Bright Era of China Entertainment

Under the darkness, the motorcade drove along the bustling Fifth Avenue in Los Angeles.

There were a lot of vehicles and the speed of the convoy was a bit slow.

In the nanny car in the middle, Liu Yifei was still in high spirits, but as soon as she got in the car, she felt sleepy. She leaned on Chu Xuan's shoulder and said nothing, with her eyelids closed and looking through the sofa opposite her. Over her right mother's shoulder, she looked out the window at the night scene.

Liu Xiaoli was also very sleepy. She covered her mouth and yawned, then rested against the window with her arms folded.

During the twelve-hour flight, the mother and daughter didn't even take a few hours' rest. They had a really good time chatting on the plane, but now they knew they were tired.

Chu Xuan also leaned back with his eyes closed. Every time he went abroad, his biological clock was opposite to that at home. It was always a bother. Even if he took enough rest on the plane, he would still feel very tired.

"Chu Xuan." Liu Yifei suddenly shouted.

Chu Xuan opened his eyes and saw her pointing out the window.

Chu Xuan followed her finger and looked out the window. It was the campus of a luxury hotel.

"This is the most luxurious hotel in Los Angeles. It has everything in it. Many celebrities, directors and business bosses often come in and out of this hotel. Grande and I were here last time and saw Jiang Zhiqiang and Zhang Yimou. You haven’t been here, have you?”

When Liu Yifei came to Los Angeles last time to discuss with Macron and his wife, she was invited by Jack to stay at this luxury hotel.

The extravagance inside made her feel disgusted, but in the end, the successful outcome of the negotiation with Macron and his wife made her feel that it was a pleasant journey.

She happened to be passing by here and couldn't help but share her experience with Chu Xuan.

"I haven't been here before." Chu Xuan looked at the park outside the window. This hotel was big enough, and it took the car several dozen seconds to cross it.

He then asked: "Were you and Grande here last? When?"

Hearing this question, Liu Xiaoli opened her eyes and looked at Chu Xuan, with hidden smiles in the corners of their eyes.

Liu Xiaoli knew that Chu Xuan asked deliberately.

After returning from a trip to New Haven, she told Chu Xuan the whole story of the last time her daughter came to Los Angeles to discuss with Macron.

She happened to be passing by this hotel, and her daughter probably wanted to show off her experience, but Chu Xuan happened to catch her suspicious.

Concubine Liu Yi leaned on Chu Xuan's shoulder. She was stunned when she heard this.

She was busy introducing and sharing her experience to Chu Xuan, but she forgot the secret hidden in her heart.

She was discussing cooperation with Macron, but she couldn't let the surprise she had prepared for Chu Xuan be revealed.

Liu Yifei's brain was spinning rapidly and she glanced at her mother: "Last October, my mother took me to my aunt's house to play. Ailand invited us to stay here for a few nights."

Liu Xiaoli looked at her daughter's look for help and suppressed a smile in her heart.

Earlier, he only talked about himself and Ailande, but now he brought her with him inexplicably.

Judging from the daughter's ordinary language logic, if she, the mother, really came to Los Angeles together, her name would be placed in front of Grande's name no matter what.

This was a very subtle flaw. Judging from the way Chu Xuan wanted to laugh but didn't, he must have heard something was wrong.

This silly daughter can't even lie.

But she still cooperated: "This hotel is quite luxurious."

Chu Xuan nodded and cooperated: "Come and stay for one night if you have the chance."

Liu Yifei breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she had successfully deceived Chu Xuan, and looked at her mother with a sly look, as if to say: Not bad, not bad, the secret was almost exposed.

Liu Xiaoli blinked, as if responding: Is mom's reaction okay?

Liu Yifei raised her lips slightly and praised her mother: Mom is awesome!

Liu Xiaoli looked at Chu Xuan quietly again, as if to say: If you fool your girlfriend like this, you will be miserable when she finds out.

Chu Xuan narrowed his eyes and seemed to respond: That's because you are so awesome, aunt, and your daughter has been deceived by you.

Liu Xiaoli couldn't help it, fearing that her daughter would notice something strange. She lowered her head and held her forehead to pretend to be tired. She turned sideways to keep her face out of her daughter's sight, and then started laughing silently.

