The entertainment industry: My 99 future timelines!

Hearing Li Xu's words.

Shen Ao felt as if a door to a new world had been opened for him.

The phrase "still life gaze" was like a key, suddenly unlocking a blocked door in his mind.

He had always been thinking about "how to get the actors to perform well", but he never thought that it could be filmed from this angle, silently "spying" on everything.

The background noise and environment replace the actors' performances, while the actors merely serve as the "background" in this scene, completely reversing the relationship between the two.

Thinking about all this, Shen Ao felt a great deal of frustration.

Although he always knew that he was far behind his junior Li Xu, despite their reputation as directorial geniuses.

But at this moment, he finally understood the extent of the gap between him and Li Xu. To put it bluntly, on the road to becoming a director, he was still just a "monkey," while Li Xu had already become a "human," with a long history of biological evolution separating them.

"The gap between people really is bigger than the gap between people and dogs... Holy crap, this is utterly hopeless!"

He cursed under his breath in exasperation.

Seeing that Li Xu had already begun preparing to film the second segment, Shen Ao tried hard to shake off his dejected mood.

Standing to the side, listening to Shen Ao's "desperate groans," Liu Yifei couldn't help but smile.

She could understand Shen Ao's feelings at that moment.

Although she is not a director and is not familiar with directing techniques.

But as the performer in this video, she can clearly remember that she had never had a strange experience while filming this scene.

When the camera was hidden in the corner and the ambient noise was amplified, she suddenly felt a sense of liberation and relaxation while filming this scene.

She doesn't need to deliberately "perform" for anyone; she only needs to immerse herself in that space.

Because in this scene, her and Li Yuchun's performances were no longer the most important part; the ambient sound, space, atmosphere, and lighting, which should have been just background elements, became the main focus.

There was even a line she delivered that was clearly not quite right, but when it appeared on the monitor, the problem miraculously disappeared.

Because her lines and acting, Li Yuchun's lines and acting, have become completely unimportant in this part of the story; no one cares about them.

Viewers will be so engrossed in the intense voyeurism of this scene and the perfectly timed background music that their eyes and ears will be soothed and relaxed, leaving them oblivious to everything else.

-

Li Xu didn't notice Shen Ao and Liu Yifei's situation at all.

He was now completely immersed in the filming rhythm of his movie, oblivious to everything else.

Li Xu quickly switched the camera to handheld mode and zoomed in to the mid-range focal length, then focused on preparing version b and the second shot.

"Watch out for the light, Liu Hu."

"Cut off the main light and keep that table lamp as the main light source. Adjust the color temperature to around 5000K, make it a bit cooler, and darken the background light by one-third."

"Yuchun, Yifei, let's try a different game this time."

"Yuchun, sit closer to Yifei this time. You can try to touch the back of her hand, but stop before you do. Also, this time you need to be more urgent with your lines."

"Yifei, when you feel Yuchun's hand approaching, you can make a slight backward movement with your body, but the lines don't need to be changed. This time, my camera will mainly focus on capturing the subtle movements of your bodies; the lines are not important..."

He quickly directed and coordinated the on-site staff, providing guidance to Li Yuchun and Liu Yifei on their upcoming performance.

As soon as the clapperboard slammed down again, Li Xu instantly entered a state of complete mental clarity, and the camera captured the subtle changes in the body movements of Li Yuchun and Liu Yifei during their conversation.

On the monitor.

Li Xu's slightly shaky handheld camera created a sense of unease in the atmosphere of the scene.

The cool lighting made the two girls' skin appear porcelain-like and delicate.

The close-up shots perfectly capture Li Yuchun's comfort and affection for Liu Yifei.

Li Yuchun reached out to Liu Yifei, stopping when her fingertips were only one centimeter away from the back of her hand.

That one-centimeter distance was stretched into a canyon in the lens.

Liu Yifei's shoulders shrank back by half an inch, an almost imperceptible movement.

Their eyes met briefly, then parted just as quickly, like a secret lily blooming under the camera's shaky movements, as if Li Xu were breathing.

Everyone in the shed unconsciously held their breath, afraid of disturbing the peace.

"Click."

Two minutes later, Li Xu put down the camera and called to end the shooting of version B. The atmosphere in the studio gradually returned to normal.

Version B, Forbidden.

"Shen Ao, Li Deyuan, Yu Chun, Yi Fei, come and take a look."

"After you've read it, tell me what the differences are between this new version and the previous ones."

His tone was calm.

Walking back to the monitor, Li Xu quickly played the B version of "Taboo" that he had just filmed on the monitor while speaking.

Upon hearing Li Xu's "summoning order," Li Yuchun swallowed hard, her heart pounding with nervousness.

