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

The weather in Yanjing in early summer is quite nice, and the annoying willow catkins are almost gone.

Li Yan, dressed in loose sportswear, jogged briskly around Houhai Lake.

I passed by a few elderly opera enthusiasts and even joined in for a few singing sessions, earning them a few thumbs-up.

After working up a sweat, I stopped at a busy breakfast stall at the entrance of an alley and ordered a bowl of savory tofu pudding and two fried dough sticks.

They're all neighbors, so I don't have to worry about the taste at stalls with lots of customers.

After eating and drinking my fill, I went back and took a shower.

Only then did Li Yan, full of energy, head to Jianwai SOHO.

First, he needs to fully recover his energy; then he'll have to "cultivate immortality" in the small, dark room for the next few days...

Logically speaking, the short film "The Tuner" is not long, and he had gone through the storyboard and the final cut countless times in his mind.

The editing techniques weren't particularly special either.

The story begins with a non-linear narrative, using flashbacks and reverse chronology to create suspense by introducing the protagonist's perilous situation.

Then, cross-cutting and parallel montage are used to explain why the male protagonist pretends to be blind.

For the remaining climax, all that's needed is continuous editing to ensure narrative coherence and a sense of urgency, with a few jump cuts added at most to increase the impact.

It's that simple.

But when Ding Xiaoxiao pushed open the door and entered the post-production room...

I still saw Li Yan with messy hair, dark circles under his eyes, and an unshaven beard, typing away on the keyboard.

Fatty Zhou, who had been promoted to post-production supervisor, was half-lying on a chair next to him, holding a can of Red Bull, his eyes glazed over.

In just three days, these two were like they'd stumbled into a spider's web...

Sunlight streamed in through the door that Ding Xiaoxiao had opened.

Li Yan and Fatty Zhou both hissed at the same time, instinctively raising their hands to cover their eyes.

Ding Xiaoxiao walked in, pinching her nose, waving her other hand in front of her face, her expression full of disgust:

"My goodness, this whole room smells terrible! Are you guys preparing to refine pills?!"

After saying that, he quickly walked to the window, pulled back the curtains with a "whoosh," and opened the window.

The fresh air brought Li Yan back to his senses.

"Little one, is it lunchtime again?"

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, Li Yan yawned and stretched out a huge yawn, his bones cracking and popping.

"Eat, eat, all you do is eat! You're all so lazy and lethargic, aren't you afraid of shortening your lifespan by a few years?"

Despite her complaints, Ding Xiaoxiao still helped them open their lunchboxes and handed them a stack of wet wipes.

Li Yan wiped his hands and asked, "Has the subtitle work been finished?"

Ding Xiaoxiao pulled a USB drive out of her pocket, waved it around, and looked very smug.

"As expected! The bilingual subtitles in English and Italian were penned by a top-performing graduate student from the School of European Languages ​​and Literature at Beijing Foreign Studies University—the level of professionalism is truly impressive!"

"Well done!"

Li Yan took the USB drive and casually asked:

"How much did it cost? You can handle the bill yourself later, and remember to have them issue an invoice."

They're applying to the Venice Film Festival, so Italian subtitles would be ideal. But the translation companies that handle less common languages ​​are all ridiculously expensive!

"Talking about money is so vulgar!"

Ding Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows, her apple-shaped face beaming with a smile like a shrewd businesswoman:

"My classmate is a die-hard fan of 'Chinese Paladin'. I promised him three autographed photos of Sister Mi from the show, and I also said that he could take a photo with Sister Mi in the future if he had the chance."

"Look, he stayed up all night to finish it for me, and even got his advisor to review it!"

Zhang Qiang happened to walk in, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but smack his lips in amazement:

"Xiaoxiao, you're really ripping people off! You charge thousands of dollars for translation services for just a few photos? You're doing business like a capitalist, even more so than me!"

Ding Xiaoxiao proudly raised her head:

"I'm helping Sister Honey expand her high-end fan base at Beijing Foreign Studies University, and I'm also helping fans fulfill their dreams of meeting their idols. It's a win-win situation, isn't it!"

"Fine, fine, you're right!"

