Chapter 326

Although the live stream was cut off, the filming continued.

Jin Li asked Gu Cheng and the others to buy a few packs of good cigarettes; Yan Xingdong immediately understood Jin Li's idea, but he still had concerns.

"Giving out cigarettes can only make the security guard's attitude a bit kinder, but their work regulations are there; it's impossible for them to let strangers into the production crew. How are we going to mix our way in front of the director when the time comes? Are we supposed to let the security guard guide us on how to be extras?"

Jin Li smiled: "This is one thing; the security guard obviously knows more than we do. If we can get first-hand news from him, it will definitely be faster than what's circulating on the internet.

The second thing is that we have to bring our own resumes. Even if we can't get in and just stand at the entrance, if we wait long enough, perhaps we can wait for someone from the production crew to come out, and then we can recommend ourselves."

Chen Lin asked: "Is it okay even if it's not recommending ourselves to the director?"

Jin Li nodded: "Recommending ourselves to the director is the best, but if we can't mix into the production crew and just stand at the entrance to wait, it's very hard to wait for the director; instead, it's more likely we'll wait for production staff or actors.

So the focus of this method is to look at the first path, asking the security guard brother to point out a clear path; the second path is just something done along the way."

She actually thought of another method, which is to fake a successful job application.

First, build a good relationship with the security guard and get close to him to get news on whether the production crew is hiring.

If there is news in this regard, take out the resume and say that you have already been hired by the production crew and have contacted the floor manager, and ask the security guard to verify it.

If the production crew isn't busy, this trick will be exposed very quickly.

But if the production crew is very busy, and the floor manager just happened to issue a notice for hiring extras recently, it's very easy to get mixed in.

Don't think that this method is hard to mix in with, because in fact, being busy is the norm for all production crews, and as the production crew rushes the schedule, many roles are not enough; the floor manager will issue hiring needs every two or three days.

The people hired this way are different from extras; they need to have a certain amount of acting experience, which is why the floor manager needs to step in.

Of course, if they are hiring more important actors, that's the director's business.

Jin Li had observed the production crew when filming, even for the small-budget production "Assassination," they had to hire people every two or three days.

She had asked the floor manager, asking if they could hire people every time?

The floor manager shook his head and said: "Finding people is something we can do every time, but we can't necessarily find ones that meet the requirements. After many actors come, I will let them wait first; if there's a suitable one, I'll let them act, and if there isn't, they continue to wait, keeping the actor flow sufficient."

If this set is used in a more rigorous large production, it's hard to fish in troubled waters, but used in those small and chaotic production crews, it's very easy to mix in.

If you see the floor manager and get exposed by them, you can also say that you came to apply to be an extra, leaving an impression on the floor manager.

Perhaps the floor manager likes the look of you and will arrange it for you.

As long as the production crew is busy, everything is possible.

But for this whole process, it requires the right time, the right place, and the right people to successfully mix in, so Jin Li just thought about it and didn't say it out loud.

Moreover, if this method were said out loud, it would look more like acting than filming.

Many people, when coming into contact with things they haven't touched before, will feel it's very difficult. But once they enter the industry, they will find that the world is a huge makeshift stage.

After all, even trainees participating in large idol audition programs can temporarily pull in a translator, or people with less than 10 days of training time to make up the numbers, right?

Sanyuetian bought a pile of gifts and charged toward the third modern drama production crew again.

Before going to ask, they also customized a set of scripts: how to answer when the security guard asks this question, how they should take the initiative to ask the security guard questions, and finally, through what event to chat together to achieve the goal of getting information.

With the program recorded to this point, the director began to feel it was interesting.

Is this running as an extra?

How does it feel like teaching people about worldly wisdom!

The director had a premonition that the preparation in the early stages would probably be more explosive than actually running as an extra.

After thinking it over, the director still didn't turn on the live stream for the part where Sanyuetian and the others communicated with the security guard, intending to keep it as a suspense to be revealed in the program's main feature.

In the afternoon, the sun was just right.

Sanyuetian and the sisters were ready to go again, regrouped, and came to the third production crew.

The security guard put his hands behind his back, walking back and forth leisurely at the entrance, occasionally basking in the sun, looking very relaxed and at ease.

Their group walked over; because there were many people, the security guard looked up at them, and Chen Lin took the lead, stepped forward, and handed him a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes.

