Chapitre 217: The Apology (15)
One of the successful formula for the series was because it featured normal people that were married to celebrities. There was a mysterious allure to that. Furthermore, the viewers would be able to see a different side to their favourite celebrities, meaning they could watch how their idols act around their family. They shed the persona they put on before the public and carry themselves like a normal person would in a family setting.
Of course, like all reality tv, there was some staging and acting involved but it was deemed more natural than having couples that were both celebrities. The whole thing would feel like a publicity stunt and that would understandably turn off some of the viewers.
The term reality tv was an oxymoron, the viewers knew they were staged but they still looked for that sense of naturalness and authenticity.
In any case, this was why the station and producers had been facing problems in terms of casting. While many stars might appear to expose themselves in front of the camera, their counterpart that had no interest of pursuing a career in entertainment was less willing. That was why there hadn't been a second season despite the public interest and promised rating... well, at least until Joann came along with the proposal.
She came up with the idea after the talk with Xiu Ling and the name of the series was actually inspired by what her best friend said.
She approached one of the directors that she trusted and offered to do such a series. The only caveat was, she was given a say in the editing and they did not tell her husband that she would be part of the production.
The production team was understandably confused by her demands but technically, they weren't that difficult to fulfill. They were curious but not unreasonable. As stars, they had a stake in their public image so her first request was understandable. Normally, the production team would not allow something like this but since they were desperate for a series to be shot, they were willing to look past it this time.
Joann's second request was just a huge befuddlement to them. However, since the work would not be affected by keeping this secret, they agreed to it readily.
Xu Jing read through the contract and as surprised as he was, he was willing to agree to everything but one. One particular clause gave him a small pause.
Since the production team was working with just one couple, they did not have the budget to ferry them to some idyllic village. Instead they were going to use Xu Jing and Joann's home as the set.
Xu Jing would have agreed easily if they were shooting at a hotel or some undisclosed location that would not affect the life of other people but since they were going to intrude not only into his life but that of his family's, he had his worries.
He voiced this concern and Joann could see things from his perspective, which was why before he even brought up that concern, she had already discussed with details with her mother-in-law and daughter. Mrs. Xu and Sylvia were willing to make some compromises for the sake of their marriage. Mrs. Lin would stay longer at the company and go for more overseas meetings and Sylvia would take up more cases during this period. Of course, if they wished to appear before the camera, that was more than welcomed as well.
Since that detail had been ironed out, there was nothing holding Xu Jing back. He signed the contract and that was how we found Xu Jing and Joann being ushered into their house's living room by the director.
Even though their house was used as the set, this did not mean that the cameras were set up everywhere, the production team was not that rude. The focus of their shoot was at the living room, main bedroom, kitchen and the guest bedroom was cordoned off as the space for confessionals.
Following the recent trend, The Call of Joy was going to be a semi-live online show. Since it was going to have a mainly online release, the show would reach the audience while the shooting was still going on. To put it simply, they might be shooting Episode 4 when Episode 2 was being aired on the internet.
This had its own pros and cons. The cons were mostly about the lack of time. Since they had to rush a release, the production and editing team would not have the leisure to edit the footage slowly. The pros was since the show was still ongoing when the episodes were released, the progression could be tailored according to the reception received from the audience.
"Thank you for the hard work today, Miss Joann and Mr. Xu Jing, we got some really good cuts," The director said as he asked his two leads to sit on the living room sofa. They were going to have a crew meeting to discuss the responses and replies from the audience.
"You're too kind, Mr. Director. You've put in great effort as well." Joann who was familiar with such setting, was great at socialization. In comparison, Xu Jing was much more wooden and awkward, it was no fault of the man of course. He was practically thrown into this arena without any time for preparation.
At least he had gotten more natural compared to the very beginning where he would stutter in front of the camera. Now that they were half way into the series, he had started to get the hang of it.
"The reception for the recent episodes has been amazing. We're consistently at the top of the popularity and viewership ranking," The director said as he pulled over some documents. The Call of Joy, as the station expected, had been a runaway success.
Joann still had her star power to pull in the audience and they found her husband who rarely appeared in public eye to be quite charming.
