Preliminary Preparations

Throughout the process, the representatives from the production company shifted from their initial scrutiny to leaning forward in focused attention.

Some even picked up the sketches that detailed shot durations, transition methods, and lighting suggestions, examining them with great care.

Francis felt a pride he had never known before; Irene's performance was ten, no, a hundred times better than he had anticipated.

"This wide shot of the corridor dance sequence—how do you plan to manage the choreography?" Director Nelson asked suddenly, his tone still stern, though now tinged with a hint of inquiry.

"I have pre-designed all the movements and referenced the choreography of several classic musicals, striving to balance dynamic aesthetics with spatial depth." Irene calmly pulled out another pre-prepared diagram of the blocking.

To be honest, she had watched this music video no fewer than twenty times in her past life; even without the Intracranial Cinema, every frame was already deeply etched into her mind.

"Regarding the costumes..." another executive mused.

"I don't think that will be difficult for the renowned Jive. These types of outfits are quite common; even an assistant costume designer could handle it with ease." Irene answered fluently, without a moment's hesitation.

Britney, who had been watching nervously from the sidelines, was now completely captivated by the manuscripts.

She couldn't help but grab Irene's arm, her voice filled with excitement: "My god! This is just... this is exactly the image that popped into my head when I was singing! I love this look so much! Can I really dance in this?" Her excitement and approval became the most powerful catalyst in the room.

Producer Carl finally revealed the first smile since the meeting began. He looked at Nelson, and the other man gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Miss Coppola," Carl's voice softened, "you have not only demonstrated outstanding creativity but also a profound understanding of the project's importance and astonishing attention to execution details. You have convinced us."

He turned to Shelly: "My assistant will contact you tomorrow morning regarding the contract details. We need to enter the production phase as soon as possible."

The heavy atmosphere that had originally filled the conference room vanished, replaced by the sound of enthusiastic discussion.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 45 minutes, lasted nearly two hours as everyone actively explored how to turn every detail on the manuscripts into reality.

After the meeting, Britney hugged Irene excitedly: "We are really going to do something together!"

"That's right. For you, this is your debut music video, which is crucial; for me, this is my first work, and it is equally significant. Let's work together and secure this opening victory!" Irene hugged her back tightly. This time, she was determined to help her win that Best New Artist award she had missed out on before.

Shelly watched them thoughtfully and whispered to Nelson, who was the last to leave: "Looks like the gamble paid off."

Nelson paused, looked back at Francis—who was carefully organizing the manuscripts as if they were priceless treasures—and whispered to Shelly: "You might actually harvest a superstar this time, if you catch my drift."

Shelly looked toward the two girls still chatting excitedly and mused: "Maybe two. Is Britney's management contract still in your hands?"

"Then we'll have to have another good talk."

Listening to her friend's cheers and looking at the bright sunshine outside the window, Irene knew her first step had been taken with steady footing.

After the meeting ended, no one lingered for long. Britney, in particular, still had training tasks to attend to. With the music video shoot imminent, the dance routines had to be mastered as soon as possible.

Back in the car, Irene's tense nerves finally relaxed a little. Despite her calm and confident demeanor earlier, she had actually been quite worried and afraid; she had merely been putting on a brave face.

Now that it was just her and her father in the car, she could finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"I never knew your storyboards were so well drawn." Francis's tone was full of pride and relief, yet it also hid a trace of melancholy.

"I'm still far behind you guys." Irene had seen her father's crates of manuscripts since she was very young—some had been used, others discarded.

"You are much better than your mother and I were at seventeen. By the time you reach our age, you will likely have accumulated far more sketches than we ever did."

Irene couldn't help but lean forward and hug her father: "That's because I have you two. You are my greatest source of confidence. I was really afraid of making a fool of myself in front of you earlier."

"You wouldn't have, child. These," Francis weighed the document bag in his hand, "these are your true source of confidence. If you can prepare to this degree, or even more thoroughly for every project, success will be much easier to come by."

"I will, Dad. Isn't that our family tradition?" She thanked God for bringing her into this family, allowing her to make up for the regrets of her past life.

By ten o'clock the next morning, Shelly Ovitz paid a direct visit to the Napa Valley Estate.

In the garden, he stood in his professional suit, looking spirited yet slightly out of place.

"You look as handsome as ever today." Irene handed him a cup of black tea without much sincerity.

"You don't have to force yourself to say things you don't mean next time; your director's fee is 10,000 dollars." Shelly produced the contract he had negotiated with Jive. "Given that you have no practical experience yet, the company will pay 5,000 dollars upfront, with the remainder paid upon the completion of the music video."

Irene knew this was industry standard: "That works for me."

Subsequently, Shelly explained each of the director's rights and obligations one by one. She wouldn't need to participate in the specific preparations in the early stages; she only needed to arrive once the venue and personnel were all in place.

After all, she was just a hired director for a single music video, and Jive's own team was more than capable of handling all the preliminary work. She just needed to wait at home for notification.

Irene flipped through the contracts Shelly had brought; the last one was her management contract with CAA.

The two of them tacitly agreed not to raise any objections. Since Irene was satisfied with Shelly's efficiency and Shelly recognized Irene's talent as a director, there was no need to wait until after the music video aired to sign.

These contracts would later be reviewed by the Coppola family's private lawyer, so she only gave them a cursory glance before setting them aside for the moment.

Shelly didn't stay long after finishing his tea. He was still planning to go and negotiate for Britney; that would be a tough nut to crack, as the girl's parents were much harder to deal with than the Coppolas.

After the lawyer verified everything and the contracts were officially signed, Irene insisted on reporting to Jive every day, even though they hadn't requested it.

Even if it was just a music video, this was her first job. She wanted to witness the entire process of it coming into existence with her own eyes.

In just ten days, the personnel for photography, set design, lighting, costumes, makeup, and art direction had all arrived, most of them being professional crews that had long-term collaborations with Jive.

Afterward, the team collectively selected the shooting location: a small school building at the Warner Film Base, often used for filming low-budget youth-themed projects.

Before the official shoot, Irene rented a small apartment in Burbank for one month. This would not only serve as the temporary preparation office for Britney's music video but also as her creative base for refining the script and drawing storyboards.