America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Chapter 114 Featured Shooting Process (4K)

The so-called confirmation of the shooting process is to determine which specific locations can be filmed.

As a temporary photographer, Rosen also needed to get to know things, but it was mainly Mike who talked to Lopez.

Lopez was very cold and even impatient with Mike.

Fortunately, Old Mike is also a seasoned veteran with extensive work experience. As long as you don't mention that he's been struggling with some things lately, he usually won't get angry.

"You are free to take photos in the lobby, offices, and VIP rooms, but please try not to interfere with normal work."

"Can't I take pictures of the counter?"

"Of course not! There are a lot of trade secrets there!"

Lopez rejected Mike without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Rosen felt that there were too few places to film, and many key places he wanted to know were not allowed to be filmed, so what was the point?

Then, Rosen suddenly interjected.

"Won't this kind of shooting process lack uniqueness?"

Lopez sensed Rosen's skepticism and looked at him with displeasure.

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Lopez, I feel that this television program is a rare opportunity for your bank to promote its business. You should create more distinctive content to attract attention, shouldn't you?"

Lopez looked thoughtful.

"You can share your thoughts."

"Mr. Lopez, as a commercial bank, aren't our most important clients always the truly wealthy?"

Rosen began to use the Joker's Ace ability to subtly persuade him.

Lopez showed an expression of agreement; these words really struck a chord with him.

"That's absolutely right! A thousand poor customers can't compare to one rich person!"

"Therefore, I feel it is necessary to showcase the unique features of St. Martin's Bank, such as what wealthy people care about most."

Lopez took the bait instantly.

"Security! We need something that makes wealthy people feel safe! It's a good comparison to the previous Pacific Standard Bank! Mr. DeSanta, I think we need to adjust our filming schedule!"

Mike was surprised to see that Rosen had changed Lopez's mind with just a few words, but this filming process was also beneficial to their show, so Mike did not object.

"Of course, we always respect our clients' wishes when it comes to filming."

"Damn it! I need to talk to the security supervisor about how to better demonstrate the security of St. Martin's Bank! Just a moment, I'll be right back!"

Seeing Lopez leave quickly as if he'd been injected with adrenaline, Mike nudged Rosen's arm.

"Jack, you're really good at talking!"

"This is nothing. Do you believe Lopez will thank me?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lopez, who had just walked out, actually turned back and handed Rosen a business card.

"Sir, I think your abilities are somewhat wasted on being a photographer. Why not come to St. Martin's Bank? I would welcome someone as capable as you."

Rosen smiled and accepted the business card.

"I will consider it carefully, Mr. Lopez."

Mike stared in disbelief at the scene until Lopez disappeared through the doors of the St. Martin's Bank.

"What the hell! Jack, did you cast a spell on that guy?"

"Maybe so, we should get to work!"

Rosen turned around and, under Franklin's guidance, inspected the equipment, while Mike also checked the documents with Megan.

Lopez then made some last-minute adjustments to the filming schedule, focusing on the bank's security while still showcasing its appearance.

"Ahem! May we begin, Ms. Kelly?"

"Mr. Lopez, relax! This is pre-recorded; we can edit it if there are any issues, so don't be so nervous!"

Although she disliked Lopez very much, Megan still had high standards for the quality of the show, so she didn't let Lopez embarrass herself on purpose.

"Okay, I'll take a deep breath."

Lopez's ability to become the bank's general manager shows he has good mental fortitude; after some adjustments, he's finally back to a more normal state.

The recording then officially began.

"Welcome to Fox News! I'm your old friend Megan Kelly!"

First, they recorded an opening speech, with Lopez's role being to stand by as a backdrop.

The recording process was actually very tedious. This opening speech alone was recorded several times, mainly because Lopez was too nervous about appearing on television for the first time.

They either mispronounced their lines or messed up the flow of the script.

In the end, Megan had no choice but to minimize Lopez's screen time and focus on the San Martin Bank itself.

