Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 811 Singing by Myself

June 11, afternoon.

Jiangnan Film Studio.

Chen Fan returned to the provincial capital on the 18th, but since the 19th was a Monday and he had classes in the afternoon, he didn't go to the Jiangxi Film Studio. He only came over leisurely after finishing his classes this morning.

Then you see Kuang Mingyi with messy hair, holding a camera and filming the actors.

Chen Fan walked towards the center of the set, and the others waved to him silently so as not to interfere with the filming.

It wasn't until Director Wu saw him that he came over, offered him a cigarette, and whispered, "When did you get back?"

Chen Fan looked at the camera and saw Yuan Wang fighting with several Japanese soldiers. A group of veteran actors from the Jiangxi Film Studio, along with Yang Zhenlong and others, were surrounding them, pretending to be bystanders. Xu Danping was also among them.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

While it's possible for an actor to play multiple roles, your approach is far too economical. Decades from now, someone will surely point out that Jiang Film Studio was short of money and manpower back then, and the evidence will be the repeated use of the same group of actors, all of whom are familiar faces.

Chen Fan took the cigarette, lit it, and took a puff. He said, "I went back the day before yesterday, but I had classes these past two days, so I couldn't come over."

He then gestured with his chin and asked, "Are you still filming 'The Great Hero of Tianjin'?"

Director Wu grunted in agreement, looking somewhat troubled. "We originally planned to finish filming in half a month, but it's dragged on until now, and there are still more than a dozen scenes left to shoot. Luckily, we're using videotapes, so the ruined ones can be developed and re-recorded. If we were using film, we would definitely lose a fortune."

Chen Fan chuckled as he listened.

When he left, he heard Kuang Mingyi say that it would take half a month to film the two parts of "The Great Hero of Tianjin", and he knew that it was impossible.

Do you really think everyone is like you, able to film anything so quickly?

Innocent!

Director Chen is a once-in-a-century cinematic genius, drawing upon dozens of professional film books and magazines, and incorporating the essence of hundreds of film shots from the next few decades, merging the two into one.

Even so, Kuang Mingyi still had to provide assistance, which is why "Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tips" was filmed in just over a week. However, when filming the large-scale scenes of "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," they still encountered some troubles.

Moreover, Mingyi had only served as his assistant director for two films. Even with decades of cinematography experience, it wasn't so easy to make up for it.

Look at this mess, isn't it?

"Okay, this one is approved."

Kuang Mingyi straightened up, carrying the camera, and carefully handed it to someone next to him before walking over, his hands on his back.

He saw Chen Fan and gave a wry smile. "This TV series will probably take another week. Why don't you film your movie first?"

Chen Fan pulled up a chair and sat down, laughing, "It's alright, a few more days won't make a difference. You can continue filming, and I'll use this time to do some post-production work in advance."

Kuang Mingyi seemed embarrassed, "I'm sorry to have taken up your time."

Chen Fan waved his hand, "That's how filming is. There's never a smooth ride. When we were filming 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain,' we also had all sorts of mishaps."

Kuang Mingyi leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat dejected. He took the cigarette offered by Director Wu, lit it, and exhaled a puff of smoke in frustration. He said, "When I was your assistant, I didn't think making movies was particularly difficult."

You had never worked in film before, yet you were able to direct an excellent feature film like "The First Lotus Bud" right from the start, and then you were able to direct the large-scale scenes in "Monk Comes Down the Mountain." While there were some stumbles along the way, even the best director wouldn't be without problems.

He flicked his cigarette ash as he spoke, "I saw how smoothly things were going for you, so I thought I'd take advantage of the two weeks you were in meetings to film these two episodes of the TV series."

Actually, the two episodes of the TV series are not long, only 100 minutes in total, which is about the same as a movie. I just treat it as a movie with a simple story.

Unexpectedly, when it was my turn to direct, I felt that many things were beyond my control, and the filming results were mediocre. Why is that?

Chen Fan took a drag of his cigarette, a wide grin spreading across his face. He thought to himself, "Of course it's because you don't have a skill board."

He adjusted his posture by holding onto the chair and said to Kuang Mingyi, "First of all, I think you're making movies for yourself, and the films you make are for the audience, so there's no need to compare yourself to anyone. Being able to make the film smoothly is a victory."

The second one,

Chen Fan held up two fingers and shook them. "Whether it's a movie or a TV series, it's all about artistic creation. You have to make it according to your own ideas, not simply imitate others."

