Huayu started as a substitute director

Chapter 639 Since ancient times
The weather in the Western Regions in early September is still relatively cool. The only advantage here is that there are no mosquitoes in the summer.

So some wealthy people come here to escape the heat in the summer. It feels very refreshing, especially outdoors, where there are no mosquito bites and it feels very relaxing.

Of course, the climate is dry, with a large temperature difference between day and night, and the cold winters and hot summers are particularly obvious.

This place is different from the big cities in the south. The buildings look a bit old. After all, it is a small city and cannot be compared with big cities.

Hami is not a city now, but a county.

This place will not be established as a city until next year, and only then will it develop.

On the Gobi Desert in the north of Hami, several commercial vehicles and several buses drove near, raising clouds of gray dust. Although the road was not good, it was still relatively flat.

The vehicle stopped, and Fang Hong, Liu Tianxian and a dozen of the main creators of "The Martian", including Han Jianv, Shen Ao, Liu Yin, Chen Xiuwei and others followed.

Also present were several government officials wearing executive jackets, namely the county leadership team, including the county chief, Ainiwal.

He is a nationality and speaks stiff Chinese.

When these people got off the car, they saw hundreds of staff members setting up a set on the Gobi sand not far away. It was the "Mars" base in the movie.

The main building is a huge circular cabin with a sci-fi look, and its construction was guided by experts.

It occupies a large area and is a one-to-one restoration.

Of course it is a modular construction. It is impossible to really lay the foundation here. It is just fixed with ground nails and it will be dismantled after filming.

Not far away, there were several large trucks, vans, buses, and off-road vehicles parked in an orderly manner.

These are the crew's cars. After finishing their work, they will return to the hotel they rented in Hami and continue working early the next morning.

Of course, some people live here, after all, they have to ensure that the supplies here are not stolen.

RVs were arranged and tents were also set up.

"As for logistics, I'll have to trouble County Mayor Aini." Fang Hong chatted.

The crew did not bring any food or water when filming here. All logistical support was provided by Hami County. Of course, this was an agreement signed early on.

When you are filming here, all your food, drink, toilet and other necessities must be provided by the locals, otherwise people will not give you such convenience.

This is an unspoken rule, and it is similar when filming in any other location.

That means you have to at least bring the lunch box business to the local area.

In the past, Fang Hong usually filmed in big cities or studios, so there were no requirements in this regard, but this is the case in small places.

This is a big business. Just the food for thousands of people costs several million a month, not to mention other food, drinks, and other daily necessities.

In addition, there is accommodation, and large crews can easily spend tens of millions here.

For a county like this, this is a big business that is sure to make money. Of course, the crew doesn't mind because you also enjoy their other services.

For example, helping you mark the land, acting as a guide for you, etc.

"Of course. We will definitely guarantee the logistics of your crew. If you have any requests for food, please feel free to ask." Although Eniwal said this to him, he also looked at the girl from the Han family.

This aspect is managed by the daughter of the Han family, and she is the leader.

"There aren't too many requirements. Many of our crew members are Han Chinese, and they don't have so many concerns about food. You should understand that." Han Jianv spoke very cryptically, fearing that she would offend other people's taboos.

"I understand, I understand. We will arrange it." Eniwal nodded, understanding what she meant.

The Han Jianv nodded. They were the financial sponsors. This place had a population of only 60 people, and the money they spent could drive the development of the service industry here.

As they walked and talked, Liu Tianxian tilted her head and asked in a low voice, "What taboos do they have?"

"They don't eat pork." Fang Hong said softly, his hand covering his mouth.

"Ah! Why?" It was the first time that Liu Tianxian heard of such a thing.

"It is said that pigs once saved their ancestors, but of course I only heard it." Fang Hong was not sure either.

"Oh"

Liu Tianxian seemed to understand and stopped talking about this topic.

The main reason was that she had rarely come into contact with such ethnic groups before, and this was her first time in the Western Regions.

Fang Hong also learned the information from the Internet and was not very sure.

Liu Tianxian was wearing a Panama hat, had a fair face, long hair draped over her shoulders, and black leather shoes on her feet.

Stepping on the Gobi gravel, a "crunch, crunch" sound of friction is heard.

She was wearing a loose women's suit and loose wide-leg pants. She had an outstanding temperament and was looking at the scenery in the distance.

In the distance you can see towering mountains that look like giants lying down, and on the tops of the mountains you can see white snow, which is breathtaking.

She couldn't help but ask, "What mountain is that?"

"It's Mount Barkol. After crossing this mountain and walking another 100 or 200 kilometers ahead, you will reach Mongolia," Ainiwal introduced.

"Outer Mongolia?" Liu Tianxian was surprised. He was about to go abroad.

"Yes." Eniwal nodded.

"This mountain has another name, it's Crescent Moon Mountain. Look at the mountainside, doesn't it look like a crescent moon?" Fang Hong pointed.

"You wouldn't know until you tell me, but now that you know it, they look quite similar." Liu Tianxian looked at them.

"Legend has it that after Nuwa completed her mission to mend the sky, she came to the beautiful Pulehai, also known as Barkol Lake, to rest and dress.

The beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains made her linger, so she took away a piece of colorful stone left over from repairing the sky.

Many years later, this spiritual colorful stone turned into a unique stone mountain, the Strange Stone Mountain.

