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

Chapter 317 Soul Ferry: Huangquan
As a fantasy film, "Soul Ferry: Huangquan" has almost no real-life shots.

The Yellow Springs, the boundless Wangchuan River, the Naihe Bridge connecting life and death, the ancient and deep Mengpo Village...

All these scenes have to be completed through post-production special effects.

Therefore, Meng Bai was familiar with the place and decided to set the filming location as Oriental Movie Metropolis in Blue Island.

When this place was first built, it was for special effects blockbusters. It has all kinds of scenes, equipment and teams, which can save the crew a lot of energy.

Moreover, Sunac has just taken over and is offering various preferential policies to film crews that come here to shoot, which greatly reduces production costs.

Of course, the most important thing is that this place is very close to the crew of "The Wandering Earth", making it convenient for him to run back and forth.

"Brother Yi."

In the studio, Meng Bai looked at Yu Yi, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, and said with a smile: "Finally, we are working together again."

Different from the wild and cool Zhao Li in the drama, Yu Yi's personality in real life is almost completely opposite and he is much more stable.

Even so, after hearing Meng Bai's words, a reminiscent smile appeared on his face: "Yeah, I didn't expect that after more than two years, the 'Pendulum' series would still have a new story."

When the setting collection of "Soul Ferry" was released, Meng Bai once said that there might be new stories in the sequel.

However, as Arc Light's projects increased in number and the censorship environment became increasingly strict, many people, including Yu Yi, thought that it would be difficult for this series to produce new content.

But I didn't expect that Meng Bai had remembered it all along. Even after such a long time, even though it changed from a web drama to a web movie, even though it was just a prequel, it was finally made.

"We have promised the audience and fans, so we must keep our promises." Meng Bai said: "Thanks to you, Brother Yi, this IP will not be forgotten."

In recent years, in addition to the normal film and television projects that Yu Yi has taken on as an actor, he has also been working on the stage play of the same name "Soul Ferry", allowing this IP to always maintain a certain vitality and popularity.

"I don't have that ability." Yu Yi smiled bitterly, "What impressed the audience the most were the classic scenes in the original web series. We are just re-enacting them."

In order to keep the audience's sense of freshness, the stage play has recruited a number of screenwriters and added many new plots.

Compared with the increasingly stringent censorship online, the standards for offline performances are much more relaxed. Therefore, these new plots are much larger in scale and expression than the original web dramas.

It is also for this reason that the quality of the newly added plots is good and has received support from many offline audiences.

But despite this, none of them can compare with the original "God-enshrined" units such as "Old Things", "Chi Ling" and "Vega".

So when Yu Yi received the new script sent by Meng Bai, he was very excited.

By completing the background setting of the prequel, the series will have more room for expansion, and they can also realize more ideas about the plot.

“It’s a pity that Ruoyun, Xiaoli and the others are not in the prequel story.” Yu Yi sighed.

Hearing this, Meng Bai couldn't help but recall the scene at that time.

However, the current occasion was not suitable for reminiscing about the past. Meng Bai and Yu Yi chatted for a few words and then separated, and then found the director.

The director of the web drama version of "Soul Ferry" is Wu Bai, but he will be busy with "Psychological Crime: City Lights" next and has no time to direct.

Arc Light discussed some candidates and finally selected director Bo Shan.

This guy is from Guo Jingyu's team and has directed many classic TV series before.

Films like "The Miracle Doctor Xilaile", "The Prequel to Detective Di Renjie", "Brave Heart", etc. are directed by an excellent director who has been in the industry for more than ten years.

Meng Bai had come into contact with Guo Jingyu during the previous investment promotion meeting for new films of Qiyi TV, and it was just right that he helped introduce Guo Jingyu to be the chief director of Soul Ferry: Huangquan.

When Meng Bai met Bai Shan, the latter was watching the footage that had just been shot.

This project started two days ago and entered the formal shooting stage.

It's just that Meng Bai was delayed by some company matters and was unable to attend the opening ceremony.

But then again, with more and more projects produced by Arc Light, it is unrealistic to expect Meng Bai to pay equal attention to each one of them.

Generally speaking, he would only personally take charge of big productions like "Day and Night Chase" or "Detective Chinatown 3".

