I really don't want to make bad movies!

The next morning, Xia Ming called Jiang Xixi and took her to the photo studio.

Xia Ming could actually take the photos himself, but he didn't have time to edit them or create posters.

Posters are an important part of the publicity and distribution process, so they must be eye-catching enough.

The two spent a full three hours shooting in the photo studio. Xia Ming personally selected the images before finally settling on the basic shape of the poster.

The poster features Jiang Xixi's perfect three-quarter profile in the very center.

Her expressionless face didn't seem out of place on the poster; on the contrary, it was very eye-catching.

She gives the impression of being a cold, aloof beauty.

She holds a prop gun, pointing it directly at the camera, with a giant bumblebee beside her, its arms outstretched and the cannon barrel exposed.

Yes, the poster features a Bumblebee design.

With its classic bright yellow paint and exposed mechanical joints, it's so cool it's breathtaking.

The combination of machinery and beautiful women is enough to attract a large number of male viewers.

Xia Ming also carefully selected the font for the poster to ensure that it looked like "Transformers" at first glance.

Only upon a second glance will you notice that it says Transformers 5, with the small print "Big Hornet".

The visual deception is even more effective when viewed on a computer or mobile phone screen.

The studio staff still needed to retouch the poster, so Xia Ming took Jiang Xixi to eat first, and then returned to school to finish filming the remaining scenes.

Xia Ming called Wang Zhengchuan, found a room resembling an interrogation room in the school's photography base, set up his camera, and started shooting.

This interrogation room scene is the main reason for the unusually poor reception of the original film, "The Wasp".

It's hard to imagine that two expressionless actors, in a dimly lit room, would repeat lines like they were being brainwashed for forty minutes straight.

They only changed camera positions once during that period.

This forty-minute segment was further fragmented by the director and placed at the beginning and end of the film, launching a comprehensive psychological attack on the audience.

Wang Zhengchuan flipped through the script speechlessly, frowning as he looked at Xia Ming: "Was this dialogue recorded from your sleep? I can't understand a single line!"

"Don't worry about it, just read it aloud."

Xia Ming stood in front of the camera and reminded him again, "If you forget your lines halfway through, just repeat what you said before, understand?"

"what?"

"Action!"

The twenty-minute interrogation footage was quickly filmed.

Wang Zhengchuan repeated a sentence seven or eight times, while Jiang Xixi memorized all the lines perfectly.

"Wow, that's impressive. You can remember these lines. I feel like you could even recite the entire Great Compassion Mantra from memory."

Wang Zhengchuan sincerely expressed his admiration for Jiang Xixi.

Jiang Xixi breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Xia Ming: "Director, is it okay?"

Xia Ming reviewed the recorded footage and gave an OK sign: "The rest is editing and post-production. Leave that to me. You guys are done filming."

"Wow--"

Wang Zhengchuan clapped and applauded without any emotion.

The filming process went too smoothly, and he felt no emotional reaction after filming wrapped.

"Didn't they say filming would wrap up in three days?" Jiang Xixi also felt a sense of unreality.

"Of course, you all did a great job, so we wrapped up filming ahead of schedule."

Xia Ming paid Wang Zhengchuan and Jiang Xixi their film fees, took them to Xiao Heping Restaurant for a celebratory dinner, and then rushed back to his dormitory.

……

Back in his dorm, Xia Ming uploaded all the footage to his computer, opened the editing software, and began editing the clips without special effects.

At this time, the photo studio also sent over the retouched poster.

Xia Ming zoomed in for a while and the effect was indeed quite good.

"Brother Chuan, come help me out."

Xia Ming called Wang Zhengchuan to his side.

Wang Zhengchuan tossed the potato chips in his hand onto the table and slid his chair to Xia Ming's side.

"What? I don't know how to edit videos."

Xia Ming smiled and said, "There's a major task, much more difficult than editing a video, and only you can handle it."

Wang Zhengchuan became interested and craned his neck forward: "What is it?"

"How many school groups have you joined?"

Wang Zhengchuan was taken aback; he had never actually counted that before.

He opened QQ, scrolled down for a while, and roughly estimated: "Six freshman groups, eight club groups, two job-seeking groups, four mutual aid groups, five hometown groups, twelve on-campus hobby groups... about fifty, I guess?"

God man!

Xia Ming was overjoyed and sent the poster to Wang Zhengchuan: "As the main creator of 'The Big Hornet,' aren't you going to help promote it?"

