sovbooks Chapter 9 A Different Understanding
Chapter 9 A Different Understanding
"Okay! Click!"
Yu Min peeked out from behind the monitor, a rare look of satisfaction on her face.
"This one passed, not bad."
Lin Hao snapped out of his daze with Zhen Zhibing and let out a long sigh.
The "Realistic and Indistinguishable from Reality" tier at 1500 per episode is indeed impressive.
He barely needed to adjust his state during the scene just now; the system's support allowed him to perfectly capture every micro-expression of the character.
Yu Min beckoned to him, "Xiao Lin, come here."
Lin Hao jogged over.
"You don't have any scenes tomorrow, so take a day off." Yu Min paused after saying that, then added, "But don't go too far. Huang Xiaoming is coming later, so watch him closely and learn from him. He's a professionally trained actor, a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, so his acting skills are very solid."
"Understood, Director."
Lin Hao nodded, but he had already started making plans in his mind.
Huang Xiaoming.
In 04, Huang Xiaoming was at the height of his career.
He rose to fame overnight with "The Emperor of Han Dynasty". Handsome, sunny and with good acting skills, he was one of the most popular young male actors in mainland China at the time.
Being able to observe him act up close is indeed a rare learning opportunity.
Although Lin Hao had ten years of experience from his previous life as a foundation, that experience was mostly "unorthodox."
The sense of rhythm and composure that actors with formal training possess in front of the camera is something that self-taught actors can hardly match.
There's no harm in watching and learning more.
Huang Xiaoming arrived shortly afterward.
He's even taller than on TV, over 1.8 meters tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes; he exudes a protagonist's aura the moment he steps onto the set.
She was accompanied by an assistant and agent, her entourage far surpassing that of Lin Hao, a "low-level supporting actor" who started with 800 yuan.
Lin Hao silently did some calculations.
Huang Xiaoming's salary for filming "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is unknown to him, but based on the market rate for leading actors in 2004, it should start at 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per episode.
And what about Lin Hao?
It started at 800, then rose to 1500.
The difference is roughly... about twenty times.
Comparing people is a recipe for disaster; comparing goods is a recipe for discarding them.
But it's okay.
This is only temporary.
Once he establishes a successful model of "profiting from the middleman's markup," his salary will eventually catch up with those of top-tier actors.
Looking back on these days when you start with 800 yuan, it should seem quite interesting.
However, Huang Xiaoming himself is not at all pretentious.
Upon arrival, he first greeted the director, then nodded to each member of the crew, and smiled and nodded when he saw Lin Hao.
Although we didn't know each other, we still showed basic courtesy.
Filming began soon after.
Today we're filming a scene in an ancient tomb, depicting the daily interactions between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu.
Specifically, it's the part where Yang Guo sleeps on the cold jade bed and Xiaolongnu sleeps on a rope.
Liu Yifei changed into the white dress of Little Dragon Girl, and lightly flipped onto the rope, her figure as supple as a white cat.
Huang Xiaoming lay on the prop jade bed, dressed in gray clothes with his hair loose.
The two of them look really good together.
The static composition alone already evokes the atmosphere of martial arts.
The stage manager made the decision.
"Scene 23, Line 1, Begin!"
Yang Guo lay on the cold jade bed, turned his head to look at Xiaolongnu on the rope, and slowly spoke.
"Auntie, this jade bed is so cold. Does sleeping on it really increase internal strength?"
Xiaolongnu lowered her eyes and spoke in a detached tone.
"Of course, if you feel cold, then don't go to sleep."
"No, no, no, I don't mind the cold, I was just asking out of curiosity..."
"Click!"
Yu Min called a halt.
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
This is only the first take! They've only said a few lines, why did they cut it?
"Let's start over." Yu Min's expression was unreadable; she simply uttered those two words calmly.
Huang Xiaoming and Liu Yifei exchanged a glance, both somewhat confused, but said nothing and returned to their starting positions.
The stage manager made a new decision.
"Scene 23, Line 2, Begin!"
