Chapter 27

Chapter 28: The Start of "The Story of a Concubine"

Ye Ming said bluntly, "You, you know the what but not the why. This time, everyone could have gathered to exchange skills, but after all this commotion, forget it. Let's wait until the 18th when the filming starts. Maybe it will be even more lively then."

What Ye Ming most looked forward to now was for "The Story of a Concubine" to start filming on schedule.

In Beijing, at the Prince Gong's Mansion.

The first scene of "The Story of a Concubine" was set in the imperial garden, where the cast and crew were preparing for the shoot.

This scene was not difficult at all. The director chose it to help everyone relax and get into the right mindset. In fact, the camera wasn't even turned on.

Cinematographer Liu Jiajun was too lazy to move, sitting to the side smoking a cigarette.

His gaze towards Director Sun Shupeng seemed less than friendly.

Sun Shupeng also seemed unsatisfied with the cinematographer, but since the cinematographer was from Zhongjie Company, and Sun Shupeng was just a director hired by Zhongjie to save the day, he had to turn a blind eye to some things.

Half an hour later,

Assistant Director Chao Guoli called out, "Now we start the actual shoot. Actors, take your positions. All departments, get ready."

It was the first scene of the fourth episode, the first take, the first shot.

After the clapperboard, the shooting began.

Although Zhao Wei was nervous, she was a student from a professional school and had a solid foundation.

At this moment, Su Youpeng was quite nervous. It was his first time shooting a period drama. Although he had memorized the lines perfectly yesterday, when he picked up the yellow porcelain bowl with blue and white flowers for the first time, his mind went blank, and he forgot all his lines.

Watching from the sidelines, someone shook their head and said, "He's stage-frightened, which is a big taboo for an actor."

Lin Xinru frowned and said, "Stage fright, is there any good solution?"

As fellow actors from Taiwan, Lin Xinru and Su Youpeng had become closer over the past few days.

Seeing Su Youpeng's situation, she was naturally worried.

Fan Binbin, who was also watching, said, "How could a big star like 'Little Tiger' be stage-frightened? That shouldn't happen, right?"

Ye Ming shook his head helplessly and said, "This has nothing to do with being a big star or not. Youpeng is a singer, and he's naturally familiar with singing. But acting, he's a newcomer, even less confident than a professional school student like Zhao Wei.

But because he's a big star, he's worried about not doing well, and this fear of failure makes him stage-frightened. This is something he has to overcome himself; others can't help him."

Since Zhang Tielin didn't have any scenes today, he was just wearing a light blue silk robe, standing on the sidelines.

Hearing Ye Ming's words, Zhang Tielin turned around and said, "You're right. If Youpeng doesn't overcome this stage fright today, we won't be able to shoot this scene."

Although Assistant Director Chao Guoli was quite upset, because Su Youpeng was the biggest star in the cast, after the first NG, she just said, "Youpeng, you need to relax. Let's try again."

Director Sun Shupeng didn't expect it to be a one-take wonder, so he didn't take it to heart.

However, the next two times, Su Youpeng still couldn't say his lines.

This was stage fright. If he couldn't overcome this mental barrier, as Zhang Tielin said, his scenes wouldn't be possible today.

After the third NG, Sun Shupeng finally couldn't hold back and stood up, saying, "Su Youpeng, what are you doing? Such a simple line you can't get right. Are you wasting everyone's time?"

Although Su Youpeng was a big singer, in acting, he was a newcomer. Being scolded by the director in front of everyone was embarrassing.

Su Youpeng said very kindly, "I'm sorry, Director. The lines were right there on my tongue, but as soon as the camera started, I forgot everything. My mind went blank, and I couldn't remember anything."

Sun Shupeng was quite helpless. He understood that Su Youpeng had to overcome this mental barrier himself; no one could help him.

So, Sun Shupeng thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, let's take a ten-minute break. Relax a bit."

Su Youpeng immediately stood up and found a place to continue practicing his lines.

At this moment, the director was frowning. The budget was already tight, and such issues would only make it worse.

Ye Ming walked over and said, "Director, I have an idea that might work."