"Holy crap, a mass text message?"

"Definitely, and it has to be sent out every day until the summer project ends... You won't get kicked out, will you?"

Wang Zhengchuan shook his head: "No, I'm an administrator in every group."

Xia Ming gave him a thumbs up.

Wang Zhengchuan edited a promotional message, selected the images, selected all the chat groups, and hesitated just as he was about to send it.

"I might not get kicked, but I'll definitely be laughed at."

"There should be fifty short films in this competition. Are you really confident you can get into the top five?"

Only the top five receive prize money. Fifth place receives 1,000 yuan, and the prize increases by 1,000 yuan for each place above that, except for first place which receives a 10,000 yuan reward.

"How can we compete with others when we film so casually?"

Xia Ming had no choice but to use his trump card: "Fifty, no questions asked."

Why didn't you say so earlier!

Wang Zhengchuan decisively pressed the send button and sent the promotional poster to various groups.

"By the way, any news from your senior in the animation department?"

Wang Zhengchuan then remembered and replied, "She said the modeling is complete. As long as I send her the finished product, we can start compositing and rendering it tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll send you the finished product later."

"it is good."

Wang Zhengchuan yawned, put his phone aside, and went to take a shower with his clothes.

Xia Ming looked at the screen and continued editing.

According to the script of "The Wasp", it was originally a simple story about a tech guy building robots to fight zombies.

If the film had followed a linear narrative editing style, its ratings might not have been so dismal.

What's amazing about this movie is that, despite its already terrible quality, it still managed to achieve this.

The director also used flashbacks and interludes, starting with a news report indicating that UFOs were invading, and then the scene shifted to the daily life of the main characters.

After creating the giant wasp, the scene switches to an interrogation room, then to the main characters interacting with the giant wasp, before encountering zombies, and finally ends with another interrogation room scene.

No one will be able to understand it within a hundred years.

This reminded Xia Ming of the two edited versions of "Justice League," and it has to be said that the director's post-production aesthetics are also an important part of the film's quality.

Xia Ming edited a messy version based on the original footage of "The Big Hornet" from his memory.

Finally, a black screen subtitle was added at the end: After being interrogated and educated by the police, Jason finally realized his mistake, vowed to stop building dangerous robots, and instead devoted himself to scientific research and development, thus completing his rebirth!

It can be said that I forcibly latched onto the topic of the research project.

He then edited a linear narrative version according to normal logic, trying to change the direction of the story using editing techniques.

After all, all he could think about were Hitchcock's camera techniques; before unlocking other rewards, he would have to practice those techniques himself.

When editing, Xia Ming would open a document and write down any parts he found objectionable, so that he could easily make a video later.

After sending the messed-up version of "The Big Hornet" to Wang Zhengchuan, Xia Ming's phone suddenly lit up.

Upon opening it, I saw that it was a message from Jiang Xixi.

XIXI: [Are you editing?]

Xia Ming: [Hmm]

XIXI: [It's so late already]

Xia Ming: [Registration closes the day after tomorrow.]

XIXI: [The subject we're filming this time is quite niche, so it might not get many viewers.]

A while later, she sent another message.

Don't be discouraged. With your abilities, you'll be able to make a real Transformers movie sooner or later.

"Is this meant to comfort me?"

Xia Ming stopped typing.

Jiang Xixi was clearly worried that "The Big Hornet" would be a bad film and no one would watch it, so she comforted herself in advance.

If Jiang Xixi had been born on Earth, she definitely wouldn't have had this thought.

With proper promotion, even a celebrity weight loss story can attract a large audience.

Xia Ming: [Let's make a bet. If "The Great Hornet" wins first place, you'll treat me to "Bumblebee".]

XIXI: [Polar Bear's Confusion.JPG]

A moment later, she sent a polar bear making an OK sign emoji.

……

Female dormitory of the Acting Department of Jinghai Film and Television Academy.

Jiang Xixi, wearing polar bear pajamas, lay on her bed and opened the ticket purchasing app.

Bumblebee will be released next week, and tickets can be booked in advance now.

Jiang Xixi tossed and turned in bed, muttering to herself, "He likes Transformers so much, he even chose Transformers for his summer project..."

Looking at the ticket prices for IMAX screenings, each ticket costs sixty yuan.

She had just transferred her earnings to her mother, but hesitated for a long time when she saw the expensive ticket price.

"Xia Ming gave me a chance to perform, so no matter how the competition went, I should treat him to a movie, right...?"