I really don't want to make bad movies!

"Tokyo?"

Xia Ming doubted that he had heard correctly.

He found the production crew's work group and confirmed repeatedly that the start date for filming was yesterday, and today was already an official workday.

One of the two lead actors is on his way, and the other isn't even in the country?

He immediately called Yang Xianghua, but only heard that the line was busy.

Xia Ming put down the script, let out a long sigh, sat in the director's chair, sipped hot tea, and watched the crew members busily setting up the set.

"Director, they're all big stars, scheduling conflicts are normal. Why don't we just shoot some establishing shots first?"

Xiao Bai's matter-of-fact tone made Xia Ming frown.

Putting aside the fact that Arrival focuses on human dialogue, there isn't much empty shot material to begin with.

With such a tight budget, piling up materials will only burden the post-production process and increase costs unnecessarily.

Yang Xianghua was truly generous, providing the crew with three ARRI ALEXA 35 cinema cameras, along with bundled lenses and modules, plus ARRI-certified dedicated memory cards, costing over 60,000 yuan per day in rental fees.

The main actors didn't arrive, but those master shots from ARRI stayed on set the whole time, with rent paid every day.

If the camera is turned on to shoot empty shots, DIT has to carry two high-speed arrays to back them up.

This is an open plain in the wild, unlike when filming "The Swindlers," where there was a color grading studio nearby to store and organize the footage.

"Have you ever worked on a film crew before?" Xia Ming asked Xiao Bai, voicing his question.

Xiao Bai's facial expression quickly shifted from confusion to anger, and finally to arrogance: "Although I don't have much internship experience, but..."

Xia Ming had no idea where he got all this inner monologue from, so he simply raised his hand to interrupt him:

"Our production budget is very tight, and there's almost no room for trial and error. Don't bring your own ideas into the production, and don't use any of the equipment on set without permission. Just follow my instructions, okay?"

Xiao Bai pursed his lips and nodded somewhat reluctantly.

He felt looked down upon.

As a high-achieving student who studied abroad, he had witnessed the mature Hollywood industrial system and was familiar with the operating procedures of film crews.

The fact that his academic qualifications prevented him from participating in filming decisions was a huge blow to him.

"Okay, I'll go set up the line."

Xiao Bai reluctantly picked up the execution sheet and headed towards the electrician's group.

Watching his retreating figure, Xia Ming picked up the cast and crew list again.

This newbie clearly overlooked the production team's funding issues.

Xia Ming, who also serves as producer, has to consider the ongoing costs and operational plans of the production team.

If the budget were a billion dollars, he would want the cameras running 24 hours a day.

With enough source material and strong post-production skills, you can cobble together a movie that's above average.

He pondered a question: how many of the 120 people in the crew were brought in by Yang Xianghua's one-man rule?

This newbie majored in education, and instead of starting as a production assistant, he was placed directly in the position of assistant director.

The assistant director's power is neither too great nor too small.

A capable assistant director can become the director's right-hand man, while an incompetent assistant director can only serve tea and water.

As a position with a huge gap between its upper and lower limits, it is very suitable for gaining prestige.

Think about it: a highly educated film and television major who works in a production crew worth nearly 100 million yuan might become a sought-after emerging director.

With a sigh, Xia Ming took a sip of hot tea to warm himself up, wrapped himself in his down jacket, and got up to go to the front line to help.

……

The entire crew was busy until 5 p.m. before they could see the hazy headlights of cars on the distant horizon.

As the lights drew closer, everyone could see that it was an MPV.

"Wang Yuan has arrived."

Xiao Bai glanced at his phone and reminded Xia Ming beside him.

Xia Ming turned to look at the film crew.

The military tents used for filming close-up shots of the male and female leads had long been set up, and two modified prop vehicles were parked nearby, with a group of extras huddled in a corner of one of the vehicles to keep warm.

Those of higher status used electric heating in their tents.

The outdoor wind in Jinghai in December was biting cold, and everyone was waiting for the actors to arrive so filming could begin.

"Where is Ju Jingyi?"