Seeing the look of his mother-in-law, Chu Xuan felt very uncomfortable. Liu Yifei lay on top of him to rest. He didn't dare to laugh, so he could only suppress the urge to laugh.

Only Liu Yifei, a silly girl, pretended to sleep with her eyes closed, secretly glad that she and her mother had deceived Chu Xuan, but she never thought that her mother was a double agent.

In this wonderful atmosphere, it didn't take long for the motorcade to reach its destination, and the nanny car gradually stopped.

Chinatown is the collective name for Chinese communities in the United States. Chinatowns exist in cities such as New York, Washington, and San Francisco.

When a Chinese crew comes to Hollywood to film a movie, it is almost impossible to get sponsorship for hotel, food and accommodation. Bright Times does not have overseas resources in this regard.

Food and accommodation have always been a financial headache for any crew, let alone in Los Angeles, a city where consumption is very high.

If the filming lasts for several months, the expenses for food and accommodation alone will probably be several million.

Fortunately, Chenglong's influence was large enough. With his help, the crew successfully obtained sponsorship from two large hotels in the Chinatown community of Los Angeles.

It only costs hundreds of thousands in water, electricity, food and other costs, and housing and processing fees are free, saving the crew a lot of money.

Half of the floors in each of the two hotels provide residential services for the crew, while the other half is used for promotion and advertising.

Will Chenglong, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei stay at this hotel?Once this kind of publicity spread, Chinese tourists visiting Los Angeles could be said to have flocked in, bringing booming business to the sponsored hotels.

"A warm welcome to the cast of "The Enemy"!"

The hotel owner is also very knowledgeable. At ten o'clock that night, he brought a large group of waiters to greet him at the door. This not only attracted the Chinese tourists who came for Chenglong, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei, but also attracted many people who were shopping and passing by. of tourists.

"Oh my god! That's Jack Cheng!"

"Shenglong!"

"Chu Xuan!"

"Concubine Liu Yi!"

Many foreigners were very excited to see Chenglong. The "local Chinese" who have been developing in Chinatown for many years were also excited to see Chenglong. Young tourists from China were excited to see actors such as Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei. Wave.

Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei waved to the onlookers. This was the first time they had received such treatment abroad. Of course, this is also the reason why this is Chinatown. It is almost a must-visit place for domestic tourists, so it is normal to meet them.

Look at how enthusiastic people are at this late night.

Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei signed several autographs for this purpose and took several photos with several men and women.

"Are you here to make a movie?"

"It's great, I just said why don't you make a movie if you are so popular."

"When your movie is released, I will definitely buy a ticket to support it!"

Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei said "thank you" repeatedly and walked into the hotel with the troops.

Many tourists followed them into the hotel and asked if there were any vacancies, which made the hotel owner grin.

Isn't this business coming? This wave of sponsorship that lasted for several months will not only make a loss, but will also make a lot of money if this situation continues.

The hotel owner was very enthusiastic and prepared wine and food for the crew in the lobby to entertain everyone.

Everyone who barely ate a meal on the plane could finally satisfy their appetite.

It's just that everyone is very tired, and few people drink. They all want to simply fill their stomachs and then go back to the room to rest.

In only about half an hour, except for one or two tables of drunkards who were still drinking, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei and most of the people went to the floor where their respective rooms were to prepare to rest.

The team of two people was arranged in advance by Liu Xiaoli a few days ago. After meeting everyone upstairs, they said hello and then went back to their respective rooms.

As the male and female protagonist, the layout of the room they live in is family-style, but it is different from the Chinese style in Hengcheng. This time they live in a European and American style room.

The [-]-square-meter space was decorated luxuriously but not complicatedly. After looking inside and out, the young couple went to the bedroom to pack their luggage, took out a set of pajamas and took a shower.

"What are you looking at?"

The sound of the hair dryer stopped in the bathroom, and Liu Yifei walked out wearing a purple ice silk nightgown.

While flipping her hair to make it smoother, she walked towards Chu Xuan in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

Chu Xuan was in front of the window looking at the scenery outside the window. The muscle lines exposed on his bare upper body were full of strength and vitality.

