This fight scene took two whole days to film.
Normally, the workload wouldn't be this heavy when you first join a production, but unfortunately, Xiao He joined the production too late. The rest of the filming had already finished, and they were preparing to go to G Province to film the main storyline in the Northwest. So Xiao He had to grit his teeth and finish filming this fight scene.
Fortunately, Xiao He is no longer the fragile college student he once was. Otherwise, even something as simple as chopping a melon would have caused Xiao He's tenosynovitis and frozen shoulder to develop completely after two days of filming.
Because "The Thief 2" also needs to be released in theaters, scenes that are too bloody may be subject to censorship. Therefore, Xiao He's bone-scraping knife technique is not as bloody as in the first film. It is mainly used to take one's own life. In the battle at the inn, where the main purpose is to save oneself and escape, Shen Jue mostly kills with one blow, instead of scraping the bones like in the first film.
However, despite this, Shen Jue's main combat system and fighting style are quite different from other characters. Xiao He's ability to portray the character so skillfully is truly due to the cheat code given by the system.
Soon, all the scenes in front of the burning inn were filmed.
The crew then began to change props and dismantle the inn's buildings, spending a whole day adjusting it to a "ruin" state. Then, Jiang Rushuai, played by Pu Rong, appeared and began to investigate in the ruins.
Once Jiang Rushuai's storyline is complete, the last bit of plot will also be finished.
After filming all the scenes in Shanghai, the crew of "The Thief 2" boarded a plane and officially flew to G Province.
Located in Northwest China, Province G is situated at the intersection of three major plateaus and was a key section of the ancient Silk Road. Its scenery combines snow-capped mountains and Gobi deserts, showcasing both grandeur and magnificence, and exuding the vastness and ancient charm of Northwest China.
This area also contains many ancient border fortresses, making it a popular filming location for period dramas. In particular, the desert and Gobi landscape, with its abandoned border fortress ruins, evokes countless poems and verses, giving viewers a sense of the desolate grandeur of a border town at sunset and the lone smoke rising from the desert.
However, the filming schedule they chose was really torturous.
At this time, G province had already entered winter, with large temperature differences between day and night. The daytime temperature was only a few degrees Celsius, and there were occasional strong winds and light snow. Although the actors' makeup season was also set for early autumn, their costumes were mostly simple, not so complicated or warm, and mainly focused on flexibility and aesthetics.
So the actors still couldn't help but tremble during filming.
"Whoosh, whoosh—"
Pu Rong, wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat, breathed on his hands to warm them and rubbed them together. He looked up at the tents set up behind him every now and then, his face filled with anticipation: "I wonder how long it will take before the heating is brought in. It's freezing here. I should have gone back to the car to warm up first."
Even Xiao He, who was wearing a down jacket, couldn't help but stomp his feet and sniffle, trying his best not to let his crystal diamonds fall out.
Unfortunately, he does possess the incredible ability of 【Recovery+】, but cold is like a tiny insect burrowing into the bones—it's impossible to guard against. He can only guarantee that he won't catch a cold, but that doesn't mean he won't feel cold.
Compared to the disheveled state of Pu Rong and Xiao He, Qu Qiuyan, who was sitting by the fire, was much calmer.
In fact, Qu Qiuyan was dressed less than Pu Rong and Xiao He, but perhaps because she had more experience in keeping warm, and because of her seniority, she performed much better than the two of them. Apart from occasionally turning her palms over to make the heat on her hands more even, she did not make any other unnecessary movements.
Seemingly noticing Pu Rong and Xiao He's gazes, Qu Qiuyan took the initiative to share her tips on keeping warm with them.
"Here, here, you can put a heat pack on, and also this on your back—these are important acupoints."
Qu Qiuyan briefly demonstrated the heat packs on their bodies to the two of them, carefully explaining which areas to place the heat packs on to keep them warmer and increase their body temperature. Finally, she pointed out a few acupoints to Xiao He and Pu Rong, telling them that they could press and rub these points when they felt cold, which would promote blood circulation and help their bodies warm up more quickly.
They've even incorporated traditional Chinese medicine!
Xiao He thanked his senior for sharing his experience, but he was still skeptical about acupressure, so he silently pressed the acupressure points for a while.
Before long, Xiao He found that, whether it was psychological or the acupoint was really working, he actually started to feel less cold.
"Huh? It really works? That's amazing!"
Pu Rong also exclaimed in surprise.
Qu Qiuyan had a tense face and looked somewhat serious, but it was obvious that her eyebrows and eyes had softened, and she seemed to be in a good mood.
"That's great. Now I'll have more experience to handle filming in the snowy mountains later."
Xiao He thanked Qu Qiuyan again.
"Brother Xiao, are you going to film in the snowy mountains again?"
Pu Rong was a little curious, and Qu Qiuyan also looked over.
"Yes, that's right." Xiao He nodded. "After we finish filming here, I'll be heading over to film soon."
"My goodness, you're so busy."
Pu Rong was somewhat taken aback.
Xiao He was truly the most ambitious and hardworking young man he knew.
Qu Qiuyan asked with some curiosity, "Which film crew?"
"The Red Path to Snow Ridge" is directed by Yang Li.
Xiao He replied.
"Oh, this film crew—"
Qu Qiuyan frowned slightly, as if she had thought of something, and finally nodded, "Director Yang Li is indeed a very good director, but... he can be a bit inflexible at times. If you really have snow mountain scenes, then it will probably be quite tough. You can prepare /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ more equipment and pay attention to keeping warm, especially your arms, shoulders, knees, and waist."
As she spoke, she couldn't help but pat her waist: "This is an occupational hazard in our line of work. You are still young, so you must take good care of yourselves."
Pu Rong also subconsciously clutched his waist and sighed, "Indeed, let alone that we are still young, my waist is already not doing so well."
Those who frequently film action scenes know that many action scenes require wire work, and most of the power of wire work is concentrated in the waist. In other words, when flying around in the air, the waist is often the source of power, and the waist is even needed to stabilize the body and keep the person upright in the air to prevent them from flying around in mid-air. Whether it is flipping in the air, diving quickly, or landing while hovering, the weight and inertial impact of the whole body will be concentrated on the lumbar spine and back muscles.
Therefore, if you want to film action scenes with smooth movements and light body, you often have to rely on the strength of your waist to hold on.
As a result, most actors who film year-round have back problems.
This is an intractable chronic strain problem unless I retire from the industry.
Xiao He touched his waist, thankful that his cheat code was powerful enough.
Just as the veteran and junior actors were discussing occupational hazards, shouts from the other side of the tent came from the crew: "They're here, they're here—"
Pu Rong's eyes lit up: "What's here? Is the heating on?!"
The three of them looked over at the same time.
