With the emergence of anonymous reporting letters, some gossip spread from the CCTV to the outside and began to spread wildly.
Zhu Fu couldn't sit still anymore. He approached Gong Qie immediately and was invited to the small garden in the yard.
"Don't worry, Yanzi has already gone to understand the situation."
"No wonder I didn't see Teacher Fang."
"He is the character from "Journey to the West" The consultant of the production team, how could he not ask questions if something like this happened?”
Gong Qian used a tea set to cook lily, red dates, wolfberry and chrysanthemum tea for the two of them.
I don’t know how long it took, but just as steam was slowly coming out of the spout of the teapot, there were gentle footsteps outside the door.
The chat between Zhu Lu and Gong Cie came to an abrupt end. The two stood up at the same time, and Fang Yan's solemn face came into view.
"How is it? How is the situation?"
"Director Wang and the others decided to send a team to the crew to check the accounts."
Fang Yan said that most of the people in this group were dissatisfied with Yang Jue and the crew of "Journey to the West".
“How could things become like this!” Gong Zhen said worriedly.
Zhu Lu said firmly: "I believe in the kind of people Director Yang and Chengru are, they will never do such a thing."
"As you said, I I don’t believe it either.”
Fang Yan said: “So. The purpose of this investigation is to maintain justice and to clear the grievances of Director Yang and the entire crew. So you don’t have to worry too much. You are not afraid of shadows. No matter how hard the investigation team checks the accounts, they will definitely not be able to find anything. .”
Gong Qie and Zhu Lu looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
"Xiao Yue, come and help me pack my luggage. I want to go north to Jicheng with the investigation team."
Fang Yan picked up Gong Yue's tea bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
Gong Xie understood and said: "I'll go with you!"
Fang Yan raised his eyebrows, but after a second thought, he agreed.
"Teacher Fang, can I go with you!" Zhu Ruo said suddenly.
Fang Yan was surprised: "Are you going too?"
"You are a consultant to the crew of "Journey to the West", so you will not stand idly by."
Zhu Lu He nodded and said: "I am also the actor appointed by Director Yang to play the 'King of the Daughter Kingdom'. How can I not go at this time?"
"Director Yang really saw the right person!"
Fang Yan said: "Since you said so, let's go together. Go back quickly and prepare your luggage. We will set off tomorrow."
…………
The next day , a CCTV special team including Fang Yan, Gong Qie and Zhu Lu, and Yang Ju and others embarked on a journey to the location of the crew.
Most members of the investigation team were full of firm belief and believed that they could uncover hidden flaws and then reveal the truth behind the huge expenditure of "Journey to the West". As a result, as soon as they arrived at Changbai Mountain in Jicheng, they saw the entire crew They all live in simple cabins temporarily arranged by the forest farm.
Lesbians live in a slightly spacious place, while gay men are crowded into several large shops that can sleep more than ten or twenty people.
Moreover, it is not like a guest house that can take care of the food. The bread is purchased from the forestry administrator to satisfy the hunger. The bread is stored in fertilizer bags and exudes a sour smell. The humid environment even causes the bread to deteriorate. There is still hair growing there.
However, the entire "Journey to the West" crew is very restrained in catering expenses, with a budget of only 50 cents per person per meal.
This is obviously not enough for the crew members who work hard and travel around every day, so Yang Jie and her husband, Wang Chongqiu, the photographer of "Journey to the West", used My own salary and savings continue to subsidize the crew's meals.
The account book is densely filled with fifty cents for food expenses.
The majority of the expenditures are in terms of costumes, props, travel, etc. Actors can only be counted as a small part, because extras cost ten yuan a day. In order to save money, the crew often split the money per person. In the case of playing multiple roles, these actors only received a few hundred yuan in the final settlement.
The ones who get the most are the Buddhist scripture learning teams. For example, the salary for each episode of Six Little Soul Boys was supposed to be 100 yuan, but soon this number became 40 yuan, and then it became 20 or 30 yuan. Wang Yue, who played Tang Monk, Zhu Bajie’s Ma Dehua and Sha Seng’s Yan Huaili also dropped again and again.
"This...this..."
This group of people who had been strongly dissatisfied with Yang Jie and others couldn't help but shed tears after carefully reviewing the accounts.
I always thought that the crew of "Journey to the West" would spend their money and not do any serious work, just travel around and enjoy the sights. Even if they didn't visit enough in China, they would go abroad to have fun. But I never thought that Yang Jue and the others would do it in order to be able to It took so much hardship to make "Journey to the West".
“It’s hard work. As long as we can make “Journey to the West” satisfying to audiences across the country, then our efforts will not be in vain.”
Yang Ju waved his hand generously.
"Yanzi."
With tears rolling in his eyes, Gong Xie lowered his voice and said, "No matter what, we have to help them."
Fang Yan said solemnly He agreed, but what troubled him was that CCTV did not allow the "Journey to the West" crew to accept external investment.
In other words, you cannot give money directly.
