Chapter 338: The Principal Is Very Detailed

Fang Hong really did act quite well—after all, he had acted before, and had also coached actors through scenes.

Any director who can coach actors won't have poor acting skills, because they know how a scene should be played.

Take Lao Mouzi, for example, or Hong Kuzi—even Chen Sicheng's acting is very solid.

"You're getting picky now? I wasn't even going to come to you." Liu Tianxian haughtily tossed her head and refused to look at him.

Fang Hong stood beside her, watched her acting all high and mighty, and "punched" three times at the empty air above the back of her head—never actually landing a hit, just the look of someone who wanted to hit her but didn't dare.

And his expression was still indignantly glaring at Liu Tianxian.

Since Liu Tianxian was sitting down and had her head turned so the back of her skull faced him, she couldn't see.

But the others could see, and they all laughed a little—these two really were a hoot.

It was also the first time they had seen the Principal like this, but he only behaved this way with Liu Tianxian; facing anyone else, he was still quite proper.

Liu Tianxian saw the others laughing strangely, seemed to realize something, turned her head to look at Fang Hong, saw him looking utterly harmless and very proper, and still gave his leg a pat.

Fang Hong was baffled: "Why are you hitting me?"

"Just hitting you." Liu Tianxian held her chin high, looking like—what are you going to do about it?

Fang Hong was speechless; he wouldn't lower himself to argue with a woman.

"Alright, alright, let's shoot—Tianxian, just play it the way you did just now in front of the Principal." Xue Xiaolu said with a chuckle.

These two really were a priceless pair.

But time was limited and they couldn't dawdle too long; if it got dark it would be hard to shoot, and they'd have to wait until tomorrow, so they still had to push the schedule along.

Bai Yu watched the two of them in that state and silently lowered his head, not wanting to look—it was disheartening.

"Got it, Director Xue."

Liu Tianxian also got serious and stopped joking around.

Soon they began shooting again; this time it was a tight close-up on Liu Tianxian's face in sunlight. The previous take hadn't been a close-up—Fang Hong had suggested going in close.

Only that way could the emotion be conveyed, letting the audience empathize and feel it. Besides, what movie doesn't use close-ups? This isn't a TV drama.

"Cut! That's a wrap!"

After the take, Xue Xiaolu was very satisfied. Sure enough, having someone to lead and guide made all the difference—one take and it was done.

Liu Tianxian did have that kind of acting talent; she just had no one to guide her before, so she fumbled around on her own, never figured anything out, and easily went down the wrong path.

It's like a fresh graduate entering the workforce—if someone brings you into the trade, you'll have it easy, take far fewer detours in your work, and your salary and benefits will definitely be a cut above your peers'.

In other words, you win right from the starting line.

Take those big directors' "star girls"—Mou's Girl, Zhou Dongyu, Ni Ni and the like—they got off to a fast start. After all, being coached by a great director really does make a difference.

And over these past few years, with various directors guiding her, Liu Tianxian had still made progress.

After all, when Fang Hong shot a film, there were always a couple of assistant directors by his side—one would offer guidance here, another would offer pointers there.

With acting, as long as someone guides you, you can stay on the right path.

As for how Bai Yu should act, let him do as he pleased—Fang Hong didn't have the time to teach him.

Liu Tianxian was also very happy. With this man around, her confidence instantly shot up, and her professional level was soaring higher and higher.

After this scene was filmed, several more scenes were shot, continuing all the way until evening mealtime.

The crew members—some squatting, some sitting, some standing in clusters of three or five—ate from their boxed meals in various poses. Liu Tianxian didn't ask for special treatment either; she squatted together with Fang Hong, eating her boxed meal.

The crew meals were pretty good now—chicken drumsticks, meatballs, vegetables, and eggs—not like before, when costs were cut and the standard was kept very low.

Liu Tianxian picked the chicken drumstick out of her own bowl and placed it in his: "Have the drumstick."

"You're not eating it?" Fang Hong looked at her.

"I'm filming—what if I get fat? When the audience watches the movie and sees I'm slim in the front, then in the back they go, 'Huh? How did this person get fat?'" Liu Tianxian said it amusingly.

Filming generally takes two or three months. Some actresses in TV dramas who go from fat to thin and back are simply the ones who ate and drank well on set without managing their figure properly.

"Fair point." Fang Hong looked at the drumstick in his bowl.

"So I can't eat this much while filming. Once I'm done with this shoot—"

Liu Tianxian was speaking when she noticed him staring fixedly at his bowl, his expression seeming to drift into memory. She nudged him with her elbow: "What are you doing?"

"I was thinking about the past—the first time you and I were on a set together, I asked you for food and you wouldn't give me any. Now I can eat food you give me, and my heart is so moved." As he spoke, Fang Hong even sniffled a little, putting on a real show of it.

"Cut it out."

