This director lacks vision.

Chapter 4 The Roc That Drifted Away

After watching Zhou Chuanji's class, Jiang Yifeng considered it for a while and, taking into account his own situation, decided to focus on learning video editing first.

A man walked onto the overpass and saw someone begging on it. He hit the beggar with his mineral water bottle and then ran away.

During his escape, he threw away a mineral water bottle, which hit a passerby on the head.

This is a 90-second video clip.

Please think about how to use this 90-second clip to complete the following assignment through editing.

1. To make the male protagonist's seemingly random act of hitting people seem reasonable;

2. Edit a 30-minute short film with a logical storyline.

The next day, after arriving at the company, Jiang Yifeng was still studying editing.

He followed the assignment given by Zhou Chuanji in the video and tried to lengthen the short footage.

Jiang Yifeng's first thought was the future trend of parody videos on Bilibili.

Two frames of a man hitting a beggar were extracted, played repeatedly, and accompanied by sound effects to create a comedic effect.

Then, the frame of the mineral water bottle hitting the passerby's head was extracted, and the frame was reversed to create the image of the passerby using their head to push the mineral water bottle onto the overpass and hit the male protagonist's head.

The male protagonist was furious, thinking that the beggar had thrown the water bottle, so he picked it up and threw it at the beggar.

The beggar, having been bullied, dared not say a word, but simply threw the mineral water bottle off the overpass.

It ended up hitting a passerby on the head.

An angry passerby pushed a water bottle onto the overpass, which then hit the man...

This creates an abstract loop.

After editing, combined with various absurd visuals and quirky sound effects, the comedic effect is off the charts.

Looking at the finished video he had edited, Jiang Yifeng deeply understood what Zhou Chuanji had said.

Movies are a spacetime system formed by sound and image systems.

To capture good visuals, one must be familiar with various sound effects and then use editing techniques to arrange and combine sound and image according to a certain structure, forming a completely new space-time to convey information to the audience.

Over the years, film has developed many established paradigms.

Different color tones, sound effects, and editing techniques can all bring different experiences to the audience.

Professional directors should memorize and flexibly apply these paradigms in order to make better films.

After understanding this pattern, Jiang Yifeng understood.

Why are there more and more terrible directors in the Chinese entertainment industry?

Some art students who only score two or three hundred points on the college entrance exam probably can't even remember the patterns and rules.

When they make movies, they either blindly copy others or they just make them based on their feelings.

I simply don't understand why they would film it this way.

On the contrary, people with science and engineering backgrounds have a wealth of knowledge and are able to follow these objective laws.

While they may not necessarily produce great works, they can at least guarantee a minimum standard.

After understanding this principle, Jiang Yifeng felt much more at ease.

On the one hand, he felt his own progress, learning new things every day and gradually advancing his plan.

On the other hand, he clearly realized that being a director wasn't actually that difficult.

Even without a system cheat, Jiang Yifeng, with the informational advantage of his rebirth and his own intelligence, could become a decent director.

"Xiao Jiang, we're about to record a show, you'll be my assistant."

Observe more and ask less; if there's anything you don't understand, write it down in your notebook first.

I'll answer your questions after the show is finished recording.

After lunch, Hu Qian approached Jiang Yifeng and asked him to participate in the filming of the program.

The program we're recording today is titled "It's Art Exam Season Again," and it mainly reports on the phenomenon of 2 art students flocking to apply to several major art colleges.

The opening skit of this episode simulates an art exam.

Jiang Yifeng followed Hu Qian to the company's recording studio.

Dapeng and Jiang Tao are already inside rehearsing their scripts.

This was Jiang Yifeng's first time meeting Dapeng. He noticed that Dapeng was thinner in person than he appeared on camera, about 7 meters tall, wearing glasses, and had a rather serious expression.

When Hu Qian introduced Jiang Yifeng, Da Peng simply nodded politely, without a smile on his face.

But when the small theater performance started, Da Peng immediately changed.

With a smile on his face, he exuded a relaxed and joyful energy, making the mock art exam performance very comedic.

In contrast, Jiang Tao, who served as the assistant host, was much less expressive, no wonder he can only become an internet celebrity in the future.

During the performance, Da Peng would also change the lyrics on the spot and create some jokes to make the small theater more interesting.

Jiang Yifeng was not surprised by Dapeng's performance.

The show "Da Peng De Ba De" is named after Da Peng, and naturally, it revolves around him.

If Da Peng didn't have some skills, he wouldn't be able to hold onto his position as host.

The show has been recorded for over a hundred episodes, and everyone works together very well. With the scripts prepared thoroughly, everything is going smoothly.

The recording of the program was completed at 4:30 pm.

Da Peng said goodbye to Hu Qian and Jiang Tao, and then hurriedly left the company.

Back at her workstation, Hu Qian asked Jiang Yifeng, "How are you feeling today?"

Jiang Yifeng replied, "Though the sparrow is small, it has all the vital organs."

