When the executive director heard Gu Jiaer's words, he was immediately shocked.
"Director Gu?"
"Live audio?"
The people around him were taken aback as well. In recent years, the trend of local productions was to take after foreign productions. Television productions aside, movie productions leaned toward live audio compared to dubbed audio as well.
However, the directors who did that were mostly people who had great confidence in the abilities of the actors reciting their lines.
The flexibility of an actor's voice could very well affect the performance of the actor in the film. An infectious voice could reinforce the audience's impression of the plot, so it was clear how important voiceover actors were.
Even though Sun Qiming knew that Jiang Se could speak French and he decided to cast her as the character Miss Zhang, he did not intend to use the live audio recording. In fact, he merely chose her so that it would be easier to match her lip movements to the language.
However, Gu Jiaer was currently thinking of using the live audio recording.
"She's an amateur." The executive director could not help but glance at Gu Jiaer as he had doubts about his latest inspiration.
However, the moment he said those words, the executive director knew that he made a mistake.
In the studio, Gu Jiaer's words were the law. At this moment, his doubts were enough to annoy Gu Jiaer, who had a short fuse, to begin with.
He was about to explain himself when Gu Jiaer spoke without turning his head, "Who's the director here? You or me?"
When no one else around him dared make another sound, Gu Jiaer's expression relaxed somewhat. He made a gesture for the filming to be paused. Then, he replayed the recording of Jiang Se reciting her lines.
Her tone sounded pleasing through the headphones. She had a unique implicit charm as she introduced the history of Paris in a lively manner. Coupled with her looks, this became an enjoyment to the eyes and ears.
"There's no problem with her voice, but using the live audio recording won't do as well." Besides the noise on set, her expression was calm and her tone was slightly cold. Even when she smiled, she gave the impression that she was high and mighty.
If he were to judge this from a visual perspective alone, there was not much of an issue. However, Gu Jiaer took his headphones off.
"Bring her here."
She was lacking passion in her tone, and she recited her lines like a machine. Therefore, she could not incite a passion for Paris among the listeners.
The cabin set was full of passengers and equipment. Even with the air-conditioning, it felt hot just standing there for some time.
Jiang Se had just finished her lines when she saw the script supervisor waving at her. She walked toward Gu Jiaer.
"Director, did I say something wrong?" Jiang Se asked him, and Gu Jiaer shook his head. He had studied videography in France many years ago, so he was slightly familiar with the French language.
Her intonation was on point, and there were no issues with her lines. "In this scene, Miss Zhang's introduction to Paris is supposed to make Wang Qianqian look forward to reaching her destination."
When he said this, Jiang Se understood the emotions Gu Jiaer wanted to convey.
"You're a newcomer to this industry." Gu Jiaer swept his gaze across Jiang Se and did not care to soften his words. "It's a good thing that you're not nervous in front of the cameras and that your gaze didn't shy away from them. You were able to maintain your cool. However, you're too calm. You must understand the meaning of being an actress. You're supposed to serve the film's needs. You're a servant to the plot. Don't treat this as a stage where you can shine or use this as a platform to showcase yourself."
Jiang Se was taken aback.
"If you want to move others, you'll have to at least use your emotions to move yourself." When Gu Jiaer saw her scowling slightly, he continued, "Your external qualities are good, and you've been under Zhang Jingan's direction before. You should understand that you can't rely on your looks alone if you want to join this industry."
The entertainment industry was not short of newcomers. While Jiang Se might be more beautiful than the current celebrities today, it was not impossible for there to be more outstanding newcomers than her in the future.
"Otherwise, all you'll get is fame and popularity. You won't last if you don't have any good work under your belt."
He waved his hand and pointed to the side.
"Think about what I've told you over there. Think about how you should be reciting your lines. Come back here and recite them to me when you're done."
When Gu Jiaer said this, the people around him were shocked. He seemed to care about this newcomer and was even offering her tips and guidance.
The crew members looked at Jiang Se. They were thinking about the same thing: that this newcomer was lucky.
It was known that although Gu Jiaer was not on par with a great director such as Zhang Jingan, he was still held in high regard in the entertainment industry.
His films had their own market, so Gu Jiaer's name that guaranteed box office sales.
There were many investors who were willing to invest in his films. Aside from the male and female leads, and certain important supporting characters which were decided by the investors, Gu Jiaer had the authority to pick most of the other members of the cast.
