novelraw Chapter 3 Making a Name for Oneself
Chapter 3 Making a Name for Oneself
Just as she was pondering this, the noodles arrived. Shen Qing peeled two cloves of garlic, threw them into the noodles, and began to eat them heartily.
After eating and drinking his fill, he walked back to his neighborhood and climbed six flights of stairs without feeling tired at all. He was so energetic that he wanted to participate in a sports meet.
In his memory, the original owner of this body had average physical abilities, so Shen Qing guessed that he had a physical advantage after transmigrating.
Upon entering the house, one finds a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Shen Qing has few belongings, so the space doesn't feel too cramped. In the northeast corner, the paint on the roof and walls is peeling off, and water stains from the light rain that came in the night before are still quite noticeable.
There was a desk against the west wall, on which were the books that the original owner hadn't been willing to sell after graduating from university, along with paper and pens.
Two thermos flasks were placed on the table legs, and a water heater was hanging on a nail on the wall.
Shen Qing filled the empty thermos with water and plugged it into the kettle. Then, she picked up the thermos and used it to scald the canned food jars on the table with a small amount of hot water before filling them. Only then did she sit down at her desk to continue thinking about the script.
I remember watching a comedy-mystery movie in 2021 in my previous life. The story took place in an empty villa during the Republican era.
Film investor Lu Ziye takes a liking to a real-life murder case. In pursuit of authenticity and sensationalism, he gathers screenwriter Li Jiahui, director Zheng Qianli, actor Guan Jingnian, actress Su Mengdie, and other entertainment industry figures for a script meeting.
What no one knew was that the mysterious case consultant at the script meeting was actually wearing chains on his feet. He was the real culprit behind the sensational case that shocked Shanghai and was about to be executed.
The location where everyone held their script meeting happened to be the crime scene of that mysterious case.
"Make a Name for Yourself!"
It is said that the investment was less than 5000 million.
However, its final box office reached over 9 million.
The box office revenue was nearly 20 times the cost!
The vast majority of the film's plot takes place inside a villa, making the setting quite simple.
The Chedun Film and Television City in Shanghai has similar old villas from the Republican era. The few Republican-era outdoor scenes in the movie are completely set up in Chedun Film and Television City. There are very few outdoor scenes in Vietnam, just one or two shots, which can be done with a little setup. The entire crew hardly needs to leave Chedun Film and Television City.
One of the most expensive aspects of filmmaking—location transitions—was saved on costs.
The main actors were selected locally from the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Shanghai People's Art Theatre. In ensemble films, everyone is a protagonist, and the salaries of three to five thousand yuan per actor are attractive enough.
Moviegoers have commented that the film is essentially a large-scale live-action murder mystery game.
How much does it cost to film a murder mystery game?
Aside from the venue and set design, it's not necessarily much more expensive than "Nightclub".
As for the difficulty of filming.
Shen Qing currently possesses 99% of Zhang Yimou's skill level, so how could he not be able to handle a murder mystery movie?
That's enough!
Blowing on the steam, taking a sip of hot water from the jar, Shen Qing opened her manuscript and began writing the script.
……
If you ask a filmmaker from a film studio why all the major film studios have the same strict requirements for storyboards, the veteran filmmaker will definitely tell you it's because there's no film stock.
Only by meticulously planning the shot breakdown in advance can we ensure that most of the shots filmed can be included in the final cut.
How can you achieve a 1:3 film ratio without strict requirements on the storyboard?
In the digital age, without film anxiety, there's no need to plan storyboards.
Setting up several cameras to shoot together, capturing wide shots, medium shots, close-ups, moving shots, and still shots, provides footage for any shot needed in post-production editing. This shooting style has a name: Coverage, which originated from Hollywood.
Shen Qing patted his chest and said he would give himself 10 days, but he had actually already reserved space for drawing storyboards.
If he only presents literary scripts, how can he convince his two senior classmates that his 1:3 film ratio isn't just bragging?
Therefore, storyboard sketches are a must!
It's amazing that Shen Qing originally had no painting skills, but after acquiring 99% of Zhang Yimou's professional abilities, he could draw storyboard sketches with incredible ease.
Zhang Guoshi has a strong foundation in art, and his hand-drawn storyboard style is meticulous. Shen Qing was pressed for time, so his drawing was a bit hasty, but the spirit of the painting is still there.
In 10 days, the first 2 days were spent writing the literary script, and the next 8 days were spent drawing storyboard manuscripts.
He drew 120 pages of sketches, with three or four scenes on each page. When he looked at the final result, he could hardly believe that he had completed it in just eight days.
