"What exactly happened? Who is responsible?" The head of the props department returned to his domain and instantly regained his authority. A slightly younger person stepped forward and said, "It's my responsibility, team leader."
"Did you put it in without being sure? What have I always told you? Be careful, double-check everything, and you ended up like this?" He couldn't help but get angry. It was the first mistake the crew made, and it was because of the props. It was a big blow to his position as the team leader, and he was being scolded in front of so many people.
The young man felt extremely wronged. He had bought three cuckoo birds and had been meticulously taking care of them every day. Before this incident, all three birds were lively and active. He even specially selected the most energetic one for this shoot. But unfortunately, it happened to malfunction during the filming. What could he say? It was not easy to explain.
"It's my fault. I'll go replace it immediately." Once the incident had occurred, prompt remedial action was the most appropriate response.
"Hurry up."
...
Sitting in his seat, Lyman rubbed his forehead. Whenever the shooting didn't go smoothly, he felt terrible.
"Do you need something to drink?" George suddenly approached and gestured, "Coffee or milk tea." He held out two bottles of canned drinks.
"Coffee, please." Lyman took the coffee George handed him, opened the pull-tab, took a sip, and casually said, "Do you think we can finish shooting this film smoothly?"
"That's something you should consider, M. Director." George pulled over a stool and sat down, encouragingly.
"True." Lyman took another sip of coffee. The rich flavor slid down his throat, temporarily alleviating his discontent. The filming quickly resumed, and the props team immediately brought a lively cuckoo bird as a replacement.
The actors and extras took their positions again, and the crew members resumed their respective tasks. As the script supervisor once again tapped the clapperboard, Lyman shouted, "Action!"
Thomas focused the camera on the dean. Under his white hair, his expression was solemn. He swiftly opened the birdcage, and the camera focused on the cuckoo bird, with its beautiful feathers, lively spirit, and agile movements.
"... You also are like the koel birds and these are the eggs you smashed to get into ICE. Don't forget, ICE gets 400,000 applications a year and only 200 are selected: You!"
As the new students entered the school, the director stated his belief in "the theory of competition". Starting from embryos, they emerged victorious from a battle between billions of sperm, and then, during their academic journey, they constantly squeezed through every threshold, leaving others behind. The director even used the cuckoo bird as an analogy, emphasizing its cruelty by smashing the eggs of other birds and leaving them to be nurtured by other birds. One faltered step, it's elimination.
The most ironic part of this scene was that the delivery boy mimicked his words from behind a column. Obviously, it was easy to see that the director would say these things every year during the new student orientation. The non-freshmen had already memorized them. This dialogue also set the tone for the entire film, and the pressure began to weigh on everyone's minds.
Thomas's hands were steady, fitting the image of a cinematographer. Lyman stood behind him, observing his every switch. It was always the same, smooth and unhurried.
"Good, it's a wrap." Lyman ran to the monitor and watched the footage again, shouting with delight.
After a morning of shooting, they had finally achieved some progress. They had completed all the scenes related to the students' arrival on campus, and they wouldn't have to continue shooting this scene tomorrow morning. The crew members were also happy. They chatted and began organizing the filming equipment.
"You did a great job just now." As "Millimeter" walked by, Lyman patted his shoulder and praised him. This young actor, only 17 years old, had successfully imitated the director's expression, gestures, and delivered such a long monologue smoothly. It genuinely surprised Lyman.
"Millimeter" scratched his head, feeling happy to receive praise from the director.
After tidying up the filming equipment, it was time for the crew's lunch break. They had reached an agreement with the school's cafeteria, which would provide daily meals for the crew during filming, including lunch and dinner. This also included the temporary extras. Each person on the crew could choose a meal package worth around ₹80. Of course, they could also choose to eat elsewhere or pay extra to the cafeteria for better dishes. Any meal expenses exceeding the set budget would have to be covered by themselves.
Thomas and René sat on a bench in the campus cafeteria while Lyman watched the students who came to eat after class, the real future elite of India. He felt their vibrant energy and smiled, saying, "It's so good to film in a real university campus. It makes me feel like I'm back in college."