Liu Tianxian swatted him: "Have I not given you enough to eat? And you're only moved now? Your reaction time is way too long!"

Normally she often brought him meals and such, and they ate together when there was nothing going on—hundreds of times by now.

Putting on this act now—he was clearly just bored!

"Ah, just a sudden inspiration." Having said that, Fang Hong stuffed the drumstick from his bowl into his mouth and began eating heartily.

"Slow down, no one's fighting you for it." Liu Tianxian said.

After the meal and a short rest, once the sky darkened, they had to continue filming.

Just like that, nonstop, from morning till night.

There was no such thing as an eight-hour workday. Only when the day's shooting tasks were done could they wrap, and even if they were done, they had to keep polishing, or shoot the next day's scenes.

Of course, most of the time they couldn't finish, because they shot very slowly.

As usual, Fang Hong sat beside Xue Xiaolu, watching the monitor as they filmed.

What they were shooting now was a scene of chatting on the subway. This scene was built as a set inside a studio—just one subway car.

It was a practical-location studio, not a real subway.

A real subway would be far too expensive to rent—you'd also need permission from the relevant departments, and have to coordinate road closures and such. The cost alone would be unworkable.

There were many such studios in Beijing; they could meet the shooting needs of films, TV shows, MVs, and so on.

The scenery outside the window was made into black cloth, and a bit of post-production would handle it—no big deal. It was nighttime anyway, and inside a subway it's naturally dark.

And the male and female leads just sat on the bench, not moving!

The content of their conversation was still the same — would they break up? Would one of them cheat? Everything seemed perfectly normal.

"Teacher Xue, is there anything particular about how this scene is staged?" Fang Hong asked.

"Not really. Here it's just conveyed through dialogue — the two keep dating, and soon the female lead will go look for a job, which plants this hidden worry." Xue Xiaolu explained.

This segment was very simple, very ordinary to shoot.

Fang Hong propped his chin on one hand, his gaze fixed on the monitor image and the two actors' performance.

Xue Xiaolu glanced at him and asked, "What's wrong? Do you think there's a problem?"

"Nothing major."

Fang Hong first affirmed what she had shot, then said, "It's just that the camera language isn't deep enough, too shallow. This segment is going to be the turning point — the two start entering society one after another. You could hint some information to the audience through the camera."

"You mean?"

Xue Xiaolu seemed to grasp a little of it, but didn't quite catch it.

Fang Hong signaled to pause the shoot, stood up and walked toward the filming area. Xue Xiaolu called out "Cut," then followed Fang Hong to the filming area. Inside the subway car, there were still some extras; the crew and props and camera gear all stayed put, watching to see if the two were making some adjustment.

Liu Tianxian and Bai Yu sat side by side on the long bench. Seeing the two of them look serious, they stood up and asked, "What's wrong, was there a problem with the acting?"

"No, it's just the framing of the shot that needs a tweak — you two stay put for now." Fang Hong signaled.

Bai Yu nodded; Liu Tianxian let out an "Oh!"

Fang Hong said to Xue Xiaolu, "Teacher Xue, look — the two of them sitting here. What if we shift the position of these two steel handrails?"

As he spoke, he went to grab one of the steel handrails — the ones in the subway car aisle that stand on either side for passengers to hold.

"Principal, let me — please don't move." A prop master hurriedly gestured for the Principal not to move.

Moving things around carelessly could mess up their set, or shift some critical piece, and it was still quite dangerous.

Several crew members also stepped forward to help.

Fang Hong didn't move, walked to a spot closer to Liu Tianxian and the other, and gestured: "Move one over here."

The crew followed the instruction and moved a steel handrail to the designated spot.

Everyone else watched the on-site operation, staying quite quiet.

Then Fang Hong stepped back a few paces, putting some distance, eyeballed the two actors' positions, and pointed at the ground in front of him: "Place another handrail here."

The crew set down a steel handrail in front of him.

Xue Xiaolu walked over as well, and from this angle looked at the two leads sitting on the long bench.

Everyone else was baffled, not knowing what the two were trying to do.

"Well? What do you see, Teacher Xue?" Fang Hong asked.

Xue Xiaolu said nothing, shifted her footing slightly, stood beside Fang Hong, and from his angle, looked obliquely at the two leads.

At this moment her eyes were the camera.

From her angle, the two steel handrails — one far, one near — framed the male and female leads together perfectly on the left and right.

"The framing boxes the two into the same space, reinforcing the feeling that they won't break up." Xue Xiaolu looked at Fang Hong, speaking without much certainty.

She wasn't sure if that was what he meant.

"Right — look at whose reflection shows up in the glass behind them." Fang Hong pointed at the glass behind Bai Yu.

That was the subway car window glass; with light inside the car, it could reflect a shadow.

And from the two actors' angle, the glass reflection only showed Bai Yu's back — Liu Tianxian couldn't be seen, as if she'd gone off into another layer of the picture.

