Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 160 Huge Differences
At 8:55 the next morning, the crew of The Return of the Condor Heroes took their positions and officially started the filming trip to Xiangshan.

According to the original plan, the rivalry and some fighting scenes between Yang Guo and Gongsun Lue'e were to be completed on that day, and were to be filmed in the banyan tree forest of Xiangshan Film and Television City and the Yantouzhu Reservoir of Xiangshan Danmen respectively.

Yang Guo: She clearly recognized me, but she didn't dare to acknowledge me. (Gongsun Lu'e looked at Yang Guo in confusion.)
Yang Guo: Aunt is the one I love the most!

Gongsun Lu'e: Isn't this incest?
Yang Guo: She is not my biological aunt, she is my master. She taught me martial arts since I was a child, and she is the only one in this world who is truly kind to me!

Although this scene only has a few simple lines of dialogue and actions, "Yang Guo" and "Gongsun Lue'e", who are holding hot water bottles in their hands and wearing down jackets, are still rehearsing non-stop.

However, when the two actors started the actual filming, they shot the scene eight times in a row but still could not meet Yu Minjie's requirements.

At this moment, the originally mild and clear sky suddenly began to rain coldly, and the temperature dropped to around 2 degrees Celsius.

The actors and crew were all confused by the fickle weather.

Because the two actors were wearing thin clothes, they had to hide in a makeshift tent. Even though they were holding hot water bottles in their hands and wearing down jackets, they were still shivering.

Due to weather reasons, Big Beard, who was originally filming a martial arts scene, hurriedly rushed to the banyan tree forest from the Yantouzhu Reservoir site 10 kilometers away.

As soon as he entered the banyan forest, he asked director Yu Minjie about the progress of the filming and discussed how to switch to other scenes.

After a brief discussion, we roughly decided that if the rain got heavier, we would shoot a few scenes indoors instead.

However, by around three in the afternoon, the rain had gradually subsided, but the temperature was still dropping, approaching 0 degrees Celsius.

Taking into account the physical condition of the actors and staff, the crew began to wrap up work at around 4:30 in the afternoon.

On the same day, the filming location of Gongsun Mansion.

The literary drama group B, led by Hu Xiaobei, was preparing to film the scene where Gongsun Zhi persuades Xiaolongnu to marry him in the study room.

Gongsun Mansion consists of six independent buildings: the main hall, study, scripture room, alchemy room, sword room and Zhi room.

Walking into the shooting location, what comes into view is a spacious ordinary study.

The overhead lights are specially designed to focus together to simulate the effect of a hole in the roof.

At that time, the center of the study will be illuminated very brightly by this beam of light, while the surrounding environment will be hidden in darkness, thereby implanting a specific psychological hint in the audience.

Now it seems that the study only has simple tables, chairs and bookshelves, which seems a bit empty.

But once the special effects are completed, branches and leaves will grow from the "hole" into the room, creating a different natural atmosphere, which is completely different from the current scene.

In this scene, a little yellow bird will open Xiaolongnu's heart knot, evoke her lovesickness and make her fall into confusion. Gongsun Zhi will take the opportunity to propose marriage and try to fool Xiaolongnu.

Before this indoor scene, there is an outdoor scene at a waterfall. It is a scene where Xiaolongnu looks at the waterfall and leans on the railing, missing Yang Guo. It was filmed as early as in Jiuzhaigou.

There was one difficulty in this indoor scene, which was the shooting involving the little yellow bird.

In the actual shooting, there is no little yellow bird. It was added through post-production.

In other words, this scene requires the two actors to shoot without props.

At that time, this shooting method that required adding virtual elements in post-production was relatively unfamiliar to most directors and actors.

Unlike twenty years later, when similar photos can be easily taken with a mobile phone, in this era it seems very high-tech and novel.

But in Hu Xiaobei's view, this is the simplest thing.

