Generation Z Artists

Chapter 254 Completely Ruined
"Have you found the right state of mind?"

Fang Xinghe looked at Liu Yifei calmly and gently.

"Maybe."

Liu Yifei responded softly.

As she responded, she looked up and glanced at Fang Xinghe.

His gaze was fleeting, revealing a hint of gloom in his eyes, empty yet not entirely so.

After looking away, she lowered her eyelids instead of her head, gently pursed her dry, cracked lips, and hunched her shoulders even more.

'Beautiful! That's it!'

Fang Gou cried out in his heart.

This state is very Chen Nian.

Gloomy, timid, and withdrawn, yet not repulsive; rather, it evokes pity because of its gradually withering beauty.

The reason why Xiao Huangya played Chen Nian so well is precisely because of her delicate and pitiful baby face and temperament. However, Liu Yifei is even more heartbreaking because the 15-year-old fairy is already incredibly beautiful.

This is especially true after the cheeks have slimmed down.

How many pounds have you lost?

Fang Gou continued to care about her.

Liu Yifei replied softly, "I haven't lost much weight, less than three pounds."

Then came a long silence.

She's not as lively as before.

Fang Gou nodded in satisfaction: "Losing fat and gaining muscle, without losing weight but reducing body fat, your baby fat cheeks have been adjusted to the most suitable state for appearing on camera."

Liu Yifei's hope was rekindled, and she asked expectantly, "Then, can we start filming?"

"Okay." Fang Xinghe nodded firmly. "Filming will officially begin tomorrow!"

At that moment, Yang Xiaomi and her two little followers, having received the news, rushed over excitedly, but stopped a few meters away.

"Behave yourself."

Fang Xinghe gave Liu Yifei another word of encouragement, then walked past him and headed for the stairs.

As he passed by Yang Mi's group of three, he put away his smile and nodded slightly to them: "You too."

He went upstairs by himself.

Before Yang Xiaomi could say anything to her idol, she subconsciously bit her lip and glared fiercely at Liu Yifei.

Nenxian was already used to it, so she didn't even look at them, and walked past them along the corner of the wall.

This is the atmosphere on the set of "Young You," a hellish directorial performance by director Fang Gou.

……

On November 1st, filming for "Less You" resumed for the second time.

The outside world finally realized what was happening, and the media swarmed in, but unfortunately, they couldn't get into the film crew or interview any of the staff.

What else can I report?
编。

But Director Fang had no time to pay attention to those things and focused on filming.

The daytime shots consisted of several family scenes.

In this version, Chen Nian's background is that of a wealthy heiress, but her father became addicted to gambling and committed suicide by jumping off a building after losing everything.

As a result, her mother incurred huge debts and moved with Chen Nian to live in her grandmother's old house.

The cramped room, the dim lighting, the stagnant atmosphere, the intense conflict and hatred between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and the passive-aggressive violence they inflict on Chen Nian due to their unvented anger...

The family's decline plunged the little princess Chen Nian into despair.

It was precisely this change in identity that made her Wei Lai's favorite target for bullying.

Wei Lai had every natural and sufficient reason to be jealous of Chen Nian, just as Chen Nian had every natural and sufficient reason to be insecure, cowardly, stubborn, and prone to outbursts.

This clever adjustment to the script was a simplification made by screenwriter Fang Xinghe to focus on the core theme.

It makes the progression of the plot smoother and also better portrays the despair of the character Chen Nian.

……

Outside the window, the sun is shining brightly.

However, the cramped old house had extremely poor lighting, with only a narrow beam of light shining into the living room through the small window.

In the shot, Chen Nian stands helplessly against the wall. A beam of light shines past her, and dust flies in the light path created by the Tyndall effect. The contrast between light and shadow makes the right half of her face gloomy and expressionless, while the relatively brighter left side of her face shows a kind of sorrow that is half crying and half laughing.

The argument between the mother and grandmother is heard off-screen.

"You fickle, shameless slut!"

"You old geezer!"

"You're a jinxed woman who brings bad luck to her husbands! Your husbands are all dead, who are you dressing up for? You're shameless, you'll get what's coming to you sooner or later!"

"I need to work! If I don't work, how can you two good-for-nothings survive on cold water?!"

"What money have I spent on you? The house you and your daughter live in is mine!"