"Brilliant! This hints that the male and female leads have another layer of meaning between them — a possible breakup." Xue Xiaolu clapped her hands, roughly grasping what Fang Hong was trying to express.

This was a kind of visual metaphor.

Two people in the same space meant their romance would continue, and they were determined to be together.

A reflected space with only one person hinted that the future was entirely unknown — a breakup was possible, open to interpretation.

A simple piece of framing had metaphorically laid out both the leads' present state and their future worries.

This was good for deeper readings of the film — the information contained was rich, very layered!

"Exactly. Give the audience room to imagine, let them form their own readings and fantasies about the characters' future lives." Fang Hong explained.

The charm of an art-house film lies in "metaphor" — every viewing brings a different surprise and feeling.

This is also why art-house films are hard to shoot: metaphor, composition, ideas, plot — none can be missing. Otherwise masterpieces wouldn't be so hard to come by.

If it were really that easy to shoot, every director out there would have become a legend.

Xue Xiaolu looked again from that angle: "Little Fang, you observe way too closely — most people couldn't think of details that fine."

"I'm just an outsider with a clear view." Fang Hong was modest.

Watching the two of them discuss so animatedly, dissecting art out of a single frame of composition, the others were a bit dumbfounded and uncomprehending.

Could the film they were shooting really be that layered?

Actually, a lot of people can't tell what their own film is like, because they shoot a bit here, a bit there — who knows what the story is?

You only find out once it's released and you watch the whole thing — oh, so that's what my movie was about.

Sometimes even the actors don't know what they're acting in; they just follow the director's instructions — whatever the director says it is, it is.

But thinking about it, the Principal really was very professional — he just didn't express himself, always shooting commercial films, hiding his talent.

Liu Tianxian and Bai Yu didn't really get it either, but they could vaguely sense it wasn't a problem with their acting — it was a framing issue.

Still, seeing Fang Hong's talent on display, Liu Tianxian was quite delighted.

"Anyway, you're very detailed." Xue Xiaolu tossed out the compliment, then walked back to her director's seat, signaled the crew to reset the set, and the new take began.

"Pfft—" the cameraman couldn't help laughing out loud — he really had let his mind wander.

The moment Xue Xiaolu said the Principal was "detailed," some people had already let their minds wander; hearing it a second time, they couldn't hold it in.

The Principal is very "detailed"? Ha ha ha.

"What's so funny? Teacher Xue was talking about observing details — that's a virtue, you should all learn from me." Fang Hong patted the cameraman on the chest, speaking with perfect seriousness.

Refuse to admit they're thin, when they're clearly thick — a bunch of lsp, letting their imaginations run wild!

The cameraman hurriedly nodded again and again, indicating he hadn't thought of anything, pressing his lips together to hold it in.

The others who caught that point were also pressing their lips together, doing their best to hold back laughter — after all, the man was the Principal, give him some face.

Of course they all knew Xue Xiaolu was praising the Principal, they could all tell, but they just couldn't help letting their minds wander.

If it were ordinary friends, someone probably would've laughed themselves to death.

"Is there a problem with what Teacher Xue said? Why are they laughing so weirdly?" Liu Tianxian asked Bai Yu beside her, having noticed it too.

Bai Yu gave her a deep look, not expecting the fairy sister to be so innocent, but he didn't explain, just shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

Seeing he wouldn't say, Liu Tianxian didn't press, she'd ask Fang Hong later.

"All get serious, prepare to start filming again." Xue Xiaolu hadn't realized at all that what she'd just said was highly ambiguous, nor had she thought that much about it, telling the crew to get back to work properly.

The on-site crew quickly got into the zone, and Fang Hong sat down beside Xue Xiaolu again, watching her film.

This segment of the plot — the two male and female leads performed it without issue, no major emotional fluctuations, it was just the composition and the set lighting that needed adjusting.

Brighten the lights a bit, and the shadows will be more pronounced; the camera angle also needs to be readjusted.

This segment of the plot was filmed quickly.

After filming, the crew packed up the equipment, and Xue Xiaolu asked Fang Hong: "Xiao Fang, how many days are you staying with the crew?"

"I was planning to head back later." Fang Hong didn't intend to stay long, he had a lot of things to do himself.

"You could stay a few days, help recheck the filmed footage, see which shots have problems, so I can adjust in time." Xue Xiaolu invited.

"Well, that—" Fang Hong was a bit hesitant.

Checking filmed footage was super exhausting — it wasn't like he hadn't done it before, whole nights on end.

At this moment Liu Tianxian walked over to the two of them.

"You could also teach Tianxian how to act. With you guiding her, she'd perform well too, and it would speed up the progress — how great would that be." Xue Xiaolu made it sound nice.

Liu Tianxian said nothing, leaving the decision up to that man.

No state today, one chapter

(End of this chapter)