Chapter 278: Little Liu paints, the set is stunned

Liu Yifei, Yang Mi, and other visiting stars came with high spirits and left satisfied; the filming for Boss Lu's first day back at work concluded smoothly and quickly.

After a simple and swift working meal, the heads of each department in the production crew gathered on time in the small conference room to begin the day's summary and wrap-up work.

This had already become an established rule for the *Inquiry Realm* crew.

Although there was no completion bond system, the producers designated by Lu Kuan had to represent his will and carry out the necessary procedures at the daily summary meetings.

First was the head of continuity, Old Zhang.

"Director Lu, leaders, I will now present today's continuity report."

"Today's total net filming duration was 9 hours and 20 minutes, the number of takes for the shots..."

Old Zhang gave the routine data report, while everyone in the conference room checked line by line against the reports in their hands.

Scene numbers, shot sequences, number of takes, actors' lines, and action details—these were the most basic data points.

If it was a scene with many special effects, the filming details for each effects shot, including the use of green screens and model information, had to be covered.

Finally, he reported on the preparation of filming materials for tomorrow, the status of the call sheet updates, and the weather conditions.

Two years ago, Old Zhang was a veteran employee at the Youth Film Studio. It was only after much determination that he gave up his permanent position to join a private enterprise, only to discover the massive gap.

It wasn't just the gap in salary and benefits, but more importantly, the gap in set systems and work culture.

According to the work habits at the Youth Film Studio and other old state-owned factories, every day after filming meant drinking, playing cards, and business KTV, only to start the next day's filming in a chaotic mess with dark circles under their eyes.

It was fine for crews with stricter requirements, but for crews full of old slackers, you could just watch the director spend the next day yelling from morning until noon.

Either the auxiliary lighting wasn't prepared in advance, the props weren't placed in the designated spots, or the green screen hadn't been cleaned beforehand—

In an era where special effects technology was relatively backward, failing to clean the green screen properly made it very difficult to perform chroma keying.

Only in *Inquiry Realm*, or rather, in Lu Kuan's crew, although they were very unaccustomed to this work mode at first, once truly implemented, they found the next day's filming to be incredibly smooth and immensely beneficial.

This was the advantage of the system.

Old Zhang, sporting a bald patch, was nearly fifty years old, but now he could also hold a computer and use his "one-finger zen" to create data and reports.

Continuity was the most complex process, followed by the financial side.

Yu Feihong said softly to the young director who was buried in numbers: "Little Li's child is undergoing surgery, so she had to rush back to Beiping temporarily. I will cover her work for these two days."

"Mm." Boss Lu didn't even lift his head; he didn't care about the division of labor below him.

Yu Feihong was the assistant director. If she still had to worry about these things herself, then her own mainland version of *Ghost* would surely flop and go over budget.

The reports from each department took about forty minutes, which finally brought them to the time for the director to give instructions and summaries.

Zhao Fei, Yu Feihong, the lighting crew, continuity, special effects, and the comrades responsible for communication from Tangshan all flipped open their work notebooks in unison, ready to record the key points.

"Everyone's work is very meticulous; keep it up."

Lu Kuan frowned and checked his watch, deciding to keep it brief; he still had to go to the Olympic bidding team to see the day's harvest later.

"Let me make a few requests."

"First, in the few clips I reviewed just now, the expressions and movements of many extras were still quite stiff."

"I know that overly high demands are unrealistic, but it is definitely not as simple as just asking them not to look at the camera."

"Feihong, please draft a set of rules for this, and use half of tomorrow to write a concise guide for extras."

"Include points of attention, taboos, simple acting techniques and ideas, points of contact for different departments, and so on."

Boss Lu laughed: "This time, the Tangshan local government has provided us with a large number of free extras. While this is a help, if not utilized well, it will instead become a burden."

Is free always good? Of course not.

If you hire extras with your own money, those who are unqualified or messing around can be reprimanded, educated, or fired—that is part of the job.

But some of these people are survivors from back then, and some came just to help. The crew provides meals, and they cover their own other expenses; in terms of both emotion and reason, it is impossible to refuse them.

How to utilize this resource provided by the local government well is the key.

Yu Feihong nodded: "Yes, Director. I will coordinate with the comrades responsible for propaganda in the neighborhood tomorrow and ask for their help."

