After several days since her rebirth, Eva finally smiled sincerely.
She had found her opportunity.
Back at home, she started thinking about practical matters.
First, to shoot a short film, she needed funding.
With more money, she could make a 30-minute film; with less, she could make a 5-minute one.
Although a 30-minute short film would definitely be more engaging due to its richer content, Eva didn't have the money.
So she chose to make a 5-minute film.
Next, she needed to rent a venue. While it wasn't necessary to use commercial premises, finding suitable places that didn't require rent was also an option.
Additionally, she needed to find actors and buy some props, which would definitely cost money.
However, being a student at the film university, she could recruit within the school. Since everyone was a student, their fees wouldn't be too high, and their skills wouldn't be too bad either.
Plus, everyone being alumni made communication easier.
As for funding, she indeed had no money, but a 5-minute short film wouldn't cost too much.
She could use some of the 100,000 euros she had.
But before recruiting actors, she needed to clearly think about what kind of short film she wanted to make.
She needed to draw the storyboard, prepare the director's notes, and write the script.
A 5-minute short film didn't require much of a plot, but a story outline was still necessary.
As for the theme, Eva chose "City of Angels."
If Ireland was the green crown on the edge of the European continent, then Dublin was the gem on that crown, known as the "City of Angels" of Ireland.
She planned to shoot a 5-minute musical short film with Dublin, the City of Angels, as the theme.
That's right; due to budget constraints, she couldn't make a longer short film. But a 5-minute short film wouldn't show much either.
To make it stand out, it had to be a format-based short film, like a musical, music video, or documentary.
Eva chose a musical short film.
Then she started writing the script and drawing the storyboard.
At the same time, she went to the university's drama club to recruit more than a dozen stage actors.
As for the shooting location, she didn't plan to rent any commercial premises; she would shoot on a maple-leaf-strewn street in front of the university campus.
One day, she went to the university's drama club with some materials about her short film.
The club president received her and, after hearing her intention, generously said, "Of course, since we're all alumni, feel free to choose anyone from the club. If you think someone is suitable, just talk to them."
Then, she went into the club to pick people.
After explaining her intentions, many club members showed great interest. Singing and dancing while filming, in a style similar to "High School Musical," was extremely appealing.
The interview process went smoothly. They were all students from the acting department with quite a bit of experience, often doing seductive little gestures during the interview.
Like pinching their waists or flipping their hair.
And these acting students were all young, beautiful, and handsome, making Eva very satisfied with the interviews.
Among the crowd, she noticed a girl with a rural, girl-next-door style.
This girl gave her a Saoirse Ronan vibe. Saoirse Ronan was hailed as the "Irish Elf" by Hollywood because of her beautiful, naturally radiant eyes and sweet girl-next-door style.
This girl had that kind of vibe.
Eva gave her a detailed audition, hoping she could be the leading actress in the short film.
Upon learning that this girl named Alisha had performed on stage in theater since she was ten, Eva was even more delighted, finding her perfect for the role.
She smiled and asked, "It seems, Alisha, your singing and dancing skills should be quite good?"
Alisha was relatively modest, "If it's 'The Phantom of the Opera,' I might not be able to do it, but if it's 'High School Musical,' I think I can handle it."
Then she performed a classic solo from "High School Musical."
This Alisha was evidently quite capable and had a solid foundation.
Moreover, she looked particularly soft, very girl-next-door, and sweetly rustic.
Eva decided on the spot that she would be the leading actress for the short film.
This kind of traditional, widely accepted aesthetic was a relatively standard and conservative choice.
Then Eva also selected more than a dozen other club members with good looks and excellent professional skills.
Of course, she would also select some temporary actors for minor roles later, but those wouldn't be within the scope of these musical actors.
Then she distributed the script and director's notes to them, hoping they would study them in advance.
After interviewing the actors, Eva left. She needed to find a suitable studio for filming and post-production.
Being a director wasn't a simple matter; it wasn't about grabbing a DV camera and starting to shoot. Those directors who claimed to have made stunning works with just a DV camera were either exaggerating or had an extremely rare stroke of luck.
Although a director might operate the camera, they still needed a professional camera team to assist.
After Eva left, the actors she had interviewed started discussing, "Is she from the directing department? She looks so cool."
"Did she tan her skin on purpose? Very s*xy."
"I think she might be a lesbian. I flirted with her just now, and she didn't react at all."
"That makes sense. She seemed particularly interested in Alisha."
They discussed Eva for a long time, but Eva had already rushed to a studio.
She pushed open the door of the studio, and the staff inside were taking a nap.
She had to cough lightly to wake up the staff inside.
When the staff got up and saw Eva, they were evidently surprised, "Miss, can we help you?"
Eva walked in and politely inquired, "I'd like to rent your studio, including shooting and post-production services. What's the price?"
The staff and photographers began to look Eva up and down with curious eyes, "You...are a director?"
Eva was used to such looks; it was just industry discrimination, very normal.
Where there is discrimination and barriers, there is value in breaking them, isn't there?
Eva ignored their curious looks, smiling generously as if it didn't matter at all, "Yes, I'm a director. I'm preparing a 5-minute short film."
Although Eva was calm, the staff were evidently still somewhat incredulous, "You look very young. Are you a film student?"
"Yes."
"Then you should talk to our manager."
Then Eva was taken to the office, where she discussed the short film in detail with the studio manager.
Since it was only 5 minutes, and to save costs, Eva planned to have the actors rehearse first. When the rehearsal was almost done, she would bring in the studio for shooting, thus reducing the rental time for the studio, as it was charged by the day.
The conversation went smoothly, after all, it was just a business deal.
In the end, Eva negotiated a reasonably priced package that included a cameraman, props master, makeup artist, and post-production effects artist, among all the necessary staff.
However, the specific cost would still depend on the number of shooting days and post-production projects.
After the negotiation, the manager said, "Before you leave, do you have any storyboard or director's notes you want to leave with us for preparation?"
Eva thought for a moment, then took out a copy of the director's notes from her file and handed it to the manager, "These are my director's notes. I think the staff, cameraman, and props master can take a look first to get an idea of what I'm planning to shoot."
The manager accepted Eva's director's notes and personally saw her out.
Although he thought this girl was excessively young, her speech and behavior were very steady.
After Eva left, the remaining staff began to speak, "Lately, we've had a lot of complete novice college students saying they want to shoot short films. There must be some significant competition coming up?"
"Don't know, but they're all novices. What can they shoot that's any good? Directing requires accumulation; the more you shoot, the better you become."
"Then let's just do the minimum for them. These novices probably won't be too picky."
At this time, the manager spoke, "These are the director's notes for this client. Take a look when you have time; we start next month. Team A, you'll be shooting."
He handed the director's notes to Team A and then left.
Then Team A started flipping through the director's notes left by Eva.
A special effects artist, after flipping through a few pages, suddenly looked shocked.
That expression could only be described as seeing a ghost.
He stood there, saying, "Oh my God, these new kids really dare to play."
A cameraman laughed, "What, did her storyboard scare you?"
The special effects artist shook his head, "What storyboard..."
The cameraman found this answer strange, "What do you mean? How can you shoot without a storyboard?"
"Because... the director's notes say she wants to shoot a 5-minute short film in one continuous shot!"
With the mention of "one continuous shot," the whole studio exploded.
Everyone's faces showed expressions of disbelief and shock.
They didn't hear wrong, right?
One continuous shot means no editing.
It means a 5-minute long take.
Wow, a 5-minute long take.
That's not something just anyone can shoot. Directors capable of such long takes are already extraordinary.
Because, to control a long take, a director needs deep skills.
Each character's cooperation, scene coordination, and camera movement must all be very tight, without any mistakes, requiring very precise character arrangement and prop placement.
Because, long takes can't be edited or fixed in post-production.
This 18-year-old novice girl dared to challenge