Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 6 The road to success is always bumpy

Not only Ning Hao and Xing Aina were curious, but even Park Songri and Mu Deyuan were a little curious. After all, Wu Chen was still a freshman, and Ning Hao had already graduated when he enrolled.

"Haven't you read Brother Ning Hao's 'Incense'?"

Ning Hao, Xing Aina and Mu Deyuan were fine, but even Park Songri looked at them with doubt. Wu Chen was speechless.

"I saw it!" Park Song-il scratched his head.

"After watching it, you still don't know Senior Sister Xing? Forget about anything else, the movie poster has Senior Sister Xing's name written all over the cover, along with the assistant director, art director, and photographer. These are all important information about the movie, and you didn't even take a look?
We are not ordinary viewers, and we still have to glance at the information we need to remember."

Wu Chen was not making excuses. This was a skill that helped him get ahead in his previous life. In fact, it is also an essential skill for people in the industry.

Because this information can play an important role at critical moments.

It’s just that many people will subconsciously ignore it and usually only remember the director and the leading actors. However, these behind-the-scenes staff are also very important and you may meet or work with them one day.

For example, Xing Aina felt respected at this time, because few people would remember the behind-the-scenes staff other than the director.

"Uh!" Park Songri didn't know how to respond.

Seeing this, Wu Chen added, "Of course, I also heard some stories about Senior Brother Ning Hao and Senior Sister Xing at school, so I remembered them."

"Amazing!" Ning Hao exclaimed in admiration. These were all details, and he only realized this after becoming a director. These pieces of information were crucial.

"Junior brother, I don't know what to call you." Xing Aina asked specifically.

"Wu Chen, also known as Tian Wu, Chen is the character for the roof with a star added."

"Chen, it's a very noble word. In ancient times, this word had a strong sense of dignity. For example, Chen Palace refers to the emperor's palace or residence." Xing Aina smiled.

"He is Park Song-il, a native of Heilongjiang in Northeast China, and I am from Cantonese." Wu Chen quickly introduced himself and Park Song-il.

"Your senior sister Xing Ai is from our literature department. Maybe you will collaborate on script writing in the future." Mu Deyuan invited everyone to sit down.

Ning Hao sat on the right of Mu Deyuan, and Xing Aina sat next to him.

When the sharp-eyed Ning Hao sat down, he saw the script that Mu Deyuan had placed on the stool. The words "Dark Side" were written on it, and he immediately became interested.

"Hey, teacher, are you planning to make a new movie? Looking at the title, it seems a bit similar to your previous style, a bit like the title of a horror thriller movie."

"Teacher, can I take a look?"

"I can't make the decision on this. This is not my script, but your junior brother wrote it." Mu Deyuan smiled and looked at Wu Chen.

"Oh!" Ning Hao was even more surprised now, and hesitantly asked, "Junior brother, is your family in the circle?"

"No, my family makes leather shoes!" Wu Chen smiled. "Brother, please help me take a look. If there's anything wrong, please correct me."

Wu Chen was not afraid that Ning Hao would see it and do something wrong. After all, Ning Hao's personality was not one that would allow him to do such a thing, and Mu Deyuan was still here.

Ning Hao didn't know how to evaluate this junior brother for a moment. With some doubt, he took the script from Mu Deyuan.

"I read the first part carefully, it's well written, but I haven't read the second part carefully yet!"

Mu Deyuan probably guessed what Ning Hao was thinking, and added a sentence while eating mutton hot pot.

This aroused Ning Hao's interest even more, and Xing Aina also pulled the stool and moved over.

The two of them seemed to be still. After a few minutes, their fingers moved and turned a page. "Great!"

Ning Hao suddenly blurted out a word, then flipped through a few pages and sighed again, "This script is really well written."

"Junior brother, you are really not from our literature department?"

Xing Aina couldn't help but look up at Wu Chen and asked.

"Teacher Mu is here, so how could it be fake?" Wu Chen couldn't help but smile when he heard that.

"This film is truly remarkable, and perfect for newcomers. The three main characters aren't overly complex, and the setting is within a single villa, keeping costs manageable. Furthermore, the film explores human selfishness and betrayal with a compelling depth, centering on the design of locked rooms and psychological warfare."

Ning Hao quickly read the script, closed it, and sighed.

Compared to Mu Deyuan's careful and serious review, Ning Hao obviously read much faster.

"Teacher, it would be a shame if this movie doesn't get some support." Ning Hao said immediately, then looked at Wu Chen, "Junior brother, if the school can't handle it, come to me and I can introduce you to some people."

"Thank you, senior brother!"

Wu Chen responded immediately, feeling extremely emotional.

This is the advantage of graduating from a serious academic department.

Although Ning Hao didn't have much money in his pocket at the time, he had accumulated some connections. With connections, there would always be opportunities to raise money.

Seeing this, Mu Deyuan felt comforted. This kind of cooperation between fellow apprentices was what he wanted. He then said, "Don't worry, I'm not old yet."

"That's not right, teacher. In our circle, the older you are, the more valuable you are. In fact, if you were a generation older, you might be able to get this project done just by talking."

Ning Hao knew that Mu Deyuan had made plans in mind, so he didn't continue the previous topic and joked.

"Let's not talk about him, let's talk about you. What do you plan to shoot after "Incense"? " Mu Deyuan changed the subject and looked at Ning Hao.

Ning Hao is a promising young talent in recent years and is also a disciple of an old friend, so he naturally pays more attention to him.

"After graduation, a lot of things will depend on you."

"I haven't thought about it yet. I can't afford a big investment. Let's see if I can make another one with a small investment." Ning Hao said self-deprecatingly.

He knew that after graduation he would have to rely on himself for many things, unlike in previous years when he could still rely on teachers in school.

His "Incense" was written because the script was circulated among his classmates after it was written, and his mentor saw it and took the initiative to find him.

However, due to genre issues, the script of Incense was more like an underground film and could not use the school's subsidy funds;
So his mentor took him to a place called "Heaven on Earth" on the third ring road of Beijing at that time to find investors. He received 4 yuan in cash as a deposit on the spot and was promised an investment of 150 million yuan.

However, things did not go as planned. Just as the filming was about to begin, the country introduced a policy that prohibited individuals from making underground films and imposed a 50-fold fine on investors. This policy directly led to the original investors abandoning their investment.

Finally, he had no other choice but to pay for the work of photography, screenwriter, director, etc. out of his own pocket to make the movie.

"It wasn't easy. No one expected that you would encounter this policy at that time."

Mu Deyuan sighed and said that he was of course aware of Ning Hao's story, which was indeed a bumpy one. Otherwise, if Ning Hao's "Incense" had been filmed according to the original script, it might have had a chance of being selected at the three major international film festivals.

(End of this chapter)