Generation Z Artists

Chapter 241 Encouragement? No, Isolation!
The film crew borrowed a classroom in a high school in a small county town in Xiamen.

The opening scene was filmed simply—Wei Lai turned around and chatted with the chubby girl, looking radiant, while in the corner of the frame, Chen Nian lowered her head, out of place with the lively atmosphere around her.

To create this atmosphere, the other students must be happy and boisterous, while Chen Nian needs to focus on her own world, creating a sufficient contrast.

"How should I act, Director!"

Nenxian was very excited, but also secretly apprehensive.

Director Fang kindly guided her through the camera movements, showing her how to move the camera, here and there...

He then comforted her gently, saying, "It's a very simple scene, you can definitely do it. When the camera zooms in on you, you can subtly tense your body, and then I'll have Brother Ding give you a close-up of your hands. Just grip the pen tightly..."

Yang Xiaomi stared at Fang Xinghe's profile, feeling dizzy.

How can Fang Fang be so handsome!
Wow, she's so gentle and lovely, she seems to be shining brightly...

Ahhh, I can't take it anymore, I want to faint in his arms!
In that instant, Yang Xiaomi already knew the exact name of her and his first child.

On Fang Xinghe's starlight panel, the intense red light emanating from Yang Xiaomi's body fluctuated violently, as if it were about to transform into the Supreme Purple at any moment, or as if the person in question was undergoing a dramatic change.

It wasn't until Fang Xinghe and Liu Yifei finished rehearsing the scene that Yang Xiaomi finally mustered up the courage to step forward and ask for advice.

"Director Fang... how should I act here?"

Fang Xinghe's smile faded, and he replied with a patient, objective, but businesslike attitude:

“You’re still a high school student, so you should be very familiar with how girls chat and joke around during breaks. Just act out a scene like that in real life. If there are any problems, I’ll tell you how to adjust.”

After saying this, Fang Xinghe immediately turned around and went to instruct the various departments to inspect the work.

Yang Xiaomi stood there, frozen, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, and as if everyone was watching her. She felt embarrassed, ashamed, indignant, pained, and anxious...

Although Fang Xinghe's difference in attitude was not obvious, she was a very sensitive girl, how could she not feel it?

Yang Xiaomi first lowered her head slightly, then suddenly turned her head and subconsciously looked at Liu Yifei—Liu Yifei had just turned her head, as if she had been looking at her, and then avoided her gaze.

Actually, that's not the case.

But that's how Yang Xiaomi sees it.

At this moment, she didn't know what kind of feeling she was; her breathing suddenly became rapid, and sparks began to well up in her eyes.

Fang Xinghe, who should have been in charge of the crew and everything, seemed to feel nothing and calmly returned to the monitor.

The production assistant claps the clapperboard in front of the camera; the first scene, the first shot—filming officially begins.

Zhao Xiaoding had no problem with camera control, but the extras had a problem—they were local students and were a bit reserved, with many of them subconsciously glancing at the camera.

"Very good, pass!"

Fang Xinghe directly passed through the discarded shot and gently clapped at Liu Yifei, who was walking towards him with unease.

"Good performance, you captured the character's state very well."

When facing Yang Xiaomi again, his gentle demeanor turned into a calm, normal one: "It's alright, keep up the good work."

Yang Mi's steps faltered instinctively, a sudden surge of resentment welling up inside her—why?!

She glanced at Liu Yifei, and the sparks in her eyes gradually became clearer.

That was... the flames of jealousy.

On the first day, we filmed a few everyday shots, all very simple, just to get everyone into the right mindset, and we got through it easily.

After finishing work, Liu Yifei walked happily towards Yang Mi, Fatty, and Glasses—their rooms were on the same floor, and they were close in age, so they had chatted quite pleasantly beforehand.

As a result, on the bus, Yang Mi deliberately sat on the other side, with the chubby girl and the girl with glasses between her and Liu Yifei.

to chat with?

I don't want to chat with you!

……

If the first day of booting up is easy mode, then the second day is hell mode.

Director Fang suddenly increased the intensity of the filming, capturing Nenxian's grievances and timidity during her first experience of being bullied by Wei Lai and others.

There is actually no fixed performance pattern for this scene.

To put it in a more formulaic way, one could look like that discarded scene from yesterday, clenching their fists tightly, biting their cheeks, or pursing their lips as if about to cry—any of those would be acceptable.

