Rebirth 02, the Celestial Being Told Me to Stop Pretending

The female lead, Wu Zhizhen, is a complex woman with a dual nature, capable of both good and evil. She exudes charm in every gesture, appearing calm on the outside but harboring turbulent emotions within.

To be precise, she was like a gentle trap; after her husband died a violent death, the men who had close relationships with her also fell into tragedy one after another.

Zhang Zili took the initiative to approach her in order to find out the truth of the case, but he was also seduced by her and fell into confusion.

This role is very challenging for Liu Yifei.

The character Liang Zhijun was originally played by Wang Xuebin, but he later became addicted to drugs and couldn't use the role anymore.

Lu Chen then suggested that Old Deng should play the role.

Deng Chao graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 98. He acted in "Young Emperor" and had some fame, but he wasn't a big star.

In 2004, he had just finished filming "The World's Finest", in which he played the Zhengde Emperor.

On the first day of filming, Lu Chen inspected the set.

"What lights are we using for today's main lighting?" he asked the lighting crew.

The lighting technician was a veteran filmmaker in his forties, surnamed Zhang.

"HMI 12K, with added diffuser paper."

Lu Chen looked up at the sky.

"On cloudy days, use high-key lighting for the main light source and provide sufficient auxiliary lighting to eliminate shadows."

"receive."

He walked over to the photography crew.

"Today's focal length?"

Zhao Bo said, "Thirty-two millimeters is the main thickness, and fifty millimeters is used for close-ups."

Lu Chen nodded. "No wide-angle distortion, I want to create a level viewing experience."

He then went to the art department. "Has the color temperature been adjusted for the dry cleaners?"

The art director said, "It's adjusted to 3200K, a warm color tone."

"Change it to 4300K," Lu Chen said.

"Make it cooler. A dry cleaner isn't home; it's a workplace. Warm colors don't match the tone of the script."

No one dared to question it, but somewhat surprisingly, the young director seemed a bit too professional.

The first scene involves discovering body parts on a conveyor belt.

The power plant's conveyor belt was dimly lit, creaking and groaning as it moved slowly forward.

Lu Chen fixed the camera position on the side of the conveyor belt and did not cut to the long shot.

A worker stood beside the conveyor belt, watching the pale arm emerge from the coal pile.

The props were made of silicone, and while the colors and textures couldn't be as realistic as those of later generations, they were still the best they could be.

"Action".

The worker stared at his arm for a moment, then shouted.

The conveyor belt came to an emergency stop, and a whistle sounded.

Lu Chen watched from behind the monitor, his fingers lightly tapping his knee.

The camera remained fixed, without cutting or moving.

Ning Hao stood to the side,

"This shot is fucking long."

"Long takes have their advantages," Lu Chen said. "Cool tones, fixed camera angles, let the audience see and feel for themselves."

Ning Hao's "The Unknown" is still polishing the script and casting has just begun. He said he came here to learn how Golden Horse directors make art films.

Liao Fan walked over after filming his first scene, his breath condensing into a cloud in front of him.

"Director Lu?" he asked.

Lu Chen asked a question: "What do you think Zhang Zili's first reaction was upon seeing the dismembered body parts?"

"Shocking," Liao Fan said.

Lu Chen remained noncommittal.

“Zhang Zili is a criminal investigator; he’s seen the body,” Lu Chen said. “His first reaction definitely wouldn’t be shock, and he’s already in a bad mood since he just got divorced. Think about it again.”

"Another mess, that's even more fucking annoying, right?"

Lu Chen raised his chin. "Want to give it a try?"

During the second shoot, Liao Fan's eyes were noticeably different from before; the weariness he exuded made it seem as if he had truly divorced his wife.

Lu Chen watched from behind the monitor, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Passed."

For the hair salon shootout scene, Lu Chen chose handheld camerawork, following the actors.

"This scene takes place in just a few seconds," Lu Chen said.

"No slow motion, no close-ups, I only have one request: it has to be completely chaotic."

The hair salon was decorated with posters of the Little Tigers and Michael Jackson.

Liu Faxing and Liu Fayin were sitting in the barber chair getting their hair styled. Both of them were local child actors and didn't have much screen time.

Based on the clues, Zhang Zili and several plainclothes officers arrived at the hair salon and arrested the two brothers.

