Fearing to Disturb This "Performance"

There was no launch ceremony, no reporters, and even the usual ritual of starting a production by paying respects to deities in the entertainment industry was done in an extremely perfunctory manner.

And so, the production of "Whiplash" began.

Old Zhou, as unreliable as ever, lived up to his reputation.

If you gave him a chance to grab any statue and offer a perfunctory prayer, he'd manage to find a Guan Yu statue wearing black shoes.

That's the kind of deity only someone involved in the underworld would worship.

However, Bai Youlou didn't fuss over it with him. It was just a formality. If Old Zhou hadn't insisted on praying to the gods to boost the crew's morale, Bai Youlou would have been fine with setting up a SpongeBob statue.

Even the crew members felt that this production was a bit too much like a makeshift operation.

If it weren't for Bai Youlou's lingering "fame," the crew would have been worried about getting paid at all.

Fame is a double-edged sword.

While everyone generally looked down on Bai Youlou, they also felt that since he had been a popular idol before, he wouldn't be unable to pay their wages.

It was a common understanding that idols made a lot of money.

As for the directorial skills of Bai Youlou, the "newly appointed director," everyone maintained a certain level of tacit understanding.

Why even bring it up? Finish the shoot, get paid, and leave.

Some people were even looking forward to seeing Bai Youlou make a fool of himself.

"Anyone can be a director these days."

This was also Old Zhou's concern – that Bai Youlou might not have the skill to keep the crew in line.

He had worked on legitimate film sets and even reached the position of assistant director, so he understood the dynamics of a crew all too well.

A film crew is like a small society.

Generally, domestic film crews operate under a director-centric system, where the director has the final say on almost everything and wields immense authority.

However, if the director lacks experience or backing, and cannot control the unruly elements within the crew, all sorts of problems can arise.

Even just feigning compliance would be considered good.

Fortunately, Old Zhou himself was experienced and felt he could help Bai Youlou manage the situation.

For a small crew like this, it would be a piece of cake.

So, before the official start of filming, Old Zhou kept hovering around Bai Youlou with the shooting schedule, waiting for him to "ask for help."

Well, he didn't even need to ask. Given their relationship, as soon as Bai Youlou opened his mouth, he would immediately...

"Get out of the way, you're blocking my view."

"Ah? Sorry, sorry~"

Old Zhou retreated to the side helplessly, thinking to himself, "You little brat, you'd better say something nice later!"

He was eager to see how Bai Youlou intended to command the entire crew.

For the movie "Whiplash," Bai Youlou had formulated a shooting plan that went from the end to the beginning.

This was mainly to accommodate Long Ziqiang, who had no acting experience.

The movie tells the story of a protagonist who transforms from a novice full of passion and dreams into a paranoid lunatic.

And the male supporting role in the film, the demonic mentor who drives the male lead to that state, is a paranoid lunatic from the very beginning.

By shooting in reverse, Bai Youlou could provide Long Ziqiang with an excellent demonstration.

"Just do as I do, and you'll be fine."

The filming period for the entire movie was set for one month.

In fact, in the original timeline, this movie was shot in just nineteen days.

The month-long schedule was primarily for "coaching" Long Ziqiang, the layman, with Bai Youlou leaving plenty of time for reshoots.

If the guy turned out to be completely hopeless at acting, Bai Youlou even had a few rather unconventional methods prepared to help him get into character.

As for how to control the entire crew and make everyone obedient, that wasn't really a matter of technical skill, nor was it solely dependent on the director's ability.

Or rather, having skill was just one of the ways.

"Throw it!"

"Director, I'm afraid I won't throw it accurately... what if?"

Long Ziqiang looked hesitant, holding a small chair, but he didn't dare to do as Bai Youlou instructed.

Because Bai Youlou had told him to throw the chair directly at him.

At this very moment, filming hadn't even started yet. Bai Youlou was just trying to help Long Ziqiang find his footing, casually rehearsing a scene.

This scene depicted the moment the demonic mentor throws a chair at the protagonist while he's drumming.

