Chapter 156: The Highly Anticipated Frost Film Festival!
After Durin had rested for two full days, he reluctantly left Edward Castle, bidding a wistful farewell to Winry, and immediately headed to the Imperial Mage Academy's filming set.
To his surprise, despite his absence, the filming process had not been delayed at all and continued according to the original plan.
Although there were quite a few imperfections in the results, Durin was nonetheless amazed.
"Who's been directing the filming while I was gone?" Durin asked.
In response, Gebrun immediately stepped forward, laughing heartily:
"Hahaha, who else could it be? Of course, it was I, the evil sorcerer of the Dark Dimension, reborn from the ashes—"
Before Gebrun could finish his grandiose introduction, his junior, Chris, kicked him sharply in the back and coldly interrupted:
"If you keep reciting that ridiculous title, I'll make a hundred copies of your cringey diary and auction them off ten years from now!"
"You... You're a demon!"
Seeing the two about to start bickering again, Durin quickly interrupted their exchange, surprised as he asked:
"Gebrun-senpai, you know how to direct a movie?"
"Huh? Direct a movie? Of course not. But for someone like me, who has mastered the study of the human soul and spirit, every shot just needs a soul imbued in it to naturally become the perfect scene!"
"Uh… what is he talking about?"
Seeing Durin's confusion, Chris also appeared at a loss and could only explain:
"Even though his words are hard to understand, when you watch him work, it actually makes sense. It seems Gebrun-senpai really does have a talent for this…"
"Oh?"
Durin's interest was piqued upon hearing this, and he immediately asked Gebrun to demonstrate on the spot.
After watching Gebrun in action, Durin exclaimed in astonishment:
"Perfect. The only word to describe it is perfect. Gebrun-senpai, how did you know to film from that angle?"
Gebrun simply smiled and replied:
"Of course, it's because of my unmatched wisdom, a mind that even the gods can't reach, standing at the pinnacle of the world—"
"You idiot, be normal for once!"
Once again, Chris interrupted Gebrun with another strike. But quickly, Gebrun adeptly picked himself up off the ground and spoke more sensibly:
"Well, to put it simply, I've spent a lot of time studying psychology in the field of mental and spiritual sciences. By understanding the characters' psychological activities and the interconnectedness of various plot elements, I can easily identify the most fitting shot for any given scene."
"Hmm, I still don't get it."
Even though Gebrun then tried to explain in great detail how he achieved this, neither Chris nor Durin could grasp the concepts, which clearly surpassed normal human comprehension.
In the end, Durin had to admit that there are indeed certain geniuses in the world whose talents can't be explained by common logic.
With this in mind, Durin immediately invited Gebrun to be his cinematographer. However, Gebrun refused without hesitation.
Clearly, even though Gebrun isn't the most prominent figure, he's still a high-ranking mage. Such an individual is already somewhat significant in the empire, so it's natural that he wouldn't just take on a job as a film cinematographer. Moreover, Gebrun has an insatiable curiosity for magic, and until he completes his research, he won't allow himself to be too distracted by other pursuits.
That said, he did mention that he might have some free time occasionally and could help Durin with filming every now and then.
With Durin back, the filming of Steins;Gate resumed. The story had left off with the protagonist, Rintarou Okabe, beginning to send messages to the past and frantically altering history using these messages.
However, before Durin could start filming again, Scar suddenly rushed over from the Alchemy Tower and approached him, saying:
"I've been watching you guys film, and I was wondering, this little gadget you have that can send messages over long distances—couldn't it be made for real?"
"You mean a cellphone?"
Durin was momentarily stunned by Scar's question.
But in the next moment, he realized that in a world where television already exists, the idea of a cellphone wasn't all that surprising.
Or rather, the fact that he hadn't considered making a cellphone until now seemed rather slow on his part!
After all, this was a world of magic!
…
Durin didn't devote too much of his own energy to the idea of creating cellphones; he left everything in Scar's hands. After all, Scar had far more experience with such inventions than he did. As the head of the Alchemy Tower for decades, Scar had a deep foundation in alchemy, with research skills that rivaled Durin's own.
As for what would happen once the cellphone was officially made—whether it would be sold and in what form—Durin wasn't entirely sure.
This was, after all, a feudal kingdom, one where the emperor didn't hold absolute power and where numerous high nobles and the church had their own influence. Introducing such a radical change, especially a major shift in communication technology, could have consequences beyond Durin's understanding.
Ultimately, he decided to limit the spread of this new technology to the southern region. At least there, where his films had become wildly popular and the Duke of the South had never shown any opposition, Durin felt secure.
Additionally, Durin had no plans to sell the cellphones to mages. The reason was simple: the previously created televisions, after securing patents for the basic components, had already led to many mages using similar communication devices. However, since these devices required magic to operate, they couldn't really be considered cellphones. Instead, they were more like magical tools derived from television.
Such devices weren't widespread and were only for the entertainment of the limited number of mages.
With the task of inventing the cellphone handed over to Scar, Durin threw himself back into the production of the four films.
By late September, Durin successfully completed the filming of the fifth installment of The Garden of Sinners. Shortly after, in early October, he wrapped up the production of the TV version of KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World.
The pressure to complete these TV films was relatively low, so he managed to finish all the scenes without much difficulty.
Beyond these, the real heavy hitters—Fate/Zero Chapter Two and Steins;Gate: Butterfly Effect—were also nearing completion.
As October moved into its mid-point, preparations were well underway. The Garden of Sinners Chapter Four, which had been scheduled for release, and the much-anticipated second chapter of Fate/Zero set for a winter broadcast, were already being teased in the television taverns and cinemas across the southern region!
Meanwhile, the news of the Frost Film Festival had spread like wildfire, becoming the hottest topic of discussion in every town throughout the south!
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