Qin Lu parked his car in a nearby parking space and jogged to the filming location, hunching down, trying to sneak into the set without drawing attention.
He had beco financially comfortable recently, with the previous film completed and the new production not yet started. In his extre boredom, he finally rembered his half-finished manga and resud updating it irregularly.
Since he no longer relied on manga for inco, he rediscovered his initial passion for drawing, and the storylines he created received unanimous praise. Additionally, as the manga's plot was approaching its conclusion, these combined factors attracted back so readers who had previously drifted away for various reasons.
Receiving positive feedback naturally motivated Qin Lu more. In his excitent, the bad habit from his deadline-chasing days returned—he stayed up all night updating, completely forgetting that the crew was starting filming the next day.
Moreover, when he woke up, he even forgot that today was the crew's launch ceremony.
It wasn't until he saw Shao Yichen's flower-adorned pig head post in Monts that the disconnected wire in his brain finally reconnected.
—Oh no, he'd forgotten that as the new executive director, he was supposed to offer incense to the pig head... no, to offer incense in worship at the launch ceremony!
He jumped out of bed, saw that he might barely make the end of the launch ceremony, ran downstairs, and drove toward the set. Who would have thought that at 8:30 AM, right during A City's morning rush hour, Qin Lu—a seasoned hobody who had just gotten his driver's license—would be completely overwheld by this situation? He found himself trapped between cars, only able to inch forward carefully with the vehicles ahead and behind, occasionally cut off by more daring experienced drivers.
After navigating through the traffic jam, Qin Lu took a deep breath, feeling his driving skills had been thoroughly baptized. He was no longer the Qin Lu who knew nothing about traffic jams. He silently vowed that in the future, even if he were squeezed like a freshly canned sardine on the subway, he would never choose to drive during peak hours.
But traffic jam or not, Qin Lu was ultimately late. Although he saw Shao Yichen's WeChat reply—"Hahaha, so you have your day of being late too"—suggesting she didn't care much about the incense-offering ritual, what if Shao Yichen was a devout Buddhist, Taoist, or Christian believer? Oh, not Christian, God doesn't require incense offerings.
If this genius fired him on the spot because the executive director didn't respect her faith, he would have to go back to drawing manga.
With this thought in mind, even though Qin Lu clearly knew the launch ceremony would be over by the ti he reached the set, he resolutely drove to the crew's location.
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When he arrived, however, Qin Lu found the atmosphere seed off.
Shouldn't the crew have started filming the first shot by now? Why were the lead actors huddled together sighing?
Surely his tardiness couldn't have upset the director enough to halt the entire film production? Besides, he was only an executive director in na; logistical coordination was handled by Jiang Miaomiao and Director Shao's own company, with little connection to the actual filming, right?
Where was Director Shao Yichen? Was she truly a devout Christian who went berserk during the incense offering, seeing it as a betrayal of her faith?
Various scenarios flooded Qin Lu's mind as he craned his neck, looking around. Finally, he spotted Shao Yichen in a corner, on the phone with soone, her expression very serious.
Well, he wasn't that close with the director, so perhaps it was better not to walk into the line of fire at this mont.
Qin Lu considered this, then sidled up to Jiang Miaomiao and asked quietly, "What just happened? The director isn't angry with , is she?"
Jiang Miaomiao glanced at the newcor, recognized Qin Lu, and replied softly, "No, I heard Director Shao has been following your manga recently and wanted to read it too, but I don't like static images, so I didn't pay attention. I think she'd rather you quit the props departnt and go back to drawing manga."
"...Forget it, I don't want to get another stomach ulcer. The props departnt work suits better," Qin Lu said, his expression relaxing sowhat.
It seed the director wasn't so serious because of his tardiness.
But if not because of his late arrival, what had caused the filming to stop?
With this in mind, he looked suspiciously at Jiang Miaomiao: "Did you make strange suggestions again? Like giving the entire crew a break until evening, then shooting this scene at sunset..."
"Why would you think that?" Jiang Miaomiao looked bewildered. "Do I really like sunsets that much?"
I haven't forgotten how the previous crew stopped work to film the sunset, and you dare say you don't like sunsets?!
Before Qin Lu could finish his internal criticism, Jiang Miaomiao calmly added: "Besides, I checked, and today is partly cloudy turning to overcast—there won't be any sun in the evening."
Qin Lu: ...Just admit it, you have a sunset fixation.
After exchanging a few more jabs with Jiang Miaomiao and confirming she truly didn't know why Director Shao had stopped filming, he ceased arguing about the sunset issue.
After ending the discussion, Qin Lu pondered. Since Director Shao hadn't halted filming because of him, the problem might lie with the actors' performances.
Perhaps the director was dissatisfied with the actors' portrayals!
Typically, when actors' performances were problematic, the director or assistant director would step in to discuss the character with them, exchange interpretations, and reach a consensus. But Qin Lu was well aware of Shao Yichen's unconventional personality; asking her to provide acting guidance was like asking for her life. Giving her this task like a normal production crew would probably not work.
As for the assistant director... Qin Lu glanced at Jiang Miaomiao, who was intently writing the next day's call sheet.
Never mind, as the first assistant director, she already had too much to do. It was best not to force her to handle sothing she wasn't skilled at.
It was ti for him, the executive director, to step up!
Qin Lu straightened his geek T-shirt, made an effort to stand tall, and approached the actors.
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Qi Gelong was huddled with the other four disciples, all sighing together, when he noticed soone trying to squeeze into their small group.
He shifted away from Xiao Sun's actor, making space for one person, and saw a young man with a big-eyed ani maid printed on his T-shirt squeeze in, nod at him, and give a sheepish grin.