Glancing at Liu Yifei, who was already getting up to go over, she reached out and grabbed her, whispering, "What should we do, Yifei? Director Li called us; we still have to answer questions after we finish watching."

"This kind of Director Li scares me. I can't help but start seeing the face of my high school dean of students in my mind."

Seeing Li Yuchun's nervous expression, Liu Yifei said calmly, "There's not much to do. Answer the question. If you can't answer, you're doomed. At worst, he'll just look at you like you're an idiot!"

With a determined gaze and a resolute swing of her arm, Liu Yifei spoke with a tone of fearlessness, as if facing certain death.

"Depend on…"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuchun felt a pang of despair and quickly followed.

The two-minute video of version B on the monitor was quickly watched by everyone.

After the video playback ended, Li Xu calmly asked, "Everyone, what are the differences between this version B and the previous version A? If this were the final cut, which version would you choose—this version B, the previous version A, or Director Shen's version? And why?"

When Li Xu posed this question, everyone around the monitor fell silent.

This is a huge shock to everyone, and we need time to process it.

In the crowd, Su Xiaoxiao also kept her head down and didn't say a word.

She was a poor student since childhood, and she has only been on set for three days, and hasn't been assigned any scenes yet.

Every day, he just watched, learned, and took notes on set. He didn't think much about acting or filming at all; he was just waiting to shoot his own music video scenes.

Although she was the "goddaughter" of investor Mr. Qian, Li Xu did not give her any special treatment.

After a few seconds of silence, just as Su Xiaoxiao was terrified that Li Xu would call on her if no one spoke, Shen Ao, the executive director of the production team, finally spoke first, his voice hoarse:

"Let me state this first: my version is the worst, and everyone knows that, so you don't need to worry about saving face for me and not know how to bring it up."

"As for the two versions of the video, A and B, which were personally filmed by Director Li... If it were up to me, even though I couldn't film either version, I would probably choose version A."

"This version has such a unique perspective, so unique that it completely exceeded my imagination and understanding. Before today, I never thought that directing could be done this way, or that filming could be done this way!"

"This technique of still-life observation is a true art of directing, completely suppressing the importance of the actors. How the actors perform is entirely unimportant; it can hardly affect the final product!"

"Director Li, after watching your filming, I've made an important decision. Since I'll never be able to catch up to you in this lifetime, I'm going to follow in your footsteps and learn from you. From now on, you'll be my god!"

As he said this...

Shen Ao chuckled. He had been reading the novel "Ghost Blows Out the Light" in his spare time recently and really liked the feeling of that chuckle.

"...Shen Ao, speak properly, be a decent human being? Don't make me kick you."

Shen Ao's sudden antics made Li Xu lose his composure as a cool lecturer and immediately shouted!

The previously quiet atmosphere was instantly transformed into a joyful one, and everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Seeing this, Li Yuchun jumped out without hesitation, pointing decisively to version B and saying, "Director Li, I like this one. It has a unique atmosphere, I really like it!"

As Li Xu listened, his eyes swept across Li Yuchun's face, and he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Well, the reason I named this version 'Forbidden' is that I slightly modified the original friendship between the two girls... turning it into a special kind of emotion between girls."

"Hmm, Yuchun, judging from your style of dressing, you do have potential in this area."

As soon as Li Xu said this...

Li Yuchun's face flushed red instantly. She was filled with regret, wondering why she had suddenly jumped out. She was practically turning into a broken record, muttering to herself, "I'm so stupid..."

-

Skip the interlude featuring Shen Ao and Li Yuchun.

After they had all finished talking at once, Li Xu walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker.

"Have you finished talking? Now I'll speak."

I casually drew three circles on the whiteboard and wrote "A", "B", and "Shen'ao" on them.

"Director Shen's version is like an instruction manual, telling the audience what happened here. We can't use this version."

Li Xu first drew an X on "Shen'ao" with the tip of his pen.

"Version A, on the other hand, is about voyeurism—letting the audience discover for themselves what happened."

"As for version B, it's about enticement—making the audience feel what's happening."

"The version we really want to film is actually the child of these three people. We have to use the lens of version A to spy on them, and the emotions of version B to entice them, but in the end we still have to complete the task of Director Shen's version: to tell the story clearly."

The shed was quiet for a few seconds.

Shen Ao raised his hand and said, "Director Li, I understand. What we need are the eyes of a voyeur, the heartbeat of a tempter, and the mind of a narrator."

As soon as he finished speaking, he joked, "Director Li, to be honest, can I apply to be your brain? Even just a brain cell would be fine, otherwise I really can't keep up with your way of thinking."

Li Xu: "...Get lost."

