Chapter 301
Chapter 301: Premiere
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
As the days passed, the number of people who had finished filming all their scenes increased, but very few people left the cast and crew . They only left if they had important matters or other arrangements to attend to .
During free time, one actor asked another, "When are you going to receive your bento box?"
The one who was asked stared at the sky in frustration . "Given the pace of filming, probably in two days . "
The person in front patted the other's shoulder . "You can do it . "
"What about you?"
"Me? Haha, my bento box is already cold . "
"When did you receive it? When are you leaving?"
"I'm not leaving, I still have to stay here and study . What a good learning opportunity!"
Those who had finished filming all their scenes were not willing to leave . They felt that leaving early was losing face . They could stay on for a period by paying for their own food and lodging . To put it nicely, this was termed "retained cast studies . " Of course, there were indeed many benefits, and there was a lot to be learned .
These people that stayed behind at their own expense provided manual labor, moving stuff and carrying equipment, and they were also on standby . Perhaps if they were lucky, they would be pulled into an extra role and have a few minutes of screen time . Even if the makeup for these extra roles was so thick that they couldn't recognize themselves, they felt satisfied anyway .
These people were more than delighted to work and fork out their own money . The companies behind them were also supportive and would reimburse part of their expenses . Generous companies directly covered all their expenses . Only by staying on with the cast and crew could they continue riding on the large ship that was "Founding Era . " Whether it was the actor's own value or the company's commercial benefits, staying on was the best option .
The production team never chased anyone away . Many actors that were able to get into the cast were capable . They could act as old people or pretend to be young and could even portray a different gender .
Fang Zhao's filming went smoothly, and there were no situations where he released his full imposing aura . He was here to act, not to crush people with his aura—that wouldn't be beneficial for cooperating .
A historical serial wasn't history . Other actors were not the actual people from back then .
Fang Zhao could clearly differentiate reality from his memories .
From an artistic point of view, now he was just working together with other actors to bring an adaptation of actual history to life in the form of "Founding Era . " This would let many more people remember what had happened during that time and the people that had sacrificed so much for these lands .
From a cultural and artistic aspect, it would leave its mark in history .
As Fang Zhao's motive was different from others, he treated this very seriously . Furthermore, in his own words, he did not consider it very arduous, so when compared to others, it seemed much more effortless for Fang Zhao .
It could not be said that he had very little to do . In fact, in the Yanzhou chapter's filming team, his duties were much heavier . Filming was tougher, and he did not use a body double, instead doing everything by himself . If he were anyone else, they would probably have laid down from exhaustion, but Fang Zhao still seemed enthusiastic and full of vigor every day . His appetite was also good; others might not even be able to finish a meal, yet Fang Zhao could finish up to three on his own!
Some people in the cast and crew loved to see Fang Zhao eat . Watching him eat a lot with relish, others would feel slightly more ravenous and stuff a few more mouthfuls of food in .
An old actor noticed Fang Zhao eating with such relish and could not help but ask, "Fang Zhao, how are you able to eat so much?"
Fang Zhao swallowed and replied, "Because I'm hungry . "
That old actor hiccuped, following which he turned to the person beside him and sighed . "Given Fang Zhao's physical and mental qualities, it is no wonder he rose up through the ranks during his military service . "
When the cast and crew were filming, who wouldn't be tired and hungry? But there were times where one would just feel unwell deep down . It might also be due to being too immersed in their character and being unable to completely separate oneself . When one was feeling stifled or panicky, it could give rise to a physiological rejection and they would not be able to bring themselves to swallow their food .
But take a look at Fang Zhao . A short while ago, he had been even more immersed in his character, but when filming was done he, squatted at the side and dug in .
While others were still holding onto their food in a daze, this person had already started on his second portion .
When others finally adjusted their state of mind and separated themselves from their character and were about to start eating, this person had already finished his third portion and was helping others in the cast and crew .
When others had finished forcefully stuffing food into their mouths, memorized their lines, and adjusted their state of mind, this person came running back to let the makeup artist touch up his appearance, and he got into character in one second .
"A really natural actor," yet another old actor lamented .
"How many years has it been since I have felt that sort of pressure!" old actors said as, with complicated expressions, they watched Fang Zhao as he entered his filming state .
This was also a reason why many successful old actors from the cast felt pressured . When juniors performed too well, it would make these seniors feel like their zeal wasn't sufficient and they were not professional enough
The pace of the production team's filming was very quick . Now, the second season's filming was almost done . Actors had already adapted to the situation and environment and were used to this sort of intensity . They were all quality actors, and after adapting, the filming of the second season had proceeded even more smoothly and quickly than that of the first season .