He pointed to the film set where they had just filmed and smiled at Kuang Mingyi, saying, "That scene just now was very similar to a fight scene in 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain.' Don't say it wasn't an imitation."

Kuang Mingyi smiled sheepishly and said, "There are some things I didn't have my own ideas about, so I just thought of imitating the clips you shot. Anyway, I started as your assistant director, so even if people find out, no one will say I plagiarized. They will only say that you taught me well."

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. He hadn't expected Kuang Mingyi to be like this.

The next second, Kuang Mingyi continued, "However, I am also aware that imitation is not a long-term solution, so I only borrowed a part of it in this play. When I make a play in the future, I will try to use my own ideas."

Chen Fan nodded and said, "It's not that I don't want you to use it, but you need to be aware of the consequences. Since you've already made your own plans, then there's nothing to worry about."

Then he turned to Director Wu and asked, "Has the film of 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain' been developed yet?"

Factory Director Wu immediately said, "The footage that has already been filmed has been developed and is just waiting for you to edit it and add the background music."

Speaking of background music, Director Wu had a sudden inspiration. "Last time you promised Li Guyi and Zhu Fengbo a song each. Who are you planning to ask to sing this time?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "I wrote two songs this time. One is suitable for a female voice, so I'll give it to Sister Li for now, and Zhu Fengbo can do it next time. The other one is more suitable for a male voice..."

Factory Director Wu suddenly said, "Then how about giving it to Bian Muchuan, the principal singer of the symphony orchestra?"

Chen Fan shook his head and smiled, "I'll sing this song myself."

Ok?
Factory Director Wu and Kuang Mingyi looked at him together. "You'll sing it yourself?" Chen Fan threw away his cigarette butt, shrugged, and said helplessly, "Old He said that since I've joined the National Musicians Association, I should create and publish more works. I've previously created 'Young Friends Come to Meet,' 'Starting Over,' and 'Young Ambition Knows No Sorrow,' all of which are very good songs. He hopes I can continue to work hard, and in addition to creating, it would be best if I could also sing a few songs myself."

He spread his hands and said, "I have no choice but to do it."

Upon hearing this, both Factory Director Wu and Kuang Mingyi were speechless.

He joined the Writers Association, Music Association, Film Association, and Fine Arts Association at the same time; it seems there's no one else like him. Moreover, these four major associations were established in the early days of the People's Republic of China and have always been the backbone of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, incomparable to the smaller associations established later.

Thinking of this, the two couldn't help but look at each other and sigh inwardly, realizing that the difference between people is greater than the difference between people and dogs.

Kuang Mingyi understands this best. He's a veteran photographer, but he never expected that his first time directing would be so far inferior to Chen Fan's.

Destroy it quickly, we are tired.

Leaving the two numb middle-aged men behind, Chen Fan plunged into the editing room and began editing the film he had shot.

A week passed quickly, and Kuang Mingyi finally finished filming "The Great Hero of Tianjin" after he had completed the editing and dubbing of the existing film reels.

……

"Director Chen, oh no, I mean Musician Chen, help me!"

After Kuang Mingyi finished filming all his scenes, he immediately sought help from Chen Fan, saying, "This time, it has to be you. If you don't help, we're doomed."

Chen Fan sealed the last reel of film, marked it, and then turned to look at him. "Don't tell me it's for the score. If you want to do the score, go to Chairman Ji of the Music Association. He definitely has someone who can recommend you."

Kuang Mingyi took out a filter-tipped Zhonghua cigarette that he had specially scavenged from Director Wu, pulled out a piece and offered it with both hands, grinning and saying, "Director Chen, Director Wu has already personally gone to talk to Chairman Ji. However, as you know, the musicians of the Jiangnan Music Association have never created a song that is famous throughout the country."

When "Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tip" was released last time, the two theme songs shocked the whole country. You also prepared two songs for "Monk Comes Down the Mountain". I heard from Director Wu that they are just as good as those two.

My request isn't high, just one song, please help me, is that okay?!

Chen Fan took out a cigarette, held it in his hand, and looked at him with amusement. "Old Kuang, although I have some connections, you can't just take advantage of me."

Just kidding. "Little Lotus Just Showing Its Tip" is Jiang Tiantian's work, while "The Taoist Priest Comes Down the Mountain" is his own "painful" work, so of course he has to use the best background music and theme song.

Your TV series is just a hobby, so you can just throw in a couple of songs and call it a day. Do you think you deserve to use my good songs?
Kuang Mingyi rubbed his hands together and said with a forced smile, "This film, 'The Great Hero of Tianjin,' is, after all, the first film produced by Jiangying Studio in the true sense. All of us at Jiangying Studio have the highest expectations for it."