Fang Hong was in a good mood and started telling her a story.

The people on the side were also listening with great interest; they had never heard such a story before.

I didn't expect that it started from Nuwa since ancient times. "Strange Stone Mountain?" Liu Tianxian was puzzled.

"Yes, there should be a strange rock mountain here. I'll take you to see it when I have time." Fang Hong said.

"The Strange Rock Mountain is about ten kilometers away from here. It's not far. If the principal and Miss Liu want to go and see it, I can lead you there now." Eniwal said attentively.

This crew invested hundreds of millions to film here. There will definitely be a wave of publicity after the movie is released, which will boost tourism here.

Even if it doesn't work, if Liu Tianxian appears here and promotes it, a large number of people will come here.

This will help their local economy.

"I won't go for now. Let's finish the work first." Fang Hong refused.

That place is a tourist attraction, and if you show your face too much it's likely to attract fans and media and you'll have trouble dealing with that.

Eniwal nodded and said nothing.

A group of people approached the "Mars" base. The place was full of gravel beaches and wind-eroded earth mounds shaped like castles. They glowed red in the sunset, giving a sense of déjà vu of the red planet.

It was just very desolate, with no grass or plants, just Gobi desert. The air was occasionally windy and sandy, as if it was going to blow into people's mouths.

The Western Regions are windy and sandy, and if you stay there for a long time, you will easily get rhinitis.

Art director Li Anran came forward with several assistants and greeted them, "Principal, Tianxian, and Producer Han."

"How is the construction progress?" Fang Hong said.

"The exterior of the main living area, work area, medical station, and laboratory have been built, but the interior still has a lot of props, or equipment, that have not yet been placed in," Li Anran explained.

This base is divided into two parts: living cabin and laboratory, in addition to communication system, energy system, life support system, etc.

On the top of the base there is an antenna, something like a pot cover, and solar panels, which should be used for detection connections and power supply.

Not only are there solar panels on the roof, but there are also solar panels on the roadside.

Of course, it only looks like that to the naked eye, but it is not really usable. Electricity should still be generated by a generator.

If we really build a base on Mars, we will need to invite many experts from various fields, and there will be many technical difficulties that we need to pay attention to.

The materials are just for viewing and are not practical.

Everyone walked around the huge "Mars" base, looking around curiously as they walked.

"Can I go in and take a look?" Liu Tianxian asked.

She wanted to familiarize herself with the layout and environment inside so that she would be more comfortable when shooting.

"Yes, but you can only take a look. It's not particularly practical," Li Anran introduced.

"It's okay, I'll just get familiar with it." Liu Tianxian said she understood.

There is no real such thing as filming.

Everyone walked to the hatch, which had a round handle. Li Anran gestured, "Twist it to the right and it will open."

Liu Tianxian took over and turned it hard to the right, and the hatch door opened with a "click".

The sound has a mechanical feel.

"It's OK. It has that heavy feeling." She smiled and opened the cabin door to the outside.

"Except for things that are too technological to be restored, we still try to make some things as realistic as possible, so that the expressions and movements conveyed to you when you perform are realistic," said Li Anran.

Some things have to be as real as possible to have a real feel. For example, when lifting a stone, there should be a heavy feeling, and the actors will not have the light feeling of lifting foam.

Some things cannot be acted out or are not realized, which requires the team to pay attention to details.

"That's true!" Liu Tianxian looked at Fang Hong and said, "Let's go in and take a look!"

Fang Hong turned to look at the Han family girl and said, "You guys stay outside and help me greet the county magistrate."

"Okay, you guys go ahead." The Meng family girl gestured.

The interior itself is not ready yet, so it’s not a good idea to have too many people in there.

Of course, the space inside is still very large. Liu Tianxian looked around curiously at everything here. The overall tone here is white, giving a sense of sci-fi simplicity.

Li Anran first showed them around the living area, then pushed open a door and said, "This is the bedroom, but it only has a single bed."

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian looked inside and saw a small TV at the head of the bed. They went to the bathroom and saw there was also a toilet.

Liu Tianxian couldn't help but ask: "Is this toilet real?"

"Of course it's real. All the household appliances and daily necessities here are real, and there's no difference from at home." Li Anran said.

Liu Tianxian nodded to show that she understood. She asked this question because she remembered there was a scene in the script where someone had to go to the toilet.

The protagonist got the inspiration to plant potatoes when he was going to the toilet, using feces as fertilizer. It’s a bit disgusting to think about it.

Afterwards, they visited the work area, which contained computer terminals and some communication equipment.

The things here are just for display.

The laboratory is similar to the greenhouse vegetable farms in the movies, and it also has some scientific research equipment, including a soil analyzer, a water circulation device, a plant incubator, etc.

These things belong to the Academy of Sciences and are mostly used as decorations. When they are needed, they are models made by themselves.

After touring the base, Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian had some understanding of the place.

Fang Hong asked: "Given the current construction situation, can we start filming?"

"You can shoot. Everything is ready. We can set up the scene while shooting. There's no problem." Li Anran said.

Many shots do not require panoramic views, only partial views are needed, and they can handle this with ease. Moreover, they have already drawn drafts for each scene and have plans for what to do.

For them, it is not a difficult task to arrange the scene while shooting.

In fact, this drama was shot on real scenes!
(End of this chapter)