Global Film Emperor

Chapter 38 Shooting starts

A little after seven in the morning, Lu Ze arrived at the entrance of the film and television city on time and followed the crew of "My Team" into the film set.

A group of extras on set had been doing manual labor for a while and were panting heavily. When they saw Lu Ze, they all stood up to greet him.

Good morning, Brother Lu.

Lu Ze didn't put on airs and responded with a smile, but he didn't say much or reach out to help the extras. He was already used to not having to do physical labor for the crew.

At 7:30, all the main actors arrived together, as they seemed to be staying at the same hotel and had a bus for transportation. The fact that no one was late shows Guo Mingde's skill; he can manage so many talented actors so well, which is something that ordinary small directors can't match.

About ten minutes later, Guo Mingde and the assistant director arrived. Guo Mingde carried a stainless steel teapot, sat down in his chair, poured himself a cup of tea, lit a cigarette, and did not say anything, but just watched everything on set.

Then Lu Ze noticed that everyone was moving around. Without the director saying anything, everyone checked their tools several times and then checked the props that would be used later.

"Lu Ze".

"Hey, Director, what's up?"

Guo Mingde crossed his legs and looked into Lu Ze's eyes: "You've been here for so long, and you haven't changed your clothes yet? Are you waiting for me to serve you?"

Lu Ze looked around and sure enough, apart from himself, all the main actors had changed their clothes and were checking the costume issues from yesterday's makeup test.

"I'll go right away!"

Don't make excuses now. If you're wrong, admit it and make amends immediately. Otherwise, getting a beating is the least you can do for him. Making excuses? Don't you know the crew's procedures? Who cares about your trivial matters?
"Wait a minute, are you afraid of the dark? Do you have claustrophobia?"

Lu Ze thought for a while. He had never encountered this situation before, so he had not known whether he had claustrophobia. Moreover, the first scene was very important, and he cared about it a lot, so he chose to deny it.

"Go ahead. I'm warning you about the costume issue for the first time. Don't make trouble for yourself. You have five minutes. You're here before everyone else has arrived, and you can't act like a big shot. There are no idle people on my set. I don't want to warn you about this a second time, understand?"

"I understand, Director Guo."

I started running, and after finding my costume at the costume department, I quickly started taking off my own clothes. There was no time to fold them neatly, so I just threw them on the ground. After changing into my costume, I just crumpled my clothes and bag into a ball and threw them aside before running back as fast as I could.

"Props team, is the welding of the iron barrel finished? Quickly double-check it. Pyrotechnicians, go to set two and lay the mines. Complete the double-check before 2 PM. Makeup team, hurry up, we have ten minutes left before the shot. Camera team, check the tracks and jib arms and get back to us."

"The makeup team will need another five minutes. The extras will be dressed and ready."

"The camera track has been checked, the jib arm is working properly, the four cameras have been set up, the camera inside the metal barrel has been set up, and all equipment is functioning normally."

"The props team has completed their review; everything is normal."

The walkie-talkie answered Guo Mingde's questions methodically. Lu Ze was amazed by this efficiency. It was the first time he had encountered such a decisive and efficient film crew. Basically, they would start filming as soon as the director arrived. Apart from filming issues, the director didn't need to worry about anything else. They were really amazing.

"Chen Zhijun, you lead everyone in rehearsing the scene. You have fifteen minutes to finish and give us your feedback."

The actor playing Long Wenzhang quickly led the main actors, supporting actors, and extras to hurriedly rehearse their lines. Lu Ze had been preparing for this scene for a long time, so there shouldn't be any problems.

"Director Guo, we've finished rehearsing the lines, let's go in."

After everyone was in position, Guo Mingde used the walkie-talkie to signal the starter to clap the clapperboard, officially commencing Lu Ze's first scene. "My Chief and My Regiment, Hengdian, Scene 17, Act 1, Begin!"

A gentle breeze began to stir on set. Yu Xiaoqing, Deputy Division Commander Tang, and Long Wenzhang stood on high ground, watching the soldiers lined up in two rows. Lu Ze, who played Zhang Lixian, stood behind Meng Fanle and Bu La, listening to the two begin their first lines.

Why should we associate with these bastards?

A roster flew over and hit Meng Fanle's helmet. It was probably thrown with too much force, as it flew past Lu Ze's face and then fell to the ground. Meng Fanle then limped over and took the roster back.

Guo Mingde stroked the stubble on his chin with satisfaction. He had thrown the book a little too hard, and it almost hit Lu Ze's face. Even so, Lu Ze remained completely still, only blinking once. This composure saved the scene; otherwise, they would have had to stop and reshoot.

Next came the conversation between Yu Xiaoqing and Deputy Division Commander Tang, followed by He Shuguang smashing his zither just to join the ranks.

The camera quickly switched to the faces of each main character and supporting character. Guo Mingde was very satisfied with everyone's facial expressions, especially the sudden kick Lu Ze gave He Shuguang in the group, which startled He Shuguang and made him cry out softly involuntarily. This was a small highlight.

Throughout this scene, Lu Ze didn't have a single line; he was only shown a few shots. The scene ended after Yu Xiaoqing and Long Wenzhang finished their conversation.

After a five-minute break, filming resumed. This time, Lu Ze faced the most difficult scene in the entire film: crawling through the iron barrel tunnel.

The second act begins with Long Wenzhang assigning the number of people to crawl through the iron barrels, and it is from here that Lu Ze begins his first line of dialogue.

First came a cold snort, his face full of disdain as he glanced sideways at the sky. This was when Zheng Yi, the actor playing Meng Fanle, delivered a superb performance, carrying a gun as if he had been provoked.

"I'll be the first one."

Such a provoked performance would be very difficult for an ordinary actor to achieve without any artificiality, but he did it. Subsequently, Long Wenzhang asked Lu Ze to do the second one.

Lu Ze delivered his first line.

"There are no battalion commanders here, only a suicide squad that doesn't distinguish between big and small."

He stretched his neck out a little, and the mockery and disdain on his face were never concealed.

After everyone was settled, they officially began climbing the long, welded iron barrel that was buried in the ground. Meng Fan was the first to climb in, followed closely by Lu Ze.

When he first climbed in, nothing seemed amiss, but after just three or four steps, a sense of dread surged up and instantly pierced Lu Ze's heart.

There was only an iron barrel, completely dark inside, and it was only enough to crawl forward. You couldn't even turn your head. Your breathing became louder inside the barrel, and you immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Even if there were people in front of you or behind you, it wouldn't work.

This has nothing to do with claustrophobia, but is a fear that everyone has. If Lu Ze really had that kind of illness, he would probably have fainted by now. But he didn't expect that Zheng Yi seemed to have it!
"go!"

"Don't poke me!"

The scream sounded like a pig being slaughtered, startling Lu Ze. He almost blurted out an apology, but thankfully he immediately realized that he was acting. Lu Ze could only grit his teeth and continue crawling forward.

"."

I'm late, I'm late! I'm having writer's block. I'll start writing and posting one chapter at a time now.

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(End of this chapter)