The corners of Qin Xuan’s mouth also lifted in an exceedingly faint curve. This was the first time since his rebirth that he had smiled so genuinely.
Then his gaze locked onto the monitor, and his fingertip pointed to the edge of her fluffy hair. “There’s color spill here.”
Afterward, his finger moved to the left and right shoulder lines in the image. “Here too. These are the most common spots.”
“Then how should we fix it?” Bao Dexi asked subconsciously.
At first, he had still harbored some doubts, but after this series of setups and adjustments, he had already put away his contempt.
The main thing was that the man really did have the talent.
“It’s very faint. If you care about it, you can add a low-power backlight. The color of the light should preferably be pale blue, to simulate skylight. As long as the color temperature matches the environment, it should wash it out,” Qin Xuan said.
Wang Bide immediately had people arrange it, installing a backlight in the performance area, and the color spill on the actor disappeared.
They observed for a while longer. Seeing that the green screen was pure and shadowless, the light source soft and even, the actor’s edges free of any color spill, and the waveform on the monitor balanced as well, Qin Xuan turned to look at the three of them.
“Gentlemen, the debugging is basically complete. See if there are any other issues.”
“I don’t have any.”
Wang Bide looked at the other two. “Director Bao, Director, what do you think?”
“Pretty good. We can shoot with this effect,” Bao Dexi said, expressing his satisfaction.
“No problem on my end either,” Minkoff nodded.
He was only responsible for shooting the film. These professional technical matters were not his strong suit.
In this crew, everyone had their own duties; it was not centered around the director. It was not that Hollywood did not have director-centered production models.
Rather, Minkoff’s prestige had not reached that level. Unless it were directors like Spielberg or Cameron, it would be a different matter.
It was very simple: who were you, that everyone should shoot according to your ideas?
This film was centered around Fang Long and Li Lianjie, harvesting their fans’ wallets, while bringing Liu Yifei along for the ride.
So this film did not bring her any benefits. Instead, it was criticized by the Chinese audience as a terrible movie.
Seeing that there were no issues, Wang Bide’s palm landed heavily on Qin Xuan’s shoulder. “Thanks for your hard work. Your future is limitless.”
Being able to set up the lighting effects well had saved him a great deal of effort. He had originally been worrying over this very matter.
“It wasn’t hard. It’s what I should do.”
The group all smiled. Wang Bide thought quite highly of him. “If you’re interested, after this film wraps, you can come with me to Hollywood and be my assistant.”
“That’s right. There are few productions in China right now that shoot this kind of full green-screen lighting and special effects. You can go to Hollywood and train for a few years. There are more opportunities there, and when you come back, you’ll have better prospects,” Bao Dexi also suggested.
There simply were not many crews here shooting this kind of special effects work. In Hollywood, there would be more opportunities. With this experience on his résumé, he would stand a little higher than others.
“I appreciate the kindness, but to be honest, this kind of lighting and special effects isn’t the goal of my life,” Qin Xuan declined tactfully.
How could he possibly go with them? Even if he did, he would still just be working for someone else. There was no need.
“Then what do you want to do?” Wang Bide asked.
“To say something that may make you gentlemen laugh, I want to make films and television. Lighting design is just a hobby of mine,” Qin Xuan said calmly.
These words rendered the others silent. Something that even professionals had to ponder over for ages was merely an amateur hobby to him.
If you said he was showing off, he really did have the ability and had demonstrated it for you. If you said he was not showing off, he had said it so seriously, as if it were simply the truth.
“We’re not trying to discourage you, but with your current situation, you want to get into film and television production? Difficult!” Bao Dexi poured cold water on him.
He was not from a professional school, nor did he have any background. How could he possibly go shoot films and TV dramas?
That was not something ability alone could solve. At the very least, you had to find funding and assemble a team. It was all about social connections and worldly dealings, but this young man did not seem to have much of that. Making film and television was a very jianghu sort of affair.
The main reason was that Qin Xuan had always been very rigorous and had not shown much of a modest side.
“Let’s not talk about this. Since the lighting effects have been set up, let’s prepare to shoot!”
Wang Bide changed the subject, then said to Qin Xuan, “You can go. We don’t need you for the filming.”
“Okay. Then about the technical service fee…” Qin Xuan still had not forgotten about the money.
The main thing was that he was now penniless and needed money.
Wang Bide was a little amused and exasperated by his bluntness. Seriously, are you that poor?
“Don’t be anxious. Once this shoot is done, I’ll go apply for it for you. The director is right here, what are you afraid of?”
“Fine, then.” Qin Xuan could not say much more.
He did not know this director at all. Up to now, they had not exchanged so much as a single word.
This director’s greatest claim to fame was marrying a seventy-sixth-generation descendant of Confucius, which made him an honored guest in domestic literary and artistic circles.
The films he made were all awful. Only animated films he had participated in, such as The Lion King and Mr. Peabody & Sherman, could be considered somewhat famous.
After Qin Xuan left, Minkoff asked, “Where did you find that guy?”
“We didn’t find him. He’s the nephew of one of the crew’s technicians. He came here looking for work. I heard his ideas on lighting were pretty interesting, so we used his plan,” Wang Bide said without hiding anything.
“No wonder.” Minkoff nodded.
Now that the lighting and props had all been set up, and the actors were also ready, the crew began entering shooting mode.
Liu Yifei’s task was also complete. Seeing that there was nothing for her to do, she walked over to Wang Bide and asked curiously, “Chief Wang, was that person just now your apprentice? Why didn’t you introduce him?”
“No. How could I take him as an apprentice? He’s much better than me,” Wang Bide said. One look and he knew that person was not simple, definitely not someone self-taught.
Many strange and inexplicable problems encountered in lighting were not in textbooks, but that man had solutions for all of them.
It could only be said that if he did not often do this kind of work, then he must have been taught by an expert. As for which situation it was, there was no need to investigate too deeply. The man would not say anyway.
“There are actually people better than you!”
Liu Yifei’s almond eyes widened perfectly round. She gave him a thumbs-up and teased, “Aren’t you the God of Lighting?”
“Go, go, go, what God of Lighting?” Wang Bide pushed her arm, telling her to move farther away.
This was a joke some people in the crew had made about him, giving him that nickname, and it had become something people talked about.
Liu Yifei smiled brightly. She had always had an easygoing personality, and she leaned in again to press him. “Is that person really better than you?”
“There are plenty of capable people in this world. What’s so strange about someone being better than me?” Wang Bide glanced at her, not caring in the slightest, then left the area.
Liu Yifei stood in place, dazed for a while, then shrugged and went off to shoot.
This scene was a fight scene, with the protagonists and antagonists battling fiercely in a cherry blossom grove. Each actor was suspended on wires, swinging back and forth like they were on a swing.
And the entire background behind them was a green screen.
Since it was a major scene, Wu Guoqiang naturally also had to work, so he had no time to look for his nephew.