Wenhua again: "But what happened to you? What happened to you?"
Gu Wenhua was emaciated, so thin that only skin and bones supported his body. His dark, thin face was covered in stubble, and his hair looked like it hadn't been washed for several days.
The script has been revised, the actors are all in place, and the funding is currently sufficient. Gu Wenhua's ghostly appearance is truly baffling.
Gu Wenhua went to the washroom and quickly washed her face and hair. A little while later, she came downstairs carrying a large stack of papers.
“Draw storyboards.” Gu Wenhua said, drying his hair, while gesturing to Shang Yechu to look at the stack of papers. “Take a look.”
Shang Yechu casually flipped through the papers. The papers contained simple stick figures, as well as some squares and triangles. The first few panels were fairly detailed, sometimes even showing the characters' gestures. The later panels became increasingly sloppy, and by the last few, Gu Wenhua had simply used ellipses to represent people and large crosses to represent paths.
Even with its minimalist design, the entire storyboard was a massive undertaking. Gu Wenhua numbered each storyboard, with the last number being "638," meaning he had already hand-drew over six hundred storyboards.
In theory, drawing storyboards is a director's job, but in the entertainment industry, most directors choose to outsource this task to storyboard artists. A director who diligently describes the storyboard to the artist and guides them in drawing it deserves praise for their professionalism.
Shang Yechu flipped through a few pages, becoming increasingly amazed: "I didn't realize you were such a good artist."
This is not a compliment. Although the lines on the paper are abstract, they are not chaotic and are quite harmonious to the eye. Some of the images are just geometric shapes, but Shang Yechu naturally conjured up corresponding scenes in his mind.
"A movie with poor composition looks no different from a TV series," Gu Wenhua said while drying his hair. "You have to know a little about art to work in this industry."
Each shot was accompanied by a caption. Shang Yechu struggled to decipher the ancient Chinese calligraphy: "Medium shot, subjective view, the gaze sweeps upwards over the 'Happiness Commercial Street' signboard... What does the 7 in parentheses mean?"
"How long does the camera focus?" Gu Wenhua pulled over the lunchbox, lifted the lid, and a unique aroma filled the living room. "Aunt Song made soup? What kind of soup is this?"
"Old duck soup." Shang Yechu turned a few more pages. "What does this mosquito coil-like graphic mean? I really can't understand the words underneath."
Gu Wenhua glanced at it sideways: "That's a clenched fist."
"You're really meticulous," Shang Yechuxin remarked. Discovering Gu Wenhua, this hidden gem, was truly the most worthwhile deal Ji Juntao had ever made.
Since none of the characters in the original novel have names, the characters in the script are also given very simple titles. Shang Yechu's character is simply called Xiao Ye, and the actor who plays the unemployed hoodlum is surnamed Chen, so he is called "Chen the Wild Man" in the script. The bolder characters call him Wild Man, while the timid characters call him Brother Chen.
The actor playing the nerdy guy is surnamed Zhang, and in the script he's called Fatty Zhang or Brother Zhang. The housewife is called Sister Hong, and the only character with a proper name is the little girl added by Gu Wenhua, named Lingling.
These names, though hastily chosen, are quite fitting for the film. For fast-paced ensemble commercial films like this, the more symbolic the names, the easier it is for the audience to quickly understand the plot, without having to rack their brains to remember who is who in the team and what their role is.
Gu Wenhua has put in a lot of effort and racked his brains to make "Rules Street" more commercial.
The opening ceremony for "Rules Street" was very low-key, even secretive. This was due to a requirement written into the contract by Ruguan TV: during the promotion and peak airing period of "Tianban," Ye Chu was not allowed to promote any other works produced concurrently, including movies, TV series, and even variety shows. Furthermore, the names or stills of any of Ye Chu's other works or characters from those works were absolutely forbidden from appearing on her social media pages.
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