China Entertainment 1981: Starting from Journey to the West

Before his rebirth, Gu Beizhen didn't think it was difficult to make movies and TV series. The actors acted in the front, the camera shot in the back, and the director just controlled the overall situation.

But when he really got involved, Gu Bei realized how naive he had been before.

A crew is not only a director and performer, but also requires photography, lighting, props, makeup... More than a dozen departments work together, and each one is indispensable. Performance is only the final presentation, but relatively speaking, it is the simplest task.

Before every scene is shot, there are hundreds of people working hard behind the scenes to make preparations. When everything is ready, it is the actors' turn to come on stage.

But in the end, only the actors were famous, and they were never mentioned behind the scenes.

After a busy morning, the hottest time of the day came again.

Gu Bei was currently squatting and leaning against a tree, enjoying the slight shade brought by the tree's shade. He really wanted to sit on the ground directly, but he was wearing the costume of a Wuji King prince.

As soon as he sat on the ground, he felt relieved. Later, when filming, there was a big piece of dirt under his buttocks, and Liu, who was in charge of costumes, had to settle the score with him.

It doesn't matter if you're a little tired. I've already gotten used to it if I wasn't tired when I went out to look for scenery.

I can barely overcome the hot weather, and I have long been used to mosquito bites.

What Gu Bei couldn't stand the most was the issue of efficiency.

too messy.

It had been a week since the computer was turned on, and Gu Bei's most profound feeling was chaos.

It could be explained by the lack of tacit understanding at the beginning, but after a week of filming, the various departments still failed to come together.

As long as he goes to the set every day, Gu Bei can see a bunch of people busy, each doing his or her own thing, waiting for makeup, props, lighting, and camera placement.

Finally, the preparation work is almost done, and the actors are still being pulled by the director to tell the story.

Got it!

Still have to wait.

Just waiting and waiting, the time spent on shooting has become the smallest part.

"It can't go on like this!"

"What doesn't work?"

Li Chengru was holding the lunch box and was putting it into his mouth when he heard Gu Bei talking to himself and asked in surprise.

He has now been appointed by director Yang Jie as the crew's recorder, responsible for assisting the director in completing the day's shooting plan.

Of course, recording is just one part of the job. In fact, Li Chengru is in charge of everything on the set. When there is a shortage of props, he will take the props team to the streets to buy them. If the lights are broken, he has to go into battle to repair them. Even He is usually responsible for ordering lunch boxes and can be called a generalist on the crew.

This was also what Director Yang Jie requested at the time. Due to the tight budget, the crew must try to reduce the staffing as much as possible.

Save if you can.

It's best if one person can do the work of eight people, and everyone is multi-talented.

The same is true for Gu Bei. His job is as an artist, but he is not limited to being an artist. He usually has to be on call for other things.

"Have you not noticed that our crew is not very efficient?"

Li Chengru looked confused.

low efficiency?

He really didn't feel it.

When Gu Bei saw this, he knew that it would be in vain to say these words to Li Chengru. He was also a newcomer. He had been an amateur drama actor before and was still a low-level actor. Now it was his first time to contact film and television drama production. What could he tell.

"Tell me, why is it not efficient?"

Although Li Chengru didn't understand, he had a good habit of asking questions when he didn't understand.

Gu Bei frowned. He had worked in many companies in his previous life and had also been a leader. The most important thing in his daily work was efficiency.

If any work is delayed because of someone under him, he will never let it go.

Like now, we only shoot about ten scenes a day. No wonder when we first made the plan, this episode actually took a month to complete.

There are naturally hardware issues involved. For example, the huge crew of "Journey to the West" only had one old camera, and it was also a split camera.

Often a scene can only be shot over and over again because it requires different angles.

But we can’t blame all low efficiency on the hardware.

The most critical thing is the coordination of various departments and the formulation of plans.

No, it can't go on like this.

The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became.

Gu Bei is not only a behind-the-scenes person, he also has to act as a guest star. Although he doesn't play many roles as the Prince of Wuji King, he still has to dress up and be ready when he arrives at the set every day.

If something happens and the originally planned scene cannot be filmed, we have to step in at any time and film the prince's part first.

Now that the outdoor temperature is approaching [-] degrees, who can bear to have to bundle up tightly every day?

"Hey! Why are you going?"

Li Chengru was still waiting for Gu Bei to explain his doubts. When he saw Gu Bei suddenly got up and left, he quickly shouted.

It's a pity that Gu Bei doesn't have time to explain to him now. He has to go to Director Yang Jie to change the current low efficiency of the crew.

It is true to work slowly and carefully, but that is not dillydally.

"Director Yang, Director Zhu."

Yang Jie and Zhu Xiaofeng were also having lunch at the moment. While eating, they were still discussing the afternoon shooting plan.

In fact, the plan has been in place for a long time, but sometimes external conditions do not allow it, and we have to keep adjusting. "Xiao Gu, why don't you find a cool place to rest? What's wrong?"