Rosen, carrying a camera, followed Megan into the bank and first toured the lobby.

"—The building we see now was once a museum with a very long history, and you can still see the features of the Spanish colonial era."

Megan is completely lying through her teeth.

The lobby of the St. Martin's Bank has been renovated several times and is no longer the same as it used to be; the only difference is that the interior design is being pushed as far as possible towards a classical style.

Lopez believed this would attract the attention of "old money" types, who liked things like classic and aristocratic aesthetics.

If your decor is too modern, people won't like it.

Therefore, the lobby, corridors, and VIP rooms of the San Martín Bank all have this strong Spanish colonial style.

Rosen carefully carried the camera and discreetly filmed key locations inside the bank, such as surveillance cameras and alarms. These were very important reference materials.

Megan explained everything until they arrived at the general manager's office.

The decorations here are much more luxurious, with even a transparent skylight on the ceiling, giving it a very stylish feel.

There was also a small safe in the room, which seemed to be used to store confidential documents.

Next, Lopez was made to sit in the general manager's office chair and give a self-praise speech.

They'd use phrases like "Saint Martin's Bank has a long history, abundant funds, and top-notch security" to describe it.

"Cut! Mr. Lopez, that's about enough!"

"Ms. Kelly, is that all?"

Lopez licked his lips, looking somewhat unsatisfied. He had completely adapted to the filming process after initially feeling nervous.

Especially in the final stage, when you're showing off in front of the camera, it's hard for men to resist that feeling of showing off.

"We have enough footage, but the cameraman needs to shoot some more footage inside the bank, and we'll add voice-over to that footage later."

"Oh, I understand! I'll have someone work with this photographer."

Lopez admired Rosen quite a bit, so she called her secretary and asked her to cooperate with Rosen's work as much as possible.

Rosen nodded to Megan, then carried the camera and went out with Lopez's secretary.

As they left, Lopez's greasy tone could still be faintly heard.

"Ms. Kelly, would you do me the honor of having dinner with me tonight?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lopez, I have work to do at the station tonight."

Lopez's secretary is also a blonde, blue-eyed beauty.

Of course, she's definitely not as pretty as Meghan.

Furthermore, there are traces of technology involved; the two large spheres on her chest are clearly fake, and her buttocks are also quite eye-catching.

"Mr. Cole, where would you like to start filming?"

The female secretary was quite indifferent. It was because Rosen's current look was too ordinary. If Lopez hadn't asked her to cooperate as much as possible, she wouldn't have wanted to look at Rosen at all.

If it were Rosen's original appearance, the female secretary's attitude might have been different.

"May I take a picture of the counter first?"

"Yes, but filming staff at work is not allowed."

"It's okay, I just want to take a picture of the entire counter area. It's fine even if there are no staff members."

After taking pictures of the counter, we went to take pictures of the security room, and then the door to the underground vault.

The female secretary was quite cooperative, allowing Rosen to capture a great deal of footage.

"Is that enough?"

"Ma'am, may I take a picture of the vault?"

"Inside the vault? Are you crazy?"

"I think many viewers are very curious about what the inside of a bank vault looks like."

The female secretary stood with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed, clearly indicating that filming the interior of the vault was not her decision.

"Madam, if you can't make the decision yourself, why don't you ask General Manager Lopez?"

The female secretary rolled her eyes at Rosen impatiently.

"Okay, I'll go ask Mr. Lopez now."

Not long after, Lopez came over.

"Mr. Cole, I heard you want to film the inside of the vault?"

"Yes, Mr. Lopez. Because I think this will increase ratings. Viewers will definitely be very curious about what the inside of the vault looks like, and the TV station can even use this as a gimmick."

Rosen's words greatly appealed to Lopez; a buzz meant high viewership.

High viewership means more viewers will see the St. Martin's Bank sign, making the GG effect even better.

Although Lopez previously said that a thousand poor customers are not as good as one rich customer, rich customers are few and far between, so the bank's daily operations still have to rely on ordinary people to maintain them.