But what Director Fang wanted wasn't a formulaic approach; he wanted a deep-seated sense of grievance mixed with intense fear.

How exactly should this sense of grievance be presented?

I don't care, anything goes, as long as you deliver results.

This scene took three whole days to film.

On the first day, Director Fang patiently guided actor Liu.

The next day, Director Fang patiently gave Liu, the actor, guidance.

On the third day, Director Fang remained patient, but the crew began to stir.

A scene was stuck for three days with no progress or improvement. Many staff members were secretly complaining about Liu Yifei and even began to question Fang Xinghe's judgment.

Of course, no one dared to bring it up.

However, Yang Xiaomi was quite smug, because every time there was a NG (no good) moment, it was because Liu Yifei was in a bad mood.

The truth is this—a close-up of Wei Lai's face, her jealousy and mockery weren't fully expressed, but Fang Xinghe didn't mention it at all, focusing only on finding the young fairy's... clues.

After a fruitless day of filming on the third day, on the way back, Yang Xiaomi couldn't help but say, "Couldn't you have put in a little more effort? Director Fang has been under so much pressure for this film!"

Liu Yifei certainly had good intentions, but she just couldn't act it out.

She had indeed been bullied by a Korean girl before returning to China, and had truly experienced that kind of injustice.

The problem is that she has a very generous personality, doesn't hold grudges, and doesn't like to argue with people, so she lets things go and doesn't dwell on them. She doesn't develop any sense of cowardice or gloom.

Now, when Fang Xinghe needs her to portray the complex grievances that fit Chen Nian's character, no matter how she acts, it's all superficial.

On the contrary, the feeling of grievance at this moment is closer to that state.

"I've worked hard."

The little dumpling couldn't help but puff out its chubby cheeks.

"It's just that Director Fang's requirements for the performance are too complicated, I need more time..."

"time?"

Seeing that Liu Yifei still dared to talk back, Yang Xiaomi was furious.

"Three days to polish one scene, and another five days to polish the next scene. How much time do we have? I really don't understand why Director Fang is so considerate of you!"

Even now, it's still just a squabble between little girls.

But when the dog found out, he specially called them together.

"Sisi has a hard time getting into performance mode. I've been thinking, so I'll suggest you all live separately from now on. I'll give the whole floor to Sisi, and the three of you can go downstairs and squeeze in with the other staff."

This will allow her to fully experience the feeling of quiet, loneliness, and being all alone in the world.

In addition, the three of you should disturb Xixi less when you're not filming. If you want to have fun, the three of you can do it yourselves. I need you to keep Xixi isolated both on and off screen. This will help her get into character.

Can it be done? "

Yang Xiaomi had long since stopped wanting to play with Liu Yifei, so she was overjoyed to hear this. "Yes!"

But then she thought, why is it that Liu Yifei, who acted so badly, can live on her own floor, while we have to squeeze together?
unfair!
It is indeed unfair, but they cannot resist Fang Xinghe's will.

As a result, Liu Xiaofei was isolated on the top floor of the hotel.

At this moment, she still didn't realize what had happened and was still secretly grateful for Fang Xinghe's "care".

That makes it easier to get into character, that's right!
On the fourth day, Director Fang suddenly stopped filming the difficult scenes and moved all sorts of everyday scenes forward for a unified approach.

This gave Liu Yifei another four days.

But are these four days really that significant?
No, when filming resumed, she still couldn't deliver a satisfactory performance.

She wasn't an annoying girl; on the contrary, she was very likable. However, after wasting so much of everyone's time, the entire crew was filled with a sense of contempt, indifference, and impatience towards her.

At this moment, the dog finally bared its fangs.

"Filming is suspended!"

Director Fang threw away the megaphone and spoke coldly in his own voice.

"Starting today, no one in the entire crew is allowed to leave the hotel premises, play cards, drink alcohol, or engage in any form of entertainment!"

What each department is supposed to do? Go ask your bosses later!

All actors, come to me every day for morning exercises, practice, script reading, and to improve your basic skills!
Yifei, everyone will have to start putting up with you, and you decide how long that will last!

Everyone in the room turned to look at Liu Yifei.

It's hard to describe that look; it was almost entirely excluding her from everyone else, except for a faint hint of goodwill.

Suddenly, a large tear rolled down Liu Yifei's cheek.

