Entertainment from Divorce

At the suburban film and television base, the midday sun blazed with intense heat, casting a pale white halo over the ground.

On the set of "Time Ticks," directed by Lin Qingye, the gray brick walls were scorching hot in the sun, in a scene transformed into the appearance of an old Beijing alley.

"Cut! That take is good! Everyone take a 20-minute break, have some water and touch up your makeup!" Lin Qingye held a walkie-talkie, his voice transmitted through the equipment to every corner of the set.

He was wearing a black director's uniform that was slightly wrinkled from being soaked in sweat, with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and the exposed skin was two shades darker than before.

The footage we just filmed was of old watchmaker Master Zhao repairing his father's pocket watch. In order to capture the subtle luster as the tools glide across the dial, he had the lighting crew adjust the lighting angle eight times. The photographer even lay on the ground and took twelve shots with a macro lens until the texture of the pocket watch's gears was so clear that the scratches left by time could be seen. Only then did he finally nod and approve the shot.

The staff breathed a sigh of relief and headed towards the rest area.

The prop master squatted in the corner, carefully wiping the copper watch repair tools he had just used, afraid of leaving fingerprints; Wang Hao, who played the young Lin Xiaoyu, squatted next to Lin Qingye with the script in his hand, and whispered to ask if his action of handing over the tools was not natural enough.

“Your wrist was too stiff when you handed over the tools just now.” Lin Qingye took the script from Wang Hao and circled the line “handing over tools” with his fingertip. “The young man has a mix of admiration and rebellion towards the old watchmaker. When handing over the tools, you can slightly shake your wrist, making it seem a bit casual, but your eyes should be fixed on the pocket watch to show that you actually care a lot about repairing watches. Next time, let’s try one. Relax, just like when you hand something to an elder in your family.”

Wang Hao nodded quickly, wrote down the instructions on the script: relax your wrists, keep your eyes fixed on the pocket watch, and look very serious.

Looking at him, Lin Qingye recalled how she herself looked when she first entered the industry.

Back then, when he worked as an assistant to his seniors, he would also carry a small notebook and write down every instruction, not daring to miss anything, even the lighting angle and camera distance.

Back then, he never imagined that one day he would be standing in the director's seat on a movie set.

"Director Lin, I've exported the footage from that macro shot. Would you like to take a look now?" The photographer walked over with a tablet computer, the screen showing the footage from the previous shot.

Lin Qingye took the tablet, his fingertips sliding across the progress bar as he carefully observed each frame: the watch face gleamed softly in the warm light, Master Zhao's knuckles were large, and his fingertips had calluses from years of holding tools; when the tweezers picked up a tiny gear, his fingertips trembled slightly.

This detail, added by Zhou Ming himself, perfectly captures the complex emotions of the old craftsman when facing his father's belongings.

"That's a great detail, Teacher Zhou handled it very well." Lin Qingye nodded with a smile, looked up at Zhou Ming not far away, and said loudly, "Teacher Zhou, the shot just now was particularly good," which made Zhou Ming smile and wave in response.

He glanced down at the filming progress chart on his phone. Filming was only a quarter complete, nearly ten days behind schedule.

In fact, at the normal pace, he could have easily sped up the process, for example, by reducing the number of shots and simplifying the details of some scenes.

But he always remembered what Tan Yue told him before filming began: "Film is an art of regret, but if you can leave fewer regrets, you should put in more effort. For your first film, don't pursue speed, but pursue quality that you can still feel at ease watching it many years later."

To ensure he could have a clear conscience, Lin Qingye meticulously scrutinized almost every detail.

"Director Lin, would you like to eat something first? The cafeteria has brought the food over, it'll get cold if you don't eat it soon." The production assistant came over with an insulated lunchbox.

Lin Qingye took the lunchbox but didn't open it immediately. Instead, he walked to a shady corner of the set, sat on a wooden box, and watched the staff eating in the distance. A complex emotion welled up in his heart.

He has very high expectations for "Time Ticks".

Hopefully, this film can move audiences with its delicate emotions, just like Tan Yue's works, allowing everyone to see the human warmth behind traditional crafts.

But at the same time, he was also prepared to fail miserably.

He has seen too many cases of TV drama directors failing when they try to transition to film.

Some films failed because they didn't master the art of condensing narrative, making the story feel like an extended TV series; others failed because they focused too much on artistic expression and neglected audience acceptance, resulting in dismal box office returns.

