Chapter 755
Wonderful Campus Days
After working on the film set, Gu Cheng became much stronger.
Although I'm not as fair-skinned as before, I feel much safer now.
Jinli noticed that his skin had become very good, and once he improved his complexion, he could be a handsome young man again.
Gu Cheng wiped his face, seemingly unconcerned about the change in his condition.
"It was very boring on set. We couldn't use our phones or play games, and we didn't stay up late. Director Zheng wasn't the type to rush to film in the early hours of the morning. He gave all of us actors plenty of time to rest."
Once we started filming night scenes, we would finish before midnight, and the morning scenes the next day would be delayed until 9 a.m., so I got plenty of sleep and was in good physical condition.
At this point, Gu Cheng said somewhat aggrievedly, "I'm just too tired. Every time I get back to the hotel, all I want to do is sleep. I get sleepy after only a few words with you."
Jinli chuckled, tiptoed, and patted his head. "Don't cry, don't cry. It's all over now. You're finally back!"
Gu Cheng hugged her tightly, buried his head in her neck and took a deep breath. The scent of brocade pear filled his nostrils, which felt very comforting.
Jinli talked to him for a long time, asking about his next project after filming this one, his summer activities, and whether he could catch up with his studies...
-
School days fly by; there's so much to learn every day, and I encounter so many new things.
Being at top universities like Tsinghua and Peking University, many of the latest cutting-edge technologies that can change the world are born here.
Although Jinli didn't study a technology-related major, she often heard her classmates at school talk about major technological breakthroughs, innovative software, and how AI could potentially reach the level of the human brain...
Because she has consistently signed up for debates and actively prepared for the weekly debates, researching a lot of information for the debate topics, her learning scope has become increasingly broad.
Starting this month, she has even stepped out of the philosophy department's debates and participated in university-wide debates.
Because she is a philosophy major, she has developed a unique set of debating skills, often launching counterattacks from themes such as "human thoughts" and "will".
She acted like a catfish, stimulating other debate teams to cover a wider range of topics during their debates.
While Jinli actively engaged in campus life, Gu Cheng was also busy catching up on his photography assignments.
He made the right choice in choosing this major.
Both are photography, but Gu Cheng, who is often photographed, is able to discover unique shot ideas from the perspective of the subjects.
The professor praised him for his natural talent in controlling the camera.
Privately, when Gu Cheng went to hand in his homework, he would also discuss this issue with the professor.
He felt that as an actor, he always had a sense of being spied on when being filmed.
His immersion in the role was actually a struggle against that feeling of being watched; only by completely forgetting that feeling could he express the character well in front of the camera.
Gu Cheng said, "But when I was in control of the camera, I didn't have that feeling. I already had a complete picture in my mind that I wanted to present. I tried my best to show what I was shooting according to the picture in my mind."
"Professor, I feel that if I were to become a director, wouldn't I be too authoritarian and domineering? After all, actors are also creators, not puppets in the director's hands."
The professor thought for a moment and said, "But on a film set, when there can only be one voice, would you rather be a domineering director or an actor who controls the crew?"
Without hesitation, Gu Cheng said, "Director, actors can't control the camera!"
"No matter how experienced the actors are, they are always inside the camera and cannot escape the limitations outside the camera. That's why the control of an outsider can prevent a narrative from collapsing."
The professor smiled and said, "Your idea is excellent."
"Every director has the same doubts. Everyone makes adjustments during filming and makes choices that they can accept."
In my personal opinion, as a director, and as the person with the strongest control over the camera, one must be able to bear the unique and domineering nature.
If the director can't control the crew during filming and instead lets the people on camera dominate, then the show will either become a masterpiece or a complete disaster, with an 80% chance of disaster!
The professor said, "Also, regarding the issue of your voyeuristic feeling when you're acting, there is actually a solution."
Have you ever considered stepping outside the role of an actor and acting from the director's perspective?
A thoughtful look flashed across Gu Cheng's eyes.
The thought had vaguely crossed his mind before, but it wasn't clear.
—Since you're performing from an actor's perspective, you can't fully immerse yourself in the role and you can't shake off that feeling of being a spy.
So, if you act from the director's perspective, wouldn't it be better to first believe that this is just a play, detach yourself from the play's emotions, and control the play from an outsider's perspective?
Performing from the director's perspective doesn't mean he won't get into character.
