"On your marks!"
Zheng Bohan, holding a megaphone, shouted, "Everyone, pay attention to the camera positions! Pay attention to your positioning! Straighten your official uniforms! Script supervisor! Organize people to pick up the trash over there, make sure no mineral water bottles are visible in the shot!"
Zheng Bohan's voice became hoarse from shouting.
Today's filming is of Shang Yechu's coronation ceremony. It's also her last scene.
This was a grand production, with a magnificent scale and spectacular scenes, featuring the largest number of extras in the entire play. The ministers' movements alone took a whole day to rehearse.
However, the protagonist of this scene, Shang Yechu himself, has not yet arrived.
Shang Yechu was still putting on makeup.
The emperor's crown robes were not yet on, and the makeup artists from the crew were busy working on Shang Yechu's face.
Shang Yechu felt as if layers of something were being smeared on her face, making her skin stiff. She was genuinely worried about whether she would be able to make any expressions in a moment.
The reason for such heavy makeup isn't because the makeup artist has bad taste or likes heavy makeup. It's because the camera tends to wash out makeup very easily. Moreover, today's coronation ceremony will be held under the blazing sun, and if the makeup isn't heavy, Shang Ye Chu's features might not be clearly visible.
A good makeup artist is like a second parent to an actor. Shang Yechu has seen countless poor artists with fly-like eyelashes and caked-on makeup; any random angle from which a photo could be taken would result in a completely unflattering picture.
The makeup artist for the "Yun Qing Ji" production team is an old friend of Zheng Bohan. He is highly skilled and his techniques are natural, which can bring out the actors' facial strengths to the maximum extent.
While applying highlighter to Shang Yechu, the makeup artist murmured, "Am I seeing things? Your face looks better and better."
Shang Yechu slightly parted her lips: "Perhaps because of the number of powerful people, the village medicine is good." She dared not move her mouth too much.
The makeup artist spent ages translating the sentence before she finally got it right, and then burst out laughing. "You really are... a little rascal. Okay, okay, I can laugh but you can't. Don't move, let me put some blush on you."
This time, Shang Yechu enjoyed the treatment of a leading lady: she had a makeup artist all to herself.
Assistant Yu rushed in and bombarded her with questions: "Sister Ye, Director Zheng is asking you, are you ready? How many takes will it take? Are you confident?"
Shang Yechu only said two words: "Don't worry."
Assistant Yu was stunned for a moment, then dashed out like a gust of wind.
The makeup artist gossiped, "So arrogant?"
Shang Yechu mumbled, "Otherwise, let's try?"
---
The bell tolls forty-nine times, at the auspicious hour of noon.
Shang Yechu, dressed in a dark red and black wide-sleeved robe and wearing a crown, ascended the steps surrounded by palace servants.
Although she might look very imposing and powerful on TV, the actual filming scene was actually quite funny. The cameramen followed Shang Yechu closely, filming close-ups of her face. They were so close they were practically sticking their fingers into her face.
After a while, Shang Yechu will walk the route again and take another shot of the distant view.
Shang Yechu appeared with elaborate makeup, but her makeup wasn't the typical brow and lip look. Her entire makeup style leaned towards neutral, sculpted, and strong, emphasizing her features while blurring any gender characteristics.
The dragon robe also features wide sleeves and five layers, giving it a dignified and elegant appearance.
The emperor is a symbol of imperial power and does not require any gendered gaze. If a male emperor does not need to wear red lipstick and green eyebrows, then neither does a female emperor.
This was a suggestion Shang Yechu made to the makeup artist. After discussing it with Zheng Bohan, the production team finally adopted this makeup plan.
Shang Ye took his first step up the stairs, his expression neither sad nor happy. Only his eyes shone brightly, burning with intensity in a certain direction.
That's the direction of the dragon throne.
This cautious princess, who had been lying low for over a decade, finally revealed a hint of her ambition at this moment.
With the sun high in the sky, Shang Yechu stopped in his tracks on the open ground in front of the second set of steps.
An old eunuch stood a foot away from her, expressionless, and swung down the long whip in his hand!
"Smack!"
A single crack of the whip echoed through the heavens and earth!
The whip's tail barely grazed Shang Yechu's shoe surface, landing three inches from her feet.
This is a custom of the dynasty depicted in the script, where the three most experienced eunuchs in the palace personally wield the whip. If the whip grazes the emperor without causing injury, it is a very auspicious sign. If the whip leaves a wound, it is an ominous sign.
If the emperor is unharmed but panics and loses his composure in front of the people, it is not necessarily an ominous sign, but it is enough to show that the emperor is unlikely to become a powerful ruler.
Shang Yechu stepped over the whip hanging on the ground without changing his expression and continued walking upwards.
The first old eunuch shrieked, "The first lash, dispels old ignorance—"
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