I really don't want to make bad movies!

Filming concluded for the day.

After finishing his meal, Xia Ming discussed the scenes to be filmed the next day with Jiang Wen and Zhao Fei before returning to his room.

After taking a shower, I turned on my computer and casually took out my phone to check messages.

Jiang Xixi sent him a message in the afternoon, but Xia Ming was busy and didn't have time to reply.

He replied now: [I was filming this afternoon and just saw your message. What's up?]

Are you filming a new movie again?

No, I'm the lead cinematographer on someone else's film set.

No wonder I haven't seen you these past few days; I was hoping to invite you to see my new play.

Did you go to my dorm to look for me?

In the girls' dormitory, Jiang Xixi, wearing polar bear pajamas, paused, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed to continue replying.

How did he know I went to his dorm to look for him?

Soon after, Xia Ming sent another message: "[I'll probably be on set for the next two months.]"

Jiang Xixi felt somewhat disappointed.

She opened her phone's photo album, looked at the play clips she had recorded, tapped her fingers on the phone case for a long time, and finally mustered up the courage to say:

I recorded a clip of myself; would you like to see it?

【Um】

Jiang Xixi sent me a spoken word segment from her solo performance.

"How is it?" Jiang Xixi asked impatiently.

Xia Ming read it several times.

To be honest, Jiang Xixi's three-dimensional facial features give her a powerful aura.

But as soon as the lines came out, he seemed to lose all his charisma.

Xia Ming thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth: "Everything else is great, but it would be perfect if you could control your breath a little better when reciting your lines."

Upon receiving the message, Jiang Xixi immediately asked, "[Are there any ways to practice breathing techniques? Teach me!]"

This really stumped Xia Ming.

After a moment's thought, he switched to a different chat app, found Jiang Wen, and presented the question to Director Jiang verbatim.

Jiang Wen is a veteran stage actor.

Jiang Wen hadn't rested yet either, and quickly replied: [Practice breathing? Try dog ​​panting.]

[Is it a dog panting?]

Looking at the three strange words, Xia Ming expressed his doubts.

However, Jiang Wen soon sent a long, systematic exercise guide, including which muscle parts would hurt after the exercise, and even diagrams of incorrect movements.

Xia Ming opened his chat window with Jiang Xixi again: [Try panting]

【? ? ? 】

Before Jiang Xixi could even ask questions, Xia Ming sent her a long explanation of the movements.

Jiang Xixi quickly flipped through the thousands of words of illustrations, and following the instructions, opened her mouth, stuck out her tongue, and began to inhale and exhale.

Afraid that she had done something wrong, she even took out a selfie stick from her bag, set up her phone on the bed, and turned on the front camera.

Then press the record button, open your mouth and stick out your tongue in front of the camera.

For some reason, the more Jiang Xixi practiced, the redder her cheeks became, and she couldn't help but kick her phone onto the bed.

She tugged at the elastic bands on both sides of the hood of her pajamas, burying her face inside.

He kept repeating those three words in his mind.

How embarrassing...

……

Jiang Xixi stopped replying, and Xia Ming guessed that she had probably gone to practice.

After spending another hour editing videos and revising the script on the computer, Xia Ming prepared to go to bed.

I was about to scroll through my phone before bed when a notification suddenly popped up at the top.

【xx银行：您尾号4215的帐户于07月20日22:30收入转帐683000.00元，余额1440000.00元。】

The income source is marked as "creation incentive," which clearly means that the system reward has been credited to your account.

A week has passed since the two videos were released, and the number of views has basically plateaued.

Thanks to the traffic boost from the second-generation innovation competition, these two videos still managed to gain one million views amidst the diversion of other videos.

The final number of views for the 10,000-word breakdown video was 4.2 million, while the alternative interpretation video gained even more momentum and reached 2.6 million.

The success of these two videos propelled his follower count past 80,000.

In the genre of film and television commentary, Xia Ming's fan growth rate is already far ahead of the competition.

Before I could even turn off my phone, another notification popped up in the notification bar at the top.

[Qiyi Video Station: Congratulations! Your work, "Domestic Sci-Fi Cult! Sticker Robots Battle Cold-Faced Zombies, a 10,000-Word Analysis of 'Transformers 5: Hornet,'" has successfully advanced to the second round of the fan fiction competition. Come and participate in the lucky draw!]

[Qiyi Video Station: Congratulations! Your work, "Did You Really Understand the Hornet?", has successfully advanced to the second round of the Creative Writing Competition. Come and participate in the lucky draw!]

You advanced?

Xia Ming then remembered that he had submitted his Bilibili video to iQiyi's fan creation competition.

In most of the iQiyi fan-made content competitions, his videos were well-produced, logical, and well-founded, so it was normal for him to stand out.

He was just too busy these past few days and almost forgot about it.

Since we've already advanced, let's have a raffle.

Xia Ming opened the lottery interface.

