The entertainment industry: My 99 future timelines!

After finishing work late at night.

On his way home, Li Xu casually threw away the rock sugar stewed pear that "President Qian" had sent along with the gift to the film crew.

After returning to the room.

After washing up, he lay in bed and logged into QQ. Only then did Li Xu discover that he had received a new friend request with a verification message that read: "Friend of Mr. Qian, the one who delivered the soup."

In addition, the QQ profile picture is completely white with no image, the QQ level is 0, and there are no updates on the QQ space, like a newly registered empty account.

After staring at the verification message for a few seconds, Li Xu clicked "accept".

Almost the second after the verification was successful, the notification sound rang.

Blank: Director Li, good evening. Did you receive the rock sugar stewed pear I sent you today? I hope you like it.

Li Xu typed back: Received it, didn't drink it, lost it. Don't send me things of unknown origin again, I'm afraid of dying.

blank:……

Blank: ^_^ Director Li, don't be so wary. I just admire your talent; I wouldn't harm you!

Li Xu: Thank you for your appreciation, but I won't accept gifts, and I won't contact fans privately. These are my principles.

blank:……

Blank: Well... can I visit the set? Just to look around, without saying anything.

Li Xu: This is a restricted area for film crew members. Unauthorized entry is prohibited.

Blank: T_T

Li Xu: I'm going to sleep now, goodbye.

blank……

After waiting a few minutes without seeing a reply, Li Xu chuckled to himself, turned off his phone, and went to sleep.

-

Huairou in late May.

The crew of "Love Announcement" has been filming for almost ten days.

After the brutal training last time, Liu Yifei has been performing quite well recently, getting through a shot in an average of three to five takes.

With relatively ample funding, Li Xu maintained considerable patience with this angel investor, not caring too much about the wasted film money from extra shots, but instead trying his best to hone her acting skills.

But today.

Li Xu and Liu Yifei do not have any scenes together. The next few shots to be filmed will be between Liu Yifei and Li Yuchun, showcasing the friendship between the two in the movie.

The plot revolves around the scandal surrounding Du Minghao's (Li Xu) exposed identity, which leaves Song Qing (Liu Yifei) feeling depressed. Her friend, Li Chun (Li Yuchun), a fellow music student, comes to her dormitory to comfort her.

This is a seemingly simple play: the script only has a few lines of dialogue, with Li Chun saying things like "Don't think too much" and "He may have his own difficulties," while Song Qing remains silent.

But everyone knew that with Li Xu's strictness and Li Yuchun's lack of professional acting skills, filming this simple scene would definitely be a tough sprint.

-

Inside the film and television base, in a shed decorated like a female university dormitory.

Shen Ao sat behind the monitor, while Li Xu sat to Shen Ao's side watching.

Shen Ao glanced at Li Xu, took a deep breath, and picked up the walkie-talkie: "All departments, prepare. Scene 89, Shot 1 of 'Love Announcement,' begin!"

The stage manager claps the clapperboard.

In the scene, Li Yuchun, dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, sits on Liu Yifei's bedside, reciting lines from the script.

Liu Yifei sat on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees, her eyes vacant.

The lighting was even and bright. Considering that Li Yuchun's acting skills were not professional, the camera angle for this scene was the simplest standard shot-reverse shot - filming Li Yuchun when she was speaking, and filming Liu Yifei when Song Qing was reacting, in order to minimize the number of times the two were in the same frame.

After several performances.

Although Li Yuchun wasn't very professional, she still passed the test in just three takes with such simple shots, and Shen Ao didn't put her through too much trouble.

In the surveillance footage, Li Yuchun's words of comfort carried the straightforwardness and sincerity unique to young people, while Liu Yifei's silence was also just right.

"Click!"

After the filming was deemed acceptable, Shen Ao called "cut," looked at the monitor to review the footage, then glanced at Li Xu, who had been sitting beside him without saying a word, and asked in a slightly worried voice, "Director Li, is this good enough?"

"After all, Yu Chun didn't come from a professional acting class, and this shot isn't important..."

Li Xu remained silent.

He leaned forward slightly, staring at the screen, his right hand unconsciously tapping lightly on his knee—an instinctive habit he had when thinking.

The studio was quiet. All the staff—the lighting crew, the recording crew, the stagehands, and Liu Yifei and Li Yuchun—subconsciously slowed down, waiting for him to deliver his verdict.