Li Yan was overjoyed, and Chong Ding Xiaoxiao gave him a thumbs up:

"It still takes President Ding to steer the ship. You're the best producer I can be! Alright, Lao Zhou and I will work harder after dinner and try to watch the film before we leave work."

……

At 8 p.m., the conference room was packed with people.

Everyone was still at get off work, or rather, no one wanted to leave.

The projection screen lights up.

The film "Andhadhun" is only 14 minutes long.

From the very first shot, it captivated everyone's attention.

At the end of the film, the camera freezes on a mirror.

Two clear figures were reflected in the mirror.

Li Yan, a piano tuner pretending to be blind, is playing the piano with complete absorption.

The old woman, played by Lü Zhong, stands quietly behind her husband, holding the nail gun that she just used to nail him to death. The dark muzzle of the gun is steadily pointed at the back of his head.

Li Yan's voice-over begins with the piano music; he hypnotizes himself in extreme fear:

"I'm blind, I couldn't possibly know what was happening behind me..."

"I should keep playing..."

"She won't kill me if I'm playing the piano..."

"She can't kill me while I'm playing the piano..."

The music flowed on, soon reaching its end.

Just as everyone held their breath, waiting for the piano music to stop.

Sudden.

The screen went black.

The cast and crew credits started scrolling.

Meanwhile, the piano melody in the background never stopped, continuing to slowly resonate.

Even after the conference room lights came on, everyone was still caught up in the tense atmosphere and hadn't recovered.

Zhang Qiang was the first to react, touching his bald head and looking at Li Yan with a bewildered expression:

"Finished?"

Li Yan nodded: "It's over."

"No..." Zhang Qiang cried out anxiously, pointing at the dark curtain, his voice trembling with frustration:

"Did she die or not? Did that old woman fire the gun? I was holding my breath, waiting to see the ending, and all you give me is a black screen?"

Li Yan opened a can of ice-cold cola and took a satisfying gulp.

The colder this stuff is, the more pleasurable it is!

"That's exactly the effect I wanted!"

Ding Xiaoxiao, mimicking Conan, pushed up her black-rimmed glasses with her index finger:

"Only the dead can keep secrets! He's dead meat."

"No, no, that's not right."

In the corner, the little guy timidly raised his hand, still clutching half a potato chip:

"Well... I think he definitely ran away. Think about it, a strong, healthy man, and an old lady of such advanced age, if he resisted, he could easily escape!"

"..."

Li Yan sensed something was wrong, looked around at the two girls, and suddenly realized:

"No, when did Naza arrive?"

Naza smiled and wiped his hands: "I've been here the whole time! Miss sent me."

Ding Xiaoxiao ran to Nazha's side, puffed out her chest, and declared domineeringly:

"Naza is one of us now. I officially signed her a few days ago on behalf of Gravity Pictures!"

"Oh, how come I didn't know?"

"You're busy cultivating immortality in your little dark room, how could I dare disturb you with such trivial matters?"

Ding Xiaoxiao chuckled, "Besides, we shouldn't let the good stuff go to outsiders. If we dig this up ourselves and let another company sign it, what will become of me as a shareholder?!"

Li Yan shook his head helplessly; he did agree with the short story.

He could only look at Nazar and ask, "Do your family members know?"

"I know, I know."

Naza nodded repeatedly, "I called home, and the young lady said that I need to go back to Xinjiang Province in a couple of days to complete the formalities."

"Hmm, signing it is fine."

Li Yan thought for a moment, then said to her seriously:

"There's one thing we need to say upfront: although the company is just starting out, you don't need to worry about its prospects. We should have plenty of resources in film and television."

"Also, you're good-looking enough, but it would be best if you went to school, either Beijing Film Academy or Central Academy of Drama, to systematically learn voice, acting and performance. You can't just go on without any lines, can you? Even if you're just a pretty face, you have to be professional."

"That's what I think too!" Ding Xiaoxiao chimed in from the side.

"I've already found materials for an art exam training class for her, including private lessons from teachers at the Central Academy of Drama. She'll start intensive training as soon as she gets back."

The two of them worked together, clearly arranging everything for going to school.

Completely ignoring the pitiful little face and the weak protests:

"Ah... I still have to go to school... If I have to go to school, who would want to be a star..."