Chapter 41 Finding the Right Method is Crucial

According to plan, once the scenes in the villa were completed, the crew was supposed to relocate to the boxer's home for the next sequence. Since the two locations were close by, it was a matter of convenience.

However, they could not leave just yet, as they were stuck on Yu Feihong.

No one knew what was wrong with her today; whenever the cameras weren't rolling, she was gentle, pleasant, and acted like a caring elder sister. But the moment she stood in front of the lens, she would grit her teeth with a look of pure hatred, her facial expressions more than intense enough.

No wonder Lao Tian kept praising her for making such obvious progress!

Yet, she was applying all those rich expressions in the wrong place. This was the scene of their reunion, and her emotional delivery was completely backward.

Cao Yang had a vague idea. He called over the production coordinator and the script supervisor, instructing them to adjust today's shooting schedule and temporarily suspend the scenes set after the reunion.

Instead, they would first shoot the sequence of events that occurred after the abusive husband brought the female lead back from the police station, right up until the male lead made his appearance.

Then, he summoned Lao Tian, along with the lighting and styling crews, asking them to make corresponding arrangements based on the revised schedule.

Lao Tian's part was relatively easy to rearrange; he just needed to slightly modify the shots he had planned during pre-production. The lighting and styling teams, however, would require some time.

"I've been thinking about a lot of things just now, pondering for quite a while."

Lao Tian walked over with a small folding stool, sat down next to Cao Yang, stared blankly ahead, and spoke in a hollow voice.

"Huh?"

"Yet, I still can't figure it out."

"Hmm?"

Lao Tian turned his head, looked at Cao Yang, and said very earnestly, "Maybe you were right. I shouldn't rely on old experience to dismiss new things; practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."

"Oh?"

Cao Yang was completely baffled. He was right in the middle of thinking about the shoot—what was wrong with Lao Tian?

What on earth are you talking about?

"This morning in the car, I was dismissive of what you said. I apologize; I was being too presumptuous."

"Wait, what?"

Cao Yang couldn't help himself anymore and asked, "You've completely bewildered me. What on earth are you talking about?"

Lao Tian let out a sigh and smacked his lips.

"When my suspension from directing is lifted, whenever I direct a movie again, I'm going to learn from you. I'll spend a dozen or twenty days, or even a month or two beforehand, exclusively coaching the lead actors.

Just like you said, coaching them every single day—even if they were blocks of wood, they'd start to get it eventually, let alone actual human beings."

"No, Lao Tian, don't, please don't. I was just joking, you..."

"Before shooting *Alone on the Beach at Night*, didn't you fly specifically to Ludong Island and coach Li Xiaoran for a long time?"

Cao Yang opened his mouth, feeling that it was indefensible.

"Before making this film, didn't you continuously coach Liu Ye and Yu Feihong for a long time?"

Cao Yang desperately wanted to refute, but he simply couldn't.

"How did Li Xiaoran turn out in the end? Berlin Best Actress!"

Cao Yang lowered his head. *Senior brother, it was all just a misunderstanding.*

"And Liu Ye? His acting today was like night and day compared to yesterday!"

Cao Yang looked up at Lao Tian, words failing him on his lips. *Senior brother, I...*

"Even Yu Feihong, who has no talent—sure, she kept NG-ing today, but that overflowing emotion couldn't be fake. Those expressive eyes, is that still the same person as before?"

The more Lao Tian thought about it, the more logical it seemed. The more he talked, the more convinced he was that he had stumbled upon the ultimate secret.

Directors of his generation typically just handed the script to the actors before shooting started, or at most held a table read, and considered it done.

If they noticed an actor performing poorly during the shoot, they would offer a few words of on-set direction, but that mostly amounted to telling them how to play the specific scene or what emotions to use.

Lao Tian was still lamenting why he hadn't thought of it earlier: gathering the lead actors before filming began, breaking things down and chewing them up like teaching elementary school students, explaining things to them repeatedly so they could truly understand their characters.

That way, at least they would have some confidence when they performed.

To put it somewhat exaggeratedly, many of these actors had an educational background barely better than primary school graduates.

Junior high school equivalent at best.

Many of them had started learning arts and performance from a young age, so one could only imagine their academic studies; they all got in through specialized arts exams.

While not absolute, it represented the vast majority.

