When will I be the queen

Chapter 463 Difference
Cai Cai was still processing what the Immortal Lord had said earlier—the positive malice and the malicious concern.
"Well, while I think what you said makes sense, it's also a bit too subjective. In my observation, many people don't actually care about people they don't concern themselves with. They only show concern when they get something in return. For example, it satisfies their curiosity, their sense of morality, or allows them to release malice. So, positive concern is positive, and malicious concern is malicious. There's no such thing as positive malice, only hidden malice."

Cai Cai was even more resolute than the Immortal Lord. "I understand what you mean. I'm also glad you didn't misunderstand me." However, "Your life experience is the path you've walked. Although we have the same profession, we are not on the same path." It wasn't that she didn't know the Immortal Lord had been trying to help her avoid all the hardships he had suffered, but people are different, their attitudes towards hardship are different, and even the hardships they face are different. This leads to paths that, while seemingly similar, are actually completely different.

"You think saying your life is barren is a malicious attack? I simply won't listen to that. I don't care if it's well-intentioned or malicious, I just won't listen." Cai Cai felt that, in a way, she and the Immortal Lord were on the same page—the Immortal Lord also wouldn't listen. "Hahaha. I mainly feel that you're just too tolerant of everything at work. Like you said, you accept everything for your career, which is something I can't do. My career ambition wouldn't allow me to accept everything it brings."

Regarding the positive malice portrayed in film and television dramas, "The director wants the audience to realize that people who truly want to help you won't just advise you to do things you can't do. It's not just about saying nice things." As for Cai Cai herself, "If my friend is a victim of domestic violence, I'll fight back for them first. Once they've had their fill, then we can talk about other things. The law should only be used when the other party is also using the law. If they don't use the law, then we'll use other methods first, and then deal with it when they decide to use the law."

Cai Cai laughed again, "My mom taught me that."

That's the difference. The Immortal Lord may not have received proper guidance from a very authoritative elder during his upbringing, and he entered the workforce very early, prematurely entering the brutal jungle of the workplace. He got to where he is today by relying on himself step by step. The process must have been very difficult, but he is undoubtedly successful and a very opinionated and intelligent person.

This is also a fundamental difference between her and others. She is not a smart person. Although she was not treated or taught well by her elders in the past, she later received a lot of love. In this life, although Cai Cai knows that her family's upbringing of her was not very good and she was spoiled too much, she was still deeply loved.

Tragically, the Immortal Lord didn't. She knew what that felt like. But Cai Cai didn't know what the Immortal Lord's true feelings were either.
However, Cai Cai looked at the Immortal Lord and said, "You and I are truly on different paths." She and the Immortal Lord shared so many similarities, yet they were also fundamentally different, remaining distinct in various ways. This led them to view themselves, others, and the world differently, with varying mindsets and perspectives. In fact, their differences were so vast that it seemed impossible for them to ever walk the same path.
If she saw a scene in a movie or TV show where the main character is abusing their family, and a supporting character tries to intervene, only for the main character to suffer greatly after listening and eventually turn the tables, she would simply think that the supporting character is probably someone with connections, and that the screen time was being blatantly increased.
Cai Cai grinned, "If one day all your phones could be turned off, even for just one hour, I think your life would be more fulfilling." But that day will probably never come.

The immortal lord lowered his head slightly, "That day will never come. Career and life are one and the same."

However, Cai Cai's directorial thinking is really strong. He dug out a new drama from the company that was being streamed online. "It's starring the artist you chose. He's barely considered a top-tier star now, and he can sit in the same row as Si Chen."

Cai Cai glanced sideways, "So strong?"

"The company signed revenue sharing contracts with several platforms and pushed a lot of resources on him. There were two top-tier productions, one of which he played a leading role and became quite popular. The platforms boosted the viewership data, and his scenes performed very well. He has already shown the ability to carry a drama. From the beginning, he was marketed as a 'chosen actor.' Although he didn't live up to that image, the audience's impression of him was that he was someone who really wanted to act. After releasing a lot of press releases and creating many on-screen couples, he rose to fame."

The immortal felt that although his acting was mediocre, he still conveyed the feeling that he wanted to do his best to act well to the audience.

"Audiences are easily drawn to this kind of hardworking persona."

Cai Cai remembered him, but she couldn't remember his name. When she saw that the Immortal Lord had started watching his show, she asked him about it.

“Chunqiao,” the Immortal Lord replied, “that’s the name on my ID card now, it’s been completely changed.” He changed the name as soon as he had a little data. No wonder Cai Cai didn’t remember it.

It's quite artistic. Cai Cai watched the show and almost didn't recognize the actress. Because there are characters and makeup in the show, and actors naturally change after becoming famous, Cai Cai didn't think much of it and just watched the show attentively.

Well, how should I put it? "It's completely an amateur's acting." I didn't see any effort involved.

The immortal paused, fast-forwarded a bit, and showed Cai Cai this scene, saying, "Take a look, if it were you, how would you film it?"