He couldn't guarantee that he could completely avoid these pitfalls, and sometimes he even wondered if the film's poor box office performance would affect the company's trust in him and disappoint Tan Yue.

Whenever this thought popped into his head, he would think of Tan Yue.

"Ring ring—" The ringtone interrupted Lin Qingye's thoughts, and the words "President Tan" appeared on the screen.

He quickly stood up, dusted off his pants, and went to a quieter place to answer the phone.

"Director Lin, are you busy? I just read the film department's daily report. Today you're filming a scene of repairing a pocket watch?" Tan Yue's voice came through the receiver, carrying a gentle smile. In the background, the sound of typing could be faintly heard, indicating that he was working in his office.

"Not busy, we just finished filming one scene and are letting everyone rest." Lin Qingye held his phone, his tone relaxed. "Today we filmed the scene of Master Zhao repairing his father's pocket watch. It's just that the progress is a bit slower than planned. We've only finished a quarter of it so far."

"Slow is fine, quality comes first." Tan Yue's voice was firm. "I saw in the daily report that you shot twelve takes for a single macro shot? Don't feel pressured. Just spend more time polishing the parts that need polishing. The company will coordinate the funding and resources and won't rush you. By the way, are there any issues that the company needs to coordinate? For example, are there not enough props, or are there scheduling conflicts with the actors?"

"Regarding props, we were short of a few old-fashioned watch repair tools, but the props team has already gone to find them and they should arrive next week. The actors' schedules are also fine; Teacher Zhou and Wang Hao have both turned down other work to focus on filming this movie," Lin Qingye quickly replied. After a pause, he added, "It's just that yesterday when we were filming the alley scene, a few tourists wandered into the shot, causing a slight delay. We've already asked security to increase patrols, and this shouldn't happen again."

"The administration department should communicate with the film and television base about the tourists and add two temporary security guards to ensure that filming is not disturbed," Tan Yue said. "In addition, as the weather gets hotter, we should prepare more heatstroke prevention and cooling supplies, such as Huoxiang Zhengqi Water and ice towels, and give them to all the crew members and actors to prevent them from suffering from heatstroke."

"Yes, Mr. Tan."

Tan Yue smiled and said, "Don't be too nervous, just go at your own pace. I've read your eighth revised version of the script, and it's much more solid than before, especially the storyline about Master Zhao reconciling with his father, the emotional groundwork is very well laid. I believe that as long as you maintain your current state, this movie will definitely have a good presentation."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Qingye stood there holding his phone, his unease gradually dissipating.

He looked up at the film set. The crew had finished lunch and were packing up their equipment in preparation for the afternoon's filming.

Wang Hao was holding the script and discussing the upcoming scenes with Zhou Ming; the lighting crew was carrying equipment and adjusting the lighting angles needed for the afternoon's shooting.

Watching all this, Lin Qingye took a deep breath and gripped the tablet computer in his hand tightly.

It contained all the footage he had shot, each one a testament to his and his team's hard work. He turned and walked to the monitor, deciding to use his break to review the morning's footage again and see if there were any areas for improvement.

In the top-floor office of Brilliant Entertainment, Tan Yue hung up the phone, placed it on the table, and picked up the weekly project report for "Time Tick-Tock" submitted by the film department.

The weekly report was over ten pages long, detailing the filming progress, expenditures, actors' conditions, problems encountered, and solutions, with each item clearly marked.

Tan Yue's fingertip swept across the page on the shooting progress, which read, "25% complete, 32 days of shooting, 8 days behind schedule. The main reason is that key shots have been repeatedly polished to ensure the quality of the footage." Several photos from the shooting set were also attached, including scenes of Lin Qingye discussing with the staff, close-ups of details in the old watch shop, and scenes of the actors rehearsing their lines.

He picked up a pen, ticked the reason for the delay, and wrote, "Agreed to proceed at the current pace, no need to adjust the plan."

In fact, he had noticed the delay when he read the weekly report in the morning, but he was not worried at all.

He understands all too well the principle that slow and steady wins the race. When he was filming Interstellar, he worked with the special effects team for a very long time to refine a black hole special effects shot, and the final result far exceeded expectations.

He trusted Lin Qingye's judgment and believed that this commitment to quality would ultimately be reflected in every shot of the film.

