Li Mu did not tell most of the people around him about the movie. The day before Ning Hao sent the equipment and staff to leave Yanjing, Li Mu told Su Yingxue about the movie.
Su Yingxue was now immune to Li Mu's ability to stir up trouble. She was only a little surprised, but she quickly returned to normal. When she heard that the important scene of Li Mu's movie was their high school alma mater, Su Yingxue, who was usually calm, was a little excited. She wanted to go back and witness Li Mu become a director and the "grand occasion" of filming at her alma mater. Unfortunately, she had just returned home a few days ago, so it would be a little inappropriate to go back this time.
Zhao Kang did not want to miss this kind of good show, but there were still a lot of things waiting for him to do in Yanjing, so he could only wish Li Mu a smooth shooting this time.
Li Mu told the brothers in Dorm 606 that he would be going home for a period of time. When everyone asked, he only said that there were some things waiting for him at home, but he did not give any more details.
Before leaving, Li Mu called Zhao Ziqiu and Chen Wan respectively. Only then did he feel relieved. He followed more than a dozen crew members and got on the plane to Jinling.
Ning Hao made a systematic plan for the pace of the whole shooting. Most of the people who were going to Jinling with him were the behind-the-scenes staff. After everyone arrived in Haizhou, they had to first settle the accommodation, catering, storage, venue, set, props, and other various preparatory work. After everything was settled, Du Wei, Chen Kun, and a group of other actors would rush over from Yanjing, so that they could directly start shooting when they arrived in Haizhou.
On the plane, Ning Hao and Li Mu sat together. After the plane stabilized, he took out a notebook with a leather cover from his bag and went through the filming process with Li Mu. The process included all the details in front and behind the scenes, including the sequencing and coordination of each scene.
According to Li Mu's request, Du Wei's scenes were at the top of Ning Hao's schedule. Ning Hao said that if Du Wei's acting skills were good, Ning Hao would shoot her. In that case, this role's scenes could be completed in three days at the earliest. Li Mu was somewhat uncertain. As for how long Du Wei's scenes in Haizhou would take, it depended on her acting talent.
Ning Hao explained the process to Li Mu. He said to Li Mu, "In fact, I think that since we are going to invest two million yuan in this movie, we might as well make the script a little more substantial and make it 90 minutes long. In this case, if the 40-minute micro-movie version becomes popular on TV, we can take the 90-minute version to the cinema and make some gimmicks, which will be another income. "
Li Mu asked him, "I didn't know that you like to do this kind of thing."
Ning Hao said seriously, "If I were the director, I wouldn't do it."
Li Mu asked him, "Why do you want me to do it instead of you?"
Ning Hao said with a smile, "You're here for fun, so you don't have to worry so much. I'm not good at anything in my life except for dealing with movies. So I have to pay attention to my reputation in the future. You're different. You're a businessman, so you have to maximize your profits. "
Li Mu looked at him with disdain and said, "If I really wanted to pursue profits, I wouldn't have invested two million yuan to make this thing. I'm not making movies for fun. In the future, I will definitely make Makino Image a first-class movie production company in the country and even the world. 'Old Boys' micro-movie is just a stepping stone for me. As a layman, I don't understand the overall planning of a movie, I don't know the front and back of a movie, and I don't know the promotion of a movie. I don't even know where to find a relationship with the cinema. If I were to make a big movie right from the start, I would probably die a terrible death. I'm not afraid of losing money, but I'm afraid that the money I throw in won't make any waves. So I started with 'Old Boys' to practice and avoid the cinema. I'll directly make an issue of it on the television and the internet. "
Ning Hao looked at Li Mu and was speechless for a long time. Only now did he truly realize that although Li Mu was a layman in the movie industry and his focus was on the internet, he was serious about movies. The domestic movie market was not mature enough, and most movies could not earn back their cost when they were released in the cinema. Moreover, the cinema industry was very complicated, and people without experience would not be able to handle it. However, Li Mu had taken a different approach. He had first bypassed the cinema before coming into contact with this industry. This was a very correct choice.
Li Mu said to Ning Hao seriously, "If we have a good cooperation this time, I'll sign you under Makino Image. You'll be able to get your salary after signing the contract. From next year onwards, I'll invest in at least one movie for you every year."
Ning Hao swallowed his saliva and asked Li Mu, "You're not joking with me?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "Of course not. Didn't I tell you last time to look for me if you have a good script? I'll invest in you."
Ning Hao, who had always looked a little sloppy, was suddenly touched. He asked Li Mu seriously, "Why do you trust me so much?"
Li Mu could not say that he was a huge fan of "Crazy Stone," so he could only say, "I believe in my own judgment."
Ning Hao immediately said, "Alright, as long as you like me, I'll definitely sign it!"
