Bright Era of China Entertainment

Chapter 764 The opening scene
Chu Xuan quickly walked back to the monitor and replayed the footage. Although it was not as perfect as Liu Yifei's encouragement from love, the overall effect was fine after all. It was not difficult to get a good start with such a small shot.

Chu Xuan looked at it and found no problem, so he handed the director position to Liu Yifei again, and hurried back to the set without saying a word.

Liu Yifei and the teachers in the director group were still waiting for Chu Xuan to say a few words. Seeing how resolute and efficient he was, they were stunned for a moment and then smiled amusedly. After all, it was his first time directing and acting in a film, so he couldn't calm down for a while.

Adjustments are being made on the set and the actors are preparing.

Liu Yifei was paying attention to the situation on the set through the overall camera, waiting for Chu Xuan to give gestures and give orders on his behalf.

The shooting plan was to complete the studio scenes in two days. Like most actors, she had no scenes to shoot during these two days so she could relax, sit in the director's seat to experience what it's like to be a director, watch her husband's wonderful performance, and have more time and energy to deal with production matters so that she can be prepared to focus on filming later.

But Chu Xuan will be very busy in the next two days. Although there are not many scenes in the "real world", they are 100% concentrated. There is a male protagonist in every plot and Chu Xuan in every scene.

Every scene requires both directing and acting, maintaining the actor's state and the director's thinking, and multitasking at all times while ensuring the quality of the shooting. This is also a test for Chu Xuan.

However, she believed that Chu Xuan could handle it all.

The plot of the male protagonist Jock in the "real world" is planned to be one hour. This one-hour shot will run through the entire series of "My Love from the Star". In the later stage, it will be cut into fragments and interspersed with the corresponding time nodes of the story.

Therefore, as the protagonist Jock continues to travel through time to unfold the story, Chu Xuan's part was correspondingly arranged to be filmed in the order of the story timeline.

By filming according to the story timeline, the actors' emotions will be progressive and the director's thinking will be smooth, which is very beneficial for Chu Xuan, who is currently both directing and acting.

In addition, the character of Jock was designed to a large extent based on Chu Xuan himself, so Chu Xuan might not need to act too much in handling the role, and it might be enough to express his emotions naturally. This would be more beneficial for Chu Xuan, who is both the director and the actor, to save his performance energy to control the overall situation.

"The stage manager hits the board!"

Liu Yifei put down the walkie-talkie, looked at the camera while flipping through the literary script, and relived the story of the male protagonist Jock in combination with the live performance of the set.

Looking at all the movies and TV series, how the story starts and with what kind of plot are different. Every director and screenwriter has his own ideas and focus in this regard.

For example, in a suspense drama, you can throw out a suspenseful plot at the beginning to tell the audience where the suspense point lies.

For example, in a fantasy drama, a large special effects scene will be used at the beginning to tell the audience where the so-called fantasy is embodied.

For example, in a science fiction film, a science fiction scene is used at the beginning to tell the audience the background of the story and the level of high technology.

No matter how it starts, the beginning of TV dramas on the market cannot be separated from the explanation of the three elements of character identity, story background, and current situation. It’s just that the order and arrangement of the presentation of these three elements are different in each drama.

As for the arrangement of these three elements in "My Love from the Star", after their discussions during the script planning stage, the explanation of the story background was placed at the first step.

In the lens:
Shot from behind, Chu Xuan is standing in front of a van on the street. The van is wrapped in green cloth, and in front of the van is a large green cloth wall.

The plot is that the van is an unmanned delivery vehicle, and the male protagonist Qiao Ke, played by Chu Xuan, picks up the package.

Based on the description in the script, Liu Yifei imagined that the large green cloth wall would become a high-tech urban background after post-processing: under the neon lights, 3D-projected pixelated celebrity people were advertising their endorsements on both sides of the buildings in the air, and in the hollow area there were many flying cars flying at high speed, then stopping halfway to wait for the traffic light, and the countdown of the traffic light appeared in the form of virtual light effect numbers in front of the convoy in the air.

