Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 203 Stay up late
Hu Xiaobei had just finished producing "Dialogue with Ancient and Modern Classics of China" and finally had a few days off when the post-production work on "The Return of the Condor Heroes" came crashing down.

Speaking of the filming of "The Return of the Condor Heroes", in the original timeline, filming was not officially completed until the end of April. Now, with Hu Xiaobei's assistance, the process has been accelerated by more than a month.

For some unknown reason, filming for this drama didn't wrap up until the end of April.

However, it was precisely because of this that he was able to arrange the post-production of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" at his leisure.

His responsibilities were not many; mainly, he edited scenes related to the Little Dragon Girl storyline and produced the songs "Qi Ao" and "Human Fireworks".

Needless to say, "Qi Ao" is basically Hu Xiaobei's original work, except that the lyrics are in classical Chinese.

"Human Fireworks" is similar to "Waiting for Your Return," both originally sung by Cheng Xiang, which is very suitable for the role of Little Dragon Girl.

This song is mainly used in the storyline of Xiaolongnu's first entry into the mortal world, such as when she is looking for Yang Guo, sleeping outdoors and eating in the open, and having no money to eat steamed buns.

With just a slight change, the lyrics of this song could perfectly match the character of Little Dragon Girl.

For example, terms like Jiangnan and Wuyi Lane definitely need to be changed, as Xiaolongnu's travel route would basically not allow her to reach those places.

In addition, due to memory issues, both the lyrics and music of this song have been modified. The lyrics are relatively unchanged.

The arrangement is very different from "Waiting for Your Return," with more than 50% of the music changed, making it a level above the original.

Since An Xiaoqian already had a good foundation in her skills, and Hu Xiaobei had also taught her during the holidays, the recording of the two songs didn't take more than a few days.

Hu Xiaobei mainly focused his energy on composing music and editing some scenes from "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

3:00 AM, 7th floor of Building A, Beijing Film Academy.

The campus was quiet, but the lights were still on in the editing lab of the directing department.

The room was cluttered with various documents, and the computer screen emitted a cold light that reflected Hu Xiaobei's tired but focused face.

He stared intently at the image of Xiaolongnu on the screen, clicking the mouse rapidly in his hand, sometimes frowning, sometimes nodding slightly.

To make the storyline of Little Dragon Girl more fluid and moving, he had been working continuously for several hours.

Prolonged sitting caused him lower back pain, backache, and leg cramps, which he initially thought were... cough cough, I got the words mixed up!
He simply straightened up casually, pounded his chest a few more times, and then threw himself back into editing.

The screen kept switching between scenes of Xiaolongnu's first arrival in the mortal world. While adjusting the order of the shots, Hu Xiaobei also made sure to refer to the script and control every detail precisely.

He repeatedly played those key scenes: Xiaolongnu's loneliness when she slept in the open and ate in the wind, and her bewilderment when she had no money to eat steamed buns. He meticulously polished every frame.

As time went by, the bloodshot in his eyes became more and more obvious, but he had no intention of stopping. He only wanted to edit this part of the scene to perfection and present the most perfect Little Dragon Girl to the audience.

In the traditional film editing process, the developed film samples need to be converted into digital format using a film scanner for preliminary editing.

After the editing plan is determined, the original film is precisely cut and spliced ​​on the film editing table, and different film segments are connected by a splicer to form the final film negative.

Furthermore, when performing fine editing and processing on film, especially when adjusting the image quality and color of the film, as well as creating some special effects, it is usually necessary to do so in a darkroom.

Because a darkroom provides a stable environment free from external light interference, it helps to accurately observe and process film details, avoiding unnecessary light effects on the film, thus ensuring editing results and film quality.

Fortunately, by this time professional non-linear editing software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro were already widely used.

Hu Xiaobei only needs to import the previously shot footage into his computer, and then complete the editing work by dragging, arranging, cutting, adding transition effects, and adjusting parameters in the software interface.

In other words, the difference in software and hardware makes editing work relatively complicated and time-consuming.

Compared to what we'll be able to do in ten or twenty years, where all we need is a smartphone and an app to start editing, this is a world of difference. However, the nature of both is actually the same: editing and producing film and television content.

Therefore, these tasks are not particularly complex or profound; they only appear relatively advanced due to the varying degrees of complexity in the use of tools.

Once the last detail was precisely processed, Hu Xiaobei rubbed his sore eyes, leaned closer to the computer screen, and carefully checked every frame and every piece of background music.

At this moment, the entire editing room was silent, with only the slight hum of the computer mainframes.

After confirming that everything was correct, I checked the time and it was already 3:30 a.m.

Outside the window, thick darkness spread out like ink, and the entire campus was immersed in a dream.

At this time of day, not only were the student dormitory gates deserted, but even the usually bustling streets were eerily quiet.

Hu Xiaobei stretched, his joints making a "crackling" sound as he moved his legs, which had gone numb from sitting for so long.

His eyes were bloodshot and extremely dry from working for long periods of time, and his neck was very stiff; even the slightest turn of his neck caused him aches and pains.

He sighed helplessly, gently wrapped the headphones up, put them in his laptop bag, and then neatly arranged the documents on the table and stuffed them into a file folder.

As I got up, the chair scraped against the floor, making a sharp creaking sound that seemed particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Fortunately, there was no one in the building at that time, so there was no fear of disturbing others.

He walked to the window, gently pushed it open, and a cool breeze instantly rushed in, carrying the scent of earth and grass, which cleared his groggy mind somewhat.

He took a deep breath, his chest filled with the cool air and the faint floral fragrance that permeated the air—the fragrance of unknown flowers on campus in the dead of night.

At this moment, the night was like a thick black cloth, completely enveloping the entire Beijing Film Academy campus, and the pitch-black night seemed to shroud everything in a mysterious veil.

Occasionally, the chirping of insects would break the silence, highlighting the depth of the night, which conveniently allowed him to carry out his plan.

Looking out at the darkness, Hu Xiaobei felt an urgency to return home. After being busy for so long, all he wanted to do was go back to his warm bed in the dormitory and get a good night's sleep.

He took two steps back, slightly bent his knees, and with a sudden burst of strength, leaped into the air.

In an instant, shadowy wings unfolded rapidly from his back, and at the same time, the window was quietly closed by the shadows.

Using his ability to project shadows, he moved like a black lightning bolt through the night, arriving at his dormitory window in the blink of an eye without making a sound.

Meanwhile, Shadow opened the dormitory window in advance, saving no time.

Hu Xiaobei flew precisely into the window, lightly touching the ground with his toes, and entered the room silently.

Then, Shadow quietly closed the window and drew the curtains, completing the whole process in one smooth motion without disturbing the tranquility in the slightest.

Hu Xiaobei let out a long breath, tiptoed into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and the cool tap water washed over his tired body, instantly making him feel more refreshed.

As he washed up, he thought to himself, "The editing of The Condor Heroes is finally finished. Tomorrow I can finally sleep in without worry."

Using my shadow as a shield, I quickly finished washing up and dried my hair.

Only then did he drag his tired body to the bedside, collapse onto the bed, casually cover himself with a thin blanket, and fall into a deep sleep, a relaxed and comfortable look on his lips.

(End of this chapter)