Just when the two were in trouble, Zhu Lu keenly noticed that the crew's difficulties were not only in budget, but also in camera equipment.
At that time, CCTV provided only an old-fashioned camera to the crew of "Journey to the West" with a resolution of only 300p. Although it was a Sony brand, it was an old camera with a long history, and it was not an integrated camera. machine, but a camera tube machine, which is quite cumbersome to use.
Before each shooting, you have to adjust the focus according to the scene. If the focus is too small, the picture will be blurred.
No wonder the early picture quality of the "Journey to the West" TV series was so bad, sometimes appearing blurry.
In addition, the entire crew only had one tripod, and the shooting angle could only be viewed from eye level.
Such a configuration is difficult to cope with the filming of students' projects. Even Gong Zhen was not so miserable when she was studying directing at Nortel. She really can't imagine how the crew of "Journey to the West" completed the entire project with this set of equipment. The filming work of this work.
Fang Yan invited Wang Chongqiu, Pan Yue and others over, handed them cigarettes one by one, and started asking.
"How does that sentence go, 'As long as the mind does not slip, there are always more solutions than difficulties.'"
Wang Chongqiu said: "Although we cannot use multi-camera shooting to solve specific problems. shots, but we can work on our shooting techniques."
Fang Yan listened quietly, such as the scene in "Three Strikes of White-Bone Demons" where Tang Monk was reciting the tightening curse.
Sun Wukong needs to show the feeling of extreme pain and dizziness. In order to achieve this effect, the six little soul boys have to lie on the ground and roll clockwise, while photographer Wang Chongqiu moves the camera counterclockwise to capture this action.
This is relatively simple. When deities such as Zhenyuan Immortal and Guanyin Bodhisattva use their magical powers to soar into the clouds and mist, ascend to the sky and enter the earth, the cameraman needs to flexibly adjust the angle of the lens, sometimes looking down, sometimes looking up, and sometimes looking down. Photographing is relatively easy, but the angle of looking up is difficult.
The crew did not have a camera crane, but Yang Jue and Wang Chongqiu also thought of an alternative.
By fixing Wang Chongqiu on a chair and slowly pulling it up into the air with a rope, you can complete this difficult looking-up shot.
“Is this too dangerous?”
Gong Qie frowned, worried and uneasy, and asked: "Would it be better to use Wi-Fi instead?"
Wang Chongqiu smiled bitterly. The crew's camera equipment was pitiful, and the Wi-Fi equipment was even more There is not even one set. Not only is it expensive, but it is also very inconvenient to replace it. You have to go to Xiangjiang. Moreover, the entire crew knows nothing about Wia technology, and no one knows how to use it.
“I understand!”
Gong Qie turned to look at Fang Yan, determined to provide cameras, wire cables and other equipment to the crew of "Journey to the West".
“No, no, no, how can this be done? There are regulations in Taiwan...”
Wang Chongqiu's eyes were full of longing and reluctance, but he still gritted his teeth and declined. "If we don't give it away, it's okay to borrow it, right?"
Seeing Fang Yan wink at him, Gong Zhen immediately understood, and the husband and wife began to persuade him.
After all, according to the two people’s vision, they will set up a film, television, entertainment and publishing company in Hong Kong in the future. At that time, they will have to purchase a series of equipment such as photography, videography, lighting, etc. They even tried to pay for it from Shaw Brothers Pictures first. The idea of making do with a batch of second-hand equipment is a coincidence!
“To tell you the truth, we really want this batch of equipment, but this does not comply with the regulations.”
Wang Chongqiu wavered and became more and more entangled.
"Didn't you just say that as long as the thinking does not slip, the solution is always better than the difficulty. We do not violate the regulations, we will act according to the regulations. You can say that this batch of equipment was borrowed by me as a consultant. " Fang Yan glanced at Gong Xie, "Maybe you can just temporarily hire her as the director of "Journey to the West". "Journey to the West" drama staff, responsible for managing the crew's props and equipment..."
"Yes, I am happy to contribute my part to the TV series "Journey to the West"!"
Gong Xiang smiled sweetly, knowing in his heart that this was to give him a name, and then he could use this name to do things.
Wang Chongqiu was very excited, but he did not dare to make the decision without authorization. He reported the matter to Yang Ju truthfully and let her make the decision.
Yang Jue listened from beginning to end, holding their hands emotionally and shaking them a few times:
“I really don’t know what to say, in short, I represent "Journey to the West" Thank you to all the crew! ”
< br>"You're welcome, Director Yang, don't say that."
Fang Yan said: "I am also one of you, so I should do what I can."
Zhu Lu and Gong Cie looked at each other and smiled, and then their names were called.
Fang Yan asked Gong Zhen to record the most urgently needed equipment for the crew, and asked Zhu Lu to accompany him to find a restaurant. In the name of entertaining the CCTV team, he wanted to reward the entire "Journey to the West" crew and let their The belly is full of oil and water.