It is in this high-tech era that the male protagonist Jock appears on the street in a shantytown where there is not much high-tech to pick up a parcel. The unmanned van wrapped in green cloth will also be processed into a technological product in the later stage.

This scene has no lines, and it mainly shows the historical background of the protagonist's world.

Although there are no lines, there is an electronic synthesized sound coming from the unmanned delivery vehicle.

As described in the script, Jock came to the rear of the courier truck and was required to scan his face on a pop-up virtual screen. Then there was a prompt: Customer CXLYF305825, welcome to Starry Sky Express. We are happy to serve you.

Liu Yifei looked at the script and a smile appeared on her face.

CX is the abbreviation of Chu Xuan's name, LYF is the abbreviation of her name, 305 is Chu Xuan's birthday, and 825 is her birthday.

When she first thought of this sentence, the customer always had to have a name or a string of numbers. This string of numbers could actually be any random number, but she suddenly had an idea and came up with the current string of numbers.

If you don't look carefully, you can't see anything.

But there must be some careful people among her and Chu Xuan’s fans, who may immediately associate the meaning of this string of numbers with the numbers when they see them. This can be considered a small easter egg. Anyway, she thinks it is quite interesting.

In addition to this electronic synthesized sound, after the courier truck automatically opened the cargo door, when Jock got on the truck to look for his express delivery, there was a second prompt sound in the car: This express delivery is monitored and supervised by the Central and Southern District Branch of Star Logistics and the police. Customer CXLYF305825, please abide by the express delivery convention and pick up only your own express delivery. Thank you for your cooperation.

These two electronic sounds were not present on the set and would only be dubbed in later stages, so Chu Xuan needed to fill in these two sentences in his mind and then control the performance rhythm to match the high-tech atmosphere embodied by these two sounds.

But this was not difficult. After Chu Xuan took three shots, he hugged two boxes of express delivery from the cargo box and got out of the car. He walked a few steps towards the corridor, giving the express truck time for special effects to take off.

"Click."

"Good."

Liu Yifei put down the walkie-talkie and turned to the next page of the script.

Once the background story of the hero is explained, the audience will immediately have a rough idea of ​​what the world the hero lives in is like, so they will not doubt the existence of high-tech such as virtual helmets in subsequent plots. This is also the underlying logical chain of the story background, which can be exaggerated but cannot be absent.

The high-tech story background is presented, and one of the three elements has been completed. The next step is the arrangement and performance of the other two elements.

The other two elements are the character’s identity and the current situation.

The expression of a character's identity and current situation is very particular. It must be clear and concise without dragging out the rhythm, and try to tell the audience who this person is, what kind of personality he has, and what his current situation is in the shortest time possible.

Usually with characters who have iconic professions, it’s pretty simple to reveal this aspect of the character.

For example, by making the actor wear a police uniform through makeup, the audience is told that the character is a policeman, and then a pending case is added to tell the audience that the character has to solve the case. It can be solved in a few plots and is very clear at a glance.

For example, by designing a stage through scene construction, allowing the character to show his personal style through the stage, telling the audience that the character is a star, and then adding a plot of being suppressed, the character's identity and the story to be unfolded will also be expressed clearly.

But the male protagonist Jock has neither a symbolic profession nor a clear identity. If the audience wants to understand such a character, the simple design that uses the above two points will not work. It requires some thought and effort to create other ways to show all of this.

"The stage manager hits the board!"

The specific method used to present it depends on the core character of the character.

The male protagonist Jock is decadent and taciturn, so it is not in line with the character's personality to let him use a lot of lines to shape the role. In "My Love from the Star", in order to let the audience get to know the male protagonist Jock as quickly as possible, the chief screenwriter Liu Yi designed a combination of self-monologue and communication with passers-by.

In the lens:
One following shot from behind and one frontal shot.

Chu Xuan was holding two boxes of express delivery and walking up the stairs. The two cameras moved following the rhythm of Chu Xuan going up the stairs.

According to the script, this scene of going upstairs has an inner monologue that needs to be dubbed in post-production.

