Huayu: This director is so eager to improve.

Chapter 35 The Desperate Agent

Nazha's role as Liu Yin is not significant, and she hasn't had any public appearances lately.

However, she neither chose to rest at the hotel, nor did she go to the film studio or participate in social activities like some other young actors.

Instead, he appeared on the set of "White Night" every day, even bringing a small stool and sitting near the director's monitor.

She seemed to really enjoy watching Qi Yue instruct the actors on how to communicate with the camera and lighting, and even how to swear.

How to put it, she actually found Qi Yue particularly manly when he was cursing.

She didn't understand why she had such a strange thought.

Moreover, not only did she not understand, but her agent also didn't understand.

"My dear young lady, what's wrong with you these past few days? Serving you tea and water and handing you things? Do you really think you're an assistant? We're actors! President Cai even put in a good word for us! If word gets out that you're 'serving' the director like this every day, it'll look cheap. People who don't know any better will think we're trying too hard to curry favor with him."

Naza was helping Qi Yue, who was directing the scene, get a bottle of water. Hearing this, she looked up, her skin glowing white in the sunlight.

"What, is this not going to work?"

"What do you mean, 'okay'?!" Even the agent was worried for this girl.

"You're just a web series director, right? Even if one of your shows becomes a hit, it's still just a web series! We're going to be making big-budget movies and big productions in the future! If you're this 'humble', other production teams will think we're easy to talk to and will start ordering us around!"

"Oh, is that so?"

Naza looked at the water bottle in her hand, then at Qi Yue, who was watching the playback with Duan Yihong and Pan Yueming not far away, and made up her mind.

"I'll deliver it one last time."

After saying that, he ran off happily.

"Senior Brother Qi, are you thirsty? Here's some water."

Qi Yue glanced at her, thanked her, and naturally accepted it.

The agent, watching this scene from afar, couldn't help but slap his forehead.

Good heavens, someone please save this girl!

She even started to hesitate about whether to call Boss Cai and ask him to talk to her about this girl in person.

What kind of nonsense is this?!

After finishing his explanation of the play, Qi Yue returned to his director's chair.

They noticed that Nazha was still standing next to them, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"What's wrong? Is there something else?"

Naza pointed somewhat embarrassedly to the replay of Pan Yueming's performance on the monitor.

"Senior Brother Qi, actually I've always been very curious..."

Naza's eyes sparkled, filled with a thirst for wisdom.

"Teacher Pan is clearly just one person, so how did you manage to film a scene where two people appear at the same time and can even act opposite themselves?"

Qi Yue glanced at the filming schedule; the next scene's set setup would take some time. Since he rarely had free time, he decided to play the role of a teacher.

"The principle is not complicated, but its execution requires great precision."

Qi Yue tried his best to explain in simple language.

"Simply put, it means shooting the same scene twice."

"Take two takes?"

"Yes. In the first take, Pan Yueming, as the 'older brother' Guan Hongfeng, and his 'younger brother' usually had a stunt double or a marker to perform the entire scene."

"The camera's position, focus, lighting—all parameters are locked; not a single detail can be wrong."

"Then, clear the set, keeping all equipment settings unchanged. Pan Yueming changes costume and becomes the 'younger brother' Guan Hongyu. At this point, the 'older brother's' position is replaced by a stand-in or a marker. Pan Yueming then acts as the 'younger brother' again, performing the same scene with the 'older brother' in a completely synchronized rhythm."

Nazha listened intently, subconsciously gesturing to the name: "So they're actually two separate scenes?"

"That's right." Qi Yue nodded. "During the filming phase, we received two sets of footage with identical backgrounds but different characters."

"Then it was handed over to the post-production team, who used technical means, such as keying, to 'cut out' the 'brother' from the first take and then 'paste' him perfectly into the correct position in the second take."

"During the process, we need to handle lighting, color matching, edge blending, and even if two people have overlapping limbs or shadows, we need to make fine adjustments frame by frame to achieve a seamless result."

He paused, then added:

"This places extremely high demands on the actors. Pan Yueming needs to completely split into two people. Not only must the performance be precise, but the rhythm, breathing, and subtle movement inertia of the two performances must also be highly coordinated. Otherwise, the post-production compositing will look fake, and the audience will easily be pulled out of the story. This is why actors are worthy of respect."

Naza suddenly understood and nodded vigorously: "Oh! So that's how it was filmed! That's amazing! Teacher Pan is amazing, and Senior Brother Qi, your design and arrangement are even more amazing!"

Qi Yue glanced at her, somewhat puzzled: "Aren't you a film school majoring in acting? Shouldn't your professors have covered these basic film and television production processes and shooting techniques?"

Naza's face instantly turned red, and she stuck out her tongue shyly.

"Well, actually, since my freshman year of college, I've been doing odd jobs, commercial performances, and small roles on and off. I haven't attended many classes at school, so I don't know much about the basics..."

Qi Yue remained silent for two seconds.

Ok.

He probably understood why there were often comments in the industry saying that the basic skills of students graduating from film academies were far inferior to those of students from the Central Academy of Drama next door.

This is especially true for actresses like Gulnazar, who have outstanding physical attributes and were noticed by the market and joined the production team at a young age.

They have no shortage of exposure and opportunities, but they may really lack systematic training and a basic knowledge framework.

It's not entirely their fault; the two colleges have different educational philosophies, and their market environments and personal choices also differ.

As a director, Qi Yue knows very well that for actors who can truly go far, in addition to talent and luck, solid basic skills are essential.

"It's okay. Practice is more direct than the classroom. Next time you see a scene like this, you'll be able to figure it out and even imagine what the filming location was like."

Naza's eyes lit up again, and she nodded quickly:

"Okay! I understand, Senior Brother Qi! Thank you for telling me all this!"

At this point, the production assistant came over to inform us that the set setup was complete and we could prepare to film.

Qi Yue stood up, and Nazha quickly followed suit.

"Go watch the replay and pay attention to the subtle differences between Teacher Pan's two performances, as well as the final composite effect."

Qi Yue said one last thing, then picked up the walkie-talkie and walked towards the filming area.

Naza stood there, watching Qi Yue's back, then looked at the monitor, and suddenly felt that even her small head could be full of wisdom.

Meanwhile, her manager, seeing Nazha's "learned lesson" expression, sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

This girl... is hopeless! She's probably really going to be "lured" away by this young director!