Strange Life of a Cat

Rice is still the same as Zheng Tan saw at the cat show. He still doesn’t have much expression, as if he is indifferent to the people and things around him. Only when he looks over, his eyes widen and his pupils dilate a little, which makes him see It looks a little less sharp than usual.

As for Xiaomi, this was the first time Zheng Tan saw it after it was taken away, the pattern in his impression, and the mole that was the same as its father, these two characteristics made Zheng Tan not mistaken.

Unlike Rice, Xiaomi saw Zheng Tan for the first time since he left, and looked at Zheng Tan with some doubts, Zheng Tan didn't know if this guy still remembered him or not.

Xiaomi's eyes followed Zheng Tan's movement, probably feeling that the space was too small, it squeezed the rice next to it, and didn't care about being slapped on the forehead by the rice, and continued to squeeze, and the forehead continued to be slapped.

The two cats were crowded around the car window, and it was difficult for Zheng Tan to get in. The driver in front greeted Zheng Tan and jumped in through the front window.

The driver, Zheng Tan, had never seen him before, but when he talked to Charlie, he knew that this was the person who Fang Shaokang had said was helping to take care of him in the capital. Since they all said hello in advance, Charlie felt relieved. After seeing him leave in the car, Charlie reported Zheng Tan's whereabouts to the people in Chuhua City. This was both the boss Xiao Guo and Professor Jiao.

Over there, Zheng Tan jumped into the car and was sitting in the passenger seat. There was Fang Mengmeng and two cats in the back seat, and there was an unknown person who was sent by Fang Mengmeng's mother to help take care of the child and the cat. .

Zheng Tan noticed that Xiaomi was wearing a noose, and the other end of the leash was in the hands of a woman Zheng Tan didn't know. Xiaomi's cat tag is hung on a buckle of the noose, which is quite delicate, and the noose is also passed through the underarm of Xiaomi's forelimb, so that the cat's neck will not bear all the force when pulling the rope. However, most of the people who use this kind of noose are more active. Not so with rice.

Just as Zheng Tan guessed, this guy Xiaomi has a tendency to have ADHD, which is completely different from Rice's sense of quietness and stability. After Zheng Tan got into the car, Xiaomi was very curious at first, and moved close to sniffing from time to time. I don’t know whether he remembered it or felt that Zheng Tan was not threatening. He walked up and down, raised his paw to touch Zheng Tan, and moved frequently until Fang Mengmeng forced it onto the car seat.

Even if he was lying on his stomach, Xiaomi was not idle, rubbing back and forth to play this and that, flicking his tail back and forth. I don't know who this character is like, Peanut Candy was not like that back then, right?

Another thing that made Zheng sigh uncomfortable was the difference in body size.

From Zheng Tan's point of view, Peanut Candy is one generation lower than him, and Rice and Xiaomi are another generation younger. Standing next to these two juniors, Zheng Tan sees that they all have to look up.

After arriving at Fang Mengmeng's house, Zheng Tan realized that he still underestimated Xiaomi.

Zheng Tan sprawled on the sofa and watched Xiaomi playing with a tennis ball all over the room. From time to time, he provoked Zheng Tan on the sofa and Rice on the cat climbing frame, and was then slapped by the two, never tired of it.

I don't know if it will cause trouble when shooting. But those were the things that Yang Yi and the filming crew were worried about, so Zheng Tan didn't think about them any more.

Fang Mengmeng took a lot of photos of Zheng Tan and Dami and Xiaomi with the camera. Dami has long been used to it, and Xiaomi doesn't seem to care about the camera. Sometimes she leans towards the camera curiously and takes a few photos of the big nose, the one on the side of the mouth Moles are especially noticeable.

Zheng Tan didn't stay long at Fang Mengmeng's house, and Yang Yi drove over to pick him up the next day. The filming crew didn't have much free time, and many things still needed to be adjusted. Yang Yi gave Zheng Tan a lot. hopeful.

Many people say that documentaries are the eldest son of movies and the poor brother of feature films. As Zheng Tan knows, not every documentary can be recognized by the public, most of the documentaries are shelved, many people have never heard of the title, and even if they heard of it, they are not interested in watching it.

Many people are not optimistic about the film that Yang Yi has put so much effort into. What's wrong with making a documentary? That little money might as well go to some celebrity commercials.

Yang Yi didn't care about this at all.

Zheng Tan is not a cat in the capital city. Since we are going to tell stories about cats in the capital city, these stories will definitely not be the real Zheng Tan. Authenticity is the essential attribute of a documentary. It records objectively existing things and makes the audience feel more real. Therefore, Yang Yi will not gossip and let Zheng Tan act out those fake stories.

What Zheng Tan wants to play is the real thing in the past. In other words, Zheng Tan wants to play another cat that is no longer in the world, and he needs to change his mentality when changing the location.

Compared with 20 or 30 years ago, the current capital has changed a lot, and the scenes and things in Yang Yi's memory cannot be faithfully reproduced. Therefore, this also involves a method of virtualization through scientific and technological means. Of course, virtualization does not Doesn’t it mean fiction, the story is still true, and the virtual scenes and things that are virtualized by technological means have historical basis. Therefore, some parts of this documentary need to use the combination of virtual and real shooting techniques to reproduce the real story content.