[Congratulations! You have received a 3-day Premium VIP membership on the iQiyi video website!]

Congratulations! You have received a 9% off coupon for electronics on JD.com (limited time offer, 30 days only)

This is even worse than the last one!

At that moment, Wang Zhengchuan sent a message.

The message was a screenshot: "Congratulations! You have received a 5% off coupon for electronics on JD.com (limited time offer, 30 days)."

Wang Zhengchuan: [Haha! Envious, aren't you! You regret letting me participate in the competition, don't you?]

Xia Ming: [The Inside Story]

Wang Zhengchuan: [Hehe, just wait and see if I make it to the finals!]

Xia Ming was too lazy to reply to him, so he put his phone on the bedside table and went to sleep.

……

For the next period of time, Xia Ming basically repeated the cycle of filming, editing, and writing scripts.

I even took the time to send out the videos that the platform required.

Without the boost from the popularity of the giant wasp, this video naturally didn't become a viral hit, but it still managed to surpass 300,000 views thanks to its excellent content.

Given his 80,000 followers, this is considered normal.

Ye Heng sent a message indicating that they would continue to cooperate in the future, but the two did not discuss the details.

Xia Ming would occasionally give Jiang Xixi some pointers on her acting skills.

There were three award-winning actors in their crew. Out of respect for Jiang Wen, Xia Ming asked them for tips on improving acting skills, and they were all happy to give him guidance.

Those home remedies that you can't find online are all the best advice from award-winning actors on acting.

Jiangxi Xi was overjoyed and practiced diligently every day.

……

The filming of the entire crew went very smoothly, and in just twenty days, the outdoor filming in Baihe Bay entered the final stage.

Several key members of the crew gathered under the director's tent. As soon as Zhao Fei sat down, he exclaimed with delight, "I've never filmed so smoothly before!"

The assistant director and executive director also exchanged knowing smiles.

Many of them had worked with Jiang Wen on several films and were very familiar with his character.

They have high requirements, high standards, and high aesthetic standards, but the meaning they express is difficult for ordinary people to understand.

Moreover, filming was often scrapped and reshot, with almost every shoot being delayed.

The smooth progress of this film crew is thanks to one person.

Everyone present drank their tea, and then they all turned their attention to the young man on the other side—a person who could accurately understand Jiang Wen's ideas, draw storyboards, and execute the filming.

Xia Ming!

"Xia!" Jiang Wen was also in a good mood, moving a chair to sit next to Xia Ming. "We were just joking, but I never expected to actually get Mr. Wolong here!"

"Hahaha!"

Everyone was enveloped in a joyful atmosphere.

"You don't even give the kids a raise; it breaks my heart!"

Wei Xiao is Jiang Wen's junior, and he naturally started joking around when he spoke.

Jiang Wen waved his hand, laughing and scolding, "Look at this seventh brother, all he thinks about is money, it's so hurtful to our relationship!"

"Xia Ming does the work of at least four people and only gets paid ten thousand yuan a month. I feel bad about it!" Zhao Fei also spoke up for Xia Ming.

Jiang Wen took a sip of tea, slapped his thigh, and said, "I've already thought it through. Compensation is a must, but it definitely won't be money—that's so cliché!"

Zhao Fei asked curiously, "How do you plan to repay Xia?"

"Xia, aren't you planning to film a web series? I've read the script; it's very well written." Jiang Wen put his hand on his thigh and laughed. "Here's what we'll do: after this show is finished, Lao Zhao will help you film that web series, and I'll be listed as the producer!"

Xia Ming was startled: "Director Jiang wants to credit me for my web series?"

Jiang Wen laughed and retorted, "What? Am I not a big enough star?"

"Don't mention it! I'm not that important enough." Xia Ming didn't expect Jiang Wen to repay him in this way.

"As long as you film it well, there's no problem." Jiang Wen's expression suddenly turned serious. "Although I'm nominally the producer, I still have to oversee the editing, so I don't have time to supervise the quality of your web series."

"Of course, I believe in your abilities, that's why I dare to put your name on my list."

Having spent more than half a month with Xia Ming on set and witnessed his skill level, Zhao Fei decided to have Xia Ming assist him, intending to mentor the newcomer.

In his eyes, web series are just trivial matters.

Xia Ming, a college student, couldn't possibly produce anything big.

With this senior director of photography overseeing things, and having reviewed the script himself, Jiang Wen dared to use his own name.

This is equivalent to giving Xia Ming a massive influx of traffic; it remains to be seen whether he can handle it.

It's no wonder the film industry is such a complex society where personal connections matter so much, even the ways of repaying favors are so unique.

Xia Ming offered Jiang Wen tea to express his gratitude.

Amidst the laughter and cheers, he was quietly planning the web series.

At first, with his budget of one million, he could at best only make one high-quality, well-received film.

But with Jiang Wen as the producer, everything will change.