NOVEL NEXT WORLD 19: Public Account (Part 2)
Reading to this point, Shao Yichen had an ominous feeling.
But so far, she hadn’t spotted any problems with this article.
The trailer mentioned in the post was indeed one she had published—more precisely, one she had published to fulfill the system’s requirements. After all, a film should have a trailer, and this requirement from the system was reasonable, so she had edited together some of the shakiest footage, paired it with the ear-grating end credits music, and uploaded it, confident that with the end credits music, hardly anyone would watch it.
At least so far, the content of this post seemed fair, stating no falsehoods and not yet doing anything to impact her money-losing enterprise. In some ways, it could even be considered an ally in her film-smearing efforts. The only point she disagreed with was—how could a script she had haphazardly thrown together in three hours be considered a good one?
Unable to understand this, Shao Yichen temporarily set aside the question and patiently continued reading.
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Why do I describe this film as poor and amateur?
Let’s first discuss why it’s poor.
Readers who have been following Cat Mint’s public account should know that cinematography is an extremely important aspect of film that is easily overlooked by ordinary viewers. A good shot not only conveys the information the director wants to express but also communicates the director’s subjective emotions.
And the cinematography of this film conveys just one message: poverty.
[Begging expression meme image.jpg]
Of course, I don’t mean the author is trying to convey the message of poverty to the audience. Rather, the film’s shots reveal the production team’s undeniable poverty… to the point where I can’t help wondering if this production team only had one camera.
Otherwise, this production team wouldn’t adopt the approach of using extreme close-ups instead of close-ups, close-ups instead of medium shots, medium shots instead of full shots, and absolutely using a single camera angle whenever possible!
As for long shots and extreme long shots, don’t even think about them.
Of course, I can see the editor put some effort into making these shots flow coherently. I also think this film achieved a level where ordinary viewers wouldn’t notice particularly obvious flaws in the cinematography.
Probably only professionals would realize that while some shots had better filming methods available, because they might have been slightly more complex to execute, this production team didn’t use them, opting instead for ordinary but simpler methods.
Not only that, this production team’s shots have another characteristic—shakiness.
Some shaky shots represent a style, making the camera more flexible and easier to maneuver;
Some shaky shots create an atmosphere of confusion, increasing tension;
Some shaky shots… simply indicate not having money to buy camera tracks.
At first, I thought this film’s shaky camera was for the first reason, since it’s a horror film;
But as I continued watching, the plot veered toward comedy and suspense, yet the camera continued to shake. That’s when I realized this film’s shaky camera was for the third reason.
The production team really just couldn’t afford tracks.
From these points, we can see this production team is extremely poor, tearfully poor, painfully poor to look at.
Now let’s discuss the second issue: amateurism.
Whether something is amateur or not is, to some extent, a subjective judgment. After all, some enthusiasts occasionally produce shots rivaling professional masters, while some industry veterans occasionally fail for various reasons.
So when judging whether this film is amateur, Cat Mint won’t focus on what the film specifically shows, but simply on the end credits staff list.
On the surface, this might seem like a daunting task, since typically, end credits look like this:
[Image of a film’s crowded cast list.jpg]
Or like this:
[GIF of investor logos scrolling for over ten seconds without finishing.gif]
Or like this:
[GIF of a director general with five deputy directors plus actor directors, script directors, executive directors, costume directors, and numerous director assistants, totaling over fifty people scrolling by majestically.gif]
But the film we’re discussing today has end credits that look like this:
Producer: Shao Yichen
Director: Shao Yichen
Screenwriter: Shao Yichen
Cinematographer: Shao Yichen
Lighting: Shao Yichen
Cast
Wu Pu: Li Xingyu
Wu Pu’s Girlfriend: Shao Yichen
Sound Effects: Unit B
End Credits Song: Unit B
Distributor: South Polar Bear Group
That’s it.
Yes! You read that correctly!
According to the end credits, this production team totaled just two people!
Namely, a director who seems to possess clone abilities, and a male lead who carries the entire film.
Even adding the sound effects and end credits song team—can two people really be called a team?—this production crew still consists of only four people.
When I first saw these end credits, I was absolutely jaw-dropped. Though upon seeing how poor this film was, I had already realized this independent film’s team wouldn’t be particularly large, I never imagined the team would be this small…
With interest, I searched for more information about these people.
First, the director. This director had no previous works, and the only information I could possibly find about them was this:
[Screenshot of D University XX Grade Directing Department Graduate Student Proposed Admission Notice from official website.jpg]
That’s right! If the “Shao Yichen” on this notice is the same person as the director Shao Yichen of this film, it means this director hasn’t even graduated from their master’s program!
Surprising, right? But wait, there’s more.
Let’s look at this lead actor.
I must say, this lead actor is even more mysterious than the director. When I searched for his name online, I couldn’t even find admission notice content similar to the director’s.
Fortunately, I had a flash of insight and thought of a possibility. Since the director is a graduate student at D University, could this lead actor also have a connection to D University?
With this idea, I searched through D University’s official website, and indeed made a discovery!
[Screenshot of D University XX Grade Performance Department First-Class Scholarship List from official website.jpg]
Look at this conspicuous first-class scholarship first place! Look at this conspicuous XX grade!
This means not only is the director an ungraduated student, but even the lead actor is an ungraduated student! And while the director is at least a graduate student, this lead actor is merely a third-year undergraduate with no acting experience.
If this type of production team can be called “professional,” then no unprofessional production teams exist in this world.
