"Three, two, one—Happy start of filming for the Yuya production team!"
Following the instructions of the filming crew, everyone shouted slogans together.
After filming wrapped, the people who had gathered gradually dispersed.
Xiao He walked up to Liu Rulan and walked to the side with her.
Once the crowd had thinned out a bit, Xiao He sighed, "Sigh, Director Yan is probably in trouble this time."
Liu Rulan was quite optimistic: "Then you don't need to worry about him. It's better for the director to create buzz for the crew than to go nowhere. Besides, good looks are definitely a big selling point. Maybe the later publicity will also lean towards this. It's not bad to reserve this label in advance now."
Although many people look down on dramas starring handsome men and beautiful women, thinking their acting is terrible and the plots are stupid, it is undeniable that such dramas are still very popular in most cases.
Everyone hates a world where looks matter, but when we encounter attractive people or things, we can't help but take a second look; that's human nature.
Nowadays, if a film crew uses a high-颜值 (good-looking) gimmick, the cast's attractive appearance will inevitably attract many new viewers.
In this situation, as long as new users are attracted, the promotion will definitely be successful.
Liu Rulan felt that this was also why Zhuang Hongyi did not interrupt Yan Shaohan.
That's how it'll be promoted eventually, so Yan Shaohan's statement makes sense.
Xiao He could only shrug: "I'm not worried. With him around, he can at least help me share the burden."
Although he had gotten used to it, he didn't care too much about the voices from the outside world.
"Indeed," Liu Rulan remarked. "You little rascal, you managed to escape again this time."
Xiao He glanced at her sideways: "If it's not Sister Liu, why do you sound like you're quite disappointed?"
Liu Rulan blinked: "I didn't."
"Really not?"
"No!"
"snort--"
...
When Xiao He arrived at the film set after finishing his makeup, he found that Xiao He was the first one there.
Yan Shaohan was still adjusting the props on set, directing the prop master to move several bookshelves that served as the background to the side.
"Didn't I already say that the color was wrong? Why wasn't it replaced?"
Yan Shaohan pointed to a tablecloth behind the backdrop, his tone serious.
The prop masters looked at each other in bewilderment.
One of the prop masters whispered, "Director Yan, Director Zhuang came to see that tablecloth before, but he didn't say anything—"
"Then don't listen to him, change it now."
As Yan Shaohan spoke, he looked down at his watch. "There's still time. Go and replace it for me now. This red one is really ugly. Go find a green one."
"But--"
"Go quickly."
Yan Shaohan stared at the prop master with an unprecedentedly serious expression. "If the tablecloth doesn't arrive, we can't film. We'll wait for you to come back."
Props maker: "..."
The prop master cursed inwardly, but ultimately didn't dare to talk back to Yan Shaohan, and turned and jogged away.
Only then did Yan Shaohan see Xiao He approaching.
"Xiao He, you're here. Please have a seat and let me adjust the situation a bit more."
Yan Shaohan said with a troubled look on his face, "I don't know what's wrong with these guys. Have they been too busy lately? The places I asked them to fix last night are still not done. Now it will take more time. It's really troublesome."
Xiao He: "...Haha, I have been very busy lately."
This director seems stricter than I imagined.
Xiao He stood aside and observed for a while, then suddenly his eye started twitching.
Suddenly, he remembered the first time he and Liu Rulan met Director Yan. At that time, they watched as Director Yan fiddled with the positions of the props for a long time...
Now they're focusing on the details of the props and set design; in a little while...
Xiao He had a strange, ominous premonition.
As the actors for the first scene arrived one after another, Yan Shaohan opened his eyes wide and stared intently at Yuan Sitong and the others: "What's wrong with your makeup?"
The first scene wasn't performed in chronological order; instead, a simpler scene was chosen as a warm-up, although some actors needed to have old-age makeup applied first.
Since the main characters were mostly elderly in the first part of the series and only became younger later on, it would be too jarring to directly hire older actors to play the roles of the younger actors, and it would also waste a lot of extra money in compensation. Therefore, Zhuang Hongyi directly invited people from a special effects makeup studio to do appropriate on-screen makeup for the actors.
The actors were aware of this beforehand, and had already undergone makeup trials two weeks prior, allowing the special effects makeup team to make adjustments and finalize the results.
Everything had been arranged perfectly.
So what's going on with Yuan Sitong's and the other people's makeup?
Wearing a silver wig and adding some wrinkles makes you look like an old person?
Why don't you go cosplay?