Nowadays, face makeup was simple . Every actor and role had special prosthetics that could be stuck onto their face . With a little touch-up from the makeup artists, even through a high definition camera, there would not be any traces of makeup, and it saved a lot of time .
Apparel, scars, and others were all the same . Everything had become much simpler with technological advancements, and not a lot of time was required for makeup . Naturally, efficiency had increased as well .
While filming for the second season was underway, the first season was in postproduction . It was rumored that postproduction was almost complete .
Although filming might have seemed quick, the cast and crew had put in a lot of effort . Also, they had prepared for a long time .
The cast had not made preparations only after the "Founding Era" project's reboot had been announced . Rather, plans had been made some years earlier, but they hadn't been carried out then .
The script had also been released earlier, but only after it had been rebooted had the consultation team looked through it and made amendments . Design plans for the construction of sets had long been prepared beforehand and had already been meticulously drawn up .
As for actors, those that had internal information had started preparing a few years earlier and had just been waiting for the project to be rebooted .
On the accompaniment music side, the music team had been hoarding pieces . Some extremely capable teams could even create accompanying music that better fit the plot at the last moment . With so many elites and talented people, Roman could use whoever's work best suited his requirements .
Quick filming did not signify that large quantities were being churned out at the cost of quality . Postproduction was also tightly supervised and had stringent requirements . With a lead director like Roman, who had very high standards, nobody could even think about just going through the motions .
From filming all the way to postproduction, everyone gave their all . The entire cast was like a well-oiled machine that was running precisely and efficiently .
Besides filming, every once in a while, Fang Zhao and other actors playing important roles in the same team would have to visit psychologists for a talk .
This was an arrangement of the production team's, and it was a clear-cut requirement . For Fang Zhao and other actors who held more important roles, they were required to visit the psychologist once every seven days . The production team was worried that these actors' mental health might be affected if they got too deeply immersed in their characters .
The production team cared about the physical and mental health of their actors and had also considered many aspects .
Actually, the original plan after filming started had been to be in a completely sealed mode without any access to the internet all the way until filming ended . Ultimately, following suggestions from the psychologists, it had been changed to two hours of internet access every seven days of the week . The reason was that people needed to release tension . This gave actors a time to drain all their pent-up feelings and emotions .
The psychologist in charge of Fang Zhao and the others was called Dai Yu .
Dai Yu knew many of these actors . As he was in the cast and crew, although he was not participating in the filming, he found out by talking to those actors that this might be the actors' toughest ever challenge yet . He could understand the mental states of these actors through conversations with them .
From Dai Yu's professional viewpoint, "Founding Era" was like a dark and gloomy forest fraught with strange dangers . When actors stepped inside, they were extremely careful even when it came to brushing away a single leaf . As they advance further in and fell even deeper, it got even more dangerous, and any object had the possibility of being a threat .
What Dai Yu needed to do was guide those actors deep in the darkness back out .
All the other actors were fine . The only one Dai Yu felt was a difficult problem was Fang Zhao . Every time he faced Fang Zhao, Dai Yu felt like . . .
Every time Dai Yu was dissecting Fang Zhao's mental state, the Fang Zhao sitting in front of him seemed to be scanning Dai Yu's mental state as well .
Dai Yu coughed lightly, relieving the strange atmosphere that had built up . He remembered his previous chats with other actors and continued, "People of those times seemingly became like beasts . Supposing they lost their humanity, it would signify that they would lose many things . "
Fang Zhao replied, "Lose your bestiality, you lose everything . "
Dr . Dai paused and looked at Fang Zhao before looking away quickly and nodding his head . "That's right . They were forced into it . Without change, they had no way of survival . "
Dai Yu then took the initiative to talk to Fang Zhao about some other topics for around 10 minutes before he ended this session .
After Fang Zhao left, Dai Yu poured himself a glass of warm water . His finger that was hooked around the cup was trembling slightly . After finishing his water, he stared at the chair Fang Zhao had sat in and pondered .
If he was more attentive, he would have realized that every time Fang Zhao came over, the chair's position was slightly further away compared to others .
From several conversations here, Dai Yu had found out that Fang Zhao was a dangerous person . Fang Zhao might look rather harmless, but his true nature might be even closer to the role he was playing .
Fang Zhao was unlike others . Other people would seem to sink into the dark and dangerous forest because of acting . As for Fang Zhao, his head had an expanse of gloomy forests that was deeply rooted and could not be removed . Dai Yu was powerless .
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