Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 298 At a Young Age, Face to Face

On Friday, at Harbin Taiping Airport, a group of people arrived from northern Beijing. Their large amount of checked baggage and sturdy black special suitcases indicated that they were a professional media team on their way to work.

The team consists of nine people: three photographers, two sound recordists, one makeup artist, one editor, one assistant, and finally, the currently very popular "famous reporter"—excuse me, "celebrity host" Chai Jing.

Judging from their setup, it's clear they weren't there for a brief interview.

Harbin Institute of Technology sent a minibus to pick them up, showing that they attached great importance to the trip. The minibus was fully loaded and headed towards the city center, where the people inside began planning their interviews.

It was actually a bit late; they had spent more time at the previous stop.

"I think since they're both college students, we can ask them about their relationship in a humorous way."

The young editor wearing glasses hesitated and said, "Sister Jing, the station's intention is not to cover this topic."

The petite woman wearing a mask calmly said, "I may ask, but whether the station uses it or not is their business. At worst, we can just cut it out."

As a renowned journalist known as a "celebrity," it's normal for her to have a certain degree of autonomy within her organization, and the entire team can be considered her people.

A group has its own style, and an individual has their own needs.

A journalist who only reads from the script will never get ahead in his life.

Do we need reporters if all they do is read from a script? Why not just bring A4 paper?

Every journalist needs a "plan," but when face-to-face, they also need to "guide" and "engage" with the interviewee, to stir their emotions, and to uncover more valuable content.

The more high-profile the interview, the more important it is to do this. If you can get a celebrity, official, or important figure to speak their true feelings in front of the camera, or remain silent for a few seconds, or even get angry.

That would be a highlight for a journalist, a significant achievement on their resume.

She harbored no ill will toward the two young people, but she had her own style and principles.

“Lu Wei has mental health issues, so perhaps we can guide her. Geniuses and flaws always attract attention.”

"As for the other young man, I'll prepare one or two questions from his book and give them to you tonight."

"Jing-jie, isn't it too late? Harbin Institute of Technology keeps asking about the interview process."

Chai Jing shook her head: "There's nothing we can do about it. We haven't made a decision yet. We'll have a meeting at the hotel in a bit."

After a quick check, Chai Jing picked up "The Time-Traveling Cohabitation Handbook" again and began reading it with great interest.

She believes that interviews that are valuable will be conducted with a more serious work attitude. She bought this book at the airport before boarding the plane, and was surprised to find that the quality was surprisingly good.

It must be said that a young writer who has swept numerous awards is certainly talented; it has been a long time since she has been so engrossed in a Chinese book.

She felt that this person might be able to uncover more interesting content than the math prodigy.

When discussing young writers, Han Han is an unavoidable name. Although I haven't interviewed her, her outspoken personality is already nationally renowned.
Zhai Da hasn't appeared on television often, but he doesn't seem to be shy. Perhaps he can be guided in that direction.
Chai Jing recalled some of Han Han's past information and felt she could learn from it.
If we can get this person to discuss education issues, the quality of the entire interview will improve significantly.

She could almost imagine that someone who had achieved so much at such a young age must have a negative view of the domestic education system, even if he was the top scorer in the college entrance examination.

Just like how wealthy people complain about the business environment at most.

Such discussions attract far more attention than simply saying "how outstanding a young person is".

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On Saturday morning, in Xiao Mutou's bedroom, Zhai Da admired Lu Wei's new look.

A beige formal jacket, worn over an ivory white t-shirt, paired with neatly tailored gray cropped trousers. The folded-up cuffs reveal slender wrist bones, with faint blue veins visible when the hand is raised.

A scholarly air and a capable demeanor were perfectly combined.

Lu Wei pulled her high ponytail out of her coat and turned to look at Zhai Da, who was staring intently at her.

"what happened?"

"This is the first time I've seen you in a professional style. You look great."

It's hard not to give a compliment, especially after watching the other person put it on bit by bit.

The two went out together, and before leaving, Zhai Da glanced at the birdcage on the balcony.

Xiao Hei has gone out to play again.

Because they were told they needed two different outfits, they brought a small suitcase and then drove to the main building of Harbin Institute of Technology. Their "dedicated counselor," Jiang Xiaobai, had been promoted to assistant and was waiting at the entrance early in the morning.

Even she's dressed in a formal suit today; who knows, she might get caught on camera, right? It's just that the size is a bit tight, and the V-neck at the chest protrudes like a proud dove.

Given Yang Ma's serious style, this scene might not be broadcast.
Jiang Xiaobai waved: "The interview team is already preparing, let's go in quickly." Before entering the main building, Zhai Da looked at the rooftop in the distance, where Xiao Hei's huge body was crouching on the edge, leaning slightly forward, as if it wanted to come down and land on his shoulder.

