Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 813 Glue-Magnetic Interconversion Technology

"Brave Chinese" is an interlude from the 82 TVB drama "Love Across Mountains and Rivers".

At the time, this song was a collaboration between the famous "Hui-Huang Er Sheng" (Hui and Huang), with lyrics by James Wong, music by Joseph Koo, and sung by Liza Wang, a popular actress at TVB.

The song is set during the Anti-Japanese War in the Republican era, which coincides with the story background of "The Great Hero of Tianjin".

Most importantly, while this song is stirring and catchy, and can easily get you hooked when listened to in conjunction with the storyline, it is a step below "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" in terms of fame, popularity, and the song itself.

It's not only a perfect fit to hand it over to Jiangying Film Studio, but it also doesn't seem like a big loss.

This song is also sung in Cantonese. Like "The Great Wall Will Never Fall," Chen Fan also made some changes to the lyrics, mainly to better suit the pronunciation habits and rhythm of Mandarin.

If you don't change anything, that's called copying. But if you optimize the original work, that's called "secondary creation." That's why writer Chen can confidently say that he has never copied anything.

Kuang Mingyi and Ji Chenfeng were very satisfied with the musician Chen's second creation. The song still needed to be produced, so Ji Chenfeng kept the sheet music.

He happily stuffed the sheet music into his pocket, pressed it down with his hand, and then smiled, "Director Chen, who do you think would be suitable to sing this song? How about Bian Muchuan, the principal singer of the symphony orchestra?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and said, "I think it's fine for Bian Muchuan to sing the lead role. His voice is bright and high-pitched, so he'll definitely have no problem singing this song. However,"

At this point, he turned to look at Kuang Mingyi, "As I just mentioned, at the end of the story, there is a scene where Master Han leads a group of people to charge at the Japanese devils. It's an ensemble piece, so why not try a chorus version of this song?"

Ji Chenfeng immediately said, "Then let's leave it to the choir?"

Before Chen Fan could speak, Kuang Mingyi shook his head thoughtfully and said, "Instead of having the choir sing, why not have the actors sing?"

At this moment, Director Wu stopped pretending to be tidying up and rushed over, saying in a serious tone, "It would be better to have the actors sing; it would be closer to the storyline."

After a pause, he added, "Moreover, film and music are inherently intertwined. Many films made in the past were musicals. I think we could shoot another scene where the actors sing as they charge into battle!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan shuddered in fright and quickly said, "No, no, no, singing is fine, but we don't need to film it. Just use the chorus as background music."

He doesn't want to watch Indian movies.

But to be honest, as Director Wu said, many of the films made in my country in the early years can be considered "musical films," just like Indian films, where the actors would start singing along the way.

If you haven't seen the old version, you can imagine what it would be like to watch the old version of "The Legend of the White Snake".

For example, classic revolutionary films such as "The Red Guards of Honghu Lake", as well as "Butterfly Spring", "Five Golden Flowers", "Ashima", "Liu Sanjie", and "Sister Jiang".

They can sing songs off the top of their heads.

Although it is an art form, Chen Fan said that watching too many of them does feel a bit awkward and greatly affects the viewing experience, which he finds unacceptable.

As Vice Chairman Chen is also the screenwriter, director, and lyricist and composer, his role is naturally quite significant. Once he speaks, it's a final decision.

Kuang Mingyi didn't say much, grabbed Ji Chenfeng and left, while calling to the actors who were still lingering in the screening room, waiting for an opportunity to ask Chen Fan when the next movie would be released, "Comrades, gather together, we're going to record."

Yang Zhenlong swaggered over, acting even more arrogant than the lead actor, his eyes full of confusion. "Haven't we finished dubbing? Why are you still recording?"

The lead actor, Yuan Wang, was practically invisible, lagging behind at the back. He whispered to Xu Danping, who was also a female lead but had little presence, "Won't we have to reshoot some scenes again? It snowed heavily yesterday, so the scene doesn't feel right."

Xu Danping stuck out her tongue and whispered, "It's hard to say. I think Director Kuang went to see Director Chen just now. Maybe he asked for some advice. There might really be something that needs to be changed."

Just as the two were feeling uneasy, Kuang Mingyi stood at the front and said loudly, "Director Chen has already written the theme song for our TV series. Now everyone hurry up and go eat, then gather at the factory gate and we'll go to the orchestra to record a chorus."

One sentence silenced the room.

Two seconds later, the scene erupted into chaos again, with cries of agony filling the air.

Yang Zhenlong shook his head and said, "Well, Director Kuang, my voice isn't very good, so I won't sing."

Let's go.

Kuang Mingyi grabbed him and said, "No, you are playing an important role as Master Han, we can't do without you."

Zhao Lingdong's face immediately lit up with joy. "I'm just an extra, I don't have many scenes, it won't matter if I'm not there."

