Chapter 50

As Thanksgiving holiday passed and December 2003 arrived, the Christmas atmosphere gradually rose across the United States.

On Monday at school, Ye Wei received so many Thanksgiving gifts that his hands were almost full. Besides his good friends like Lev, Bud, Chen Nuo, and Corwin, as well as the club members, many unfamiliar girls also showed their affection. The various events of the past month had made him incredibly popular.

So, let it not stop! Ye Wei announced to the dream chasers the company's recent work focus: shooting a professional short film! And the preparatory work was already more than halfway done.

There is still one very important department that the production team needs to secure: food supply!

There is a profound saying on set: If the director can take care of the cast and crew's stomachs, he can win their hearts.

This is not a joke. Enthusiasm cannot be eaten, and the shooting work on set is long and monotonous for most people, even the director himself can feel bored!

The great French director François Truffaut described the director's job as "imagining yourself sitting in an old-fashioned horse-drawn carriage for a trip through the Old West: at first, you are full of anticipation for the historical sites you will visit and the countless thrilling adventures you will experience... In the end, you just want to reach your destination as soon as possible."

Therefore, delicious food is so important, not only to keep everyone energized but also to keep them happy, which helps maintain high efficiency and quality.

It is even the most important thing on set. If you ask a hundred crew members to choose between the director and good food, ninety-nine will choose the food, and the remaining one will be the director, or the director's mother.

In addition to a nutritious and hearty lunch (the lunch on set is not the traditional lunch, but a meal taken after six hours of shooting each day, so if shooting starts at 5 PM, the meal at 11 PM is also called lunch), the set also needs to provide snacks continuously. In almost every set, you can find a snack table in the logistics area, with a long rectangular table filled with various snacks, available for anyone to take. In this aspect, extras and big stars are treated equally.

Of course, if there is only one bagel left and a big shot wants it, even if you are about to eat it, it's best to give it to him.

The set of "Dance of Angels" could not be sloppy either. Ye Wei originally planned to cooperate with a specialized catering company, but Bud volunteered, saying his family's "Good Taste Nation" restaurant could take on this task!

Good Taste Nation is located in Santa Monica, quite close by. Ye Wei had been there before, and both the main courses and desserts were good. Moreover, Bud's family was willing to help at cost price, so it was settled!

After the most important logistics were secured, he began to recruit theater audience extras. When the students heard this news, they were overjoyed!

"I want to join!! Brother Wei, can you give me a close-up shot?"

"Good heavens, Boss, you mean a bunch of USC students are helping you shoot a film? Ha, that's crazy!!"

"So what if they are college students, they all have to listen to VIY!"

Who wouldn't want to join? Even if they had plans on the 14th, they would cancel them. VIY's short film might create a miracle, and it would be such a lucky opportunity to appear in it! All the college students were ready to help.

The twelve disciples, who had learned the news earlier, were almost arrogant with pride, following Brother Wei in chasing their dreams, which was just so cool.

"Guys, I almost forgot to mention, among those college students, there are three beauties."

Ye Wei's words made everyone even more enthusiastic. The young, excited faces and cheers echoed through the storeroom!

On this day, Ye Wei also fulfilled a previous promise. He texted Connie to come to the library where he worked and gave her a five-minute script, "Winter Girl," which he had written in his spare time. Considering Lev and the others' production capabilities and Connie and the girls' acting abilities, the story was simple:

Because of the cold winter weather, Connie wore thick clothes and was mocked by her classmates. But with the help and encouragement of Lily and Tris, she managed to wear the same thick clothes in a sexy way, stunning her classmates and having a wonderful day, capturing and preserving her youth on camera.

"Wow!" When she received the script, Connie was so surprised that she almost cried, looking at his smiling face, "Wei, I almost forgot about this. I didn't expect you to really write it, I thought you just said it casually... Oh, wow!"

"How could I not write it? Do you think I'm not afraid of being hunted to another planet? Hunter."

"Wei, you're so funny... I told Lily, if you two break up, I'll go on a date with you."

"Thanks... Uh, why don't you ask her if she can come on a three-way date? Just kidding, don't ask."

...

On December 2nd, four days after Thanksgiving, Arndt still hadn't received Ye Wei's call. His disappointment grew heavier. Indeed, a screenwriter is like toilet paper; though it's troublesome without it, once used, it's thrown into the trash...

He remembered Ron Yeksa and Albert Berger's regretful words: "Michael, I'm very sorry, the project was bought by a rich kid, it's all over, sigh..."

Is it over? Is "Little Miss Sunshine" finished? Arndt couldn't eat anything these past few days, the feeling of a shattered dream was truly unbearable.

But that night, Ye Wei's call came unexpectedly.