"I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to have been stuck with a family like yours, a real jinx!"

Chen Nian's eyes darkened as she was scratched. She gripped the payment reminder slip for the tutoring class tightly with her fingers, then stuffed the slip and her hand into her pocket.

"Pass!"

Fang Xinghe didn't miss a single detail in the monitor, and finally clapped his hands in satisfaction.

"Excellent! The character's state is exceptionally accurate!"

Before the "special training," this shot could have kept Liu Yifei occupied for at least three days, and even then, it might not have achieved this level of quality.

But now, it's done in one take.

Chen Nian's emotional progression was absolutely perfect.

From the initial bewilderment upon hearing the argument, followed by impatience, then fear as the argument escalated, subconsciously slowing down my footsteps, and finally standing by the wall, silently waiting and enduring, gradually emptying my mind, like an empty shell.

In the end, she gave up asking her family for tuition fees and swallowed all her emotions.

All these details are clearly shown in the shot, whether it's body language, micro-expressions, or eye contact, flowing smoothly, naturally, and with distinct layers.

If a scoring system were implemented, Fang Xinghe would be willing to give this performance a score of 99.

It means that no matter who plays the role or what performance style is used, it can't be any better.

The only difference is the style; the actual effect is the same.

Because this scene doesn't aim for an explosive outburst, but rather a subtle and pervasive influence. As long as the audience can feel the authenticity of the character's state and become immersed in it, it's considered a success.

It's not the climax, but a prelude, so we can't judge it by the intensity of a climax. We should look at how well it fulfills the director's and performers' intentions.

In terms of performance, Liu Yifei has achieved more than just success; she has achieved excellence.

On the directing level, Fang Xinghe made a very ingenious design—

Grandma and Mom were arguing, one throwing things around in the kitchen and the other raging in the living room. Chen Nian was caught in the middle of the battle, feeling extremely isolated in space and very ambiguous in time.

As she walked toward the small bedroom, she passed right through the ray of sunlight and disappeared back into darkness; the background noise first faded and then became indistinct...

What constitutes good audiovisual language?

That's it.

The audience may not understand the technical jargon, but they can feel the atmosphere and emotions, thus becoming deeply immersed and empathetic.

A good movie is an experiential journey constructed from one such scene after another.

After more than a month of stagnation, "Less You" has finally gotten back on track.

……

That evening, Director Fang decided to shoot the first major scene of the entire film.

Zhang Xiaobei gets beaten up, Chen Nian appears, and the two meet.

Liu Yifei was extremely tired today – she was constantly hungry and had to film at a high intensity, leaving her physically and mentally exhausted, but this was exactly the state Fang Xinghe wanted.

"I need you to break free from this zombie-like feeling..."

Before filming began, Director Fang explained the scene to the young actress.

"When you finish your last practice session each day, you're so tired you don't want to move at all. You mechanically drag your body back to your room, your mind blank—that's the state you're in."

However, this time your experience will be more expansive than usual.

Because it's nighttime, darkness can give you a sense of security. You must find that feeling of 'being safer walking alone in the dark than during the day' and express it through your body language.

The camera will follow you from behind, so you can't use facial expressions to interpret anything, only your most authentic physical state.

Then, when you hear shouts and curses coming from the alley ahead, your body needs to tense up instantly for the camera.

Do you remember those Grammatical training exercises I did with you?

Think about it carefully; the answer is in there.

Director Fang explained things in great detail, but also left her with enough room to think.

This is the best guidance. Our Director Fang wouldn't stoop to the mysterious, silent, and unorthodox methods of Wong Kar-wai. Right now, he's getting a lot of support.

Liu Yifei looked thoughtful and quickly nodded.

Because she had enough experience, she not only understood what was being said, but was also able to easily evoke emotions and physical actions.

"Start shooting!"

At her command, she casually walked into the camera's view.

That wasn't the nonchalant attitude of a young delinquent; it was a true reflection of someone from the bottom of society, utterly exhausted.

The machine moves with its upper body swaying naturally, its forearms causing its fingers to swing irregularly, and the right index finger and thumb are bent more than the left hand—because it has done too much homework and exercises.

When she arrived at the designated location, she didn't clench her fist, but all the muscles in her body suddenly tensed up. Her upper arms squeezed her body tightly, her neck was frozen in a stiff position, and she turned her head to look at the dark alley.

