lcionline Chapter 252 Filming Start Date
Chapter 252 Filming Start Date
After several rounds of the lottery, Bai Li's wealth empire has long surpassed the boundaries of traditional understanding.
Today, she not only possesses enormous liquid assets, but also controls a staggering array of physical assets.
This includes, but is not limited to, her current downtown villa, a cutting-edge laboratory, a custom-built top-of-the-line private jet, a thousand-acre wilderness horse ranch, a private island with a three-kilometer stretch of white sand beach, and a self-sufficient offshore eco-manor.
Along with these assets came a large group of NPCs.
Bai Li hasn't calculated in detail how many NPCs she has.
But she estimates that there are at least several thousand, if not ten thousand, including elite members covering the entire field of finance, intelligence, technology, and security.
With such a massive workforce, the power that Bai Li could mobilize would be astonishing.
That night, after Bai Li issued the order to investigate the clues, the entire NPC team was mobilized to carry out a comprehensive investigation around the "New Moon Group".
However, all investigations take time.
Before obtaining any concrete clues, Bai Li was not prepared to take any rash actions.
While Bai Li was still waiting for news, on the other side, the highly anticipated "Star Making Lab" officially started filming.
Inside the giant studio, cameras were scattered like stars.
With filming about to begin, the set resembled a giant, precisely operating machine, with hundreds of staff members hurrying about, and the tense atmosphere almost tangible.
The instructions from the stage manager came clearly through the headset, and the hundreds of cameras made a regular rotating sound as they were being tested. In addition to the need for extensive camera coverage around the stage, there were also the judges' seats and the contestants' seats.
The props team conducted a final check on the stage, and the performance-grade lighting system flickered on and off like breathing, repeatedly calibrating according to the program flow.
At the scene, besides the employees of Day and Night Entertainment's own team, several foreign faces occasionally flashed by in the crowd.
These are top-notch team members that Day and Night Entertainment hired from overseas at great expense.
—To ensure the creation of the most exquisite stage effects.
After all, building a professional stage is far more complex than simply stacking up space; it requires comprehensive coordination of sound systems, lighting equipment, stage layout, backgrounds, and other aspects.
Compared to the mature idol stage system abroad, there are still too few stages suitable for idols in China.
With the arrival of these professional teams, the stage will be more suitable for idols.
As it was an important filming day, Shirari was also present.
At this moment, she was in the studio, experiencing the stage effects with both her naked eye and the director's camera.
First of all, what surprised her was that the lights could change in hundreds of ways in sync with the music, and the effect on people's skin was like an automatic beauty filter, with a built-in soft focus filter.
Even the prop masters, who were busy and overwhelmed on stage, seemed to have a more radiant aura when illuminated by these lights.
Someone next to me explained, "The team also allocated a large budget to the cameras, purchasing the most advanced dynamic tracking photography technology, which can accurately capture every moment on the stage."
Bai Li suddenly realized.
No wonder when someone ran quickly across the stage just now, their face and figure were not blurred at all.
Behind them, a professional stage manager jokingly remarked, "If there's a dynamic, fast-paced stage, the contestants can jump around so high that the camera can perfectly capture their subtle expressions and movements."
Previously, Bai Li had seen other idol groups' music show performances.
I always feel that the portraits I take are particularly blurry.
You can only see the color of the clothes; you can't tell what the face looks like at all.
After dancing the entire song, I only felt that the people on stage were dancing very hard, but I couldn't recognize any of them.
It's useless to work hard but not be remembered.
It turns out that the stage could be filmed clearly, but the equipment wasn't up to par.
The stage manager added at the opportune moment: "We've not only enhanced dynamic photography, but this entire photography suite supports over twenty camera positions working together in all directions, enabling panoramic shots, extreme panoramic shots, tracking shots, close-ups, and more. There's also a camera specifically designed for low-light environments..."
The person beside him quickly interrupted his rambling, saying, "Alright, alright, there are too many details to explain all at once. You should go and get back to work."
Then, smiling, he whispered to Bai Li, "President Bai, you'll be able to feel it when you see the actual stage later."
In fact, apart from the camera work, the stage's surround sound effects, professional-grade microphones and recording equipment were all carefully designed to maximize the stage's impact.
What's even more noteworthy is that this stage has many interesting features, such as a dynamic background screen, several irregularly shaped lifting platforms, and a secondary stage space extending to the side, which can provide more different levels of performance.
However, Mr. Bai may not understand the more technical parts, and if we were to really explain them, it would take one or two hours to finish.