"Mm. Second, starting tomorrow, Teacher Zhao and I will temporarily split into two groups for filming. Everyone needs to prepare the division of labor in advance."

For large-scale scheduling scenes like the earthquake, it is common for three or four filming groups to start simultaneously.

A long take spliced together from several scenes is common practice. Through coordinated arrangements, it can greatly increase filming efficiency and save on the crew's costs.

For example, when James Cameron was filming *Avatar*, he had a motion capture group, a live-action filming group, and a production group, filming separately and synthesizing uniformly, which greatly shortened the production cycle.

If there were no groups, and they completed motion capture, live-action filming, and special effects production in sequence, the entire movie's production time might double.

The large amount of scene construction and re-filming costs saved by Cameron's filming method reached as high as 300 million USD.

The most classic example is *Edge of Tomorrow*; in the filming of core scenes, the director found three body doubles for the male lead.

The main actor was filming drama scenes in the suburbs of London, one was jumping out of a plane in Florida, one was fighting in a London shopping center, and another was driving a speedboat in Bermuda.

However, although the *Tangshan Earthquake* crew now has three 4K high-definition digital cameras, only Zhao Fei and his top disciple can operate them proficiently, so they can at most split into two groups.

The crowd received their orders and left. Boss Lu worked tirelessly, discussing with the Olympic team until 9:30, before returning to the crew's hotel.

Lying on the bed, Liu Yifei's strange behavior from today flashed before his eyes, and he took out his phone to call her.

"Hello?"

"Um, the massacre movie might need to be filmed ahead of schedule."

Lu Kuan had used his brain all day and was somewhat exhausted; he couldn't think of a suitable excuse, nor did he have much experience.

Previously, it was always Little Liu calling to harass him every few days!

Liu Yifei was in her room painting.

Ever since she heard Lu Kuan talking to Martin Scorsese about Impressionism on the day of the Golden Globe Awards, she had picked up the painting she learned as a child.

She bought a pile of Monet and Van Gogh art books and set up a small studio in the study of the courtyard house.

The brushes were from the German brand Faber-Castell, founded in 1761; the paints were Winsor & Newton; the palette knife was Courbet; and there was a Pébéo palette.

It could be said that she was a poor student with too much stationery.

"Ah? Why?"

She was feeling somewhat complicated about the washing machine right now, but this topic still attracted her attention.

"I am preparing to join the final Olympic creative team. After the start of 2007, I estimate I will have to be fully committed to the Olympic opening ceremony."

"If I want to finish the movie before the memorial day for the victims in December 2007, I definitely have to prepare to start filming next year."

Liu Yifei calculated the dates in her heart. She didn't doubt whether Lu Kuan could join the final Olympic opening ceremony creative team.

Even if he didn't end up as the chief director or deputy chief director, given the importance Zhang Yimou placed on him, he would definitely be invited to the final team to provide creative ideas.

Lu Kuan hesitated: "You..."

"I want to film it! You must give this role to me. No matter what requirements this role has, I will achieve them 100%!"

Liu Yifei said impatiently: "I call Sister Chunru every week. I have been learning about her living habits, accent, and the environment she grew up in."

Lu Kuan pondered for a while: "The schedule for *Zhu Xian 2* has been moved up. *Foreign Land* starts filming in October. You can start preparing after you finish filming that."

"It might take you half a year to a year. You need to take a full leave of absence to read her works, follow the footprints of her investigations in China back then, and live with her for a period of time..."

The brush in Little Liu's hand paused: "As long as you give me the script and the requirements, I guarantee I can do my best. I have confidence."

"What's that sound? Are you writing?"

Liu Yifei looked at the Marco sketching pencil in her hand: "I'm painting."

"Ah? You have this skill too? What are you painting?"

Little Liu was dissatisfied with the teasing in his words, looking at the sketch of the washing machine's human face she had casually outlined on the canvas.

"Painting a dog."

Boss Lu had a keen intuition: "To be honest, I feel like you are offending me."

"Hmph, how can someone ask to be scolded? I am painting my little black dog."

"Lying. I've only seen your cat; where did a dog come from?"

Liu Yifei couldn't help but laugh over the phone, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly: "The little dog is quite promiscuous, going out every day to find little female dogs, so you haven't seen him."