Kuang Mingyi reached out with his other hand and immediately grabbed him, "No, you're also in the final charge scene. You're an important character, so you have to participate too."

Then, without saying much more, he raised his head and shouted, "All the actors who participated in the filming of the last shot must participate. Not a single one is allowed to run away."

Even a group of veteran actors from Jiangying Film Studio, represented by Master Yang, lamented, "If I had known, I wouldn't have fought for that extra's shot. With my rascald voice, wouldn't it have been embarrassing to go up and sing?"

"Who says otherwise? I can act in plays without any problem, but singing is something I just can't do."

Of course, there are also those who are very confident, saying, "I'm telling you, you're just being pretentious. For us actors, speaking, imitating, teasing, and singing are basic skills..."

"Tui, what you're talking about is crosstalk. An actor's basic skills are lines, physical expression, acting, and vocals. Hey, you guys are all professional actors, your vocals are a piece of cake! It's just a big chorus, go for it."

At this moment, Zhao Lingdong spoke up, "You are actors, but we are not. We are all self-taught."

Then Master Yang put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her away, saying, "Hey, you've joined the Jiangxi Film Studio now, you're a professional actor. To be a professional actor, start with choral singing, let's go!"

If we're going to lose face, let's all lose face together, and let's not leave anyone out!
After they left in a flurry, only Director Wu and Chen Fan remained in the screening room.

Oh, and there's also the little assistant, Bian Huifang, who's practically invisible.

Since giving up her work at the Writers' Association and becoming Chen Fan's assistant, Bian Huifang has felt happier. Her main responsibility at the Writers' Association is coordinating external affairs. Although her position is not high, she has a lot of power. It seems like a lucrative job, but it is also easy to offend people.

Although she had Chen Fan and Xu Qizhen backing her up, there were times when Xu Qizhen couldn't control her. If Chen Fan hadn't spoken up, Bian Huifang would have been just carrying out his decision and would have been unable to continue working there long ago.

Now that I've lost that business, I'm just doing odd jobs for Chen Fan and watching others film. I'm less caught up in social niceties, and while it's tiring, I'm happier.

She has decided to apply to Chen Fan to transfer her work relationship to Jiangxi Film Studio, where she will serve as his full-time assistant director.

There are still several more "Monk Comes Down the Mountain" movies to be filmed, so let her coordinate the preparation work to ensure nothing goes wrong.

Just as she was thinking about how to talk to the boss, Chen Fan handed her all the documents and said, "Take these back first. I need to talk to Director Wu about something."

"oh oh."

Bian Huifang immediately put the documents into her bag and asked, "Do you need me to prepare lunch?" Chen Fan smiled and said, "No need today. You can go back after you've arranged your work. Working at the film studio isn't that rigid. When there are films to shoot, you're busy as a bee, but when there aren't, you can rest whenever you want. Calculate all the overtime you worked recently, and give the statistics to Director Lao in the office so he can calculate your compensatory time off."

Factory Director Wu chuckled and added, "Yes, yes, just tell Director Lao that I've approved it and he can make the arrangements."

Actually, even without his permission, Director Lao wouldn't dare to reject Bian Huifang's application. She was Chen Fan's only trusted confidante who had been brought into the factory; only a fool would offend her.

Comrade Xiao Bian did a quick calculation: this show was filmed for about 3 months. There are four weeks in a month, so there are about 12 or 3 days of rest time. He's feeling great.

Then he happily left with the documents, forgetting to even mention the job transfer.

After Bian Huifang left and closed the door from the outside, Chen Fan smiled at Director Wu and said, "Speak, what do you want to see me about?"

Factory Director Wu chuckled, "Didn't you come to me with something? Why are you asking me?"

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, nothing else? I'll be going then."

He then got up and was about to leave.

Factory Director Wu quickly pulled him back, then handed him a cigarette and laughed, "You really can't hide anything from me, so I'll just say it."

He struck a match, lit a cigarette for Chen Fan, and then lit one for himself before asking, "Now that you've finished filming this movie, when do you plan to start filming your next one?"

Chen Fan glanced at him and said irritably, "Good heavens, my movie hasn't even been released yet, and you're already urging me to make the next one? Even the rich landlords of yesteryear didn't exploit their farmhands like this."

Director Wu smiled sheepishly and said, "Well, it's just that our Jiangying Film Studio has suffered for too long, and now that we've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel, we can't stay idle."

He sighed as he spoke, his eyes filled with both satisfaction and longing. "Back then, Jiangying Studio had a tough time. It was called a film studio, but apart from making a few theatrical films, it never actually made a single movie."

Twenty years after the factory was built, many of the older employees, who had gone from youth to old age, thought there was no hope left. They were all listless, spending their days idly waiting for retirement, doing no real work whatsoever.

