Zhang Ruozhi had never acted before and had no filming , Lu Yanhe chose her without hesitation.
After the school entered the summer vacation, it was easier to manage the crew. When shooting some outdoor scenes and empty shots before, there were many people watching and looking at them curiously. Now, the school security guards have also been arranged to help the crew clean up some areas in front of the school, so that the crew can shoot without being disturbed by the surroundings.
The first shot that Lu Yanhe and Zhang Ruozhi prepared to shoot was a scene of two people riding bicycles on a small path home from school.
This scene is a scene in the movie where the female character Huai Iki recalls her and the male character Huai Iki's high school days, told in a nostalgic tone.
"I didn't expect that we would be in the same class for three whole years. During those three dark years, I was treated unfairly and differently in every way... It might sound funny to others, but it was hard to express the pain for those who were in it. We gradually had to avoid each other. I can't even remember if we talked to each other."
The first problem arose: Zhang Ruozhi actually couldn't ride a bicycle.
Lu Yanhe had never thought about this question before.
Zhang Ruozhi blushed slightly and apologized immediately.
Lu Yanhe smiled and shook his hand, saying, "It's okay, just learn it for a while, we'll shoot the bicycle riding scene later."
Zhang Ruozhi pursed her lips and nodded.
Her classmate Liu Lingmeng stayed on the set with Zhang Ruozhi under the name of her "assistant".
Hearing this, Liu Lingmeng immediately said, "I'll teach Ruoruo how to ride a bicycle. Don't worry, she'll learn it in three days."
Lu Yanhe smiled, "No hurry."
So, the filming had to be postponed before the first shot even started.
At this time, Bao Wenliang from the photography team suddenly complained in a low voice: "Couldn't you have told me earlier that you didn't know how to ride a bicycle? You told me after the machine was set up. Isn't this a hassle?"
They all heard Bao Wenliang's voice.
Zhang Ruozhi's cheeks flushed, and he immediately bowed to Bao Wenliang and said, "I'm sorry."
Liu Lingmeng defended herself and said, "You didn't ask Ruoruo in advance if she could ride a bicycle, and we didn't know that she needed to ride it herself."
Bao Wenliang laughed and said, "If no one is riding a bicycle, will the two wheels turn by themselves?"
Liu Lingmeng: “…”
Lu Yanhe didn't want to see them arguing at this time.
"I didn't tell Ruozhi in advance that she needed to ride the bike herself, which caused inconvenience to everyone. I apologize to everyone."
Lu Yanhe glanced at Bao Wenliang calmly and said to everyone in the crew: "This is not a big deal. Once Zhi learns how to ride a bicycle, we can just shoot this scene again."
Lu Yanhe's calmness and composure, as well as his generous apology, made the scene quiet for a moment.
He turned and looked at Zhao Yuheng.
"Yuheng, let's switch scenes and shoot the scene where Ruozhi and I are in the classroom, the one where we're on duty."
Zhao Yuheng nodded.
-
"Brother Wenliang, why did you complain like that at that time?" Wu Zhou asked.
Bao Wenliang said: "Why can't we complain? One of them has never been a director, and the other has never acted. They don't know anything, but they just came to film on impulse. How much trouble have they caused us?"
Wu Zhou said, "But Lu Yanhe is the director. Although he is indeed very young, is it really okay for you to not give him face and complain about the heroine in front of him?"
Bao Wenliang shrugged his shoulders and said, "It doesn't matter. Zhang Ruozhi is not a heroine. There is only one heroine in this movie, and that is Chen Bige. Why are you so scared? We were borrowed by him and Liu Bige. There are only two of us photographers for this movie. Can he still blame us for this?"
Wu Zhou wanted to ask if Bao Wenliang's idea was a bit too arrogant. However, Bao Wenliang was his senior, so he couldn't blame him. He could only keep these thoughts to himself and not say anything.
Bao Wenliang said: "I tell you, Wu Zhou, people doing our technical work can't make a lot of money, but you don't have to worry about offending people. As long as you have real skills, you can make a living wherever you go."
Wu Zhou nodded and said hum.
At this time, Luo Yuzhong walked over from the front.
Bao Wenliang's expression immediately changed, a warm smile appeared on his face, and he called out "Director Luo".
Luo Yuzhong glanced at him, nodded, and went to find Lu Yanhe.
