This actor has something

Chapter 355 A Reminder from a Friend

The entire studio was covered with a green screen; the floor, walls, and ceiling—everything visible to the naked eye was green.

Ning Hao and Lu Yang each had a notebook that He Daqi had reorganized, and they were frowning as they pondered, while He Daqi transformed into a director on set, arranging the actors' positions.

At this moment, a props crew member accidentally tripped on the slide rail while moving something. He was fine, but the shelf on the slide rail wobbled, which startled Ning Hao and Lu Yang. They tried to call for someone to hold the shelf up from a distance.

Fortunately, the frame didn't collapse; it wobbled around once and then stabilized, and the camera on it was also unharmed.

Ning Hao and Lu Yang both breathed a sigh of relief. That was a full HD camera. The company only had two, and both were imported. Usually, the two cameras were used in a cross-camera setup. With this one broken, it would be very troublesome to only have one camera working. Especially since Ning Hao and Lu Yang were still learning special effects shooting, any small setback would be a huge problem for novices.

"Keep an eye on things, don't move them too close to the slide rails."

Ning Hao shouted at the head of the props team.

Hearing the shouts, He Daqi turned around, smiled, and walked over. He pointed behind him, indicating to Ning Hao and Lu Yang that he had already made the arrangements.

Ning Hao and Lu Yang didn't speak. They tacitly walked to a full HD camera and began to observe the actors' positions and the arrangement of light and shadow on the screen.

Practice makes perfect. You might get a vague understanding just by looking at He Daqi's notes, but once you've actually experienced or seen it, some things that were unclear become easy to understand.

The "After I Bloom, All Flowers Kill" project is alright. There aren't many special effects shots. It's just setting off fires, killing people and spilling blood, changing the background, adding some knife shadows and reflections, etc. It's the kind of project that's easy to shoot and not complicated to post-production.

Unfortunately, even with special effects like these, it costs a lot to find a special effects team to produce them these days, which is what gives He Daqi the biggest headache right now.

He had already tried to contact several special effects teams, but none of them were cheap, and they all only accepted orders for complete packages. It felt like the other party would tacitly raise the price as soon as they heard it was a Chinese film.

There are indeed special effects teams in China, located in Beijing, but they were established last year and only have a dozen or so people.

He Daqi also contacted them, and the team leader chose to tell the truth: their current capabilities only allow them to take on some basic special effects outsourcing. They can do graphic design, but they cannot create videos by mixing layers.

By this time, He Daqi couldn't help but curse Chen Kaige.

Damn, the movie "The Promise" made everyone think that China was full of suckers, and then they used their technological advantages to charge exorbitant prices, making it so that now they have to bleed money to do any special effects.

Although China Film Group has made it clear that they can continue to invest, this does not align with He Daqi's initial goal.

He wanted to use a small investment to generate a large box office, otherwise he wouldn't be able to achieve his goal of disgusting Zhang Weiping.

What kind of hero would knock out his opponent by throwing money at them? He Daqi not only wanted to kill them, but also to destroy their spirit.

Now I can only wait until after the filming of "The Flowers Bloom and the Hundred Flowers Kill" is completed and post-production is done, then I can go to Bald Eagle and talk to the special effects team there in person to see if there are any other ways, or if I can find a newly established special effects team there.

"Senior, you still want me to write about the special effects effects of our movie? I'm thinking, by the time the movie's special effects are finished, you'll have already graduated. Will it be convenient to write a thesis then? I think you might as well refine the special effects shooting techniques you've compiled and use them directly as your thesis." Lu Yang said to He Daqi with a gloomy face.

To be honest, He Daqi calculated the time according to Lu Yang's instructions. Even if the post-production of "After My Flower Blooms, All Flowers Wither" is done quickly, it will still take at least October of this year to complete. However, he will graduate in June. If he wants to write a thesis on special effects, he really can't rely on Lu Yang.

"...Hmm...I'll figure it out myself. If it really doesn't work, you can write down your filming experience so I can learn from it." He Daqi looked at the busy crew, gave a long "hmm," and paused for a moment before speaking.

“Okay.” Lu Yang nodded, his gaze also turning to the film crew who were shooting.

At this moment, in the full HD camera lens, a group of extras are making chaotic fire-fighting movements. Some are using clothes to cover the fire, some are carrying buckets of water, and some are frantically dodging as if they have been hit by something heavy and knocked to the ground.

