Chapter 59

"Who wins, who loses? Lily, tell me!"

Lamo's laughter echoed through the backyard set, unable to stop. The middle school director, the college student team, professionals? This kind of professionalism?

Everyone was confused by what she meant, but only Lily understood. Her face flushed, she opened her mouth to retort but didn't know how to say it. But she knew it was wrong...

Ye Wei was puzzled by the talk of winning and losing but could hear the disdain in Lamo's voice. He smiled calmly and said, "A burned-out bulb is just a normal accident. It happens in every professional set, almost every day. Only amateur sets that ignore lighting don't have this, right?"

The college students nodded in agreement. Yes, bulbs can be killed by various reasons, very common.

"Right, exactly!" Lily's spirits lifted, this was what she wanted to say. She raised her eyebrows and said, "So this accident can't determine whether a set is professional or not. Thinking it's unprofessional is itself an unprofessional idea."

Ye Wei became even more puzzled. Why was this girl so abrupt, with anger, just like the day the squid acted... Did something happen?

"Just an excuse." Lamo didn't understand photography lighting, but she didn't think it was normal. "There must be a reason behind the accident, like improper use?"

"No, often, only Edison or Tesla would know the reason." Ye Wei said, then turned to Helix-Gen, who was checking the bulb, and asked, "How's it going?"

"It was probably a sudden overcurrent; it couldn't withstand this impact..." Helix-Gen answered while removing the burned-out bulb.

"No problem, just replace it with a good one, and continue." Ye Wei then looked at Anna, who was silent on set, and said, "Anna, just like that, keep your emotions, it'll be fine soon."

Unexpectedly, Helix said helplessly, "There are none left, this was the last one." Lamo immediately scoffed.

Ye Wei frowned. Incandescent bulbs weren't the most professional lighting tools for movies; fluorescent lights and HMI lights were better, especially for outdoor work. But there were no fluorescent lights here, and today's voltage was acting up, already burning out one HMI bulb, which cost $450!

Most importantly, this shot, using the natural brightness of incandescent bulbs, was very suitable. Now... switch back to HMI? There was only one bulb left.

He looked at Lamo, who was still smiling. With her around, he needed to show his skills. Thinking for a moment, he suddenly remembered a poor man's filming rule he often used in that dream. He shouted, "Helix, go with my dad to get a household bulb, then use aluminum foil as a reflector, and clamp the bulb in front to use it."

Helix and the other college students understood immediately and laughed, "Good idea!" "Not easy to control, but it's a solution."

"Yes, go!" As Helix ran to the house, Ye Wei smiled at Lamo, like a job interviewee waiting for the examiner's score.

But Lamo looked around, suspicious of everything, "This is definitely a 'The Sting.' The burned-out bulb is also part of the scam, right!?"

If it were someone else, Ye Wei would have said, "I know a great psychologist who treats paranoia, I just think he's trying to scam me for money, not kill me." But now, he just kept smiling, "Let me show you more? Light has structure, organization, movement, and change, and its uses include atmosphere, symbolism, psychology, etc. Which part of the lighting for this shot do you want to know about, and I'll explain it to you."

"I don't want to hear it, who knows if it's true." Lamo hadn't learned those things and wasn't interested.

Lily was suddenly a bit angry again. Ye Wei was showing his abilities, but Lamo deliberately ignored them. This was cheating! She scolded, "You can't just say whatever you want."

Lamo laughed, "He can say whatever he wants, isn't he very good at convincing people?"

"Then, I'll play back the footage we've already shot for you." Ye Wei nodded at Pete, who then operated the camera and TV monitor. The screen quickly played the shot, and Ye Wei said, "Adjust to the side two-shot of Anna and Bella."

Lily moved closer, full of interest; Lamo still didn't care, only glancing with the corner of her eye.

Ye Wei explained to them, "Look at this shot. In the composition, Bella is on the left side of the frame, and Anna is on the right. I let Anna take up 3/5 of the space, making her look very large, while Bella only occupies a small part of the edge, almost leaving the frame, making her look very small. But look at the lighting, it's all on Bella. Though she's small, she has more power than Anna. Anna has no light, and half of her body is already swallowed by darkness, right here."

He pointed to a spot on the right side of the screen and smiled, "Bella stands firm in the light, while Anna sinks into darkness. This is my lighting concept for this shot. Helix also gave some suggestions. Look at Bella's top, the frame not only leaves a large breathing space but also has light coming from the sky, symbolizing that God hasn't abandoned Anna."

"Wow..." Lily was very excited, her eyes shining. There were so many ideas and designs behind a single shot; he was so serious.

"SHIT!" Lamo softly cursed, her face a bit stunned. She wasn't stupid; she had been on sets before. She knew whether this shot was professional or not. Thinking about what Ye Wei said about crossing the axis, this kid really knew something...

No, it's a 'The Sting'! This is all a pre-planned process, not real professionalism, just a scam!

Regaining her composure, Lily praised, "Wei, you really put a lot of thought into it. Even a random shot is so good, so beautiful."

"I did put a lot of thought into it, but this isn't just any shot. It has very important meaning. Even in Anna's darkest moment, Bella is still in the light, bringing hope and dispelling Anna's darkness. You'll see later, her space in the frame will gradually increase, and Anna's darkness will gradually decrease, until both occupy 1/2 of the frame, and the entire frame is filled with light, meaning Anna is starting to recover."

"Really cool." Lily couldn't help but admire, "I can't wait to see the finished film."

At this moment, Pete, standing beside him, gave Ye Wei a thumbs up, "Wei puts a lot of thought into composition. We don't care so much about lighting when we shoot short films, but he's different."

Ye Wei shrugged and smiled, "Cinematographer Huang Zhongzhan is one of my idols. He said to paint with light, so I do. Helix helped a lot, he helped me realize my intentions."

"James Huang is also my idol!" Pete marveled, "His cinematography is incredible."

"Yes, he's a legend!" The surrounding Darum and others also joined in. Huang Zhongzhan was a legendary cinematographer, with eight Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography and two wins, creating many great cinematographic languages, like handheld and telephoto photography. And he achieved all this in an era of severe racial discrimination, which is truly admirable.

"Guys, don't envy others, we have the chance to become legends ourselves!" Ye Wei clapped his hands, getting everyone to focus on their work. Seeing Helix return with the bulb and aluminum foil, he called out, "Is it okay?"

"No problem, wait... yeah, it's done!" Helix installed the bulb on the stand and gave the OK sign.

"Then let's start the camera." Ye Wei looked at the two girls and smiled, "If it burns out again, I'll have to call 911; it must be a murder."

Under Lily's expectant smile and Lamo's contemptuous cold face, the set's machines soon started running again.

"Scene 17, shot 5, take 2."

"ACTION."

The shooting began again. The bulb was fine, the microphone was fine, no planes flew over the sky, no squirrels ran around on the ground, no one couldn't resist sneezing, and no one's stomach growled—these were all NG accidents that had happened over the past two days.

In front of the camera, the actors were performing. Anna sorrowfully turned her wheelchair, and Bella squatted, watching her gradually move away...

Behind the camera, Lily smiled brightly, while Lamo quietly frowned, her voice so low that no one could hear, "Damn, damn, this can't be..."

Besides her, the microphone picked up the noise, and Fulin frowned. This take had noise; he would have to tell the director later.

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