The security guard immediately waved his hand to say no, but Chen Lin forcibly stuffed it into the front pocket of the security guard's uniform, then leaned in and asked in a low voice: "Brother, let me ask you a question, is this production crew still hiring extras?"

The security guard got a pack of cigarettes and was in a good mood, looked at them and asked: "You want to come and be extras?"

Yan Xingdong said: "Yeah, we—"

He suddenly had a flash of inspiration, changed the background they had originally set, and said: "We are all tourists who came to the film city to play; we've seen what we wanted to see and played what we wanted to play, and we want to experience being extras. That way, the trip is complete, and we'll have face when we go back and talk about it."

The smile in the security guard's eyes deepened.

Compared to people coming from out of town looking for jobs and wanting to be extras to support their families, Yan Xingdong's tourist experience put less pressure on him.

When the others heard Yan Xingdong's change of words, they couldn't help but praise in their hearts: "Changed it brilliantly!"

The security guard asked: "Didn't you guys sign up for a tour group when you came to the film city to play? Usually, for extra experience projects, tour groups will arrange it."

Yan Xingdong's eyes lit up; it seems there are quite a few people using this excuse to experience being extras!

Seeing this, the others also knew how to cooperate, and they all chimed in: "We felt the tour group's fee for this project was a bit of a rip-off, so we didn't sign up," "We didn't see this project," "The extra role requires soaking in water, which is too terrible," etc.

The security guard nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, many of them are random charges."

Yan Xingdong asked: "So brother, we just want to ask you, is this production crew hiring extras? We can be background wall passersby walking back and forth; we just want to purely experience the atmosphere in the production crew."

The security guard was a bit hesitant, and Chen Lin stuffed another pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes at the right time.

The security guard relented: "There are, but you guys have too many people—"

Jin Li immediately said: "It's okay, even if only one person experiences it, it's fine; we'll just take a few photos for the person experiencing it!"

The security guard: "Okay, then you guys come with me. The floor manager said today that he wanted to find a few people in the cafe scene, but don't be too ordinary extras; it's best if they look a bit more spirited and have a cultured air, because the setting background of that cafe has relatively high consumption."

He led them inside, saying as they walked: "After you go in, don't say I brought you in; see what the floor manager says first.

If the floor manager wants you, you stay and film; if the floor manager doesn't want you, you come out with me, don't talk too much. Originally, these roles were already given to someone else to find, and I don't want to offend that person."

The others nodded repeatedly: "Okay, we understand the rules!"

While they were communicating with the security guard, the camera crew stopped filming them and instead gave each of them a handheld camera.

Because they told the security guard brother they were tourists, holding a camera wasn't abrupt.

But after entering the production crew, they couldn't maintain this posture, so everyone hung the cameras around their necks and adjusted the suitable lens angles in advance.

After Sanyuetian and the others entered the production crew, the directing team stayed outside to wait.

The director made a bet with the screenwriter, betting on when they would come out.

Screenwriter: "They all brought cameras in, it's so obvious, they will definitely be suspected of their identities soon; I bet they'll be out in 10 minutes!"

The director thought about it: "I think the reason they thought of for this method is very good; I bet half an hour."

But neither of them expected that they would stay for an entire afternoon.

If it weren't for the guests occasionally sending messages in the group chat and sharing photos of filming, the program team would have been a bit worried about their personal safety.

The security guard brought them to the floor manager's side and talked to the floor manager first. Upon hearing this, the floor manager looked up and swept his eyes over Sanyuetian and the others; this sweep made him feel that several people all had the air of stars.

The floor manager said with interest: "You guys take off your hats and masks, let me see what you look like."

Several young people's hearts were pounding, and they took them all off nervously.

Because everyone wasn't wearing makeup, there was a difference from the image appearing in the lens, and the floor manager was busy every day and didn't really follow stars, and even the security guard brother didn't follow stars.

The stars that both of them were familiar with were older actors.

So with this look, neither of them recognized Sanyuetian and the others, including Jin Li and Guan Mingzhu, none of them were recognized.

But even if they weren't recognized, the image of these few people still made the floor manager's eyes light up.

They look pretty good!

Although it's not the type with upright thick eyebrows and big eyes or bright and atmospheric, it fits the currently popular style of young actors and actresses.

The floor manager looked at them carefully. While Sanyuetian and the others were anxiously thinking about whether they had been recognized, he suddenly opened his mouth and asked: "Has anyone ever said that you guys look very much like stars, and people's current aesthetics like to see people like you?"

