Chapter 609: The Look Changed

Although Huang Tianlin was grumbling inwardly, he still cooperated with Lu Yan He to put on this act in front of Huang Feng.

"Can you actually act or not?" Lu Yan He said to Huang, looking extremely impatient. "Director, I'm very busy, you know? We can't even get through the rehearsal, how are we supposed to shoot later?"

Sure enough, as soon as Lu Yan He said this, Huang Feng, who had been pestering his mother for ice cream, immediately turned his head to look at them.

Qin Shulan was right; Huang Feng was indeed a very clever and sharp child.

Huang Tianlin cooperated by pretending not to notice that Huang Feng was already looking over, saying, "He's still a child, have a little more patience."

"There are only actors here, no children," Lu Yan He said irritably. "If you guys keep doing this, I really can't go on with the shoot."

Having said that, Lu Yan He turned and walked away.

Huang Tianlin sighed.

Looking out of the corner of his eye, the expression Huang Feng had just had—"I want to play! I'm not going to be serious!"—had completely vanished.

Ten minutes later, Lu Yan He was invited back out.

He looked at Huang Feng: "Can you act now?"

Huang Feng pursed his lips, his eyes looking a bit timid. "I can act."

Once they started the scene, Lu Yan He was stunned by how seriously Huang Feng threw himself into it.

When Huang Feng acted like the younger brother in the script, acting shamelessly, and after being scolded by him twice, he lashed out, and Lu Yan He—playing the older brother—couldn't take it anymore and gave him an elbow, Huang Feng burst into tears with a "waa."

This was just a walk-through, but Huang Feng cried the moment he was asked to.

His eye sockets turned red in a second, and tears welled up.

"..."

This kid was genuinely feeling wronged.

Lu Yan He sighed inwardly.

He had no choice but to pat him on the head to soothe him.

And so, two hours after arriving on set, they finally entered the stage of official filming.

Lu Yan He also finally realized just how pedantic Huang Tianlin was about the camera.

Huang Tianlin would never call "cut" before you finished the scene.

Even if you didn't perform to his satisfaction, he wouldn't call "cut"; he would wait for you to finish, then tell you where you could make adjustments.

Every take was done in full.

But acting like this was quite energy-consuming.

Therefore, after every take, Huang Tianlin would let them rest for ten to twenty minutes.

By the fifth take, Huang Tianlin was still unsatisfied. This time, the reason for his dissatisfaction was that he felt the angle at which Lu Yan He looked up in disbelief after being slapped by Qin Shulan was wrong.

Lu Yan He was completely bewildered.

What the hell?

The angle is wrong?

Huang Tianlin immediately demonstrated how he wanted Lu Yan He to look up.

Basically, the neck only tilted up by an inch; the key was the eyes.

What Huang Tianlin wanted was a pair of angry eyes looking askance from bottom to top.

Lu Yan He nodded, indicating he understood.

For this shot, Huang Tianlin didn't start over from the beginning; he just had Qin Shulan and Lu Yan He start from the slap.

Two cameras: one filming Qin Shulan, one filming Lu Yan He.

Huang: "Sister Lan, for this slap, I want a feeling that is very crisp, clean, and loud, but not heavy."

Qin Shulan: "..."

However, it was clear that Qin Shulan had already adapted to Huang Tianlin's style.

She nodded and said to Lu Yan He, "Yan He, cover your face with your hand first, let me try."

Lu Yan He said, "It's fine, just go for it."

"Don't just go for it," Qin Shulan said to Lu Yan He. "Trust me."

Lu Yan He felt like there was more to Qin Shulan's words, but since she said so, he was of course willing.

Between actors, especially mature actors, going for it directly is sometimes the simplest and most efficient way; one or two takes and it's done.

Then, Lu Yan He understood why Qin Shulan said, "Don't just go for it."

Qin Shulan tried hitting the back of his hand several times, but Huang Tianlin was never satisfied.

Either he felt it was too slow, or he felt it was too heavy...

Huang: "This slap is her annoyance at the older brother. This annoyance isn't about blaming the brother for bullying the younger one, but why, when she is working so hard, the brother can't help her share the burden, but instead causes her trouble. Sister Lan, this slap isn't meant to convey 'why are you bullying your brother,' but 'can you be a bit more sensible and save me some worry.'"

Lu Yan He felt a headache on Qin Shulan's behalf.

The more abstract the feeling, the harder it is for an actor to perform what the director wants.

