I'm really good at this.

"Brother Hong, I'm so sorry..."

Two months have passed.

The filming of the 25-episode TV series is almost over.

We're currently in the stage where we've finished filming all the dialogue scenes and are now adding some scenes of piloting the mechs.

At this stage, Wang Chen's many shortcomings became apparent.

The character he's going to play is a rebellious young man with a serious, chuunibyou personality who usually has no expression and always looks deep and mysterious.

But the plot is nearing its end, and he has to portray the protagonist's slightly hysterical side.

Just like in typical storylines, the masked man played by Law Kwan is a normal villainous boss who has lofty ideals, works hard in a down-to-earth manner, has like-minded followers, and is moving towards his dream.

Then, naturally, on the eve of realizing his dream, he was disrupted by the protagonist.

Furthermore, the main character often shouts and yells.

The footage being filmed now is from the cockpit in a pure green screen studio.

In the storyline, Wang Chen and Luo Jun are piloting mobile suits, shooting and slashing at each other while interacting wildly.

However, Wang Chen could never quite get this part right.

Zhang Hong handed him a bottle of water, asking with a puzzled look, "What exactly is the reason? Do you have a clue?"

Wang Chen held the water bottle and thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe it's because I don't have much experience. This is a pure green screen studio, and there are cameras everywhere, some almost touching my face, so I'm a little nervous, probably..."

Thanks to Hong Ge's "encouragement," Wang Chen is now bursting with confidence in his acting skills.

Zhang Hong turned around and glanced at Li Shanqi, giving him a look that was best left unsaid.

[Have you reverted to your old habits from making adult films? How could you shove a camera right in someone's face? Looks like you've really overcome your trauma...]

Li Shanqi returned a helpless look.

[He's just bad at the game, how can he blame me? The movie's picture quality definitely needs to be higher. Plus, that way we can save money on special effects in post-production.]

Zhang Hong raised an eyebrow and instructed, "Everyone, take a ten-minute break before filming again."

He clapped his hands to signal everyone to take a break, and Zhang Hong quietly hid in a corner.

Then he dialed Lin Muqing's number.

"What's wrong?"

It was Lin Muqing's calm voice coming from the other end.

Zhang Hong asked directly, "Well, I just wanted to ask how much of our budget we have left."

"Three hundred and sixty-eight million, three hundred and twenty-five thousand, five hundred and sixty-one." The black-haired man recited the accurate number without the slightest hesitation.

There are so many more?

Zhang Hong then asked, "So, how much did we spend on post-production for 'Clouds Falling into the Mortal World' in total?"

Miss Lin pondered for a moment before replying, "Ten episodes, with a cost of just over 1.2 million per episode. If we only consider post-production and special effects, each episode should cost no more than 90,000, which means a total of around 9 million."

"OK, thanks."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Hong began his analysis.

The budget for actors in "Clouds Fall into the Mortal World" was minimal, almost negligible.

The film crew was lent to me by director Sun Zheng, and all my salary and other expenses were paid by director Sun.

The same applies to equipment.

The cost of extras, along with their food and sleep expenses, is factored into the cost of each episode.

Lin Chuan paid for renting the venue.

That is to say, the total investment was 13 million, of which nearly 10 million was spent on post-production and special effects.

"Clouds Fall into the Mortal World" is indeed a mythological drama that requires a lot of special effects.

However, there are also many dialogue scenes, and the actual special effects required are less than half of what is shown in the current "Mobile Suit Gundam" series.

That's very simple.

The cost of the post-production special effects for a single episode of "Clouds Fall into the Mortal World" was 900,000.

Double it up, or even add a little more to two million.

If we calculate the post-production special effects cost at two million per episode, then twenty-five episodes would cost fifty million!

Fifty million for special effects?

Hey.

This amount of money is shockingly small!

Compared to ordinary TV dramas, the difference is ridiculously large, because at least half of the money from their dramas probably goes into the pockets of the actors or the companies behind them.

The remaining money is the production cost.

Zhang Hong had seen the news in his previous life that a certain TV series, which claimed to have an investment of over 100 million yuan, had its main actors take 70% to 80% of the money, leaving only the production costs. In the end, the producer only approved 500,000 yuan for special effects.

What's the point of playing then!

However, Zhang Hong, a keyboard warrior in his previous life, had also checked the data and found that the total investment in "The Wandering Earth" was between 360 million and 400 million, but it was definitely less than 400 million.

Moreover, this includes the total cost of promotion and marketing.

My current post-production special effects expenses alone amount to 50 million, and the level of special effects in China is not bad in this world.

Those TV series and movies with poor special effects are ones I can't bear to spend money on.