After training in Chengjia class for a month, my physical fitness has been obviously improved.

"The viewing angle is good, you can overlook the city." He said.

Liu Yifei arranged her hair, lowered her hands to wrap around Chu Xuan's waist from behind, rested her chin on his right shoulder, and enjoyed the neon night view with him.

The "Legend of Red Flame" crew in Hengcheng was the first time they lived together outside, the training in Xiangjiang was the second time, and this time it was the third time.It's still in a foreign city where Haolaiwu belongs, which makes them feel very fresh.

But no matter how fresh the feeling is, it can't resist the sleepiness that comes over me.

Liu Yifei looked at the night for a while and then said, "Go to sleep, I'm so tired."

Chu Xuan yawned and said sleepily: "Sleep, sleep."

After a while, the lights were turned off, and the young couple fell asleep hugging each other late at night.

……

In order to allow the actors to adjust to the time difference, Tang Jili did not arrange any scenes at the first time.

If you are not well rested and in the wrong state, your performance will only be wasted time and energy if it fails to achieve the desired effect.

And all matters in the studio are completed by the crew members through communication with the studio personnel here.

Taking advantage of the time when the actors were adjusting to the time difference, Tang Jili and the teachers from the directing team went to review them one by one to see if there were any flaws.

Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei were very interested in the film and television base in Haolaiwu. They had never seen it before, and the film and television industrialization industry was also related to it.

Before filming officially started, the young couple also followed Tang Jili to visit the Haolaiwu Film and Television Base with interest.

The crew rented a small film and television base owned by a production factory in Haolaiwu.

Covering an area of ​​one square kilometer, there are a total of thirteen studios, large and small.

Factory-like studios are scattered throughout the base.

The flowers, trees, running water, bridges and other green areas in the base are also very prominent. At first glance, it looks like a very professionally built film and television park.

However, the appearance of professionalism is only secondary. The real professional place is in the studio.

"Is this a real scene?" Liu Yifei stared, shocked by the scene in front of her.

Some scenes outside the horizon in the movie script, that is, the second civilized world of mankind where Chenglong's character lives, its gray soil, ruined castle walls, dead branches of trees and other elements seem to be restored one to one.

This was something she had never seen before. Even when filming "Hope", the scene was just a frame built with props, and all the details were special effects.

But I didn’t expect that the details of the scenes in this studio also used physical props.

"Professional." Chu Xuan only said two words. This kind of professionalism is unmatched in China, and it is also the reason why there is a big gap between domestic special effects and foreign countries.

Domestic special effects are pure special effects, while Hollywood's special effects are special effects combined with physical scenes.

The sense of reality that the two bring to the audience is obviously Hollywood's.

"If you want to achieve this, you must work hard on props and spend a lot of money to train a group of masters who make film and television props." Chenglong said.

He actually thinks that it is not difficult to make such physical models in China that can be combined with special effects. However, due to financial constraints and various interest issues, the props in film and television dramas are crudely made and look fake at first glance.

To put it simply, capital is not willing to spend money on this.

"It's not enough to be a prop master, you also need a special effects director with strong composition skills. Only with accurate composition can the prop master know what to do. If the composition is not good, the model will be just like that." Tang Jili added.

"Old Zeng, can we do this?" Chu Xuan glanced at Zeng Zhengzong.

Zeng Zhengzong is the manager of the special effects department of Bright Times Film and Television Company. He once served as a special effects director on the set of "Zhu Xian". He and Liu Yifei met him and have been managing the company's special effects work.

Zeng Zhengzong is a returnee from overseas. He previously worked in special effects for several years in Hollywood. As a special effects director, he also came with the crew to control the special effects shots during the filming process.

"Not for the time being." Zeng Zhengzong shook his head: "It's okay if it's special effects technology. As long as the company is willing to spend money to train it, the daily work experience of the technicians will be a technical improvement."

"But special effects directors are different. They need to experience special effects films one after another, and they also need to get the support and power of the director team. Then they can gain experience from each special effects shot, so that they can have better composition skills and thinking."

"I am currently the only one in the entire company who can barely be considered a special effects director, and the people in the team are not experienced enough."

"The scenes in the thirteen studios in this base were completed last year with the help of professionals from the studio here."