-
Luo Yuzhong said, "I have to go back to Yuming first. My company has some things that I need to check on. I have sorted out most of your situation for the time being, so it's not a big problem. As a director, I'm not afraid of you making requests to others, but I'm afraid that you keep your ideas to yourself and rely on others to guess your ideas. Therefore, if there is anything, you must communicate with various departments in a timely manner. You don't have to worry about the difficulty of implementation. The director's job is the brain, and the other technical departments are your hands and feet. They are here to help you realize those ideas, understand? A new director should avoid being unrealistic and unrealistic. Of course, you are not of this character, but you should also avoid being timid and not daring to mention anything or think about anything. On the contrary, you are likely to be like this."
Luo Yuzhong's reminder hit the nail on the head on Lu Yanhe's problem.
Lu Yanhe smiled and thanked him, and said to Luo Yuzhong: "Thank you, teacher. If it weren't for your help, I don't know when I can get this crew in order."
"You call me teacher, isn't it normal for me to help you do these things?" Luo Yuzhong said, "I have a play ready to be released later. If you are interested, you can invest in it."
Luo Yuzhong really treats Lu Yanhe as his own.
The gameplay of the series is really different from that of the movie.
The series is basically sold on a lump sum basis - the platform buys the goods, pays the money and receives the goods, and as for how the show goes afterwards and whether the profits are high or low, that is all borne by the platform itself.
For a director of Luo Yuzhong's level, every project he works on is basically guaranteed to make a profit.
He took the initiative to ask Lu Yanhe to invest a little if he was interested, which was actually to make money with him. But making money was secondary. Being able to enter the capital camp of his project and meet more people was the most critical and important resource for Lu Yanhe in the future.
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Just tell me how much share you can give me. I'll take any amount."
Luo Yuzhong did invest in the filming of Love Letter, although it was not much, only 800,000. But you have to know that investment in movies and investment in TV series are two completely different concepts. The former is a high-risk project, while the latter is different. His willingness to invest is actually his strongest support for Lu Yanhe.
Luo Yuzhong: "It will probably take me a week to come back and check. If you encounter any problems, go to Zhao Yuheng for small problems. He is very capable and experienced and can handle them. If there are really big problems, it is better to delay for a few days and lose some money than to rush to solve them. Lest it seem that you have filled the hole but actually made a bigger mess. Call me and ask others for advice. You are different from other new directors. Your greatest asset is that you have many people who can help you. Don't waste this advantage."
Lu Yanhe nodded, hummed, and smiled at him.
"Thank you, teacher."
"Oh, right." After Luo Yuzhong finished explaining all this, he remembered something, "Did a photographer argue with you just now?"
Lu Yanhe: "He didn't scold me, but he was not very polite."
Luo Yuzhong: "If he only did it once or twice and then restrained himself, then let's not talk about him. If he gets worse, you have to deal with him. Don't forget that he is someone borrowed by Liu Bigo. No matter what, don't let it affect your relationship with Liu Bigo. If there is really a problem, you can contact Liu Bigo and let him handle it. This will save his face and also establish your authority. This crew is just a small martial arts world. Don't listen to what the media says about art and aesthetics. Just think of this as a newly established small sect. No matter how strong your martial arts are, everyone below has their own thoughts and may not obey you. You have to establish your authority so that no matter what they think in their hearts, they must obey you in their words and deeds."
Lu Yanhe nodded and said okay.
These are the results of director Luo Yuzhong's many years of experience, and every word is valuable.
"You have a clear idea about this movie, which is a good thing. It reassures me that we can make it well." Luo Yuzhong patted Lu Yanhe's shoulder, "Now that we know how you want to present this movie, all we have to do next is to make it."
-
Change scene to shoot the scenes in the classroom.
This scene takes place after school, when only a boy and a girl named Huai Jingshu are left in the classroom. They are on duty as monitors.
There were only a few lines about this scene in Lu Yanhe's script.
However, because the filming plan was changed at the last minute and the classroom layout had not been completed, they took a break.
Lu Yanhe called Zhang Ruozhi to the corridor.
"Don't take the bicycle incident to heart," Lu Yanhe said. "It's not a big deal."
Zhang Ruozhi nodded slightly and said "hmm".
Lu Yanhe laughed and asked, "Do you have someone you like?"