After a moment's thought, Li Xu looked at Shen Ao beside him and nodded: "Eight points is a good level, but not perfect."

Shen Ao's heart skipped a beat.

It’s over.

He knew it.

A few days ago, Li Xu was busy playing Du Minghao, looking broken, wet, and desperate in front of the camera, and didn't have much energy to torment the executive director.

As long as the main shots he filmed reached a score of "nine out of ten", Li Xu would nod and let it pass. If it was some minor details or shots, "eight out of ten" would also be acceptable.

But Li Xu had no chance today, so he just sat there, staring at the monitor.

Shen Ao felt like a primary school student being watched by his homeroom teacher, and his back was tingling with fear.

Sure enough, the standard of "eight points" was much stricter than the previous two days.

To others, eight parts of it is praise.

For Li Xu, "eight points" means—"Come on, let's begin today's torture."

"Director Li, what aspects do you think need some adjustments?"

Despite his rough personality, Shen Ao was not stupid. He chose to obey Li Xu, a boss whose directing skills far surpassed his own. He did not want to humiliate himself.

"How do I adjust it? I think it's better for me to demonstrate it to you directly than to just talk about it."

Looking around, Li Xu noticed that everyone on set had stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on him. He patted Shen Ao on the shoulder and spoke gently.

Li Xu has always been very tolerant of Shen Ao, a directorial genius who can almost perfectly execute his shooting ideas after setting a rough shooting framework.

He decided to give Shen Ao some pointers when he had some free time.

"Hmm? Demonstration?"

Shen Ao looked puzzled upon hearing Li Xu's words.

"Yeah, Director Shen, Director Li is giving a class, hehe, we can be students and listen in, it's a good opportunity to learn."

Shen Ao was still wondering when Li Deyuan, the assistant director on set, eagerly chimed in.

Although Li Xu is not satisfied with Shen Ao's current directing level, after Li Xu's brutal "torture" during this period, his directing ability is no worse than that of a director who has made a few regular films.

As for Li Deyuan, the assistant director, his technical skills were far inferior to Shen Ao's.

Li Xuken demonstrated on the spot, and he couldn't wait to jump up and raise both hands and feet in approval.

"Your attitude towards learning is good, so there's no need for flattery."

Li Xu glanced at Li Deyuan, who was eagerly sidling up to him, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

After he finished speaking, he clapped his hands:

"Alright everyone, let's do one more take. We'll stick to the same shooting angles, camera positions, and lighting as Director Shen did before."

"But this time, Yuchun, when you speak, you can try not to look in Yifei's direction, but look at the old music box on her bedside table."

"Yifei, as for you, when Yuchun is reciting his lines, you can unconsciously pick at the loose thread on the bed sheet with your finger, just once."

"clear!"

Liu Yifei and Li Yuchun nodded in unison, and the staff on site shouted and got into the zone.

After spending this time together, the entire "Love" crew expressed that no one had any doubts about Li Xu's acting skills and directing techniques.

The moment he opened his mouth, everyone instinctively went into a state of obedience.

Shen Ao and Li Deyuan will also be in an immersive observation state at this time.

Soon, one shot was taken.

Shen Ao and Li Deyuan frowned slightly as they watched the replay.

This scene felt too ordinary, lacking both energy and flavor, like the typical best friend conversation scene found in any romantic Korean drama.

Standardized and regulated, yet it's an assembly line.

"That's it...? Director Li's skills can't be that bad, can they? This is too average. Could it be that he's been filming too many movies lately, and his acting career has overshadowed his directing talent?"

Li Deyuan couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Just then, Li Xu suddenly asked, "Shen'ao, Deyuan, do you see anything wrong?"

Shen Ao opened his mouth slightly, but didn't say anything.

He wanted to say that he hadn't seen anything, but he was afraid that his perspective was too limited.

Seeing this, Li Xu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Senior Brother Shen'ao, Deyuan, didn't you two notice anything at all?"

"Because the style I just shot is the kind of directing technique and narrative style that you are most used to. I imitated you and replicated it, only adjusting the harmony of the images a little."

"The scene you just filmed, where Yifei and Yuchun are best friends, gave me this feeling: bland and uninteresting."

"Writing is like viewing mountains; one dislikes flatness. This is the biggest flaw in your directing skills, Senior Brother Shen'ao."

Smiling, Li Xu looked at Shen Ao, his tone not accusatory, but simply stating the facts.