The production cost of Dapeng Debade's show was not high, and the filming location was relatively simple, but it had everything: photography, lighting, prompting, etc.

Hu Qian then asked, "What are your impressions of Da Peng?" Jiang Yifeng was somewhat surprised by this question. After considering it for a moment, he said, "He's generally a bit aloof."

But I understand. It's said that comedians are very quiet offstage, saving all their energy for the stage.

Hu Qian shook her head and said softly, "That's all fake. Da Peng has just gotten arrogant. He wasn't like this before."

He has now entered the entertainment industry and is considering leaving.

Both Shanlu TV and Liaoning TV wanted to invite him to be a host.

Dapeng Debade is an entertainment talk show that, relying on the Sohu Entertainment platform, has a considerable influence.

For example, Xiao Shenyang and Liu Qian became wildly popular after the 2009 Spring Festival Gala.

The first two episodes of Da Peng's talk show featured Xiao Shenyang and Liu Qian, and included exclusive interviews with them.

In today's episode of "It's Art Exam Time Again," Sohu Entertainment interviewed Zhao Yanzi and Huang Xiaoming, asking them for their thoughts on the increasing number of art exam candidates.

By doing this show, Da Peng not only gained some fame, but also made many connections in the entertainment industry.

Since last year, he has starred in two stage plays and appeared in several films.

Now another TV station has invited him to be a host.

Jiang Yifeng, being an outsider, could clearly see that these celebrities were giving face to Sohu.com and Sohu Entertainment, not that they actually had any relationship with Dapeng.

However, being in the thick of it all, Dapeng inevitably became complacent.

It's perfectly normal to be thinking about leaving your job now.

Hu Qian added, "No matter who is missing in this world, the sun will continue to turn as usual."

You have excellent physical attributes, a great speaking ability, and are diligent and eager to learn; you are a promising talent.

If Dapeng really leaves, I will recommend you to the company so that you can be the host and the program can be revamped.

You need to be prepared and practice your hosting and acting skills in your spare time.

After listening to Hu Qian's words, Jiang Yifeng understood her purpose.

The show "Da Peng De Ba De" is publicly promoted as being written, directed, and hosted by Da Peng himself.

This is a very normal packaging method.

However, Hu Qian, the director, was completely removed from the list, which she resented.

Jiang Yifeng is Hu Qian's assistant and is still a newcomer. If Da Peng were replaced by Jiang Yifeng, the show could still be successful.

That would highlight Hu Qian's abilities and achievements.

It will help her get a promotion and a raise.

Of course, Hu Qian's plan was beneficial to Jiang Yifeng.

She really has a good view of Jiang Yifeng's future development.

Jiang Yifeng shook his head and said, "Sister Qian, thank you for your concern, but I only want to be a director and I don't have the energy to be distracted by learning hosting and acting."

I don't have any talent for this either.

And I have a feeling that Dapeng won't leave the company.

According to Jiang Yifeng's understanding, although Dapeng went to host programs on Shandong TV and Liaoning TV, he did not leave Sohu.

There must have been negotiations involved, and Dapeng made the right choice.

But this has nothing to do with Jiang Yifeng.

His goal has always been firm—to become a director and produce works that are recognized by the system as soon as possible.

It's impossible for me to be a TV host.

So Jiang Yifeng continued, "Sister Qian, I think Dapeng's talk show is already on track, and there's nothing new to come out of it."

Even if you take the lead in the show after the change of personnel, you won't achieve much.

Why don't we apply for a new project and film some parody web series, each episode only three to five minutes long, to make everyone laugh?

Anyway, the company's current performance evaluation is mainly based on video views.

If parodying a web series succeeds, that would be a real achievement.

Seeing Hu Qian deep in thought, Jiang Yifeng added fuel to the fire.

"I can direct the web series, and you can be the assistant director. If it fails, the blame is mine, since I applied for the project."

If we succeed, you'll be my teacher and the project leader; the credit will be yours.

Hearing this, Hu Qian glared at Jiang Yifeng and said, "What kind of person do you take me for? You'll take the blame, and all the credit will be mine."
I was just thinking about the feasibility of applying to film a web series.

In theory, as the team leader, I have the authority to apply for projects under 20 RMB, and the company has a high probability of approving them, but a script needs to be written first.

Jiang Yifeng's expression brightened, and he was about to speak.

The phone on Hu Qian's desk rang.

She answered the phone, said a few words, and then said to Jiang Yifeng, "Let's not talk about the short drama for now. Go report to the Human Resources Department first."

Charles is looking for you.

Charles is the English name of Zhang Chaoyang, the boss of Sohu.

"The chairman wanted to see me?"

"That's right, to be precise, he was chatting with all the new employees who joined this month."

Charles often does things that are hard to understand, but don't worry, Sohu rarely lays off employees.

Although he has a bit of a temper, the boss is generally a tolerant and kind person.

Jiang Yifeng never expected that he would meet Zhang Chaoyang, a big shot who had fallen from being an internet godfather to a "perennial runner-up," just a few days after joining the company.

(End of this chapter)