I really don't want to make bad movies!

Chen Kun's agent shook hands with Xia Ming and said with a smile, "When I first heard that it was Chen Kun's junior who was going to film a web series, I thought it was a low-budget production."

As her agent, she certainly didn't want Chen Kun to act in bad dramas or movies just because they were from the same school.

Money and fame, you have to win one back.

Seeing the size of the film crew made her feel a little more at ease.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Xia Ming exchanged a few polite words with her, signed the contract, and then the agent left with the team.

"Holy crap! Kun, I'm your fan!"

The male members of the main cast were all quite agitated.

How did they know that this production team could get Chen Kun to come?

Chen Kun is a top-tier star now, his film salary must be at least three or four million, right?

Is this the kind of resource a college student director should have?

"Brother Kun, could I have your autograph?"

"Brother Kun, can I take a picture with you?"

Zhao Fei was also puzzled and pulled Xia Ming aside: "Why is Chen Kun here?"

Marco invested one million, which was barely enough to get Chen Kun to act in two episodes.

"Did you pay for it yourself?"

Xia Ming replied, "I secured some investment."

Zhao Fei asked in surprise, "Besides Producer Ma, you also secured other investments?"

"I guess so," Xia Ming replied ambiguously.

Now Zhao Fei looked at Xia Ming differently.

A director may possess various skills such as cinematography, screenwriting, and acting, but these all come from talent or hard work.

Attracting investment is a different story.

There's no point in trying hard for this!

Zhao Fei could tell that Xia Ming wasn't just playing around, nor was it the "online drama about college students helping each other commemorate each other" that he claimed.

This kid is clearly serious!

He stopped smiling and began directing the photographers behind him: "Do a good job! This is a rare learning opportunity!"

"Director, I'm all set!"

Chen Kun tidied himself up a bit, glanced at the script a few times, and then prepared to get into filming mode.

Xia Ming nodded and instructed Wang Zhengchuan to set up the clapperboard while clearing the filming area.

"Let's rehearse according to the script first. I'll adjust the movement as needed. Everyone, get into character!"

Xia Ming shouted through a megaphone.

He has a very tight budget, and if he makes a mistake, he wastes time, and time is money.

Wang Zhengchuan was overjoyed to have just received Chen Kun's autograph, but he was startled when he saw the serious Xia Ming and quickly wiped the smile off his face.

As Xia Ming gave the instructions, the actors took their positions.

After successfully completing the first positioning practice, Xia Ming made some minor adjustments and quickly began the second positioning practice.

The movements of the swindler are not complicated, and this scene only has two shot transitions, so the movement practice was completed quickly.

Wang Zhengchuan noted down the movement points, and Xia Ming finished directing the actors' movements before they began the formal rehearsal.

"Action!"

After Xia Ming revised the script for "The Swindlers," the plot of the first season became very tight.

Aside from the first few episodes which used a few small scams to portray the main characters' personalities, the later plot becomes tense and intricately linked.

The main characters encounter the criminal gang "Fox" while carrying out their scams, leading to a series of counter-scams.

The key character, Shao Zhuang, appears in the tenth episode and is a chaotic character who moves between two forces.

He outsmarted the main characters' Xiao Bao from the moment he appeared, but also helped the main characters fight against the fox.

The main characters were able to grow rapidly under the immense pressure from Shao Zhuang.

Episode 10 features Shao Zhuang's first appearance and his game of wits with Xiao Bao.

In the cramped gray-wood study, Chen Kun stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the city, with a half-finished chess game to his right.

The harsh light shone from the side onto his angular face, casting deep shadows on his eye sockets. Combined with the base's built-in smoke machine, it created a hazy atmosphere of intellectual combat.

After Chen Kun finished reading his lines, another film camera began filming Xiao Bao.

"No—that's not right!"

When Gong Hoon, who plays Xiao Bao, opened his mouth, there was a serious gap in his lines, with more than a second between each word.

"Click!"

Xia Ming shouted, grabbing the megaphone: "What's going on? Didn't you memorize your lines or not read the script? You can make mistakes even when there's no one to act with?"

"Sorry, director! My bad! Let's do it again!"

Kong Xun was startled by Xia Ming's loud voice.

Who says Xia Ming is nosy and can get away with anything?

He inwardly cursed himself, but at the same time knew that his mistake was serious.

He was initially quite calm, but the moment he saw Chen Kun enter, he became increasingly nervous.

A top-tier superstar plays a supporting role, while he plays the lead role, and is even Chen Kun's co-star.

How could he not be nervous!

After the series airs, he will be directly compared to Chen Kun by his fans!