Things like "feeling" cannot be quantified; they can only be grasped intuitively, not explained in words.

Qin Shulan walked to the side, found a corner, and pondered by herself.

Huang Tianlin didn't rush her either.

The set went into a rest period again.

Lu Yan He sat on the sofa, wanting to drink water, but Huang Tianlin stopped him.

"You won't even let me drink water?"

"It's better if your mouth has a sense of agitation," Huang said.

Lu Yan He: "... Then can I drink with a straw?"

Huang Tianlin: "Fine, but don't drink too much."

"..." Lu Yan He really wanted to complain, "You're so difficult."

Lu Yan He also silently pondered the "angry look" Huang Tianlin wanted.

There had to be a hint of grievance in the anger, but not too much; if there was too much, the character would be wrong.

—You hit me without asking questions, why don't you ask if I bullied him or if he was the one acting out first? He's your son, am I not your son?!

Lu Yan He worked out this psychological drive for himself to stir up his emotions.

Today was Lu Yan He's first day on set, so Yuan Hai stayed on set the whole time, just in case any accidents happened so he could resolve them immediately.

Yuan Hai noticed that Lu Yan He basically stayed on set by himself; although Zou Dong and Wang Biao were both there, neither stayed close to Lu Yan He, which surprised him.

Basically, whenever there's a big star, as long as the cameras aren't rolling, they are surrounded by assistants.

Although Wang Biao was Lu Yan He's executive agent, he was actually originally Lu Yan He's assistant and still shouldered that responsibility.

But most of the time, Wang Biao was either chatting with people nearby or looking down at his tablet dealing with messages.

Yuan Hai thought about it and went to ask Wang Biao if they needed to arrange an assistant for Lu Yan He during this time.

He thought Wang Biao didn't want to do menial assistant work now that he had become an executive agent.

Wang Biao was stunned by Yuan Hai's enthusiastic proposal.

What the hell, arranging someone to steal his job right in front of him?

"No need, thank you, Mr. Yuan," Wang Biao said. "We have enough hands now. Little Brother Lu isn't the kind of star who needs seven or eight people following him around to serve him—uh, I mean the assistant team, not the bodyguards. This place isn't in the city, it's quite remote, so we did bring some bodyguards, just in case."

Yuan Hai nodded, indicating he understood.

"Actually, I should have thought of hiring bodyguards here in advance."

Wang Biao smiled and said it was fine.

He thought to himself, even if you hired them, we wouldn't dare use them. Who knows who you hired.

For things involving life and limb, Wang Biao and Chen Ziyan had a unified approach: they would rather spend more money to buy security than risk an accident.

Yuan Hai asked: "I see Yan He is always alone, doesn't he need an assistant to follow him?"

"I'm following along," Wang Biao said immediately, then realized why Yuan Hai had asked that. He smiled and explained, "On set, unless Little Brother Lu calls for us, we don't stay by his side, otherwise he'd blame us for disturbing his ability to maintain his character's state."

Yuan Hai came to his senses, knowing he had misunderstood.

"So that's how it is."

"Mr. Yuan, after 'Tropical Rainy Season' is finished, do you have any plans?" Wang Biao asked.

Yuan Hai said: "The plan is to first go to a few international film festivals for screenings, hoping to be shortlisted for the main competition unit of one of the four major international film festivals. If we can be shortlisted, it will be more favorable for the film's subsequent promotion."

Wang Biao nodded and asked: "Has the distribution company for this film been decided?"

"Several companies have already approached us, and we are still talking," Yuan Hai said.

"Have any Chinese film companies approached you?" Wang Biao asked.

"Yes, of course. In fact, China is the most interested in this film. Several companies have asked, and they have all offered high prices," Yuan Hai said. "But I don't know much about Chinese film companies, and I wanted to ask for your opinion."

Wang Biao was a bit surprised: "Are there film companies offering high prices now?"

Yuan Hai: "It might not be a high price for Yan He's past works, but for our film, it's a very high price."

Wang Biao thought to himself, "Tropical Rainy Season" is an art film. Based on the box office of art films Lu Yan He starred in previously, everyone can do the math. Domestic film companies would at most offer between 2 to 3 million USD.

This figure is indeed a very high number for "Tropical Rainy Season."

Wang Biao said: "Mr. Yuan, for the film 'Tropical Rainy Season,' we haven't participated in the production in any other capacity. I'll report back to Sister Ziyan later. Regarding the distribution of this film in China, perhaps she can give you more accurate advice."

Yuan Hai nodded.