"Nice! Perfect!"

Director Fang was very excited when he called for a stop.

The shot was even more perfect than he had imagined. Body control should have been a difficult thing for a newcomer and a bit of a fool like Liu Yifei, but she accurately grasped all the necessary details.

"Wow, Director!"

Zhao Xiaoding couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

As the main cameraman, he was best able to perceive the precision and ease in Liu Yifei's movements, but this was not her true level at all.

"Hey, you actually managed to grind it out!"

The other staff members on site were all seasoned veterans who were quite knowledgeable, and they were all discussing the matter amongst themselves.

"These shots today are really amazing."

"Our director is truly talented, and the young girl's performance was also excellent."

"Maybe one more insurance policy can be guaranteed? Why do I feel like my work has suddenly become easier?"

"Absolutely! The night scenes went so smoothly, it must be divine intervention!"

Fang Sheng, who truly protected the crew, ignored the staff's discussions and calmly and authoritatively ordered: "Everyone prepare, ensure one is safe."

When making movies, if there's no tight deadline, it's extremely rare to get it right in one take.

Both filming and acting are creative endeavors. The same performance can rise from 90 points to 99 points if the angle, lighting, and composition are changed.

Similarly, the same shooting method, but a different performance style, may produce a more outstanding effect.

Therefore, securing one or two kills is the norm. There's no such thing as having a cheat code that allows you to "have the complete movie scene in your mind and film every shot in one take"—that would be too lazy and lacking in ambition.

For the second point, Zhao Xiaoding adopted a more straightforward fixed-point filming method.

Then Liu Yifei started walking the path for the third time, and the camera was suspended in mid-air by a crane to take a wide-angle overhead shot from a third-person perspective.

Only during the final editing stage could Fang Xinghe determine whether to use a long tracking shot or a series of dynamic shots to show the journey "from calm to turmoil".

Oh, by the way, this guy's editing skills are also 90 points, a true all-rounder.

After filming this scene, the crew moved to another location to film the fight scene in the alley.

Calling it an action scene is an insult to Brother Fang. It was actually about him getting beaten up, and then, after seizing an opportunity, Zhang Xiaobei, like a lone wolf, pinned down one of them and beat him mercilessly.

The change in this scene compared to the original is mainly to present the personality of Fang Xinghe's version of Zhang Xiaobei.

In a simple sentence: a wolf cub truly living in ruins.

A person who has nothing to lose must be ruthless enough, and once such a person has something to hold onto, they will risk everything.

The original version didn't explore this aspect enough, which made the character of Xiao Bei less convincing—this is a euphemistic and vague way of putting it; a professional analysis would require more details than a short essay could explain.

But that's alright, in Fang's version of "Young You", Zhang Xiaobei has plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents.

The action scenes were filmed very smoothly.

The ones who circled and kicked the eldest brother were Duoyu, Heizi, and Taodang from the Thirteen Eagles. Then, the one who was pinned down and hammered by Xiaobei was Duoyu—this kid insisted on practicing martial arts, had rich fighting experience, and knew how to take a beating with the least damage while still appearing realistic.

Finally, the thing that really harassed Chen Nian was grabbing her crotch. Holy crap, that didn't sound like acting at all.

"Oh my, little sister is so pretty. What's up, calling the police to cause trouble for your brothers?"

"Okay, you wait, next time when we have more time, I'll play with you properly and make sure you have a good time~~~ Hehehehe!"

He leered as he raised his hand to pinch Chen Nian's face.

As Chen Nian dodged, she kicked wildly, revealing a part of the fierceness behind her cowardice when her bottom line was crossed.

This is also to fit the character setting—it would be strange if three petty thugs didn't have wicked thoughts when they saw such a beautiful woman as Chen Nian in the middle of the night.

However, out of fear of the police, they didn't dare to do anything serious. Instead, they played a trick on Chen Nian and Xiao Bei before fleeing in a hurry.

This was how the two first met.

Director Fang employed a convoluted approach in handling the subsequent events.

Chen Nian mustered her courage and asked Zhang Xiaobei to protect her, but Xiaobei pushed her away and left indifferently.

But this can't be pure indifference; Fang Xinghe has to act out a bit of fear—fear of contacting such a beautiful but unfamiliar girl, and fear of a life that could be turned upside down.