The rest was basically handed over to the increasingly mature Liu Zhi and other members of Hu Guang.

The same goes for "Soul Ferry: Huangquan". As a "web movie" with an investment of only 20 million, if this IP was not the starting work of Arc Light, Meng Bai might not have come.

After chatting with Bai Shan about filming and plot issues, Meng Bai casually asked if the crew had any difficulties.

"The filming is going smoothly here." Bai Shan said.

After thinking for a while, he mentioned another thing: "If you want to talk about difficulties, the special effects company has not found a suitable one. I may need to trouble you, Mr. Meng, to help me think of a solution."

"That's easy." Meng Bai said without hesitation.

Other problems are difficult to solve, but when it comes to special effects, since the launch of "The Wandering Earth", it can be said that there are few people in the domestic film and television industry who know more about it than him.

"I'll contact a few teams and ask them to talk to you to see which one is suitable."

"that would be great."

After chatting for a few more sentences, seeing that the other party was still busy, Meng Bai did not disturb him any further.

……

"Brother!"

A crisp voice with a hint of surprise sounded behind him. Meng Bai turned around and saw a pretty figure jogging towards him.

"Brother, you are here."

Zhu Xudan ran a few steps and stopped in front of him, his eyes full of excitement and joy.

At the previous annual meeting, Meng Bai once said that he would come to the crew when filming this movie.

Zhu Xudan felt lost for a long time because she didn’t see him at the opening ceremony a few days ago.

I didn't expect to see it today.

"Blessings."

Meng Bai greeted this "cheap junior sister" with a smile, and then took a look at her attire.

She was wearing a grey coarse linen shirt, her long hair was tied into a bun on top of her head, and there was a silly bandage on her forehead.

Anyone who sees this makeup will think that she is just a simple girl from a farm family, and has nothing to do with the legendary Meng Po.

But that's the effect this character needs.

In the early days, "Sanqi" lacked a soul, which made her mentally retarded. In addition, she had been in the underworld since she was a child and had never seen the world, so she designed this "village flower" look.

Don’t think that this outfit is cheap just because it looks simple.

For props and costumes in the film and television industry, this kind of artificial aging is actually more expensive than new ones.

It seems that many viewers feel that the quality of current costume dramas is not as good as that of old dramas. The reason is simple: the investment is not enough, the crew is reluctant to spend money, and the characters wear and use all new things.

The texture that naturally appears is very different.

"Soul Ferry: Huangquan" is a fantasy theme, but it does not mean that you can just fool around with it.

On the contrary, the more imaginary the story is, the more it needs such details to make the audience feel it is "real".

Seeing her senior brother looking at her, Zhu Xudan pinched her skirt slightly and shook her body.

"Brother, how is it?"

"Not bad." Meng Bai nodded, "It fits the role very well." Zhu Xudan was delighted at first when he heard his compliment, but then he realized that he was only talking about the role, and couldn't help but pouting.

But she quickly put this little emotion behind her and happily offered to be Meng Bai's guide and take him around the crew.

Meng Bai had this plan in mind, and since he had nothing else to do, he just let her do it.

Compared to the huge team of nearly 1,000 people in The Wandering Earth, Soul Ferry: Huangquan is obviously a small production. There are not many extras or staff, and it looks very empty.

For such a small crew, the "standard process" summarized by Guo Fan is not very applicable, so it still follows the traditional management model.

This is actually the reason why it is difficult to improve the industrialization of the film and television industry.

There are only a few big productions with hundreds of millions of dollars of investment every year. The rest are mostly small crews like this.

In the traditional model, everyone is experienced and more efficient, so there is naturally no need to consider any improvements.

A long way to go!

Meng Bai sighed in his heart.

With the expansion of the film and television market and the increase in large investments and productions, the traditional "workshop model" will eventually be replaced by modern management.

However, this kind of thing cannot be solved by just a few people or a few projects.

It can only be changed by new generations.

The crew was not big, and the two of them completed the tour quickly.

In the actors' lounge, Meng Bai actually saw Bai Lu.

"Hi boss."

Seeing her big boss, the girl grinned out of habit.

Unlike Zhu Xudan who was dressed in coarse linen clothes, she was now wearing a red and black knight outfit with a cloak tied behind her.

Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail, which made her look very cool.

Meng Bai's eyes lit up. Although this girl looked somewhat similar to Boss Li, her temperament was completely different.

Li Yitong has an obvious sweet style, especially with her crescent-shaped smiling eyes. Everyone who sees her will call her "sweet girl".

Bai Lu's face shape is tougher and looks very heroic.

Paired with this slim-fitting outfit, she looks like a heroine.

In fact, the character she played, "A Xiang", is of a similar type.

In charge of the guards of the underworld, he possessed a powerful fighting force and was one of the few friends of "Sanqi". In the final battle, he died in order to protect "Sanqi".

For this character, Meng Bai originally wanted to set her as Sun Shangxiang, the princess of Eastern Wu, to be closer to history.

Anyway, strictly speaking, the name "Sun Shangxiang" is just a folk custom, and there is no real historical data to confirm what the name of "Mrs. Sun" was.

Therefore, there is no such thing as "historical nihilism".

However, after discussing with the director for a long time, I felt that this setting was a bit nonsensical and did not help advance the plot, so I eventually gave up on this character background.

Content creators are often like this, and they are always prone to focus on some useless details, which is what the audience often calls "smuggling in personal opinions."

But then again, since it is expressed externally, this kind of "private cargo" is inevitable.

The reason why some are praised and some are criticized is simply because of whether they can fit in with the audience's ideas.

"This is a nice outfit, Xiaobai."

Meng Bai said to her, "It seems that you are quite suitable for heroic roles like 'female warriors'. You can ask your agent to keep an eye on you and look for more resources for such roles."

"Thank you, boss. I'll make a note of it." Bai Lu agreed happily.

As a newcomer, she doesn't have many choices. She usually plays whatever role she can get.

If she said it herself, her agent would definitely not listen to her.

But now it is "President Meng" who has spoken, and that still has a lot of force.

Zhu Xudan looked at Bai Lu on the side. Although they were from the same company, they had little in common with each other, so this was the first time they cooperated on a project.

She had also noticed Meng Bai's fleeting glance from the side just now, and then she saw the other party's familiar attitude with her senior brother, and many thoughts surged in her heart.

Fortunately, the senior brother only chatted with the other party for a few words and didn’t say too much.

But before leaving, she still looked at the other person deeply.

After watching Meng Bai and Zhu Xudan leave, Bai Lu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After closing the door of the lounge, she slumped in the chair as usual.

"Wow, Xiaobai, you really didn't lie to me."

He Handan, who had been standing next to him, said, "You are a really handsome boss!"

Since she was invited to the last meeting in Beijing, she quit her job after returning. Then she joined the Bailu team and became a publicity agent and assistant.

Bai Lu grinned: "Didn't I show you the photos last time? Why don't you believe it?"

"Aren't photos still a lot worse than real people?"

"Why, do you like it? Let me introduce it to you."

"Come on, even though my other abilities aren't strong, I still have a lot of self-knowledge."

He Handan sighed.

Not to mention the other person's identity, just based on his looks, he will definitely have no shortage of girls chasing after him.

My appearance is just average among ordinary people, let alone in the film and television industry where appearance is not valuable.

If I changed my best friend's face, maybe I could give it a try.

But then, she glanced at Bai Lu, who was slumped in the chair, and couldn't help feeling "disappointed with someone for not being able to live up to his expectations."

"I'm not saying anything, Xiaobai. Look at that girl's attitude, and then look at you. You deserve to not be popular."

Bai Lu said nonchalantly, "You mean Sister Zhuzhu? She is Mr. Meng's junior sister. We have been friends for many years. How can I compare with her?"

“It’s a question of whether to compare or not.”

He Handan said, "Letting you take the initiative doesn't mean you have to have a very good relationship with him. The key is to make yourself familiar to him. That way, if the boss has any good opportunities in the future, he will think of you first."

"Is this your 'working man's wisdom' again?"

"Don't worry about what it is, just tell me if it makes sense."

"It seems to make some sense." Bai Lu sat up straight.

"So, your boss just happens to be staying on the set for a while, so why not take this opportunity to show up in front of him more often."

He Handan clenched his fist and said firmly: "Remember, our goal is to make ourselves familiar to you."

(End of this chapter)