So the person next to him simply picked out the key points and gave a brief introduction, shrugging: "...However, considering that today is the contestants' first stage, we can't really use these interesting settings. We'll have to save them for the later performance stages."
Bai Li could tell that the person next to her hadn't gone into much detail, but she still listened with great interest. Even with just a simple introduction, she was already looking forward to what kind of amazing stage performance would follow.
This studio embodies countless efforts from the team. From construction to debugging, it has undergone twelve iterations and upgrades to become what it is today.
"It was worth all that money I spent!" she thought to herself.
The importance of the stage to idols is self-evident.
Bai Li hopes that these contestants will leave behind wonderful moments on this stage and make a lasting mark on their professional careers.
It wasn't a wasted trip, none of us came for nothing!
This money was spent on the most crucial things, it was worth it!
She clapped her hands and exclaimed sincerely, "Perfect!"
Sitting next to her, the person who had just explained things to her was Su Yaqin, the chief planner of "Star Making Lab".
She planned and designed the entire studio setup herself.
Seeing her own ideas come true, Su Yaqin's satisfaction and excitement were palpable.
"President Bai is truly the best boss in the world!" Su Yaqin thought to herself. "If it weren't for President Bai's unconditional support, I wouldn't have been able to unleash my creativity so boldly."
But to be honest, Ms. Bai is sometimes too generous, so generous that she is a little afraid that her boss will go bankrupt.
Therefore, in the later stages, she took the initiative to control the budget and try to find a balance between quality and cost, saving money for "the best CEO in the world".
Hearing Bai Li's praise, Su Yaqin smiled confidently: "President Bai, I dare say that in a stage of the same scale, you won't find another one more professional than us, not only in the whole country, but also internationally."
After touring the studio, Bai Li decided not to disturb the busy preparations there any longer and instead went backstage to take a look.
Su Yaqin quickly stood up and said, "President Bai, I'll take you there."
Bai Li waved her hand: "No need, I'll go by myself."
As the chief planner of the program, Su Yaqin had many things to handle on site, and she just wanted to wander around casually anyway.
The studio connects directly to the backstage area, which is more spacious and divided into multiple functional areas such as a contestant rest area, VIP lounge, changing room, styling studio, soundproof rehearsal hall, storage room, prop room, and costume room.
The backstage corridors were bustling with staff members hurrying to and fro, even more so than the studio.
Bai Li, accompanied by bodyguards, leisurely toured the place.
The entire filming of "Star Making Lab" took place within the filming park built by Day and Night Entertainment.
Located in the suburbs of Shanghai, the park was temporarily converted from an existing building. In addition to the studio and backstage area, it also has accommodations for contestants during the recording period, living areas, and dormitory buildings for staff.
Only in the suburbs is there enough space to carry out such a large-scale construction.
Security in the park is extremely tight, and people who are not involved in filming are not allowed to enter.
But today is the start of filming, so the personnel are relatively diverse.
Ah Hu and the others were worried about Bai Li acting alone, so they insisted on sending someone to accompany and protect her.
Seeing Ah Hu's eager eyes, Bai Li had no choice but to agree.
Despite her understated attire, her striking looks and charisma, coupled with the tall, muscular bodyguards in black behind her, still drew considerable attention.
Even passersby, though in a hurry, couldn't help but take a second look.
With so many people coming and going, including many employees from Day and Night Entertainment, some inevitably recognized Bai Li and immediately greeted her warmly: "President Bai!"
If someone recognizes her, Bai Li will smile and wave.
She didn't say anything, afraid of giving herself away.
To be honest, now that the company has grown, Bai Li admits that she can no longer recognize every single employee.
If someone curiously comes up and asks, "Why is President Bai here?" or "Where is President Bai going?", Bai Li will simply say, "Just taking a stroll."
This was her first time visiting this temporary park.
I had been too busy with other matters to visit before.
Looking at it now, the renovation has been quite successful.
Although it's not as advanced as the training base provided by Wanxiang Wheel.
After all, it's just a temporary park for filming. Apart from the studio stage, most of the other facilities will be dismantled after the show ends.
Even so, the overall quality remains excellent, with complete living facilities and a clean environment. Maintenance and security personnel can be seen everywhere in the park, and Bai Li was quite satisfied with the visit.
The backing was simply too vast, and Bai Li was tired from interacting enthusiastically with the staff all the way here. Just as she was about to head home, she suddenly heard an urgent call from behind: "President Bai—"
His voice was full of energy and his breath was long and sustained.
Bai Li turned around and looked in the direction of the sound. She saw a tuft of chestnut-colored curly hair swaying at the end of the corridor, the ends of the hair fluttering gently as she ran.