"Huh?!" Zhang Ruozhi suddenly opened his eyes wide like a deer and looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise, as if he didn't understand why Lu Yanhe suddenly asked this.
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "If you have that feeling, you can put yourself in that mood and state of mind when performing."
Zhang Ruozhi pursed her lips lightly.
There was a gentle breeze in the corridor.
The sunlight shines down, covering the campus with a layer of golden film.
Zhang Ruozhi's youthful look caught Lu Yanhe's eyes, making him feel relieved.
She doesn't need to act, she is the Huaijing Tree in the script.
-
It was three hours later when the actual shooting began.
There were two camera positions used in the afternoon, with Wu Zhou and Bao Wenliang each in charge of one.
One took a photo of Lu Yanhe and the other took a photo of Zhang Ruozhi.
I was very lucky. At this moment, the light was the most saturated, and the shots turned out very beautiful. In an environment like a classroom, the breath of youth almost overflowed.
Lu Yanhe sat in the seat by the window, reading a book and organizing his notes.
The person he benchmarked against was actually Li Pengfei, his high school classmate.
Although it was not explicitly stated in the script, Lu Yanhe felt that Huai Jingshu was not a very good student. Many details in the original movie also reflected this indirectly. Therefore, Lu Yanhe's face should not have the confidence that he was confident of winning.
But beneath the seemingly expressionless and silent appearance, there is a bit of hidden dullness of an adolescent high school student, just a little bit is enough.
This was the result of Lu Yanhe and Chen Siqi video calling each other many times and trying many different methods.
He specially went to get a student haircut, which is not so glamorous and handsome. Huai Jingshu's good looks are just ordinary, student-like good looks, because that bit of adolescent melancholy makes him more charming. If his image is fashionable, handsome and outstanding, the atmosphere of this story will not be "daily" or "ordinary student".
Then, Lu Yanhe also refused to put on makeup. The makeup artist asked if he wanted to at least put on a base, but Lu Yanhe said, "No, not at all."
"It's all based on lighting. Neither I nor Ruozhi put on any makeup. We use natural light and lighting to adjust the condition of our faces." Lu Yanhe said, "I even hope that the camera can clearly see the clear texture of our faces."
Regarding this point, Lu Yanhe also worked with several departments several times during the trial shooting before he found the ideal picture situation for Lu Yanhe.
So, as soon as the filming started, Lu Yanhe got into the mood.
Zhang Ruozhi stood on the right side of the podium and erased the two names of "Huai Jingshu" written in the duty column. Then, he turned around and glanced at Lu Yanhe and asked in a low voice: "Huai Jingshu, who will be the duty student tomorrow?"
Lu Yanhe raised his eyes slightly, looked at her, and said two names.
Zhang Ruozhi nodded and wrote his name with chalk.
"What was taught in today's math class?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Zhang Ruozhi said: "Equation."
Lu Yanhe asked: "What equation?"
At this time, other students might suddenly appear at the classroom door and tease the two of them.
However, because this scene was filmed at the last minute, these student actors have not arrived yet.
These student actors were the boys who suddenly ran into the cafe when Lu Yanhe, Zhang Ruozhi and Liu Lingmeng were having dinner that day.
Lu Yanhe felt that their temperament was very similar to the boys in the script.
The restlessness that cannot be concealed, and the desire to play a trick on others.
Liu Bige called out "Cut" for Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe took Zhang Ruozhi to the monitor to watch the playback of the video just taken. Zhang Ruozhi appeared in the camera with a pair of eyes that seemed to be exposed from behind a mask in winter, with a layer of clear water light, and the unique caution and timidity of a girl.
Lu Yanhe's heart settled down.
very nice.
He turned around and looked at Liu Bige.
Liu Bige nodded to him as well. The meaning was the same, indicating to Lu Yanhe that Zhang Ruozhi was indeed good.
-
However, although Zhang Ruozhi is really suitable for this role, in Lu Yanhe's opinion, she is indeed a newcomer and can't act. Even a very simple shot exposes many problems.
Lu Yanhe pulled Zhang Ruozhi aside and said to her, "Ruozhi, you look very beautiful in the camera. Did you see it too?"
Zhang Ruozhi nodded somewhat embarrassedly.
She is very shy.