……
12 month 2 day.
Chairman's Office, Dingxin Film & Media Company.
Zhao Hongwei, who was on the sofa, suddenly remembered Shen Qing.
"Hey, how long has it been since I've seen Shen Qing?"
"It's been more than a week, hasn't it?" Wang Damin, sitting opposite, said after thinking for a moment.
"Is it been 10 days?"
"Hmm... I think the last time he came to the company was November 22nd, and today is the 2nd, so it's been exactly 10 days?" Wang Damin shook his head and chuckled, "You're really looking forward to his script, huh?"
Zhao Hongwei also shook his head and chuckled: "His resolute statement that day, '10 days, produce the script within 10 days,' was really memorable."
Shen Qing is talented, and neither of them would deny that.
However, Shen Qing is also somewhat immature, as evidenced by what happened 10 days ago.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
They were talking about Shen Qing when Shen Qing knocked on the door and came in.
He was dressed casually and carrying a black briefcase.
Zhao Hongwei joked with him, "Exactly 10 days. You haven't been staying up all night writing the script these past few days, have you? You're quite stubborn. You said you'd have a script in 10 days. If you have a really good script, would I not submit it just because it was written in 20 or 30 days?"
"I boasted that I would finish the task even if it broke my wrist from writing."
Shen Qing smiled and took out two printed copies of the script from his briefcase, handing them to the two leaders respectively: "Please give me your feedback."
The two were also curious about the script that Shen Qing had completed in 10 days, and immediately started reading it.
Shen Qing sat next to Wang Damin, turned his teacup over to fill it up, and slowly sipped his tea.
Time passed by, and the two occasionally looked up at each other, and sometimes glanced at Shen Qing, who was leisurely sipping tea, but neither of them spoke.
Their expressions, however, all turned serious.
10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes...
Wang Damin was the first to put down the script, poured himself a cup of tea, and still didn't say anything.
Ten minutes later, Zhao Hongwei finally put down the script.
"Is this a story you've been conceiving for a while, or...?"
As soon as Zhao Hongwei finished speaking, Wang Damin also looked at Shen Qing. After reading the script, the two of them had the same question.
"I started conceiving about it a long time ago."
Shen Qing thought for a moment before answering.
Then he clearly felt that both of his seniors secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately.
No wonder, 10 days to produce such a well-structured and brilliant script...
Both senior students had similar thoughts.
Shen Qing took the briefcase and pulled out the storyboard manuscript inside. This time, there was only one copy:
"Mr. Zhao, these are the storyboard drafts. Please take a look."
"Mr. Wang, there's only one storyboard. Why don't you and Mr. Zhao share it?"
He stood up and handed the hand-drawn storyboard to Zhao Hongwei across from him.
Wang Damin got up and sat down next to Zhao Hongwei.
The two looked at each other, both somewhat bewildered.
Did they even bring the storyboard sketches?
The hand-drawn sketch was placed on the coffee table in front of the two of them. Zhao Hongwei turned to the first page with doubt and curiosity.
My first impression was that the artist's basic skills in this hand-drawn sketch were so solid that it could practically be viewed as a comic!
At the same time, the director's mindset is evident in every aspect.
How the camera is positioned, how the characters move, and how the camera moves are all clearly and explicitly shown.
"what?"
Zhao Hongwei suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He glanced at Wang Damin and saw that Wang Damin was reading intently, so he temporarily put aside his distractions and started reading the manuscript.
It has a total of 120 pages.
Half an hour passed by in the blink of an eye.
When the last page of the hand-drawn manuscript was finally turned, the atmosphere in the entire office became strange.
None of the three spoke, and they remained silent in tacit agreement.
After about three minutes, Zhao Hongwei finally spoke: "How long did it take you to draw this sketch?"
"Hmm...it's been quite a while," Shen Qing said with a vague smile.
Zhao Hongwei and Wang Damin both felt a sense of relief.
It turns out it was premeditated; I almost thought Shen Qing had completed it in 10 days—including the literary script.
But if that's really the case, then that would be terrifying.
"Our company's top priority next year is this 'Making a Name for Ourselves.' I'll arrange for it to be submitted for review immediately." Zhao Hongwei suddenly became very ambitious, and turned to Wang Damin and said, "You hurry up and draft the contract, and write down all the conditions we discussed that day."
He paused, then added, "If the box office doesn't break ten million, Shen Qing will get 10%; if it breaks ten million, it'll be 20%."
"Mr. Zhao..."
Just as Shen Qing was about to speak, Zhao Hongwei stopped her with a gesture: "It's settled then. You listen to me on this matter."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhao."