radiothebook Chapter 396, "The Woman Who Left," begins filming.
Chapter 396, "The Woman Who Left," begins filming.
May 1, Nan'ao Island, Shantou, Guangdong.
The crew of the TV series "The Woman Who Left" held a launch ceremony on an open space next to the Tropic of Cancer Square.
The ceremony was very simple.
A long altar table was set up on the beach, covered with a red cloth, on which sat a roast suckling pig, several plates of fruit, three cups of white wine, and three sticks of incense.
Behind the offering table stood a camera tripod, the machine covered with a red cloth, which would be uncovered after the incense was offered.
Fan Binbin stood in front of the offering table, dressed in the clothes of a character from a play.
A faded floral shirt, dark blue trousers, and old cloth shoes covered in mud.
Her hair was cut short, to ear length, and her bangs were pinned behind her ears with the cheapest black hair clips.
She had almost no makeup on her face, and her lips were a little chapped from the sea breeze.
Ning Hao stood next to Fu Yibai; he was the assistant director of the film.
Fu Yibai is directing the film himself, so he needs someone to help him monitor the set and coordinate the extras. Ning Hao is the most suitable person for the job.
More importantly, Ning Hao has been quite tired of studying the script for "Crazy Racer" lately.
Upon hearing that Fu Yibai was going to shoot a film to participate in the Venice Film Festival, he insisted on coming over to watch it.
"Director Fu, we can begin."
Wang Peng glanced at his watch; it was exactly eight o'clock in the morning, an auspicious time according to the local feng shui master.
Fu Yibai walked to the offering table, picked up three incense sticks, lit them, and placed them in the incense burner.
"Good luck with your startup."
He turned around to face the crew members, without giving a long speech.
"This production might be very tiring because it's geared towards Venice."
Everyone here is a part of whether this play can succeed or not.
During filming, I don't demand speed, I demand quality.
Every shot has to meet my standards to pass.
I hope everyone can work together with me to win the Golden Lion with this film.
Ning Hao led the applause from the side.
Fu Yibai walked up to the camera and lifted the red cloth.
[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 1110 ...
The group arrived at the first filming location.
"Scene 1, get ready."
Fu Yibai sat behind the monitor, and Ning Hao stood next to him, holding a walkie-talkie.
This location is an abandoned seafood processing workshop. It was three or four in the morning, and it was still dark.
Fan Binbin plays Li Xuemei, who has to clean a pile of oyster shells by the cold water pool.
The water flowing from the tap was icy cold, and the workshop was filled with the stench of seawater and dead fish and shrimp.
The lighting technician installed two cool-toned lights on the workshop ceiling, pressing the light of the entire scene into a gray-blue tone.
"Take your positions."
Ning Hao called out into the walkie-talkie.
Fan Binbin stood in front of the sink, his hands hanging at his sides.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her eyes had changed.
The light that belonged to Fan Binbin herself faded from her eyes.
Instead, there was the look in the eyes of a woman worn down by life.
On the monitor, Fu Yibai looked at her face.
"start."
The stage manager claps the clapperboard.
Turn on the tap, and cold water rushes into the sink.
Fan Binbin put his hand into the water and began to clean the oyster shells.
…………
"stop."
Fu Yibai stood up and walked to the sink.
Fan Binbin pulled his hands out of the cold water and took the towel handed to him by his assistant to wrap his fingers.
Her knuckles had turned purplish-red from the cold.
"How is it?"
She looked up and asked Fu Yibai, her voice tinged with nervousness.
"Very good. That shot is good."
Fan Binbin nodded without asking any further questions.
She took the towel off her hand, flexed her fingers, and then walked back to the sink.
"Will the next shot also be from this position?"
"Yes. This time we're shooting close-ups. The details of your fingers when you're washing them."
"clear."
Fan Binbin put his hands back into the cold water.
This scene took the entire morning to film.
By the time she finished work, her fingers were so frozen they were almost numb.
On May 3, filming on Nan'ao Island entered its third day.
The scenes in the abandoned seafood processing workshop have been filmed, and the crew has moved to a fishing village on the other side of the island.
Most of the houses here are built of stone, with walls covered in white frost from salt stains, and the alleys are so narrow that only two people can walk side by side.
The film crew set up a temporary tent in an open space at the entrance of the village. Equipment boxes were piled up under the tent, and the production assistants squatted in the shade eating boxed lunches.
Ning Hao stood next to Fu Yibai with a storyboard in hand, his brows furrowed.
"The water truck for this rain scene hasn't arrived yet; they say the ferry is delayed."
"Let's shoot the indoor scenes first then."
Ning Hao nodded and turned to coordinate. Fan Binbin sat on a folding chair under the tent, holding a script in his hands.
She's only been sleeping four or five hours a day these past few days, getting up before dawn to put on makeup, and after work she still has to rehearse the next day's scenes with Fu Yibai.
She no longer even had time to be affectionate with Fu Yibai at night.
"Binbin, today we're filming scene six."
When Xuemei returned home for the first time after her release from prison, she found that the house had been demolished.
Fan Binbin put down the script, stood up, and stretched his neck.
The makeup artist came over and touched up her makeup, making her face look more tired.
The filming location was an abandoned old house in the village, where half of the stone wall had collapsed and the yard was overgrown with waist-high weeds.
The props team buried a few tattered clothes and a cracked enamel basin in the ruins to create the impression that someone had once lived there.
"All departments are in position."
Ning Hao called out into the walkie-talkie.
Fan Binbin stood in front of the ruins, and the makeup artist tidied her hair one last time before leaving.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
The camera zooms in from behind her, and in the frame, she is the only one standing in front of the ruins, her back view thin and silent.
"start."