I really don't want to make bad movies!

The next morning, the entire "Let the Bullets Fly" crew was ready and drove back to Baihewan.

Jiang Wen directed the equipment to be redeployed, and the employees in each group returned to their posts.

Compared to yesterday, the film crew was much more lively today, with the photography team alone expanding to twenty people, and the entire crew numbering over a hundred.

The bus carrying the actors stopped, and Chow Yun-fat got off. Looking at the bustling film crew and Ge You standing to the side reading the script, he couldn't help but nod.

"Director Jiang really wasn't kidding me. The whole crew is running smoothly, except for me, the only actor missing!"

On the other side, Ge You's face lit up with joy when he saw Chow Yun-fat getting out of the car: "Director Jiang is a true man; he kept his promise to invite Chow Yun-fat!"

Jiang Wen stood under the director's tent, holding the cast list in his hand. After briefly checking the list, he frowned and said, "The numbers are wrong. Why are so many missing?"

Assistant director Wei Xiao looked troubled: "Hong Lei's schedule doesn't work out, and many people don't even want to come."

Jiang Wen's last movie was a huge flop, and it's not surprising that he couldn't find any actors for this one since the script wasn't even finished.

"Never mind that for now! I'll figure out a solution for the personnel problem."

Jiang Wen tossed aside the roster, took out the execution sheet he had written the day before, and began directing the scene using a megaphone.

"Script supervisor! Cinematographer! And the first cast, everyone come over here!"

Xia Ming led a group of photographers to Jiang Wen and began adjusting the camera positions according to Jiang Wen's requirements.

The shot map I drew yesterday came in handy at this moment.

The paper map was projected onto the screen so the director could make changes at any time.

Before filming officially begins, all departments must do their best to recreate the layout on the map.

While debugging the machine, Xia Ming also learned Jiang Wen's on-site dispatching techniques.

This was his first time joining a large film crew to learn.

As the lead cameraman, he can even participate in the planning of the camera setup, truly experiencing the tedious setup tasks before the official start of filming.

Jiang Wen held the script in one hand and drew on the screen with the other, beginning the positioning for the first scene.

"Xia, the first shot should follow the horse as it runs. It's not just a dynamic perspective, but the road is quite long. Think about how to make the camera's trajectory more reasonable."

Xia Ming stepped forward, looked at the script, and discussed the camera movement route with him: "The railway tracks haven't been built yet, I think we can start by filming the circus scene on this page. We don't need to lay tracks, we can just use two cameras and a long shot to handheld follow the camera."

Jiang Wen tapped his head: "I almost forgot about that! The tracks haven't been laid yet!"

He quickly instructed the production assistant to contact the producer, who in turn contacted the construction team, demanding they work overtime: "I need to see multiple roads on the ground within a week!"

Subsequently, he also adopted Xia Ming's camera positioning and drew the movement positions of each actor on the screen.

"Old Zhao! Come here and get the storyboard, we're ready to shoot!"

Zhao Fei responded immediately, rubbing his head as he walked up to Jiang Wen.

The thought of having to design shots based on Jiang Wen's storyboard gave him a headache.

"Here you go!" Jiang Wen tossed him a stack of storyboard sheets.

Zhao Fei picked up the manuscript paper, rubbed his eyes, flipped through a few more pages, and then looked up in surprise, asking, "You drew this?"

Jiang Wen stood up, hands on her hips: "Forget it, could I draw that? Xia Xia drew it!"

Before Zhao Fei could recover from her surprise, Jiang Wen had already picked up the megaphone on the table and started directing the film crew.

"The stage manager should take notes. Now we begin the first positioning exercise. Zhang Muzhi, move forward."

Jiang Wen took out his viewfinder and asked Zhao Fei to observe the monitor while he began to look for a suitable shooting angle.

The stage manager immediately brought out his notebook.

Actors such as Ge You and Liu Jialing were also ready, putting down their scripts and screenplays.

Xia Ming called Shi Xiangyuan over, handed him the colored tape, and pointed to the storyboard, saying, "This scene is basically dynamic, with only one stopping point. Mark it with red tape after the rehearsal."

After spending a day together, Shi Xiangyuan was now completely obedient to Xia Ming, nodding without hesitation and tearing off the red tape to be ready at any time.

Soon, the first positioning practice was successfully completed.

After the stage manager finished recording the first movement drill, the second drill followed immediately.

This scene was relatively simple, and after two practice sessions, we moved on to the formal dress rehearsal.

Xia Ming was in charge of the second shot, responsible for capturing the expressions of all the bandits.

Shi Xiangyuan followed closely behind him, using a measuring tape to measure the focal length and reporting the data to Xia Ming.

At the same time, his eyes were fixed on Xia Ming's camera screen, observing Xia Ming's shooting techniques.

After the rehearsal was completed, the photography team adjusted the equipment, the art department began setting up the set and lighting under Zhao Fei's guidance, and the actors went to get their makeup done.

Jiang Wen was the lead actor, and after assigning the filming tasks, he also had to act, so the directing work fell to Zhao Fei and assistant director Wei Xiao.

Zhao Fei, holding two paper cups, walked up to Xia Ming and handed him a cup of hot water: "Are you getting used to it?"

Xia Ming said thank you and drank most of it in one gulp: "The pace is fast, but it's all within acceptable limits."

Zhao Fei laughed heartily: "I'm really curious, did you start making movies from the womb? How can you be so skilled at it?"

Looking at the other students from Beijing Film Academy who were also on set, they were all drenched in sweat.