Jiang Se's looks were to his liking. She would not have to worry about not becoming famous if she appeared in Gu Jiaer's films a few times.
"Thank you, Director."
Naturally, Jiang Se could tell what Gu Jiaer meant. She bent and scuttled to the side as she sighed soundlessly.
Before this, she merely treated acting as a job. The reason she entered this field was that she did not want to disrupt the original Jiang Se's life. She was thinking that if she woke up in her own body again one day, she would not cause too much trouble for the original Jiang Se.
That was why when she wanted to pick a job to escape her poverty, her first choice was to enter the entertainment industry which was in line with Jiang Se's wishes.
Whether it was in Zhang Jingan's "Rescue Mission" or "Pretense to Reality", she did everything because she was poor as she had told Dai Jia.
She did not worry about her personal gain or loss. All she wanted to do was to play her part well before the camera. She did not want to make any mistakes, but she did not want fame either.
However, Gu Jiaer had pointed out with a single statement that her heart was not in her acting.
From the beginning until the end, she remained herself. Even when she was supposed to portray Miss Zhang, all she did was change into the air stewardess's uniform and was still herself.
If this was aired, she could still stand out with her looks alone. However, unless she had no intention of working in the entertainment industry, she would have to do something about this. If she wanted to work longer in this industry, she could not be Jiang Se while portraying every other character.
Jiang Se frowned. Although she joined the entertainment industry to pay for her tuition fees, she did not want to be seen as an empty flower vase.
She recited her lines softly, recalling what Gu Jiaer had said to her. She disregarded the people around her and mumbled her lines to herself.
By now, she knew her lines by heart. However, the more she recited them, the more she understood what Gu Jiaer meant. She was not infectious while saying her lines. She could not inspire a passion toward Paris among the listeners.
How could she be infectious?
As she kept reciting her lines, her volume diminished gradually.
She thought of Pei Yi.
"…the manor I've bought is in a village in Médoc. I have grapes there. The manor is mainly white which is your favorite color. Every morning, when you open the windows, you'll see an exceptionally blue sky. The vineyard stretches out before you as far as the eye can see. You can even smell the grapes in the air."
"I've prepared a glasshouse for you. You'll be able to see the entire village from there."
When he said these words, he stared at her with sparkling eyes. "There's a range nearby, and there are two horses that haven't been named yet.
"Let's go there during autumn. The grapes will be ripe by then. We can go and harvest them ourselves. We'll make our own wine and keep them in the cellar for…" he had been vague back then as he said, "the future."
At that time, Pei Yi had been trying to lure her to France. He did his best to describe the landscape there. He said that there were two horses and a vineyard that was more than a century old. He told her about how the grapes would appear in bunches in autumn and how the sunlight shone through the leaves of the grapes and onto the grapes themselves. She could imagine the exact scenery when he described them.
As she thought about this, Jiang Se felt dejected. She could slightly understand what Gu Jiaer meant now.
When Pei Yi wanted to persuade her to go to France back then, he had spoken to her with great passion. Therefore, when he mentioned the tranquil village under the sun which seemed to be isolated from the world, she had nodded easily and agreed to go with him.
Pei Yi had planned this trip to France a long time ago. However, she was not able to make it a reality in the end.
She was not a passionate and expressive person, so when Pei Yi had mentioned all of this to her back then, she merely thought that it was a nice plan.
However, she wondered why she felt heavy-hearted when recalling this memory now.
She tried to remember how Pei Yi looked and sounded like when he told her these things. It was as if he could not wait to bring her to the manor he prepared and listen to her praises.
As she recalled the memories, she was able to grasp her state of mind back then. It was as if she could imagine the vast vineyard under blue skies as she listened to Pei Yi speaking in his animated tone. She could see the glasshouse in the castle and the two horses that were yet to be named.
She imagined herself as Pei Yi back then, and her tone gradually relaxed.
At this moment, she could not see her own face. Naturally, she did not see how densely her eyes sparkled.
Gu Jiaer only remembered about Jiang Se after shooting another scene of Zhao Ruoyun and Hang Yuyi. "Are you ready?"
Zhao Ruoyun's and Hang Yuyi's performance in the cabin was merely conforming to the norms of acting. They made no mistakes, but they gave no surprises as well.
