Chapter 428: Practice More
She answered her own question. “There are experimental fields in the elite cla.s.s. Everyone can understand the characteristics of each medicinal herb during each period and conduct research. The data is detailed. As for us, we don’t have anything. At most, we can go to the pharmacy to buy some Chinese medicine. It’s not beneficial for our studies and research. However, didn’t Zhaodi find a good part-time job? Someone promised to give her some Chinese medicine to let her bring it back for us to study.”
“Really?” s.h.i.+ Jin reached out to take a look.
“Be gentler.” Li Yuanyuan could not treat it any more preciously. “We only have this little bit. If it’s broken, we won’t be able to do any research. Just now, a few seniors asked us to let them use it when we’re done.”
s.h.i.+ Jin smiled and was about to say that she would bring some over for everyone to study.
Su Sitian chewed on the candy and said, “Even though Xu Zhaodi gave us these, it won’t help much. Do you know how these herbs are cultivated; what kind of environment they are grown in; what the various stages of growth are like; which stage of growth is the most effective?”
Li Yuanyuan: “…”
She said, “It’s still better than nothing.”
Li Liangjing heard this from the side and said, “The school said that they will give us another medicinal herb test field. They promised us before.”
“Really?” Li Yuanyuan was very excited.
“Yes.” Li Liangjing nodded.
“When the time comes, we can also observe and do better research.” Li Yuanyuan was rather excited.
Ever since she was young, she had only seen the finished products that her grandfather had made. She had never seen the herbs growing in the ground before.
Since the school wanted to distribute the experimental fields to everyone, s.h.i.+ Jin did not say anything.
Su Sitian asked, “Senior Li, when can we go to the experimental plot?”
“Probably within the next two days.”
Li Yuanyuan shook s.h.i.+ Jin’s arm. “s.h.i.+ Jin, you must come when the time comes. We’ll celebrate then.”
“Okay. I’ll be there on time.” s.h.i.+ Jin nodded.
***
“Glory of the Song Dynasty” officially began filming.
Director Cao was in high spirits.
They lined up s.h.i.+ Jin’s horse scenes at the front for filming. These were all s.h.i.+ Jin’s solo scenes. He really wanted to feast his eyes on them.
“s.h.i.+ Jin, the cameras are ready. Let’s begin.”
“Everyone, get ready. Action!”
s.h.i.+ Jin rode her horse and rushed over from afar. She raised her sword and shouted, “Charge!”
Her voice was filled with killing intent. One person was like an army of thousands.
The stage supervisor who was waiting at the side could not help muttering softly, “Director Cao, do we still need to find a voice actor for s.h.i.+ Jin?”
“No need, no need.” Director Cao smiled like a flower. There was no need to use a stunt double for s.h.i.+ Jin’s horsemans.h.i.+p. There was no need to use a voice-over for her lines.
Not only did he save money, he also saved a lot of trouble.
“Okay, this one is over! Continue with the other solo scenes!” Director Cao shouted.
s.h.i.+ Jin started filming the other horse riding scenes.
Everyone was prepared for how good her riding skills were, but in the end, she still surprised everyone during the shoot. All the scenes were cleared in one go.
The originally planned four-day solo horse riding scenes were completed in half a day.
s.h.i.+ Jin got off the horse and asked, “You’re not filming anymore?”
“Everything has been filmed.” Director Cao threw up his hands. “There’s really nothing else to prepare for today.”
He should have arranged more scenes.
“Director Cao, you can take some close-up shots,” the stage supervisor reminded him softly.
“s.h.i.+ Jin, get ready to film the scene of the sword being drawn.”
The sword s.h.i.+ Jin used was a high-quality replica. It was made of slightly hard plastic and its exterior was polished to look like metal.
On the side, the actress who was playing the second female lead did not get into character today, so she gave the venue to s.h.i.+ Jin.
She didn’t look too happy. “Then when will I be filming my scenes?”
The a.s.sistant hurriedly covered her mouth. “Ma’am, be quiet!”
“I’ve been trying for so long. Do you think I’ll give it up to s.h.i.+ Jin?”
“Alright, Chu Jia, let’s practice a little more.” Her manager suppressed her complaints.
Chu Jia could only continue practicing.
Although she was the second female lead in this movie, she didn’t have many scenes. Chu Jia used her family’s relations.h.i.+p with Chu Ling to get a chance to be a supporting character.
She had taken the entrance exam to a performing arts school in university and claimed that she was a professional. During this period of time, she had also filmed a few television dramas as the fourth or fifth female leads. Although they had yet to be screened or broadcasted, her confidence had increased tremendously. She looked down on people like s.h.i.+ Jin who did not come from a specialized school.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she would one day be a supporting actress for s.h.i.+ Jin.
Not only was she a supporting actress, after filming a few takes, Director Cao told her to practice on the side. Only after she was done practicing was she allowed to come over.
Why was it that s.h.i.+ Jin, who was not a professional, could do it directly, but she had to stand to the side and practice?
“Martial arts director, come over and show s.h.i.+ Jin the moves. Chu Jia, come over and take a look too. We’ll take a close-up of you later.”
The action they were going to film was to sheathe their swords.
This action was very difficult, so during filming, they would film the action of drawing the sword. Then, they would play it backwards to give the audience the feeling that the sword was sheathed.
The martial arts director came forward to demonstrate. “By drawing the sword like this, it will look strong while still appearing within the camera. Do you understand?”
“I got it, I’ll go first!” Chu Jia said immediately.
When she was filming previously, she had played the role of a swordsman. This action had even been praised by the previous director.
Since Chu Jia took the initiative, the martial arts director and Director Cao both nodded.
Chu Jia said, “Then let me perform first.”
Director Cao looked at s.h.i.+ Jin.
s.h.i.+ Jin did not object.
“Okay. All units get ready. Give hand and sword close-ups. Watch your positions.”
Chu Jia drew her sword.
“Increase your strength. Again.”
Chu Jia drew her sword again.
“The sleeves are tied up. a.s.sistant, tidy up her clothes.”
Chu Jia, who had rearranged her clothes, drew her sword again.
After repeating it ten times, Director Cao said, “OK, good.”
Chu Jia raised her head. Being able to successfully complete this action was finally an encouragement for her, who had suffered a great blow today.
Although this action was simple, she knew that it wasn’t easy to do it well. Not to mention her, in the previous movie she acted in, the actor who played the male lead didn’t even succeed in twenty tries.
She wanted to see how many times it took for s.h.i.+ Jin to pa.s.s.
“s.h.i.+ Jin, you do it.” Director Cao’s att.i.tude was much gentler when he spoke to s.h.i.+ Jin.
Chu Jia pouted disapprovingly.
s.h.i.+ Jin tried to pull out her sword, but failed.
Chu Jia covered her mouth in amus.e.m.e.nt..