"But acting is not just about looking good. The first time I filmed a movie, I filmed The Golden Age directed by Luo Yuzhong. At that time, Director Luo told me that acting is not about playing yourself, but a reaction." Lu Yanhe combined the scene he just performed, "In that scene, you are the main perspective, because you are an adult recalling what happened in high school, right?"
Zhang Ruozhi nodded.
"So, if you look at the script, all the scenes between you and me are actually seen from your perspective." Lu Yanhe said, "Although you were wiping the blackboard with your back to me and writing the names of tomorrow's students on duty, when the camera was shooting at me, it would definitely include your silhouette or a certain part of me, because every shot in which I appear is a memory of you."
Zhang Ruozhi seemed to be thinking about something.
"So when you talked to me just now, and I talked to you, it wasn't actually two people talking from a normal, flat perspective, but it was all happening from your perspective." Lu Yanhe said, "When you say your lines, before and after you say them, you have to be aware that you are talking to me. Just now, you handled it very well at the beginning. Before you talked to me, you looked at me first and then asked me who would be on duty tomorrow. But after that, your lines and performance had nothing to do with me. You just waited for me to say my words, and then you said them smoothly. There was no communication between us."
Lu Yanhe took Zhang Ruozhi to watch the replay of the previous scene.
"Look, if you could pause for a moment and show surprise when you heard me asking you a question, after all, I rarely talk to you actively. In your eyes, I am actually a somewhat cold and quiet person. When I suddenly ask you a question, it would be more reasonable for you to give people a feeling of surprise, isn't it?" Lu Yanhe said with a smile.
"Actually..." Zhang Ruozhi hesitated to speak.
Lu Yanhe asked: "Actually what?"
"I don't know if Huai Jingshu has fallen in love with the boy with the same name as her, so I don't quite understand her feelings." Zhang Ruozhi said, "I'm always a little embarrassed to look at you. You asked me before if I had someone I liked and asked me to put myself in my shoes when I was facing someone I liked. When I was facing someone I liked, I didn't dare to look at him."
Lu Yanhe immediately understood what Zhang Ruozhi was thinking.
"So do you want to see him?"
"Hmm?" Zhang Ruozhi asked.
"That is, under normal circumstances, when you know that he is not looking at you and no one else is looking at you, would you want to secretly take a look at him?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Zhang Ruozhi nodded hesitantly, "Sometimes I take a sneak peek."
"So if a boy you like or you are somewhat curious about suddenly talks to you and asks you a question, would you also look at him at this time with a legitimate reason?"
Zhang Ruozhi put himself in the situation and nodded.
“Will you keep watching?”
"No." Zhang Ruozhi immediately shook his head.
"Yeah, that's it." Lu Yanhe said, "Actually, you are in this state right now."
Zhang Ruozhi came back to his senses, thoughtful.
After Lu Yanhe finished talking to Zhang Ruozhi, he gave her five minutes to think about it.
-
Liu Bige folded his arms across his chest and stood in the corridor with Lu Yanhe.
"Why did you suddenly think of filming such a story?" Liu Bige asked Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe said: "There is no special reason. I just wanted to shoot a story that could be started quickly, so I thought of this."
Liu Bige: "I haven't read such a...pure love story in a long time."
Lu Yanhe smiled.
Liu Bige: "Really, maybe it's because the times are different now. You can't see such a love story now. It would only be possible if it happened more than ten years ago. Your setting of time and space is really wonderful. You use a span of time to establish a natural sense of recollection, and it also makes it easy for people of my age to remember when they were in school."
Liu Bige looked at him suspiciously: "But, is this story based on you? Have you ever had a secret crush on someone?"
Lu Yanhe: "...The person I like is now with me. I don't need to make a movie to commemorate the person I secretly love."
Liu Bige: "After the movie is released, there will definitely be a lot of people who think this way. You should think carefully about how you are going to answer this question from the media."
Lu Yanhe said: "What can I answer? Did you make "Late Spring" because you once experienced such a youth?"
Liu Bige: "Everyone knows that this has an original story."
"That's not something Miao Yue has experienced either."
"Of course we know that the creation is fictional, but for many viewers, this is not the case," Liu Bige said. "It is always easy for people to take the stories written by the creators for granted as the stories that the creators themselves have experienced."
This is indeed a dilemma that many creators have to face.
-
This afternoon, everyone witnessed how nitpicking Lu Yanhe was about a shot.
In fact, starting from the third point, Zhang Ruozhi has already given a very good state.