"No news." Xiaobai shook his head.

Xia Ming frowned.

The entire film revolves around the female lead, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she makes up 95% of the screen time.

"Tell everyone to get ready and prepare to turn on the machine."

"The female lead hasn't arrived yet? How can we film this?" Xiaobai asked, puzzled.

Xia Ming tossed the script into his arms: "Sixth page, Act Two, the scene where the male and female leads are studying the alien language in cross-camera shots, take the male lead's scenes out and film them separately."

"But……"

"No buts, turn it on first!"

Xia Ming refrained from swearing and used a megaphone to call on the crew to get moving.

Fortunately, Yang Xianghua chose some pretty good supporting actors. The actor who played the general was of mixed race, with deep-set eyes and a powerful presence.

The other actors playing soldiers were also tall and imposing, exuding a sense of military power.

Today's plan was to simultaneously build sets at the military base and shoot close-ups inside tents, at least to film simple dialogue scenes.

But the male lead had only just arrived, and it would be good enough if he could complete two rehearsals.

Record the footage first, and Xia Ming will spend some time tonight studying and writing the script. We'll try to get it right on the first try tomorrow.

"Brother Bin, change the lens, get ready to start filming!"

Du Bin gave an OK sign from a distance, then turned around and directed the photography crew.

"Script supervisor! Make sure you've recorded the scene of Act 2, Scene 1 on page 6. Mark all the movement points. After filming, send me a copy of the monitor footage."

"The art department is helping the props team build the set. Today is just a rehearsal; no makeup will be done."

"Get moving, get moving, move fast!"

Xia Ming took off his coat and clapped his hands to keep everyone moving.

When the MPV stopped in the open space outside the film set, the entire crew was already in a state of readiness to be deployed.

The car door opened, and Wang Yuan and his management team got out of the car.

Wang Yuan's management director, Guo Hong, approached Xia Ming with an apologetic expression, extending both hands to shake Xia Ming's right hand: "I'm so sorry, Director Xia! Something really came up and kept me waiting! I'm so sorry!"

He waved to Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan calmly stepped forward, nodded to Xia Ming in apology, and said, "I'm sorry."

Xia Ming couldn't detect any apology in his hoarse, smoky voice.

But since the other party had already apologized, he didn't want to delve any further into the reason for being late.

The focus should be on the subsequent filming work.

"It's okay, there's still time. Let's change clothes and take two more shots."

Xia Ming handed the script, shooting schedule, and execution sheet to Wang Yuan, then stepped aside to signal him to enter the film crew.

Wang Yuan didn't immediately open the script, but instead looked at Guo Hong.

Guo Hong smiled and nodded, then leaned closer to Xia Ming with his chin lowered: "Director Xia, you must be tired from your journey, why don't you rest today?"

Xia Ming expressed his understanding, opened the script and highlighted a scene: "We'll only film this scene, no makeup, just pure blocking practice and rehearsal. Two hours will be enough."

"Two hours is a long time. We just got off the plane and haven't even had a chance to eat yet."

"There are boxed lunches in the group, and they're still hot."

"Not having eaten is one thing, but the main issue is that our artists have been traveling all day, so their condition inevitably suffers, which negatively impacts filming, right?"

"It's just a rehearsal, not the actual show, so it won't affect anything."

"Not at all, Director Xia, we know your film is of high quality, so we must give it our all in rehearsals!"

Having reached this point in the Tai Chi practice, Xia Ming knew that filming was impossible today.

He took a deep breath and pointed to the script in Wang Yuan's hand: "You are playing a linguist. You need to portray the rationality of a scientist. Go back and review the lines. There is also a character biography at the end."

"I understand, thank you, director."

Wang Yuan smiled as he put away the script, and he and Guo Hong got back into the MPV.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crew, the MPV drove onto the main road again.

Although the lead actor was present, he only made a brief appearance.

Filming will have to be postponed.

Xia Ming rubbed his temples, sat back in the director's chair, and wanted to drink tea, but found that the tea had long since gone cold.