1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 343 Model
With the addition of Zhai Yuan, "Hiroshima Monster" became a scene where the producer led the director.

Zhai Yuan became interested, and for the next half month or so, he completely deprived Fatty Wang of his right to speak on the set.

"It's also about industrializing the film industry, with everyone doing their job and being more formal."

Wang Jin adjusted the camera and muttered, "Now I'm not even allowed to sit in the director's chair. It's true that I have money to show off."

"Can't you afford it?"

Zhai Yuan suddenly appeared from behind and knocked Fatty Wang on the head.

"Mr. Zhai, do you really have to be so elusive?"

"Hey! This is a gift from God. If anyone says something bad about me behind my back, I promise to be there immediately."

Zhai Yuan said confidently, "Of course there is nothing wrong with industrialization, but I personally give myself the final right to direct, the final right to the script, and the final right to edit. Do you have any objection?"

"No!" Wang Jin said in a flattering manner, "When it comes to creative ideas and camera language, Mr. Zhai is the expert."

This isn't all flattery.

After filming with Zhai Yuan for a few days, Wang Jin discovered that this big boss seemed to have some real skills.

In the same scene where Chen Shilong’s family of four was having dinner, the tone of the film was dark and depressing under his direction.

I was worried that I didn't have a single line and wouldn't be able to show the emotions of the four adults in the play who were missing Xiao Fazi who was kidnapped by the monster.

As a result, at the end of the scene, Zhai Yuan directly let the actor who played Xiao Fazi get up sleepily from behind the dining table and appear in the same frame with four adults.

Chen Shilong, that rough guy, was still complaining, and he thought that the scene arranged by Mr. Zhai was a mistake.

What's more, Xiao Fa had obviously been abducted by the monster, so how could he appear in front of the dining table?

Wang Jin watched the replay of the entire scene on the monitor, and there were only two words in his mind: advanced, too advanced.

The four adults in the picture are covered in dust and dirt, which forms a sharp contrast with Xiao Fazi in her white school uniform. The family of five is happy together, and the truly surreal way of expressing the family's mentality of missing Xiao Fazi is expressed.

As heartwarming as this scene is, the next scene in which Xiao Fazi is thrown into the sewer by a monster in real life is also heartbreaking.

Zhai Yuan has been with the group for more than half a month.

The literary scenes of "Hiroshima Monster" have been almost filmed.

A rather counter-intuitive thing is that when Chen Shilong, the martial arts superstar, was taught the tricks in detail and not allowed to perform freely, his level of literary acting was unusually high.

There is no need to worry too much about the two veteran actors, Paul Chun and Leonard Leung, one old and one young.

So during this period of time, Zhong Chuhong became the one with the worst acting skills.

But it’s not her turn to be at the bottom.

"Master Qi."

In the list of leading actors, Noriko Sakai, who had the worst acting skills in the crew, came to the set. Accompanied by Michiko Nishiwaki, she walked up to Zhai Yuan and greeted him timidly.

With Michiko's training, Xiao Fazi can already communicate with Zhai Yuan in daily language, but long sentences still need translation.

"My dear girl, why are you here so early today?"

Zhai Yuan, who was 21 years old at the time, ruffled the hair of 15-year-old Noriko Sakai, acting like a godfather.

Noriko Sakai thought for a moment, glanced at Michiko, then turned her head and said an idiom to Zhai Yuan in a strange accent: "The early bird catches the worm."

Zhai Yuan and the staff around him all laughed when they heard this.

As the actor who wasted the most film in the entire crew, Xiao Fazi is indeed quite stupid.

He debuted as an idol singer, but his acting experience was almost the same as having no experience at all when he arrived on the movie set. He either couldn't find the camera properly, or he would glance at the camera from time to time and was out of character.

But she has a pleasing appearance and is Boss Zhai's newly adopted daughter. Everyone in the crew treats her as a mascot, so it's no big deal if she delays the filming progress.

"Fazi-chan~"

Zhong Chuhong was originally basking in the sun on the beach, wearing a pair of sunglasses and enjoying life. When she saw Noriko Sakai appear on the set from a distance, she immediately came up to her with a smile.

Seeing the maternal glow on her face, Zhai Yuan felt that Zhong Chuhong might really want a baby.

"Method, call someone!"

"Don't shout..."

"Godmother."

Noriko Sakai ignored Zhong Chuhong's obstruction, bowed slightly to her, and greeted her obediently.

"Such a lovely girl was corrupted by you."

Zhong Chuhong punched Zhai Yuan in the chest and said in dissatisfaction: "You are so young, learning to be a foster father. Who do you think you are? You are sixty years old and marrying a twenty-year-old girl!"

