My Artist Is Reborn

Chapter 152 – Set

Pei Ran’s eyes also fell on Chu Mei Bo and Guo Wenyuan. The eyes of both parties met in the air and they nodded slightly to each other.

Originally, the other actors and the staff at the scene were watching Chu Mei Bo and Guo Wenyuan’s audition, but after Pei Ran appeared, many people secretly looked at him. They thought he was the younger generation of the Shen family, because he was young, good-looking and dignified.

Several actors, who were about the same age as Song Yimian, secretly asked about him. Song Yimian knew that Pei Ran was a new artist signed by Shen Huai, but he was not sure if he could say it now, so he had to falter and muddle through it. However, his attitude made the other side more convinced that the identity of this teenager was not simple.

Shen Huai didn’t disturb Director Xie. Because someone called him, he asked Pei Ran and Song Yimian to stay at the studio.

Pei Ran didn’t care, he just looked at the set curiously. Compared with his memory, it was both unfamiliar and familiar, which evoked a feeling of nostalgia.

Song Yimian looked at Pei Ran’s beautiful profile and immediately forgot the pressure Pei Ran put on him in the car. Instead, he had the consciousness of being a senior brother. He walked over and patted Pei Ran on the shoulder. “Junior Pei, you will follow me for a while. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me.”

Pei Ran was slightly shocked, but seeing Song Yimian’s serious expression, his eyebrows and eyes bent up. “Alright, then I’ll trouble you.”

Song Yimian nodded heavily and carefully took him behind Director Xie. This spot was the best in the whole audience, and one could still see a clear picture in the monitor.

Although Song Yimian only acted a small role in the movie, he had stayed in the crew for such a long time, learning and helping them do some work at the same time.

Director Xie appreciated him as a diligent and progressive young man. He occasionally guided him and even acquiesced him to stand behind him to watch the other actors’ performance. As a result, this spot became Song Yimian’s exclusive possession. However, considering it was Pei Ran’s first day here, he let him take his place.

Director Xie also noticed Pei Ran behind him and knew he was brought in by Shen Huai. Previously, Shen Huai had specially called him to talk about it. However, Director Xie didn’t expect that the child was so good-looking. Moreover, as a film director, his definition of good-looking was not that kind of rigid good-looks, but those looks full of aura, which were very suitable for the large screen.

Director Xie sighed. He didn’t know where Shen Huai had dug up these seedlings from. His vision and luck simply defied the heavens.

However, Director Xie quickly regained his mind and was absorbed in the shooting.

“Start shooting!” he shouted.

The atmosphere in the whole studio immediately changed from that of chatter to a professional one in a matter of seconds, and only the sound of machines working could be heard at the quiet scene.

Director Xie sat in front of the monitor, his eyes fixed on the camera.

Pei Ran looked at the unfamiliar and familiar scene in front of him that evoked a feeling of nostalgia in his heart. He walked lightly behind Director Xie and stared at the monitor just like him.

In this scene, a branch of the underground party was found by the neon army. Cheng Yanxin helped the surviving underground party members to escape, but let some flaws slip. Yokota took the evidence to confront Cheng Yanxin. Cheng Yanxin was not afraid in the face of danger and dispelled Yokota’s doubts.

The camera followed behind Chu Mei Bo as she slowly walked into the room, then turned from her back to the front.

Cheng Yanxin was wearing a delicate cheongsam, but her face was a little tired. She put her handbag on the table and went to the dressing table. However, when she walked two steps, she seemed to realize something. Her steps paused, but soon continued acting as if nothing had happened. She sat directly in front of the dressing table, raised her hand and began removing her earrings.

A close-up shot focused on her face. Her expression seemed casual, but her chin was taut and her eyes were slightly drooping, she was scanning the corners of the room in the mirror of the dresser.

The performance of this scene was very delicate, and the requirements for the actress were very high. In the current movie circle, such close-up shots were usually made up after a long shot. However, Chu Mei Bo was so excellent that Director Xie directly took the high demand approach. Fortunately, Chu Mei Bo never let him down.

At this time Song Yimian had forgotten his original intention to take care of Pei Ran. His eyes were fixed on Chu Mei Bo, and he silently pondered over it in his heart.

However, Pei Ran’s eyes turned away from the monitor and looked at the movie set. He whispered, “What a pity…”

His voice was as low as a whisper, and only Song Yimian heard it. He turned his head and looked at Pei Ran questioningly.

At the same time, Director Xie frowned. “Cut!”

Song Yimian’s expression changed from doubt to shock. “You…”

Pei Ran’s eyes fell on the close-up camera and still whispered, “There was a problem with the angle of this shoot just now. This scene should actually show a sense of crisis. It would be better if there was a sense of oppression conveyed by a downward angle. Now it is too peaceful…”

At this moment, Director Xie also stood up and walked over. “Just now this shoot was too peaceful, change it, try the overhead angle …”

Song Yimian saw that Pei Ran’s expression changed from shock to admiration. He thought Pei Ran was also an actor and didn’t expect that he would have so much technical knowledge.

Pei Ran, however, was not surprised. Although the shooting environment in those days had changed a lot compared with that from his past, him seeing these changes was not so unexpected.

Director Xie adjusted the lens and the lights before retaking the shot.