During the search of the suspect's clothing, a gun suddenly fell to the ground.

"Action".

Liu Faxing picked up the "five-shot" pistol from the ground and fired a shot into Xueyi's stomach.

Xueyi threw himself on top of Liu Faxing, and Qiangjun rushed over to seize the gun, but was shot through the lumbar vertebra by the second, third, and fourth bullets.

The entire process took only a few seconds.

Liao Fan drew his gun without warning and fired three shots in quick succession, causing Liu Faxing to fall to the ground on the spot.

Liu Fayin, handcuffed together, was covered in blood and instinctively reached for the gun on the ground.

Liao Fan raised his hand and fired a shot at him.

At this moment, his colleague Xiao Wang came over. Zhang Zili subconsciously turned around and pointed his gun at him. Liu Fayin, who was not quite dead, raised his gun, and then a gunshot rang out.

Zhang Zili was also injured and hospitalized, but after recovering, he learned that the two brothers from the hair salon had nothing to do with the case.

"Cut," Lu Chen said. "Passed."

Ning Hao watched the replay and remained silent for a long time. "This...this is too fast, wasn't there any build-up at all?"

"Gunfights are all about speed," Lu Chen said.

"The script clearly states that all of this happens within seconds."

In the next scene, Wu Zhizhen is working in a laundry shop.

Liu Yifei's drama.

"Action".

Liu Yifei stood in front of the laundromat's sink, head down, scrubbing clothes.

Her movements were very light, her expression was indifferent, and her eyes were unfocused.

Lu Chen frowned as he watched the monitor.

"Click."

In the second instance, Liu Yifei adjusted her expression, but it still didn't look right.

"Again."

The third point is still incorrect.

Article 4, Article 5... Article 10.

Lu Chen put down the walkie-talkie and stood up.

The atmosphere was tense, and no one dared to speak.

"Liu Yifei." Lu Chen rarely called her that, and he had never called her that many times before.

Liu Yifei walked over, her lips turning purple from the cold.

"What's wrong?"

Do you think your acting was accurate?

The little girl seemed a bit flustered. "Huh? Isn't that wrong?"

"Tell me, who is Wu Zhizhen?"

"A laundry shop owner. Her husband died, and she lived alone."

"That's all?"

Liu Yifei was stunned for a moment.

"You went to Harbin to experience life for a month and that's all you learned?" Lu Chen's voice wasn't loud, but you could clearly feel his suppressed anger.

"You learned all this just by chatting with the owner at the laundromat and watching her work?"

Liu Yifei's lips moved, instinctively wanting to defend herself.

"Isn't this how you wash clothes?"

Lu Chen couldn't help but sneer, "Then why don't you go home and do your laundry? What are you doing here? Do you even remember what a chain of actions between characters is? Do you remember what the progression of emotions is?"

"Wu Zhizhen isn't just any ordinary laundromat owner." Lu Chen stared at her. "She might have a murder on her hands; she might have killed someone herself. Tell me, did you even read the script?"

"I read it, I read the script very carefully," Liu Yifei explained somewhat anxiously.

Her approach is a typical example of emotional immersion through spoilers; she has read the entire script and knows the final ending for the male and female leads.

Therefore, one may unconsciously portray the character's final state and emotions, thus forgetting that a truly good performance requires a progressive and layered approach.

"Then tell me, is Wu Zhizhen supposed to look like you just now in the script? Huh? Tell me!"

Liu Yifei was startled by Lu Chen's sudden increase in volume, and her eyes instantly filled with tears.

She never expected that Lu Chen, who usually joked and teased her, would turn out like this on set. She was even more determined to prove herself to Lu Chen.

Seeing this, Lu Chen felt a pang of pity. "Wu Zhizhen is unclean. Her hands are unclean, and her heart is unclean. You spent a month in the laundry shop and learned how to scrub clothes?"

Wang Yan stood to the side, the notice in his hand crumpled up.

He wanted to say something, but after opening his mouth, he didn't dare to utter a sound.

Liu Yifei stood there, her eyes trembling slightly.

"I……"

"Go back and think it through." Lu Chen turned and walked back to the monitor. "If you can't figure it out, pack your things and go home. I'll find someone else."