Chapter 83

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"Ah..."

A terrified scream echoed in the audition room. The bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked little girl huddled into a ball, staring at the teddy bear on the opposite table, looking utterly frightened. "Mommy... Mommy..."

Her eyes welled up with tears, which then rolled down her cheeks in large drops.

Mufei nodded gently, raising his head from behind the camera. "OK, Miss Collins, that's it for now."

The little girl still stood there in a daze, seemingly unable to shake off her frightened state. The middle-aged woman standing nearby quickly went over and held her in her arms.

"Mrs. Cole." Mufei walked up to the two of them, lowering his voice slightly. "We will notify you of Miss Collins' audition results within the next three days."

"Thank you." Jill Cole nodded politely and left the audition room with her daughter.

Mufei went back, turned off the camera, took out the tape, labeled it, and then handed it to Paul Wilson, who had been acting as his assistant.

The little girl's performance in the audition was quite good. Among the girls of the same age that Mufei had seen, she was one of the more talented. Moreover, the role itself did not require much acting skill, and the screen time was limited.

In his heart, Mufei had already listed her as the top choice, but the price was still a factor.

As he walked out of the audition room and returned to the living room, James Franco approached him. "How was it?"

Mufei knew what he was asking and warned in a low voice, "Jim, this is not an ordinary girl. Don't do anything foolish."

James Franco immediately adopted the tone Mufei had used that night. "Am I that kind of person?"

Mufei pointed at him with his finger, too lazy to say more. James Franco had an odd personality, and his behavior was often unpredictable, but he was not a fool.

Mufei went upstairs, and Carey Mulligan followed from behind. "James is up to no good again. It will affect the production."

"It's fine." Mufei waved his hand casually. "Jim knows the difference between right and wrong."

By now, he could see that James Franco was just a guy with the heart but not the courage.

Over the next few days, Mufei's main task was to conduct auditions. He interviewed over fifty actors and finalized all the cast members by mid-April. The little girl named Lily Collins also became part of the cast.

As for the extras needed, Mufei did not plan to spend money on hiring temporary actors. There were many crew members in the production, and their cameo appearances would be enough.

Moreover, crew members appearing as extras is a Hollywood tradition.

With the cast list finalized, the production team was officially formed and entered the preparation stage.

Mufei became even busier. He was not only the director but also the producer overseeing the entire project. Every task during the preparation phase needed to be arranged and reviewed.

This project was more complex than the last one. Mufei knew that he had only directed a low-budget film and that his capabilities were still limited. He estimated the potential difficulties and made his plans more realistic compared to experienced directors.

In addition to the storyboard, he prepared a detailed shot list for each main actor. While the storyboard could not be described as all-encompassing, it was detailed enough, focusing mainly on the shooting of individual scenes.

In fact, many Hollywood directors also use storyboards, and the level of detail depends on two factors: the director's confidence and the complexity of the shoot.

Some directors want a very precise storyboard for every shot, while others decide on the shooting method only when they are on set.

Only experience can tell a director what method suits them, and Mufei was clearly still in the exploration stage.

The various departments coordinated to find a suitable shooting location. Mufei led the assistant director, cinematographer, lighting, props, art director, and set designer to inspect the location.

This stage was mainly to find practical solutions to meet the script's requirements.

A good director and screenwriter would screen the script to remove scenes that are unsuitable for shooting or too expensive within the budget. Considering the budget, Mufei directly deleted several high-cost car chase scenes.

In the production team, there were specialists searching for locations, props, costumes, images, and information, which were then reviewed by Mufei.

This was the most challenging step in the preparation phase. Mufei faced many challenges, either too many or too few choices. He needed to propose solutions to help the production team make the best choices.

This was also the most stressful part of the preparation phase, with Mufei's daily schedule packed.

The entire film had only a few exterior shots, which would be shot around the Stanton Studios. To save costs, Mufei chose the Stanton Studios for the required residential scenes.

With some minor adjustments, the Stanton Studios could serve as a suitable middle-class home.

Additionally, Mufei planned to shoot the main scenes in a large old warehouse. The rental cost of a soundstage was too high for him to afford. After examining the five locations submitted by Paul Wilson, and considering all aspects, they finally settled on an abandoned steel warehouse in the outskirts of Venice.

This warehouse had been abandoned for some time, appearing quite dilapidated, with a cheap rent of only $10,000 per month. The space was large enough to set up multiple scenes simultaneously. Moreover, there were small cranes left on the ceiling, which, according to cinematographer Phil Lachel, could be used for overhead shots.

Once the shooting location was finalized, the production team immediately began the work of transforming and setting up the scenes. Even in such a small production, a large amount of data and information from various departments still converged on Mufei, the director. The data needed to be organized, filtered, and reviewed. This was usually the responsibility of the assistant director. If the right person was chosen, they would be very dedicated to the project, marking any issues or recording them before they became problems.

Paul Wilson was very responsible and had some ability, but his experience was lacking. Mufei had to work with Paul Wilson and promptly summarize their experiences.

Talent in this world needs time to grow.

Moreover, Mufei had to coordinate the work of various departments. Although the production was small, conflicts and friction were inevitable. Where there are people, there are conflicts. At such times, the director and producer's coordination and management skills were crucial. Proper management ensured smooth preparation, while poor management would lead to many problems.

Film production is a collaborative effort, and personnel management is the foundation of this process.