Wang Biao asked with a smile: "Mr. Yuan, I see that besides being a producer for Director Huang Tianlin, you have actually produced several other films. Some media say you are a talent scout for young Malaysian directors. Do you specifically focus on young directors?"

Yuan Hai nodded. "Our Malaysian film market isn't big, and the film industry isn't complete. It's actually quite hard for filmmakers to emerge. I want to push our Malaysian filmmakers to a bigger stage and let more people around the world know them, but often I'm powerless. In so many years, Vietnam has only produced one Director Song Muqing, and no one else. Of course, they are at least doing better than us; they still have a Song Muqing."

Wang Biao nodded.

He actually felt quite deeply about what Yuan Hai said.

He had been to so many international film festivals with Lu Yan He. Besides those film crews backed by big directors, big stars, and big studios, there were actually many small crews without stars that didn't attract media attention.

What Wang Biao remembered most deeply was one time at the Xitu'er Film Festival, he and Lu Yan He went to see a Polish film. That film wasn't shortlisted for the main competition unit but another unit, and the screening time wasn't very good. The director wasn't famous, the actors were all Polish, and even less famous. Of course, because of the film festival, there were quite a few people in the cinema—this is also why many people say the atmosphere of a film festival makes those who truly love film willing to endure anything.

What did the film team do? They very thoughtfully placed a small booklet like an advertising flyer on everyone's seat, introducing the film's theme, content, and the director's filming ideas in English and with pictures, and provided a brief introduction to the film's creators.

Later, Wang Biao saw the film's producer interviewed in a report, talking about why they prepared such a small booklet. The producer said: "Because our film's budget was very limited. Even though everyone hoped to come to Xitu'er to meet everyone, we couldn't afford the airfare and accommodation for so many people. We also didn't have enough budget to hire media to promote our film. We could only use the little money we had to make these booklets and bring them to Xitu'er, so that the audience who saw this film could understand it a little better."

Wang Biao felt very sad hearing that.

Small country, small crew, budget stretched thin, yet still hoping to be seen.

Film has never been just an art.

The last sentence the producer said in the interview was: "I hope to let everyone see that we in Poland are still making films, we have our own Polish filmmakers, and our own film culture."

In fact, filmmakers from any country might have such thoughts in their hearts.

It all starts from oneself, and then, inevitably, walks into tracing back the past in one's own life, tracing back the era and history.

Where people come from, where the soul returns.

Wang Biao said to Yuan Hai with a smile: "I believe Mr. Yuan, you will definitely be able to lead your Malaysian films to the world. Actually, you have already gone very far, haven't you? Several films you produced previously have actually been shortlisted for internationally influential film festivals."

Yuan Hai shook his head and smiled.

"Being shortlisted for international film festivals doesn't mean going to the world. In the film industry, winning awards is certainly important, but what's more important is whether you have weight in the hearts of your peers and the audience."

Yuan Hai said: "So, Yan He being able to come and film 'Tropical Rainy Season' this time, I really feel like a pie falling from the sky."

Wang Biao looked towards Huang Tianlin thoughtfully and said: "But it seems Director Huang doesn't really want to cooperate with Little Brother Lu. When he came last time, he said some unpleasant things to Little Brother Lu, and this time he isn't very enthusiastic either."

Yuan Hai said: "I apologize on his behalf, he actually—"

Yuan Hai hesitated, shook his head, and said: "Forget it, there's no point in me saying these things. You'll know what kind of person he is after you've been in contact with him for a while. Give him some time."

Wang Biao actually wanted to ask Yuan Hai why he had cooperated with quite a few young creators, yet he would cooperate a second time with Huang Tianlin, who had such a bad temper and was quite arrogant.

Wang Biao could see it. Huang Tianlin wasn't just unenthusiastic towards Lu Yan He; he wasn't very polite to Yuan Hai, the producer, either.

Simply put, in Wang Biao's eyes, this Director Huang Tianlin had a flawed personality.

Even though Lu Yan He said so much to him, Wang Biao still felt it wasn't worth it for Lu Yan He.

With Little Brother Lu's current reputation and status, there are plenty of young, talented directors outside that he wants to cooperate with; how many emerge every year at film festivals? Why specifically choose Huang Tianlin to cooperate with?

In the evening, Wang Biao went out to make coffee for Lu Yan He.

There was still a scene to shoot tonight, and he didn't know when it would end.

There was no coffee machine on set, so Wang Biao brought instant coffee liquid and mixed it with some iced orange juice from a thermos for Lu Yan He.