Zhai Da took a bird whistle out of his pocket, put it to his lips and blew it for a long time. It was specially made and the sound was around 9000 Hz. It was not noticeable to human ears and sounded faint and indistinct, but birds were very sensitive to it.

"Changchui" means "Don't come."

Two short blows mean "come quickly".

If you first play a short puff and then a long puff, it's like saying, "Come quickly! Come quickly! Don't come! Don't come!"

Little Black was all about to jump up, but he stopped himself and finally squatted down obediently to sunbathe.

Someone at the school must have seen Xiao Hei, but so far, no one knows that this largest bird on campus belongs to Zhai Da.

Urged on by Jiang Xiaobai, the two entered the main building.

The two were notified very late last night that today's interview will consist of two parts: one for the evening news broadcast, featuring Lu Wei, and the other an interview with Lu Wei.

The interview content may be used in "Face to Face," but it will not be broadcast immediately and will need to be approved first.

Zhai Da was very surprised at the time. In his impression, "Face to Face" was a very serious program, and all the guests were big shots. He was so young to be on "Face to Face".

But after checking the lists from previous years, I realized that this was a case of survivorship bias.

This weekly program interviews a wide variety of guests, including "children's book authors," "directors/screenwriters/writers," "a girl who received an acceptance letter from Harvard," and "new generation of theater actors."

Zhai Dahui has the impression of being surrounded by "big shots" because people only remember those big shots.

Chai Jing is the star host of "Face to Face," and the classic question that made her immortal on the internet also came from this program, but it has not yet happened.

In short, today's interview will ultimately be presented in two parts, but the filming will be rather fragmented, including miscellaneous scenes such as the school exterior, the scenic corridor, and students' opinions on the two individuals.

After being led inside, Zhai Da and Lu Wei did not immediately meet the legendary "celebrity host." Instead, they were led to a small room next to the auditorium, which was temporarily used as a dressing room for the two to get a quick makeover.

Lu Wei's solo interview began first, while Zhai Da observed with great interest.

Inside the auditorium, an interview space was set up, with some professional lighting fixtures pointing towards the central 30% of the area, against a backdrop of the Harbin Institute of Technology's emblem and logo, and some potted plants.

Zhai Da also met the "famous host" Chai Jing.

To be honest, her appearance was quite different from what Zhai Da remembered. She couldn't be called a beauty, but she was at least pretty, and much better than the image of her in Zhai Da's mind from later generations.

Interestingly, Chai Jing wasn't on stage, but offstage. The interview used for the CCTV Evening News was conducted by another reporter, who appeared to be Chai Jing's assistant or intern.

Zhai Da pondered for a moment: Because he doesn't show his face or his voice.
Moreover, the content is indeed quite simple, guiding Lu Wei to explain the significance of the "Sensitivity Conjecture" to the camera, as well as the source of some of the creative ideas in the proof process.

In Zhai Da's mind, the content of the evening news broadcast had already been automatically filled in.

For example, in the familiar studio, the familiar host speaks clearly and distinctly: Recently, students from Harbin Institute of Technology have successfully proven...
Cut to the main gate of Harbin Institute of Technology. Cut to a close-up of the logo. Cut to Lu Wei inside the auditorium.
The host's voiceover: This achievement immediately attracted attention in the mathematics community, successfully solving the problem.
Blah blah blah and so on.

It seems that in the news broadcast, the anchors in the studio are indeed the main anchors, and even if Lu Wei is the main anchor, she may only have a few words to say.

It's no wonder that Chai Jing was in the audience rather than on stage.

Just then, this person approached me.

"Hello, Professor Zhai Da, I am a fan of your books."

"Hello, Teacher Chai, thank you for your support."

The commentator wore a distinctive silk scarf around his neck, which was actually unnecessary given Harbin's weather.

Chai Jing took the initiative to say, "Professor Zhai has probably given some interviews before, but our style may be a little different from that of online media. I hope you won't mind later."

"Generally speaking, the interview time is relatively long. The program 'Face to Face' is 45 minutes long, of which about half an hour is spent on the person. To be on the safe side, there should be at least four times that amount of footage."

Zhai Da nodded, which means it starts at two hours, and it will be even longer if you include rest stops.

However, this didn't scare away an author who had been through book signings before; he had plenty of experience in enduring long hours.

Chai Jing smiled and said, "You can speak freely during the interview without restraint. The interview is all about talking. Not every question is valid; some are just casual conversation. If there is any content that is not suitable for broadcast, we will cut it out in post-production."

Zhai Da felt that the other party was implying something, which made him even more worried about the editing.

However, in this day and age, public figures do enjoy a much freer environment for expression; you can find all sorts of outspoken individuals.
"One cannot hit a smiling face," Zhai Da nodded in a friendly manner, "I understand. If there are any problems, please point them out in time, Teacher Chai. Your experience is definitely more than ours."

Chai Jing covered her mouth and chuckled: "Just treat it as chatting with a friend."

(End of this chapter)