Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 193 Ancient Tomb
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the crew of The Condor Heroes returned to their intense filming schedule.

Because some staff members went home for the Chinese New Year, the scenes being filmed at this time were mostly fragmented storylines, with only the two dialogue scenes being different.

Yu Minjie's dialogue scenes were mainly filmed by Team A, focusing on indoor scenes during the martial arts tournament and the Battle of Xiangyang.

This part of the story focuses on Guo Jing, Huang Rong, the two Wu brothers, Guo Fu, Guo Xiang, and Yang Guo.

Hu Xiaobei's drama B group mainly filmed the scenes inside the ancient tomb, which focused on the Little Dragon Girl, the two Yang Guos, and Li Mochou and her master.

Apart from Yang Guo being a bit busier, needing to run between two groups, the other actors don't overlap much.

The scene in the ancient tomb is a key part of the story between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu, and Yu Minjie originally wanted to film it together.

However, as the filming progressed and the production team faced financial pressure, investor Ma Dajun began to ask the production team to reduce unnecessary expenses.

The investors' intention is to cut as many unnecessary fight scenes and dramatic scenes as possible.

The scenes of the two battles of Xiangyang and the martial arts tournament are rare grand scenes, and if possible, Yu Minjie really wouldn't want to cut even a single shot of them.

Under various pressures, he had no choice but to make a decision.

Romantic scenes can be filmed in any drama, so there are plenty of opportunities. But large-scale battle scenes are something that can only be encountered by chance.

As a result, Yu Minjie decisively abandoned the tomb scenes and devoted herself wholeheartedly to filming the large-scale scenes.

Although filming of large-scale scenes has not yet fully commenced, the indoor scenes, which are closely related to them, are also an indispensable part of this work.

With its unique set design and delicate emotional interaction, indoor drama can not only lay the groundwork for a grand narrative, but also deeply portray the inner world of the characters.

Complementing the grand scenes, they work together to drive the plot forward, forming an integral and complementary whole that constructs the complete story structure.

In the original timeline, the actor who played the young Yang Guo was too boisterous, which annoyed the audience.

When Yang Guo first appeared, he was incredibly frivolous and greasy, spending all his time teasing Xiaolongnu, acting like a hooligan.

Hu Xiaobei previously filmed the scenes featuring Xiaolongnu in Xinchang, which included a scene with the young Yang Guo.

Under his direction, the young Yang Guo in this scene wasn't so unlikeable.

The ancient tomb scenes currently being filmed also include scenes featuring young Yang Guo.

In other words, starting from the scene of Granny Sun's death, Yang Guo's acting style changed. Based on the plot, this change is reasonable and does not seem abrupt.

As for the early plot of Yang Guo, that has nothing to do with Hu Xiaobei.

Under Hu Xiaobei's guidance during filming, young Yang Guo experienced the death of Granny Sun and matured a lot, becoming less mischievous.

Having spent several years in the ancient tomb, Yang Guo naturally wouldn't be so greasy and flamboyant.

In the original timeline, when filming, Xiaolongnu had Yang Guo sleep on the Cold Jade Bed to cultivate, but Yang Guo made a fuss, so Xiaolongnu spanked him.

In this scene, because An Xiaoqian slapped Yang Guo's bottom, Xiao Dingdang, who played Yang Guo, was specially asked to slap her hand as a way of returning the favor.

Unexpectedly, this little Dingdang really hit him, and quite hard at that...

With Hu Xiaobei around, how could such a thing happen? Naturally, some changes were made to better fit the original plot.

As for Yang Guo's scenes, the two should treat each other with respect.

Yang Guo shouldn't have that provocative nature, acting as if he's seducing his aunt every day.

On this point, not only the audience couldn't stand it, but even the original author, Mr. Jin Yong, found it unacceptable.

Under Hu Xiaobei's direction, the relationship between Xiaolongnu and Yang Guo in the Ancient Tomb should be that of master and disciple, relatives and friends.

Although they are close, they need to maintain a certain distance and keep things in check. At least in the Ancient Tomb scenes, Yang Guo is relatively faithful to the original novel.