Sun Shupeng looked at Ye Ming. This actor was smart and full of ideas. It was because of the song "Rice Loves Rats" that he won Qiong Yao's favor and got the role of Er Kang.

Otherwise, this role might not have been his. Both Zhou Jie and Liu Hanmin were eyeing it, but Ye Ming ultimately got the last laugh.

Sun Shupeng's eyes lit up and said, "What's your idea? Let's hear it."

Ye Ming smiled and said, "Youpeng is like this because he's nervous. That's why he has this problem. Considering his lack of acting experience, it's understandable. But I can guarantee that he was very diligent in his preparation. He had already memorized the lines for today's scene.

So, I think it's a mental issue. If we do this, it should be fine."

Mental issues require mental solutions. Sun Shupeng looked at Ye Ming and nodded in satisfaction, saying, "Good, good, let's do it."

He gave the instructions, and Assistant Director Chao Guoli naturally arranged it.

Ten minutes later, Chao Guoli gathered everyone and told Su Youpeng, "Because the director considered that you might be nervous for the first scene, we'll do a walkthrough first. You four, work together as if it's a real take, but the camera won't be on. We'll do the real take next."

This made Su Youpeng feel much more relaxed. He immediately got into the right state of mind.

Holding the yellow porcelain bowl with blue and white flowers, he said the lines fluently, "I offer tea as wine, to the most beautiful deer."

Zhao Wei immediately followed, holding a similar bowl, "To the most confused hunter."

The next line was supposed to be Zhao Wei looking down at the bowl before continuing.

But unexpectedly,

"CUT!"

Director Sun Shupeng shouted, "Props, props, where are you? Liu Yuebing, get over here!"

This time, the director was almost driven mad. They had just solved Su Youpeng's stage fright, but now there was a major issue with the tea bowls.

Su Youpeng quickly walked over, fearing he had made a mistake.

Sun Shupeng looked at Su Youpeng and said, "Youpeng, this isn't your fault. It's a prop mistake."

Liu Yuebing ran over quickly, like a gust of wind.

He said respectfully, "Director, what do you need?"

Sun Shupeng pointed to the table in the pavilion and said angrily, "What's going on? I asked you to prepare a set of yellow porcelain bowls with blue and white flowers. What did you bring? One is with blue and white flowers, and the other is with birds and flowers. Don't you know these bowls have close-up shots?"

Liu Yuebing finally realized what had happened. This was a low-level mistake he shouldn't have made.

Fan Binbin was puzzled and said, "Will the audience notice the difference between the two bowls?"

Ye Ming sighed and said, "This is a period drama, and although it has some fictional elements, certain etiquette must be observed. This is the imperial palace, after all. Imagine a princess, a prince, a concubine, and a nobleman drinking tea with mismatched bowls. Isn't that misleading the audience?"

Zhang Tielin said earnestly, "That's right. Details determine success or failure. If the bowls in front of Lingfei and Er Tai were mismatched, or if there were no bowls at all, it wouldn't matter much because they don't have close-up shots. But the bowls in front of Xiaoyan and Yongqi do have close-up shots. If the bowls don't match, you can imagine how serious the issue would be."

In this situation, Liu Yuebing realized the gravity of the issue.

He knew he had been set up.

So, Liu Yuebing, not one to back down easily, turned around angrily and shouted, "Liu Daowang, get over here! You idiot, how did I instruct you yesterday? These bowls need close-up shots. You were supposed to find a matching set. If you couldn't find a set, at least find two that match. But look at what you brought. They don't even match. What are you trying to do? Trying to mess up? Get lost!"

This issue had already been arranged by Liu Yuebing yesterday. To prevent any mishaps, he had repeatedly instructed everyone, fearing that something might go wrong during the shoot.

But despite his caution, he was still set up.

It must have been Liu Daowang, the prop assistant, who did this. Since he was a cousin of the cinematographer, they were close, and he was part of the cinematographer's inner circle. He must have been mocking Liu Yuebing, the director's confidant.

The tension between the director and the cinematographer was an open secret in the crew.