Expecting them to understand the connotations of a movie all by themselves and then act it out—wasn't that a joke?

Lao Tian felt he had achieved enlightenment. Cao Yang was truly a genius; he had been doing this since his very first film.

"Senior brother, I..."

Cao Yang felt he couldn't explain himself anymore. But then he thought, *Forget it.* Coaching actors in advance and helping them understand what the film wanted to express would undoubtedly benefit their performances.

Since that was the case, what was there to explain? What was there to stop?

Just let it be.

Once everything was readjusted and ready, filming resumed.

The abusive husband sprayed water on the potted plant, walked over to sit beside the female lead, and smiled. "That potted plant you like—I knew you'd come back, so I've been taking good care of it."

In this shot, Yu Feihong merely sat there, yet she brought the image of a resentful wife who detested her husband vividly to life.

She looked at Wu Qihua watering the plant with disdain, and when Wu Qihua sat down next to her, she subconsciously shifted a bit further away and turned her body to present her back to him. One could clearly read from her expression that she wanted to stay as far away from Wu Qihua as possible.

"Cut, perfect!"

Cao Yang was practically thrilled. *Look at that, Yu Feihong can pull off a one-take too!*

Then, he saw Lao Tian giving him a thumbs-up.

*Oh man, Senior brother, let me explain... Ah, well, you're even less likely to listen now.*

Directorial language was employed here as well.

The female lead had been forcibly brought back, and the clothes she wore had changed from bright, colorful pinks back to black and gray, symbolizing the internal changes in her psyche.

Therefore, one shouldn't complain that the audience couldn't understand the movie; these elements were never meant for the audience to notice in the first place.

Would the audience really think about the symbolism of the female lead changing into black clothes while watching?

Would the plot be affected if she didn't change into black clothes here?

Of course not!

The next two scenes went through with astonishing smoothness. Yu Feihong's movements, demeanor, and emotions were completely on point, filled with rich details, and every single one was a one-take.

The way Lao Tian looked at Yu Feihong had completely changed. Could this heaven-defying contrast possibly come from the same person?

There was also a crucial scene—a confrontation between the abusive husband and the female lead, which was the final shot adjusted for today.

It could be considered the longest continuous shot in the entire film, highlighting the female lead's transformation. It required both actors to have intense emotional depth, making it difficult to shoot.

Once preparations were complete, the script supervisor clapped the slate.

Wu Qihua yanked on the reclining Yu Feihong, who impatiently sat up from the bed.

Wu Qihua said angrily, "I never wanted to ask, but I simply can't hold it in anymore."

As he spoke, Wu Qihua grabbed Yu Feihong's shoulders with both hands. Yu Feihong looked up, her eyes filled with such utter disgust and hatred that Wu Qihua froze for more than ten seconds, missing his cue.

"I'm sorry, Director, my fault, my fault," Wu Qihua quickly apologized.

He had been momentarily stunned just a second ago, finding it hard to accept that an actress with mediocre skills who constantly NEd had suddenly delivered a god-tier performance, one that looked entirely real.

They started over.

"I never wanted to ask, but I simply can't hold it in anymore."

Wu Qihua grabbed Yu Feihong's shoulders and asked furiously, "You slept with him, didn't you? What positions did you use? Tell me, tell me!"

Cao Yang had made a slight modification here. In King Kim's original version, the abusive husband's action of reaching beneath the female lead's clothes, along with his expression, was genuinely perverted.

Yu Feihong glanced at Wu Qihua with disdain.

With just that single look, even knowing it was acting, Wu Qihua felt a surge of genuine fury. He raised his hand to strike.

According to the script, Yu Feihong was supposed to take the slap first and then retaliate.

However, Yu Feihong didn't follow the script. With lightning-fast reflexes, she grabbed Wu Qihua's incoming hand, lifted her chin with her teeth slightly clenched, her eyes flashing with a mixture of arrogance and decisiveness, and without a moment's hesitation, she slapped Wu Qihua right across the face, sending his prop glasses flying directly off his nose.

When it came to handling the camera, Lao Tian was truly the master. Just as Cao Yang raised his hand to issue a warning, he saw Lao Tian already rushing the camera right up into Yu Feihong's face, capturing a dramatic close-up lasting over ten seconds.

This was a shot that had not been planned beforehand.

The resulting performance from this scene was enough for Yu Feihong to boast about for the rest of her life.