Qi Gelong stared at this youth who looked like he had just run out of an ani convention booth. Finding him sowhat familiar, he finally rembered after thinking for a while—oh, it was Executive Director Qin Lu.
His spirits lifted slightly.
Before filming began, he had researched Director Shao Yichen's previous works and her team. He knew this executive director had been part of the main creative team during the last film and was still working with Director Shao on this film, undoubtedly making him her confidant.
Having waited in vain for Director Shao to co discuss the role, it seed this executive director was stepping in instead.
Qin Lu settled into a comfortable squatting position, and upon looking up, found Qi Gelong staring at him intently. Feeling sowhat self-conscious, he nonetheless pushed forward: "I stepped out during filming and ca back to find Director Shao had paused shooting. What happened? Was there a problem?"
"Well, it's like this," Qi Gelong sighed, recounting the filming process to Qin Lu, then added with regret, "I never expected the crew would halt on the very first scene. It seems my understanding of the character isn't quite right. I wonder if Director Shao is particular about auspicious beginnings—not getting it in one take is also a big blow to the crew's morale..."
To his surprise, Qin Lu waved dismissively: "Oh, Director Shao isn't concerned with such things, Teacher Qi, please don't overthink it! When filming the previous movie, Director Shao halted midway for natural lighting, gave the crew half a day off, and only resud shooting when it was almost dark. This ti, she just went to make a phone call—it might not even be related to the film."
Hearing Qin Lu's explanation, Qi Gelong's expression showed partial belief, and he did indeed relax sowhat: "Really? That's good if Director Shao doesn't mind these conventions..."
"But even if Director Shao hadn't called for a pause, I felt sothing was off and was planning to stop after this shot anyway," Qi Gelong's concerns were alleviated only to be replaced by new worries. "I feel that Old Tang in this scene shouldn't be portrayed as I did, but I can't pinpoint what's wrong..."
Taking advantage of having the executive director available for discussion, Qi Gelong began a detailed analysis: "I've played a teacher role before, and Director Shao said she invited to be the lead after seeing that performance."
"I thought I had mastered the teacher role, but during the performance, I found the two weren't completely similar."
"But Director Shao's script... is indeed very concise. I can't tell what expression this character should have in this scene. Continuing to perform like this isn't working—could you ask the director about this character's state of mind in this scene?"
Qin Lu listened to Qi Gelong's words, his expression initially sowhat confused but growing increasingly serious. After hearing Qi Gelong's request, he paused for a while before carefully choosing his words: "Asking Director Shao about this—I really can't promise—please don't rush, Teacher Qi. It's not that I don't want to help, but not discussing character interpretation is Director Shao's consistent rule. Even if you press her, she'll only give perfunctory answers, agreeing with whatever you say."
"So trying to get Director Shao to directly discuss the character's state of mind in this scene probably won't work—talented directors often have their quirks. Director Shao is just a bit strange when filming; she's quite nice otherwise. I hope you understand."
After saying this, Qin Lu glanced at Qi Gelong's expression and continued: "But just because Director Shao doesn't say anything doesn't an she doesn't have ideas about the character's ntal state. On the contrary, she already has a standard answer in her mind."
"To successfully arrive at the correct answer, we need to return to the script."
"As for how to reach a conclusion, I gained insight during the previous film's production—look for what seems 'abnormal' in the script. For example, in the last film, the male supporting character's behavior was an anomaly, as was the physical resemblance between the two protagonists. If you simply consider these the author's oversights, you can't derive the correct answer. Only by grasping these 'abnormalities' can you discover what the director truly wants to express!"
After finishing, Qin Lu looked at Qi Gelong.
Qi Gelong sank into deep thought.
Were there any abnormal behaviors by Old Tang in the first scene?
Indeed there were.
As a teacher, his attitude toward the students below the podium could almost be described as permissive.
Even when a student splashed ink on his face, he rely wiped it off calmly and continued teaching.
Normally, a teacher wouldn't be so irresponsible with his class. Even if he didn't criticize these students, he should at least tap the blackboard and say "quiet" a few tis.
Unless... unless this person didn't consider himself a teacher!
Qi Gelong had a sudden revelation, feeling he understood the director's intention.
At this point, Old Tang wasn't placing himself in the position of a teacher!
Certainly, later in the film, he genuinely treated these four students as his disciples and even family, but for the current Old Tang, these four students, especially the three who paid for classes, were more "custors" than "students."
Because he had only taken their money to teach them.
Seeing students as custors ant that rather than ensuring they learned sothing, what mattered more was keeping the "custors" happy!
Therefore, he didn't mind if students played gas, nor did he care if they traded stocks, and he didn't even complain when a student splashed ink on his face—because he needed to coax these students into continuing to pay him.
Realizing this, Qi Gelong felt he was gradually understanding the protagonist's psychology.
Previously, wearing a neat suit with ticulously arranged hair, teaching with a loud voice and upright posture, he had been a qualified teacher.
But he wasn't a qualified server, not a qualified salesperson!
He should lower his voice, simplify the content, keep his head down with a servile attitude, and wear a comrcial smile. Only this way would these students happily continue paying!
Understanding this, Qi Gelong felt a sudden clarity and regained confidence in his performance.
He nodded to Qin Lu: "I understand Director Shao's intention now. Indeed, understanding on one's own leads to deeper comprehension than having ideas imposed by others."
Just then, Director Shao Yichen happened to return. Watching the director's figure, Qi Gelong felt filled with confidence.
This ti, he would definitely deliver a performance that satisfied Director Shao!
Author's Note: Today's second update~
Thank you to the little angels who cast sovereign votes or watered with nutrient solution during the period from 2020-09-08 12:01:15 to 2020-09-08 20:59:37~
Thanks to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Duanmu Jinghao 10 bottles; Madman Above 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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