Chapter 301: Deng Chao: I

After a brief introduction.

Zhang Yimou invited Qin Mu to take a tour of the film set.

Qin Mu had already read the script for *Shadow*.

It tells the story of ancient dynasties, a work of alternate history.

Because of this, Zhang Yimou had extremely high requirements for the set design.

The Hengdian World Studios already had sets with ancient decor.

But Zhang Yimou was not satisfied with them; he spent a large sum of money to rebuild and renovate them.

His goal was to create the most vibrant and magnificent film background possible.

To achieve this, it would cost at least tens of millions.

Walking along the way, Qin Mu saw many staff members busy on the set.

Set construction.

It is not a simple project.

It started half a month ago, and even now, less than two-thirds is complete.

It is estimated that it will take another half a month for everything to be ready.

After the tour, Zhang Yimou asked Qin Mu for many opinions regarding the set design.

After all, Qin Mu is the chief cinematographer.

Everything regarding the filming should be done in a way that is convenient for him.

"Here... it could be..."

"As for over there... it would be best if..."

"If there were a..."

Qin Mu naturally said whatever was on his mind.

He proposed quite a few suggestions for improvement.

Beside him, an assistant diligently recorded these points.

It took a full half-hour.

To finish recording.

"Done!"

"We will get it all done!"

Zhang Yimou laughed happily, waved his hand, and immediately agreed.

These were all matters of detail, and naturally, they had to be handled well.

Only by perfecting the details could they best serve the film.

"Director Zhang."

"I think you called me here today for more than just discussing set design, right?"

Qin Mu asked with a smile.

"Hahaha."

"Indeed, there is an actor audition session later."

"I would like to invite you to help me take a look."

Zhang Yimou said immediately.

"Actor audition session?"

Qin Mu couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Now this was interesting!

Usually, auditions are only held for important roles like the first, second, or third male or female leads.

As for other supporting roles or specialized actors.

Those are found directly on-site at Hengdian; there is no need for an audition session!

Therefore, the audition session must be very important.

And for Director Zhang Yimou to ask him to go watch the audition session.

He must want to use his cinematography skills to match the unique characteristics of each actor.

Thereby selecting the actors who would produce the best filming results.

This is crucial for the film to achieve high quality and high standards.

It is still very important.

As Zhang Yimou spoke, he led Qin Mu to the entrance of the audition room.

"Brother Qin!"

"Director Zhang."

Qin Mu heard a familiar voice.

He looked closely.

It was Zheng Kai.

"Hey, Brother Kai, why are you here?"

"I'm here today for an audition, for Director Zhang's new movie."

"You mean *Shadow*?"

Although Qin Mu knew Zheng Kai had acted in many movies, his acting skills were just average.

To actually have the opportunity to receive an audition invitation from Director Zhang Yimou.

It seems Zheng Kai is still quite decent.

"Yeah, right, you know about it too?"

Zheng Kai hadn't realized why Qin Mu was here.

"Yes, Brother Qin, I invited him to film my new movie *Shadow*."

Zhang Yimou said to Zheng Kai.

His tone carried a hint of pride.

See, I can also invite Brother Qin.

He is not just the exclusive photographer for your *Running Man*.

"That's great, then if I succeed in the audition, Brother Qin, you must film me a lot."

Zheng Kai was very happy to meet an acquaintance here.

"Let's go in."

Director Zhang Yimou made a gesture of invitation.

He opened the door for Brother Qin.

"Eh? Brother Qin, why are you going to the audition too? Isn't this the audition room?"

Zheng Kai felt a bit strange.

Wasn't Brother Qin specifically invited to film *Shadow*, why would he need to enter the audition room for an audition?

"No, I'm here to watch your actor auditions, and by the way, I can interview you all."

Brother Qin explained.

"Holy crap! What the hell!"

Zheng Kai was also stunned.

He went from being a staff member to being the boss in an instant.

He was actually going to be interviewed by Brother Qin.

But then he thought about it.

If Brother Qin was interviewing him.

Then, based on his friendship with Brother Qin.

He would definitely pass easily.

That actually seemed pretty good.

It seems having connections is still very important.

Zheng Kai put his arm around Qin Mu's shoulder.

He said with a grin.

"Brother Qin, later, remember to go easy on me."

Brother Qin didn't speak.

He followed him inside.

Inside the room.

The people who came for the audition were already seated.

Among them, a man and a woman were flirting and playing around.

After seeing someone enter.

They immediately stopped.

"Eh? Isn't that Brother Chao and Sister Sun Li? You guys are here for the audition too."

Seeing a large group of acquaintances.

And people with deeper acting skills than himself.

Zheng Kai suddenly felt a bit nervous.

It seems all the big stars are here.

There were also some excellent young actors.

Guan Xiaotong, Wu Lei, and so on.

Of course, there were also some minor actors Zheng Kai didn't recognize; he didn't know their names, so he would have to wait for them to introduce themselves later.

"Yeah, we received an invitation from Director Zhang Yimou, so we came over. I didn't expect you to be here too, kid."

Deng Chao was very happy to see Zheng Kai; after all, they were old *Running Man* cast members.

And they often met in private to eat and hang out together.

So naturally, they were very familiar with each other.

"Haha. Didn't expect that, did you? My acting skills are still pretty good. Brother Chao, since you're here, you must be the male lead. I'll just be the second male lead."

Zheng Kai joked.