I Was Taken by the Female Lead After Transmigrating into a Book - Chapter 60

This kind of content was not given during auditions. Audition clips usually provide a specific setting, emotion, or a short scene, but there’s no cause or effect. Most actors only need to perform what the director needs within the given context. This was also true for Bai Feifei’s and Wu Qingying’s audition. But this time, after the read-through and filming for so long, Bai Feifei had a general idea of what Li Ke and Huo Wu wanted to express in this drama.

“Express what? Tell me about it.”

When Huo Wu’s voice sounded next to her, Bai Feifei realized Huo Wu had been sitting there for a while. She had been muttering to herself while writing. Her script was now covered with notes on an entire page, the strange layout looking like a mess of scribbles. Bai Feifei carefully sorted through her notes, pulling out different colored pens from her pencil case to section them off. She replied to Huo Wu, “People.”

This was an incredibly broad term. Fu Xiaoxiao didn’t understand and asked, confused, “What people? What about them? There are people everywhere. What’s there to express about them? Don’t they all have two eyes, one mouth, one nose, and two legs?” Huo Wu let out a faint “tsk,” filled with contempt for Fu Xiaoxiao and a doubt of her intelligence. Fu Xiaoxiao glared at her. But after the “tsk,” Huo Wu ignored her and turned to Bai Feifei. “It’s all about people.”

The first half of the story was mainly in a school, home, and hospital. The second half would mostly be in various workplaces and official institutions. The sets for these locations took a long time to build, and they had been in negotiations with the relevant city governments for a long time. In all these places, the most important thing was the different kinds of people.

The story started with campus bullying and a young girl’s unfortunate circumstances. The audience might be shocked or incredulous, but what they would most anticipate wasn’t the bullying itself. It was how the protagonists, supporting characters, and even the random extras would deal with it from the beginning to the end. And in this process, there were all kinds of people. Bai Feifei was also looking forward to it.

The script they had was not the full script; it was only their own parts. Although she was the protagonist, she didn’t have any scenes with many of the people in the story, or even with some of the named supporting characters. Suddenly thinking of something, Bai Feifei asked, “Ah Wu, you have so much experience in filming. Do you ever lose interest in watching dramas you’ve acted in, or even ones other people have filmed?”

Bai Feifei had gone through times of constant re-takes. Sometimes, to match the camera angle, the actors had to repeat a scene many times. The performance might lose its spontaneity after the first take. The filming might even be paused to change the script. Watching it later was a whole different story. Bai Feifei could even remember every subtle expression of her co-stars and where the camera was focused. She had re-watched scenes on the small monitor many times. But Huo Wu gave her a different answer.

“No,” Huo Wu said. “Filming and watching are two different feelings.”

Bai Feifei looked thoughtful, her face still filled with confusion. Huo Wu observed her for a while, as if trying to figure out how to explain it. But she had never done this kind of counseling before and didn’t know where to start. She looked at her phone, at the electronic magazine from Bai Feifei’s latest shoot, which had been sent to her after the charity gala. Her overall performance wasn’t perfect; you could still see her inexperience, and there were many unusable shots. But at the same time, the final photos were also stunning. Huo Wu had long forgotten what it felt like to re-watch her own work. Every time, it felt like she was watching a stranger. She would only focus on what was bad and not see what was good. This was also why she had filmed so little in recent years. But watching Bai Feifei’s work… was interesting. This wasn’t limited to her last shoot; even the lighting made it interesting. Sometimes, she would even have a thought like, “I can actually get this kind of result.”

A moment later, Huo Wu seemed to know what to say. “You haven’t been in a drama before, but you’ve done a few magazine shoots. How did that feel?”

“It was pretty tiring, but it got better once I got used to it,” Bai Feifei said, thinking carefully. “In some ways, it’s a lot like filming a drama. The angles, poses, and expressions… so many things are required. I feel like even my hair isn’t my own.” Bai Feifei had never done a major magazine shoot before, but she had done some artistic photoshoots for birthdays and such. But the feeling was very different. The magazine photographer was obviously much more serious and responsible. You could feel the professionalism and the team’s unified effort, all working toward a single theme.

“Yes,” Huo Wu said, seeing Bai Feifei start to recall things. She guided her step by step. “Did you look at the final photos? And the discarded ones? Did the photographer ever tell you what was good and what was bad?” Bai Feifei’s finger tapped her script. She seemed to finally understand something. She would talk to herself when she thought, and this time was no exception. “It’s like someone who has taken a test but won’t know their final grade until they’ve finished the whole test. Before the drama airs, no one knows what the result will be. Besides my own scenes, there are also the parts of the other actors in the cast, and they’re all very much worth looking forward to and learning from. Is that right?” Even Huo Wu couldn’t help but think, It’s so easy to teach a great student. Especially with Fu Xiaoxiao next to them. “What does that have to do with people?” Fu Xiaoxiao asked. Huo Wu looked at her with a blank expression, then after a two-second silence, she let out a low huff and walked away.

Fu Xiaoxiao turned to complain. “Baby, she huffed at me again!” Bai Feifei patted Fu Xiaoxiao’s head, calming her down. After petting her, she went to pet Little Cutie and Giant, and the three of them were happily soothed. She said, “Didn’t you say you were going to take a bath? Go now while it’s a little cooler.” Fu Xiaoxiao gleefully walked off with the two dogs.