You get what you pay for. If you pay less, they naturally won't send their top team to do it for you.

To put it even more bluntly, the quality of special effects is purely a matter of technical skill.

In most domestic films, the director and art director still have the final say.

They think that visually appealing special effects are good special effects.

Truly professional special effects require scientific design based on color matching, audiovisual language, and other factors.

Color grading is also a skill; it requires a professional colorist to adjust the colors according to the director's vision for the story, rather than something an editor might do on the side.

Now, when I, Zhang Hong, am making a TV series, I spend 50 million on post-production and special effects. What's wrong with that?

He even felt it wasn't enough!

There are still nearly 370 million left!

I'd be willing to spend 300 million on special effects!

After resting and returning, Zhang Hong made a bold decision: "Shoot as wide shots as possible! Even if it's just shooting inside the cockpit, shoot the upper body! Shoot the entire cockpit behind the character! Including the 'universe' outside the cockpit!"

Also, please have the engineers move all the 'Unicorn,' 'Giant Green Pepper,' 'Zaku,' and 'Zeon' from Shelter One over here!

Wang Ye, who had been promoted to assistant director, hesitated and said, "But Brother Hong, wouldn't this increase the cost...?"

"Don't worry about costs! The crew has tons of money! I don't even know what to do with it!" Zhang Hong waved his hand dismissively. "Go move it! Then film it exactly as I say!"

joke!

This film wasn't about how much money it made at the box office! It was all about the visual effects!

And just setting up the sets cost 500 million! We can't just let it go to waste, can we?

And there's still over 360 million left! Are you going to spend it all or what?

You should know that 360 million yuan was the entire cost of "The Wandering Earth" in Zhang Hong's previous life!

And that doesn't even include marketing and promotion!

After giving the instructions, Zhang Hong patted Wang Chen on the shoulder and said, "Can't find the feeling, huh? It's okay. In a bit, I'll put the 'Red Three' in front of you and look at it. You'll definitely be able to draw it."

Then he clapped his hands and gave the order: "Hey you! Put 'Unicorn' behind Wang Chen's cockpit in a bit! Put 'Red Three' behind Luo Yun!"

Wang Ye nodded and was about to take action.

Zhang Hong called him back: "There's one more thing. Remember, no matter whose scene they were filming, they always made the other person sit in the cockpit opposite them in their costume, and they didn't let Luo Yun take off his mask either."

Wang Ye continued to nod.

"There's one more thing," Zhang Hong called out to him again, "When filming scenes between the two actors, remember to have them sit face-to-face in the cockpit and rehearse their lines. Don't just film one person's scene; have each of them film with a separate group."

"Okay, Brother Hong."

"One more thing, remember to power up both 'Unicorn' and 'Red Three' on the show, the atmosphere has to be perfect!"

"Uh... I understand, Brother Hong."

"One more thing, remember to raise the cockpits of both people to chest level on the aircraft, and then everyone, please take the time to sit on the ladder and film."

"Huh? Okay..." Wang Ye wrote everything down in his notebook and asked, "Brother Hong, is there anything else?"

"There's one more thing," Zhang Hong said seriously. "Make me a cup of tea, and while you're at it, bring me my military overcoat. Who the hell turned on this air conditioning?! I'm freezing!"

Wang Ye: "..."

"Understood, Brother Hong!"

Watching Zhang Hong's handsome figure as he put on his military overcoat, Wang Chen bit his lip and remained silent.

Then his gaze hardened.

He knew that he could never betray Brother Hong's trust in this lifetime.

He won't make any promises of loyalty, but he will do his best to make this film a success!

Until... he was sitting in the cockpit, his seatbelt fastened, and he was lifted almost twenty meters into the air.

His face was ashen, and he looked like he was about to cry.

Wang Chen has a secret he can't tell anyone.

That is... he has acrophobia!

............

Gao Da wasn't the only one with his feet firmly planted on the ground; Zhang Hong was too.

He sat on a small stool, watching Wang Chen's ashen face on the monitor. His eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, exclaiming, "Great! Only by being there in person can you get the right feel! This is exactly the feeling the male lead needs! What are you waiting for? Let's start filming!"

I, Zhang, am indeed a directorial genius!

P.S.: Daily request for votes 2/2!

I drank quite a bit and went to sleep. I'll try to finish the two chapters during the day, and tonight I'm going to another groom's house to blow up balloons and put up "double happiness" characters.

(Speaking of which, yesterday during dinner, the groom's mother saw that I was fair-skinned and clean-cut, and said she wanted to introduce me to someone... I just believed her for now.)

(づ￣3￣)づ╭❤～