"When he comes back, I will definitely give him a beating."

Boss Lu:...

I don't know if it was an illusion, but this feeling of being offended became even stronger.

"Little Liu, you seem a bit strange since yesterday. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

The scumbag attempted to transform into a caring big brother, but this hypocritical mask was hard to wear perfectly in front of Liu Yifei, who understood him.

"No."

Lu Kuan didn't get any useful information from her mouth, so he stopped asking for trouble, hung up the phone dejectedly, and flipped through tomorrow's filming plan.

Little Liu, however, couldn't help but let out a long sigh, looking at the sketch on the easel that looked exactly like a washing machine, and covered it with a new sheet of paper to avoid seeing it and feeling annoyed.

Making such a resolute decision was very difficult. Of course, an eighteen-year-old girl also had moments of tossing and turning in her dreams at midnight.

But once she gave up, she would fall into an endless, chronic death.

After pondering for a few seconds, she decided to make some preparations in advance.

She glanced at the time—10:00 PM; on the other side of the Earth, Sister Zhang Chunru should already be awake.

"Hello? Xixi?"

Zhang Chunru and her husband had a residence in San Jose, California, but for the past two years, due to excessive mental stress and being plagued by the foul-smelling harassment of certain right-wing flies, she had been living with her parents in Illinois.

"Sister Chunru, it's 8:00 AM over there, right?"

"That's right. It's very late back home, why haven't you rested yet?"

Liu Yifei lay flat on her bed, her waterfall-like hair spread out.

Facing Zhang Chunru, whom she admired and respected, she felt the reverence and intimacy of talking to a life mentor: "Sister Chunru, I want to go to the United States to see you around March or April next year."

"That's great! Is the movie about to start? Why didn't Lu Kuan tell me?"

Zhang Chunru's mood suddenly became excited!

Since first meeting Lu Kuan in early 2003 and being brought back to life—or at least kept alive—by him using this "medicine," Zhang Chunru had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Especially with the success of *The Foreign Land* and *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button* in the North American market and the increase in his own influence, this angel of justice had a stronger expectation that her unfinished cause could be realized through the artistic talent of this young director.

"He has been busy with the Olympic Games recently, and he just notified me too."

"According to the current tentative plan, after I finish filming the next movie, I plan to go to the United States to live with you for a while. The movie will likely start filming at the end of 2006."

Hearing the exact start date, Zhang Chunru felt a sudden sense of relief: "That's wonderful! You can just come and live at my house. I will cooperate with you to complete the preparation work."

"Sister Chunru, actually, I have another matter I'd like to trouble you with." Liu Yifei had a backup plan in case the audition failed.

"Go ahead."

Little Liu said something shocking: "I want to apply for a study abroad program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign or the University of Chicago. Please help me write a recommendation letter."

The University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were both located in Illinois, where Zhang Chunru lived.

Zhang Chunru was stunned by what she said, thinking to herself, isn't this girl a professional actor?

"Xixi, are you planning to study drama or something else?"

"No, I want to study business."

When going to the United States to study business, the preferred regions are generally New York and California.

The former sits on Wall Street, the center of the world's financial centers, while the latter is backed by Silicon Valley, with numerous higher education institutions nearby and a developed education industry.

But there is another inland state in the US that is not very famous, especially in 2005, when there was not much clear understanding of it back home—

Illinois, where Zhang Chunru grew up and studied.

Illinois is known as the Land of Lincoln; it is the inland economic and financial center of the United States and is jokingly called the Inland Empire State.

There is a rapper back home called Zigga who once compared Illinois to our Magic City in his lyrics; other than being an inland city, it is similar in other aspects.

Both are transportation hubs; the core city, Chicago, is the world's largest railway hub, with 30 railway trunk lines and their branches converging there.

The state has also made achievements in both industrial and agricultural fields, and its cultural heritage is very profound; it is the hometown of the famous American novelist Hemingway.

Zhang Chunru laughed in spite of herself: "You don't plan to be an actor anymore? How did you think of studying business?"

"Hmm... I feel like I've taken on too many roles in the past few years. I just want to live there for a while, and it's impossible for me to follow you everywhere you go, right?"

