Chapter 54

December 12th, Friday, the day when "The Angel's Dance" begins shooting!

Today's shooting is scheduled to start around 9:00, with the crew gathering at 8:00. Ye Wei got up at 6:00, as usual, and after his morning exercise and other activities, he started moving the necessary equipment from the hall to the back garden, setting up the dining table, rest area, makeup area, and more...

Ye Haogen and Gu Qiao both helped from the side. They were very happy for their son. In their eyes, achieving this much was already a great accomplishment; what more could they ask for?

However, Ye Wei's mood was different. He was full of determination, harboring a deep-seated frustration that could only be released by shooting this short film well!

"The Little Miss Sunshine," Willis, "Because of Daisy," Focus Films, Lily's mother, everyone, and the dream of movies...

You won't underestimate me for much longer!

After 7:30, Darum, Pareira, Pete, Susan, and seven other college students arrived one after another. Under Ye Wei's direction, they immediately began their respective tasks: the assistant director and cinematographer set up the camera positions, the lighting technician adjusted the lights, the art director and prop master arranged the set...

Everything was well-organized, and they demonstrated a high level of professionalism. On set, a 15-year-old director was still a director, and realizing the director's vision was the highest goal of the cast and crew! So whenever there were questions or decisions to be made, they would still ask Ye Wei.

Then Ye Wei would patiently explain, interspersing jokes to boost everyone's enthusiasm.

"Looks like it's going well, Wei really can direct." At the back door of the house, Ye Haogen's face was full of relief, with a glow he had never seen before. That was his son!

"Who knows how he learned it, but it looks good," Gu Qiao also looked pleased.

Duo Duo and Toto were temporarily isolated inside the door by a wooden board, both the girl and the dog looking curiously, eager to run up and play with their brother in the movie.

Approaching 8:00, Anna's family arrived at the set. Since David would return to Denver after the weekend, he and Janet would jointly oversee their daughter's performance this time.

As soon as Anna arrived, the makeup artist Amy-Kate could start working. The characters' costumes had been finalized the previous days. "Anna's" look emphasized liveliness, cuteness, and approachability. The princess dress was out, but a pleated skirt was good, along with a small jacket, T-shirt, dance shoes, shoulder-length blonde hair, and a small plastic hair clip on her forehead.

The makeup was, of course, very light, with slightly elongated eyebrows, a bit of powder on the face, and a few strokes of mascara...

Meanwhile, Pudon Green and Claire Giles, who played Anna's parents, also arrived.

The extras who were to appear today gradually gathered in the extras' rest area, where they could read scripts, books, play on their phones, or chat... as long as they didn't wander around. When the assistant director called their names, they had to immediately rush out to perform.

At 8:30, the food truck from Good Taste Restaurant arrived, bringing a cart full of delicious snacks, including bread, hot dogs, and Polish dumplings. The delivery person was the stout and solid Mr. Bud, who lingered, curious about the set directed by a middle school student.

Ye Haogen had taken a day off today.

The preparations on set continued, and this was the typical scene during most of the shooting: everyone was busy, the noise was incessant, and people were moving around.

The cinematographer was adjusting the camera, the lighting technician was testing the light with a reflector, the sound technician was fiddling with the mixing board like a DJ, cables were tangled on the ground, the set designers were struggling with the scenery, even the position of an ant on the ground had to be handled, the script supervisor was writing non-stop, and the assistant director was constantly shouting...

Everyone was seeking the director's opinion, and the director had his own tasks to handle, guiding the actors!

Before the shooting began, the director had to lead the actors through a rehearsal, otherwise, there would be endless NGs. While digital shooting allows for repeated use of memory tapes, film shooting cannot afford the time and money. To achieve a shooting ratio of 5:1 as planned, it was best to have a thorough rehearsal.

Determining the positions and movements, and warming up the performance, were the two main tasks during the rehearsal.

"Ha ha ha, Bella, you're such a fool, did you forget what I taught you? When I bend down..."

In the performance area, Anna was playing with Bella, moving her body according to the marked positions, as if dancing. Her movements and expressions were very exaggerated, and her voice was full of affected tones, like a character from a Shakespearean comedy.

Ye Wei stood nearby, his right hand supporting his chin, his left hand supporting his right elbow, observing her performance intently.

Physical performance, facial performance, eye performance, voice performance—these four aspects were all overdone!

If the normal screen performance intensity is 5 and the normal stage performance intensity is 8, then she was now at 10, full throttle, but very poor.

However, this was not surprising for her, partly because of her young age and partly because she only had stage experience. At this moment, the director's role was more important than food. He had to reduce her performance intensity to 5 within the remaining 20 minutes of rehearsal.

Or, in other words, make her perform in a completely new way! Not just for one or two shots, but to transition from stage to screen, turning her potential into a series of Good-Takes, making her shine and impress Wang Ying and his team!

But if he couldn't achieve this in 20 minutes, 7, 8, 9, 10... he would have to accept it and find other solutions, as time waits for no one.

After Anna finished this segment, Ye Wei immediately walked up, making lowering gestures, and instructed, "Anna, reduce your performance intensity, just be natural, like you usually are."