This thing relies entirely on a sense of conviction, and this chaotic effect was achieved after a whole day of coaching. Before filming started, He Daqi, Ning Hao, and Lu Yang took turns giving the group a speech, leading the simulations as they spoke. They talked from morning to afternoon, and the three of them also discussed the scene for half a day before finally getting this one-take shot.

It was getting late, with only about half an hour left before the crew finished work. Lu Yang checked the time and, as soon as the first take was over, immediately grabbed a megaphone and started shouting, "Alright, everyone, keep this pace, let's shoot one more time to make sure it's a perfect take!"

So the extras and supporting actors, who had just relaxed, returned to their original positions and waited for the two directors to call "action".

……

In the tavern.

He Daqi and Deng Chao sat at the innermost table.

The two of them didn't speak, slowly sipping their two-ounce glasses of dry white wine, looking more like they were there to ponder their troubles than to drink.

And that was indeed the case. He Daqi was pondering matters concerning the film crew, staring blankly at the dishes on the table while holding his cup, while Deng Chao was also holding his cup, lost in thought, perhaps contemplating love.

"The whole lamb soup is served! Your dishes are all ready, please enjoy." The owner's greeting interrupted their thoughts.

He Daqi snapped out of his daze, smiled, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

You're too kind!

The sound of "you've worked hard" eased the wrinkles on the face of the owner, who was just over sixty. There were no shy people running small taverns in Beijing. If it weren't for the fact that He Daqi and Deng Chao were dressed in ordinary clothes, the owner would have had to sit down and have a couple of drinks with them.

After the owner turned and left, Deng Chao ladled a bowl of whole lamb soup for He Daqi and handed it to him: "Try it. This place was recommended to me by someone who said that their lamb soup is exceptional and that most people don't know about it."

Who would have thought that a small tavern could make such an excellent mutton soup?

He Daqi chuckled softly, then picked up the bowl and took a sip of soup. His eyes lit up, and he then scooped up a piece of mutton to taste. After chewing a few bites, he gave Deng Chao a thumbs up, meaning that the taste was indeed good.

"Am I reliable?" Deng Chao's smile was quite comical, and he loved to wink and make faces, making him seem like a simpleton at first glance.

“Reliable.” He Daqi nodded, then took a small sip of wine. “But I think you’re unreliable,” Deng Chao said, tapping the table with his finger and pretending to suppress a laugh.

"How so?" He Daqi raised an eyebrow slightly.

"You haven't forgotten what you said when we went out for drinks before the New Year, have you? You said I only needed to come and make a cameo appearance for a week. Now what? I've been on set for over a month." Deng Chao said, shrugging.

He Daqi, who had been a little distracted, looked up at Deng Chao upon hearing this and asked with a smile, "Is it my fault? My idea was that when it was time to film your scenes, I would call you and you could come and film for a week. But what happened? As soon as our crew started filming, you came over all the way here and have been hanging around the set every day. What's going on? Are you planning to add more scenes for yourself and go from a supporting role to the second male lead?"

"Isn't this what it means to be a brother? Otherwise, who would think of you like this and join the crew early to train? You tell me, if I hadn't joined the crew early, and Ding Xiu has so many fight scenes, wouldn't I have embarrassed you if I hadn't filmed them well?"

“Okay, I appreciate it.” He Daqi clinked his glass with Deng Chao’s.

After taking a sip of wine, Deng Chao hesitated for a moment, looked at He Daqi seriously, and said, "Daqi, to be honest, I feel that you have changed a lot recently."

"You've become even more handsome? You don't need to tell me, I know that."

"Seriously, you've changed a lot compared to before. How should I put it? You've become... um... a bit fake. You tell everyone you meet that you've had a hard time, and your words are seven parts polite. You only stay the same with people you know well. With strangers, you feel like you're wasting a single word."
It wasn't like this before. When you were filming "The Young Emperor," you were always smiling and could chat with any actor in the crew. Now it's different. I only noticed this after coming to film with you this time. You basically don't interact with the other actors anymore.
And... I don't know how to describe it, even though you speak very humbly, there's always a sense of distance. I really can't put it into words, because you're not like that when you're drinking with me. I can't fully express how others feel. Right! It's like those noble young masters in martial arts novels—their speech is gentle, but their air of superiority is overwhelming, making people unconsciously want to keep their distance from them.

Hearing Deng Chao finish speaking with a frown, He Daqi's heart skipped a beat.

broken!

It seems I need to communicate more with others in the future.