With those obviously curly hairs, who else could it be but Jia Lai?
As expected of a singer, and the champion of the first Liyuan New Voice Cup, her voice is truly powerful.
After walking for a while, Bai Li finally saw someone she knew, and her mood brightened up. She immediately waved and said, "Jialai."
Don't let Jia Lai's baby face and curly hair fool you; he's anything but "small."
He was indeed a burly man from the north. When he ran up to her, he was a good half a head taller than Bai Li, and she had to crane her neck slightly to see his face.
Jia Lai had his entire body styled.
The tailor-made performance costume accentuates a smooth waistline, while the cutout design at the cuffs and neckline subtly reveals the figure.
Her chestnut-colored curly hair was cut to be fluffy and natural, perfectly framing her face. It was also dyed chestnut, which made her skin look fairer and her face appear younger.
The makeup on her face was extremely restrained, only lightly covering up some flaws, which made her features appear even more three-dimensional and realistic.
This time, many contestants were newcomers with no debut experience, did not have their own makeup artists, and did not know what kind of style and makeup suited them. Some had never even worn makeup before.
To this end, the program production team specially invited a professional styling and makeup team, with the most renowned makeup artists in the industry in charge of the overall style.
Jia Lai's makeup was probably intentionally designed to be lighter.
After all, it's their first stage performance, so they should be showing the contestants' most authentic selves.
Noticing Bai Li's scrutiny, Jia Lai immediately perked up, put one hand in his pocket, twirled around, struck a couple of poses, and proudly asked, "How is it? Pretty, right?"
Jia Lai was a complete novice who had never worn makeup or styled his hair before. He really didn't expect that he could look so "charming" after taking care of himself.
He was taking selfies nonstop in the lounge, and was about to send the heavily edited photos to his buddies' group chat to dazzle those "country bumpkins".
Suddenly, she heard a staff member say that they had just met President Bai in the corridor, and she immediately sat up in surprise and ran over to find Bai Li.
Bai Li smiled, her eyes crinkling, and teased, "Wow, so good-looking! Which company are you from? Want to come work for us?"
Jia Lai was stunned. He didn't expect Bai Li to say that. He felt embarrassed and his smugness disappeared. He coughed twice, covering his mouth with his hand, and said in a softer voice, "President Bai, you're teasing me again. It's yours."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Bai Li and her ear tips turned slightly red.
Bai Li stopped teasing him and her gaze turned serious: "Is your first stage performance the same one you rehearsed at the company last time?"
If you count the days, they haven't actually seen each other for quite some time.
The contestants had already entered the park before the show started filming.
One is to familiarize myself with the environment, and the other is to practice and prepare for my first stage performance.
Due to limited program time, it's impossible for everyone to have their own independent debut stage performance.
Some contestants come as a group from the same agency, and they automatically form a team to perform together.
Other amateur contestants who haven't yet had a complete debut stage will be grouped according to their abilities and strengths to form temporary teams and work together to complete a stage performance.
Jia Lai nodded and replied, "Yes, it's still the same one, a stage for independent performances."
Jia Lai was given a separate stage not because he was an employee of the company and they gave him special treatment.
It was because he had indeed prepared thoroughly beforehand, and his initial stage performance was quite complete, including both singing and dancing, so he was arranged to perform alone.
Bai Li recalled the results she had seen last time and felt that as long as Jia Lai performed normally, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Jia Lai was already a good singer, and after several months of intensive training, he also made up for his weakness in dancing.
This time, he performed a piece he was familiar with.
Bai Li raised her fist in encouragement: "Go for it! Don't feel pressured!"
But after thinking about it, I realized that Jia Lai might not be buying it.
She hesitated for a moment, then added, "At worst, I'll just be laughed at by the mountain spirits for a year."
Jia Lai initially felt a warm glow in his heart when he saw Bai Li clench her fist to encourage him, and was about to be moved when he heard the next sentence. His eyes widened instantly, and his heart turned cold. He puffed out his cheeks and accused, "President Bai!"
Despite his verbal protests, it must be said that Jia Lai was indeed greatly "encouraged" by Bai Li.
It's burning up!
Absolutely no mistakes allowed!!!
Not only will they be laughed at by the mountain spirits, but after the show airs, won't their mischievous friends in the brotherhood group laugh their heads off?
Absolutely not! This must never happen!
He clenched his fists secretly, determined to amaze everyone on stage.
Just then, Bai Li's gaze passed over Jia Lai's shoulder. At the end of the corridor, several equally meticulously dressed contestants were walking in groups...