Darum, Pete, and others glanced over, then returned to their work. They all knew Ye Wei's guidance was correct; Anna's performance was like that of a strange person.

"Oh, but..." Anna smiled bitterly, confused, "I think I'm doing well, how do I reduce it?"

Janet, standing behind the camera, sighed inwardly. This was Anna's biggest problem, and the reason she was often eliminated in auditions. She didn't understand how to reduce her intensity, and she didn't even grasp the concept of performance intensity. Some children understood it naturally, perhaps that was the difference in talent.

She thought Ye Wei couldn't solve it either and could only wait for Anna to grow up a bit and see if there was any change.

David, Ye Haogen, Gu Qiao, and others also had similar thoughts, more curious than hopeful. What could Ye Wei do?

"OK, you think you're doing well..." Ye Wei sized her up, analyzing her psychological state, and recalled that she had mentioned taking many acting classes. He asked, "What did you learn in those acting classes? What theories? What methods? Tell me."

Anna rolled her eyes, thinking, "Well, a lot, voice, movement, psychology... to get into character! I don't remember the names of those theorists."

Ye Wei asked, "Stanislavski? Grotowski? Brecht? Peter Brook?" Hearing these names, Anna felt even more confused, "How many people are there? I really don't remember, Mom, what acting theory did I learn?"

"No need." Ye Wei raised his hand to stop Janet from coming over. He felt he had found the root of the problem. Anna had learned too much, but at her age, she couldn't deeply understand it, only remembering surface-level techniques. She used everything in her performances, thinking it was good, but it was less natural than a child actor who hadn't learned anything.

To solve this, it was simple in theory. He smiled, "Anna, whatever you've learned, I want you to forget it all! Forget the techniques, forget the stage, this isn't the stage. You don't need to think about how to enter the scene or break the fourth wall; that's my job. Understand?"

Cool! Darum and others exchanged glances, returning to their natural state was good, this kid really had some skills, but could Anna understand?

Anna nodded, somewhat understanding, and asked, "If I forget everything, how do I perform?"

"You know, the best performance is no performance!" Ye Wei looked around, "In real life, everyone performs every day. We hide our thoughts, we want others to see the way we want to be seen. So how do you think people perform?"

"Is that so?" Anna blinked her big eyes, it seemed to be the case...

"You don't need to think about performing or being real, because once you think about it, you're already wrong. You can't 'act' real, just like you can't 'act' crying. Once you cry, you're really crying. The emotion behind it is real. When you focus on experiencing the emotion, you're living it, not performing. You'll naturally present something real."

Ye Wei's theory was even more profound than before, and Anna's brows furrowed even more.

The surrounding people were also somewhat puzzled, especially the professional college students. These psychological teachings, even if explained to a 30-year-old or 20-year-old actor, might not be understood. They might just say, "What are you talking about? Just tell me what expression and movement to use, you're not a poet!"

Not every actor is Meryl Streep! Most of the time, most actors just need mechanical instructions. Not understanding the script is fine; Bella couldn't read a single letter but could still be a good actor.

Shirley Temple once said that when she was young, she didn't understand what acting was; she just walked, smiled, and said her lines as usual, and everyone said she was an excellent actor, but she didn't know what an actor was.

This is actually the highest realm of acting, of course, but as one grows older and loses innocence, no one can completely act like that.

Top actors often need these abstract psychological insights, and even if the director rambles, they will have their own insights.

But Anna was just a 10-year-old girl! Was it useful to talk to her about emotion, reality, and experience? Could she understand?

This was a big question in everyone's mind.

"Oh, not performing is the best performance..." Anna thought, "Don't think about performing... Director, you're so profound, but I understand!" She smiled.

"That's right." Ye Wei also smiled, feeling that she could understand, which was why he guided her this way. She needed guidance, "Anna, you're smarter than many people think."

He looked meaningfully at the surrounding people, causing a light laugh. The college students remained skeptical; understanding isn't just about talking, it's about acting.

Ye Wei continued, "But you also need to pay attention to the details. Think about it, we don't usually have so many expressions, and our conversations aren't as clear as the lines in a script. Maybe out of ten sentences, only one has the effect of a line. Everything in the script is refined; it's not real, so the performance isn't either.

We strive for a 'reality' that transcends reality, achieved through precise details. Every look, every movement, every pause, you can't think about it, but you have to find it. Remember this: less doesn't mean worse, more doesn't mean better, the key is precision!"

"I think I understand a bit more..." Anna nodded repeatedly, the more she listened, the more she felt something different.

She had participated in so many auditions, performed monologues, script segments, and improvisations, but no one had ever talked to her like this. They always treated her like a naive little girl, speaking to her as if she were a child. But Ye Wei treated her like a real actor!

This made Anna feel energized; she was determined to perform to Ye Wei's satisfaction.

"Let's try again, no need to rush, we have time." Ye Wei encouraged her, but in reality, time was running out. Anna had to seize the opportunity, or the short film would lose a lot of its luster, and her performance would be hard to change the