"I might as well study business. When the movie starts filming, I'll temporarily suspend my studies."

"I've also planned things back home. I'll find a teacher to help me arrange early graduation, and I can start the procedures for enrollment next autumn now."

Her most desired target was the University of Chicago.

Since the 1950s, the traditional teaching school represented by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the practical teaching school represented by Harvard Business School have been mentioned in the same breath as world-class institutions.

If Liu Yifei hadn't changed her nationality back, it would obviously have been simpler to apply to this top international business school than it is now.

However, with the halo of a famous actress, plus Zhang Chunru, a bestselling author with some influence in Illinois, and the connections behind her, it wouldn't be too difficult to get an offer.

Because in addition to normal GPA and language tests, American business schools also provide other application channels for socially prominent figures.

For example, various school activities, having won professional awards and honors in business, performing arts, or public welfare fields, or through recommendations from celebrities or alumni.

Zhang Chunru was a bit bewildered by what she said, but she still decided to respect her choice.

"The difficulty of applying to the University of Chicago is relatively greater, but I am confident about the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I studied in the journalism department there, and both my father and mother are professors at the school."

"Xixi, if you just want to experience life as an actor, just audit some classes; that's very convenient."

Liu Yifei explained: "Experiencing life is one aspect. I'm a bit slow, and I'm afraid I won't be able to act it out when the time comes, so I want to walk through your life experience, Sister Chunru."

"Besides, I really want to improve in this area and cultivate my business thinking."

The young girl's idea was very simple.

Even if she failed, she would not be content with being just a painting or a vase for him; she wanted to improve herself in all aspects and seek survival through struggle.

Liu Yifei lay on the bed and chatted with the female mentor she admired about many life topics that benefited her greatly, and she didn't fall asleep until very late.

The next day, the "Washing Machine," unaware that he had become a comprehensive imaginary enemy, got up early to continue filming the earthquake movie.

The earthquake movie had some peculiarities, namely the need to film strictly in the order of pre-earthquake, mid-earthquake, and post-earthquake.

Because the building demolition and collapse in the middle of the earthquake were irreversible; you couldn't just blow everything up and then discover a shot was missed, and then go back and rebuild the house to film it, right?

Therefore, the crew under his management was like a precision machine, operating at high speed during the week of his return.

Coupled with the fact that new-generation actors like Song Jia and Wang Baoqiang were gradually getting into the zone, the pre-earthquake exterior scenes were almost completed, and they could enter the next important filming stage.

Boss Lu was communicating the filming plan with his old partner from *The Foreign Land*, Joss Williams.

"Roland adopted a plan of simultaneous demolition and filming in *The Day After Tomorrow*, but the requirements for safety measures and time control were relatively high."

Williams advised: "Considering the safety factor and error tolerance, my suggestion is to demolish first and then film."

"This way, you can better control the on-site effect after the demolition; it's equivalent to setting the scene first and then filming. Your guys can have sufficient preparation time."

Joss's daughter, Hayley, was also a member of the team; she had been running around film sets with her old man since she was eighteen, and she offered a compromise:

"Scenes that aren't significantly important can be demolished first, but for the building where the protagonist lives, let's use on-site demolition, shall we? It can show the entire process."

Boss Lu pondered for a few seconds; if pursuing authenticity, the suggestions from Hayley and her father were both worth considering.

But even though all members on the set had purchased high-value insurance this time, he didn't want any accidents to happen.

"How about this!"

The young director chose another compromise: "Real-time demolition for secondary shots, but for the building where the protagonist lives, please help me demolish it first and then reinforce it."

"Tie steel cables to the walls, and help me manually pull them down when filming."

Joss and his daughter Hayley looked at each other; this was indeed a proper method, and it had another greater advantage—

Manually pulling down the collapsing house allowed for the collapse shape to be arranged in advance, which was beneficial for movie filming and realizing the director's detailed requirements.

Old Joss clicked his tongue in admiration and went to communicate the operational details.

He had seen it since *The Foreign Land*; this Oriental director's familiarity with stunt and special effects technology was no less than that of any top Hollywood blockbuster director.

He often had ingenious innovations.

Historically, the real earthquake occurred in the early morning, so the filming time for this major scene was arranged for 3:00 AM, so that the light, environment, and other conditions would meet Director Lu Kuan's requirements.