Thinking of this, He Daqi immediately changed his demeanor several times, then looked up at Deng Chao with a smile and asked, "Do you still feel that way now?"

Looking at He Daqi's honest and simple-minded face, Deng Chao clicked his tongue in praise: "Seriously, I admire your skills. I've worked with so many people, and I've basically never seen anyone like you. What is this? Changing your aura?"

"Just some small applications of micro-expressions, let's have a drink."

……

Last night, I mainly chatted with Deng Chao; we didn't drink much.

The two treated the dry white wine like a beverage, taking only a small sip each time, just to savor the taste.

However, drinking some wine is quite good, at least it helps me sleep comfortably. This made He Daqi wake up early and arrive at the film set before seven in the morning.

"Da Qi!"

Hearing the sound, He Daqi turned around and saw Zhao Wenzhuo carrying a wooden gun and sweating profusely as he entered the film crew, clearly having just finished exercising.

"What's wrong, Teacher Zhao?"

"Didn't the director say yesterday when we wrapped up that we have a fight scene today? Since we still have some time, why don't we rehearse our moves?"

If it weren't for Deng Chao's words last night, He Daqi would definitely have rejected Zhao Wenzhuo's request by now. Isn't he tired? He's been wielding swords and spears so early in the morning.

However, after Deng Chao's reminder, He Daqi is now determined to force himself to correct some of his bad habits, so he smiled and nodded to Zhao Wenzhuo: "Okay, then Teacher Zhao, wait for me, I'll go get the knife."

A short while later, the two men, one carrying a knife and the other a gun, walked to the open space on the film set.

Some staff members who arrived early saw that the two were about to practice and immediately gathered around.

That's just how it is in China. People have to watch anything exciting, even if it's a manure truck exploding. They have to come over and take a look. Otherwise, how would they know it's a manure truck exploding from a distance? After all, there are many smelly things, so maybe it's frying stinky tofu, right?

Zhao Wenzhu removed the spearhead, wrapped the front end with cotton cloth, and then swung the wooden shaft without the spearhead a couple of times, laughing as he said, "Daqi, I'm going to use the Eight Extremes Spear later. Let's both go slowly, so we don't accidentally get hurt. I can't afford to compensate you if that happens."

"Teacher Zhao, let's just follow what the martial arts instructor taught us before. Just practice more moves, and if that doesn't work, slow motion is fine too. We can fix it later."

Zhao Wenzhu shook his head, thought for a moment, and then said honestly, "I actually think the fight scene that Sang Lin designed for us is just so-so. I wanted to see if I could change it, but I don't know your background, so I asked you to practice the moves."

He Daqi was slightly taken aback. Seeing that Zhao Wenzhuo was quite serious, he twirled his sword a couple of times, thought for a moment, and said, "Teacher Zhao, I'm only practicing fancy moves. I'm not very good with a single sword. I used to practice with two swords, but unfortunately, Brother Liang uses the Mandarin Duck Swords in the story, so I practiced a little more with a single sword. How about this, I'll show you and you can see which moves I can match yours."

After He Daqi finished speaking, he instructed a staff member from the props team next to him to bring over another knife, and then he twirled the two knives in his hands and began to demonstrate.

Although it was a prop knife, with He Daqi's power, it still made a hissing sound as if the blade was tearing through the air. Combined with He Daqi's smooth and flowing steps, it was as if a net of blades was woven in front of him, cold and sharp.

Zhao Wenzhuo frowned.

That's strange. This kid wasn't lying just now; he was indeed practicing fancy moves. But what's with that fierce aura in his moves?

Zhao Wenzhuo had no idea that although He Daqi was a cheerful and sunny young man in real life, he often did beastly things in the simulation training space. For a while, he was chopping monsters and cutting vegetables every day, and he really chopped up a lot of people.

Seeing He Daqi stop dancing without breaking a sweat, Zhao Wenzhuo's lips twitched and he suggested, "Daqi, I think you're right. Let's just do a slow-motion demonstration."

This young man seems to have extraordinary strength. How did he manage to make a clanging sound with that unsharpened prop knife? Oh well, it's just a movie. As long as the slashing looks good, why bother researching so many moves?

When Ning Hao, Lu Yang, and Sang Lin arrived at the film set, they witnessed an unusually harmonious scene: He Daqi and Zhao Wenzhuo were playing house, exchanging moves at the speed of Tai Chi.

(End of this chapter)