Besides, wasn't it your idea to produce a TV series for television broadcast? If this show is successful, people will definitely remember you when they talk about TV dramas in the future, and might even crown you as the 'Father of Modern Television Drama'.

Chen Fan interrupted him irritably, "Forget it, the TV series has been around for ages, it has nothing to do with me."

Kuang Mingyi said in a serious tone, "How can it not be related? Previous TV dramas were all filmed indoors, much like stage plays. This TV drama can be described as a watershed moment. The previous ones were old-fashioned TV dramas, but this one is the first truly modern TV drama in China."

Chen Fan waved his hand, interrupting him, took out a lighter, lit a cigarette, and said, "Stop flattering me. Television dramas are an art form that has existed abroad for a long time. No matter how much you try to pull it off, you can't be called the 'father of modern television dramas'."

After pausing for two seconds, he continued, "No matter what, I've seen all your dedication to 'The Great Hero of Tianjin.' So, I'll give you a song to use later, but just like the movie rights, you can only use it in the TV series. All other rights will still belong to me."

These days, for people with employers, copyrights definitely belong to their employers.

But Chen Fan didn't have that. His employer was the Writers' Association, which was a "professional people's organization" that didn't even care about literary copyrights, let alone other copyrights like music and film. And Jiang Film Studio was only temporarily seconded to him, so they certainly didn't have the right to claim his copyrights.

However, at that time, few people cared about copyright, and there were no copyright-related laws and regulations in China. Only Chen Fan had this awareness of copyright and made preparations in advance.

Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, Kuang Mingyi was overjoyed and quickly clasped his hands in thanks, "Thank you very much. As I said before, we will pay the highest usage fee and will not let you down."

Chen Fan smiled dismissively. "How much is the highest standard? At most a few hundred yuan. No doubt about it, that's the price for a song. A movie script is 3 to 5000 yuan, and a song is 800 to 1000 yuan. That's the range of the highest standard."

He gets paid this much for his works, which is nothing compared to his royalties, barely even pocket money.

Without saying much, he tore off a piece of paper from the side, picked up a pencil, and began to create.

Kuang Mingyi watched from the side, his eyes sometimes bright and sometimes confused.

After waiting for Chen Fan to finish writing, he finally said, "This song is for the previous episode?"

Chen Fan handed him the sheet music and said, "Although there were some conflicts in the previous episode, it still presented a sunny and beautiful atmosphere overall, so this song is quite fitting. Moreover, the song has a sweet tone, which contrasts sharply with the broken landscape in the next episode."

Kuang Mingyi held the sheet music and recited a few lines of lyrics: "We are reminiscing, talking about that winter, on the mountaintop in winter, the vitality of spring is revealed. Our story is about that spring, in the good times of spring, it remains in our hearts. We slowly talk about the past, the breeze blows away the chill of winter, the spring in our eyes has a kind of magic. Ah, this is the beauty of spring."

After reading it aloud, I couldn't help but nod repeatedly. "These lyrics are great. They fit the story background of the previous episode very well. They express that longing for a better life, which is really touching."

He turned to look at Chen Fan and chuckled, "When the next episode airs, the contrast will be particularly strong, which will further arouse the audience's indignation towards the invaders. This song is good."

He paused for a moment, then looked worried again. "But Director Chen, look, your 'The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain' has an interlude called 'The Shepherd's Song,' which is similar to this 'Beautiful Springtime,' but the theme song 'The Great Wall Will Never Fall' is particularly inspiring, making people want to immediately pick up a gun and go into battle to kill the enemy."

The interplay of strength and gentleness, front and back, couldn't be more perfect.

But now you're asking me to find the theme song for the next episode myself? Tell me, in the entire Jiangnan province, who else can create a song that echoes the beginning and is of such perfect quality?

Chen Fan flicked his cigarette ash, got up and walked out, chuckling, "That has nothing to do with me. Anyway, I've already given you a song. The rest is up to you."

"Your task should be finished by now, right? Starting tomorrow, get the 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain' crew up and running quickly; I'm still waiting to wrap things up."

When Kuang Mingyi saw that Chen Fan was only responsible for killing and not for burying, he was dumbfounded. However, he was reluctant to give up the book "Springtime Beauty" that he had just obtained.

Finally, he folded the sheet music, put it in his pocket, and muttered to himself as he walked out, "Forget it, I'll just report it directly to my superiors and leave this to Lao Wu to worry about."

(End of this chapter)