Yu Feihong connected with the staff from Tangshan who came to supervise and accept the permit procedures:

"Comrade, this is the 'Blasting Operation Unit Permit'."

"These few are the 'Blasting Engineering Technical Personnel Safety Work Certificate' and the 'Blasting Operation Permit' for our blasters and safety officers; please inspect and accept them."

In order to cooperate with tonight's scenes, the Tangshan side specially transferred several staff members to be on duty. After checking that everything was correct, they smiled and shook hands with Yu Feihong: "Wish you success! Pay attention to safety!"

"Thank you!"

Yu Feihong took the walkie-talkie to notify Lu Kuan, who was still communicating with Joss Williams: "Director, the inspection is complete, we can start at any time."

"Okay."

Boss Lu put down the walkie-talkie, picked up the megaphone directly, and found a high point to stand still: "All crew members, pay attention, I want to emphasize a few points."

"The demolition will start in twenty minutes. Please everyone retreat behind the safety line, supervise and watch out for each other, absolutely do not get sleepy and cause danger. Safety officers, you all need to be alert too!"

"In addition, we have communicated with the meteorological experts in the city; the intensity of the rain these days is very suitable for filming and is very close to the historical appearance."

On the night of the earthquake thirty years ago, Tangshan was also hit by a storm; it seems such disasters are always inextricably linked to miserable wind and bitter rain.

This was also the reason he chose to film tonight; it started to drizzle in the evening, and they could start filming at any time.

"Therefore, please try your best to get the important scenes of these few days in one take; do not drag it out, otherwise it will be very difficult to repair in post-production."

"To the fellow villagers who came to guest star as extras, please keep the contents of the extra manual in mind and pay attention to your personal safety!"

Many of the local citizen extras on the scene were survivors from back then.

Looking at the old residence that was exactly the same as in their memories, which might be turned into ruins in an instant, they all felt a sense of sadness that things were no longer the same.

Lu Kuan's gaze swept over everyone's complex and sad expressions, thinking to himself that the morale was usable.

Extras with such emotions should be the most immersed and qualified extras in all movies, right?

Because they were not acting; they were repeating a bone-deep disaster from thirty years ago.

The pre-demolition started first; Joss Williams commanded in the megaphone using proficient Chinese number pronunciation: "San! Er! Yi!"

"Fire in the hole!"

Joss wasn't spoofing game lines; this is a common command in military operations, mining blasting, and film and television filming, which is reflected in the later Hollywood movie *The Hurt Locker*.

Everyone only felt the ground under their feet shake slightly, and the high-rise building within the safety line collapsed with a roar after trembling.

From the outside in, it collapsed at a touch like dominoes; after about seven or eight seconds, only a pile of ruins remained before everyone's eyes.

Boss Lu checked the demolition effect and the state of the ruins in front of the monitor, and after confirming that everything was correct, he hurriedly picked up the megaphone.

"All script supervisors and guides, pay attention, the extra group and the actor group, get into position, wait for the rain to start filming at any time, everyone has worked hard!"

"Yes!"

"Received!"

Since the real earthquake happened in July, they had to film rain scenes wearing shorts and vests tonight; fortunately, the weather in Tangshan in May was only slightly cool, not enough to make everyone catch a cold from the rain.

Not quite 4:00 AM, there was a faint light in the sky, and the rain intensity gradually increased as predicted by the meteorologist, but it still hadn't reached Boss Lu's requirements.

He decisively picked up the walkie-talkie: "Makeup group, go directly to the exterior to apply makeup for the extras."

"Prop group, Old Tian, find someone to move out the industrial fans brought by the box truck this afternoon, prepare to artificially increase the rain intensity; the sky is about to brighten, time waits for no one!"

There was a roar of agreement from the field; thanks to the usual "good leadership," all departments quickly implemented and carried out the director's requirements.

Some extras wore shorts and vests, occasionally thermal underwear, but without exception, they were all covered in dark red dirt—a mixture of mud and blood.

At this moment, a burst of crying suddenly came from the extra lineup; it turned out that the makeup artist, in a hurry, accidentally poked the eye of a little girl extra while applying makeup.

Boss Lu was terrified, fearing any safety accidents; he waved his hand to signal Yu Feihong to continue presiding over the scene, and he hurried over himself.