Cheng Yanxin sat in front of the dresser and took off her earrings. From the darkness behind her came the sound of military boots stepping on the floor. Cheng Yanxin’s back became slightly stiff.

In the mirror of the dressing table appeared gradually Yokota. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Cheng Yanxin’s reflection in the mirror. He said in non-standard Chinese, “Good evening, Miss Cheng.”

Cheng Yanxin’s hand on the table slowly clenched into a fist.

She seemed to take a deep breath, stood up and turned around, with a perfect smile on her face. “Mr. Yokota, this is my private house. It’s not good for you to be here so late.”

The camera zoomed out and the two of them appeared in the camera at the same time.

Yokota raised his hand and touched his beard. He looked Cheng Yanxin up and down. “Don’t worry, Miss Cheng. I just want to ask you a few questions. As long as you answer them well, I’ll leave immediately and never touch you.”

Cheng Yanxin crossed her arms and her voice became slightly cold. “Oh? What are Mr. Yokota’s important questions that he needs to break into the house so late at night? Although I’m despised as an actress I am still from a respectable family. It was Mr. Yokota who said before that he was my fan and I was somewhat happy about it. Now it doesn’t seem very sincere.”

There was no flaw in her expression. Yokota’s hand touching his beard paused, but he still took a step forward and said slowly, “Don’t worry, Miss Cheng. My soldiers are guarding all around. There will be no idle people, that could ruin Miss Cheng’s reputation.”

This may seem like an explanation, but it was actually a threat.

Cheng Yanxin’s hand on the side of her body clenched involuntarily into a fist, but she soon let it go again, showing an offended expression. “It seems that I can’t refuse then? Then I will ask Mr. Yokota to finish as soon as possible.”

However, Yokota smiled and said, “Miss Cheng, don’t worry. The night is long. We can chat while drinking tea.”

He said, clapped his hands, and a soldier came over with a teapot and teacups, put them on the tea table, saluted Yokota, and left the room.

Yokota went to the sofa and sat down, raised his hand, poured two cups of tea, and signaled Cheng Yanxin to come over. “Miss Cheng, please have some tea.”

At this moment, the lenses’ angle changed again. Although the two people were still in the same shot, Cheng Yanxin’s position was farther and Yokota’s position was closer to the camera. Although he was sitting, by using this angle, he seemed even more powerful.

Although this part of the scene used a flat shot, the two people used their own movement, facial expression and the rhythm of language to create a tense and dangerous atmosphere, which made people gasp for breath.

Song Yimian was ecstatic, but Pei Ran was obviously much more calm.

He had long known Chu Mei Bo and Guo Wenyuan’s true identities, but he had never seen them filming before. Now, he couldn’t help but feel that these two people were indeed the pinnacle of their time and this kind of equal act was really wonderful, that attracted even him a bit.

The scene was so long that it was impossible to finish in one take.

In fact, for actors, this was also the most difficult part of the performance. Because the shots were trivial, sometimes it was not easy to get into character. When shooting a “static” scene it was still necessary for them to maintain the mood to enter the next shot.

Sometimes it was difficult for an actor to enter the character, so it took a long time for them to adjust. It could even prolong the shooting.

However, Chu Mei Bo and Guo Wenyuan didn’t seem to need this stage. As long as Director Xie shouted “start shooting”, they could quickly enter their characters. Even if there was a cut, most of them were due to the need to adjust the camera position or the lighting, because their performance rarely stuck.

It was comfortable for a director to work with this kind of actors.

Director Xie was a bit excited, and if he hadn’t been reminded by the deputy director, he would have almost forgotten to have a rest.

Making a movie was not only an artistic job, but also a physical work, whether it was an actor or a staff member, it took a lot of physical strength. The actors sat on the chairs and asked the makeup artist to retouch their makeup, the staff put down the machines, went to the toilet, and ate snacks, while Director Xie leaned against the chair and drank a sip of his strong tea to refresh himself.

After watching for so long, Pei Ran had a general understanding of Director Xie’s shooting style, so he started wandering around the set.

Song Yimian patted his chest and said that Pei Ran could ask him anything he didn’t know. But since Pei Ran revealed some skills, Song Yimian gave up.

Pei Ran went to the staff to ask questions on his own. His face was so deceptive that it was almost invincible, so he gained a lot in this short time.

Unexpectedly, at this time, a cameraman suddenly covered his stomach with a pale face, which scared everyone. After tossing back and forth they learned that he had acute gastroenteritis.

Director Xie asked someone to take him to the hospital, but the shooting couldn’t be interrupted, so he could only ask the assistant cameraman to temporarily replace him.

But after all, the assistant cameraman was not as good as the cameraman who had been with Director Xie for many years. He couldn’t understand Director Xie’s meaning at all, making Director Xie call for several cuts.

In the end, Director Xie had no choice but to let them have a rest, so as not to wear out the actors too much. If the assistant couldn’t adjust well after a while, he could only give up shooting at the moment and fill the details after the main shoot.

The assistant cameraman sat down dejected. When Pei Ran saw it he walked to the other party and whispered a few words to him.

The assistant cameraman was surprised and hesitated. “Are you sure?”

Pei Ran curved his eyes, showing his usual harmless smile. “You can try it.”