The campaign got off to a bad start.

The other lead actors also started to feel nervous.

"Let's do it again!"

Xia Ming gave orders while holding a pen and script, ready to make changes at any time.

During the second take, although Gong Hoon was able to deliver his lines, his emotions were noticeably lacking, and he completely failed to portray the shock of his scheme being exposed.

The other actors were also somewhat nervous and made some minor mistakes.

Surprisingly, Yan Shu was the one who pleased Xia Ming the most.

She gets into character very quickly; her expressions and lines are impeccable. Only her hand gestures and movements could be improved upon.

"Show me the same level you had during your auditions. I'm only giving you one day to prove yourself. If you can't, get out of the crew! There are plenty of other actors to choose from!"

Xia Ming finished cursing with a frown, but still called the other four actors over to his side, explained the scene to them, and led them to take deep breaths and relax their muscles.

Under Xia Ming's high pressure and meticulous guidance, the group became noticeably more serious.

They definitely underestimated the production team from the very beginning.

Despite the great reputation of the giant wasp, people thought Xia Ming was just playing around.

However, after seeing the large-scale production team and Chen Kun's involvement, they realized that this was no child's play!

Jiang Xixi pressed her chest and took a deep breath as she returned to her seat.

Turning his head, he saw Yan Shu looking at him with a charming smile.

"Good luck!" Yan Shu's voice carried a hint of playfulness.

During the second rehearsal, everyone was in much better shape and managed to finish the entire play.

Xia Ming watched the entire process, took notes on every point that could be improved, and then explained them to the actors one by one.

Chen Kun is a veteran actor, so he naturally didn't make any mistakes.

But Xia Ming had to spend a lot of time talking to the other newcomers.

Yan Shu obediently squatted down next to Xia Ming, nodding in agreement with each instruction she heard.

Xia Ming originally wanted to rehearse one more time, but after checking the time, he realized it might exceed the film studio's operating hours.

Although they have booked the entire venue, it doesn't mean they can use it all day.

At night, the photography base needs to conduct routine fire safety inspections and equipment maintenance.

Extra fees are charged for exceeding the allotted time, which is one of the sure-fire ways for the photography studio to make a profit.

"All the actors go get their makeup done, and we'll rehearse one more time with makeup on!"

Xia Ming gave the order, and the makeup team led several actors to get their makeup done.

After watching the actors leave, Xia Ming finally slumped into the director's chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

Only when you actually become a director do you realize how difficult it is to direct over sixty-odd people.

Moreover, he holds multiple positions.

After resting for a short while, Xia Ming went to the monitor and began to discuss the lighting angles with the lighting team.

Their budget was limited, so the monitor they used wasn't a high-end model. It only had basic monitoring functions and waveforms, and dimming had to be judged by the naked eye, resulting in a slightly different image compared to that displayed on a movie projector.

Fortunately, with top-notch director of photography Zhao Fei around, Xia Ming's burden was greatly reduced.

Without Zhao Fei's professional team, no matter how many camera techniques he had in mind, it would take an unknown amount of time to recreate them.

"You've really learned some skills from Jiang Wen these past few months!" Zhao Fei joked.

Jiang Wen's crew are all multi-talented, with each person typically holding multiple roles.

Xia Ming deeply understands this; fortunately, he had honed his skills for a long time on the Jiang Wen film crew, otherwise, filming today would have been a real challenge.

"Teacher Zhao, is the focus fine?"

Zhao Fei confidently assured him, "Your indoor scenes are mostly still shots. If I can't get the focus right, all my decades of work will have been for nothing!"

Xia Ming breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "We'll shoot in RAW mode later."

Zhao Fei asked in confusion, "Isn't this a rehearsal?"

Xia Ming shook his head: "I was just teasing them."

Zhao Fei then realized: "Are you worried they'll be nervous?"

"Teacher Zhao, does this film screening room or color grading studio have one?"

"There's a color grading studio, so what?"

Xia Ming nodded and beckoned to the photographer next to him, "Export the RAW files immediately after shooting."

Zhao Fei frowned: "What do you mean? You want to color grade the film right away?"

At that moment, he seemed to see those Hong Kong directors, who focused on a tight schedule and heavy workload!

Xia Ming simply smiled and shook his head.

He not only has a tight schedule, but the investment hasn't been finalized yet!

We need to make a sample first, just in case.

If the platform refuses to invest, or invests only a small amount, he will need to take the sample videos and go out to attract investment again.

Thinking this, Xia Ming opened WeChat, but the QuanQuan platform specialist had not yet sent any messages.