Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 25 Industry Practices
There is a classic saying in the film and television industry: "Become famous as early as possible." The earlier you become famous, the earlier you can occupy a track and reap a wave of dividends.

Therefore, most students in film and television schools often try to run around and attend dinner parties while they are in school, just to get a chance to appear on camera and have a better hope of becoming famous.

Institutions like the Central Academy of Drama generally do not prevent students from taking on other roles, except for freshmen and sophomores. Some lecturers and majors will even contact major film and television companies to actively provide opportunities for students.

In fact, it is the same as ordinary college students looking for internships, except that students from film and television schools start earlier.

The Central Academy of Drama also has a similar tradition, and as the "Tsinghua and Peking University" of domestic film and television schools, its resources are much better than those of ordinary schools.

For example, every few years, they would cooperate with the Beijing People's Art Theater to form a People's Art Theater class. Some big directors like Zhang Yimou, who like to use newcomers, are also more accustomed to selecting people from top academies like the Central Academy of Drama.

This is also why Meng Bai asked Professor Zou for help.

If he contacted the teachers in the acting department himself, they probably wouldn't bother to watch their little web drama.

"Director Lin, thank you for your help."

Meng Bai looked at the thick stack of resumes on the table and thanked the middle-aged man in front of him.

It must be said that Professor Zou thought highly of Meng Bai, his former student. He had just agreed to Meng Bai's request the day before, but the next day, a man who claimed to be Director Lin called Meng Bai and asked him to come and get the student's resume.

It’s the middle-aged man in front of Meng Bai.

"It's okay. Professor Zou and I have been friends for many years, and he is also my senior. You are his student, and you are also my junior. It's okay for you to help a little." Director Lin said calmly. Although the words were polite, there was no intimacy in his tone.

Meng Bai didn't take it seriously. He raised his hand and swept it across the table, leaving an envelope unnoticed on the table.

Director Lin looked at the envelope with a flickering look in his eyes, picked it up and squeezed it in his hand, then looked at Meng Bai: "You are..."

"I know you are enthusiastic, but there are rules in the industry. I can't let you help me for free." Meng Bai said in a "it should be so" tone: "Besides, this is my first play, I want everyone to share in the good fortune, and also ask for good luck from you."

Teachers of film and television majors are keen to recommend students to film crews. Of course, it is not entirely out of "deep affection between teachers and students", but more because after the crew selects the actors, they will give the "middlemen" a part of the thank-you fee.

Although this fee is often not much, on the one hand, there are a lot of people, and on the other hand, it is also an attitude, a way for the crew to express gratitude and respect to the teacher who introduced the teacher.

Sometimes the latter may even have a stronger meaning - for these "highly educated groups", money may not be as important as "face".

In fact, this is also one of the reasons why Director Lin is distant towards Meng Bai. Although Professor Zou is indeed his predecessor, he is not his direct teacher after all. He feels somewhat uncomfortable in arranging him to help.

But after Meng Bai said this, Director Lin's resistance immediately softened.

He just felt the thickness of the envelope and knew that it was indeed at the average level in the industry. This meant that the young man knew the rules and was not deliberately using Professor Zou to pressure him, which made him feel much more comfortable.

"It's normal to be a little nervous in your first play, but Professor Zou is so optimistic about you, which shows that he has confidence in you. Where there is a will, there is a way. Young people just need to feel free and go for it boldly." Director Lin's tone was still calm, but one could clearly feel a lot more intimacy in his tone.

"Yes, thank you for your encouragement, senior brother." Meng Bai nodded in response.

Director Lin picked up the documents on the table again, flipped through them a few times, and divided all the resumes into two parts. He then patted the thinner part of the pile and said, "Among these resumes, some are still in school, and some have just graduated. They are basically those whose professional teachers think have good performance or are relatively talented. You can take a look at them."

Meng Bai's eyes lit up.

The students who can be recommended are already a relatively outstanding group. Director Lin will screen them again, which is equivalent to selecting the best from the best. The efficiency of selection will undoubtedly be much faster.

Humph, as expected, I guessed that this old guy had a trick up his sleeve.

