A summer morning in Beijing.
As the first rays of sunlight filtered into the alley, Auntie Tong had already returned from the market with a basket brimming with fresh vegetables. In her other hand, she carried a plastic bag of jiaoquan, the fried dough rings that would serve as her family’s breakfast.
The sun had yet to fully rise, but the alley was already coming to life. Most of the people coming and going were elderly.
In the distance, Uncle Tong was leisurely making his way home from his morning exercises, a tai chi sword slung over his back.
This sequence of moving shots conveyed a peaceful sense of everyday life, as though time itself had slowed.
That peace, however, was soon shattered.
The moment Auntie Tong stepped into her courtyard and realized her daughter Tong Xiaole was still asleep, she immediately panicked.
“Xiaole! You’re still not up? You’re going to be late! If you miss your bus, your supervisor will dock your bonus!”
The courtyard instantly erupted into chaos, accompanied by Tong Xiaole’s frantic cries.
Uncle Tong had already reached the entrance to the courtyard but simply stopped outside instead of going in, waiting for the commotion to die down.
Not long afterward, Tong Xiaole came rushing out. She was neatly dressed, a jiaoquan clamped between her teeth, a shoulder bag in one hand that she swung onto her back in one fluid motion before dashing out like a gust of wind. Standing at the entrance, Uncle Tong thoughtfully stepped aside so he wouldn’t block his daughter’s path.
“You’re skipping breakfast again!” Auntie Tong shouted as she chased after her into the alley. “I keep telling you to go to bed earlier so you can get up earlier, but you never listen!”
“I don’t have time! I’m going to miss my bus!” Tong Xiaole shouted without looking back as she disappeared out of the alley in a flash.
This scene served as the opening of the entire film. It simply depicted the beginning of an ordinary day for a family living in one of old Beijing’s hutongs. After that, the female lead, Tong Xiaole, would meet the male lead, Zheng Wen.
The entire sequence was filmed using fixed-camera long takes.
Tong Xiaole’s introduction was especially distinctive. Throughout her entrance, the camera remained fixed on the gate of the Tong family courtyard. The audience heard her before they ever saw her. The unmoving shot highlighted the fast-paced lifestyle of modern young people.
When Chi Ying designed the scene, she cleverly combined movement and stillness through contrast.
At first, it was the elderly residents in the alley who were in motion. They bustled about their morning routines, yet everything was orderly and unhurried. Through movement, the scene conveyed tranquility.
Later, by keeping the camera fixed on the still courtyard gate, she instead reflected the younger generation’s frantic pace. The chaos and noise were all emphasized by the stillness of the image itself.
Song Lin played the female lead, Tong Xiaole. A born-and-raised Beijinger, she was the quintessential hutong girl. She had graduated only a few years earlier and now worked at a magazine. As the only child in her family, she had grown up in comfort and was doted on by her parents, who spoiled her shamelessly.
Chi Ying instructed Lu Wei to use warm-toned cinematography to create a cozy, lived-in atmosphere full of everyday warmth. She wanted to make a romance that felt grounded and authentic.
She hoped audiences could walk into the theater, relax, and simply enjoy ninety pleasant minutes.
Today was the second day of filming.
The previous day, the Wedding Wedding production had already held its opening ceremony.
Chi Ying had simply flipped through the traditional almanac and picked the nearest auspicious date and time.
The day’s biggest event had been Lei Dongming and Director Han coming to greet the entire crew, offer a few words of encouragement, and pose for a group photo.
Lei Dongming was incredibly busy. He made a brief appearance, shook hands with the principal cast and crew, praised everyone as “full of youthful energy with a promising future ahead,” and promptly left.
Director Han stayed a little longer. Accompanied by Chi Ying, she chatted with everyone and held a brief meeting, encouraging the entire crew to work together sincerely and dedicate themselves to making a great film.
Only after the executives had departed did the real work begin.
The red silk draped over the camera was removed, officially marking the start of filming, and they shot several establishing scenes.
The new century had yet to arrive, and many of the elaborate opening ceremonies common in Hong Kong and Taiwan had not yet spread to the mainland. Ordinary productions didn’t burn incense, worship deities, or set off firecrackers.
Having lived a previous life, Chi Ying had heard of such customs. But first, theirs was a state-owned production unit, so such practices weren’t exactly appropriate. Second, she’d left the industry long before in her previous life and didn’t actually know the proper procedures. Since no one else brought it up, she simply skipped it altogether.
Today was the real beginning of filming.
The first scene would establish the tone of the entire movie. Because it was being shot on location and the crew wanted to rely on natural light, they had all arrived shortly after three in the morning to block the scene, set up the cameras, and prepare everything.
Originally, Chi Ying had only asked the actors to arrive at five. The cinematography team could handle camera blocking themselves.
Instead, no one could sleep. By the appointed time, everyone at the guesthouse was already awake. Even several of the older teachers had come along, making Chi Ying feel rather embarrassed.
Many hands made light work. Summer dawned early, and as soon as there was enough light, filming began.
The entire sequence went smoothly. They got it in one take. To be safe, Chi Ying and Lu Wei filmed a second safety take, which also went flawlessly.
By the time the actual residents of the alley began heading out for the day, the crew had already finished and was packing up to leave. Even the junior students they had arranged to help maintain order never had to do a thing.