"Michael, I'm sorry, I've been busy making a short film recently, so our meeting has to be postponed. How about this, once my short film is done, before the Christmas holiday, I'll show you that I'm not just a kid fooling around."

"Oh, okay, okay..." What else could Arndt say but agree? He had no more illusions.

...

Ye Wei wasn't lying to Arndt; he was really busy, so busy that he didn't even have time to date or talk on the phone with Lily, just sending a few text messages occasionally.

From the 1st to the 8th, a whole week, whether at school or at home, he spent most of his time on various scriptwriting tasks.

Originally, if he only needed to shoot the short film, with only a three-day shooting period, many scriptwriting tasks could be skipped. But he wanted to show his professional skills!

So not only did he do it, but he did it by hand, not using a computer, completing everything with a pen! He was a real old-school director.

As a director, he had to draw storyboards, not using software like Storyboard-Quick, but buying many sheets of widescreen frame-sized storyboard paper from an art store, preparing to first draw 99% of the concept sketches for the shots, then detailed storyboards. This time, he wanted to make Hitchcock, who popularized storyboards, feel ashamed!

A concept sketch is a rough draft, usually a quick line drawing, or even a stick figure, the key is to clearly draw the camera's position and movement.

Spielberg, when shooting "Indiana Jones 2," drew 70% of the concept sketches, then had his storyboard team create detailed storyboards to deepen his visual concepts.

He did both himself, as he had learned to draw from a young age, though his interest was fleeting, he still had a certain foundation. Moreover, in that dream, he had practiced hard, so his drawing skills were quite good, not as good as professional artists, but more than enough for a director.

One by one, the storyboard sheets were filled with scenes, from simple lines to clear sketches, some even detailed pencil drawings...

On the other hand, as a producer, he had to create a shooting schedule.

First, he had to break down the script, listing every shooting location, every character, every prop, every costume... everything that needed to appear, and then creating detailed scene breakdown sheets.

This breakdown sheet would be the Bible of the production phase, with each department head having a copy to guide their work, and any changes needing to be communicated promptly.

Next, he had to determine the shooting days and the daily shooting schedule.

The shooting days were already set at three days. No matter what, he had to finish the script in those three days. If he couldn't control the shooting of a ten-minute short film, how could anyone believe he could produce a feature film?

So the daily schedule became crucial. How to maximize efficiency? The answer is simple: make the 10-hour shooting time as productive as possible, rather than constantly changing locations, not eating lunch for 8 hours, everyone being hungry, a scene taking too long, it raining and not being able to shoot exteriors without a backup interior plan...

"Angel's Dance" had few scenes and a short shooting period. As a person with professional skills, Ye Wei found it not difficult to arrange, and he did it with great care. Making the production schedule was like solving a Rubik's cube, flipping, adjusting, and sorting until each side was the same color.

Next, he had to create the shooting schedule, which is what the cast and crew would see. In a large, professional production, this is made and distributed by the second assistant director.

Everyone on the production team relies on it to know where they need to be and what they need to do on which day, and which department head to contact. Remember, the driving directions to the shooting location must also be written! If you don't want a main actor to get lost and delay the entire day's shooting.

Making these things wasn't particularly interesting, but Ye Wei had the patience, and he felt a great sense of accomplishment after completing them.

If he didn't, he might as well give up on being a producer. The complexity of producing a feature film is more than a hundred times greater than this short film.

After completing these tasks, Ye Wei sent them to the eight disciples, and... they were shocked!

"Darum, we've really encountered something strange this time," Parela said with great emotion.

"I don't understand, why does he know these things, what was the point of us going to school?" Darum was greatly affected.

A well-written script was understandable, but these scriptwriting tasks... done by a middle school student? They found it hard to believe.

These storyboards and production schedules clearly showed Ye Wei's ability in scriptwriting, on par with their professional level! Even... better...

Why? They couldn't figure it out, no one could, and they had to accept Ye Wei's casual explanation: "Because I'm a genius! And I've studied."

However, after this shock, the enthusiasm of the eight disciples increased. They knew this wasn't a game for middle schoolers to entertain elementary schoolers; they might really be able to produce something substantial...

In fact, it wasn't just the scriptwriting work; it was also in casting.

On Sunday, the 7th, Ye Wei conducted a group interview with the 12 second-round candidates for the four main roles, determining the lead and backup actors. His professional demeanor during the process also impressed Darum and the others.

The extras were also found, and all actors had to sign contracts. For legal matters, Ye Wei still turned to Lawyer Salton, who handled everything for free, only requiring a credit at the end of the film: "Thank you to Greg Salton for providing legal consultation and assistance for this film!"

December 8th was a Monday, and it was also Anna's 10th birthday. In the evening, Ye Wei's family went to Anna's house to attend her birthday party.

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