Take advantage of this opportunity and simply find a guest house to improve your accommodation conditions.
As for all expenses, Teacher Fang will pay for them!
…………
The guest house is not far from the forest farm cabin. The crew spent an afternoon doing a big move.
Although it is not an official residence, the conditions are quite good, and the most important thing is to take care of the food.
Everyone was filled with joy and excitement, especially facing the sumptuous meal in the evening.
In the large iron pot, cabbage, pork, vermicelli and other ingredients are stewed. On the table are wild vegetables, smoked chicken, miso soup and so on.
"Teacher Fang, I really spent a lot of money on you."
Yang Jue was touched and grateful.
"Where, where."
Fang Yan waved his hand.
"Originally, you have come all the way, so we should be the ones to fulfill our friendship as landlords and entertain you well. How can we imagine..."
There was a hint of bitterness in Yang Jue's smile.
“Don’t say that, Director Yang, I should be the one to treat you to this meal.”
Fang Yan said: "As a consultant for "Journey to the West", this is my first time on the set. I really didn't expect that our comrades would have such a difficult time. I really feel sorry for it. This dinner tonight is your tribute to us." This is our apology to you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Yes, Teacher Fang, You haven’t done anything wrong to us, so there’s no need to apologize to us.”
“Rather than apologize, we should thank you for your kindness and allowing us to enjoy this dinner!”
< br>The more the members of the "Journey to the West" crew behaved like this, the more they made the investigation team who had come all the way ashamed, with shame written all over their faces.
"Let's not talk about this anymore."
Yang Ju stood up and said, "Let us raise our glasses to honor Teacher Fang and the comrades who have come all the way from Yanjing!"
As soon as these words came out, the whole hall immediately cheered, and the atmosphere at the wine table reached its peak.
Everyone in the investigation team had high respect for the crew of "Journey to the West". They toasted one by one, with some apologies mixed in their words.
Yang Ju originally thought that after the misunderstanding was resolved and the truth was clarified, CCTV would be able to provide follow-up funds for "Journey to the West". He did not seek to allocate 3 million like "A Dream of Red Mansions", but at least 1 million to solve the problem. It is urgent, but the result is disappointing——
CCTV's funds are tight and it cannot provide more financial support, so it requires the crew to wrap up the production immediately after completing the required shots.
“What!?”
Yang Jue, Wang Chongqiu and others were stunned by the news, as if struck by lightning.
Once the filming of "Journey to the West" is suspended, it will be extremely difficult to restart it in the future.
When I thought of this, the originally lively scene immediately became quiet. Everyone had different expressions, including frustration, grief and anger, confusion, shock...
Fang Yan frowned and said: "Should you think about it again?"
"We don't want to pour cold water on the enthusiasm of comrades, but this is what Taili means."
The leader of the investigation team said helplessly To repeat Wang Feng's instructions, regardless of whether the crew of "Journey to the West" is wasting filming funds, further filming must be stopped, because CCTV must ensure that one of the two famous TV series can be successfully produced.
At present, "Dream of Red Mansions" has received two budgets of 3 million yuan, which obviously has a higher chance of winning than "Journey to the West".
Therefore, we have to choose to abandon "Journey to the West" and keep "A Dream of Red Mansions", otherwise we will face the ending of both TV series being stillborn.
"What about the loan?"
Yang Ju was still unwilling to give up, "Can Taili approve us to borrow from the bank?"
"I'm afraid not, Director Yang, you don't know the situation in Taili. It’s not that I don’t know.”
Investigation. The team leader said that CCTV has added "Midday News", "Evening News", "English News", "Economic News", "Sports News", "Morning News", etc. since last year. What follows is Huge expenses such as personnel, establishment, funds, and equipment.
Yang Ju's whole body was shaken, and his face was full of unwillingness.
"In my opinion, can we set a precedent for "Journey to the West"?"
Fang Yan suggested that the station give the crew a green light and allow them to raise external funds to sponsor the TV series.
"Yes, yes, we will find money for "Journey to the West" ourselves. This should be no problem, right?"
Yang Ju cast an expectant look.
Immediately afterwards, Wang Chongqiu, Liu Xiaolingtong and other crew members swarmed over, surrounding them on three levels inside and three outside, as if they would never give way unless they agreed, one by one. They both held a bowl of wine in their hands, and their eyes shone with desire.
"We very much support Teacher Fang's idea just now!"
The leader of the investigation team drank the wine in one gulp, "Although we can't make the decision, we will truthfully report the situation here and the opinions of our comrades to The leaders in the station asked them to consider allowing the crew of "Journey to the West" to seek external sponsorship!"
"Well said!"
Fang Yan smiled and greeted everyone for a toast! .
Suddenly, the atmosphere that had just fallen to freezing point boiled up again, changing cups and cups, it was so lively.
Zhu Lu and Gong Cie stared at him for a while, then they looked at each other face to face, smiled and clinked glasses of wine. (End of this chapter)