Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 240 "Sissi's Dog"

There aren't many characters in the movie "Sissi's Dog". Apart from the dog, the most important character is the female lead, Sissi.

In addition, there are several characters related to Sissi.

The grandfather is played by Mr. Lan Tianye, and the grandmother is played by Wu Yanshu.

The father is played by Wang Zhiwen, and the mother is played by Yu Feihong.

As for the actor to play Sisi's husband, there's no need to look for another one; Hu Xiaobei is the only one who can be chosen.

Lan Tianye is a graduate of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Wang Zhiwen and Yu Feihong are both graduates of the Beijing Film Academy's acting department, and Wu Yanshu is the actress who played Grandma in the original timeline of "Go to the Windy Place".

These actors are quite good, and their appearance and temperament are also suitable for the roles.

Moreover, they were all acquaintances I had worked with before when filming "Dialogue Between Past and Present".

As for the movie salary, give each person 100,000 yuan, just as a token.

The pay wasn't high, but it wasn't low either, considering it was just a supporting role with limited screen time.

As for the filming team, some of the staff from the "Dialogue Between Past and Present" series will be retained. Everyone works together well, so the transition can be considered seamless.

Even the filming equipment used was CCTV equipment that was still under contract and had not yet been returned.

There weren't many main filming locations: Sisi's parents' house, her maternal grandparents' house, Sisi's work home, and her home after marriage.

In addition, there are highway scenes, wedding venues, campus scenes, and work scenes.

It can be said that there are few scenes, few actors, and naturally very few staff members.

Given Hu Xiaobei's filming efficiency, even excluding the two of them's own expenses, this movie shouldn't have cost more than one million RMB.

If there's any left over, just give it to the staff as bonuses and red envelopes.

The lifespan of a Chinese rural dog is approximately 10-15 years. This film will depict the life of Ah Huang, a local dog, so special attention needs to be paid to his makeup.

As for Sisi's family, it's not too difficult. After all, they are older and their appearance won't change much. A little touch-up from the makeup artist will solve the problem.

Sisi first appears during the summer vacation between her second and third years of high school, and by the end of the story, she is a married woman nearing thirty.

With Hu Xiaobei handling the makeup, there wasn't much of a challenge.

However, An Xiaoqian's role requires her to portray a time span of more than ten years, playing a high school student, a college student, an urban white-collar worker, and a wife.

Most importantly, the character of this wife also grows, from the sweetness of the early days of marriage to the warmth of pregnancy.

While portraying sweetness is easy, the portrayal of pregnancy presents a greater challenge to An Xiaoxi's acting skills.

Although she had already played a pregnant woman in the Legend of Sword and Fairy series, movies are different from TV series, and the requirements are much higher.

In light of this, Hu Xiaobei decided to film Xixi's storyline according to the story's timeline.

Although this is more troublesome, it is more helpful for shaping the character of An Xiaoqian.

Of all these scenes, An Xiaoqian's favorite and most anticipated were those with Hu Xiaobei.

Of course, this is a movie mainly about the local dog Ah Huang, so even if Sisi is the female lead, she can't have too many scenes, otherwise it's easy to get confused about who is the main character and who is the supporting character.

Therefore, both the wedding scene and the sweet scenes after the wedding are extremely brief segments, totaling only a few minutes of footage.

However, it was these few minutes of screen time that caused Hu Xiaobei the most torment.

First, regarding the wedding style, An Xiaoqian prefers a Western-style wedding, while Hu Xiaobei prefers a Chinese-style wedding.

However, An Xiaoqian designed her own wedding dress based on the white wedding dress of a Western wedding.

Actually, Hu Xiaobei didn't care whether it was Chinese or Western style, as long as An Xiaoqian was happy.

But this is, after all, making a movie, and moreover, it's going to be exhibited at the Berlin Film Festival, so there are still some things he wants to show.

Girls always love beautiful and romantic weddings.

However, the vast majority of traditional Chinese weddings in 2005 were hardly beautiful or romantic.