This time, the two were clearly more attentive. Huang Xiaoming's tone carried a hint of youthful curiosity and innocence, while Liu Yifei added a touch of concern beneath her cool demeanor.
"Auntie, this jade bed..."
"Click! Let's try again!"
Before Liu Yifei could finish her lines, Yu Min called for a stop.
The atmosphere at the scene began to become subtle.
The third one, click.
Fourth, click.
The fifth one is still "click".
By the time they got to the seventh item, Huang Xiaoming had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
He genuinely didn't understand what went wrong.
The lines were delivered perfectly, the emotions were conveyed effectively, and the facial expressions, movements, tone of voice... everything was flawless.
But Yu Min was still not satisfied.
Liu Yifei also panicked a little and subconsciously looked at Liu Xiaoli beside her. Liu Xiaoli was equally confused and could only reassure her daughter with her eyes.
Article 8: Yu Min finally didn't call "cut," but she also didn't say it.
He remained silent for a long time before finally taking off his hat and scratching his head.
"That's enough for today. You two go back and read the original story again. We'll reshoot tomorrow."
Huang Xiaoming: "..."
Liu Yifei: "..."
The original work? They've already read it.
The script is adapted from the original work, and all the lines are from the book.
What flowers can you see if you look at it again?
The surrounding staff and other actors looked at each other and whispered among themselves.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know, but I felt she acted quite well."
"What's wrong with the director? Is he in a bad mood today?"
"No, he seemed quite happy when he praised Xiaolin just now."
Only Lin Hao sat in the corner, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Others didn't know why Yu Min kept yelling "Cut!", but he did.
Because in his previous life he had read too many interpretations of Jin Yong's novels.
Especially regarding Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu, many in-depth interpretations suggest that their relationship was far from as simple and beautiful as it appeared on the surface.
Yu Min is an ambitious director.
He didn't want to make a generic martial arts idol drama; he wanted to capture the essence of the original novel, "The Return of the Condor Heroes," hidden behind the words.
The unseen subplot between Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu.
On the surface, it's a story of deep teacher-student affection and unwavering love until death, but if you really read the original text word by word, you'll discover many chilling details upon closer examination.
When Yang Guo first arrived at the Ancient Tomb, he was just a teenager.
Xiaolongnu left him in the ancient tomb, ostensibly to take him as her disciple, but upon closer examination, it's quite a stretch to think that an adult woman would confine a minor boy in a secluded underground environment, preventing him from leaving and having any contact with the outside world.
What's this called?
To put it nicely, it's called good manners.
To put it bluntly...
Moreover, was Yang Guo's initial feeling for Xiaolongnu truly "love"?
Or is it a dependence on a single contact object that arises in a long-term closed environment?
Learn about Stockholm Syndrome.
What Yu Min wanted was to add this layer of gray to the actors' performances.
There's no need to say it explicitly; you just need to let the audience vaguely sense that something is amiss through their eyes, their tone of voice, and those subtle pauses and hesitations.
That's what a high-level performance looks like.
But this understanding was too profound and too subversive, so as a director, he couldn't directly tell the actors, "The love story you're acting out is actually a form of imprisonment."
If this gets out, what will become of us?
Jin Yong fans could tear the film crew apart.
So he could only repeatedly yell "cut" and let the actors figure it out themselves.
Unfortunately, Huang Xiaoming and Liu Yifei haven't grasped that level yet.
As Lin Hao was thinking, a white figure walked over.
Liu Yifei.
Her face was filled with confusion and anxiety.
Anyone would panic if the director made them do eight takes in a row.
"Brother Lin Hao, do you know why the director keeps yelling 'Cut'?"
She saw Lin Hao's "I understand everything" expression.
During her time on set, she had already experienced Lin Hao's abilities firsthand.
This person may not be very reliable in words, but their understanding of the character is ridiculously profound.
Lin Hao glanced at her, then at Liu Xiaoli, who was eyeing him menacingly not far away, and carefully considered his words.
Are you sure you really want to know?