Chapter 45

When the Ye family of three drove back home, it was already noon. Their Black Friday shopping spree had ended, and they had achieved half of their goals, which was still a considerable harvest. However, the cost was that Gu Qiao had injured her hand, but fortunately, it was just some minor bruises. She would be fine after applying some bruise medicine at home.

Although Ye Haogen and Ye Wei were very concerned, Gu Qiao said it was worth it. They had saved over two thousand yuan with this shopping spree.

Over two thousand yuan? Ye Wei thought that perhaps many years later, when he had achieved success, he would feel deeply moved by this event. But now, he had no enjoyment at all. After returning home, he took a two-hour nap but couldn't fall back asleep. He got up and continued working on the short film.

Seeing that the time was right, he first replied to Lily's text message and then called Anna's agent. Anna had already informed Ms. Zhu En, who indeed had no objections. Acting in a student's work generally brought neither gain nor loss.

In fact, there is a saying in the entertainment industry: "An agent is your partner, not your mother."

An agent might be like a mother, but an agent is not. Even extras have agents (specialized agencies for extras), and an agent might have so many actors under their management that they can't even count them all. They usually meet only once or twice a year, or even several years, with the last meeting often being the signing of the contract. They usually communicate via phone, email, etc.

Most ordinary actors don't rely on their agents to find work; they get jobs by submitting resumes, contacting, and interviewing themselves. Waiting for good news from the agent? They would have starved to death long ago.

Moreover, agents only make money from paid performances. For a student short film with no pay, asking for their opinion? Most agents would simply say, "If you want to act, go ahead. Don't you know I'm very busy? Don't bother me."

But Ms. Zhu En was an ambitious agent, and Anna was her ace. Therefore, everything had to be handled with caution and seriousness. She wanted to review the script and, if Anna were to act, sign a contract to protect her rights.

This was the normal procedure, and Ye Wei had no objections. They agreed to meet.

As an agent, Ms. Zhu En worked all year round without a break. Tonight, she would have dinner with Anna's family to discuss this matter.

...

Under the night sky, in Beverly Hills, at Spago Restaurant.

This was a high-end, Michelin two-star restaurant that celebrities often visited. The owner was the famous chef Wolfgang Puck. The decor was exquisite, the food delicious, and the prices exorbitant. Ye Wei invited them to dine here to show his sincerity and that "I have money and am not a bad person." But tonight, they wouldn't leave the restaurant without spending at least four hundred dollars.

As expected, Ms. Zhu En had a good impression of him: "The young boss of Wei Duo Image," not a scammer.

Anna's family also didn't know the Ye family's financial situation. They enjoyed the meal, and if they knew that the Ye family had been shopping at the mall that morning, they would have been surprised.

In the dining hall, by a window, the bread was served. The four of them tasted it while each read a copy of the script, and Ye Wei smiled as he watched them.

The ten-page script of "Dance of the Angel," printed on standard script paper, took less than ten minutes to read. The four of them finished one after another, with various expressions, all showing surprise!

"Wow! This is a professional script, right?" David Roberts was not unfamiliar with films. He had thought it would be a few paragraphs of story followed by long sections of shooting instructions.

Janet was also surprised. It seemed that Ye Wei's claim of learning about films from a young age was not a lie. He was indeed a promising young man! She praised, "I think the script is well-written. Anna can act in this story without any problem."

"Mom, you're right." After reading the script, Anna looked at Ye Wei with more admiration. "I really want to play Anna right now."

In the script, Annie was now called Anna, and Toto was called Bella.

"You will." Ye Wei was pleased with their reactions and looked at the agent on his right, "Ms. Zhu En, right?"

Ms. Zhu En was a professional white woman in her thirties, wearing a black suit, with short, neat hair and sharp eyes. She seemed to like the script as well, and since Anna's family was in agreement, her opposition wouldn't change anything. She nodded, "This script is good. It will be well-received if it's well-made."

"Thank you, thank you all!" Ye Wei's voice was a bit loud with excitement. Having the lead actress was too smooth, too happy! This was good karma, ha ha!

"Awesome!! So exciting!" Anna also exclaimed happily, her eyes wide and her smile bright. "My first on-screen performance! A short film!"

"Excuse me..." At this moment, a waiter approached, politely asking them to lower their voices.

After the waiter left, Anna stuck out her tongue, and Ye Wei made a funny face. Both of them tried to hold back their laughter...

Next, they agreed on a mutually satisfactory shooting schedule: December 12th, 13th, and 14th, Friday and the weekend. By then, Anna would be just ten years old.

At her age, she was a child actor, and having a child actor in a film production meant trouble.

For a minor to participate in a production, a "special work permit" is legally required. The requirements vary by state, but generally, three documents are needed: a work contract signed by the employer, a school-signed proof of average grades of C or higher, and a doctor-signed health certificate.

During the shooting, the production company might need to arrange three types of personnel on set: a child welfare worker to ensure compliance with child labor laws, a nurse (necessary for infant actors, not for a ten-year-old), and a teacher with teaching qualifications (if shooting for more than three days, the child actor needs to be educated on set).