"What's wrong?"

The young makeup artist said guiltily: "Director Lu! I didn't pay attention just now and touched Xiaonan's eye!"

This child had been following her mother on the set for several days; she was very cute with two braids, and everyone knew her.

"Xiaonan, why don't you go back with your mother to rest first? It won't hurt in a while."

There are several types of scenes that are the most difficult to film in movies; children's scenes even have to be ranked before animals.

Animals can at least be taught by animal trainers, but children's moods are unpredictable and difficult to grasp.

Another assistant director on the sidelines said in a low, urgent voice: "Director Lu, if Xiaonan doesn't film, our shot will be missing an important supporting role element!"

"Other alternative child actors are quite a bit worse than Xiaonan."

Everyone present was a fellow villager; at this time, the extras who had just finished their makeup on the sidelines all gathered around, and the little girl's mother was also anxious to the point of crying.

Xiaonan suddenly reached out to wipe a tear for her mother, turned back, and said to Lu Kuan: "Director brother, I can act!"

"My mother told me that thirty years ago, she was carried out of here by her grandfather. I want to experience her experience once."

I don't know who in the crowd broke their heart first, but they sniffed very abruptly.

The supplementary light source at the filming site illuminated the actions of many local Tangshan extras wiping away tears.

Among them, some were as old as Xiaonan back then.

Some of the children back then were also as old as Xiaonan, but those dear faces and smiles remained forever on that day thirty years ago.

This was also the reason why many survivors eagerly signed up to participate.

They had been separated from their loved ones who were separated by life and death for too long; in this way, perhaps those faces in their memories could be more vivid.

"Okay! Everyone get ready!"

Boss Lu was also deeply moved, but this emotional brewing was about to reach its peak; if the filming went smoothly, the brilliance of this scene could be foreseen!

Every extra could produce a level comparable to professional actors, even surpassing professional actors!

Because they were not performing at all!

Everyone was in position; Lu Kuan checked the makeup, props, and details once again.

The dirt and scars on the close-up actors were more realistic; other extras couldn't be perfect due to time constraints, but it didn't have much impact on the final output.

He called the production manager and instructed them to prepare dry towels and hot water to remove makeup and wipe off mud for the Tangshan fellow villagers who were volunteering as extras later.

Lu Kuan sat behind the monitor, stretched out his hand to feel the frequency of the raindrops; everyone was waiting for his command.

The heavy rain after the earthquake had a scientific basis because the energy accumulated in the earth's crust was suddenly released, and the high heat evaporated the water vapor in the air, which naturally fell as rain after encountering cold.

However, filming rain scenes is very difficult, especially for a director with high requirements like Boss Lu; only by making full preparations in advance can they start filming at any time.

Such order and discipline could only be achieved by the direct-line crew he had strictly trained and cultivated.

Another five minutes passed; Lu Kuan looked at the sky, knowing he couldn't wait any longer, and decisively picked up the walkie-talkie to start the final deployment:

"Reflectors and soft lights in position, adjust the light ratio to 7:1, LED light panels as the main auxiliary light!"

"Yes!"

Light ratio is the intensity ratio between the main light and the auxiliary light.

For example, if the intensity of the main light is 4 times the intensity of the auxiliary light, then the light ratio is 4:1.

The light ratio determines the contrast of the picture; when filming high-key pictures, such as bright indoor scenes or fresh portraits, a smaller light ratio is usually used;

while when filming low-key pictures, such as dark-toned suspense scenes, a larger light ratio is used, and the auxiliary light intensity is relatively lower.

Boss Lu did it himself and walked behind the industrial fan: "The rain intensity at the low level is enough, but the spray intensity of the high-pressure water gun is not enough."

"Old Zhang, hurry up and find someone to drive the crane from the edge of the demolition site just now, find a way to tie the high-pressure water gun to the top to expand the spray range of the rain!"

"Okay, I'll go now."

Mediterranean Old Zhang turned and ran, tripped over a stone, climbed up, and continued running without looking back.

Taking advantage of the time for the crane to get into position, Lu Kuan walked among the hundreds of extras and personally explained the scenes to the close-up and feature extras.

