Huayu 2015, the Artist of Light and Shadow

……

Even after returning home, Lu Yunzhou's work was not easy.

Weekends are a luxury for him.

Lu Yunzhou has been personally involved in the preparation of the TV series "The Day of Death Is Coming," frequently traveling between Shanghai and Hangzhou recently because he needs to scout locations.

He had to walk through every scene, and during this process, if he had any ideas, he needed to immediately notify the art and prop departments to start preliminary revisions.

Because he needs to start work immediately after he returns from South Korea.

The filming schedule was very tight.

Because Tang Yan's schedule is very tight, she only has two months.

This drama involves a large number of actors, and all of their schedules had to be adjusted, making it a very complex and demanding undertaking.

The film and television industry requires huge investments.

No one will give a new director a second chance easily.

This may be Lu Yunzhou's only chance.

Therefore, he must take it seriously.

……

Because Lu Yunzhou had become a workaholic, radiating an aura that kept strangers at bay, Zhang Ruonan didn't dare to approach him casually.

She would quietly bring Lu Yunzhou a fresh coconut, then disappear without disturbing his work.

"I only regret that I am useless and cannot help my brother."

"I must become a rich woman right now!"

Once she had made up her mind, Zhang Ruonan instantly knew what she should do at her age.

Instead of silently being a man's lapdog, you should strive to improve yourself and increase your own value!

She began to study the script frequently, ponder her role, and even took the initiative to call Ji Rujing to ask about acting skills.

Ji Rujing doesn't understand acting, but she will find suitable teachers for Zhang Ruonan to answer her questions.

Zhang Ruonan meticulously studied her acting skills, almost wearing out the script from repeated readings.

She gradually began to have a hallucination, as if she had become that character, and was on the verge of going crazy at any moment.

……

Time flies.

October arrived in the blink of an eye.

The Busan International Film Festival has officially opened.

Because Lu Yunzhou chose the short film track, and coincidentally, the Busan International Film Festival launched a "MN9" project this year.

The full name of this program is the "Asian Film Masters and Emerging Directors Leading Program".

The program, jointly created by Heyi Pictures, Youku Tudou, and the Busan International Film Festival, is intended to support young directors.

And one of the film masters in this project happens to be director Wang Xiaoshuai.

Lu Yunzhou and Tang Yan had just landed in Busan when their management team received a call from director Wang Xiaoshuai, inviting them to dinner.

Since we were in Busan, we naturally ate authentic Korean food.

Korean food isn't particularly delicious.

But eating isn't the key point.

"Director Wang, it's been a long time. It's truly an honor to reunite with you in Busan this time."

Ji Rujing, as the agent, also came this time, just to deal with this kind of situation.

"This must be director Lu Yunzhou, right?"

Wang Xiaoshuai merely nodded slightly in response to Ji Rujing's compliments, without much reaction.

Although he is not very famous among the top directors in China, he enjoys very high international status and is a true top-tier Asian art director.

He was already used to being flattered by others.

At this moment, Wang Xiaoshuai's gaze swept past Ji Rujing and even Tang Yan, the top star, before landing on the silent Lu Yunzhou.

"I watched the short film. It has a special, silent power."

"I heard you chose the background music yourself? The second movement of Beethoven's 'Pathétique Sonata,' right?"

"Why Beethoven instead of Mozart or Bach? Can you tell me why?"

The three-minute short film allowed Wang Xiaoshuai, a renowned art-house director, to glean many insights.

Lu Yunzhou knew this was a test, and if he answered well, Director Wang Xiaoshuai would put in a good word for him with the judges.

This one kind word is enough to increase his chances of winning.

After a moment's thought, he said, "In the history of classical music, the three masters you just mentioned are monuments that can never be bypassed."

"However, these three masters also have their own distinct characteristics."

"Mozart was a once-in-a-millennium genius with unparalleled talent. At the age of six, he toured European royal courts, astonishing the entire European court. He was a born poet of melody."

"Bach reshaped the order and rules of classical music, establishing an elegant and refined system. Even now, all music students need to learn the rules set by Bach."

