Global Film Emperor

Chapter 450 Training
Because the trainees all had to work during the day, the class was scheduled for 3:30 pm. Of course, it was normal for them to be late because the film crew wouldn't let them go. However, they shouldn't expect to pass their first class.

With Wang Zixuan around, Lu Ze didn't need to tidy up the lectern. She took the initiative to clean it, erasing the blackboard spotless, leaving not a trace of chalk dust. She then opened a new box of chalk and placed it in the upper right corner of the lectern. Finally, she ran out to buy Lu Ze a bottle of jasmine honey tea and some lozenges. Her posture, height, and appearance made her look just like a primary school student on duty.

At 2:40 p.m., the first student arrived. She was a girl and came alone. She seemed to have heard the noise in the classroom, so she knocked on the door. After hearing a response from inside, she pushed the door open and came in.

The moment she saw the person in front of her, she felt dizzy and her blood pressure spiked. She lost her balance and leaned against the door frame, sliding down nearly 30 centimeters before finally managing to steady herself by bracing her feet against the door frame.

"Hello, Teacher Lu... Teacher Lu...!"

Suddenly, she bowed sharply at a 90-degree angle, and her backpack hit her head directly. The movement was so big that it startled Lu Ze, who thought she was about to perform some talent, like a somersault.

"Okay, find a place to sit down."

"Thank you, Teacher Lu!"

The girl wasn't very tall, but she had a loud voice. She thanked Lu Ze with great enthusiasm, then quickly chose her seat—the first row, of course.

Perhaps she felt a slight sense of awe towards Lu Ze, because after sitting down, she didn't speak to him again. After opening her bag and arranging her notes and water bottle neatly, she didn't even dare to look at Lu Ze, and just kept looking down at her phone, probably posting her thoughts on some social media.

Soon, the second wave of students entered. Although they weren't as exaggerated as the first girl, they were still so shocked when they saw Lu Ze that they couldn't even speak. They just stood there dumbfounded, staring at Lu Ze, until Lu Ze directed them to take their seats. Only then did they walk to their chosen seats like robots that had been submerged in water and short-circuited.

Then came the third and fourth waves, some coming alone, some in groups, but without exception, they were all dumbfounded when they saw Lu Ze.

Wang Zixuan filmed their expressions and actions with a handheld DV camera. Seeing that the trainees all looked like this, she nodded thoughtfully. She hadn't understood what Lu Ze meant to the extras before, but now she had a clear understanding. Lu Ze was undoubtedly a legend, even a faith, for the extras. It was not strange to have such expressions when they were in close contact with the person they admired so much. It was completely understandable.

At 3:25, everyone arrived. Some trainees still had beads of sweat on their foreheads, probably having run straight from the film set. Lu Ze or Shang Gong? To hell with Shang Gong! Does seeing your idol matter?
At this moment, everyone is a fan. Before, everyone thought that the free training courses were useless and that some leader just wanted to open a class to gain some seniority or even to siphon off some funds. But now, Lu Ze's appearance has overturned all their contempt for the training courses.

This is getting serious.

Their initial intention to kill time was put aside, and everyone took out their notes, looking like they were listening attentively. This was probably the most attentive class they had ever attended.

"Let me call out names first. Students who hear their names, please raise your hands."

He called out the names of all the students, and none of them were absent. When they heard Lu Ze call out their names, the students were ecstatic, even more excited than when their girlfriends called them husbands for the first time.

"Students who are taking videos with their phones, please put your phones down and put them on silent. Every lesson will be recorded and uploaded to the training course's website, so you don't need to bother with that. Just listen to the lesson now. You don't need to stand up. This is not a school, and you are not middle school students. You can skip the step of saying hello to the teacher in the future."

"It's great to meet you all today. I'll skip the self-introduction since we all know each other. This is my first time being a teacher, so please bear with me. My classroom rules are the same as in school. As long as you listen attentively, that's fine. Alright, enough chit-chat, let's get started. First, I'd like to ask you a question: What do you think an extra is, and what is the job of an extra?"

He took off his coat, rolled up his long sleeves, took a piece of white chalk from the chalk box, and habitually held it between his fingers like he was holding a cigarette. Instead of writing the question on the blackboard, he pointed to the first girl who had arrived and quietly waited for her answer.

"Increase the number of people in the background... to act as a backdrop."

She hesitated for a long time before finally speaking her mind. Her answer was actually very close to what Lu Ze wanted, but it was still a little lacking, which made Lu Ze not very satisfied. He was still hoping that she could continue to add to it, but seeing that her legs were trembling, he could only ask her to sit down first.

He called a few more people, and their answers were similar to those of the first girl, or even more narrowly defined. Some of the more clever ones even looked up the definition of extras on a search engine, but that generalized definition wasn't the answer Lu Ze wanted.

He glanced around, leaned against the lectern, and lightly touched the seam of his trousers with his fingers, but no one raised their hand. In the end, he had no choice but to give up and write on the blackboard himself.

"Extras are an important element in increasing the vitality of a scene and are a true reflection of the era in which the film is set. Extras, in combination with the era in which the film is set, establish typical ordinary people."

He circled the sentence, emphasized it twice, threw the chalk back into the box, dusted off his hands, and gave up on using the chalk. Only then did he realize that his chalk writing was damn ugly.

