Abstract Art Award Winner

Chapter 343 A Forceful Inquiry
These three individuals represent three different styles.

In fact, emotionally, Zhou Le prefers Zhu Yilong or Wang Chuanjun.

Although the two of them didn't usually have any contact, Zhou Le just felt that Wang Dalu's mouth was a bit big.

It looks weird.

Furthermore, the other party is from Taiwan, and according to some rumors he has heard, inviting Wang Dalu is still somewhat risky. After all, it is common for celebrities to have scandals and their careers collapse, and he does not want his film to be affected by one person.

But he also felt that the role was indeed quite suitable, at least in his own mind.

After all three replied to the email expressing their willingness to come, he then video-chatted with each of them and began the video interviews.

Throughout the entire performance, Wang Dalu's acting skills were noticeably inferior to those of Wang Chuanjun and Zhu Yilong.

So in his heart, he ultimately ruled out Wang Dalu.

In the end, only Wang Chuanjun and Zhu Yilong remained.

Both of them are already popular. Zhu Yilong became famous earlier and has a wide range of roles. She can play both righteous and villainous characters, as well as tragic and heartwarming roles. She can also play handsome characters without any problem.

Including in terms of acting skills, he is indeed quite capable, and his overall image is quite in line with the quality of the film.

Wang Chuanjun's career path wasn't as broad. He became famous for his role in "iPartment," but the controversy surrounding it led to a lot of uproar, and he hasn't had any particularly noteworthy works since.

Zhou Le had previously met with Wang Chuanjun and knew that he was indeed a skilled actor.

However, after the interview, Zhou Le felt that the other person was not quite right for playing a rich second-generation who was addicted to gambling. Firstly, the overall image was not quite right, and secondly, the other person was more suitable for playing more intense and profound roles.

After thinking about it, it seems that having the other person play my role is the most suitable option.

But Zhou Le took the film himself, and one of his purposes in becoming the director was so that he could play whatever role he wanted in the film.

You can't just step down to make an actor's career more successful, can you?

So in the end I decided to just let it go.

Although Wang Chuanjun couldn't come this time, he tried to recommend Jin Shijia. Compared to him, Jin Shijia's image is actually fine for this kind of role.

However, Zhou Le felt that the other person's acting had one major flaw: it was too theatrical.

Although these two different art forms have many similarities, if it is impossible to distinguish between them in terms of performance, it will seem particularly awkward to use theatrical methods to perform movies.

"Okay, I'll think about it, but don't tell anyone about this yet, because it's still in the project initiation stage."

"no problem."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Le's current choice is Zhu Yilong.

The main actors have been mostly cast, and the next step is to discuss their salaries. Yi Yangqianxi has already been confirmed, so a discount can be offered, meaning we won't charge a high price.

He'll symbolically accept three to five million for a cameo appearance.

Although this doesn't quite fit Yi Yangqianxi's market positioning, even the company behind Yi Yangqianxi felt the price was too low.

You should know that if Yi Yangqianxi were to act in a movie and get the lead role, he would have to pay at least 30 million yuan.

Three to five million is simply out of the question.

The problem is that Yi Yangqianxi and Zhou Le have a very good relationship now, and he really likes this script.

After some discussion, they decided to agree, since this kind of film is easy to win awards, and if the hype is good enough, it's relatively easy to get high box office returns in the current context.

This will be very helpful for future career development.

It's a good deal to get some awards and high box office numbers for a film with a relatively low budget.

Otherwise, if he refuses, Zhou Le, with his connections and abilities, could easily find someone else who is in competition with Yi Yangqianxi.

They didn't want to gamble that Zhou Le would find a hopeless actor later on; what if that actor actually turned out to be a success?
The circle is only so big, and the cake is only so big. If one more person eats it, then naturally they will get one less bite.

And so, Yi Yangqianxi agreed.

As for Meng Ziyi, Zhou Ye, and the others, there were no problems. They were all on our side, and they would be willing to act even if the pay was slightly lower, or even for free.

As for the other actors, Zhou Le plans to take a closer look.