She fully understood what Lu Yanhe said to her.
However, Lu Yanhe was not very satisfied with his condition.
He always felt that his acting was too expressionless.
However, this character really has no expression most of the time.
Lu Yanhe himself would find it difficult to play a role like this that has no lines most of the time.
Especially the version played by Takashi Kashiwabara that I remembered. The more I imitated it, the worse it got.
Even Liu Bigo could see his discomfort.
If we say that in the beginning it was Lu Yanhe cooperating with Zhang Ruozhi and helping Zhang Ruozhi find his form, then in the end it became Zhang Ruozhi helping Lu Yanhe find his form.
But Lu Yanhe was not in a hurry.
After filming so many scenes, Lu Yanhe has gradually gotten used to his own creative rhythm. The first scenes are always the most difficult to film because you can't find the right state, and you need to slowly adjust and slowly approach.
Lu Yanhe believed that he could find it.
After each take, Lu Yanhe and Zhang Ruozhi would pull Zhang Ruozhi to watch it on the monitor.
"No, it's still not right." This is a sentence that always pops up in Lu Yanhe's mind when he watches his own performance.
But no one except him knew what was wrong.
Liu Bige may know, but he doesn't say anything. On the set, he basically keeps silent. This is his respect for Lu Yanhe as a director. On other people's sets, you can't speak casually or make comments. This is not his crew, this is Lu Yanhe's crew. A crew only needs one voice.
In fact, Liu Bige also knew that there was something wrong with what Lu Yanhe was saying.
Lu Yanhe was looking for the state of him as a high school student who had developed some curiosity or affection for girls behind his taciturn image.
If you can't feel this implicit emotion from him, he will really be left with "expression paralysis".
At five o'clock in the afternoon, after shooting eight times, Lu Yanhe finally got a satisfactory shot and called for a pass.
knock off.
One shot, shot in an entire afternoon.
That’s not too long for a movie.
But eight takes was considered a lot. Because this shot was not a very difficult one, nor was it a very important one in the movie. In the initial design, this scene was not planned to take an entire afternoon. Zhao Yuheng was thinking about whether to change the shooting plan later.
According to Lu Yanhe's shooting method, it may not be possible to finish shooting the summer part in two weeks.
Of course, it’s okay even if it’s overdue. The summer vacation is so long that they rent the house for a month.
Lu Yanhe and the others left first.
The others packed up the things they were responsible for.
Everyone gathered together and started chatting.
"I feel that this little girl Zhang Ruozhi is quite talented in acting. She is really photogenic and looks good."
"Yes, she is really pretty. I think this girl will be very popular in the future."
"Don't you think about it? Lu Yanhe chose this one from so many newcomers. How could it not be good-looking?"
Wu Zhou packed the camera and turned to look at Bao Wenliang, who was sitting in the last row of chairs in the classroom smoking.
His camera was also confiscated.
"Brother Wenliang——"
"Have you packed up?" Bao Wenliang pointed at his camera. "Please help me pack up. I'm really tired. Damn, I shot one shot eight times. Is there any difference between them? I give up."
Wu Zhou smiled awkwardly and went forward to help him collect the equipment.
Bao Wenliang: "In fact, we could have finished the work long ago, but he insisted on dragging it out until now."
"It's not too late to finish work now. It's not even dark yet." Wu Zhou said, "It's much better than other crews."
Bao Wenliang: "Other crews work overtime because there are too many scenes to shoot. They have no choice but to do it. This scene took a whole day to shoot, and it's such a simple shot. Have you ever seen any crew shoot like this?"
Wu Zhou: "I don't understand either. I'm just a photographer."
"Old Bao, stop whining. We're going to finish work early today, so we're going to go out for a drink tonight. Do you want to come?"
"Let's go."
"Row."
Bao Wenliang said to Wu Zhou: "Xiao Wu, then help me take these back."
Wu Zhou nodded hesitantly and said "oh".
Bao Wenliang left with a few people.
Those who stayed in the classroom to finish the work were all young people from various departments. They were either assistants, apprentices, or juniors like Wu Zhou.
Wu Zhou and they looked at each other in bewilderment and smiled without saying a word.
Wu Zhou said, "If we don't have anything else to do after we get back, why don't we get together?"
Everyone else nodded and said yes.
-
Second update, 7,000 words, please vote. (End of this chapter)