In an effort to change An Xiaoqian's mind, Hu Xiaobei consulted materials and what he had seen later, and specially designed a Chinese-style wedding dress for An Xiaoqian.

In addition, a wedding entrance song that is both romantic and grand was specially created.

When he presented An Xiaoqian with his ideas and designs for a Chinese wedding, she dismissed the idea of ​​a shabby Western-style wedding with disdain. A mere white wedding dress couldn't compare to the dignified and elegant phoenix coronet and embroidered robes of her Chinese heritage.

(PS: Here's a strange fact: In reality, Sisi is allergic to imitation metals, so she can only wear real gold and silver jewelry; she is not allergic to karat gold.)
Early in the morning, inside the photography studio, the simulated room of Sissi's parents appeared slightly messy.

The props team is putting some old and miscellaneous items into drawers, making final preparations for the upcoming scene where "Sissi discovers the divorce certificate."

"Placing the divorce certificate in this position is both discreet and slightly prominent, but it shouldn't be too deliberate; the audience should feel that it was discovered unintentionally."

Hu Xiaobei stood to the side, instructing the staff on the arrangements, his eyes filled with an obsession with details.

The lighting technician was also busy, repeatedly adjusting the angle of the lights according to Hu Xiaobei's requirements.

"Side backlighting, yes, that's the angle. The gold lettering on the divorce certificate should reflect cold, sharp light to highlight the feeling of being broken."

He muttered to himself as he adjusted the position of the light.

With everything ready, An Xiaoqian took a deep breath and went into the room.

Her eyes revealed a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, after all, this was a pivotal scene that would ignite an emotional outburst, and one that she didn't really want to act in.

"Attention all departments, prepare to begin filming!"

At Hu Xiaobei's command, the script supervisor quickly struck the clapperboard.

Sisi slowly walked towards the drawer, her steps hesitant, as if she could already sense the impending impact.

Her fingers trembled slightly when they touched the drawer handle.

"Click!" Hu Xiaobei suddenly shouted.

"Sisi, you could have moved a little faster, and your hesitation and unease could have been stronger, but definitely not now."

You're just opening a drawer, not uncovering family secrets.

I'll save that feeling for after I flipped to the divorce certificate.

An Xiaoqian nodded, adjusted her mindset, and started again.

This time, her movements were more delicate, and every subtle change in her expression was precisely captured by the camera.

As the drawer was slowly pulled open, a corner of the divorce certificate peeked out from the gap and was taken out by the curious Sisi.

Sisi's finger hovered in mid-air, her gaze freezing instantly, as if something had struck her heart.

"Very good, keep this expression and don't move!" Hu Xiaobei calmly reminded him.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the studio, the voice-over team was busy recording voice-overs.

The parents were having a perfunctory conversation in the living room when a teacup collided with the coffee table, leaving a crisp crack.

These sounds, synthesized in post-production, will add more tension and drama to the scene.

Among them, the most commendable is Wang Zhiwen's voice acting. Although his voice is deep, it is full of emotion. Even without seeing the person, you can hear the suppressed anger.

After multiple takes and adjustments, the scene was finally completed perfectly.

An Xiaoqian detached herself from the role and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"This scene was really difficult to act, but after it was over, I felt like I had experienced a baptism of life."

She sighed inwardly, thinking of her parents. At that time, she was still young and did not fully understand the meaning of divorce.

Now that she has taken on the role of Sissi, she is glad that she didn't understand these things back then.

Hu Xiaobei looked at the footage and nodded in satisfaction, his eyes revealing his confidence and anticipation for the film.

"This scene is the turning point of the entire film, and we had to do our best. Now it seems that everyone's efforts have paid off."

Then, he looked at An Xiaoqian, who seemed a little down.

He knew that filming this kind of content wouldn't be pleasant for An Xiaoqian, and it would definitely remind her of some unhappy things.

But as an actress, she shouldn't avoid these emotions; experiencing and feeling them is what she needs to do.

What Hu Xiaobei can do is to maximize efficiency and minimize harm, and then comfort and console her afterwards, which is now.

(End of this chapter)