For example, they could find a few good actors to test the waters in short dramas and see if they have the ability to develop into a regular film and television industry.

For the remaining less important actors, relationships can be considered. It's fine if someone wants to squeeze some people in, after all, it's all about personal connections. Anyway, the only restrictions Zhou Le can loosen are those who can actually act.

It's impossible to change the script.

To put it bluntly, it doesn't matter who you use for these roles, right?

Aside from those who are clearly incompetent and definitely won't get in, everyone else is about the same in terms of ability and acting skills, so it doesn't matter who we hire.

After finalizing the cast, Zhou Le began to think about how to shoot the movie. Choosing a location was easy; he already had a general idea in mind.

However, the shooting process still needs to be carefully considered, such as color composition and shot storytelling.

After browsing through his WeChat Moments, Zhou Le did indeed have quite a few director friends who were good at this field, such as Han Han and Jiang Wen. However, compared to these two, Zhou Le now had a big shot in this field by his side.

So Zhou Le saw that it was still early after filming that day, and while eating, he casually asked Zhang Yi about it. He didn't have anything particularly important to do when he got back that night, so he went into Zhang Yi's room that night.

"What are you here for?"

Zhang Yi also glanced at Zhou Le. This man was tall and strong, although he had lost a lot of weight due to filming. If he really did something, Zhang Yi wouldn't be able to resist.

Furthermore, given their aggressive approach, it's clear they weren't coming for anything good.

"I need to rest now, let's talk about it tomorrow."

He instinctively braced his foot against the door.

But his strength was no match for Zhou Le's; Zhou Le pushed the door open with just a little effort.

"Director, don't be so wary. I'm here to talk to you about serious business. Besides, I like women, you know that. If you want any special treatment, I can do it with my abilities. There's no need to resort to underhanded methods." After entering the room, Zhou Le plopped down in a chair. He knew that although Zhang Yi was a bit of a germaphobe and had some obsessive-compulsive disorder, there was always a chair in the room for guests.

Zhang Yi asked somewhat helplessly, "So what exactly is the matter?"

"Director Zhang, I just wanted to talk to you about the script. I also have a movie in the works, but I don't have any ideas on how to film it yet, so I wanted to ask you for advice."

Zhang Yi visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing about this.

There's absolutely no problem discussing work and art.

"You should have said so earlier. I thought you came here for something else."

People always have much more patience for capable people.

This is how Zhang Yi treats Zhou Le now.

If Zhou Le were just starting out, he wouldn't mind signing Zhou Le to his company and promoting him. But now that Zhou Le has made a name for himself, a different cooperation model can be adopted.

After receiving the script, Zhang Yi began to study it carefully, looking very serious with a furrowed brow.

I spent a good half hour reading one script.

"Okay, I've taken a quick look. This script is pretty good. As long as it can be filmed and released, it's bound to be good. You mainly want to understand how this kind of movie should be made, right?"

"Yes, I've only ever made one escape room thriller before, but it's a bit different from this one, so I'm here to learn from you."

"Well, it's not so much about learning, but about making progress together. But how should I put it, if I were to direct this movie, the color scheme inside the fraud factory would definitely be unnatural. Because telecom fraud is more electronic, and the environment in the northern Myanmar base is cheaper, the main color scheme here should be a rather cold blue-green tone."

To make the scene look gloomy, you can use computer screens, phone screens, the clothes they wear, and the color of the walls, etc.

When violence occurs, it's best to make the crimson of blood suddenly and starkly erupt against this cool blue-green background. Avoid overly realistic dark reds; a slightly stronger saturation would be more impactful and emphasize the cruelty and the cost of life.

Zhang Yi offered advice on color on the spot, and Zhou Le couldn't help but admire him.

If you let him decide for himself, then it should be made darker and more yellowish, because that would make it look old, but the blue and green as the main color scheme should be more prominent.

"Furthermore, for high-level figures like Manager Lu, their private spaces and accessories should use highly saturated gold, but it is important to note that this color must not be warm, but rather cold, glaring, and oppressive."