Therefore, he can clearly and intuitively tell the actors what and how to shoot.

An Xiaoqian is young, so it's easy for her to understand the intricacies of this. Zhong Zhentao, who plays Gongsun Zhi, is also a veteran actor. Although his understanding and learning ability may not be as good as that of a young person, he is steady enough and has a lot of experience in filming, so he can naturally cooperate well.

Although the characters played by the two are discussing marriage, the scenes before filming are very interesting.

Under Hu Xiaobei's urging, An Xiaoqian memorized the lines early, but was still marking on the script.

Zhong Zhentao wore a pair of small reading glasses and recited the script intently.

Hu Xiaobei stood in the middle of the room, while An Xiaoqian and Zhong Zhentao beside him looked at the script and listened attentively.

He looked focused and was patiently explaining the key points of virtual shooting.

"In our scene, even though the little yellow bird doesn't actually exist, you have to have it in your mind and treat it as a real entity."

He looked at An Xiaoqian with a hint of encouragement in his eyes: "Xixi, when you shoot later, you have to imagine that the little yellow bird is perched on the branch in front of your head. Of course, this tree will be added in the later stage.

The yellow bird's feathers are bright yellow, and its round eyes are looking at you curiously. When it flaps its wings, you can feel the breeze it creates.

When it lands on your head, you need to react subtly, but be reserved for fear of scaring the bird.

When the bird starts to sing, the clear and melodious sound will immediately touch your heartstrings and arouse your longing for Yang Guo.

Remember, you have to use your eyes and subtle movements to show the interaction between you and this imaginary little yellow bird."

An Xiaoqian nodded seriously, her eyes full of concentration: "Okay, I see. I'll think about it carefully."

Then, Hu Xiaobei turned to Zhong Zhentao and said sincerely: "Teacher Zhong, you are experienced, but this non-object filming may be a little different from the past.

When the little yellow bird 'flies up' and circles around you and Xiao Longnu, your eyes have to follow its predetermined trajectory closely, as if it were really there.

When it lands on your hand, your glances and the movement of your hand should make the audience feel that you are communicating with it. Through these details, the audience should be able to see the tacit interaction between you and the little yellow bird."

Zhong Zhentao raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a confident smile, and said in his signature Hong Kong Cantonese: "Advisor, don't worry!
Although performing without props is a new challenge for me, I will actually do as you say and take every detail into account!
If we finish filming soon, we can go back to the hotel and make soup!"

Hu Xiaobei smiled and nodded, and also made plans to go home early to make chicken soup.

As he spoke, he demonstrated personally, pointing out the flight trajectory of the little yellow bird and instructing Zhong Zhentao on how to raise his hands and turn around. His movements were smooth and natural, and his eyes followed the virtual flight trajectory of the little yellow bird.

"Come on, let's try to act it out as I say. Visualize this little yellow bird in your mind and make it appear vividly in this scene."

After completing sufficient preliminary preparations and communicating the shooting content in advance, except for the initial audition which took some time, the subsequent formal shooting was completed in just two takes.

In fact, Hu Xiaobei could have bought a real bird to shoot this scene. With his shadow ability, it would have been easy for him to forcibly control the bird's movements.

But this is not my own crew after all, and the special effects used in this scene were decided early on, so many things cannot be taken for granted.

It's unnecessary, thankless, and likely to cause misunderstandings and suspicions from others.

The literary drama group B, which Hu Xiaobei was in charge of, finished filming the Gongsun Mansion scenes early and successfully completed the day's shooting plan.

Due to the sudden cold rain, Group B of the drama group finished work early after lunch and no filming tasks were scheduled for the afternoon.

On the same day, Group A's scenes were simpler, while Group B's scenes were more difficult to shoot, but the work efficiency of Groups A and B was completely different.

While the staff of Group A were still waiting in the rain, Group B had already finished work early and started to prepare for tomorrow's shooting plan.

(End of this chapter)