Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

In front of the performing arts building,

The two figures, Zhuge Liang and Feng Yu, were holding banners on either side, with the following text written on them.

"The casting call for the short film 'Sound Mixer' by the Directing Department"

Zhuang Huai'an sat at the table that Wolong Sun Hao had brought over, unscrewed the thermos cup prepared by Fengchu Wang Zhiyong, and slowly sipped his tea.

"Big brother, there's no movement?" After hanging up the banner, Wolong and Fengchu sat down next to him.

"No rush, let the bullets fly for a while."

Before long, the bell rang, and a large group of men and women poured out of the performing arts building.

Seeing the three of them like this, no one was surprised. This was standard practice on the Beijing Film Academy campus. The directing department needs actors, and the acting department needs directors. The two are complementary.

"These three look unfamiliar?" Du Chun, a level 99 student, elbowed the trumpet creeper next to him.

"Could it be a new student?" Lingxiaoshu was also somewhat puzzled.

Yu Bing, a student from the class of '98, came over and said, "That can't be right. How could a freshman dare to take a film without permission?"

Many people may not be familiar with Yu Bing, but he was Hu Hai, Cao Pi. The one who said, "I really want to be emperor," was him.

Zhou Yiwei, a student from the 00 vocational college class, walked up to the group and joined the discussion: "Senior Brother Yu is right, but if these three are really freshmen, then it can only mean one thing: they are a film crew specially approved by the teachers."

The group exchanged glances. As senior students, they naturally understood that if a production team had received special approval from the teachers, it must be of high quality.

On the other side, Huang Xiaolei, a female student, walked over with a regretful expression after reading the recruitment information.

"Sisters, stop looking. There aren't any suitable roles for us, just two male characters."

Yao Dazui sighed and complained, "Fine, no chance again. What's wrong with their directing department? These past few years they've been focusing on male roles, not giving us any screen time at all."

Good grief, Yang Xue, a classmate, rolled her eyes discreetly, secretly tugged at Huang Xiaolei, and went to the cafeteria on her own.

Those who felt it was unsuitable or uninteresting gradually dispersed. Sun Hao looked at the few boys who remained and went up to each of them, handing them a page of the script.

"These pages contain different scenes. All of you senior students are professionals. We'll begin the rehearsal in 10 minutes."

Actually, the audition was fake. The main reason was that Zhuang Huai'an didn't have much of an impression of the students from the recent years of the Beijing Film Academy. Calling it an audition was more like calling him a friend.

Looking at the people who remained, Zhuang Huai'an already had a plan, but since he was already here, there was no harm in watching the show.

Ten minutes later, the group finished performing their segments and then looked at Zhuang Huai'an.

"All of my senior brothers performed very well, and I really have a hard time choosing which ones to choose."

"It's alright, junior brother," said Yang Zhigang. "We're all fellow disciples. Even if a deal falls through, we can still be on good terms. If we don't have the chance to cooperate this time, there's always next time."

The group nodded in agreement. As top students in the performing arts department, they would never lack acting opportunities, either now or in the future.

"Alright," Zhuang Huai paused, "I'd like to invite my two senior brothers, Zhou Yiwei and Zhang Songwen, to act in my debut film. What do you two think?"

Both of them are examples of late bloomers, but their acting skills are definitely not a problem. Moreover, Zhang Songwen is also Zhuang Huai'an's fellow townsman. Hakka people are all one family, so it's worth supporting a fellow townsman.

Zhang Songwen spoke first: "I have no problem. I can be there whenever you need me for the next week."

Zhou Yiwei nodded as well.

"Then it's settled. Thank you all for your support, senior brothers. You've worked hard."

Zhuang Huai'an thought Yang Zhigang was right. Even if a deal falls through, goodwill should remain, and it's never wrong to be polite.

After seeing the others off, Zhuang Huai'an led the Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick, along with the two heroes from the vocational high school class, to the small auditorium and gave them the entire script for the episode.

"My idea is that Senior Brother Zhou will play the main character, Awei, and Senior Brother Zhang will play the owner of the music store."