Yan Shaohan asked directly, "Did you request this makeup change yourself, or did the makeup artist do it this way for you?"
Old-age makeup is a very important part. After all, the characters are all elderly people at the beginning. If the makeup isn't done well, what are the viewers watching? Something that's offensive to their eyes?
The makeup on these people was so fake it couldn't be more fake. They seemed completely unwilling to give up their own beauty and insisted on being the youngest and most handsome among the elderly.
Not to mention Yan Shaohan, even Xiao He felt a ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) wave of dizziness when he saw the perfunctory makeup of these people.
This makeup is so sloppy! With such fake old-age makeup, people will think our production team ran out of money when we show it off!
Yuan Sitong was somewhat embarrassed.
There was no way around it; the old-age makeup was just so incredibly ugly! She simply couldn't accept transforming herself from a stunning beauty into that appearance! What if she lost fans after the photos were released? Her looks were her winning formula—
"Did the makeup artist take the money and not do the job? Holy crap, how can there be such a person? Taking the money and not doing their job properly? Taking the money and not doing the work, and then acting all high and mighty, it's outrageous! This kind of person should be kicked out of the crew!"
Before Yuan Sitong could speak, Yan Shaohan continued to speak, but the implication of his words felt off, as if he was indirectly criticizing her.
"Did the makeup artist give you a hard time? Come on, I'll help you get back at her. Don't worry, I'll definitely be on your side—"
As he spoke, Yan Shaohan was about to drag the person to confront the makeup artist.
"Hey, Director Yan, this might be a communication problem we had before."
Tang Lijuan hadn't expected that her artist would make another foolish mistake after only a short while. She quickly rushed over to appease Yan Shaohan before things got worse: "After all, it's a team that Director Zhuang found, so their abilities must be quite impressive. There might have been a communication problem between the two parties. Let's go back and talk to the makeup artist again, finish it as soon as possible, and come back as soon as possible so as not to delay you. Is that alright?"
Yan Shaohan frowned and glanced at his watch. Remembering the tablecloth change, he was quite agreeable: "Okay, hurry up. If there's a communication problem with the makeup artists, I'll go talk to them—"
"No need, no need, I'll handle the communication."
Tang Lijuan forced a smile, then quickly turned around and called to her little darling to hurry back.
Her expression was one of utter despair. She lowered her voice and whispered to Yuan Sitong, "My goodness, it hasn't been long since you deliberately arrived late for the reading session to sleep in! You'd better keep a low profile and behave yourself these days! If Director Yan complains, we'll really be kicked out of the crew."
Yuan Sitong didn't care much: "Let him complain. Anyway, my dad knows Zhuang Hongyi. It's just a matter of saying hello. He can't do anything to me."
Tang Lijuan was speechless, but too embarrassed to say it directly. She could only think to herself, "Know him? So what? I could say I know the richest man, and then would he do me a favor?"
...
Several hours later, the crew, having finally finished their preparations, was finally able to begin filming.
Seeing that Yuan Sitong had become more low-key and honest after returning, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Okay, it seems there won't be any more problems with the rest of the filming...
However, to everyone's utter surprise, this was only the beginning of a nightmare—
"Cut! Yuan Sitong, what kind of look is that? Is that how you look at an old friend you haven't seen for days? Tone it down, don't be so exaggerated. Although we are adapting a comic book, we don't need exaggerated cartoonish acting."
"Hey you, where were you standing just now? Didn't you remember where you were standing? You were blocking the people behind you! Make way, make way—"
"Crack! Xiao He, what's with that smile? Don't smile like that. A forced smile with muscles sticking out at the corners of your mouth looks really fake, don't you know that?"
"Hey, Sister Xinya, your left sleeve is wrinkled, quickly fix it a bit..."
Yan Shaohan is usually quiet and cheerful on set. His speech and behavior make him seem like a low-EQ college student who hasn't experienced the harsh realities of life, and he even seems a bit immature. Many people don't take it seriously that he is the director.
But no one expected that once Yan Shaohan got into filming mode, his expression and demeanor changed completely. His work attitude became so serious that it was almost obsessive-compulsive!
In just one afternoon of filming, there were more than sixty takes!
More than sixty times! Do you know how I got through those sixty-odd times?
Even though he was just a background figure, he stood there for a whole afternoon!
Once he was sure he could rest, Xiao He slumped into his chair, his mind blank, not wanting to say a word.
— Haha, his previous concern for Director Yan was just a joke.
Are they trying to give Director Yan a hard time?
Let's focus on staying alive first!