Chen Shilong, who was walking towards him, froze his smile on his face instantly. He took a deep breath and said, "Let me clarify. Whether it's Mei Yanfang or Luo Meiwei, they were all accepted by my godmother. My godfather is a gentleman. Don't compare him with Zhai Yuan..."

"I'm sorry, Brother Long, that's not what I meant."

"Nephew, what did you mean by your last sentence?"

Zhai Yuan and Zhong Chuhong looked at Chen Shilong and spoke at the same time.

…………

The literary scenes of "Hiroshima Monster" have been almost finished, and now it's finally time for the most difficult special effects part.

The actors move first.

Zhai Yuan and Wang Jin photographed real outdoor scenes.

Special effects director Xu Qi worked overtime to build a green screen studio in preparation for the subsequent post-production synthesis of shooting materials.

Special effects production does not rely entirely on studio shooting, but rather adopts a combination of studio shooting and location shooting.

Finally, the CGI monster is combined with the actual environment through green screen cutout and post-production synthesis.

"This is the monster model made by the prop master in Hong Kong based on our drawings."

In the studio.

Xu Qi and the staff carefully moved out the props that had just been airlifted in.

There were five tightly sealed boxes in total. When opened, they contained five monster models, some big and some small.

The largest one is an almost one-to-one replica of the movie plot and is specifically used for shooting close-up scenes.

The remaining several scaled-down versions are made at a one-third or even smaller scale. When long shots and dynamic scenes are required, the scaled-down models can provide better visual effects.

The monster illustrations are still from Xu Qi's hand.

According to Zhai Yuan's request, Lao Xu and his illustrators designed several different images.

Considering that the more complex the model, the more difficult it is to produce special effects, all versions of the monsters basically follow the direction of smooth surface and overall coherence, without fancy tentacles and dorsal fins. Zhai Yuan finally chose a solution that resembles a combination of a salamander and a dinosaur.

These are the five lifelike monsters in front of us.

“The four monsters in the distance shot are made of rubber and mechanical skeletons, and their limbs and tails can move freely.”

Xu Qi enthusiastically showed the newly arrived figures to Zhai Yuan and the others, then quickly walked to the largest monster. Its body, which was more than a person's height, looked quite intimidating, and seemed to be more realistic than the others.

"For this monster used in the close-up, I specifically asked the prop master to change the material. We imported 30 kilograms of simulated silicone from a pharmaceutical company in West Germany. This material can not only imitate the texture of biological skin, but also produce a certain degree of reflection effect under light. It can also present more pixels in the post-processing of textures."

The head of the salamander-shaped monster is designed to resemble a dinosaur.

As Xu Qi was talking, he moved the model's jaw to demonstrate the biting action, and then mysteriously took out a remote control and pressed a button.

"Let me show you something strong!"

As the button was pressed, the two black eyes of the originally lifeless monster model suddenly moved, staring at everyone as if it had come alive.

Wang Jin was surprised and moved closer to observe: "Damn! How did you do that?"

"A micro camera." Old Monster Xu said proudly, "Even without adding special effects, using a remote control to control the eyeballs can still create a sense of threat in the image presentation."

Xu Qi's obsession with special effects far exceeds that of ordinary directors.

Basically, you will always see this thing in famous or unknown special effects movies in later generations.

Including the original film "The Host" for the current "Hiroshima Monster".

A few years after learning from the set of "The Host", he asked the other party's special effects team to create "Detective Dee: The Mystery of the Phantom Flame".

At this moment.

With the strong support of Boss Zhai, and with his passion and hard work, Lao Xu was able to create monster figures that are like works of art.

Oh! It would be great if you could pay more attention to the rhythm of the story...

"What do you think, Mr. Zhai?"

When even Wang Jin was amazed at the fine workmanship of the physical model of the Hiroshima monster, Xu Qi noticed that Zhai Yuan standing beside him seemed to be thinking about something and did not seem to have the strong reaction he had expected.

He couldn't help but ask the question actively, his eyes showing the expectation of "please praise me quickly", and he looked quite youthful.

"nice."

Zhai Yuan collected his thoughts and pinched the physical model.

After comparing them, the one Xu Wei took great pains to make is indeed more elastic and closer to real skin.

He stroked his chin and asked Xu Qi: "Simulation silicone, medical use?"

Xu Qi said, "That's right."

Zhai Yuan nodded and walked out: "I suddenly thought of a business opportunity, so I'll go first!"

As he walked out of the studio, he took out his brother's phone.

Zhai Yuan dialed Liang Zhichao's phone number skillfully: "Hey, Brother Chao, can Tokyo Hot sell some daily necessities? Go and apply for a sales license... Category? I already said it's daily necessities!"

