novellhall Chapter 21: The Test by Zhang Yimou
Chapter 21: The Test by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Weiping is still bragging there.
After listening for a while, Wei Yi got bored and began to shift his attention elsewhere.
First is Gong Li, who is sitting to his right.
Gong Li wore a cool black dress tonight.
The dress didn't have many decorations, but the cinched waist and bust design perfectly accentuated her figure.
Especially her full breasts, which looked larger than those of many women who had just given birth.
At first glance, Wei Yi's gaze was immediately drawn in.
He didn't realize what was happening until Gong Liwei turned her gaze towards him.
Wei Yi smiled politely at her, without feeling ashamed.
It's a common male trait: no matter how many breasts a man has seen, he still can't help but take a second look when he sees such a fresh and powerful weapon in front of him.
This is determined by a man's nature; he can't change it even if he wants to.
Even more deadly is...
[A celestial-grade cultivation vessel detected. The other party is a female cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Returning to Void Realm. This female cultivator possesses profound cultivation, being the first generation of the Joyful Union Sect's Walking Cauldron (the first generation of "Mou Girl"). She has already undergone numerous tribulations at overseas immortal mountains (international film festivals). Her current realm far exceeds the host's imagination. If the host can cultivate with her, their cultivation will surely increase greatly!]
At this moment.
Wei Yi really wanted to shout, "Holy crap, Cao Cao!"
Unfortunately, after he withdrew his gaze, the Emperor Gong simply gave him a polite smile.
That's all.
the next day.
It's almost the end of October.
It's still unbearably hot in Hengdian.
The film crew's residence for "Memories of Autumn," which later became the setting for "Curse of the Golden Flower," was currently in the final, frantic preparation phase before filming began.
The photography crew carried their equipment back and forth testing the lighting, while the art department squatted on the ground adjusting the set design of the chrysanthemum terrace.
The crew was yelling for people to move props, and the whole set was chaotic yet orderly, with everyone's feet barely touching the ground.
Wei Yi was the most out of place amidst all this busyness.
He held the titles of casting director and location scouting assistant, but he had no real power.
When Zhang Weiping was conducting nationwide casting calls, nobody called on him.
When Zhang Yi was scouting locations with his men, no one informed him of it.
This time, they called him back to the film crew, but they didn't assign him any work.
He arrived at the film set today and followed Li Hua around twice.
As for the rest of the time, in Li Hua's words, "You can do whatever you want from now on. Except for Director Zhang asking you to come, you don't need to worry about anything else."
Nobody really took him seriously.
Everyone in the production crew knew that this person was someone who had been forced into the production by connections at the Beijing Film Academy.
He's also an oddball who got a perfect score on the college entrance exam and chose to study at Beijing Film Academy over Tsinghua or Peking University.
Zhang Weiping thought so too.
The owner of New Pictures is one of the most marketing-savvy producers in the country.
He initially agreed to give Wei Yi this position purely out of respect for the group of old monsters at the Beijing Film Academy.
In his eyes, Wei Yi was just a bookworm who only knew how to study.
No matter how good you are at the college entrance exam, you're still a complete novice on a movie set.
However, Zhang Weiping is not stupid.
He was very clear about how deeply rooted the Beijing Film Academy was in the film and television industry.
It's not worth offending the entire Beijing Film Academy's top management for a mere kid, much less deliberately humiliating or provoking Wei Yi.
There's no money to be made.
Therefore, Lao Zhang's attitude towards Wei Yi was to completely ignore him.
I don't assign tasks, I don't pay attention to them, and I don't make things difficult for them.
Just treat him as a semi-invisible, idle person in the production crew, receiving a monthly salary on time, nothing more.
However, Zhang Yimou, another key figure in the crew, had a completely different idea.
Wei Yi had no idea that this top director, who came from a domestic photography background, had been hearing this so much lately that his ears were practically calloused.
First, it was Tian Erzhuang from the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy who called every few days.
He kept saying that Wei Yi was a once-in-a-century genius, and that his talent in photography was so great that it was as if the patriarch was constantly feeding him.
It's only right that you, Zhang Yimou, help train and cultivate him, since you, Old Zhang, are the best in the country in this regard.