"This is also what I'm currently learning from."

"In my view, all works of art must first have a reasonable framework. A framework can guarantee our lower limit."

After hearing these words, Director Wang Xiaoshuai seemed to be deep in thought.

The reason why there are so many bad films and television dramas in China is not because of the actors' acting skills. Most of the blame should be placed on the directors.

Because these directors lack a systematic framework.

Without a framework, TV series or movies tend to have a bad ending halfway through.

Although Lu Yunzhou's short film is only three minutes long, director Wang Xiaoshuai can see a very perfect framework.

At first, he thought that Lu Yunzhou might have just filmed based on intuition.

But now he realized that Lu Yunzhou had deliberately filmed it this way.

Even during this process, Lu Yunzhou may have cut out many unimportant details, just to preserve the rigor and refinement of the framework.

At first glance, his short film looks like a mathematical formula—elegant and composed.

But who knows how much effort went into this?

"So, Bach was the real underlying theme. I was so focused on Beethoven that I didn't even notice."

Director Wang Xiaoshuai chuckled self-deprecatingly.

But after he came to his senses, he felt that Lu Yunzhou's shooting idea was very interesting and could be used as a reference for young directors.

"Please continue."

Lu Yunzhou's film philosophy gave director Wang Xiaoshuai some new ideas, so he spoke to this young man with a certain respect.

They even used the word "please".

After discussing Bach, Lu Yunzhou brought up the greatest giant in music history: "As for Beethoven, in my heart he is a unique figure in music history, unparalleled throughout the ages."

"Classical music emphasizes rigorous structure and exquisite melody, after all, it was once entertainment music for the court and nobility."

"However, Beethoven's emergence opened the door to Romanticism for classical music, giving music an unprecedented narrative and spiritual power."

A deaf person created great music.

It's like a blind person creating a world-famous painting.

What a magnificent spiritual force this is!

It has simply surpassed the limits of human capability.

After listening to Lu Yunzhou's admiration and respect for Beethoven, director Wang Xiaoshuai quietly uttered a name: "David Friedrich. A German Romantic painter of the same era as Beethoven, a great painter full of divinity, desolation, and loneliness."

"I know a friend, whom I met briefly at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. He is the most Mozart-like genius I have ever seen in film history. He can master all the techniques in an instant after watching just one film."

"He was a true genius. However, he spent his whole life trying to become Beethoven, pursuing that elusive spiritual power."

"Yunzhou, do you share the same aspirations?"

Director Wang Xiaoshuai has met many young directors in the industry. They all have a lot of ideas, but in his opinion, most of their ideas are just wishful thinking.

But Lu Yunzhou is different. He has a very clear framework and a unique understanding of film. He even has a solid foundation in lighting and shadow techniques.

As for editing, he had already seen Lu Yunzhou's skill level through the short film "Dream".

His editing skills are quite good.

At this moment, director Wang Xiaoshuai was essentially questioning Lu Yunzhou's soul, trying to understand his artistic philosophy.

An artist without aspirations is like a extinguished star; even if there is still a little warmth left, it cannot shine brightly.

Lu Yunzhou thought for a moment and replied, "Mozart and Beethoven were both extremely rare geniuses. However, their existence was merely to show the world the extent to which human talent and human limits can be reached."

"For most people, Bach is the one they can touch and see."

This is why Bach is everyone's nightmare when taking piano exams.

Because Bach is a beacon in music history.

Although the lighthouse is located on a dark coastline and looks very far away, it is indeed possible to catch up with it if you swim hard enough.

Mozart and Beethoven are like clouds in the sky, God's favorites, meant to be worshipped.

You want to be like them? Are you even worthy?

……

"bach!"

"No wonder he repeatedly mentions Bach's fugue order."

"So, he actually had such grand ideas in his mind."

"To inject the order and framework of Bach's fugue into film and television creation."

After hearing Lu Yunzhou's artistic philosophy, Tang Yan felt as if she were meeting him for the first time. She couldn't help but turn her head towards him, and her heart skipped a beat.

Even across the dining table, she could clearly feel Lu Yunzhou's extreme pursuit of art.

