Global Film Emperor

Chapter 9 Filming on Set
"The first phase of the course has ended. The score is 84, which is passing. The host has been hit too many times. The course is suspended. Please rest."

"call"

Lu Ze sat up abruptly in bed, his face drenched in sweat once more. He rubbed his face hard, then shakily lit a cigarette from the pillow.

He took a deep drag and exhaled the smoke. His back still seemed to ache slightly. This was the most he had ever been whipped. He couldn't remember exactly how many times he had been whipped, but he was convinced that if the whip had actually struck his body, it would have turned him into a pulp.

He read through all the scripts in the space; he couldn't remember exactly how many there were. He just sat at his desk reading them. Once he finished reading them all, he systematically organized and put away the ones he had read, then picked up the new ones and started reading.

Before he had written about three thousand scripts, he would be whipped six or seven times almost every time before he was considered to have passed. But after three thousand scripts, a qualitative change occurred. He felt that he had become a screenwriter, that all the scripts in the space were written by him, and that he could understand them all.

Apart from those brilliant scripts that made Lu Ze applaud even after reading just one line of dialogue, or those that contained profound meaning, other easy-to-understand or even bad scripts could no longer stop him.

The cigarette went out, and Lu Ze glanced at the time. It was a little past three in the morning, which meant he had slept for nearly thirteen hours. This was the longest he had ever taken a course, even though he had only taken three courses.

He can't sleep anymore because he has to start work at 5:30. The system is letting him rest now, and if he sleeps any longer, he won't be able to attend the classes, and he might even oversleep, which would be a disaster.

After stretching his arms and legs, Lu Ze picked up his teacup and took a sip of the tea leaves he had brewed last night. Although they were cold, they were still refreshing, so he decided to drink them as a cold tea.

I went to the kitchen to wash up, then cooked a packet of instant noodles. I glanced at the time and it was only 3:50, so I went back to the kang (heated brick bed), turned on the TV, put the disc in the DVD player, and started watching a TV series.

This TV series was the first script that Lu Ze obtained in the system space and acted out.

Based on his memory, he found the episode where Lu Ze had watched the dialogue. Lu Ze stared wide-eyed and carefully looked at the dialogue between the male and female leads. It was exactly the same as he remembered. The male lead roared, his nostrils pointing at the audience in front of the TV, and then roared at the female lead with veins bulging on his face.

Upon closer observation, Lu Ze did indeed sense something amiss, because the female protagonist's words were rather bland, which didn't quite make sense. Normally, if someone yells at you, unless they are your parents, it's unlikely that someone your age would remain so calm, even if the other person is right.

After silently watching an episode, Lu Ze packed his things, got up and went out. He waited at the entrance of the film studio at five o'clock, waiting for the crew's assistant to lead him in.

Ten minutes later, the other extras who were with the crew also arrived. They had already met yesterday, and Lu Ze blended in with them. Then, ten minutes later, the production crew came to work, yawning, and took them in with them.

"Be careful not to touch that box! I'm talking to that tall guy of yours!"

"Don't worry! I guarantee there won't be any problems!"

Hearing the crew member's shout, Lu Ze hugged the box tightly and responded, then placed the box properly on set.

After moving things back and forth for about half an hour, they finally finished moving everything. As a result, all the extras, including Lu Ze, were exhausted and covered in sweat.

Several extras, following the production assistant's instructions, brought over several cases of bottled water for everyone to drink. They then sat down and chatted while waiting for the lead actors and director to arrive.

Filming officially started at 7:30 in the morning. It was said that the lead actors got stuck in traffic during the morning rush hour. Nobody believed it, but nobody bothered to investigate. After all, it was already good enough that they arrived early.

In this world, it's no longer a time when the director has complete control.

Being an extra in a film crew is different from being an extra waiting for work outside. You get to show your face much more often. Lu Ze was in his first scene, but he doesn't have any lines yet. He plays the bodyguard of the lead actor.

He changed into a clean, khaki military uniform, with a bullet belt around his waist, a rifle on his back, and a helmet. He stood next to the lead actor with a stern face, simply looking at the person talking to the lead actor.

Lu Ze has made no mistakes so far. He also learned about supporting character positioning in the positioning course, so his positioning did not overshadow the main character, nor did he disappear from the camera and become an invisible person.

In contrast, the other guard was less impressive. In one scene, he blocked the lead actor's face for a second and was immediately berated by the director. The lead actor also gave him a cold shoulder, leaving him with a long face that he never changed except during the scene.

At noon, the boxed lunches were delivered. Lu Ze received his lunch, opened it, and was fairly satisfied. It contained one meat dish and two vegetable dishes; the food was quite good and worth about ten yuan. "Lu Ze, right?"

"Hey bro, it's me."

Just as Lu Ze picked up a piece of shredded potato and put it in his mouth, a production assistant came over, patted Lu Ze on the back, and then sat down opposite Lu Ze, also eating a few bites of his boxed lunch.

"Let me tell you about the scene. You have two lines later, so memorize them. You'll be listening to Commander Zhao's conversation with the main character. When Commander Zhao says, 'Commander Wu, don't waste your time. I'm powerless,' you point your gun at the person opposite him and say, 'How dare you speak like that!' Make sure your voice is clear and you shout it out. Then you hold the gun without making a sound. When Commander Wu tells you to put the gun away, show a little reluctance, then put the gun away and say 'Yes, sir!' That's it. Got it?"

Lu Ze swallowed the shredded potatoes in his mouth with great effort, his eyes almost sparkling. He patted his chest and assured him, "No problem! Don't worry, brother! I've got it."

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Remember that, or I won't tell you if you ask me again."

After finishing his meal, the production crew member patted his bottom and prepared to get up. Another guard asked somewhat reluctantly, "Brother, what about me?"

"You? Go play with your eggs!"

An extra who's been singled out by the director expects others to be nice to him? That seems a bit naive. After being teased by the production assistant, the extra kept his head down and didn't say anything. Lu Ze didn't want to chime in, lest the extra be accused of being fakely kind.

Half an hour after the meal, the scene officially began to be filmed. After the clapperboard was set off, the protagonist led Lu Ze and another guard into the frame with an imposing air.

For a while afterward, Lu Ze listened to Commander Wu and Commander Zhao outwitting each other, until Commander Zhao snorted and said, "Commander Wu, don't waste your time. I'm powerless to help you!"

"It's my turn!"

Lu Ze was startled, then took a step forward, pointed his gun at Commander Zhao's head, and shouted, "How dare you speak like that!"

In this scene, Lu Ze often holds his breath until his face turns slightly red, then exhales, inhales, and holds it again, waiting for that line.

The director saw that Lu Ze's face was a little red, and then he glared at Commander Zhao through gritted teeth. He nodded in satisfaction, the effect was better than expected.

"Could it be that Commander Wu disciplines his subordinates in this way?"

"Bean! Put the gun away! You're not saving face for me, you're making me lose face!"

The protagonist's hand pressed down on Lu Ze's gun, which finally made Lu Ze exhale. Then, he stared intently at Commander Zhao as he hesitated to put the gun away.

"Is this the end?"

Lu Ze thought to himself, he wasn't nervous or trembling because of the camera, but rather felt a little unsatisfied, he hadn't said enough.

After this scene was filmed, the main characters' scenes for the day were also finished, much faster than the director had expected. After giving the lead actor a word of encouragement, the director announced that Lu Ze and the other guard could clock out and leave work.

With the 350 yuan given to him by the logistics department, Lu Ze smugly used it as a fan to cool himself before swaggering out of the film studio.

No other work today! Going home! Time for tutoring!

"."

(End of this chapter)