"If you can remember this sentence and put it into practice, you can graduate. In this class, we will not focus on theory or practice. What we need to do is to discuss the job functions of an extra."

"First of all, everyone needs to understand that extras are not the main characters in the story. As that female student said, simply put, they are background figures. As background figures, you must downplay your presence. This is related to your positioning, your body coordination, and your facial expressions. This statement holds true when there are no lines." "Don't show off. I don't need to repeat this, right? Everyone has been on set for so long, you should all know this. But not showing off doesn't mean we don't have to think about anything. Before starting work, you must have a certain understanding of the environment and the characters' identities. It doesn't have to be very detailed, but you need to simulate them."

Although it was his first time teaching, Lu Ze controlled the rhythm of his speech very well. This stemmed from his mastery of the lines. He slowed down his speech, spoke very clearly, varied his tone, emphasized the key points, and then verbally conveyed them to the students, giving them ample time to take notes. This is very important, and it is clear that Lu Ze did a great job.

In this class, there were no argumentative students or troublemakers who tried to give Lu Ze difficult questions, because everyone knew perfectly well that they didn't think their little bit of common sense could stump Lu Ze. The amount of knowledge Lu Ze possessed was far greater than the amount of spittle they spewed out. Trying to make things difficult for Lu Ze? Impossible.

Gradually, everyone was drawn to Lu Ze's theory and began to recognize the role of extras that Lu Ze described.

They don't want to be stars because that dream was killed long ago. All they want is to be good extras and earn a decent income.

This is also the fundamental purpose of the Electric Film Association in establishing the extras training class. What they want to cultivate is not passionate young people with dreams of becoming stars, but down-to-earth people who only want to be extras. This is not to stifle ideals, but to help them beautify reality.

"For example, if I were a refugee during wartime, and a soldier stopped me to ask about my situation, how should I act? Should I timidly go over and put my hand in the sleeve of my other hand? Should I bow and scrape to the soldier in response? If you do that, you will become an anomaly in this scene. When the audience's eyes are on you, your abrupt movement will cause a disconnect from the rhythm, and may even make the audience laugh. You should all remember the shepherd in 'Bright Sword' who was captured by the Sakata Regiment, right? He is a good example. He did it this way, which made the scene loose and relieved the tension."

"At this point, whether you put your hands behind your back or place them on your stomach with your fingers interlaced, it's more appropriate than putting your hands in your sleeves. Remember, blending into the environment and the storyline is the best way to downplay yourself, and that's what directors love most. As long as you can do this without affecting the rhythm, your salary will definitely increase."

He didn't want to teach the trainees how to optimize their body movements, let alone control their facial expressions, or even their lines, because it was too early to talk about those things. Secondly, the soul of an extra lies in how to minimize their presence, not affect the overall style, and not become an oddity in the set.

Furthermore, Lu Ze would also make the same gestures as he used in his speech during the narration, in order to prove the correctness of his theory.

The trainees present were all experts, and this kind of knowledge was especially important to them. They themselves were well aware of this, and soon their handwriting filled one page, and even the second and third pages.

At the same time, Lu Ze will also select a few students to answer the questions he raises, namely, how they should choose their actions in a certain setting, given that they only have three lines. The question is very simple, and as long as they think about it carefully, no one will be unable to answer it. After all, there are many different answers, as long as they match the setting.

This was a very easy and enjoyable lesson, so much so that the students gradually forgot the passage of time, until Lu Ze glanced at his watch and announced the end of the first lesson.

"Teacher Lu, please teach us some more."

Learning from their idol might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them, so they wanted to seize it. Unfortunately, Lu Ze only had so many lesson plans prepared, and he had just one and a half hours to finish them all. He could only apologize to the students.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I really didn't prepare that many lesson plans. Also, I'm from Hengdian myself, so I have some good friends there. It's been more than ten years since we last met, so naturally we had to get together. Now that we've set a time, I really can't be late. We'll meet again someday. Everyone, please keep up the good work and the future is bright. Come on, let's take a group photo, Zixuan."

She ran over with her camera and saw Lu Ze move a stool and sit in the middle of the aisle between the desks. These students were all under thirty years old and had a youthful mindset. They didn't sit in their seats anymore. The bolder ones stood behind Lu Ze and gently put their hands on his shoulders.

Everyone huddled together, and except for Lu Ze, the rest of the place was packed. Xiao Wang shouted "Cheese!" and pressed the shutter. The moment was frozen, frozen in time before parting.

After informing everyone to look for the photo on Weibo, everyone stood up to see Lu Ze off. When Lu Ze waved, they all smiled and responded enthusiastically until Lu Ze got into the car.

"Brother Lu, how do we score these results?"

"Make sure you get all the good grades. Finish it tonight and send it to the union tomorrow. Xiao Liu, go to Tingyuexuan in Binjiang."

"..."

I still owe you one extra chapter for each month's votes. You guys didn't stump me, did you? That's it? That's it? That's it?
Tomorrow we'll be moving into the main storyline, and "Exile" will be released the day after. Give me your votes, and I'll speed things up and finish writing it within three days. This isn't a provocation, nor is it meant to provoke you. Okay, this is a provocation, this is a provocation.

Come on, a brand new story.

I really thought I'd messed things up, but now I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

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(End of this chapter)