He didn't use the professional thinking and rhetoric he used for Liu Yifei and Song Jia, but deliberately guided their emotions and provided a performance paradigm that could be imitated.

The central idea remained unchanged; the extras' natural interpretation would be more moving and realistic.

Another 5 minutes ended.

Everything was ready now; with artificial rain, the east wind was no longer needed, and Lu Kuan walked back to the monitor.

"Lighting technician?"

"Director, in position!"

"Actors?"

"In position!", "Ready!", "No problem!"

Not to mention young actors like Song Jia and Wang Baoqiang, even veterans like Hu Jun and Zhou Xun were a bit excited at this moment.

A crew professional to the extreme, an atmosphere created to the extreme, and a director detailed to the extreme.

Everyone longed to integrate themselves into this tragic scroll of the era and use their own living roles to write a dirge of that year.

"Ten-second countdown, recording and camera start, prop group, give rain."

"Start counting down!"

Yu Feihong picked up the megaphone and reported the numbers steadily; with the start of the last sentence, the rain intensity increased instantly!

The extras who had rehearsed for a long time on the scene changed from faint sobbing to miserable crying and desperate screaming; the entire crew entered the filming state!

The camera mounted on the rocker arm filmed from a high-altitude overlooking perspective; three camera assistants wearing rain ponchos followed the close-up actors and filmed with handheld cameras.

Handheld photography is a common filming technique for documentaries, mockumentaries, and horror films; it can enhance the sense of reality and presence, and is more flexible in capturing dynamic moments than large cameras.

Especially in the creation of subjective emotions and atmosphere rendering, it has a unique role.

For example, in the crowd collapsing and scattering in the earthquake, the shaking of the handheld camera screen and the left-and-right searching following the protagonist's perspective can express the extreme panic of the parties involved without a single line of dialogue.

The scene seemed to be reproducing the hellish scene of thirty years ago; the increasing raindrops flowed down from everyone's heads, and the dark red blood like a note crossed their dirty cheeks.

A close-up face of a round-faced female extra appeared on the screen.

Red water marks kept seeping and leaking on her face; her big eyes, full of confusion and panic, gradually lost focus, her body trembled slightly, and after a moment, she fled to the east side of the family building.

Under the dirty makeup, Lu Kuan couldn't see her appearance clearly, but felt she was somewhat familiar.

"Feihong, did you recruit this extra just now?"

"Yes, she came to sign up for the crew when you went to Cannes."

She lowered her head and flipped through the roster: "Zhao Liying, from Langfang, Hebei Province, graduated from the Aviation Service major of Langfang Electronic Information School."

"No acting experience, but her appearance is relatively prominent among the extras, especially in this rain scene; her eyes are big, which is relatively easy to interpret."

Tangshan and Langfang are very close; Zhao Liying is equivalent to debuting in advance.

Lu Kuan nodded and continued to watch the live shots in the monitor.

The main camera at a parallel height swung violently to the right, placing the embarrassment and chaos of the main street in the center of the screen; it seemed to have become a hell on earth here:

Those who fell and broke their heads, those who were ruthlessly trampled by fleeing people and cried helplessly, those who cried bitterly while holding the corpses of their families, those who ignored their bleeding fingers and continued to search for relatives in the rubble...

The young director's throat rolled; in his mind, he saw the elementary school in Shuimo Town, the red flag that was somewhat faded but still flying high, and Duoji with a dark face but eyes like lacquer.

He couldn't imagine how sad and tragic the scene of that paradise being destroyed would be.

Boss Lu habitually touched the wound on his forehead that had long since recovered, feeling extremely fortunate that he had made that decision a month ago.

Hu Ge opposite was speechless; how much does this look hate himself?

It looks like she wants to stab him to death if they don't agree.

Actually, it's because Bingbing, who plays Bagu, is standing behind him...

Liu Yifei stepped on the Seven Stars and Eight Trigrams, her pretty face was frosty, and she scolded: "Nine Heavens Profound Brake, turn into divine thunder, brilliant heavenly power, lead it with the sword!"

"Okay, cut!"

Wu Ershan looked at the several actors who came over to watch his performance segment with a smile: "The completion is very high; we can finish work early today."

Yang Siwei handed the water cup to Little Liu; the little girl waved her hand: "Pot, where is my pot?"