People have the ability to reproduce past events, and those past events are the scenes that exist in Yang Yi's memory. Yang Yi said that he wanted to achieve ideological resonance, and Zheng Tan felt a little stressed.

Both the lineup and the atmosphere are very different from Xiao Guo's studio.

In the process of shooting, we pay attention to the control of the light ratio to improve the visual effect of the image. Therefore, this requires a high level of technical skills for the camera and the photographer. The photographer must adjust the light ratio to ensure the beauty of the image. The content is displayed to the public from the most beautiful angle. Advanced shooting equipment and superb photographers, both of which can be seen that Yang Yi attaches great importance to this documentary, and the post-production also has high requirements for the technical processing of images. Next, modify the image to enhance the visual effect, which requires the relevant shooting technicians to have strong technical capabilities.

Sure enough, there is a big difference between shooting pet commercials and this kind of documentary. No wonder Xiao Guo has been nervous before, and even Charlie is always nagging beside him for fear of causing trouble on business trips.

Yang Yi told Charlie and the team sent by Xiao Guo to the capital about the next few scenes to be filmed, how to move, where to look, what to call and so on. Zheng Tan listened beside him.

The old man who acted with Zheng Tan and many people in the filming team didn't understand Yang Yi's approach. When they knew that Yang Yi was going to make this documentary, they knew that it was quite difficult and he was a good person. Cats are notoriously difficult to serve, much more difficult to serve than dogs. Just look at the movies about dogs and cats and their proportions in the movies so far. , so they felt that Yang Yi was still too young and thought things too simply.

Yang Yi also knew what other people would think, but what he learned from Xiao Guo and Professor Jiao, and what he saw with his own eyes at the shooting site of the pet center made him have great expectations for this cat. It involves the story about his grandfather, the film itself is of great significance, even though it is not a big-budget film, it is just a documentary that many people don't like.

Every time Yang Yi takes pictures of animals, he likes to guess the mood of the animals at that time through the eyes and expressions of those animals that are frozen in the photos. Compared with humans, animals are easier to attract people's attention. In fact, many times, a look of an animal can instantly kill those stars on TV. What an impact. Those who love pets, sometimes even if their pets have made some mistakes, they are prepared to be reprimanded, and they throw away their armor after facing the pet's coquettish or pitiful eyes. Animals also have emotions in their eyes.

Although it is a documentary, but some still have to be acted out, especially Zheng Tan's interpretation of another cat's life this time.

Before the filming started, Zheng Tan had to put on makeup.

Yes, makeup.

This was discussed before. Grandpa Yang Yi once raised a cat that was not pure black. The cat had three white feet, one black foot, a small white spot on the nose, and a lump on the chin. Compared with the sheriff, the proportion of white in the triangle shape is not much. Zheng Tan has seen the photos Yang Yi took out.

As for the dye used for dyeing, it was specially made by Yang Yi. It is said that it is harmless, can be eaten, and can be washed off. For this reason, Dad Jiao took some for testing, and agreed after getting the results.

Before that, Zheng Tan had always thought that dyeing was an easy task, but it was not until the makeup that he realized that it was not so. The makeup artist Yang Yi hired was too conscientious and meticulous. Of course, the effect was also very good. Zheng Tan is sure that many people will not recognize him when he goes out now. Most people recognize the color of animals at first sight. There are many changes, and the all-black momentum has also been reduced.

Charlie showed Zheng Tan the mirror. The rest of Zheng Tan was quite satisfied. At first glance, he couldn’t see any makeup. The only thing that depressed him was the white spot under the nose. Now Zheng Tan felt that the “mole” of peanut candy and millet She looks pretty good, better than Zheng Tan now. The white dot under the nose with makeup is like snot, flowing directly into the mouth.

Makeup is done, let's start shooting.

There are many problems that can only be known after the shooting starts.

For example, Yang Yi said how to make coquettish and defensive noises.

That...Heitan can't bark, no, it's because it can't bark like a cat... Charlie said helplessly.

Yang Yi: ... What do you mean can't make a cat sound?

Regarding this, Zheng Tan said that it was indeed beyond his ability, the normal meowing was enough, not to mention the coquettish voice.

Charlie was afraid that the master would be angry, so he hurried over to explain to Yang Yi.

Yang Yi thought about the advertisements he had seen, and it seemed that he had never seen this cat meowing in them.

Sighing, Yang Yi said: Forget it, I'll think of a way when the cry comes, and continue.

...

Okay, pick up the socks later...what's the matter?! Don't pick up the socks? Hate smelly socks?! Hey, it's new, it's just made old on purpose. If you don't believe me, smell it...ok, go on!

...

Okay, let it squat on the wooden stool and lick its paws later... What? Don't lick its paws? How can there be a cat that doesn't lick its paws, but people still suck their fingers... Is there any dye? It's okay, the dye can be eaten. Eat it...or let it lick the claw that didn't use the dye...ok, continue.

...

After one day of filming, Charlie and the team were sweating profusely, Zheng Tan was not much better, Yang Yi was too demanding, and the director didn't think there was anything wrong with it, but Yang Yi was dissatisfied. The reshoot is probably intended to highly overlap with the fragments in memory.

Zheng Tan let out a long breath. Forget it, consider it a dedication to art.