Being handsome is definitely a feeling.

This feeling is hard to explain.

At this moment, Tang Yan felt like she was about to lose her mind.

But then, a strange feeling of bitterness welled up in my heart, ruthlessly extinguishing that uncontrollable flutter of my heart.

She is already 32 years old, while Lu Yunzhou is only 23. She must not let her heart be disturbed.

Moreover, rather than finding a handsome guy to date, Tang Yan would rather step on Yang Mi and take revenge for all the grievances she had suffered recently.

……

"That was a truly deafening speech."

Director Wang Xiaoshuai understood Lu Yunzhou's thoughts and the path he was pursuing, and couldn't help but applaud softly, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

He could only say that if all directors in China were this pragmatic, Chinese film and television dramas would experience a period of vigorous development.

Many people say that directors rely on talent to make a living.

Because art is unique, and it pursues the liberation of the self and breaking the limits of imagination.

However, Lu Yunzhou's dream seems to be to become an order builder like Bach, setting perfect frameworks for film and television content.

In the future, directors may have to take exams like music students to prove their solid foundation before they start their careers.

You can't even pass the Level 10 exam, and you still want to be a director and make movies?

"Yunzhou, the Korean soju at this hotel is pretty good, want to try it?" Director Wang Xiaoshuai's attitude towards Lu Yunzhou had completely changed.

He even personally poured Lu Yunzhou a glass of wine.

"I'll drink first as a sign of respect."

"A thousand cups of wine are not enough when drinking with a bosom friend." Director Wang Xiaoshuai felt that Lu Yunzhou, this young man, was really insightful and had inspired him a lot.

The two chatted about all sorts of things for a while, and Director Wang Xiaoshuai gradually got a little drunk.

"I almost forgot about the important matter."

He suddenly slapped his thigh, forcing himself to perk up, and said, "Tomorrow morning, I'll be meeting with [Claudette Godfrey]. He's one of the judges for your short film category. How would you like me to explain your film concept to you and help you win Best Short Film?"

Lu Yunzhou thought for a moment and said, "I always adhere to one principle: before the lines are spoken, the light and shadow have already told the story of the character's life."

Director Wang Xiaoshuai nodded slightly: "This concept is somewhat similar to that of Vittorio Storaro. It seems you're a classicist."

— Vittorio Storaro, three-time Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography, cinematographer of "The Last Emperor".

Lu Yunzhou's concept of light and shadow is actually a shooting concept that has been passed down from the silent film era.

Now, with the development of cameras and shooting techniques, this shooting concept can shine brightly through technology and be full of aesthetic appeal.

As a director, Wang Xiaoshuai strongly supports this concept.

However, in reality, few young people would go to such lengths and gain nothing by pursuing such an ethereal aesthetic ideal.

It's a waste of money to spend so much effort on lighting and shadows when a few lines of dialogue can convey the whole story.

"If this were in China, I wouldn't pass on that message for you. Because many directors in China are self-taught, and even some popular celebrities can become directors. It's really pathetic."

"But this is on the international stage, when we're out in the world, and we must first maintain our composure. So, I will convey this message to Claude exactly as it was said."

Director Wang Xiaoshuai was completely impressed by Lu Yunzhou's talent.

With the development of marketization, there are fewer and fewer directors of art films in China, and those who can win international awards are even rarer.

Many people believe that the domestic film market is developed enough that there is no need to compete for scraps from outside.

All I can say is that this idea is naive.

Because if you don't fight for the international market, it's equivalent to voluntarily giving up your voice and shutting yourself in.

The first step in cultural exchange is to let the culture go out.

If you don't step out of your comfort zone and stay there every day, your skills will decline over time. This trend is already very obvious.

"It's about time to introduce a disruptive force into the chaotic domestic film and television industry."

Wang Xiaoshuai thought to himself, his gaze sweeping over Tang Yan, who was sitting quietly beside him, before landing on Hui Luyunzhou.

This young man understands art, has a framework, is quick-witted, and possesses an unparalleled solid foundation. This catfish has entered the Chinese entertainment industry... This is going to be interesting!