Lu Yan He didn't like drinking pure Americano, complaining it was bitter, so he always had to add something else.

"What is that?" Huang Feng suddenly ran over, looked up, and looked at him with a face full of confusion and curiosity.

Wang Biao actually quite liked this kid.

Although he talked a lot and was hyperactive, he had a cleverness that made people like him.

"Coffee," Wang Biao said.

"It's already night and you're still drinking coffee?" Huang Feng asked with a shocked face.

"Have you ever had coffee?"

"No, my mom won't let me drink it."

"Then how do you know you can't drink coffee at night?"

"My mom said so, said if you drink this you won't be able to sleep," Huang Feng said. "Aren't you afraid you won't be able to sleep at night?"

"It's not for me to drink, it's for your Little Brother Lu Yan He to drink. He has to film with you tonight, he needs to drink this to be energetic."

Huang Feng immediately made an "ee" sound.

He pursed his lips.

"He's so annoying, why do you want to be his assistant?" Huang Feng asked.

Wang Biao smiled and asked: "Why do you think he's annoying?"

"I asked him if he could treat me to a popsicle, he wouldn't treat me, and he insisted on saying if my parents agreed he would let me eat it. Isn't that just not wanting to treat me?" Huang Feng pouted. "And, when he gets angry, he's as scary as a monster."

Wang Biao: "Actually, he's a very good person."

"You're lying."

"Really," Wang Biao said. "Look, you made so many mistakes this afternoon, did he blame you?"

"He got angry at my uncle."

"That's because you refused to rehearse seriously," Wang Biao said. "You deliberately didn't cooperate, of course he was angry. But later, as long as you were acting seriously, even if there were problems, did he get angry?"

"... But he can't keep getting angry at me, can he? I'm still a child."

"You're already twelve, middle school age, and you're still a child," Wang Biao complained mercilessly.

Huang Feng: "... I haven't started yet, it'll be another two months before I start middle school. I'm still an elementary school student now!"

"It's already June, and you haven't graduated from elementary school yet?"

"..." Huang Feng's mouth twitched, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Finally, he smacked his lips in exasperation. "I'm not talking to you anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and ran away.

Wang Biao smiled.

Then, he watched Huang Feng run like a cannonball into Huang Tianlin, who was coming from the opposite direction.

Huang Tianlin was hit solidly, lost his footing, and staggered backward.

Huang Feng let out a loud cry.

Huang Tianlin was staggering himself, but his first reaction was to reach out to pull Huang Feng, who was also losing his balance and falling to the ground.

Huang Feng fell directly onto him.

"Hiss—" Huang Tianlin gasped.

Wang Biao quickly tightened the thermos, put it on the car, and went over.

"Director Huang, are you okay?"

Wang Biao noticed Huang Tianlin supporting himself on the ground with his elbow, his palm held in a strange position, motionless.

Huang Tianlin frowned, his face showing some pain. "Huang Feng, are you trying to murder me?"

Huang Feng climbed up. "I'm sorry, I was wrong."

He apologized honestly, not being mischievous at all.

Wang Biao helped Huang Tianlin up.

Huang Tianlin grabbed his left arm with his right hand and looked at his left wrist.

"Did you twist it when you were supporting yourself on the ground just now?" Wang Biao asked.

Huang Tianlin: "I don't know, hope it's nothing. I'll go find some medicine to spray on it."

He glared at Huang Feng: "If you run around like that again, see if I don't beat you!"

Huang Feng pursed his lips.

Wang Biao touched Huang Feng's head. "People are coming and going on this set, and you're still running around, you're bound to bump into someone. Look, now you've bumped into a real monster."

Huang Feng: "... My uncle isn't a monster."

"He got angry at you just now, he's not a monster, but your Little Brother Lu Yan He gets angry at you, and he becomes a monster? How can you be so double-standard at such a young age?" Wang Biao asked with a smile.

Huang Feng: "My uncle just has a bad temper."

"... You know that too?"

"Of course I know," Huang Feng said decisively. "When I was little, whenever anyone bullied me, it was my uncle who helped me!"

"Bully you? You don't look like the type to be bullied; it's good enough if you don't bully others."

"They all have dads, but I don't have a dad," Huang Feng lowered his head and pouted.

Wang Biao was stunned.

"Ah?"