After the commotion subsided, Li Xu looked at Liu Hu, the lighting technician in the crowd: "Liu Hu, for the lighting later, I'll also be doing a fusion version."

"I don't want the uniform natural lighting of version A, nor the dramatic, cold spotlight of version B. I want something in between, understand?"

Liu Hu nodded emphatically.

Seeing that Liu Hu understood, Li Xu finally turned his gaze to Li Yuchun and Liu Yifei: "Of course, the performance must also be integrated."

"Yuchun, for your upcoming performance, the rhythm of your lines should follow version A: light, slow, and with pauses. But your body language and subtle facial expressions should be infused with the emotions of version B."

"And Yifei, you too, follow version A for the rhythm of your lines, and version B for your body language and subtle facial expressions."

Liu Yifei and Li Yuchun both nodded.

Given what happened before, no one would question Li Xu's directing and command at this moment.

Even if Li Xu were to say in the next second that he would shoot a scene that surpasses Zhang Yimou's "Hero" and "Curse of the Golden Flower," it would still be impossible.

This will allow everyone in the crew to first think about how they can cooperate and achieve their goals, and how not to hold director Li Xu back, rather than doubting Li Xu's abilities.

"Okay, let me check the time. It's 3:50 PM now."

"Everyone, you must be a little tired after filming and watching the previous two versions."

"I'll give you all a twenty-minute break now, and then we'll start filming the final version of this scene!"

After glancing at his watch and seeing that everyone was starting to cooperate, Li Xu didn't beat around the bush and spoke directly.

"Thank you, director!"

Upon hearing Li Xu's words...

Except for Liu Yifei, who remained with Li Xu, the others decisively scattered and fled, just like students hiding from their homeroom teacher.

"Aren't you going to take a rest?"

"I'll have very high standards for the scenes later on. Even if you're the big investor in this show, Yifei, I won't hold back if you're not in good form."

Sitting down behind the monitor, Li Xu noticed that Liu Yifei hadn't "escaped" with the others, but was instead sitting quietly on a stool, lost in thought. He couldn't help but glance at her and say something.

"Junior Li Xu, I know you don't like to talk about personal matters during work hours, so I'm staying here because I have some work-related questions to ask you."

"What I wanted to ask was... um, what do you think of our scene together tomorrow? I've only ever filmed scenes like this before using camera tricks."

"I...I'm a little nervous. I'm afraid I won't be in good form for filming tomorrow and won't meet your expectations, junior..."

He didn't pay attention to Li Xu's tone.

Liu Yifei spoke hesitantly, revealing her inner turmoil, her expression a mixture of nervousness and shyness.

"I don't really see it, senior. Calm down, you're an actress."

"Tomorrow's scene is a kissing scene, right? It's just a kissing scene, leave everything to me. I'll get you into character tomorrow."

"If you can't get it right in one take, then take it twice. If you can't get it right in two takes, then take it three, five, ten times. Just keep practicing until it's perfect."

Li Xu calmly answered Liu Yifei's question, without paying it any mind.

It's as if the question isn't about a first on-screen kiss or a kissing scene between two people, but rather "What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?" or "Do you want noodles?"

"?"

"Don't you think there's any difference between this and a regular scene? If it's not good enough in one take, then two, then five, then ten. Li Xu, do you think you're biting a pig's snout?"

Hearing Li Xu's very "Li Xu" style reply, Liu Yifei's original shyness and nervousness disappeared instantly.

She stood up angrily, snorted coldly, turned around and left, her heart pounding with rage.

This was not only her first on-screen kiss, but also her first real-life kiss; she never expected to receive this answer.

Watching Liu Yifei storm off, Li Xu shook his head.

First kiss?

He touched his lips, and it seemed... a little different.

But the next second, he suppressed that thought.

What do you mean it's different? It's all an act. Du Minghao's first kiss was with Song Qing, what does that have to do with Li Xu?

The kissing scene tomorrow is an emotional highlight of his debut film, but it's not his emotional highlight.

Thinking of this, Li Xu turned and walked towards the monitor, the ripples in his heart calming down faster than the surface of a lake after a pebble has been thrown in.

He didn't care whether Liu Yifei was a first kiss or not; he was only prepared to be responsible for the film.

-

soon.

The 20-minute break has ended.

Shen Ao picked up the walkie-talkie and, with a spirited voice, began to coordinate the on-site operations according to Li Xu's previous instructions:

"Lighting crew, adjust the lighting positions as Director Li requested. This lighting needs to convey a strong emotional impact!"

"Camera crew, quickly check the tracks and focus system. For the rest of the shooting, I want the camera to slide on the tracks as smoothly as Dove chocolate!"

Under Shen Ao's direction, the crew operated efficiently and quickly got everything in order.