This director loves making friends.

The dim light from the lamp cast the shadows of the two people onto the wall, like a cloud that undulates up and down but can never be separated.

A breeze was blowing outside the guesthouse, making a faint, rhythmic creaking sound, as if something was being moved by the wind.

At the same time, there were also the suppressed mating calls of wildcats, soft, sticky, and intermittent.

After a long while, the wind suddenly picked up, and the little wildcat's cries were no longer suppressed.

With a final, mournful cry, the wind stopped, and the little wildcat vanished without a trace.

Faintly, another sound could be heard.

"You're not as refined as you seem."

"If I told you this was the first time for this body, would you believe me?"

"How is that possible? Don't lie to me, you know so many strange and wonderful things... how could this be your first time?"

"Think about it carefully. I didn't even persist the first time... Never mind, believe it or not."

"It does seem a bit like it, hehe, but I still have my doubts. I always feel you're too..."

"Don't believe me? I'll prove it to you right now..."

"Ah... no, there's no such proof."

"Don't understand? This is the best proof!"

……

Some things, once started, never end.

During the subsequent filming, He Qing spent most of her time staying in Qin Keqing's room. The two would discuss the script and acting almost every day, often until late at night, and sometimes multiple times.

Discussions inevitably lead to debates.

The two argued fiercely, neither willing to back down, their faces flushed and their words extremely heated.

Sometimes, in order to improve the performance and stimulate He Qing's acting skills, Qin Keqing would have He Qing wear "Huanhuan's" clothes, while he would play "Dunzi," who is Xiang Ersao's mentally challenged son and "Huanhuan's" nominal husband.

I must say, He Qing gets into character exceptionally quickly every time this happens.

The plot of "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" is not complicated. Xie Fei may have felt that Qin Keqing was serious about his work, or it may have been his teacher's mentality that came to the fore. During the filming, he would often deliberately explain a few more words about camera movement techniques and camera language.

Qin Keqing knew these things; he had formal training in acting in his previous life and had spent a considerable amount of time working in a state-owned film studio.

But in that era of seniority-based promotion, and given that the small studio could only produce a few films a year, it was unlikely that it would be his turn.

He only "knew" about it; he had never actually worked as a director or assistant director.

What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand.

Qin Keqing benefited greatly from this.

Filming for "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" took 46 days, three days longer than originally planned.

It wasn't that filming went poorly; on the contrary, the filming of this movie went extremely smoothly, with almost no unexpected incidents occurring.

The reason it took more than three days was that Xie Fei intentionally slowed down the filming pace to allow Qin Keqing time to explain or ask questions.

Qin Keqing was extremely grateful to Xie Fei, but he couldn't help but wonder how a casual acquaintance with only 10 points could have such a great effect.

Back then, he used 10 points to become acquainted with Zhang Yimou. Zhang Yimou brought him to the set of "The Story of Qiu Ju" and made him a production assistant, but that was all.

Zhang Yimou did not give him any special treatment.

Literally speaking, Zhang Yimou's approach should be considered the correct way to maintain casual acquaintances.

This made Qin Keqing wonder if even the most basic casual acquaintances could have different effects on people with different personalities?

If that's the case, then Teacher Xie Fei is undoubtedly a kind and helpful teacher who is tireless in his teaching and always willing to help others.

In other words, Director Xie Fei must be a warm-hearted, honest, and kind-hearted person.

Since he's an honest person...

Qin Keqing thought of the news circulating in the industry: Win's Entertainment, a film company from Hong Kong, had sent people to Beijing to negotiate. They planned to make a movie about Su Qi'er and needed to film in Beijing.

In that era, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or foreign films that wanted to film in mainland China generally had to adopt a co-production model to obtain the right to film in mainland China.

China Film Co-production Corporation is a unified management agency authorized by the supervisory authority, responsible for the approval, coordination and management of co-productions. This company mainly undertakes administrative management and some production functions.

It is said that for the sake of large-scale scenes in this movie about Beggar So, the Hong Kong production team even wanted to apply for the participation of the military in the filming.

Even if a Hong Kong film is made into a co-production, it's not something that local state-owned film studios can accomplish by involving the military.

Only China Film Co-production Corporation, which has the authority to approve such matters, has the capability to accomplish this.

The current stage of co-productions is different from the co-productions of the future.

At present, almost all films in China are dominated by state-owned film studios. They lack sufficient experience and understanding of commercial films. In addition, state-owned studios themselves do not have enough funds and have little autonomy in the use of funds, at least before 93.

Therefore, in co-productions in the early 1990s, the mainland mainly undertook the responsibilities of providing venues, equipment, and labor, assisting in filming, and distributing films in the mainland market, and generally did not participate deeply in the creative process.

In fact, even the filming equipment and gear are basically just a title. Hong Kong films shot in mainland China only use the most basic equipment, and almost all the filming equipment is brought over by the production team.

To put it bluntly, the mainland basically only needs to provide the venue and cheap labor, which includes basic staff as well as minor roles and extras.

This type of co-production is the most common.

There are also some that are less common.

For example, "Farewell My Concubine" and "The Story of Qiu Ju" are both co-productions, but they are co-productions that "go global"—the mainland directors and main creators become the core of the creation, and the foreign parties only need to provide funding.

Currently, Win's Entertainment is still in talks with China Film Group Corporation for co-production, and no final cooperation has been finalized, so there is very little news about it.

The main problem lies in the desire to involve the military in the filming.

During this sensitive period, a Hong Kong-controlled film wants to involve the military, especially since the film company's background isn't exactly clean. The authorities will definitely have to think twice about it.

Others might not know about this movie that hasn't been filmed yet, but when Qin Keqing heard that it was a movie about "King of Beggars," he immediately thought of Stephen Chow's famous "King of Beggars."

Is there any way to get into the cast of "King of Beggars"?

This time, Qin Keqing was no longer satisfied with just being an extra.

As a co-production, even if the mainland side does not participate in the cooperation in the form of cash, there still needs to be a person in charge of the management of mainland personnel, the coordination of filming locations, and the cooperation and support in various aspects.

This person in charge is sometimes nominally an assistant director or assistant director, and sometimes an executive producer. This is the position that Qin Keqing has his eye on.

He has his own plans and ideas, and this film, "King of Beggars," is undoubtedly a great opportunity.

The mainland co-production team usually consists of either a veteran producer from a state-owned film studio or a relatively unknown senior "director," who is essentially a veteran assistant director who has almost never directed a film on his own.

Another scenario is that the Hong Kong partner hires relevant personnel from the mainland.

Hong Kong films are shot very quickly and require a very high level of efficiency. Veteran producers or assistant directors from mainland studios have developed certain habits that can create unnecessary conflicts with the Hong Kong side and delay the filming schedule.

The mainland manager hired from outside might not get along well with the mainland staff at first, but the Hong Kong side has long mastered the "secret".

All we need to do is assign the authority to sign off on financial expenditures from the mainland to the hired manager.

This is also the experience they have gained from cooperating with the mainland over the years.

However, becoming the person in charge of this film in mainland China is still extremely difficult for Qin Keqing.

He wasn't from a state-owned film studio, nor was he a "veteran," so the "appointment" route was not an option.

The only solution is to hire externally.

Fortunately, he is now the assistant director of "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" and has a good relationship with Xie Fei. I wonder if he can get something out of Xie Fei, this honest man.