"When I was little, my mom had to work to make money, so my uncle was the one at home taking care of me. Several classmates mocked me for not having a dad, saying I was an orphan, and my uncle would go scold them, telling them if they said those things again, he would make them orphans," Huang Feng said. "Although at that time many people said he didn't have a job, relied on my mom to support him, and was useless."

Wang Biao scratched his head.

"Well, he's a film director now, how useful."

Huang Feng: "That's for sure, my uncle is very capable. He was good at writing articles since he was a kid."

"How do you know he was good at writing articles since he was a kid? How old are you?"

"Because there are many articles he wrote in the past pasted on the walls of my house, my mom pasted them," Huang Feng said proudly.

Wang Biao: "I didn't expect it, you're actually an 'uncle-con'."

"Uncle-con... what does that mean?" Huang Feng didn't understand.

"Nothing, you don't need to understand." Wang Biao smiled.

The scene to be filmed tonight is the older brother, who was slapped by his mother, returning late at night, going back to his room, getting into bed to sleep, and the younger brother suddenly getting off his own bed to come to his bed to sleep with him.

The older brother pushes him away.

The younger brother sits by the bed, pouting.

After a while, the older brother looks at his pitiful appearance and lets him come up.

A very simple scene.

If it were on another set, Lu Yan He felt it might be done in two or three takes.

However, having seen how pedantic Huang Tianlin was about details during the day, Lu Yan He had no idea when this scene would be finished.

Fortunately, Lu Yan He wasn't the kind of actor who would get anxious if a scene couldn't be filmed today.

He was an actor who truly kept things clear on set—these things were all for the director to worry about; he was just an actor, he was only responsible for his own character and his performance. If the director didn't want to pass it and wanted to grind it over and over, then let him grind.

Lu Yan He was willing to act a few more times. He was never the kind of person with overflowing confidence who thought acting a few more times was a waste of time; on the contrary, he liked adjusting himself time and time again to find the feeling that would allow him to present a sense of texture in a scene.

And sure enough, the scene that night didn't go so smoothly.

It's just that the problem wasn't the actors, but the lighting.

Huang Tianlin was very dissatisfied with the lighting effect, complaining it was too bright. After the lighting technician made the light darker, he complained the picture didn't look good.

The lighting crew was tortured by him for almost an hour, sweating through several rounds.

Lu Yan He just kept lying on the bed.

After waiting for another hour, Huang Tianlin finally found a shooting effect that satisfied him with the cinematographer and lighting technician.

Huang Tianlin decided to put this scene into a long take.

The camera was angled towards the door, so when the older brother played by Lu Yan He entered, the door opened, and light from outside would leak in. At the same time, a light was placed outside the bedroom window to simulate the effect of moonlight.

The room could then present an effect of a quiet night but with clear visuals.

But this would lead to a problem.

In this scene, the actors' performance couldn't be well presented.

You know, Lu Yan He didn't have many scenes in this film to begin with. With this scene handled this way, it was originally a scene that could have been very good at showing Lu Yan He's acting ability, using his change in attitude towards his brother to show a change in emotion and relationship. Now, it was going to become a presentation of camera visuals, not a presentation of performance.

After doing this, even Huang Tianlin felt a bit guilty.

He bit the bullet and came to explain to Lu Yan He why he wanted to shoot it this way.

"I want this scene to form a very sharp contrast with the close-up, tense argument scene during the day. No matter how fierce the argument is during the day, at night, everything settles down and becomes quiet. The relationship between relatives doesn't need many words; a few small actions, a tension and relaxation, and it transitions like this," Huang said. "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Lu Yan He smiled and nodded: "Understand, just shoot according to your ideas. If you feel guilty towards me, just shoot another version focusing on the actors' performance. You can choose later which one you want to use."

His generosity surprised Huang Tianlin.

Huang Tianlin dared to raise questions about the angle of looking up and the content of the eyes to Lu Yan He during the day because he believed that what he proposed would make Lu Yan He's performance better, more precise, and have more character charm and richness, so he dared to be righteous.

But now he didn't have that confidence—because this was sacrificing the actor's performance space to achieve a sense of film rhythm and camera aesthetics.

As a result, Lu Yan He agreed without hesitation.

Seeing Huang Tianlin's shock, Lu Yan He said: "We Chinese have a kind of freehand beauty. I know what kind of effect you want to shoot this scene into. I understood as soon as you finished speaking."

So-called still waters run deep.

Huang Tianlin's eyes changed slightly.

Recommend old book "I Became a Scandal Heroine Overnight" and new book "Sword of Demon Hunting"