The slightly chubby agent was speechless and turned back to get that treasure purple clay, which happened to be seen by Bingbing who came over to ask for leave.

She had seen this Shangtianqiao pot at the home in Huabin Golf.

The big star felt a bit uncomfortable, but still said calmly to Wu Ershan on the surface: "Director Wu, I have to ask for leave tomorrow; I have to go back to the Shanghai Film Festival."

"Okay Bingbing, have a smooth journey."

"Thank you, Director, I'll go take off my makeup first."

Liu Yifei, like an old slicker, held the top-grade purple clay with one hand, turned back and sat on the eternal red folding chair, tasting tea with the spout, which was very happy.

It's a pity she didn't know Bingbing's psychological jealousy and envy just now, otherwise perhaps the emotional value obtained would be higher.

But according to Liu Heng's investigation and the memories of almost all survivors, on the night of the earthquake, the common people who suddenly encountered a disaster were not in this state!

There were also many who were numb, slow, and strong in quickly relocating and starting to save people.

When the real disaster came, except for children like Xiaonan who suddenly encountered misfortune and were separated from their families, more adults were not collapsing like in the current screen.

It's just that most of these extras were survivors and descendants of survivors from back then; facing such a realistic scene and role, their emotions were out of control for a while.

Seeing that the signs were not right, Boss Lu hurriedly picked up the megaphone: "Close-up actors, control your emotions! Control your emotions! Don't be overly exaggerated!"

In fact, such a scene of heaven and earth mourning together and hundreds of people crying together is extremely lethal in the cinema.

But what Lu Kuan wanted to film was far from this idea of destroying beauty for people to see to arouse sympathy and tears.

What he wanted to express through the movie was the magnificent calmness of flowers blooming in the ruins, and the beautiful home rebuilt by the people with strong and unyielding blood and tears.

As for selling misery, the scene arrangement of an extra Xiaonan was enough.

His thinking was different from Kuzi's; Kuzi had already arranged for his wife, Xu Fan, to cry and shout in front of the lens at this moment:

"God! You bastard!"

The actors with close-ups and feature shots were all carefully trained and quickly understood the director's intention; the whole dispatching scene proceeded in an orderly manner according to the rehearsal process in advance.

In the final shot, the rocker arm rose rapidly into the sky.

First, a panoramic overlook brought a strong visual shock to the audience, followed by various perspectives of saving people, seeking help, calling for help, and fleeing.

"Cut!"

Except for the noise of the machine gradually fading, only the heavy breathing of the actors after running remained on the scene.

The "unrecognizable" actors, whether extras or professional actors, stared blankly at the young director who scanned from beginning to end behind the monitor.

After four o'clock in the morning, the sky was still a dead silence of darkness; Xiaonan in the crowd hugged her mother's thigh tightly, looking around curiously.

She didn't understand what everyone was waiting for, what they were looking forward to, what they were savoring...

For a long time, the young director in front of the monitor stood up and bowed slightly to the crowd: "Thank you all."

"This take is passed."

Very strangely, there was no cheering, no excitement.

All the actors sat down and held their waists, exhausted.

In the crowd, I don't know who suddenly couldn't hold back their heartstrings and cried out with a wow, and then the sad emotion infected and covered the entire film set.

The survivors of that year, and the descendants and relatives of the survivors, could no longer suppress their emotions.

They supported each other, comforted each other, but cried bitterly together.

They lay on each other's shoulders, their twitching and trembling bodies telling of their longing and grievances for their loved ones.

This was the grief that had been suppressed for thirty years!

This was the unease of the homeland that had been buried for thirty years!

Lu Kuan also wiped the corners of his eyes gently and turned around: "Cut out this part of the behind-the-scenes footage and put it at the end of the film."

"Okay, Director." Yu Feihong had already cried into a tearful person.

Outside the warning line of the film set.

"Leader, this take is passed, we can go over..."

Before Secretary Li finished speaking, he was stopped by Zhao Yong, who was wiping away tears.

"Let's go, don't disturb them."

"Everyone has stayed up all night, let Director Lu have a good rest."

"Yes."

At this moment, Secretary Zhao knew better than anyone that this movie would be the best remembrance and commemoration for the people of Tangshan on the 30th anniversary of the earthquake.

(End of this chapter)