"I'm not afraid, why are you scared?! Aim for my head! I'll dodge!"

"I..."

"You fucking piece of shit, I'll fucking star you."

To be honest, although Bai Youlou was spewing profanity, all the words were Long Ziqiang's.

It was as if their roles had been reversed, with Bai Youlou appearing to be the devilish mentor.

Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, Long Ziqiang threw a chair.

With a bang, the chair hit the floor.

Bai Youlou stood still, frowning at him. "What kind of aim is that?! It missed by a mile!"

Long Ziqiang didn't dare to retort. He had closed his eyes when he threw it, so how could it be accurate?

It was like throwing a dart blindfolded. If you weren't skilled, it wasn't just the target who was nervous; the person throwing the dart was also tense.

However, there was no way Bai Youlou would let Long Ziqiang off so easily.

This guy had actually adjusted well to his role in the past few days, at least in terms of his speech and expressions, which basically met the character's requirements.

But his eyes and his presence were completely lacking.

In such a situation, Bai Youlou felt he had to resort to some drastic measures.

"I'll do it! You stand there!"

"Director, throw it accurately, damn it!"

Before Long Ziqiang could finish speaking, a chair flew towards him at an extremely high speed.

Almost instinctively, he ducked to avoid it.

At the same time, with a bang! The chair hit the wall heavily.

Unlike Long Ziqiang's wildly inaccurate throw, Bai Youlou's was dead on.

Those watching clearly saw that the chair was aimed directly at Long Ziqiang's head.

If it had hit, it would have been a concussion at the very least.

"That's the feeling, understand? Throw it suddenly, without so much buildup. You're a bastard who loses his temper at any moment."

Long Ziqiang stared blankly at Bai Youlou, unsure if he had absorbed any of his words.

However, his dazed expression, even though he looked like a gangster, made him appear somewhat weak, pitiful, and helpless.

At this moment, Bai Youlou stood up and looked at the crew members who were still preparing for the shoot.

As his gaze swept over them, not a single person dared to meet his eyes.

One of the quickest ways to control a film crew was to make them fear you.

In reality, respect and admiration were the best ways to control a crew, but Bai Youlou felt he didn't have that much time for such things.

He'd take the shortcut.

Half an hour after filming officially began, the atmosphere on set was actually quite good.

After being stunned by the intense scene between Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang, the experienced veterans commented, "This young director is quite harsh on his actors~"

But being harsh on actors alone was useless for making a movie.

Therefore, when it came to some lighting and camera positioning issues instructed by Bai Youlou, a few people still voiced their dissent.

Although their attitudes weren't overtly hostile, their tone carried a certain sense of superiority.

The implication was roughly: "Director, you're too young and inexperienced, you don't understand. The way I'm doing it is correct."

Admittedly, some film sets might have big-name cinematographers or lighting technicians who held significant sway, but such individuals were usually paired with big-name directors.

Even if there were disagreements, they wouldn't be expressed with this kind of "instructional" tone.

In Bai Youlou's crew, there was no possibility of such industry veterans; he couldn't afford them, and they wouldn't come even if he could.

At most, there were just some experienced hands.

Old Zhou had been reliable in this regard, not bringing in a bunch of amateurs.

But the downside of experienced hands was that they genuinely looked down on Bai Youlou, the so-called director.

Even after he had just "persecuted" Long Ziqiang.

After all, these crew members weren't actors; he couldn't exactly throw a chair at them, could he? If they dared him to throw it, they'd just lie down.

However, half an hour later.

The filming location fell almost completely silent. Only the incessant drumming echoed, mixed with the soaking sweat...

The several cameras set up required no operation; they simply needed to faithfully record the footage before them.

Many people on set would likely never forget this scene.

A teenager drumming until he was drenched in sweat, with blood droplets splattering from his cracked tiger's mouth onto the drumsticks.

Then, his decisive and fierce action of plunging his injured hand into ice water to cool it down made people involuntarily shiver, even instinctively lowering their breathing.

As if afraid of disturbing the "performance" unfolding before them.