Zhou Yun nodded. "I think this tone is right, let’s see what Director Lu has to say later."
"Let’s do a run-through first," said Gu Huaichun.
Zhou Yun: "Have you memorized your lines?"
"Memorized. Shall we go directly?"
Zhou Yun and Gu Huaichun started to act according to the script.
"Zhuang Zhou, have I, have I upset you in some way?" Zhou Yun cautiously pursed her lips and looked timidly at Gu Huaichun.
Gu Huaichun pulled over a plastic stool to use as a prop and sat on it, expressionless. "No."
"Then why do you always avoid me?" Zhou Yun asked.
Gu Huaichun replied the same two words: "No."
Zhou Yun felt aggrieved and said, "You still say no, just look at you now! Can’t you just tell me straight what’s the matter?"
Gu Huaichun remained silent.
Zhou Yun stopped and said, "I think at this moment, it would be better for you to give some feedback to the audience. You’re not really an icy man, totally indifferent to me. After all I’ve said, you must have some reaction in your heart, a frown, or a look."
Gu Huaichun hummed, "Got it."
Continuing, Zhou Yun repeated her previous line, and Gu Huaichun showed a slight reaction, his usually unemotional eyes shifted slightly.
Zhou Yun took a step forward and reached out to pull on Gu Huaichun’s sleeve.
"Will you talk, please?"
Following the script’s direction, Gu Huaichun pushed Zhou Yun’s hand away.
"So violent." This was Zhou Yun’s instinctive reaction.
Gu Huaichun nodded: "Indeed, if a guy likes a girl, unless it’s deliberate or he naturally has a bad temper, he shouldn’t just push her hand away; he would be afraid of hurting her."
"Let’s change it to getting up and walking away, that way my hand gets naturally freed," Zhou Yun’s eyes lit up.
Gu Huaichun nodded, "Works."
"But that means our positions need to change."
Gu Huaichun: "It’s just changing from sitting to standing, not much difference."
The two discussed adjustments while playing the scene.
Zhou Yun realized, setting everything else aside, that Gu Huaichun was actually a great actor to collaborate with.
He seriously studied and understood the script, not just reciting lines mechanically. Like he always said, he came from an academy background, which gave him a better foundation than many others.
At that moment, Yin Zhou walked over.
"Are you done filming?" Gu Huaichun saw him first.
Seeing them standing together surprised Yin Zhou, his gaze swept over them both, seemingly about to ask how they suddenly got along so well, but he held back.
"Yes, just finished filming," Yin Zhou said, "I’m off to eat; I’m starving."
Yin Zhou took a couple of steps, then paused, looked back at them and said, "You two, I don’t need to stay here and play peacemaker, do I?"
Zhou Yun looked embarrassed.
Gu Huaichun reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, annoyed and angry: "Go eat your food."
Yin Zhou walked away laughing.
Later that afternoon, it was time to shoot this scene.
Zhou Yun and Gu Huaichun shared their thoughts on the script with Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan, who just wanted to rush the filming, nodded upon hearing that there were no big issues and let them act as they envisioned.
After rehearsing on the actual set, they felt confident.
After finishing the scene, Zhou Yun felt her performance lacked something and went back to Director Lu.
"Director Lu, can we take one more shot? I didn’t perform well just now."
Director Lu responded cheerfully: "You did well, Xiao Yun, remember we’re not shooting a movie here; we need to keep up the pace. It was good enough."
Sure enough, that line again.
During the scene change, Zhou Yun and Gu Huaichun sat together waiting.
"We’re shooting so quickly, don’t we have three months?" Zhou Yun whispered her complaints.
Gu Huaichun said: "Finish early, get paid early. Not to mention, the sooner it’s done, the less the expenses, and guess who benefits from those savings?"
"..." Zhou Yun was incredulous, could it really work that way?
Gu Huaichun said: "Director Lu is famous in Yuehai for being quick and controlling costs well; most time-sensitive projects are handed to him."
Zhou Yun thought to herself that Lu Yuan’s capabilities were indeed distinct.
Poor actor’s mood, simple, just shoot one scene after another.
Can’t even produce expressions? Just shoot a profile or a back view, and find a voice actor to dub in post-production.
In any case, there wasn’t any delay in shooting due to the actors’ poor condition.
But this ability, in terms of the performance quality and dramatic quality that Zhou Yun cared about, was meaningless.