…………

Zhai Yuan spent almost the entire month of October busy on the set.

The real-life shooting locations that required special effects for "Hiroshima Monster" were more complicated than expected. The shot of Noriko Sakai being swept away by the monster's tail alone took eight hours of continuous NG. When the scene was finally finished, when the little girl took off the wire, her slender waist was bruised, which made women like Zhong Chuhong and Michiko feel very distressed.

Then, news came from the crew of "Lost in Translation".

The film is officially finished!
The two leading actors, Michelle Pfeiffer and Hopkins, worked in perfect harmony with Ann Hui.

"It's mainly because of Anthony's good guidance. If he didn't work as an actor, he would definitely be a first-class teacher in a film school."

Michelle Pfeiffer spoke highly of Hopkins and refused to leave Japan after filming. She said: "I decided to wait for the final edit to be completed and then consider returning to America. I learned a lot of acting skills from Mr. Anthony this time. Maybe I can compete for an Oscar with this movie~"

After hearing these confident remarks, Zhai Yuan chuckled.

Go to sleep, you can dream about anything.

After the original crew was disbanded, in line with the principle of making the best use of resources, two foreigners, one British and one American, were invited to make a cameo appearance in "Hiroshima Monster".

In the future, the promotion and marketing in North America will depend on you two.

After all, they are two familiar foreign faces. No matter whether they are famous or not, they are more easily accepted by foreign audiences than Chen Shilong, Zhong Chuhong and Liang Jiahui who have not yet become famous.

Finally, Chikako Aoyama was also squeezed in for a shot, playing a girl sitting by the river with headphones on, reading a book, unaware that the people around her were being chased by monsters and howling heartbreakingly. When she raised her head to reveal her pretty face, the Hiroshima monster that was within reach had already opened its bloody mouth...

"With Lost in Translation and Hiroshima Monster as backup, I have an advantage in publicity. When I return to Hong Kong, I will give Chikako Aoyama a solo drama as the female lead. If you can handle the script, I won't waste my brain cells."

During the break in filming, Zhai Yuan did not forget to remind Wang Jin.

Fatty Wang glanced at the woman not far away who was sitting on the lawn pretending to be a lady and was about to be swallowed by the Hiroshima monster.

I felt in my heart: Boss Zhai is worthy of his name, he is willing to spend a lot of money to pick up girls!
……

In addition to filming, I also take time to chat with Brother Chao about the business and channels of daily necessities sales.

Deeply inspired by Xu Qi's simulated silicone.

Zhai Yuan feels that ToKyo Hot’s current profit point is still too single, and derivative products may be put on the agenda ahead of time.

Tomomi Akimoto is very popular now!

Give a chestnut,

There is an old competitor in Toyo named Kuki Co., Ltd., which entered the adult market in 1977. Relying on its first-mover advantage, it grabbed a lot of market share. It also took advantage of the popularity of the Toyo Antarctic Expedition to launch the "Antarctica 2" series. Its popular actresses such as Eri Nakagawa occupy half of the videotape market.

But since Tomomi Akimoto from ToKyo Hot agency made her debut with her masterpiece, White Teacher.

When CDs and VCDs had not yet become popular in Japan, Tomomi Akimoto's popularity had already surpassed that of all the top stars under Kuki Co., Ltd., and she was ranked fifth on the voting list of the most popular actresses in adult magazines.

If this were a replica, wouldn't it be sold out?
October was spent in this fulfilling way.

The schedule is packed.

Early November.

Zhai Yuan had just finished shooting a set of outdoor shots and was playing back the surveillance camera footage.

Michiko Nishixie drove to the set with a newspaper in her hand: "Mr. Zhai, Tanaka Shota just called me. He asked me to bring you today's newspaper and remind you to read the front page of the Asahi Shimbun."

"Hmm?" Zhai Yuan looked away from the surveillance camera, picked up the newspaper curiously, glanced at it, and threw it back to Michiko: "Translate, translate."

Michiko laughed. It was obvious that she had done her homework in advance. She spoke fluently, "The news on the first page said that since April this year, the United States has accused Toshiba of participating in Soviet smuggling cases several times. However, after investigation, the Japanese government found no violations by Toshiba and denied the allegations made by the United States several times. But on the 4th of last month, the United States intercepted a transaction document from the Norwegian Kongsberg Company. In the past few decades, Kongsberg has exported more than 17 sets of CNC systems that violated the embargo regulations to the Soviet Union, including some agreements that Toshiba, a partner, had secretly signed with the other party..."

(End of this chapter)