This is an emotional scene. The camera slowly zooms in on the character, moving upwards and focusing on their upper body, occupying two-thirds of the frame. The character is delivering a long monologue, a self-analysis of their inner feelings. The actor's eyes redden as they speak, and they even choke up. Then the camera pans to another character, who also occupies two-thirds of the frame, delivering a long monologue of words, expressing emotion and comfort. The two then slowly approach each other, kiss, and nestle together.

"The director got lazy. The camera position was fixed and never moved, so the perspective never changed. If it were me, I would start by shooting the male actor from below, with the camera taking up half the frame, but not showing the top of his head. The female actor would also be partially visible, which is the girlfriend's perspective. When shooting the female actor, I could show the top of his head. Since the female actor looks better, I could shoot more of her to enhance the visual appeal, which is also the boyfriend's perspective. For these kinds of scenes where dialogue is interrupted, it's best not to fix the camera position. You can use a fixed camera for solo scenes, but for scenes with multiple actors, you can change the perspective."

Cai Cai asked the Immortal Lord, "Is there something wrong with this drama? It looks alright, but the two leads don't have strong chemistry, and their costumes and styling don't match." The camera is very good at creating chemistry, especially through clothing and accessories. If it's a female-led drama, the male lead's clothing and accessories are chosen from elements of the female lead's makeup and styling; if it's a male-led drama, it's the other way around.

However, in this scene, the two characters were clearly having an emotional exchange, but the actors themselves lacked chemistry, and the makeup and styling also failed to do so. This suggests that the crew behind the scenes was somewhat passive and uncooperative.

Is there something wrong with the production team?

Xianjun didn't hide anything, "This director wanted to go to another project, but the director already cast for that project was transferred, so they brought him in to take over. He seemed quite happy at the time, without any complaints, but as you saw, he didn't really manage anything from the camera work to the makeup and styling. Later, the company received an anonymous tip that he had let the cinematographer act as the director. The company investigated and found that he had been on set the whole time, so they didn't take the tip seriously."

The result is what it is now.

"Didn't you notice when you organized the screenings?" There are all sorts of screenings now, just to make it easier to sell projects and make more money.

"The first three episodes didn't have this problem. The remaining thirty-three episodes were reviewed by a rating group, and they gave them quite high scores. The platform was satisfied and aired them directly. Now, after about twenty episodes, viewers can tell that the director has been changed." Xianjun showed this to Cai Cai because the company is now re-evaluating the director. "But the director is over fifty, a veteran in the company, with many connections. He's been protesting his innocence, which has implicated Chunqiao. Both the company and the platform are pushing Chunqiao, so the situation is quite serious now."

Xianjun wasn't oblivious to the director's fault, but "besides the director, 'the makeup, set design, scriptwriting, and editing—all of them have problems and are under review. Now, the company's higher-ups suspect that this project was bribed to sabotage Chunqiao. Because if this show does well, Chunqiao can solidify his image as a talented actor and feel confident ranking among the top. But the company also thinks it's unlikely that spending so much money to sabotage a project would lead to the downfall of a nobody with no achievements and almost zero commercial value."

Cai Cai was completely confused. Good heavens, so the entire crew, from the director to the editor, was just slacking off and doing nothing?
"That's unlikely. Don't they plan to quit this industry altogether?" This industry is so cutthroat; once you try it, you might never be able to make it again.

Xianjun also felt it was impossible for the entire crew to be slacking off; secrets don't stay hidden in the industry. If everyone were slacking off, it would have been all over the place by now. "But you also noticed the problems with the director and makeup artist, which means that those in charge of those two roles definitely didn't do their jobs properly." A well-made film or television series may not win awards, but a bad one is immediately obvious. Audiences may not understand, but they are more perceptive. "Then, it's very likely that the other staff members also had the same problems. If you were the director, assigned a project, and it turned out like this, what do you think caused it?"

Cai Cai stroked her chin. "It seems the director's problem is indeed bigger." Because the director is the overarching figure of the entire work, deciding everything. "If I were to slack off and produce a work of this caliber, I would definitely be dissatisfied. Don't you feel the same way? Do you think the director is unhappy that he wasn't the first choice and was pulled in at the last minute to clean up someone else's mess, which is why he slacked off?"

The Immortal Lord did indeed have this idea, "because thinking in this direction would make things easier to handle." It's much better than being set up. "Because if we were set up, it would be obvious that there are too many moles within this project."

Oh dear, that's true. It's better for the director to be bad than for a group of people to be bad.

But that's not necessarily true. "Although the director is in charge of a project, there are investors, production companies, distributors, and so on behind him, all of which can limit and influence the director's power. You might as well have a good talk with the director and then talk to the artists. With a different perspective, the crux of the problem will be easier to see."

Xianjun nodded, "The company had talked to them before, and they all complained that they were wronged. Chunqiao even complained that many of his scenes were missing, which was almost an admission that he was being bullied by the entire crew."

Cai Cai said it was impossible, and then reopened Chunqiao's scene, slowing it down. "Look here, his face has obviously been edited. The edges of the halo here are wrong." Cai Cai edited the video herself, and even without slowing it down, she could see it. "When it was this actress's turn, although her face shape was also edited, it looked much more obvious than Chunqiao's; the lines were more crooked."