Chapitre 218: The Apology (16)
The occasional cameos by Mrs. Lin and Sylvia were welcomed by the audience as well. Those loyal fans of Joann even managed to recognize Xu Jing as that man who followed Joann's schedule faithfully at the start of her career. They were glad to be given an update on the couple's relationship.
Xu Jing and Joann treated each other similar to how they would before the affair was exposed, with Xu Jing being incredibly servile to Joann. The man did not know other mode of interaction around his wife.
With Xiu Ling's advice in mind, Joann tried her best not to take her husband's kindness as granted but it was hard not to slip into her old habits especially when Xu Jing being so accommodating towards her. It felt like he was enabling her. Furthermore, they hadn't had the talk to address the extra-marital affair. Joann couldn't just magically forgive her husband, therefore, it was incredibly hard not to take advantage of the man especially when he was so willing to be taken advantage of.
This was picked up by the viewers and they gushed at how loving and doting Xu Jing was to his wife. There were cries saying they hoped their husbands were as obedient as Xu Jing was. There were other voices as well, like how detached Joann was to her husband's attention, but they were basically drown out by the admiration and compliments.
Joann didn't follow the comments online because that was a habit she had practiced since the early years of her career. She knew she could find support online from her fans but she also knew the nastiness that lurked underneath the fans thanks to contribution by trolls and haters.
Instead, Joann trained her focus at cooperating with the production team to decide and adjust the direction of the series. Joann never did tell Xu Jing why she would sometimes leave with the director after the shooting wrapped up for the day. Out of his inner guilt, Xu Jing never once intrude to ask even though he was curious about it. During one of his worse days, he might even suspect there was something suspicious happening between them but then Xu Jing would remind himself the thing that he had done and realized with shame of all the individuals in the world, he was the one who had the least qualification and right to bear that suspicion.
When he was caught in a whirlpool of guilt, Xu Jing turned to the internet in search of validation. It was the complete opposite of what his wife did. The good comments online were like a salvo to his soul. It made him feel like he was doing the right thing. Shooting the series did reintroduce the sense of normalcy back into his life. Even though Joann was doing it for the camera, at least she was talking to him again, and for that, Xu Jing was thankful.
However, he too had been conscious of the fact that they had not discussed that issue right on. He did not think it was his place to bring it up because he swore to give Joann time to process it. Therefore, he left the ball in his wife's court but Joann did not show any intention of wanting to talk about it at all. At a time like this, Xu Jing wondered if he should just breach the topic. Honestly, he wanted to many times but he did not think it was a wise idea to bring it up before the camera. He could have tried to bring it up behind the camera but Xu Jing noticed once the camera stopped rolling, Joann would try to avoid him in the most inconspicuous ways like walking away when he entered a room, turning to talk to someone else in the crew when he tried to approach her. Out of deference to Joann, Xu Jing decided to wait until she was ready. In Xu Jing's mind, shooting this series was no different to a test and if he survived until the end, then he would have passed the test.
Back in the present, the director continued with a concerned tone, "Be that as it may but I fear this popularity might not be able to carry us to the end of this series."
"Why is that, Mr. Director?" Xu Jing asked urgently. This series had a special meaning to the man, after all, he had to see it to the end.
The director misconstrued his worry for a concern for the project and he nodded satisfactorily. He gladly shared his concern with them, "Because this kind of slice-of-life series project can only capture that many attention. I mean no offense but the mundane day to day life of even a celebrity couple can only hold the audience's attention for so long. We need a hook, some big event to introduce some changes into the pace of the series. It is like telling a story, we need some climax along the way to grab the viewers' attention."
Essentially, the director was telling them to stage an event, to fake some kind of drama. After that, those were the things that drew in the audience.
Xu Jing was inexperienced in things like this and it was his nature to refer to his wife. Therefore, he turned naturally to Joann to get her opinion.
"Actually I do have something in mind." Joann said, surprising both the director and Xu Jing. They, especially Xu Jing did not think she would go along with staging something fake for the sake of the series. However, they were only half-right. Joann had something in mind but it wasn't a fake event.
She was going to attend a movie premier in a few weeks and she told the director they could dramatize something like that.
The director thought about it and realized he liked Joann's idea. The viewers would be interested in watching something as glamorous as a movie premier and it was best that they did not rely on faked script, especially when a non-professional, like Xu Jing was involved.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
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