Jin Li shook her head cleverly: "No, but there are some people who say we look very much like which star, but people who look good all have quite similar facial features; what do you think, brother?"

The floor manager laughed: "Right, right, people who look good all look quite similar; I agree with this point. Sometimes I can't tell who is who, anyway they are all handsome men and beautiful women."

The security guard asked: "Brother An, do they meet your requirements? These few people are all tourists, just here to experience the feeling of being extras."

The floor manager waved his hand and said: "You guys come and act; your images are all very good, come and film a few scenes in a while. As for the clothing..."

He swept his eyes over Sanyuetian and the others and said very simply: "Just wear what you have on; although it's very ordinary and common, it looks very fashionable."

The floor manager's eyes were still very sharp; he couldn't recognize who they were, but he could see that the fabric of the clothes they were wearing was good, and at a glance, they were high-end goods.

It just so happened that the cafe's background setting was relatively high-end, which was suitable for these people wearing these clothes to go in and consume.

But if Jin Li and the others wanted to film, they would have to take off the cameras.

So Jin Li asked the security guard brother to help them film the process of acting, record the whole thing, and was willing to give him pay.

Jin Li took the initiative to say: "We will definitely not publish it voluntarily; we will only release it after this film goes online, don't worry, we can also sign a contract."

Seeing that they understood everything, the security guard agreed.

"Even if it's just filming for an afternoon, a contract still needs to be signed, and there are confidentiality clauses on it.

If the video is leaked, the production crew will soon find out that you leaked it and will require you to pay a bunch of liquidated damages. Since you understand the rules, then I will help you film."

Others aren't afraid, then he, who is receiving paid compensation, is even less afraid; anyway, he's the one bearing the responsibility for the relationship.

Just like that, Jin Li and the others started their first extra career very smoothly.

In the first scene filmed at the beginning, the male and female leads didn't appear; Sanyuetian, Jin Li, and Guan Mingzhu sat separately in the cafe.

The lens swept across their completely bare faces.

The one in charge of this lens was the executive director; when filming some unimportant scenes, he was the one used.

Unlike the floor manager and the security guard, the executive director was a young man. When he controlled the lens to film Sanyuetian and the others, he couldn't help but be stunned, his brows furrowed tightly.

Why do the faces of these few people look so familiar?

They seem to be some stars.

But for a moment, he couldn't call out the names of those stars.

The floor manager was right next to the executive director, and the executive director asked: "Where did you find these people? They look so good on camera, they wouldn't be real stars, right?"

The floor manager took out Jin Li's set of rhetoric: "They said that they are also often thought to be stars, but in fact, it's all a misunderstanding; people who look good have very similar facial features."

The executive director couldn't help but nod; these words were fair and made sense.

Sanyuetian and Jin Li and the others filmed four scenes in succession, each scene constantly adjusting and changing positions, maybe men and women sitting together, maybe men and women sitting separately, and they also tried sitting alone.

I don't know if it's because the men are handsome and the women are beautiful, the executive director was in a good mood watching, and couldn't help but film the background scene several times.

The cafe's set was originally inclined toward a high-end cafe, and under the setting off of handsome men and beautiful women, it became even more tasteful and stylish.

When the last scene was about to be finished, the male and female leads finally arrived at this scene; they were going to have a tit-for-tat dialogue.

In this scene, the male and female leads were still in a hostile relationship and hadn't developed feelings; even if they had a good impression of each other, it was appreciation for meeting an equal opponent.

As soon as Yan Xingdong saw the male lead, he immediately turned his head to one side and said quickly in a low voice: "It's over, how is this drama filmed by Cheng Zhizhi?"

Chen Lin was stunned: "Cheng Zhizhi? Our junior brother, he's actually the lead?"

He still wanted to turn his head to look, but his head was immediately pressed back by Luo Yi.

Luo Yi said like a thief: "Don't look, it's more obvious if you turn your head to look!"

Chen Lin: "But they are stars, don't many people turn their heads to look when stars appear? If we don't turn our heads to look, wouldn't that make us look even more abrupt?"

The other three:...

Damn, the youngest one's words also make a lot of sense!

"Sister Jin Li!"

Before Sanyuetian could struggle with how to deal with it, Jin Li just looked at Cheng Zhizhi and was immediately recognized by Cheng Zhizhi!

Oh, watching a large-scale exposure scene.