Rebirth 09: Starting from taking charge of Running Man on CCTV

……

On the same day, at 7 p.m.

The basement level of a residential building on the South Third Ring Road in Beijing.

A basement room of less than 40 square meters was converted into a post-production studio.

There were no windows, no ventilation, and an old Ocean non-linear editing system occupied half a wall. The monitor was covered with sticky notes, and cigarette ash and instant noodle crumbs were stuck in the gaps between the keyboards.

Several boxes of DV tapes were piled up in the corner, and a whiteboard was nailed to the wall, covered with project schedules that had been crossed out and rewritten.

Zhao Bin sat at the control panel, a cigarette between his fingers, the phone resting on his shoulder, his face even darker than the basement lights.

"...As I said, this is the final version. The music, on-screen text, and transitions have all been revised three times."

A shrill voice came from the phone.

"Teacher Zhao, our station director said the overall feel is still a bit lacking. Could you adjust it again? Yes, make the end credits a size bigger..."

"One size bigger? Weren't you the ones who made me shrink last time?"

"Hehe, isn't this the station director's opinion? The station director said the budget is tight, could the post-production costs for this episode be reduced by another two thousand?"

Zhao Bin burned his finger with his cigarette butt.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and closed his eyes for two seconds.

"OK."

He said.

The sound was like a flattened soda can being stepped on.

The phone hangs up.

Zhao Bin braced his hands on the control panel and lowered his head.

The musty smell and the smell of smoke mixed together in the basement, making one's stomach churn.

The door behind me rang.

With a creak.

"Who?"

Zhao Bin turned his head away.

There was a person standing at the door.

Dark gray jacket, sneakers, backpack.

Zhao Bin froze for two seconds, then suddenly jumped up from his chair.

"Chen Yang?!"

"Brother Bin."

Chen Yang walked in and glanced around the basement.

A barely perceptible hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.

In his previous life, Zhao Bin endured several years in this kind of environment, developing top-notch post-production skills, but also developing a host of health problems.

"Why are you here?"

Zhao Bin rubbed his face and subconsciously pushed the instant noodle box on the table to the side.

"I heard you went to CCTV?"

"Yes, I came to find you."

Chen Yang didn't waste any words.

He pulled out the chair next to Zhao Bin and sat down directly in front of the Ocean Non-linear Editing System.

Fingers touch the keyboard.

"Do you have any discarded clips in your media library? Any clips from any project will do."

Zhao Bin looked completely bewildered.

"Yes, I do, but what do you want to do with it...?"

Chen Yang has already opened the resource library.

A piece of discarded footage from a local TV variety show was dragged into the timeline.

The video was shaky, the audio was blurry, and the guests' expressions were stiff.

When a post-production team sees this kind of material, their first reaction is "it's hopeless."

Chen Yang's hands fell down.

Drag the timeline with your left hand and mark it with your right.

Cut in, cut out, jump cut, dissolve.

The speed was so fast that Zhao Bin's eyes couldn't keep up.

Thirty seconds.

He edited a jumbled mess of footage into a fifteen-second highlight clip.

Rhythm, timing, emotion.

Zhao Bin's cigarette didn't light, and the lighter stopped in his hand.

Chen Yang didn't stop.

He switched to the drawing tool and drew a square on the screen freehand.

"Put animated text in this position."

He drew an arrow.

"The text isn't a static texture; it moves with the character's head, with pop-up animations, scaling, and shaking."

"When the guest laughs, the on-screen text enlarges; when the guest is embarrassed, the on-screen text shrinks and an ellipsis is added."

"The background music cuts in at this frame, and the drumbeats are on the moment the guest turns around."

He turned to look at Zhao Bin.

Zhao Bin dropped his lighter on the ground.

He stared at the screen, his pupils dilating slightly.

"What kind of...later-stage logic is this?"

"It's already being used in South Korea."

Chen Yang stood up and pushed the chair back.

"But they haven't done it to perfection yet. I have a more complete system in my mind, from editing rhythm to on-screen text to background music timing, the whole process is connected."

He took out a copy of the official approval document from his bag and handed it to Zhao Bin.

Zhao Bin took it and looked at it for ten seconds.

Then he turned around and turned off the power to the Ocean System.

The monitor went black.

The basement was half dark.

"The studio will be deregistered tomorrow."

Zhao Bin picked up the lighter from the ground and finally lit the cigarette.

He took a deep breath, and the smoke he exhaled swirled in the dim light.

"I have four apprentices under me who have been with me for two or three years, and they are all quite skilled."

"Take it with you?"

"Together."

"When are you leaving?"

"Reporting to the 12th floor of the CCTV main building the day after tomorrow."

Zhao Bin put a cigarette in his mouth and began tidying up the cassette tapes on the table.

"Chen Yang".

"Um?"

"That client asked me to lower the price by two thousand, I'm not doing it anymore."

"I shouldn't have done it in the first place."

……

At 11 p.m. on the same night.

Chen Yang dialed his last phone call.

"Sister Ma Li."

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded a bit wary.

"Chen Yang? What are you doing making that phone call in the middle of the night?"

"Sis, are you free tomorrow morning?"

"It depends on my mood. What's up?"

"I'll show you something."

The next morning.

A coffee shop on the East Third Ring Road in Beijing.

After reading the official approval document from CCTV, Ma Li held her coffee cup to her lips for five seconds without putting it down.

"Grade A?"

"right."

"Are you the director?"

"right."

Ma Li put down her coffee cup, took out her phone from her bag, and dialed a number in front of Chen Yang.

"Hey? Cancel that film crew's invitation for me."

"Yes, I'm not going."

I hung up the phone.

She looked at Chen Yang.

"The talent manager position is still mine, isn't it?"

"It's still yours."

"What's your budget for the film's salary?"

"Sister, let's talk in detail when we get to the office the day after tomorrow."

"OK."

Ma Li picked up her coffee and took a sip.

"You little rascal, you've really gone too far."

……

May 31st.

The CCTV main building has twelve floors.

At the door at the end of the corridor, Chen Yang leaned against the wall, holding a cup of tea in his hand.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

The elevator doors opened.

Zhang Lei was the first to come out.

Su Xiao and Liu Gang followed behind him.

Behind them was Zhou Jianjun, carrying his equipment bag, and seven cameramen.

Zhao Bin, with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, led his four apprentices, each carrying a canvas bag full of tools.

Ma Li was wearing low-heeled leather shoes and carrying a briefcase stuffed with her contacts.

Chen Xi walked at the very back, carrying a backpack, her eyes still carrying a hint of unreality.

More than twenty people.

The corridor was packed with people.

Wang Jianguo, the production director dispatched by CCTV, also stood at the back of the crowd, holding a stack of financial management folders, curiously observing these outsiders.

Chen Yang placed the teacup on the windowsill and walked to the door.

Insert the key into the lock.

Click.

The door opened.

The fluorescent lights crackled and lit up.

A 380-square-meter office area unfolded before everyone's eyes.

Chen Yang stood in front of them, his hands in his pockets.

Welcome to the team.

His voice wasn't loud.

"From today onwards, this is our territory."

His gaze swept across every face in the room.