"Thank you, senior. This is really a great help." Meng Bai did not hesitate to express his gratitude and showed the director of the acting department what it meant to be "grateful beyond words."

Director Lin was probably a little overwhelmed by Meng Bai's "sincere" thanks. After thinking for a while, he continued, "Go back and see what you need. Send me the list later and I'll help you contact them, so you don't have to run back and forth."

Okay, this envelope was not sent in vain today!
Meng Bai thanked him while secretly saying in his heart.

Whether it was for Professor Zou's face or for "industry practices", with Director Lin's help, Meng Bai really saved a lot of energy.

There is no other way. Although Liu Zhi has helped with many trivial matters, most of the decisions still have to be made by him as the "producer" and "chief screenwriter."

During this period, Meng Bai supervised the renovation of the set during the day and interviewed technical staff of the crew; at night he discussed the script with Wu Bai and the order of shooting shots to ensure the construction schedule.

If the set had not been renovated yet, he would have wanted to live on the set.

Meng Bai also knew that his working mode was not quite right, but this was his first time doing this job, and he really had to figure out a lot of things.

Now Meng Bai is both thankful and conflicted about the fact that "Pendulum" is a low-cost project. Fortunately, it is a small project and he can still support it;

The dilemma is that if this wasn't a small project, he could justifiably quit and find a proper producer.

Thanks to God, nothing has happened during this period and all the preparations of the crew are going smoothly.

The only possible problem is that Meng Bai was exhausted.

"Wow--"

In the basically completed set, Li Qin looked at Meng Bai in surprise and exclaimed, "It's only been a short time, how come you've lost so much weight!"

"Thin? Really?"

Meng Bai looked at himself. He didn't know whether it was because he exercised a lot every day or because he did a lot of work while decorating the set, but he felt that he had become a lot stronger recently.

Not only has the frivolous state caused by writing manuscripts every day disappeared, but even the abdominal muscles that gradually disappeared after graduation have now returned.

So rather than saying he is thin, it is better to say he is more solid. His current state is in line with the "male god standard" that has been popular online recently - thin when dressed, and muscular when undressed.

Of course, the most important thing is a good-looking face.

"Tsk tsk! Not bad."

Li Qin stretched out her fingers and carefully touched the muscles on Meng Bai's forearm, and then couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Girl, I understand how you feel right now, but please restrain yourself for a moment."

"Tsk, as if someone really likes to watch it."

"Wipe your saliva first."

"Ah? Really? Jia Jia, give me a tissue... You bad guy! How could I be drooling!"

Li Qin glared at Meng Bai angrily, she was almost deceived by this bad guy.

Meng Bai showed a triumphant smile, looked at a young girl next to Li Qin and asked, "Who is this?"

"Jia Jia, my assistant." Li Qin pulled the girl to her side and introduced her.

"Hello, Producer Meng, I'm Sister Qinqin's assistant. I'll have to trouble you again during the filming." Jia Jia had obviously asked about Meng Bai's identity before, and when she heard that she was mentioned, she hurried forward to say hello.

"It's okay, you're welcome."

Meng Bai took a look at Jia Jia, well, a very ordinary girl.

There's no way. Compared with Li Qin, this girl is really not that eye-catching.

Retracting his gaze, Meng Bai winked at Li Qin.

Meng Bai: Does this girl know about our affairs?

Li Qin: I don’t know. I haven’t told anyone about this.

Meng Bai: Then can she be trusted? If we discuss profit sharing in the future, do we need to send her away?

Li Qin: It doesn’t matter. She was hired by me and has nothing to do with the company. I can still trust her.

Meng Bai: Okay, he is your man anyway, just be sure of yourself.

After the eye contact, Li Qin asked, "By the way, what is the matter that you called me here today?"

"Two things. One is that I contacted the makeup artist to try out the character's look today to see if it fits the character." Meng Bai said, "Also, there are two male lead auditions today. If you're interested, you can come and take a look."

　The first round of recommendations will be released tomorrow. I heard that the PK system of Dian Niang is much more cruel than it was back then, so Baomu shamelessly asks all readers to vote and read more, and let's go through the first and second rounds together. (Love you guys~
　　

(End of this chapter)