But she simply wiped it vigorously with the back of her hand, then nodded resolutely: "Mm."

……

The news that filming for "Better Days" had come to a standstill quickly spread around the world.

But the people in the film crew have hardly had the time or inclination to pay attention to the outside world anymore.

The staff in each department had nothing to do and could only stay in their rooms reading books and watching TV all day. They weren't even allowed to go out and visit other people's rooms.

They tolerated it because of the high salary offered by Fang Dashan.

Furthermore, because Fang Dagou was so unreasonable, they constantly complained in private.

Naturally, this complaint couldn't be directed at Fang Xinghe, so it could only be directed at the "culprit."

Liu Yifei began to truly understand what group bullying meant.

Fang Gou did not hide it from her.

On the first day of the filming halt, Fang Xinghe found Nenxian and had a frank conversation with her.

"Sisi, your world is so beautiful."

Fang Xinghe spoke to her about her problems with an extremely calm and objective attitude.

"Although your parents are divorced, both families love you very much; although you live far away in a foreign country, you have never lacked material things; although you have suffered some cold looks and bullying, the degree is far from enough to arouse your hatred."

You are very far removed from the real world. Your father, your mother, your godfather, your stepfather—everyone is trying their best to protect you.

Living in an upscale neighborhood, wearing princess dresses, and always being the center of attention—you don't understand Chen Nian.

Now, the only way to make you and Chen Nian one is to effectively isolate you within the film crew.

Please answer me: are you willing to continue filming, to experience it firsthand and become Chen Nian?

Nenxian is a stubborn person.

Ah, no, Liu Yifei is a stubborn person, from childhood to adulthood, from thin to fat.

She gritted her teeth and nodded vigorously: "I can! I definitely, definitely, will film Chen Nian well!"

After reading the full script, she fell in love with the story.

On the contrary, she didn't like "Cang Ye Xue" as much, because one is about redemption and the other is about madness. She yearned for the light and hoped to fully present Chen Nian, who had been redeemed.

"very good."

Fang Xinghe nodded in satisfaction, and then drew a picture of an Indian roti for her.

"Starting today, I will provide you with a month-long special training program. Cherish this opportunity; you won't get similar guidance anywhere else. When you finish filming this movie, you will be reborn!"

Well, it wasn't all just bragging.

Fang Xinghe is clearly qualified to give her pointers on acting.

"You are not a very talented actor."

A mind that is too big and not sensitive enough will struggle to have a profound experience of anything.

This gives you a unique ethereal and Buddhist quality, but it also makes you seem out of touch with reality, making it difficult to portray characters from the lower classes effectively.

Liu Yifei is not entirely without acting talent.

For example, in the second drama, if you carefully observe Wang Yuyan's expressions and movements when she appears as a background character, you will find that she is very lively and not at all lifeless.

Whose fish died? Anonymous.

The Little Dragon Girl in the back is required by her character design and cannot make too many expressions, but her performance is still very convincing.

As for Ling'er, who comes later in the story, her combination of spirituality and compassion is truly outstanding.

She delivered near-perfect performances in all these roles within her comfort zone.

If you deliberately belittle her performance, you are insulting the public's judgment. If she didn't act well, why did she become so popular with both men and women for so many years?
But she really can't portray ordinary people in realistic dramas. She's not the kind of acting genius who can achieve accurate expression just by observing and doing some homework.

However, there is still a major obstacle between correctness and precision.

For her, performing Chen Nian in the conventional way was almost impossible.

What should I do?
Half experience, half performance.

"The other half of the experience was the high-pressure environment on set. I have to admit that part of it was the result of my deliberate indulgence."

Fang Xinghe said coldly and calmly.

"The other half of the performance is the special training I'm about to give you. My school calls it the Ge's Actor Training Method, and I've modified it specifically for you."

The little girl stared wide-eyed, bewildered and shocked.

Dog Fang suddenly grinned, his chilling malice emanating from between his snow-white teeth.

"Now it's called... an integrated training method for weight loss, muscle gain, fat reduction, blood sugar reduction, and premature aging!"

Upon hearing these words combined to form something truly bizarre, the girl's previously vibrant blue light suddenly dimmed, turning completely green.

Die-hard fan?

Even dogs aren't as loyal to Fang Xinghe!
But she relaxed too soon and underestimated Fang Gou's limits.

When the special training actually started, Xiao Xian cried eight times on the first day...

(End of this chapter)