In the evening, after several more takes, Li Ke finally got the sunset lighting he wanted. He looked at the time and said very seriously before they started filming, “I don’t have time to do take after take for you all. We wait for the light; the light doesn’t wait for us. We’ll start filming at six. Sunset is at seven-twenty, and it’ll be completely dark at eight-twenty. I want you to film everything I need.” His eyes swept over the actors in a circle. He knew it was unlikely to be a one-take wonder.

Any scene that required a specific kind of natural lighting was always noted, and the production manager would arrange the time for filming. There were too many unpredictable factors on set, and these scenes were usually scheduled for the end of the day. But Ling Xinghe and Li Ran were leaving soon, and their most important scenes had already been pushed back as far as possible. Their scenes with other supporting characters had already been filmed, leaving only the scenes with the protagonists that required them to get into character. This made Bai Feifei feel a little nervous and pressured.

“You two don’t have many scenes left, do you?” Bai Feifei poked Ling Xinghe’s arm. The rest of the schedule hadn’t been released yet, but Ling Xinghe had a lot of experience filming idol dramas and spending time on set. The script in his hand only had a few thin pages left. He roughly estimated, “I only have a few important scenes left. If things go smoothly, I’ll be done in three to five days. If not… we might have to arrange another time for me to come back and film.” In general, the estimated time for filming was much longer than the actual filming time. This was for the sake of the actors’ schedules and for the overall progress of the crew.

Bai Feifei only had two scenes left with Ling Xinghe and even fewer with Li Ran, but they were all very important. Since they were all being filmed within the next few days, Bai Feifei spun around in a circle, feeling inexplicably anxious. Among everyone there, she had the least acting experience and the shortest career. She was worried that she would be a burden. But soon, Bai Feifei realized she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Just like Huo Wu’s words had inspired her earlier, a student would always look forward to their final grade and hope for a satisfactory result. Similarly, everyone who took the exam would be nervous, no matter who they were.

The sun began to set on the horizon. The radiant light poured down. It was a rare sight. The entire empty shot team was out, competing with the public to get the best shooting locations. Li Ke arranged everything, looked at the monitor, and for a rare moment before filming, made a joke. “Don’t disappoint this beautiful scenery. Finish filming early and go share it with your family and friends.”

Bai Feifei’s heart skipped a beat, and her eyes subconsciously searched for Huo Wu in the crowd. Huo Wu didn’t have a scene scheduled for the evening, which was why she was able to stay with Bai Feifei for so long. Most of the filming today was for indoor solo scenes, but because the sunset was so beautiful, Li Ke and she had agreed to re-shoot. They even called back a few special guest actors to participate. She had just arrived back on set. The moment she saw her, Bai Feifei’s eyes lit up. She pointed excitedly at the sky. Huo Wu nodded slightly to her from across the crowd.

They weren’t far apart, but there were too many people around, so Bai Feifei couldn’t shout. Instead, she pointed at the sky, then pointed at herself, then at Huo Wu, and finally made a camera gesture with her hands at her chest. Huo Wu raised an eyebrow at her from a distance. Bai Feifei put her hands together in a begging gesture. Because she was in a small filming area, only her upper body and her hands were visible. She begged silently, “Take a picture, take a picture, take a picture, take a picture.”

Huo Wu gave a slight cough. She looked around for a moment, then simply stepped over some props and walked to the platform in front of Bai Feifei. She looked down at Bai Feifei. Bai Feifei’s eyes blinked constantly.

“Act well,” Huo Wu said in a low voice. “The sunset will last for an hour and a half. We’ll have a half-hour break before it gets completely dark. I’ll wait for you until the sun goes down.” Bai Feifei couldn’t help but nod. Her pose made her look very obedient. “Okay.” Huo Wu suppressed the urge to do something, but she couldn’t help it. She pretended to adjust Bai Feifei’s hair and smoothed it from her shoulder to the top of her head. When the prop assistant finished setting up and left, she gently patted the top of Bai Feifei’s head. “You can do it,” Huo Wu’s voice was so soft that it sounded gentle. “I’ll be right here.”

This scene would be difficult to film. It was a challenge for both the male and female actors. They had to let go of too many things. Huo Wu sat in front of the small monitor and when she saw the costumes and makeup of Ling Xinghe and the other male supporting characters, she suddenly said to Li Ke, “It’s a good thing you’re the one directing a film of this genre.” The cinematography for this film was under Li Ke’s control. He had a difficult time working with the team and had even had arguments with many people. Many directors joined the team because of Huo Wu and Li Ke, but they left due to creative differences. But thankfully, what Li Ke insisted on was the same thing Huo Wu insisted on—when it’s not necessary, don’t focus the camera on the victims.

Li Ke pursed his lips. The pen in his fingers poked the blank notebook, leaving several bright blue dots. He stared at the dots for a full five or six seconds before saying, “That’s why I’m having such a hard time.” With that, he turned his gaze to the monitor. On the screen, two young girls ran one after the other, looking tired but determined. The clouds in the sky cast a beautiful glow on them, as if they were wearing a beautiful set of armor.

Even though Li Ke said he was having a hard time, he was still smiling. He said slowly, “But someone has to be a stickler for this and go through this trouble. The fact that you said it’s a good thing I’m directing makes me feel like what I’m doing is worth it.” Huo Wu smiled. Without saying anything more, she patted Li Ke on the shoulder with some force. In front of her, Li Ke could only be serious for a minute before he said in a low voice, “See? My past beatings weren’t in vain, were they? This is all experience I’ve gained from that!”