Zhang Xiaobei and Chen Nian must approach each other gradually in order to make this redemption both heartwarming and touching.

The screenwriter really went to great lengths to make the audience cry.

Of course, the actor also put in a lot of effort, so he portrayed that anxious and pitiful scene very well.

First, there's the first glance—the instant Xiao Bei looked up and saw Chen Nian.

Fang Xinghe's pained and confused expression froze for a very brief moment. Then, a look of amazement welled up in his eyes, but it was fleeting and eventually turned into a sense of vigilance.

Once this close-up is completed to a high standard, the audience will immediately understand: Zhang Xiaobei is also a normal teenage boy, and he has feelings for the beautiful Chen Nian.

Then came the scene of their parting.

Chen Nian pleaded with him, hoping that Xiao Bei could protect her for a while.

But Xiao Bei refused. His expression was cold, but his body language was somewhat flustered and restrained. He wanted to push away Chen Nian, who was blocking his way, but in the end he hesitated slightly and chose to go around her.

When he went around her, he used the back of his hand to "push" Chen Nian aside, only touching her shoulder.

He was quite strong and a bit rough, but beneath this rough exterior lay a mixture of impatience and wariness.

In the close-up shot of them brushing past each other, Chen Nian tilts her head back, her eyes brimming with tears, looking pitiful and revealing her true anxiety, unease deep inside.

Zhang Xiaobei, however, kept his eyes straight ahead, his mouth slightly crooked, his muscles trembling with pain, and his gaze filled with a particularly stubbornness.

Coupled with his limping but taut back, a sense of inexplicable loneliness arises spontaneously.

After creating a distance of about 5 meters, Fang Xinghe suddenly raised his hand, wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, then shook it forcefully and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The subtle difference between spitting out blood-tinged foam and spitting out phlegm lies in whether it is "the effort exerted by the throat" or "the effort exerted by the lips and teeth".

Without any throat exertion, just a light spit, the character's arrogance and the boy's childish disdain are instantly and solidly established.

After filming the main scenes, Zhao Xiaoding, Cao Baoping, and other key members of the production team returned to the director's room for a meeting.

In the film era, daily debriefing meetings were not as convenient as in the digital age. People could not see the footage shot that day, but they still had to summarize the day's shooting based on the script supervisor's "log".

"Talk about the camera work."

At Director Fang's command, everyone began their work.

Script supervisor reports, photography reports, audio recording reports... go through them one by one.

We discussed which shot "felt" definitely overdone, which might have problems, and determined whether a reshoot was needed tomorrow.

The film, which was sent to the printing plant overnight, will be processed by noon tomorrow. Another screening of the sample film will be held before the final determination of whether the material is usable can be made.

These tasks are extremely complicated and mentally taxing.

The meeting lasted until nearly 3 a.m., and the room was already filled with smoke.

But everyone was extremely excited.

Cao Baoping slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Director, I can't guarantee anything else, but if we keep filming like this, our movie is sure to win an acting award!"

Yes, Chen Nian's performance, as well as Fang Xinghe's performance, was truly amazing.

With such clear hope, how could morale not be high?

But Fang Biwang just smiled and waved his hand: "If I can only get an acting award, why would I bother with all this effort? Everyone, hang in there, persevere a little longer, if we're going to win, we'll win something big, and we'll all be gilded before we go back home!"

The atmosphere in the room immediately became lively and cheerful. Staying up all night no longer felt tiring, and the sense of cohesion naturally reached its peak without any management measures.

That's the kind of motivation a good pie can provide.

Fang Xinghe proved to everyone with his performance that he was capable of steaming the most delicious Shandong pancake.

After completing their mission, the group stretched and went out to their rooms. Fang Xinghe was about to take a shower and go to bed when there was a gentle knock on the half-closed door.

"Enter!"

After the shouts were made, there was no response from the person outside the house.

The door was gently pushed open, and Nenxian stood timidly in the doorway, twisting her fingers, not daring to take another step.

With her head down, she asked with difficulty, "Director, it seems like I'm just a little bit away from completely becoming Chen Nian, but I've never thought about completely becoming Chen Nian. Can you... help me?"

Fang Xinghe felt a jolt in his heart and couldn't help but scrutinize her closely.

No way? !

So, is the strong and resilient Fei Xian about to be completely ruined by me?!
(End of this chapter)