Anyway, the name doesn't matter. Since Zhou Yiwei is playing the lead role, we can just use his real name.

"Okay," the two were best buddies and didn't mind.

After asking Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to stay and help with the rehearsals, Zhuang Huai'an went to Old Wang's office.

"Teacher, this is the script for the short film I want to shoot. The actors have also been found: Zhou Yiwei and Zhang Songwen from the vocational high school class. We are just waiting for your approval."

"So fast?"

Wang Hongwei took the script and quickly read through seven or eight pages.

"Goodness, you're really going to take this plot twist to the extreme."

Old Wang's expression was complicated. It wasn't that he hadn't seen geniuses before; after all, directing was an industry full of geniuses. But seeing someone like Zhuang Huai'an still shocked him.

An 18-year-old freshman who hasn't even taken any serious professional courses has produced two top-notch scripts.

Wow, at this age, his future is limitless.

"Okay, I'll write you a note now. Just pick up whatever equipment you need from the logistics department. But be careful with it. If there's any damage, you'll have to pay for it at the original price."

"Thank you, teacher. Have a cigarette, teacher." Zhuang Huai'an handed over a Huazi cigarette with a grin and lit it for Old Wang.

"Alright, get lost." Old Wang wrote the note, stamped it with the official seal and his personal seal, tore it open, and placed it on the table.

"Oh, right, teacher, there's something else you need to help me with."

"What is it?"

"I'd like to ask Professor Cui from the acting department to play the murderer. Could you help me put in a good word with him?"

Actually, Teacher Cui isn't that old, but this person's appearance is really suitable.

Wang Hongwei remained silent for a moment, and Zhuang Huai'an thought he was going to refuse, but unexpectedly, Old Wang suddenly laughed.

"You," Old Wang pointed at Zhuang Huai'an and laughed, "with your ability to integrate resources, you've already crossed the threshold of becoming a director."

Okay, I'll tell Teacher Cui about this. Get lost.

"Yes!" Zhuang Huai'an performed an ancient-style greeting in a strange manner and walked out of the office.

After gathering the three of them, Zhuge Liang, Feng Xiaogang, and Zhuge Liang, they successfully obtained the filming equipment from the logistics department.

Back in his dorm, Sun Hao couldn't wait to open his suitcase, close his eyes and sniff it hard, then stroked the cold tripod with a lovesick expression.

Zhuang Huai'an and Wang Zhiyong were disgusted by his appearance. If they didn't know better, they would think he was touching black stockings!

The next day, Lao Wang delivered a message saying that Teacher Cui had agreed to act in the role, and that when it was her turn to act, she could go to her office to find her.

With Teacher Cui as their mentor, Sun Hao recruited two female students from other majors, one to handle props and the other to handle makeup.

Zhuang Huai'an was in charge of directing and filming, while Wolong and Fengchu acted as troubleshooters, handling everything from sound recording and recording to stage management and art direction—they stepped in wherever needed.

He also gave Wang Zhiyong the title of production manager and gave him 50,000 yuan to be in charge of bookkeeping. This trust touched Wang Zhiyong, and he carefully calculated all the expenses several times.

The film "The Sound Engineer" is 14 minutes long and has a simple story.

A down-on-his-luck pianist, who has repeatedly failed, works as a piano tuner. He pretends to be blind and spyes on other people's privacy. This perverse behavior gives him an unspeakable pleasure.

One day, he went to someone's house to adjust the sound system as usual, but unexpectedly got caught up in a domestic murder. He pretended to be calm and completed his work, hoping that his blindness would let him get away with it.

However, the film ends with the moment when the female protagonist points a nail gun at his head.

The essence of this short film lies in its composition and camera work. There are only three main scenes, and the corresponding simulated classrooms can be found at the Beijing Film Academy.

Originally, there should have been storyboards, but Zhuang Huai'an knew every frame of the film by heart. Since he was involved in the entire process, it didn't matter whether there were storyboards or not.

September 30, 2001, Beijing Film Academy Auditorium

The Tuner

Shoot!