Then there's Xie Xiaojin, who keeps implying that Wei Yi's sensitivity to the camera is better than many veteran photographers who have been working for decades.
The most exaggerated thing is tension.
Wei Yi arrived at the film set yesterday.
The fifth-generation director made two phone calls in a row.
Not only did Zhang Yi take good care of and mentor Wei Yi, but he also made it sound like a miracle that Wei Yi could use plain language to explain the scenes in the "Jinyiwei" crew and enable the actors to perform exceptionally well.
"Zhang Yimou, let me tell you, this kid is absolutely born to make movies! Mentor him well, and he'll definitely become a pillar of the Chinese directing world!"
Zhang Yi listened to Zhang Li's words on the phone, but he was somewhat unconvinced.
It's not that he doesn't believe in the character of his old classmates.
I just feel that they're being a bit too protective of their own, and they've overhyped the kid.
It's impressive for a kid who's just turned eighteen to get a perfect score on the college entrance exam, but movies are about the visuals, not test-taking skills.
Even if someone has some photography talent, how good can they be?
But after being bombarded with questions from his old classmates, Zhang Yi couldn't help but feel a little curious.
Zhang Weiping ignored Wei Yi.
On the contrary, Zhang Yimou now wants to personally test Wei Yi, who is treated like a treasure by the Beijing Film Academy, to see just how much real skill he actually possesses.
Let's see if this kid is worthy of the title "genius" that his old classmates are talking about.
He even harbored some thoughts in his heart—
If this kid turns out to be a fraud, then we can give our old classmates a good slap in the face later.
Let's see if they dare to brag like that again.
So, just around noon, Wei Yi was called to the monitor by Zhang Yi's assistant.
Zhang Yi was sitting in a chair, holding a storyboard in her hand. She looked up at him, her tone flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.
"Xiao Wei, I've got you some work to do."
Wei Yi, who had been idle all morning, stopped and nodded slightly: "Director Zhang, please speak."
"The chrysanthemum terrace set in the western corner of the Ming and Qing Palace Garden is basically finished. At noon today, go and shoot a set of empty shots to show the oppressive feeling of the palace and the texture of the chrysanthemum terrace. The post-production special effects team will need them for reference."
As soon as Zhang Yi finished speaking, Zhang Weiping, who was standing next to him, paused for a moment, and then laughed.
He assumed that Old Zhang was just bored and was giving this person with connections some trivial tasks to keep him from getting in the way on set.
But Zhao Xiaoding, the photography director next to him and also a senior from the Beijing Film Academy, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
He looked at Zhang Yimou and wondered what Old Zhang was up to.
Midday overhead sunlight?
This is a major no-no for outdoor photography!
Especially when shooting large-scale establishing shots like this, with the midday sun hitting directly down.
The light was so harsh it was like stone; the bright areas were overexposed, and the dark areas were completely black, making it impossible to capture any sense of light and shadow.
Let alone ordinary photographers, even top-notch directors of photography
I wouldn't dare say I could shoot usable empty shots under the midday sun, let alone convey the oppressive feeling of the palace.
This is simply an impossible task.
Zhao Xiaoding wanted to say something, but Zhang Yi stopped him with a look.
Wei Yi had no idea what the inner monologues were between the two of them.
To be honest, his actual photography skills are only slightly better than those of a complete novice.
It's roughly equivalent to the level of an amateur photographer who has just started learning photography.
He didn't quite understand that Zhang Yimou's seemingly ordinary request was actually an extremely difficult problem in the photography world.
However, he didn't intend to film honestly.
He has cheat codes.
Then just take the picture.
"Okay, I'll go right away."
Wei Yi took the camera from the assistant and nodded: "Okay, Director Zhang, I'll go shoot now and bring the footage back this afternoon."
After saying that, he turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
Watching his retreating figure, Zhang Weiping pursed his lips, not taking it seriously.
Zhang Yi watched his retreating figure, tapping her fingers lightly on the table, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.
Huh? Is this what a genius is like?
They set themselves such a big problem.
Without even asking a question, they just grabbed their equipment and went to shoot?