Turning to the expenditure page, Tan Yue noticed that the props team's budget had exceeded it by 15%, with a note stating, "Purchasing antique clocks, old-fashioned watch repair tools, and other physical props to enhance the realism of the scene."

Instead of marking any objections, he wrote next to it, "The budget for subsequent prop procurement can be appropriately relaxed, with priority given to ensuring the quality of the props."

For realistic films, the realism of the scenes and props directly affects the audience's sense of immersion, so this investment is worthwhile.

Turning further down, you'll find the script revision log, which details the revision dates and core adjustments from the first to the eighth draft: the first draft established the story framework, the second draft added a conflict between Master Zhao and his father...

The current script was not finalized until the eighth draft.

Looking at these records, Tan Yue recalled how Lin Qingye would personally deliver the revised script to his office every time he finished revising it, explaining his revision ideas line by line with a notebook. That seriousness and dedication reminded him of his younger self.

"Knock knock knock—" Chen Ye knocked on the door and walked in, holding a newly printed document in his hand: "President Tan, this is the composition proposal for the theme song of 'Time Ticks' submitted by the music department. Teacher Li Mo has written three versions of the melody. We would like to ask you to take a look and see if there is a suitable direction."

Tan Yue took the document and quickly browsed through the theme song proposal.

He drew a circle next to the version that combined the erhu and piano.

"Report this feedback to the music department and have them communicate with Teacher Li Mo to optimize it in this direction." Tan Yue handed the document to Chen Ye.

"Okay, Mr. Tan, I'll take care of it right away." Chen Ye took the documents and turned to leave.

Tan Yue picked up the project weekly report for "Time Tick-Tock" again, his fingers gently stroking the script revision records.

He has high expectations for this movie.

Not only because the script underwent eight revisions, resulting in delicate emotions and a solid story; but also because Lin Qingye's understanding of the story is profound enough, and his appreciation for traditional craftsmanship and human emotions coincides with his creative philosophy.

He sometimes even thinks that if this film is successful, it might open up a niche for the company to make small but beautiful realistic films, filling the gap in the market where there are many commercial blockbusters and few emotionally nuanced realistic films.

But he also knew that the film market was too uncertain.

Sometimes, a well-written and well-made film may fail at the box office due to a poor release date or inadequate marketing; while other times, a low-budget film that is not expected to succeed may become a dark horse of the year by accurately hitting the emotional pain points of the audience.

He couldn't guarantee that "Time Ticks" would be a hit, and was even prepared for the film to have a mediocre box office performance.

Even so, he felt it was worthwhile because it was a work that Lin Qingye had created with his heart, and it was an important attempt by the company to make realistic films, which was meaningful in itself.

At 3 p.m., filming resumed on Lin Qingye's set.

This time, the scene being filmed is about young Lin Xiaoyu helping Master Zhao repair a watch for the first time. Wang Hao needs to portray the process of going from nervousness to gradually becoming proficient.

Lin Qingye stood in front of the monitor, holding a walkie-talkie, his eyes focused intently on the screen.

When he saw Wang Hao nervously grab the wrong tool, he didn't yell "cut," but instead let the camera continue filming.

This unexpected little mistake perfectly reflects the boy's true state, which is more natural than any deliberate performance of nervousness.

"Cut! This one's done!" Lin Qingye said with a smile, giving Wang Hao a thumbs-up.

Wang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, a happy smile spreading across his face. Lin Qingye walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder: "That detail of taking the wrong tool just now was very good. Keep up that realism, and the later scenes will be even more outstanding."

As the sun gradually set, it cast long shadows on the film set.

As Lin Qingye watched the busy figures of the staff and saw the "Zhao's Watch Shop" sign glowing warmly in the sunset, he suddenly felt exceptionally reassured.

He didn't know what the final result of the film would be, but he knew that he had done his best and treated every shot and every line of dialogue with the utmost seriousness.

Just like Tan Yue said, as long as you have a clear conscience, that's enough.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Tan Yue: "President Tan, the afternoon's filming went smoothly. Wang Hao is getting better and better. Thank you for your concern." After thinking for a moment, he added, "I will continue to refine the details and live up to your trust."

Not long after, Tan Yue replied with a short message: "Keep it up, looking forward to your work."

Lin Qingye smiled upon seeing these six words. (End of Chapter)