On the film set.
The middle-aged professor sitting in the car felt inexplicably uneasy.
He swiped β ππ¨π―ππ₯π’π π‘π β the virtual screen in front of him, his gaze wandering for a moment as if staring blankly at something, before continuing to swipe the empty electronic screen.
Just then, an urgent email notification jumped off my wrist and landed back on the virtual screen, glowing with a warning red light.
γAn urgent reminder from China's top scientific and technological institution, please acknowledge receipt.γ
"Knock knock".
There was a sound outside the car, but the professor didn't turn around. He simply pushed up his glasses, preparing to open them and check.
Unexpectedly, the entire car he was sitting in shook, as if something had fallen onto the roof.
βBut that's not right. This is a hovercar traveling at high speed. How could something fall on the roof?
The professor shifted his gaze from the screen to the view outside the window.
Unfortunately, it's a cloudy day today. With severe pollution in cities these days, the overcast sky not only creates a hazy atmosphere but also brings with it constantly reflected light pollution, making it feel very oppressive. It's as if something ominous is about to break through human boundaries and burst forth from the depths of the smogβ
However, it didn't happen.
The hovercar slowly came to a stop at its destination, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.
The professor breathed a sigh of relief, opened the car door to get out, but found that the door wouldn't budge no matter how many times he tried to open it.
"that--"
The professor looked up, wanting to alert the system in front of him, but was suddenly horrified to discover that the driver's seat, which should have been driverless, was now occupied by another person without anyone noticing.
He was the kind of person who would inexplicably send chills down your spine at first glance.
The other person had extremely good features and a handsome appearance, even more so than perfect, with a mask-like refinement that seemed detached from human life. His eyes were also dark and deep, but there was no emotion flowing through them. He was like a machine without any thoughts, silently recording the scene and people in front of him.
An indescribable danger surged into people's minds.
Sometimes, human intuition is more accurate than that of machines.
With just a glance across the distance, the prey already sensed impending doom.
But it was too late.
As he raised his hand to press the defensive device on his body, a bloody hole suddenly appeared between his forehead.
The person in the driver's seat had already raised the dark barrel of a gun and pointed it at himβ
The professor's pupils reflected only the mechanical arm that was integrated with the gun, exuding a sense of technology that far surpassed current technology, and his heart was filled with fear and despair.
The next moment, the person who was still alive was instantly stripped of all vitality, slumped weakly in the back seat, letting blood flow continuously from the blood hole in the center of his forehead.
Almost immediately, blood flowed down the corpse's body and spread to other parts of the seat.
In the deathly silent space, a slightly pausing mechanical sound rang out. The person in the driver's seat changed their right arm again, and then a mechanical hand with a cold metallic sheen reached out to the seat next to the corpse and picked up the briefcase next to the corpse.
The man then opened the car door and drove away silently.
Just as he had arrived, he vanished completely into the smog...
-
"Click!"
Xiao He stood in front of the car door, dragging his somewhat heavy mechanical arm. An assistant immediately ran over to take his "arm," but Xiao He politely declined.
He walked to the director's monitor, watched the situation on the big screen with the director, and then waited for He Jinnian's reply.
This scene depicts the first appearance of Assassin A.
Because this scene directly establishes his important villainous aura and status in the entire film, it had to be filmed very carefully. In addition, this was Xiao He's first time wearing this prop version of the mechanical arm, so everyone was quite nervous, worried about the performance while also hoping the scene could be filmed smoothly in one take.
Fortunately, a few minutes later, He Jinnian smiled and nodded to Xiao He: "It's okay."
"yeah!"
Outside the venue, all the staff breathed a sigh of relief, their faces showing more ease.
The first scene of the shoot was completed in one take, which was a good omen for everyone. The actor playing the "professor" who was slumped in the car got out of the car, smiled and accepted the red envelope handed to him by He Jinnian. At the same time, he said to Xiao He, "Not bad, young man, your acting is good. I feel like you are a bit like a robot."
Especially the exaggerated rotation of his head and the low-frequency blinking of his eyes, Xiao He's portrayal of Killer A truly gives off a non-human feeling devoid of any emotion.
It's not the aloof and cool expression that people make when they deliberately imitate machines; rather, it's the eerie and exquisite feeling of a mechanical face that always maintains a stiffness and perfect curve, which inexplicably gives people a sense of dread.
βSimilar to the uncanny valley effect.
In other words, when robots or dolls are too similar to humans, they can evoke feelings of fear and dread in humans.
Xiao He grasped this point perfectly.
Furthermore, in order to highlight the "perfection" of the robot, Xiao He's makeup this time is more exquisite than the makeup of all his previous roles, and even has a somewhat androgynous feel. Combined with Xiao He's inhuman acting skills, people will not be amazed by his "beauty", but will first feel a fear of excessive perfection.
This also aligns with one of the main themes of "Time Standoff": when humanity excessively pursues immortality and perfection, will they still subconsciously fear immortality and perfection?
Of course, these are not the most important factors.
After confirming that there were no problems with the footage, Xiao He put down the mechanical props he was holding.
While watching the filming content, Xiao He was also subtly observing He Jinnian's directing skills.
Although the script has been accepted and filming has begun, no one really knows how capable He Jinnian is.
Xiao He still wanted to ascertain He Jinnian's true abilities and confirm whether he could complete the rest of the filming.
Fortunately, so far, there seems to be no fault with He Jinnian.
Xiao He was temporarily relieved and began to study the mechanical arm in his hand.
This robotic arm wasn't custom-made at Xiao Huang's main factory. It had already been customized back in July, but Xiao He only tried it on once and didn't study it again. Now that he was officially filming, he could finally tinker with this prop arm properly.
To be honest, Xiao He wasn't very satisfied with the quality of this robotic arm.
Because this mechanical prop covers the entire arm, meaning it is applied directly to the arm rather than replacing it out of thin air, the finished product must fit the actor's arm perfectly. The size cannot be too exaggerated, otherwise it will give the impression of disproportionate limbs, making it look fake and distracting.
So, although this robotic arm looks like a lump of iron with a metallic sheen, it is actually very light. The actual touch feels more like a flimsy sheet of iron, and it feels like it would deform if you bent it.
Perhaps this is the difference between what's on screen and what's off screen.