Li Mu nodded. "That's all that matters. Let's film 'Old Boys' first. We'll have plenty of opportunities to work together in the future."
If one were to consider directors with high box office earnings, Ning Hao would not be able to get a very high position in the later stages. "Crazy Stone" grossed tens of millions, "Crazy Racing" grossed just over 100 million, "No Man's Land" grossed more than 200 million, and the highest grossed was "Xinhua Lu Fang", which was only 1.1 billion. It was very close to the box office earnings of "Pancake Man" made by Da Peng. This result was really nothing in 2015 or 2016. Xu Zheng's "Lost in Thailand" was way ahead of him.
However, what Li Mu really liked was Ning Hao's dark humor and the uniqueness of his storytelling.
Li Mu firmly believed that Ning Hao was an extraordinary comedy master. It was just that he lacked a script that could really fit the market. If he were to film "Lost in Thailand," Li Mu could not guarantee that the box office earnings would increase by a lot, but he could at least guarantee that the production quality would be better than Xu Zheng's. If he were to film the entire "Lost in Thailand" series, he believed that he would have a deeper understanding of this comedy series.
Being able to tell a story was the most basic quality of a good director. Li Mu knew that Ning Hao had this ability.
…
The plane landed in Jinling, and the bus that had been arranged beforehand took everyone to Haizhou. This time, the crew still chose to stay at the Haizhou Hotel. It was a little expensive, but the conditions were good, and the location was quite convenient. From here to Haizhou No.1 Middle School, the train station, the commercial street, and their own homes, it was all within two kilometers.
When everyone arrived at the Haizhou Hotel, it was already 11 o 'clock in the evening. The truck that transported the equipment had already arrived in the afternoon and was parked in the courtyard of the Haizhou Hotel.
Li Mu did not go home. Instead, he directly checked into the Haizhou Hotel. All the standard rooms were standard. He and Ning Hao shared a room. Early the next morning, he had to go with the staff to Haizhou No.1 Middle School with the equipment and start preparing for the shooting.
After a night's rest, at seven o 'clock the next morning, everyone had already had breakfast and set off from the Haizhou Hotel to Haizhou No.1 Middle School. The bus from last night became the shooting vehicle of the crew in Haizhou these days. Li Mu also told Song Liang in advance to borrow two GL8s for emergencies. Song Liang sent someone to drive to the Haizhou Hotel early in the morning, and the two GL8s followed the bus to Haizhou No.1 Middle School.
The person in charge of shooting with Li Mu was Li Mu's class teacher, Pang Dahai. When Li Mu arrived at school and met Pang Dahai, he asked Pang Dahai to arrange the staff to rest in the office of the Political and Educational Building for a while. He took Ning Hao, the cameraman, and the set crew to inspect the suitable classrooms for shooting.
Pang Dahai said, "In theory, the school unconditionally supports your shooting work, but I mean that you should try not to choose the graduating class as the main location of the shooting. You can choose the grade one and the grade two at will. Choose the classroom first, and then choose the students."
Li Mu said, "Mr. Pang, don't worry. We'll only choose from the grade one."
Ning Hao nodded and said, "We don't have any special requirements for choosing the classroom. The third floor, facing the sun, is fine."
As for the requirement of the third floor, it was set in the script. Zhang Kexuan's classroom was on the third floor. There was a scene where Zhang Kexuan quietly climbed out of the window to participate in the band rehearsal during self-study time. As a result, he was met by Du Wei downstairs.
After listening to these two requirements, Pang Dahai immediately said with a smile, "That's easy. Grade One, Class 4, to Class 10 are all on the south of the third floor. Let's go and have a look. If there is a suitable one, you can directly choose it."
The teaching building of Haizhou No.1 High School was in the shape of a "Lu", with the upper and lower floors connected together. It had a total of four floors. Li Mu and the others walked around the south side of the third floor. The two of them discussed the cameraman and the set maker and decided on the cleanest looking Grade One, Class 6.
After choosing the classroom, everyone went to the corridor, the bicycle shed, the square, the playground, and other places to choose the scenery. After choosing the scenery, Li Mu asked Mr. Pang to negotiate with the school to get an equipment room from the sports training team to store the filming equipment.
After looking around, Ning Hao said to Li Mu, "Most of the shooting scenes in the school have basically been decided. Now we're only missing a location for the band's performance. What do you think is a suitable location for this?"
Li Mu said, "Let's set it on the playground. We'll build a professional stage there. Don't be too frugal on the cost, but it must be effective. The visual effect has to be up to standard, and the auditory effect can't be ignored. Our entire film will be recorded at the same time, so the sound effects must be good."
Ning Hao nodded and said, "That's no problem. I'll coordinate it. Another more important thing is the scene at the train station and on the train. When are you done coordinating it? We'll go and have a look."
Li Mu said, "I'll make a call. We should be able to see the venue soon."
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