The immortal frowned and looked closely. It was true; someone who was bullied by the entire crew would never have their picture properly edited.

"It seems things are more complicated than we thought." It turns out that no one in the entire crew, actors, or behind-the-scenes personnel, is telling the truth.
Cai Cai believes the problem might not be caused by one or a few individuals, but by many. "They may not have known about each other from the beginning; they were just causing trouble at the same time. Later, when they realized each other's existence, they all chose to cover for each other, which led to this situation. The problem was clearly very serious, and there were many troublemakers, but the project still went online, and everyone made money." You can tell whether it's profitable or not just by looking at the various advertisements on the screen.

Viewers think that viewership ratings are the most important thing for a show, but actually, attracting advertisers is the most important thing. Because making money is the most important thing.

The Immortal Lord agreed with Cai Cai's idea, "One mole ruins things, a group of moles succeed. This would make a great script."

Cai Cai burst out laughing. "Goodness, it's true!" she exclaimed. "Then why don't you write it? Write a play, a movie script. It should be easy to attract investors." Although comedies are the hardest to film, they are also the easiest to sell.

The immortal lord took this matter seriously and, once he had investigated it thoroughly, he actually wrote it into a script.

After a busy period, the grand ceremony finally arrived.

Because Cai Cai was busy with the Ninth Princess project, Cheng Meixia was given free rein in her makeup and hair styling. She did indeed choose a red dress.

Huamei was live-streaming from 9 AM to 9 PM. Cai Cai was scheduled to walk the red carpet at midnight and enter her seat at 6 PM, both prime times.

“You and Xianjun are together, and all the artists from your company are together. Huamei’s seating arrangement this year is based on companies forming squares, which makes it very easy to see which company is strong. Wanqian is sitting in the very center and closest position because of you and Xianjun.” Mei Zhang had told Cai Cai a lot the night before. “Some artists’ personal studios are also arranged together, because artists with personal studios are all big names.”

"The contract details are quite complex, aren't they?" Cai Cai was being held down by Cheng Meixia while Zhou Qing and Fang Qiao gave her a full-body treatment. She glanced at the tablet on the stand, looking at the script and storyboards, and also had to listen to Mei Zhang speak. She was really busy.

"It depends on the artist's own choice. This is also Huamei's cunning. Generally speaking, artists will choose the company with the strongest strength or the one with popular artists."

"Isn't this making things difficult for the artists? What if their other contracted companies give them a hard time later?"

Mei Zhang didn't think there was anything to sympathize with. Zhou Qing also said, "Newcomers don't dare to sign with a company at first, so they do subcontracts. But if they still do subcontracts after they've gained fame, that's a bit lacking. Some artists want to sign with a good company and have a good contract, some want to make money on their own, and some simply want more freedom. There are many reasons. These are all personal choices, so they also have to bear the consequences of those choices."

"If it's a mixed seating arrangement, Huamei doesn't really care. Many artists just sit with those they're close to. After all, the celebration lasts a long time, so they find someone they're close to to chat and maybe even create a couple image."

Mei Zhang showed Cai Cai the seating arrangement in the venue, as well as the stage and the large screen.

"This year there are five large screens. The one in the middle is the main screen, showing the filming location. The two on the left and right are also showing the filming location at different times. The first one on the right is the live broadcast, where you can see comments and bullet comments. The first one on the left is a real-time projection of the online platform's comment section. This projection is the most popular because ever since the second Huamei Festival introduced this feature, there has been a lot of excitement about it."

Mei Zhang highlighted this, saying, "For example, fans fight, expose scandals, gossip, and even propose. Since the first celebrity proposed on it, many others have taken the opportunity to publicly announce their relationships, confess their love, propose, or announce their pregnancies, because it generates the most buzz."

Wow, this is quite a scene! So, "what exactly is this 'scandal'?"

"There was a time when a celebrity publicly accused his wife of gambling while posting on social media, and another celebrity exposed his husband's infidelity. These kinds of celebrity self-disclosures of scandals are very common. There are also cases where fans accuse celebrities of fraud and extortion."

Cai Cai had no idea that Huamei was organizing such a large event; no wonder it was a global celebration. "This is much more lively than those film and television festivals or fashion events."

"It was truly bustling, but also truly chaotic. Some of the rumors were false, but the hype was so high that they couldn't afford the PR costs, so even after the clarifications, it was all for naught. Many celebrities have fallen because of their glamour."

Cai Cai shuddered. This was terrifying. "Spreading rumors is illegal!"

"Some people take the money and don't care, while others are driven by personal hatred and don't care either. So every year when Huamei is broadcast, it is also the busiest and most profitable time for many public relations companies."

Oh, Cai Cai thinks it's quite impressive that Huamei has been able to successfully hold one session after another.

"So Hua Mei is both popular and powerful, winning awards such as Most Popular Public Servant of the Year, Honorary Public Servant of the Year, Glorious Worker of the Year, Hardworking Farmer of the Year, Best Police Officer of the Year, Most Lovable Person of the Year, Strongest Firefighter of the Year, Coolest Armed Police Officer of the Year, Special Police Vanguard of the Year, and also the Most Corrupt and Laziest Official of the Year."