[My name is Qiao Ke. In this era of rapid development, I live in this poor and backward shantytown.

I should be young and energetic, and try my best to fight in this materialistic society, but I can't do anything and I am like a useless person. 】

At this time, a couple of extras came down from upstairs, talking affectionately to make way for Chu Xuan. Chu Xuan passed them and continued to go upstairs.

[I am 25 and unmarried.]

To put it nicely, he is unmarried, but to put it bluntly, he doesn't even have a girlfriend.

To put it nicely, I don’t have a girlfriend, but to put it bluntly, I’ve never even held a girl’s hand.

This is really a bit useless. 】

Chu Xuan walked up the stairs, put the box down with a "bang", bent down slightly, supported his hands on the box, and breathed heavily.

[But I don’t have any pursuit for these things. Whether I have a girlfriend or not, whether I have a career or not, none of them can affect my mood.

As a man, such thoughts are either a psychological problem or a mental illness.

But this is me, in the late stage of cancer, after several years of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, I have just been discharged from the hospital and am waiting to die. The so-called good times of living in the sun are gone for me. 】

"Crack!"

"Pass, next round!"

This inner monologue was written by Chu Xuan himself and is divided into three progressive levels of expression.

First, it expresses that the male protagonist has achieved nothing in his career and is a useless person.

Later it expresses that the male protagonist is still a complete virgin, has never even touched a girl's hand, and has nothing in terms of love, emphasizing the word "useless".

The final revelation that he is in the late stage of cancer and is currently waiting to die explains the reasons for the above two points and also clearly expresses the protagonist's current condition.

There is a point here that makes the audience look forward to. As the male protagonist has no desire or extravagant demands on life, how will the subsequent story unfold? For an idol drama, there must be a reversal. If the tragedy continues like this, what kind of idol drama is it? This is a predictable point, enough to make the audience look forward to it from the beginning.

If this were a normal idol drama, this inner monologue would be enough. The hero's situation would be basically clear, and an anchor plot could be thrown out as a fuse to start the main story.

But "Star Lovers" is not a normal idol drama. The male protagonist Jock has to travel through time and enter the "game world" through a virtual helmet to start the main storyline.

So, how can such a useless male protagonist have an expensive virtual helmet? And how can the male protagonist travel through time? There needs to be a logical explanation here.

"The stage manager hits the board!"

If this explanation were entirely provided by the protagonist's inner monologue, it would appear dull, lengthy, and lacking in certain credibility, and there would be no drama to enhance the viewing experience.

Under Liu Yi's arrangement, this goal was accomplished by the male protagonist's neighbor.

Lens:

Back shot, Chu Xuan walked into the corridor holding two large boxes.

A few meters in front of Chu Xuan, four middle-aged women acting as neighbors were walking together and gossiping.

"I heard that the young man who just moved in has terminal cancer. Have you heard about it?"

"Ah? No way, he's such a handsome guy, how could this happen?"

"It's fate. I heard that I spent millions of dollars but still couldn't cure it."

“It costs so much money?”

"Well, how can hospitals make money without spending so much money? Where do pharmaceutical companies get so much money to research new drugs? You need to have a broader vision to live a clearer life."

Several middle-aged women were gossiping seriously, which brought out the drama in the show. The irony revealed by the sarcastic lines also initially showed that "My Love from the Star" had a style and plot that reflected the current social situation.

Chu Xuan walked forward and had another inner monologue.

[These aunties are my neighbors. They usually play mahjong and gossip. People are like that. If they know something new, they always like to spread it to others to show off their momentary sense of superiority.]

"Why would he move to a shantytown when he's so rich?"

"I heard that he sold his house to pay for his medical treatment and moved here after spending all his money."

"Then he must have come from a wealthy family before, otherwise he wouldn't have millions to spend on medical treatment."

"Don't mention it. You may not know this, but his parents are scientists."

This explains the factor of the male protagonist moving, and explains that the male protagonist's behavior of picking up the express downstairs is to pick up the moving items discharged from the hospital, which forms the first logical closed loop of the story.