It's normal for his personality to change after leaving the ancient tomb; whether it's for better or worse is none of Hu Xiaobei's business.

The Ancient Tomb scenes are mainly divided into several parts: the initial entry into the Ancient Tomb, teaching the young and old Yang Guo martial arts, the battle against Li Mochou and her disciples, Xiaolongnu's injury and their falling in love, and the Ancient Tomb scenes during Yang Guo's time with one arm.

Except for the scenes featuring the one-armed Yang Guo, which required the cooperation of characters such as Guo Fu and Huang Rong, the number of people in other scenes was limited to 2-4.

The weather was cold at the time, but there were still some water scenes to film inside the ancient tomb.

Fortunately, Hu Xiaobei had made preparations in advance, and the water in the shallow area could be drained and replaced, making it quite clean.

In addition, Hu Xiaobei's filming efficiency was extremely high, and Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu's water scenes did not require much suffering, and were basically completed in one take.

Especially in the water scenes involving Little Dragon Girl, under the protection of Hu Xiaobei's shadow ability, An Xiaoqian only got a little water on the surface and was not actually affected.

Even so, the scenes for Little Dragon Girl were still not warm enough, so An Xiaoqian was still freezing during filming.

Fortunately, during breaks in filming, we could wrap ourselves in warm coats, and Hu Xiaobei's filming speed was extremely fast, so there was rarely a need for reshoots; at most, only the key content would be saved in one take.

So, it was only cold during the short period of filming; it was quite warm the rest of the time.

Back when they were filming in Jiuzhaigou, Hu Xiaobei had An Xiaoqian practice playing the piano, just in preparation for filming a scene in the ancient tomb.

In this scene, Xiaolongnu plays the "Qi Ao" on the piano and tells Yang Guo that this poem was a favorite of her ancestral master, which leads to the story of Lin Chaoying and Wang Chongyang.

Hu Xiaobei had prepared for this poem beforehand, which is why he had An Xiaoqian practice playing the piano.

He plans to add background music of an ancient Chinese style song to the filming of this scene, or rather, to have An Xiaoqian play and sing the poem.

However, this poem has been adapted by Hu Xiaobei, and it is now different.

On set, the lights were focused on the ground near the shallow water area of ​​the ancient tomb.

An Xiaoqian, who plays Xiaolongnu, is dressed in white and sits gracefully in front of an ancient zither table, her fingers lightly touching the strings, producing melodious music.

Huang Xiaoming, who plays Yang Guo, is also immersed in the role, quietly listening to Xiaolongnu's story.

Hu Xiaobei stood behind the monitor, his eyes focused, not missing a single detail.

After each scene was filmed, he would exchange a few words with the staff next to him to make a final confirmation of the scheduling for the next shot.

The scene was extremely quiet, with only the melodious sound of the zither and An Xiaoqian's gentle singing echoing in the ancient tomb.

Hu Xiaobei put a lot of thought into the creation of the song so that it could perfectly capture Lin Chaoying's feelings for Wang Chongyang.

The melody uses a pentatonic scale, mainly with stepwise and small leaps, to outline a soft and melodious tone.

In the verse, the notes flow smoothly, as if Lin Chaoying is whispering memories of her time with Wang Chongyang, every note filled with longing.

The chorus suddenly raises the vocal range, using large interval leaps, such as climbing directly from the low E to the high La, instantly bursting out Lin Chaoying's pain and resentment at unrequited love.

In terms of instrumentation, the guzheng is chosen as the main instrument. Its crisp yet slightly melancholic tone perfectly sets the sad atmosphere of the whole piece. Every pluck of the strings is like plucking the heartstrings of Lin Chaoying.

The interlude incorporates the xiao (a type of vertical flute), whose distant and ethereal sound further emphasizes Lin Chaoying's loneliness and desolation in the face of her heartbreak.

Coupled with a gentle string section, it enhances the delicate emotions like a flowing stream.

The percussion instruments, including chime bells and wooden fish, add a touch of antiquity and elegance to the song with their simple rhythms, as if carrying the marks of time and telling the story of a long-forgotten love.

(End of this chapter)