René shrugged, indifferent, and said, "Come on, you've been out of college for over two years. What's there to miss? I don't think campus life is that great."
Thomas nodded in agreement, "The university I attended had strict professors. I went through a lot of hardships there."
The dining window was separated for the crew's use, so there wasn't much interaction between the two sides. However, from the looks and conversations of the students, it was evident that they were quite curious about the filming process.
In the afternoon, the crew resumed work. Perhaps due to the good momentum from the morning, the camera shots continued to go smoothly. From set design to camera positioning, many things didn't require Lyman's detailed instructions. The crew members could handle it with the finalized storyboards. Experienced crews were like that. They could perfect their work without causing any trouble during the shoot.
"Scene 16, shot 1, take 1."
"Action."
This scene was an indoor setting, depicting a few brief shots of new students attending classes. When editing the film, these classroom scenes would be shown quickly to indicate the pressure of their studies. From morning till night, their schedules were almost filled with courses.
A classroom had been arranged, with neatly arranged desks and some mechanical props. The large incandescent lights outside provided ambient light, which was softened by reflectors, making the overall lighting less intense. The teacher walked steadily into the room, stood at the podium, opened the textbook, and began the lecture. Formulas appeared on the blackboard, appearing formidable to the students.
Lyman nodded before monitoring the shot. This teacher was actually a non-professional actor recommended by the principal, but a professor had come to perform in his natural role. However, there were no issues with his performance, not to mention his appearance. He didn't need any makeup and looked great on camera. It was mainly his internal temperament that exuded the aura of a teacher, which was very fitting for the teaching atmosphere.
"Good, cut."
After the brief shoot, everyone got busy again. They moved the props off the desks, adjusted the tables and chairs, and rearranged the scene for the next class. The classroom itself didn't need to be changed; they just adjusted the props to make it look like another class. It would be quite troublesome if they had to change classrooms for every scene, just like in a real university. Anyway, it was only a few short shots, so there was no need to be too meticulous.
After 20 minutes, the classroom was rearranged. The script supervisor clapped the slate, and the shooting resumed. The main actors and extras took their positions again, and another teacher, who had been hired, entered the scene to give a lecture, emphasizing key knowledge points.
Several scenes were completed before 3 p.m. Seeing that there was still some time left, Lyman thought about shooting another shot. It was still in the same classroom, but this time, Rancho, played by Aamir Khan, would take the stage to give a speech. Because he had repeatedly questioned the teaching philosophies of various professors, he was asked to teach a class to see if he was qualified to criticize them.
"Scene 23, shot 1, take 1."
"Action."
In the shot, Aamir Khan stood calmly on the podium, looking at the familiar classmates and director "Virus" below.
He confidently opened the textbook and wrote down two words on the blackboard, saying, "Do any of you know the meaning of these two words? I'll give you three minutes to find out." Aamir Khan asked.
Chatur, who had always fully embraced the dean's theory of competition, could no longer sit still. He desperately searched for answers, even grabbing a textbook from a student and frantically looking for information.
As the surrounding students began flipping through their textbooks in search of answers, even the initially composed director "Virus" started to panic. He snatched a student's book and began searching until the three minutes were up...
"No one knows the answer, right?" Aamir Khan smiled and said, "That's because these two words I made up have no meaning at all."
"Knowledge should be used by people, not just a set of definitions." He continued expressing his views on educational philosophies, but the reactions from the students and "Virus" were completely different.
Here, Lyman used multiple shots to focus on the faces of each actor. Chatur was frustrated, the students were indifferent, Raju and Farhan, roommates, were worried, and "Virus" had a mocking expression in his eyes.
The portrayal of the different reactions was the essence of this scene. Under the high pressure of studying, some became numb, some agreed, some didn't care, and some just wanted to eliminate rubbish...
As expected, the humiliated "Virus" shouted and kicked Rancho out of the classroom. In the corridor, he grabbed Rancho's arm and said, "You don't understand anything. All you know is to point out our mistakes?"
"You think too highly of yourself, Rancho." The principal walked away without looking back.