This also leads to the protagonist's family background, forming a second logical loop for the protagonist's subsequent possession of an expensive item, a virtual helmet.

"Ah, scientist, if you are so talented, why do you let children live here?"

"His parents were researching virtual gaming equipment. You know how much money virtual equipment makes. His parents got into trouble because of this. It seems that they refused an invitation from a foreign company, and then something happened. They both died in a car accident."

"Oh my god, is this true?"

"The landlord told me that this incident was very popular at the time, and this young man was also interviewed and appeared in the news."

"On the news? I'll check it out when I get home tonight."

"I checked it a long time ago, and there is no topic at all. It must have been suppressed by that foreign company."

"Can foreign companies still interfere in our country's news?"

"Tsk, as long as you pay, what can't be done?"

"Tsk, the news nowadays, all that's released are things you're allowed to watch. You'll never see the truth that you're not allowed to watch."

This again triggers two ironies, which increase the extent to which "You Who Came From the Stars" reflects the current social situation.

At the same time, the identity of the protagonist's parents is explained here, which provides a logical hint to the protagonist's use of a virtual helmet to travel through time.

The protagonist's parents are researching virtual helmets, so have they developed a virtual helmet that can travel through time?

This question will not be discussed in the entire drama, and science fiction cannot be correctly explained with the existing scientific knowledge, so it cannot form a logical closure with the male protagonist's time travel. However, it can give the audience a logical hint and let the audience imagine it themselves, which is more appropriate than forcibly explaining the time travel in the drama.

In the camera, Chu Xuan has already come behind the three aunts.

"Please give way."

The four aunts were startled, and then shivered as if they had seen a ghost. They had just been talking about the young man without restraint, and had no idea that this man would appear without anyone noticing. They awkwardly made way for him.

However, with a "cough", Chu Xuan burst into laughter.

"We... made a mistake?" an old lady said awkwardly.

"No, no, the aunts acted very well. It's my fault. Let's do it again." Chu Xuan said.

These four middle-aged ladies really acted well. The way they gossiped was very lifelike, and you couldn't tell they were acting at all. In order to reflect the slightly exaggerated style of light comedy, the look in his eyes as if he had seen a ghost and the micro-expressions when he shuddered were so lifelike, it was simply amazing, and he couldn't hold back for a moment.

This scene was shot five times. As long as they could get the best presentation, Chu Xuan and the four aunts continued to perform.

The four middle-aged women awkwardly gave way, and Chu Xuan walked forward holding two large cardboard boxes.

The camera followed Chu Xuan as he moved forward, and four middle-aged women appeared and disappeared from the screen.

"Oh, what a poor child."

"Yeah, I share the same pain as Xiaobao, but at least Xiaobao still has a father."

"No more talking, let's be happy and play mahjong."

The character of Wu Xiaobao is introduced here, which lays a small foundation for her subsequent appearance.

At the same time, the slight sense of comedy breaks the gloomy atmosphere brought about by the tragic beginning of the male protagonist, and lays a good foundation for the light comedy tone of the whole drama.

This is the role of extras. The contribution of a group of unknown people to a film or TV series can often be the finishing touch. This is the deepest feeling of the new director Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei in front of the monitor about this scene.

Chu Xuan in the camera was in a state of decadence and silence until he arrived at the door of the room in the back shot and the close-up was switched, and the scene ended.

"Click."

"Pass."

Liu Yifei put down the intercom, saw Chu Xuan running over and asked, "How is it?"

"I think this time is better." Liu Yifei said.

Chu Xuan replayed the surveillance footage and tuned it to the footage of picking up the express to watch all at once.

After reading it three times, he took a sip of mineral water and nodded, "That's it."

The protagonist's opening is very important, as it determines the audience's first impression of the character, their understanding of the personality, their perception of the environment, and their psychological tone of the painting style. An opening with a high degree of adaptation between the character, environment, and scene allows the audience to understand the character and have the comfort and desire to continue watching.

With the director's nod, the protagonist Jock's opening scene came to a perfect end.

But this is just the beginning, there will be more scenes waiting for him to direct and act in.

(End of this chapter)