Shen Ao and Li Deyuan seemed to be deep in thought.

Seeing this, Li Xu didn't disturb their thinking. He simply stood up and said to the entire crew, "Alright, everyone in the cinematography and lighting teams, I'll treat the whole crew to drinks tonight. Then let's play a game, shoot the scene we just filmed a couple more times, and try it out in two different styles. Let's do an experiment."

Upon hearing Li Xu's words, the crew erupted in cheers.

They didn't care that the scene had to be reshot twice or that it was a waste of film, since they were paid a fixed daily wage anyway.

Whether they're filming this scene or the subsequent episodes, they get paid for every extra day they film.

There were even extra perks during the filming, so no one was dissatisfied.

Amidst the excited chatter of the crew, Li Xu calmly walked behind the main camera and gestured for the cameraman, Wang Luyao, to move aside.

"Lu Yao, give me an hour, you can just watch from the side."

"Next, without changing the set, the actors' positions, or even the camera angles, I only adjusted three things: the camera position, the lighting, and the actors' performances. We shot two new versions in a row."

"Also, Deyuan and Shen'ao, you two keep an eye on the monitors for me."

Shen Ao and Li Deyuan obeyed and immediately got up, walked behind the monitor and stared intently at the camera.

Because his photographer position had been taken away, Wang Luyao stood aside, excitedly witnessing Li Xu's photography "class".

After giving Liu Yifei and Li Yuchun a verbal explanation.

Li Xu soon came to film a new version, which he called "Version A: A Silent Film of Life".

No forehand or backhand was used.

With the help of staff, Li Xu adjusted the camera's track and moved it to a shaded corner diagonally opposite the shooting area.

Meanwhile, the camera is fixed in place, positioned slightly below eye level, like the eyes of a toy doll that has been accidentally left on the ground, quietly watching the two girls in the center of the room.

"start."

After adjusting the camera position, Li Xu's voice came through the walkie-talkie, calm and composed.

The script supervisor begins striking the clapperboard.

Li Yuchun took a breath, calmed her nerves, and got back into the zone.

She said similar lines as before, but her voice became softer and slower, as Li Xu had just instructed, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.

Liu Yifei, on the other hand, completely gave up on "performing." She simply hugged her knees and stared at a point in the void.

Occasionally, when a word from Li Yuchun drifts into her ears, her eyes will blink gently, like a mimosa plant swaying in a breeze.

The shed was unusually quiet.

The sound engineer astutely increased the ambient sound.

The hum of the old air conditioner, the faint sounds of construction in the distance, the rustling of the plastic leaves of the artificial tree outside the window as the wind blows through them, and even the slight sound of Li Yuchun swallowing his saliva were all amplified.

In the version revised by Li Xuxin, the actors' dialogue becomes secondary, and the background sound becomes the focus.

The conversation between Li Yuchun and Liu Yifei, these best friends, was like a broken, ambiguous murmur in the background, amidst the overwhelming noise.

Two minutes later, Li Xu shouted "Cut!"

Everyone gathered around the monitor, watching the playback on the screen.

Shen Ao Li Deyuan's face showed a thoughtful expression.

After finishing this round of filming, Liu Yifei, Li Yuchun, photographer Wang Luyao, lighting technician Liu Hu, and others had hesitant looks in their eyes.

The newly filmed version has a very "strange" visual style; it's not centered, not full, and even looks somewhat "unprofessional."

But it somehow gives the feeling that you are secretly watching "two best friends' private conversation" with a surveillance camera, quietly observing the fluctuations in their emotions.

The feeling of being there, of being present, of being a voyeur, sent chills down the spines of everyone watching.

"Is this... spying?"

Wang Luyao murmured.

"Spying? It feels like some kind of pervert secretly filming and monitoring the pretty female tenant in the next room, like something out of a Korean thriller?"

Li Deyuan snapped out of his reverie and continued.

"Bullshit! In my opinion, this is just like those... well... you know, it's like a banned film. Even though there's no explicit content, you still get the feeling that something bad is definitely going to happen next..."

Shen Ao subconsciously retorted, at which point he couldn't help but recall several banned Japanese films he had watched during his university years.

But as soon as he said it, he realized something was wrong and quickly tried to salvage the situation.

"This is my version A, a silent film of life, a still-life gaze."

Li Xu said something simple without explanation, then got up and started adjusting the camera.

"Now, let's start filming version B."