When Sun Yanyan arrived pushing the breakfast cart, she was stunned.
“Your efficiency is unbelievable. If every day goes like this, we’ll only use half the film stock.”
Sun Yanyan was now the production manager responsible for controlling the film’s budget. Film stock was by far their biggest expense, and what she feared most was the camera crew endlessly reshooting scene after scene.
Every extra take meant more film being consumed. If they kept shooting like there was no tomorrow, the production’s money would disappear in no time.
“What are you dreaming about?” Chi Ying laughed. By now, they knew each other well enough to speak freely. “We’ll definitely be as economical as we can, but today just happened to go especially smoothly. Who knows what the rest of the shoot will be like?”
After packing away all the equipment and props, everyone gathered in the courtyard to eat breakfast.
Their crew wasn’t very large. Originally, they’d planned to arrange meals through the Beijing Film Studio cafeteria.
But Sun Yanyan had worked at the studio for years and knew exactly what state-owned enterprise cafeterias were like. Expensive, bad food, and no meal delivery.
Filming schedules were unpredictable. Sometimes meals had to be delivered according to the shooting schedule, and the cafeteria staff certainly weren’t going to wait around for them.
So Sun Yanyan visited several well-run mid-sized restaurants nearby, especially those that also prepared boxed lunches. After personally sampling meals from several places, she finally settled on the one with the best value. They agreed on meal standards for every serving, and the restaurant even delivered.
Private restaurants really knew how to do business.
Not only did they deliver meals, but because of the summer heat, they also brought the crew two large buckets of free mung bean soup every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Everyone on the production was delighted.
Lu Wei bit into a steamed bun while keeping his eyes fixed on the monitor. Despite appearing calm on the surface, this first official day of filming had him far more nervous than he let on.
Chi Ying watched alongside him, surrounded by several junior cinematography students.
“Not bad. Once we finish today, we’ll send the footage to the film lab tomorrow and check the dailies. I’ll stay with the shoot during the day tomorrow, then head over with you in the afternoon to supervise the processing. After that, you guys can take turns delivering the film.”
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. We’ll always go in pairs. We’ll get the job done,” the juniors quickly promised, patting their chests.
They were practically overjoyed.
This was pure luck.
School had already broken for summer, and most of their classmates had gone home. They’d only lingered behind a little longer, just in time for Senior Brother Lu Wei to recruit helpers.
This was real filmmaking.
They got to handle actual professional equipment and follow every step of an authentic film production from beginning to end.
That very day, they moved into the guesthouse with him and silently agreed not to tell anyone else.
The next scene took place in the courtyard, depicting the first time the male lead, Zheng Wen, visited his girlfriend’s home.
Films were never shot in chronological order. Everything depended on the shooting locations. Sometimes the male and female leads would be filming intimate scenes together on the very first day they met.
That demanded a great deal from the actors, who had to immerse themselves in their roles almost immediately.
By the time Zheng Wen visited in the story, he and Tong Xiaole had already been dating steadily and were preparing to get married.
So by then, the two characters were already very close.
Fortunately, Song Lin and Tan Yi had become quite familiar with each other. The only thing missing was that unmistakable sweetness between lovers.
The two of them now sat together, quietly trying to cultivate that feeling while waiting for filming to begin.
It was Tan Yi’s first time in front of a movie camera, and he felt a little awkward, especially knowing Chi Ying was sitting behind it.
But the moment he noticed Professor Zhao standing outside the frame with an intense gaze fixed on him, he immediately snapped back to attention.
“All departments, get into position…”
One of the junior cinematographers raised a loudspeaker and began calling everyone into place.
“Action!”
The entire day’s shoot went remarkably smoothly, and by a little after four in the afternoon, they had finished everything scheduled.
Seeing that there was still plenty of time, Lu Wei had Chi Ying lead the crew back with the equipment while he personally took the exposed film straight to the processing lab.
After staying busy for quite some time, Chi Ying finally returned to her room at the guesthouse.
Song Lin had already cleaned up and was sitting there with tomorrow’s script in her arms, preparing for the next day’s filming.
The moment she saw Chi Ying come in, she quickly took out the boxed dinner she’d saved for her.
“We’ve all eaten already. This one’s for you. Dinner was pretty good tonight. Two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and tomato egg soup. The food on our production is so much better than on any crew I’ve worked with before. Everyone gets the same meals too.”
“Our crew is small, and we don’t have any old hands trying to skim money off the budget.”
Song Lin nodded.
“That’s true. Everyone here just wants to make a good movie.”
She giggled.
“I saw Professor Zhao call Tan Yi over earlier. He’s probably getting chewed out. I performed better than he did today.”
Chi Ying listened to the gossip while eating.
“It was Tan Yi’s first day shooting. His camera presence still isn’t as strong as yours. But don’t get too full of yourself. He improved a lot by this afternoon.”
Song Lin sighed.
“I know. He’s one of those people heaven feeds with a golden spoon. He’s talented, and he’s lucky too. Male actors have much longer careers than female actors. I just hope I don’t end up playing his mother in our next movie.”
Chi Ying had just stuffed a mouthful of braised pork into her mouth and nearly choked.
“You really do think way too far ahead!”
…
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