Because when filming, the director also needs to empathize with the content of the drama and pour in their own emotions.
Often, the director needs to get into character faster than the actors so that he can better guide them in the right direction.
In "The Last Stand," it was originally a great opportunity to try.
However, the production schedule was very tight, and Director Zheng was very strict in his control. Gu Cheng didn't dare to film according to his own wishes, for fear of delaying the production schedule, so he didn't dare to try.
After learning of Gu Cheng's idea, the professor praised him, saying, "Next time, you can try acting from the director's perspective. You might be pleasantly surprised."
Not all actors are immersive, experience-based performers. As long as they master certain acting techniques and infuse their own understanding of emotions, regardless of how they interpret the role, if the emotions are right, they can deliver a brilliant performance.
Gu Cheng nodded solemnly.
He looked at the professor and couldn't help but ask, "Professor, did you study acting before?"
Although the professor is a professor of directing, every director is very skilled at guiding actors in their acting.
The professor seemed to be very knowledgeable about acting.
The professor chuckled: "Yes, I used to be a student at the Beijing Film Academy, but I later discovered that I had relatively low talent for acting, but I was more sensitive to controlling the aesthetics of the camera, so I switched to the directing department."
The method I mentioned to you is something I figured out myself. I performed it for a friend, and he said it was a pleasant surprise. But I'm too old to keep up with the crew's high-intensity filming schedule.
Since you're an actor and also my student, why don't you help me see if this theory works?
Gu Cheng readily agreed: "Okay, Professor."
-
The wonderful school days fly by, and summer vacation will be here soon.
Jinli's endorsement contract renewal with Tiangong, which had been dragging on for two months, has finally been finalized.
Endorsement fees exceeding 12 billion yuan over five years!
Regarding the price, Tiangong refused to lower it any further. If it did, Tiangong would start to suspect that Jinli wanted to renew her contract with them.
Chenxi Entertainment smiled wryly. After making inquiries from various sources and reporting to President Xiao, they confirmed that the endorsement fee would not attract the attention of relevant departments and strictly audited their company's taxes.
Only after the company's taxes were cleared did they dare to let Jinli sign the renewal contract.
Jinli signed the renewal contract, and Tiangong Jewelry finally released its latest products at the end of June!
Jinli kept the extra set of jewelry she photographed as a backup, but used the three sets of jewelry she photographed first for promotion.
Mysterious emeralds, dazzling rubies, noble topaz!
These three sets of gemstones are a set, with a total price of 8.8 yuan, a very auspicious number.
Although it's sold as a set, individual parts can also be sold separately. The price of the set will be slightly cheaper, while the price of individual parts will be several hundred yuan more expensive, which is normal.
The three sets of gemstones became best-selling high-end luxury items as soon as they were released.
Sales of Ya Jun's twelve zodiac series watches were also dragged down by sales of Tian Gong Jewelry's three gemstone necklaces.
After all, the Chinese zodiac was a hit last year, so it's normal that it can't compete with this year's hit.
During the launch of the three sets of gemstones, Jinli participated in a three-day brand event hosted by Tiangong Jewelry.
For each performance, she would wear a unique set of jeweled jewelry.
For example, this day, July 1st.
Jinli had just started her summer vacation. She had barely left school when her agent dragged her to participate in a brand event for Tiangong Jewelry, kicking off her summer business trip.
The Tiangong brand event also started a live broadcast, with the camera occasionally panning to Jinli, eliciting gasps of amazement from the viewers in the chat.
【The pears are so beautiful!】
[I thought it was beautiful when I saw the commercial, and now that I'm wearing it, I feel even more like a little princess!]
[Waaaaah, that really hit me right in the heart!]
Why did Nuwa show such favoritism towards a particular clay doll when creating humans?
They say that when God closes a door, He opens a window. Perhaps the window God opened for Jinli was a panoramic skylight.
No, after thinking it over, the necklace is still the most eye-catching piece. I don't want to buy a bracelet, I want to buy a necklace!
The gemstone necklace is too big and not suitable for everyday wear. Ordinary people don't attend parties every day, so wearing such a large gemstone necklace is inconvenient.
While launching new products, Tiangong Jewelry has been paying close attention to online opinions.
They have a dedicated product feedback department.
The department members collected many opinions from netizens and immediately submitted them to the higher-level department.