The two chatted for a while, and when the actors returned to the set after finishing their makeup and costumes, they put away their smiles and went back to their respective camera positions.

"Act One, Zhang Muzhi and his advisor ride away on horseback—Action!"

……

The day's filming ended quickly.

For the next few days, Xia Ming was immersed in the work of the film crew, and after filming ended each day, he returned to his room to continue video editing and scriptwriting.

He did not experience any mental stagnation due to the heavy workload.

On the contrary, it was precisely because he was busy with film crew work that his creative speed reached a new level.

After witnessing the complete operation process of a large film crew, he incorporated his initial ideas for building the film crew into the design of the script for "The Swindler".

He then recorded the scenes that formed in his mind using storyboards and text annotations.

In terms of video production, with a broader behind-the-scenes perspective, he began to delve into the news surrounding the crew of "Shanghai Fortress".

Furthermore, the critique includes a creator's perspective, analyzing why the film is so utterly terrible.

Xia Ming temporarily entered a workaholic state, constantly excited as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

He may remain in this state until the creative desire in his mind is completely exhausted.

……

Seven days later.

The track was completed as scheduled.

Jiang Wen put his arm around the producer's shoulder and laughed heartily.

The producer, with a dark expression, warned Jiang Wen that calling in the construction team would definitely lead to budget overruns.

"It's alright! I've already cut back on the actors' pay for you." Jiang Wen confidently patted his chest. "I'll bring my brother and parents along, and we'll save on their fees, right?"

The producer listened with an expression of admiration, and immediately lost the will to criticize Jiang Wen.

Just then, a bus stopped outside the film set. Jiang Wen saw it and laughed, "Look, another guest has come to make a cameo appearance."

"Xia, come here!"

Xia Ming answered loudly, stopped what he was doing, and came to stand in front of Jiang Wen.

"Let me introduce you to someone," Jiang Wen said with a smile, putting his arm around his shoulder.

The bus door opened, and a middle-aged man with slightly receding lips and teeth and a tall, thin build stepped off the bus.

"Oh my, Director Jiang, it's been so long!"

Jiang Wen laughed heartily, reached out and shook hands with the newcomer, then pulled him to Xia Ming: "You definitely know this person, but I still have to introduce myself—my good friend, Feng Xiaogang, Director Feng."

Feng Xiaogang clicked his tongue slightly and looked Xia Ming up and down.

It's obvious that Xia Ming is a bit too young.

His eyes darted around as he immediately began to calculate Xia Ming's family background in his mind.

Jiang Wen continued, "This is our crew's second-in-command, named Xia Ming."

"Main cameraman?" Feng Xiaogang craned his neck, his eyes widening. "How old are you this year?"

Xia Ming: "Hello Director Feng, I'm eighteen years old this year."

"This is truly remarkable!"

Feng Xiaogang extended his right hand to Xia Ming: "Such a promising young man, his future is limitless!"

Jiang Wen is known for his strictness when it comes to filming, and Feng Xiaogang, as a close friend of Jiang Wen, knows this very well.

He was also well aware of the value of being the lead cinematographer in Jiang Wen's production team.

Xia Ming's image was deeply imprinted in his mind from their very first meeting.

"Alright, enough with the pleasantries, let's get back to filming!"

Jiang Wen handed the script to Feng Xiaogang and returned to the film crew.

"Director, the set design is complete," the assistant director announced at that moment.

Under Jiang Wen's direction, the entire crew began to operate. Several pre-trained horses pulled a prop train along the tracks, while Xia Ming sat on the filming train and began shooting long takes.

After seven days of getting to know each other, Zhao Fei was completely confident in entrusting him with the long shots.

After a morning of filming, the train scenes were successfully filmed.

Feng Xiaogang was just making a cameo appearance, with only a brief half-minute scene. Filming wrapped up in the morning.

Before leaving, he secretly found Jiang Wen and obtained Xia Ming's contact information.

It wasn't that he lacked photographers; he just felt that someone who could get into Jiang Wen's team as the lead photographer at such a young age must have a powerful background.

In the afternoon, the crew continued working, filming the scene where Master Tang falls into the water.

After two rounds of rehearsals and one formal shoot, Jiang Wen was still somewhat dissatisfied.

He stood on the prop train, with Ge You soaking in the water at his feet.

"Master Tang, I feel this dialogue is still lacking something."

Knowing Jiang Wen's high standards, Ge You asked, "Was my emotion not strong enough?"

Jiang Wen sat down, placed his hands on his knees, and stared intently at Ge You's face.

"No, Brother You, you're practically the mastermind himself. It's just that the dialogue itself is a little lacking in flavor."

"Having the clerk yell 'Master, spare me!' is too blatant; it's tasteless!"

Upon hearing this, Ge You, the award-winning actor, immediately began to put himself in the character's shoes and think: "According to the script, the advisor is a greedy, cowardly, and slick fellow. How about we change the lines to make him look like he's deceiving Zhang Mazi?"

Jiang Wen removed his bandit mask, his eyes lighting up: "Great idea!"

As they talked, the two of them began to think at the same time: "The clerk has been swindling people with the county magistrate for many years, accumulating countless riches. His glib tongue should be able to come out of his mouth and he can answer fluently."

"He's a despicable man, but also a shrewd liar."

"He's a fraud."

"Um……"

Jiang Wen suddenly hissed, gritted his teeth, and turned his head to look at Xia Ming, who was waiting in front of the camera.

I happened to see Xia Ming's script last week, and it seems to be related to fraud.

Although my memory is a bit hazy, upon careful thought...

The lines in it seem kind of right...