With the production team already so unprofessional, what about the music and distribution?
Regarding this Unit B band, I searched the entire internet but couldn’t find any information. However, from the trailer’s background music, one can glimpse part of this band’s skill level—anyone with ears can judge, so I won’t elaborate.
As for the distributor, this was the only element that initially surprised me during my search.
The film’s distributor is actually the renowned South Polar Bear Group!
What? You’ve never heard of South Polar Bear?
No worries, I’m sure you’ve seen these childhood memories—”Mech Knights,” “Transformation Superman,” “Whirlwind Beyblade King,” “Gem Princess Magical Girl”…
The producer of all these childhood memories, without exception, is the South Polar Bear Group.
So when I first saw this film’s distributor, I was initially impressed: finally, a somewhat reliable aspect of this film!
But after deeper investigation, I realized my blind optimism was naive…
The South Polar Bear Group is indeed a successful business conglomerate, but that doesn’t mean its distribution company is as impressive as its toy industry. Its subsidiary distribution company does handle film production, but what kind of films does it handle? Let me give some examples:
“Mech Knights Big Movie: Knight A and Knight U’s Cross-Time Battle”
“Whirlwind Beyblade King Big Movie: World Championship”
“Transformation Superman Big Movie: Revival of the Gem Monster”
…
That’s right.
South Polar Bear Group’s distribution company has only handled animated film distributions.
And what’s their usual promotion method? Direct advertising on various satellite TV stations and even CCTV! They’ve essentially never conducted online promotion.
This low-budget film naturally couldn’t afford TV advertising, but South Polar Bear’s distribution company also lacked online promotion experience.
This might explain why this film seems to have no promotion whatsoever.
Through these aspects, I believe everyone can see this production crew is short on money, short on people, and short on experience.
It’s truly a legendary “three-without” production team.
Therefore, in my view, this production team has made virtually every mistake that shouldn’t be made—no pre-release promotion, no word-of-mouth development, no recommendations, no mature filming techniques, and no sophisticated cinematography.
At this point, you might think this film is a complete disaster.
But!
Surprisingly, ten minutes after entering the theater, I was successfully drawn into the film’s plot.
Thirty minutes later, I had forgotten I was there to write a review.
An hour in, I was even moved by this theoretical “horror film.”
Leaving the theater, I checked the time and thought: if I didn’t have work tomorrow, I’d want to watch it again!
Yes. Contrary to my expectations, despite various flaws due to budget and experience limitations, this is undoubtedly a fine work!
This film successfully uses the lead actor’s performance and the script’s brilliance to cover all other flaws, making it a truly excellent production.
—When a genius script meets a genius actor, they can indeed save an entire production team!
Let’s start with the actors. Here, I’m naturally referring to Wu Pu’s actor, Li Xingyu. Although the director also played a role in the film, I must say, no matter how talented one is as a director, poor acting is poor acting. Fortunately, her character as the male lead’s girlfriend doesn’t show her face much, because every time she appears, her stiff expressions and blank eyes immediately break immersion. Thanks to her self-awareness in trying to hide her performance.
Li Xingyu, who plays the male lead, supports the entire film with his acting.
Consider that in an hour and twenty minutes of film, he’s essentially the only main actor, meaning throughout the entire film, viewers must focus on him, and he must use his acting to prevent audience aesthetic and visual fatigue, keeping them immersed in the story.
He succeeded.
For an undergraduate student who hasn’t even graduated, this is a dual affirmation of his talent and effort.
If any viewers think I’m exaggerating, believing I’ve been deceived by his good looks, I endured the trailer’s noisy background music to find a few clips of the male lead’s performance:
[GIF of male lead looking shocked seeing death notification.gif]
[GIF of male lead with reddened eyes after learning the truth.gif]
[GIF of male lead smiling tearfully as he’s about to disappear.gif]
How about it? Isn’t he handsome… ahem, I mean, isn’t his acting good?
Now, about the plot. Since this film is still in theaters, describing the content in too much detail could easily result in spoilers and reduce viewing pleasure, so I’ve decided not to elaborate on the plot here.
But I must evaluate this film’s plot as follows: tightly interwoven, with both intensity and relief, and a final twist that’s both unexpected yet logical. Though still showing some immaturity, it undoubtedly displays the author’s incomparable talent!
This precious cinematic gift is something one can encounter but not seek. To create a film of such quality before even graduating indicates this director has limitless potential. Perhaps within the next decade, we’ll see a rising new star in the Chinese film industry!
In a final review of the entire film, Cat Mint believes that for this low-budget film to remain worth watching despite numerous difficulties, both the male lead’s acting and the director’s script are indispensable, complementing each other.
I believe in the future, we’ll see more collaborations between these two exceptionally talented young people.
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The article ended here.
Shao Yichen was dumbfounded, completely shocked.
—This Cat Mint has built such a substantial public account. She doesn’t seem like someone without aesthetic taste?
So why, when it comes to reviewing her film, is her aesthetic so bizarre?
Author’s Note: Li Xingyu: It’s not our aesthetics that are problematic, it’s yours.
Shao Yichen: No, it’s the author’s aesthetics that are problematic. Thanks to the little angels who cast Overlord Tickets or watered with nutrient solution during the period from 2020-08-18 20:59:12 to 2020-08-19 20:59:56~
Thanks to the little angel who threw a landmine: Gentle Words 1;
Thanks to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Gentle Words 10 bottles;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!