I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Outdoor night scenes often require "catching the stars," meaning filming must be completed before dawn, especially in regions like Sumatra where summer days are long and nights are short, resulting in a very short effective shooting window and a very low margin for error.

Night shooting not only has a high technical threshold, but also places extremely high demands on teamwork, time management, and safety, making it one of the most challenging aspects of film and television production.

What was originally just a scene of Zheng He's nighttime raid on a pirate's lair ended up being filmed until midnight, with three or four takes during the shoot.

However, these NGs were not the actors' fault—with the "immersive experience" boost, the actors all performed at 200%, with excellent acting skills and smooth movements.

These three or four takes were basically due to incorrect lighting at night, which resulted in poor image quality. After adjustments, the shots were successfully completed.

Fortunately, the night scene was finally filmed successfully at 11 p.m., and the entire crew breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing exhaustion but also joy.

Cheng Sheng announced to everyone, "Thank you all for your hard work. That's all for tonight. Go back and get some rest, and we'll continue tomorrow."

He then handed over the wrap-up work on set to Peng Da Mo and turned back to the hotel.

After returning to the hotel, Cheng Sheng first went to his room to take a shower to wash away his fatigue, and then went straight to Li Xiaoran's room.

Before long, intimate breathing could be heard from Li Xiaoran's room, filling the air with a tender atmosphere.

Fortunately, it was already past midnight, and the hotel staff had long since gone to sleep, so they were not disturbed by the noise.

An hour later, Cheng Sheng came out of Li Xiaoran's room and went to Da Tiantian's room. Soon, blush-inducing sounds, including Da Tiantian's charming voice, came from the room again.

An hour later, Cheng Sheng arrived at Zeng Li's room.

As night deepened, intimate sounds rose and fell in the room, gradually subsiding around five in the morning.

That night, Cheng Sheng barely rested; if it were an ordinary person, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer.

Fortunately, thanks to the physical enhancement and recovery ability provided by the "simulation panel," he was able to cope with everything with full energy, preventing himself from becoming too weak to walk.

Not far from the dock, a hilltop has been meticulously transformed into an antique-style stronghold. The scattered wooden houses, the mottled walls, and the fluttering black flags exude the ruggedness and eeriness of a bandit's lair—this is the lair of pirate leader Chen Zuyi, and also the filming location for today's movie crew.

Cheng Sheng stood not far from the entrance of the mountain stronghold, his gaze sweeping across the entire film set, and asked the script supervisor beside him, "Are you ready?"

The script supervisor quickly stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Director, everything is almost set up. Only the gate of the mountain stronghold is still being finished with final touches. It will be wrapped up soon."

"How much longer?" Cheng Sheng pressed, his tone tinged with urgency—today's scenes were demanding, and they needed to hurry up and start filming in order to catch up with the schedule.

"The workers are meticulously finishing the details; it should be completely done in about half an hour," the script supervisor quickly replied. "Good," Cheng Sheng nodded and ordered in a deep voice, "You should inform everyone now that once the gate of the stronghold is finished, everyone should immediately take their positions and start filming right away. No delays allowed."

"Yes, Director, I'll pass the word right away!" The script supervisor didn't dare to delay and immediately turned around and left to relay Cheng Sheng's instructions.

After the script supervisor left, Cheng Sheng turned to look at the figure not far away who was adjusting the action props, walked over quickly, and called out to the crew's martial arts director, Dong Wei.

When discussing the charm of Hong Kong films, action elements are undoubtedly an indispensable core component.

From classic kung fu and martial arts films to modern police and gangster films brimming with tension, the superb skills and ingenious action choreography of martial arts masters have always been the pride of Hong Kong films.

For this reason, the Hong Kong Film Awards established a Best Action Choreography Award starting from its second edition, in order to recognize martial arts choreographers who have made outstanding contributions to this field and promote the development of action films.

Among the many outstanding martial arts masters, Dong Wei is undoubtedly one of the most dazzling.

His experience is legendary. During the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, he always held a pivotal position in the field of martial arts choreography, and was considered the pinnacle of the industry.

With his outstanding action design skills, he has been nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Action Design 17 times. He has also won the award 6 times for classic works such as The Spy Who Loved Me, The Purple Storm, The Accidental Spy, Bodyguards and Assassins, Kung Fu Jungle, and Operation Mekong. He is recognized in the industry as a "genius action director".

The most distinctive feature of Dong Wei's motion design is that it has no fixed template and does not follow the rules.

For each film, he tailors his own action style according to the plot and the character's personality and identity. This unconventional creative approach makes his works highly recognizable and has secured him an irreplaceable position in the Hong Kong action film industry.

If you've seen his films like "Seven Swords" and "Painted Skin," you'll find that his action designs are never just simple fight sequences, but rather artistic expressions deeply integrated with the characters' emotions and the atmosphere of the plot. Each move has both visual impact and conveys the character's state of mind and emotions, making action scenes no longer just "showing off skills," but an important vehicle for driving the plot and shaping the characters.

Although Dong Wei gradually faded from the public eye after 2000, focusing more on behind-the-scenes work and quietly cultivating the field of action direction, influencing generations of filmmakers, his status in the industry remains significant.

For the average viewer, his name may not be as well-known as Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee, but in the eyes of those in the film industry, Tung Wai is undoubtedly the last "action hero" of Hong Kong's golden age of cinema.

Some have commented that if Jackie Chan represented the commercialization of Hong Kong action films, and Bruce Lee represented its revolutionary nature, then Tung Wai represented the pure artistry of Hong Kong action films.

His name may not be familiar to the general public, but for those who truly appreciate Hong Kong films and understand the essence of action design, he is undoubtedly an indispensable figure of that era—which is precisely the core reason why Cheng Sheng invited Dong Wei to serve as the martial arts director for this film.

"Brother Dee, I'll have to put in a lot of effort for today's pirate battle scene." Cheng Sheng walked up to Dong Wei, patted him on the shoulder, and said sincerely.

Afterwards, he discussed in detail with Dong Wei the core requirements and plot focus of today's action scene, explaining his ideas one by one. (End of this chapter)