"But doing this might pose safety risks!"

"Mr. Lopez, after filming is complete, we can edit the footage according to your company's guidelines, cutting out any scenes involving safety concerns, and then there won't be any problems, right?"

Anyway, since Lawson just copied the full version, whether it's edited or not doesn't affect him much.

Lopez was eventually persuaded by Rosen.

"Yes, this part of the footage needs to be reviewed by me before it can be played."

Lopez quickly brought in Mike and signed a supplementary agreement with him.

Mike didn't refuse; filming the vault would indeed help boost ratings. However, he was becoming increasingly suspicious of Jack Cole's motives.

Finding an opportunity, Mike quietly asked Megan, who had brought Jack Cole to act as a temporary photographer.

"Megan, what exactly does that guy you brought want?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't! I can only tell you that the person behind him saved my life before! Let's just pretend we know nothing!"

"Fuck! Won't this affect my retirement?"

"Mike, you're only 49, you're far from retirement! He'll be fine, he's just a temporary worker!"

Temporary workers are not only found at the University of Tokyo, but also in various industries in America.

"Okay, if the police and the FBI ask me, I'll just answer truthfully."

At this moment, Franklin came over. He was the most idle person on set because his job had been taken by Rosen.

"Mike, I advise you not to do this, it'll cause trouble!"

"Don't tell me this guy has a really scary background!"

"Ahem! To be honest, the person behind him helped Megan and me deal with Francis Richie of the Bonanno family. If it weren't for that person, Megan and I don't know how long we would have been hiding."

Mike's eyes widened. Of course he knew about the Bonanno family and Francis Richie. These things had been all over the place lately, and even Fox News had done a special report on them.

"You slut! You win, I'll shut up!"

This was no longer a matter of whether he could retire peacefully; he might be sinking into the Pacific Ocean. So Mike decisively backed down.

Meanwhile, Rosen was watching Lopez open the underground vault of the St. Martin Bank.

The basement of the St. Martin Bank has a very standard, huge, round vault door, the kind of metal door you often see in movies and video games.

The process of opening the door is also very complicated.

First, you need to swipe two identity cards at the same time: one is General Manager Lopez's card, and the other is the security supervisor's card.

Both cards must be swiped simultaneously, with an interval of no more than 10 seconds between them.

Then you need to enter your password and undergo facial recognition.

That's not all; the valve also needs to be turned correctly for the vault door to open properly.

As the round metal door slowly opened, Rosen estimated its thickness to be about fifty centimeters.

Even if Rosen loaded all his C4 explosives onto the 50-centimeter-thick solid metal door, he definitely wouldn't be able to blow it open.

Just as he was about to go into the vault to see what was going on, Lopez stopped Rosen.

"Don't rush, we can't go directly into the vault yet."

Why is that?

"There are infrared sensors at the entrance to the vault. If someone enters the vault within one minute of it being opened, the metal door will automatically close and sound an alarm after five minutes."

Rosen was startled. If he hadn't known about this trap, he could have easily fallen into it.

Once you're locked in this vault, you'll truly be left with no one to turn to for help.

Noticing the smug look on Lopez's face, Rosen immediately offered a compliment.

"What a brilliant design! I wonder who came up with this strategy?"

"Hahaha! This was just an idea I came up with, nothing to brag about! Nothing to brag about!"

Although she said it was nothing, Lopez's expression said otherwise, as if to say, "Hurry up and praise me."

The security chief of St. Martin's Bank and the match-fixing secretary immediately started flattering him, and even Megan said something insincere.

One minute later, the infrared alarm was deactivated, and Lopez led the others into the vault.

The first thing that catches the eye is several gold bars stacked into rectangular shapes, neatly arranged on a wooden pallet.

(May wealth come your way!)

The dazzling gold made Megan freeze in a daze, and the female secretary swallowed hard.

It would be difficult for ordinary people to see so much gold piled up together, and few people can resist the allure of such wealth.

"How about it? Isn't it incredibly impressive?"