Yang Jie is also in a hurry these days. Gu Bei can see the efficiency problem of the crew, how could she not see it as a director.

If we continue to dilly-dally as we are now, I am afraid it will be difficult to complete the tasks assigned by the Taiwan leaders.

But she had no choice. She was responsible for the core issues, and she couldn't handle everything in detail.

"I have something to do with you."

Gu Bei had been holding some words in his heart for several days, and he really didn't want to say them out today.

"What's the matter, tell me!"

Yang Jie pulled in the last bite of rice.

The crew does not have sufficient funds, so every penny has to be spent wisely, and the food standard is naturally not high. The meal at noon every day is basically steamed buns, plus a vegetarian dish, and pickles are enough.

But no one found fault.

These days, eating well is more important than eating well.

"Director Yang, I think we are shooting about ten scenes every day. Sometimes, we can only shoot two or three scenes. How long will it take to finish filming this episode?"

Yang Jie frowned when she heard this: "What? I can't stand it anymore, Xiao Gu, your thoughts..."

When Gu Bei saw that Yang Jie was going to give him a political lesson, he quickly said: "Director Yang, that's not what I meant. What I want to say is...efficiency problems, like hardware problems, if the conditions are not met, we really can't solve it. This There’s nothing to say, but the coordination of various departments on the crew is a problem. Every day when we arrive at the set, we just have to wait. Can we think of a solution in this regard?”

When Yang Jie heard this, she knew that Gu Bei was not here to complain, and her face was not as ugly as before.

But she didn't expect that Gu Bei would take the initiative to come to her and talk about this problem.

"You can see it, can I not see it? At the beginning of the work, various departments really need to work together, and there is no co-ordinator on site. Li Chengru is a novice and needs to practice slowly. Others..."

Yang Jie spread her hands.

"See for yourself, there are only a few of them. I have to take care of the filming, Director Zhu is in charge of the script, and two teachers, Xun Hao and Ren Fengpo, are in charge of the staging and the actors' performances. How can there be anyone else?"

no one?

No one can just watch this chaos continue!

Gu Bei's heart changed and he gave up.

"Director Yang, if you are relieved, how about... let me try?"

When Gu Bei said this, he was not very confident.

Li Chengru is a novice, so he is not a newcomer.

However, these days, he has been observing the work of each department and the operation mode of the entire crew. In addition, when he was in school, he also observed the work of some crews.

He is not a layman when it comes to film and television shooting.

I can’t say it’s completely certain, but at least it won’t make the crew more confused.

Hearing what Gu Bei said, Yang Jie was really surprised and thought about it carefully for a long time.

"Well, you follow Li Chengru in the afternoon and get used to it first. I'll consider your suggestion before making any further comments."

Got it.

Although it didn't meet expectations, at least the director had spoken. Since it was the director who said it, Gu Beike used chicken feathers as arrows.

"Director Yang, do you really plan to let Xiao Gu be the on-site coordinator? This is his first time with the team and he has no experience at all. Don't you be afraid..."

Zhu Xiaofeng waited for Gu Bei to leave and said worriedly.

"What are you afraid of? Young people have ideas and are willing to take the initiative to shoulder the burden. We don't encourage them, and we can't discourage them. Let them try it. We just have to work hard and keep an eye on them."

Director Yang Jie had already said this, so naturally Zhu Xiaofeng couldn't say anything further. He could see that Yang Jie was obviously different from others towards Gu Bei.

But this is normal. Since Gu Bei joined the Westward Journey preparation team, his performance has been indeed very bright.

From the initial setting of the tone for the script adaptation, to the character design, and then to the outings for location shooting, Zhu Xiaofeng also felt that this young man was indeed a talent and worthy of being nurtured.

only……

A little too hasty?
On-site coordination is not that easy.

To put it simply, it is to assist the director in directing, coordinate the work of various departments of the crew, and be responsible for formulating shooting plans.

In the crew, he is equivalent to the first assistant director.

Gu Bei was just 20 years old. With such a heavy burden on his shoulders, could he carry it?

It’s good to be proactive and take responsibility.

But Zhu Xiaofeng was also afraid that it would backfire and end up being counterproductive.

"Okay, don't worry anymore, hurry up and eat, you are still busy in the afternoon."

Seeing Zhu Xiaofeng's worried look, Yang Jie said with a smile.

"Since he dares to come and volunteer, it doesn't matter if I give him this opportunity. Whether he can do it depends on his ability."

Just as Zhu Xiaofeng thought, Yang Jie really treated Gu Bei differently than others. Gu Bei had a flexible mind and no shortage of abilities, so she naturally had to cultivate him vigorously.

As for whether Gu Bei can practice under her hands, the opportunity has been given, and the rest depends on Gu Bei's own efforts.

Xiao Gu, you must never let me down!