Once the scene returns to the normal world, or within those memories and flashbacks, you should have a clearer understanding of the color tone. You can choose warm yellow, off-white, or natural light, as long as it contrasts with the park.

However, one thing you need to pay attention to is the police operation sequence. You will definitely use a more realistic approach to filming, so it's best to use the gray-blue color scheme of the police uniforms.

But then something interesting occurred to me: during the final action, you can incorporate some strong dramatic lighting and shadow effects.

Zhou Le wrote all of these down.

Although we may not use all of them at the time, there will definitely be many that can be incorporated.

This can no longer be considered simple teaching; it's more like using his script to provide rote learning.

"Then, in terms of shooting techniques, you should emphasize the sense of ritual, the sense of oppression, and the tension between the group and the individual."

For example, rows of workstations, narrow passageways, and monitoring rooms—you need to create a strong geometric composition within them. You know what geometric composition is, right?

Zhou Le nodded: "I know that, it's about symmetry, repetition, and depth."

"Yes, that's about it. Actually, your script is quite good. Many of the plot settings have a strong sense of geometric imagery."

Here, you can make extensive use of overhead shots and wide-angle lenses. Overhead shots showcase the oppressive sense of a swarm of ants in a factory, the struggle of tiny individuals within a vast, rule-bound system of evil, while wide-angle lenses can introduce slight distortion, enhancing the sense of spatial distortion and the isolation of the figures.

These technical terms might seem too abstract to some other directors who are just starting out, requiring a deep understanding of the concepts and not being easy to comprehend. However, for Zhou Le, these conceptual abstractions are the easiest to grasp.

Once you understand the meaning of the words, these precise and concise summaries are actually the most efficient.

"Then you need to create some light and shadow contrasts during filming, such as the cold light of the screen and the glaring spotlights. These lights can be desk lamps or interrogation lights."

Or, you could keep the character's face in darkness and use computer and mobile phone screens as the highlights.

This setup not only makes the image more evocative, but it can also symbolize the characters' split personalities, their perilous situations, and the obscurity of the truth.

Zhang Yi continued talking, from composition to light and shadow,

From the sense of ritual and group performances to the details of symbolic props.

Then I explained to Zhou Le how the narrative structure, which emphasizes dramatic conflict and a sense of destiny, could be integrated into this story.

How to reinforce rules through filming, and how to create twists and climaxes through the lens.

Zhou Le listened very attentively because these were all valuable experiences from Zhang Yimou.

Every director has their own style. Zhou Le felt that if he took this script to Han Han and Jiang Wen, they would definitely come up with a different solution. But if he combined the two solutions, he estimated that they would be at least 40 to 50 percent similar.

And these similarities are precisely what make these directors successful.

Rather than saying they've distilled a formula from their talent and experience that makes audiences feel comfortable, it's more accurate to say it's simply commercialization.

“I know you’re actually a bit different from us. We’ve started pursuing more artistic things now. Box office success isn’t that important. At most, we’re just being pushed by others, and we only make a commercial film to sell at the box office when we have no other choice.”

But most of the time I'm pursuing art, after all, I'm already this age, and I can't spend all the money I earn.

But you are different. For you young people, how to balance art and commerce, and still achieve higher box office returns, is something you need to consider comprehensively.

Do you understand what I mean? To put it bluntly, it's about having both a good reputation and making money, but that's often the hardest part.

Zhou Le nodded. What he said was indeed crude but reasonable, but it was not quite the same as "wanting to be a prostitute while also trying to maintain a virtuous image."

He felt that his current behavior meant he could either become a top courtesan and a top salesperson, or he could become a respectable woman, gaining both fame and fortune.

Anyway, we need to get both money and fame, and we need to do both firmly.
After all, money is something you need to spend now, while reputation is something you can use to make money in the future.

"I understand, thank you Director Zhang. That's exactly what I'm thinking now. Only by earning money can I guarantee my livelihood and prevent myself from being consumed by desires. One should have integrity, but having money in hand can at least ensure that I won't do anything shameless for a little bit of money in the future."

"That's right, that's it."

(End of this chapter)