Gu Jiaer could not get the feeling he was looking for, so he appeared irritated.
"I'm ready, Director." Jiang Se nodded. Gu Jiaer showed no intention of filming her. He merely gestured for her to recite her lines to him.
Jiang Se smiled slightly, and he could tell that she was different now.
Before this, she had been flawless under the lens. However, she had been so perfect that she gave off a high and mighty air.
However, at this moment, her eyes were filled with anticipation. The smile at the edges of her lips melted her disaffection away.
She retained her unique tone, but her expression drew the audience into her world. She spoke about medieval Paris, and how art and food gave this city its colors and life.
Gu Jiaer was reminded of the days he spent studying in Paris. He remembered the dense artistic atmosphere there. His mind wandered, but Jiang Se had already stopped talking as she was finished with her lines.
Her lines were short. This time, it was not as smooth and neat as before. Instead, it made the listener wait for more.
The charm of her words was on par with her exaggerated expression. If Jiang Se could maintain this level of performance in the scene, she would become a highlight in the scene of the cabin and even outshine Zhao Ruoyun and the others.
Gu Jiaer gave her a satisfied glance.
His words had not fallen on deaf ears. Besides her beautiful looks, which seemed to be a special favor of the heavens, she had good comprehensive abilities as well.
Naturally, he had only given her some tips because he judged that Jiang Se was not a bimbo since she could speak French fluently despite her young age.
The most important thing was that when he had said those words to her without holding back in front of everyone, she had not taken them to heart. She was not like the others who put up a show of respecting him but were secretly disgruntled.
This gave Gu Jiaer a good impression of her. "Not bad. Sometimes, in acting, besides the minute changes in your expression, the way you deliver your lines is also important."
When he finished, they went through another round of rehearsal. It was late when they finished everything.
The filming of the cabin scene was set for three days later. By the time Jiang Se removed her makeup, changed into her own clothes, and boarded the subway, it was close to ten o'clock.
The train was not crowded. Jiang Se sat in a corner, leaning back into her seat and closing her eyes to rest.
She had been on her feet for the whole day today, so she felt tired. Entering the entertainment industry was not as easy as she thought. She opened her eyes to look at the time. She reckoned that it would be past 11 when she reached home. The Du family would have been sound asleep by now, hence she did not think that they would open the door for her.
With about a month before the start of the term, she was thinking of landing a few background actor roles to pay for the rent of her own room. She was thinking of moving out of the Du residence.
Gu Jiaer's words today had moved Jiang Se slightly. This industry was not as easy and simple as she had once thought. Acting was much more than playing pretend as a character in the story.
She was fine with not making this her career. However, since she had decided to do this, for now, she did not want to be looked down upon by anybody else.
In some sense, she treated portraying Miss Zhang the same way as she, Feng Nan, was living Jiang Se's life. She adjusted her mentality and pushed her grandfather, Feng Zhongliang's influence out of her mind so that she would not be as biased against acting as she was before.
She spent her two days at home practicing in front of the mirror. Because she could clearly see her own eyes in her reflection, she corrected her shortcomings and tried to match her expression with her slightly gleeful tone.
It was stuffy inside the house in the July weather. In the Du residence, they were not even allowed to switch the fan on in the day, let alone install air conditioners. Jiang Se's throat felt parched after all that practicing. She went to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.
Du Honghong's door was suddenly pulled open heavily. She shouted, "Can you keep it down?!"
Zhou Hui was talking to the neighbor outside the house about her own son who was about to enter the seventh grade when she heard Du Honghong's shouts from within.
She hastily went into the house and saw a gloomy Du Honghong shouting into the kitchen, "Do you have a problem? You're incessantly stroking your hair coquettishly in front of the camera and mumbling the entire day."
Jiang Se was standing in the kitchen and holding a glass of water, but her expression could not be seen clearly.
"What's this about?" Zhou Hui sounded anxious. "Things were fine just moments ago."
The two sisters had always had a rocky relationship. They would sometimes quarrel between themselves as well, but Jiang Se had been behaving herself better lately. Even when Du Honghong picked a fight with her, she would ignore her, so the house was much more peaceful now.
Zhou Hui had just been outside for a short while. Why were they quarreling again?
"Ask her! She's been mumbling for the entire day lately and twisting her body in front of the camera. We know that you're pretty. There, are you happy now?"
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