At this point, he turned to look at Chen Fan and smiled, "Until we invited you here, your first film became an instant hit. That film, 'Little Lotus Just Showing Its Tips,' has been showing since National Day and is now almost New Year's Day. It's still showing in many big cities."

The prefecture-level cities and counties below had been waiting impatiently for a long time, but they still hadn't received the copies. Some were so angry that they went to their superiors and cursed them, yelling that they hadn't bought enough copies, hahahahaha…”

Factory Director Wu suddenly burst into laughter.

Although the screenwriter of this film is Jiang Tiantian and the director is Chen Fan, neither of whom have any connection with Jiangnan Film Studio, the fact is that the logo of Jiangnan Film Studio appears at the beginning of the film.

No matter what, this is still a film produced by Jiangying Studio, and the people making the film are all actors from Jiangying Studio!

This film directly inspired the morale of all the staff and cadres of Jiangying Film Studio, and from then on, Jiangying Film Studio truly "came back to life".

It is precisely because they have "lived" that no one wants to go back to those lifeless days of the past.

Sure enough, right after the test screening of "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," he came to find Chen Fan at the urging of Secretary Fang and other senior cadres to ask when his next film would be released.

As Chen Fan listened to his emotional outburst, he silently smoked half a cigarette.

After he finished speaking, he smiled and said, "I understand how you feel, but artistic creation is something you can't rush. You can't rush things; things done in a hurry are prone to problems. So my next film still needs to be prepared slowly, no rush."

Director Wu was speechless. If it weren't for the fact that "The Little Lotus Just Begins to Show Its Tip" was adapted in just one week and then filmed and post-produced in a little over ten days, I would have actually believed your nonsense.

However, he didn't dare argue with Chen Fan, so he could only smile and ask, "Then, is there a specific time?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "The second one will definitely be 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain.' It's a series, and there will probably be four or five parts in total. But the script hasn't been written yet. It will probably take about half a year to finish the script. With the preparation work, the earliest we can start filming is probably September."

Upon hearing this, Director Wu felt dizzy. The first film started shooting in September. So you only make one film a year?
For other directors, making one film a year is already considered highly efficient.

But that wasn't enough for Jiangying Studio; he wanted to strike while the iron was hot and consolidate the results.

Before he could continue speaking, Chen Fan smiled at him and said, "Director Wu, I think you shouldn't just focus on me. Why don't you dig deeper into your own unit?"

Factory Director Wu immediately said, "We definitely need to explore internal resources. The suggestion you gave us before, which was to make a TV series, is excellent, and I take it very seriously. After 'The Great Hero of Tianjin' is finished, I will entrust Director Lao of the factory office to handle the cooperation with the TV station."

Going forward, the production of television dramas will be fully entrusted to Director Kuang. We will continue to work hard in this area and will never allow Jiangying Studio to return to the state of having no dramas to produce.

But then,..."

He moved closer to Chen Fan and said with a smile, "Who doesn't want a masterpiece? To be honest, even when Director Kuang directs a TV series, he still struggles a lot, while you, Director Chen, can handle a big production like 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain.' The two of you are not even in the same league, so you should still ask for it."

Chen Fan shook his head and laughed, "It's no use begging. No matter how capable I am, I can't be in two places at once and can't start filming right away."

He then said to Director Wu, “I understand what you mean, but you don’t understand what I mean. I know you’re anxious, but you also need to give the comrades at Jiangying Film Studio a period of growth. Can a piglet grow into a big fat pig all at once if it doesn’t eat feed?”
You have to 'feed' the comrades in this factory, using one play after another to help them grow.

Besides Director Kuang, we also need to discover more new directors…

Seeing that Director Wu still wanted to speak, he immediately waved his hand and laughed, "I know you're doing it. Since you're already doing it, that's fine. Isn't farming the same? You throw in the seeds, apply the fertilizer, and as long as you weed regularly, you don't need to do anything else. Just wait for the harvest."

If you really can't wait, there's another way.

Factory Director Wu was slightly taken aback. "What method?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Have you heard of the glue-magnetic interchange technology?"

"Magnetic-colloid conversion technology?"

Factory Director Wu frowned and looked at him, asking, "You mean the technology to convert magnetic tapes into film?"

Chen Fan nodded slightly and said, "Film can be transferred to magnetic tape and played on television. This is the technological basis for television projection of movies. Similarly, the signal on magnetic tape can be transferred to film and projected onto a screen using a projector."

However, compared to film shot directly by a camera, this converted film signal is much blurrier and has many other defects.

But no matter what, it's still a movie, isn't it?!

He paused for a moment, then smiled at Director Wu and said, "Why don't you make more TV series? If any of them are popular, I can find someone to help convert the tapes to film, so you'll have movies to show!"

Upon hearing this, Director Wu's eyes lit up, as if he had seen a new world.

(End of this chapter)