Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 233, Section 231: Evil Cultivators Are Fast
In July, the heatwave in Beijing continued to scorch the earth.

The filming of "A Little Thing Called First Love" proceeded steadily in a subtle yet tense atmosphere.

The main filming location was a middle school with a distinctly old feel on the outskirts of Beijing.

Red brick walls, old locust trees, and mottled horizontal bars—everywhere exudes the atmosphere of a campus from the late 1990s.

Executive director Zhang Yang, holding a walkie-talkie, loudly directed the scene, ensuring that every step was precise and in place.

The camera tracks were laid out neatly, and the lighting technician repeatedly adjusted the angle of the reflectors, striving to capture the "fresh and beautiful" and "youthful excitement" that best met the script's requirements.

Gao Yuanyuan is the absolute female lead, appearing in almost every scene.

She wore the slightly baggy and dowdy school uniform specially prepared by the crew, along with her signature black-rimmed glasses and braces, trying her best to shrink herself into the body of the "ugly duckling" Xiao Shui.

In the early stages of filming, her performance was nothing short of amazing.

Whether it was the panic of her heart stopping and difficulty breathing when she first met Senior A-Liang, or the complex glimmer of inferiority, admiration and sweetness in her eyes when she secretly watched him, she portrayed it extremely well. It was as if the emotion of "unrequited love" had already taken root in her heart, and at this moment it just flowed out naturally under the pretext of the script.

However, the problem lies precisely in this "too natural" nature.

Whenever the camera required her to have a long eye contact or conversation with "Senior A-Liang" Huang Xiaoming, and the director Wang Sheng happened to be sitting behind the monitor, silently watching the filming, Gao Yuanyuan's gaze would easily "drift off".

She would unconsciously use the corner of her eye to search for that familiar figure. Once she caught it, the admiring gaze that should have been directed at Huang Xiaoming would be mixed with a more real and personal search and longing.

That gaze seemed to have its own will, transcending the time and space set by the script, clinging to Wang Sheng, carrying a cautious probing and an indescribable tenderness.

"Crack!"

Once again, during a crucial corridor encounter scene between Gao Yuanyuan and Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Yang frowned and called for a stop.

"Gao Yuanyuan!" Zhang Yang's voice was filled with suppressed helplessness. He subconsciously glanced in Wang Sheng's direction first, and seeing that the other party was just calmly looking at the monitor without any expression, he softened his tone a bit: "Your eyes! Your eyes are wandering again! Right now, your eyes and heart should be on Senior Liang, it's him! Understand? Focus, don't get distracted."

The scene fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on Gao Yuanyuan.

Two red clouds quickly rose to Gao Yuanyuan's cheeks, spreading all the way to her ears.

She hurriedly lowered her head, clasped her hands together, and apologized repeatedly: "I'm sorry, Director Zhang! I'm sorry, everyone! I... I'll do it again, I promise it won't happen again."

She secretly glanced at Wang Sheng and saw that he still had no expression, only a slight nod to indicate that he should continue. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings, including shame at being caught and a strange sense of loss.

Such "clicks" occurred frequently in the first few days.

Because Wang Sheng was present, Zhang Yang couldn't be too harsh on Gao Yuanyuan, and could only repeatedly emphasize "focusing on the role" and "immersing oneself in the play".

Gao Yuanyuan always apologized and admitted her mistakes with the best attitude, but that subconscious "eye search" seemed to have become an inertia that was hard to overcome.

Wang Sheng took all of this into view.

With his keen insight, he naturally understood the root cause of Gao Yuanyuan's frequent NGs.

He knew he had become the living material and source of inspiration for this girl to experience the emotions of "unrequited love".

Wang Sheng let her do whatever she wanted with this performance method, which was unclear whether it was a deep experiential approach or a "heretical" method that had gone astray. As long as the final result was good, he seemed to be able to tolerate some deviations in the process.

Moreover, an interesting phenomenon is that when shooting close-up shots of Gao Yuanyuan, especially when she needs to express her inner monologue or subtle emotions to the camera (or to Wang Sheng, who is watching the monitor behind the camera), her performance often produces surprisingly good results.

The camera zooms in, focusing on her clear, captivating eyes after she removes her glasses (during the later stages of the story). As she gazes into the lens, as if looking directly through the cold glass and electrical circuits into those calm, watery eyes behind the scenes, all the secrets of a young girl's unrequited love—the unspoken shyness, the anxiety of loss, the courage of a desperate gamble, and the subtle sadness of unrequited love—converge and flow in her eyes, so real it's heart-wrenching.

It was no longer just a performance; it was more like a secret confession and an emotional outpouring.

Photographers often can't help but applaud in their hearts, capturing images that are full of moving power.

"Director Wang, Gao Yuanyuan's close-up is amazing!" Even the executive director Zhang Yang sometimes had to admit that, in that specific situation, Gao Yuanyuan's emotional delivery was astonishingly precise and abundant.

Wang Sheng glanced at the close-up face on the monitor, his eyes flickered slightly, but he remained noncommittal, simply instructing, "Secure this one, prepare for the next one."

He knew about Gao Yuanyuan's growing girlish feelings, which were almost overflowing off-screen, but he chose to remain silent.

In his view, it is not a bad thing that actors can perfectly portray a character by using some kind of real emotional channel.

As for the source of this emotion, he had no intention of interfering too much as long as it did not affect the overall situation.

So be it, I'm just a tool. As long as I can produce good work, that's fine.

On the other hand, Gao Yuanyuan did not rely entirely on those "crooked methods".

Thanks to more than a year of systematic and rigorous trainee training after signing with Shengying Media, her physical appearance, dialogue, and physical performance skills have all made great progress.

After realizing that she couldn't completely convince the director (especially Zhang Yang) with just her eyes and inner monologues, she began to work hard on her body language.

She imitated the way introverted, unassuming girls walked by carefully observing their gait and imitating their slightly hunched shoulders and hesitant steps.

In the early part of the story, she designed some small gestures, such as subconsciously pushing up her glasses (when she was wearing braces), habitually pursing her lips and lowering her head when talking to people, and always unconsciously pinching the hem of her school uniform, etc.

In the later part of the story, as Xiao Shui begins to transform herself for the sake of her crush, Gao Yuanyuan's body language also undergoes significant changes.

Her walking posture gradually became more upright and confident, her steps were light and steady, she dared to raise her eyes when talking to people, and she even began to learn to show just the right smile.

This method of reflecting inner growth through changes in external physical form is very intuitive and effective.

In a scene where Xiaoshui walks proudly through the school corridor for the first time after making up her mind to change, Gao Yuanyuan perfectly portrays the subtle feeling of tension and anticipation on the eve of "breaking out of the cocoon and becoming a butterfly" simply through her back view and the way she walks.

Without any lines or facial expressions, the staff on set all felt the uplifting power emanating from the character.

"Great! That's a good take!" This time, Zhang Yang's shout of "Cut!" carried obvious approval: "Gao Yuanyuan, you've captured the nuances of movement perfectly! Keep it up!"

Gao Yuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief and secretly glanced at Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng nodded in agreement.

In an instant, all the fatigue and stress seemed to vanish.

She clenched her fist secretly, feeling as if a joyful little bird was nestled in her heart.

She knew she had finally found the right way to get close to the character while...not so obviously "using" him.

Filming continues, and summer goes on.

The girl's hidden feelings quietly grow both on and off screen, intertwining wonderfully with the character's transformation from an "ugly duckling."

(End of this chapter)