HuaYu: A Great Director Starting with Dream of the Red Chamber

There are some very talented people among the netizens!

On YouTube, an anonymous user uploaded the English subtitled version of "Let Me Stay" along with the behind-the-scenes footage.

They even left a provocative post on the authoritative forum DPreview:

Chinese director takes down Hollywood with DSLR camera!

The foreigners on this forum are all really hardcore.

At first, most of the responses were sarcastic or mocking.

However, it soon attracted the attention of a master named "RedWizard".

He was a second-tier cinematographer in Hollywood.

The expert extracted the shallow depth-of-field scenes from the video and published a frame-by-frame analysis of over three thousand words, covering multiple dimensions such as dynamic range, shadow details, and high ISO noise.

The post ended with the following sentence:

"By the way, does anyone know how to contact Li Yan? Could you please ask him if he sells his LUT presets?"

This concludes the case.

The domestic and international equipment industry is left with only one voice:

The director is awesome! Canon has won big this time!

……

Jinbao Building, Canon Marketing Department.

The same conference room.

It's still the same location.

Two documents were placed in front of Yamada.

One is Ogilvy's viewership report, and as before, the data is very stable.

The other document was a report copied from the sales department, stating that the 5D Mark II was completely out of stock and requesting priority for order processing.

Opposite him, Huang Jiawei sat upright, still wearing his usual three-piece suit and slicked-back hair.

It's clear that Huang Jiawei has been having a tough time these past few days.

He had heavy eye bags, looked listless, and even his hairline seemed to have receded a bit.

But he still stood very straight.

He is the creative director of Ogilvy, an elite, and he will not allow himself to appear intimidated in front of any client.

"Minister Yamada,"

Huang Jiawei decided to take the initiative and break the silence first:

"Regarding sales data, I believe this reflects a market lag. Ogilvy's brand building is a long-term process; we can't just look at short-term traffic..."

"Mr. Simon,"

Yamada didn't even look up, and with the out-of-stock report in his hand, somewhat rudely interrupted his explanation:

"Headquarters just called."

Huang Jiawei's heart skipped a beat.

"Headquarters has decided to make 'Let Me Stay' the official global promotional video for the EOS 5D Mark II."

"What?!"

Huang Jiawei was stunned for a moment, then his face was filled with disbelief:

"Global? Are you kidding me? That's just a short Chinese film! It's crude and cheap; how could it possibly represent Canon's global image!"

"Rough? Cheap? No, it's art!"

Yamada stood up, slowly walked to the screen in the conference room, and pointed to the still frame of Yang Mi turning her head in the video:

"It can drive photographers around the world crazy and fill their schedules with orders until the next quarter."

"It proves the value of Canon cameras."

"And value... is art!"

He turned around and bowed slightly to Huang Jiawei, whose face was ashen.

"Mr. Huang, we have always respected our partners. However, if your proposals have the same effect next time... I think we will need to re-evaluate Ogilvy's long-term contract."

After saying that, Yamada turned and left.

Huang Jiawei was left leaning against the back of his chair, lost in thought.

It's like having your spine removed.

……

Jianwai SOHO.

The company was a mess, with beer, drinks, duck necks, takeout food, and colorful ribbons scattered all over the floor.

Zhang Qiang, bald and with a flushed face, stood on the desk, waving a thick stack of red envelopes in his hand.

Like a baboon.

"Don't grab it! Everyone gets a share."

"Xiao Zhou! This is for you. Save it up to get married!"

"Li Yong, you, stop buying any more lenses, go hide some of your secret stash of money."

"Little one...hey, don't pull! My pants are going to fall down!"

……

Cheers and whistles rang out from time to time.

Li Yan nestled in a beanbag chair in the corner, clutching a can of Budweiser, watching the chaotic scene with a smile.

Good!

No need to worry about box office, no need to deal with investors, and no need to care about the criticisms of film critics.

It's pure joy.

He had never experienced the fame and fortune of Hollywood.

"Junior brother,"

Zhang Qiang jumped off the table, staggered over, and squeezed next to him.

"Nothing more to say, it's all in the wine!"

Zhang Qiang clinked glasses with Li Yan, and without waiting to see if Li Yan had drunk any, he tilted his head back and gulped down half a can.

"ha……"

After finishing his drink and wiping his mouth, he pulled Li Yan into his arms.

"That bastard Zhao Gang told me that old devil Yamada is going to send the film to Cannes! And promote it globally! Junior brother, you're incredibly awesome!"

Li Yan was also pleased, inspired by their efforts: "They all deserve credit; I couldn't have handled this alone!"

"Keep pretending! We don't talk about that here!"

Zhang Qiang patted Li Yan's shoulder heavily:

"Xiaoxiao will still transfer the bonus to your account. We'll add it to the fifty we gave you last time, how about that? Pretty generous, right?"

The director and planner together earned 500,000 yuan.

The current housing price in Yanjing is only 15,000 yuan.

This fee is already at the absolute maximum in the gay community.

Li Yan didn't stand on ceremony and raised the Budweiser in his hand, "Thanks, senior brother."

Zhang Qiang handed him a cigarette, lit it for both of them, and took a puff.

It had a somewhat earnest meaning to it:

"Junior brother, I know my place is too small to keep you here, but don't worry, I know what I'm doing. With our friendship, just ask if you need anything in the future."

After saying that, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and exhaled a deep puff of smoke.

Li Yan felt a warmth in his heart; his senior brother was genuinely looking out for him.

Aside from Guo Fumin, this was the first benefactor he encountered.

He downed his beer, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "Senior, I'm preparing to make a movie."

The air fell silent for a moment.

"puff……"

Ding Xiaoxiao, who had just come over to eavesdrop on the gossip, sprayed a mouthful of orange juice onto Zhang Qiang's pants.

"Boss, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!"

Ding Xiaoxiao scurried over to get tissues, staring wide-eyed at Li Yan: "Director, are you drunk?!"

"Hiccup~" Zhang Qiang was also startled and hiccuped, suddenly raising his voice:

"I knew it! All those acting and directing students end up making movies? Who the hell doesn't want to make movies?!"

He was momentarily stunned, then realized what was happening. Ignoring his wet pants, he urgently urged:

"With just 500,000, what can you even film? You'd be better off saving up to buy a house!"

"Hiring a second-tier celebrity isn't enough to cover their salary, renting a studio isn't enough to cover the electricity bill, and for a slightly larger production, your 500,000 yuan won't even cover the cost of meals!"

"Unless you make underground films, but with your small frame, if you were to make that kind of thing, you could forget about ever getting a film license!"

Li Yan smiled and took the tissue from Ding Xiaoxiao, handing it to his senior brother: "I know it's not enough."

Although the system still didn't respond, his skills from his past life were enough to handle the present.

"So, I'm going to shoot a short film first."

"A short film?" Ding Xiaoxiao interjected from the side. "Isn't that just like our GG?"

"Pretty much, but not GG, I'm going to the film festival." Li Yan turned around and explained to Ding Xiaoxiao.

Zhang Qiang, being an insider, immediately realized what was going on.

"Shoot a short film of twenty or thirty minutes, go abroad and win a bunch of awards, even if it's just a nomination, and when you come back, things will be completely different."

As he spoke, he excitedly slapped his thigh:

"With a trophy, you can easily fool people... no, I mean, attract some investment, and those old guys will obediently hand over their money, right? That's your plan!"

Li Yan chuckled. Indeed, he had always been good at making empty promises.