These are all supervised. To avoid being sued by the child welfare worker and the child actor's parents, and to avoid a large fine, it's best to comply.

Additionally, the working hours for child actors vary by state and country. Commonly, children aged 6-9 can work a maximum of 8 hours a day, and those aged 9-16 can work a maximum of 9 hours a day. Three hours are for learning, and one hour is for play, so the actual time spent performing in front of the camera is only 4-5 hours a day.

Some places have stricter rules, such as requiring a 12-hour break between leaving and returning to the set, and counting travel time between sets as work time...

If "Little Miss Sunshine" were ever to be produced, the producer would have to do this for "Oliver."

Although "Dance of the Angel" was a student short film, the contract would still need to comply with child labor laws.

However, Ye Wei privately explained that he wouldn't follow these rules. There would be no child welfare worker or teacher, only Anna's mother. They would work 10 hours a day, all for actual shooting, with no playtime.

This was almost abusive, almost slavery! If he did this in an independent film, he could be sued to bankruptcy.

But for a student short film, it couldn't be so strict. Anna's parents understood; it was only three days, and her mother would be there.

The most important reason was that Anna was willing; she would be happy to shoot for 12 hours a day!

With the working hours determined, they discussed some business aspects: zero pay, the production team would provide meals; the actor would drive to different shooting locations; the actor would bring their own clothes but would have a makeup and costume designer for guidance.

The short film could not be used for any commercial purposes; it could not be uploaded to the internet without Anna's consent; all raw footage could not be leaked without permission; Ye Wei could submit the short film to various film festivals and use it as part of his resume.

On the other hand, if Anna suddenly didn't want to shoot, got sick, or had creative conflicts, she wouldn't need to pay any compensation; she had no obligation to participate in post-production or promotion; if Ye Wei violated the agreement, Anna had the right to sue him...

All of these would be written into the contract, almost a standard contract, so everything went smoothly.

They also agreed on the shooting format: high-definition digital.

Although shooting with 35mm film could show more, Ye Wei had other considerations: cost savings, time savings, and it wasn't necessary.

Because he wanted to be a producer and director, shooting high-definition digital would make shooting film easier. Technical issues would be handled by the camera crew, and the production process would only differ slightly due to the additional steps of developing and reviewing the film. It was manageable. Moreover, "Little Miss Sunshine" could also be shot in high-definition digital, as the story didn't have high requirements for color and grain.

Incidentally, the Coen brothers hadn't even touched many professional cameras before shooting "Blood Simple."

"‘Anna’ losing her right leg, how do you plan to shoot those scenes?" Ms. Zhu En flipped through the script and asked Ye Wei a question.

"Special effects." Ye Wei looked at the others and explained in detail, "I'll try to use misalignment and makeup to complete some shots, but we'll need special effects for some shots that need to be shot head-on."

This was a major challenge for the short film. Special effects for a student short film? It had to be professional, not just Photoshop!

The principle would be to shoot twice. The first time, shoot as usual, but mark Anna's right leg in blue or green so the special effects artist can remove that part in post-production. The second time, shoot the same composition, but move Anna's right leg out of the frame to capture the background, which will be edited together in post-production. After processing, the final product will be ready.

This technique couldn't be done on a regular home computer, but USC had the resources.

He didn't reveal his true post-production plans but smiled and said, "I'll find a professional special effects company to do it."

Anna's family nodded, and Ms. Zhu En asked, "What about the music?" The script had a few places where music was needed.

"I don't know yet, but Britney Spears' songs definitely won't be used." Ye Wei shrugged and took a bite of his fried egg. He couldn't afford the copyright fees, even for a student short film. Using a famous song as a soundtrack would cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Probably classical music like Beethoven or Mozart. Dead people don't charge."

But even then, he couldn't use just any version; he would have to use his own recording.

For a short film, the use of music is crucial. In such a short time, sometimes the emotional impact depends entirely on the music! Good music can make a cliché story and mediocre shots magical; bad music can turn a touching story and magical shots into something dull.

In sound films, the image and sound complement each other, like a pair of chopsticks. One chopstick alone can't pick up anything.

During the conversation, Ye Wei spoke very professionally, using many terms that even Anna's family didn't understand, which made them even more impressed.

"Wei, you know so much. Did you learn all of this yourself?" Anna's admiration grew.

"Yes, you can say that." What else could he say? Ye Wei used the same explanation he had given to Willis.

It was a very pleasant dinner. When they left the restaurant, the collaboration was set, making the 461 dollars well spent.

With one of the two main actors secured, they still needed a dog.

There were only 13 days left before shooting, less than half a month. During this time, Ye Wei had to do all the pre-production work, both production and directing. Just finding locations would be a challenge, and he still had to form the crew... It was definitely not an easy task.

The next Saturday morning, as agreed, Anna's family came to the Ye family's home in Brentwood, and Bella also arrived. Ye Wei immediately began the audition process!