Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

July 15, 2014, Huairou Film and Television Base.

Today marks the start of filming for "So Cute Us".

The casting process is complete.

Female lead Huang Chengzi: Tian Xiwei.

The male lead, Tan Song, is Chen Li.

The second female lead, Zhu Jinxiao, is Meng Ziyi.

Second male lead Chen Zui: Li Xian.

The third male lead, He Jinzhao, is played by You Haoran.

Among them, You Haoran is the most famous. He was a child star and played Xiaoyu in "Home with Kids". He was also part of the original cast in the previous life.

A folding table borrowed from the school cafeteria was set up in the open space in front of the family dormitory. A red cloth was laid on the table, and a statue of Guan Yu, several plates of fruit and a roast chicken were placed on it.

Dozens of people came to the scene, most of them students from Beijing Film Academy.

The directing students carried storyboards, the cinematography students carried cameras, the art department students carried prop boxes, and even the acting students who weren't filming were pulled in to work as production assistants.

With the help of the school teachers, Chen Li brought these people together, mainly to provide internship opportunities.

No salary, but meals are provided!

Dozens of people crowded under the shade of trees in front of the old family building, and the cicadas chirped loudly during the summer vacation, which actually made it quite a scene.

Chen Li, dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, looked unusually serious as he lit three incense sticks and bowed deeply to the statue of Guan Yu.

"Congratulations on the start of filming for 'So Cute Us'!"

"Good luck with the startup!" Meng Ziyi stood behind him, clasped his hands together, and shouted louder than anyone else.

After shouting, she took out a stack of red envelopes from her bag and handed them out one by one to the stagehands, cameramen, lighting crew, and actors, leaving no one out.

Chen Li's eyelids twitched as she watched from the side, and she lowered her voice and leaned closer:

"When did you prepare this? Didn't we agree to be frugal?"

"Is that what you call saving money? That's called being stingy." Meng Ziyi rolled her eyes at him and continued to send out red envelopes with a smile.

"Giving red envelopes at the start of filming is a tradition, a way to bring good luck. My mom said that if you don't give red envelopes at the start of filming, the whole production will be plagued by bad luck."

She stuffed a red envelope into Bai Mengyan's hand and said matter-of-factly.

"This is our first drama together, so I don't care, we can't settle for less."

Meng Ziyi was enthusiastically handing out red envelopes, but everyone who received one said "Thank you, Director," which made her a little annoyed.

At least call her "boss lady"!

Honestly, they have absolutely no sense of propriety...

When Meng Ziyi walked up to Tian Xiwei, little Tian had already stretched out her little hand, looking at her expectantly.

"Thank you, Sister Meng!" Tian Xiwei said with a beaming smile as she took the red envelope.

"Hmph!" Meng Ziyi looked at Xiao Tian, ​​who was bubbling with sweetness, and pouted.

She also had to admit that Xiaotian was indeed cute and very suitable for the role of Huang Chengzi.

What left Meng Ziyi speechless was that this little girl actually had a pretty good figure, quite well-endowed.

Do high school students these days eat this well?

Thinking of this, Meng Ziyi couldn't help but look at his chest.

Hmph! I'm not bad either!

Xiao Tian was completely bewildered by Meng Ziyi's displeased expression.

What's wrong with Sister Meng?

Is it because my period started recently? Or am I in a bad mood?

Filming for "So Cute Us" has officially begun!

Chen Li sat in front of the monitor and called the assistant director, Mao Deshu, and several graduate students from the directing department of Beijing Film Academy to his side.

"Brother Yuan, I'm entrusting the on-set execution and group scene coordination for this scene to you. The key is to capture the sense of relaxation, avoid making the camera too stiff, and preserve the lively and playful atmosphere of the young people."

"Zhang Xuechang, the camera crew, please pay attention. Use handheld close-up tracking shots for Huang Chengzi and Tan Song's scenes together to preserve the sense of breath in their interaction. Don't cut them too much and lose the emotional continuity."

As he spoke, he flipped open the script in his hand.

That booklet not only clearly marked the camera movement trajectory of each shot, but also specified the proportion of ambient sound to be retained during sound recording.

Even more exaggeratedly, precise markings were made regarding where the actors should stand in the lighting and what kind of reaction should be given at each moment.

Several senior students had come with the intention of gaining some internship experience, but after glancing over, they stopped what they were doing.

Is this junior really a performing arts student?

"There's no other way. It's a self-directed and self-acted performance. You can't just split a person in half to use them."

Chen Li closed the script and smiled.

"After I take the stage, I'll leave the control of the footage to you all. If there are any problems, feel free to call a stop. We'll stick to the standards and not compromise."

Upon hearing this, the senior students exchanged glances, all seeing disbelief and shock in each other's eyes.

"Outrageous, absolutely outrageous. Isn't he a freshman in the acting department? His directing skills are more solid than even our second-year graduate students!"

"Not only that! They can also compose music, and one of their songs has been a hit for a long time."

"What else can I say? Genius. The world of geniuses is something we ordinary people can't understand."

"The First Scene, Shot One of 'So Cute Us'—Action!"

After shouting, the assistant director, Cat Tree, took a deep breath.

This was the first time he had ever used a walkie-talkie to yell "action" on a proper film set, and his palms were sweaty.

The clapperboard clicked crisply, and the camera instantly started rolling.

This scene is the famous opening scene of "So Cute Us".

The faculty and staff residential compound at Shude High School is about to be demolished. Five childhood friends who grew up together bid a final farewell to their old days, filled with youthful memories, in the old compound where they had lived for more than ten years, with a carefree card game.

"Tan Song!!!" Tian Xiwei roared, slamming the cards on the ground and lunging to grab the camera. "Why did you take such an ugly picture of me?!"

She shouted and reached for the camera, but Chen Li, taking advantage of his height, held the camera above his head.

She jumped twice but couldn't reach him, so she simply jumped up and hung directly on his arm, both feet off the ground, looking like a koala hanging from a tree branch.

"That's just how you look, who can you blame?" Chen Li tilted his head and looked at her, the corner of his mouth curving in a perfectly roguish way.

"Say that again!!!" Tian Xiwei squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, then grabbed his ear and twisted it.

Chen Li let out an exaggerated scream, and the two of them began to wrestle under the shade of the tree.

Chen Zui, played by Li Xian, helplessly adjusted his glasses, while He Jinzhao, played by You Haoran, laughed so hard he slapped his thigh.

"Card!"

After filming, Chen Li rewound the footage and watched it again.

"You should reduce the exposure compensation of your panoramic view by half a stop; the view outside the window is overexposed."

Chen Li pointed to a corner of the monitor and said to the cat's tree,

"For the next indoor scene, use a diffuser to cover the windows. The light is too harsh after 2 p.m., so move the reflector to the left."

Cat Tree, standing to the side, paused for a second before realizing that the person was talking to him, and quickly lowered his head to write it down in his punctuation book.

How come a freshman in the performing arts department can talk about focal length calibration and exposure compensation so fluently?

The cat, standing nearby, timidly asked:

"Director Chen, you really haven't studied directing before? Your directing is more skillful than those of us who studied it professionally..."

Chen Li paused for a moment. He couldn't very well say that he had cheated, could he?

He picked up the mineral water bottle, took a sip, and said without any particular expression, "I've read a few more books."

Did you read a few more books?

Cat Tree glanced down at the book "Cinematography Techniques" in his hand, which he had been reading for two years, and decided to go back and read it again.