"Without their help, we wouldn't be able to do it on our own, and even if we did, it wouldn't meet Director Tang's requirements."

Tang Jili patted him on the shoulder: "Do a good job, the company still depends on you for this."

Liu Yifei turned around and said to the men and women in the special effects department: "Come on."

In addition to the special effects scene composition and sophisticated prop production, everyone also carefully observed the equipment prepared in the studio.

All kinds of ultra-clear cameras, optical lens condensers used to specifically capture light and shadow, three-axis crane machines, automated wire devices that can be controlled by machines, high-precision monitors, electric slide rails...

High-end film and television equipment such as this are all complete and everything you need.

What surprised Liu Yifei the most was that each of the thirteen studios had a corresponding set of matching equipment for different scenes.

When shooting in China, the crew has to take their equipment with them when transitioning, because each crew only has one set of equipment, and they can’t shoot without taking it with them.

But you don’t need to use the film and television base in front of you. It’s all equipped for you. It’s just like moving in with your bags. The crew can just transfer to the scene and start filming.

She felt that Haolaiwu's studio had meticulously detailed every aspect of production to the extreme, which greatly improved the efficiency of the crew in filming movies.

"This gap is too big." Liu Yifei sighed.

With this level of industrialization, she estimated that it would take a year to shoot a movie in China, but it would only take eight months at most here.

Chu Xuan saw further than Liu Yifei. He found that the specifications of each studio were different, and the equipment specifications were also different.

This represents the strong level of assembly line production.

And it is far more than just one assembly line, but multiple assembly lines producing equipment of different specifications.

In China, there is not even an assembly line factory related to film and television industrial equipment.

As Liu Yifei said, the gap in the film and television industry is indeed too big. The difference of 50 to [-] years is not an exaggeration.

Chu Xuan knew that this was the reason why there was no domestic market in this area.

Domestic film crews do not need these high-end equipment, and major manufacturing companies will naturally not spend time researching and producing this aspect.

He knew this reason before, but after nearly a year of growth, he has also seen through some of the essential problems that caused this reason, and ways to improve this situation.

In order to improve the market of the domestic film and television industry, one is to improve the audience's aesthetic appreciation of film and television dramas, and the other is to make major capital focus on the production process.

The first point is easy to solve. As the country becomes stronger and living standards improve, the audience's aesthetics will also improve accordingly. There is no doubt about it.

As for the second point, this is a bit difficult to deal with.

Rather than focusing on the production of film and television dramas, capital is more willing to focus on star power.

Compared with the benefits brought by film and television dramas themselves, the benefits obtained through celebrity business are safer and faster.

Therefore, all kinds of celebrity marketing and celebrity hype emerge in endlessly in China.

The meaning of the existence of stars is already greater than the art of film and television works itself.

If we want to improve this situation, we can only benefit from the film and television works themselves, which far outweigh the star effect.

Seeing this, domestic capital will focus on film and television works and find ways to improve the quality of film and television works.

When the quality of film and television works improves to a certain level, the demand for the domestic film and television industry will increase, which will then drive the rapid development of film and television industrialization in the entire industry, thus shortening the gap with Hollywood.

In this regard, he thought of the only way to solve this situation, which also circled back to a core point in his and Liu Yifei's career blueprint - film and television derivative copyrights.

Film and television derivative copyrights can greatly increase the benefits brought by a work, which is a value that even the most popular stars cannot bring.

If domestic capital benefits from this, perhaps the overall situation of domestic film and television industrialization will be improved.

However, for now, this is just his fantasy, and those capitals will not do things according to his ideas.

My own company has not developed well, and I am not qualified to consider the entire industry.

The young couple visited with the teachers for a few days. They also watched Tang Jili and the directing team teachers correct some of the arrangements, and they also gained some knowledge.

During this period, I also reviewed the script, went shopping in nearby neighborhoods with my actor friends, and the crew was finally about to start filming.

"Go back and get ready. Your show will be a good start tomorrow." After returning to the hotel, Tang Jili explained.

"Okay." Chu Xuan and Concubine Liu Yi agreed.

After a few days of rest, the jet lag has completely adjusted, and the young couple is ready for filming.