The executives at Tiangong Jewelry quickly identified the pain points of netizens and urgently launched a regular version (a daily outfit version).
The price has been cut in half, and you can get the whole set for only 4.5.
The everyday wear version sold even better than the luxury version upon its release.
However, a closer look at the costs reveals that the everyday wear version is actually overpriced.
The everyday wear version reduces the diameter of all gems by half, making it look more casual, but greatly diminishes the preciousness of the gems.
The regular version would already be very expensive at 20,000 yuan, but I didn't expect Tiangong Jewelry to sell it for more than 40,000 yuan.
Yet many people still went to buy it, believing that the everyday wear version was more cost-effective.
Some knowledgeable industry insiders who saw this couldn't help but marvel at how well Tiangong Jewelry had done its marketing.
They first released a high-priced version, and then released a low-priced version.
Both versions are priced much higher than the market price, but because the first one is very expensive, many people will feel that it is very cheap if the other one is priced lower.
The everyday-wear version of the gemstone necklace is selling even better than before!
Soon, on China's largest gossip forum, an industry insider revealed that they envied Tiangong Jewelry for getting involved with Jinli, saying they were incredibly lucky.
Tiangong has successfully sold three sets of luxury goods. Upgrading from a first-tier brand to a luxury brand is no longer a dream, but a real possibility.
[The diameter of the gemstones on the everyday wear version is indeed very small. According to the previous pricing of Tiangong, this set wouldn't even sell for tens of thousands of yuan, yet they dared to sell it for 4.5 yuan!]
[This is insane! When I first found out, I thought they were robbing people, but even I couldn't resist buying a set because it's so beautiful.]
The high-end version at 88,000 yuan is too expensive. Buying the everyday version separately, I can still afford the necklace and bracelet. I only need to spend 10,000 yuan to have the same style as Jinli. I'm so happy! I want to use the same things as Jinli.
[Does the original poster even know what a luxury brand is? Luxury brands never price their products based on their actual value; they add a lot of brand value to them.]
Where does brand value come from? It comes from emotional value. As long as Tiangong can provide me with pleasant emotions, I'm willing to buy it. I also want to have the same product as Jinli!
While Jinli learned that Tiangong Jewelry was selling like hotcakes, she also learned a piece of gossip from Sister Fang.
Sui Lingfang said with a laugh, "There's a rumor, I can't guarantee it's true, but it's been circulating in a very convincing way."
It's rumored that high-ranking officials from Tiangong and Yajun met privately at a club, and for some unknown reason, they ended up fighting.
Jinli was stunned: "They fought?"
They're all high-ranking officials, surely it shouldn't have escalated to this level of unpleasantness.
Jinli asked curiously, "Could it be that the two executives knew each other before, were mortal enemies, and had business rivalries?"
Sui Lingfang shook her head: "No, it is said that the people from the Heavenly Palace were the first to raise the issue of new product sales, and then asked Ya Jun whether your new product production capacity was still unable to keep up, and that a certain Yiyi Small Commodity City was going to replace the genuine product."
Jinli: ...
This is incredibly sarcastic.
Sui Lingfang: "Yajun's senior management was furious. Their new product sales were indeed greatly impacted by piracy, so they started fighting without saying a word."
She added, "This is just a rumor; it hasn't spread, so I don't know for sure. It's just something to talk about."
Jinli waved her hand: "I will not comment on this matter. If a reporter asks, I will not answer."
Sui Lingfang smiled and said, "The reporters can't find you even if they want to."
Jinli: "Hmm?"
Sui Lingfang: "On the very first day of your summer vacation, Director Chu confirmed your schedule with me. When he learned that you had already made preparations to clear out your summer schedule, he said that he would also speed things up."
“So,” she paused, “you’ll be joining the cast of Dawn II next Tuesday for filming.”
Jinli raised an eyebrow, a huge weight lifted from her heart.
Finally, are they going to film "Dawn 2"...?
She probably put in as much effort as the director and screenwriter into this drama.
Although she did not participate in the specific adaptation, the direction of the changes to the drama was based on her suggestions.
Therefore, she is also one of the creators of this drama.
Upon learning that filming was about to begin, Jinli felt only excitement and anticipation, not fear.
She was also eager to know how well the film she created according to her own ideas would fare. (End of Chapter)