The Best Director

Chapter 46 What is the answer?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio | Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Compared to the not so-glamorous dance moves, music is even more important for “High School Musical”. It ignites the movie’s soul, sparks the audience’s emotions through song, resonates with them, and gets them singing along during the film.

And they’ll remember it, which is why the film’s original soundtrack sells out so quickly.

But first and foremost, the songs must fit the plot, have catchy melodies, be easy to sing, and embody a youthful and fashionable style. Whether it’s the upbeat songs during basketball games or the protagonists’ ballads, all of them must be composed in the style of current pop music.

While no one is expecting these to be timeless classics, meeting all these criteria is still challenging. Early in the formation of “High School Musical'”s production team, Flame Film Company had contacted many composers, clearly conveyed the requirements for the songs, and hoped to receive satisfactory compositions.

After some time, the company received replies from several composers. Wang Yang and the artistic director reviewed these songs together. Among them, a few were quite good, including the “Wildcats” team song. Wang Yang purchased them, for which the company paid hundreds of thousands in copyright buyout fees, acquiring the rights to the songs. The problem was selecting the right ballads, especially the ones to be sung by the leads during the final round of auditions, which they couldn’t settle on.

“Hey, Sandy.” Wang Yang, sitting in front of his desk, frowned as he scanned emails on his computer screen and asked Sandy Parks on the phone, “No new songs? We need to shoot the musical part in a couple of days, including some a cappella scenes, and I need the right songs!”

“Sorry, Yang, we haven’t had any new responses.” Sandy Parks sounded helpless. The completion of this task didn’t depend on him but on the composers he was relying on, and there was nothing he could do at this moment.

Wang Yang closed the website for his email, but then something struck him, and he quickly asked, “Hey, Sandy, have you contacted David Lawrence?” Sandy Parks’s puzzled voice came through, “Which David Lawrence?”

David Lawrence is the original composer and music arranger for “High School Musical”, although he’s not very famous right now. Next year, he will get a chance to compose the original music for “American Pie” and will gradually become known as the arranger for movies like “High School Musical”.

Wang Yang thought about what he knew of David Lawrence and explained to Sandy, “Uh… the arranger for ‘Camp Nowhere’. I’ve seen that one, and I feel his music style is lively and pleasant, which should suit us well.”

Yes, that “Camp Nowhere” starring Jessica, a film Wang Yang had indeed seen, watched it for Jessica, and found her 14-year-old performance quite interesting. He had also gone to great lengths to procure a collector’s edition DVD on eBay, even though Jessica had several copies herself.

“Sandy, give it a try. Get in touch with David Lawrence as soon as possible and see if he has any suitable songs,” Wang Yang said while clicking his mouse to open the official website of “High School Musical” and speaking into the phone. “If it’s a fit, I plan to hire him for the movie’s original music in post-production.”

Sandy Parks agreed, “Okay, I got it. I’ll contact him right away.”

After ending the call, Wang Yang put down the phone, picked up the shooting schedule and reviewed it. Once the non-musical scenes were filmed, they would start with the musical scenes for which songs were already selected.

The official website of “High School Musical” was very youthful and simple in design, yet rich in content and features, especially the still photos section, which was updated with new images nearly every other day. Wang Yang logged into the website’s backend and uploaded a few new stills from today’s rooftop garden shoot. The scenery was so beautiful that it was perfect for promotional photos.

Publishing still photos is a standard tactic in film promotion, as the production cycle of a movie is typically long. During this time, moviegoers can gradually forget about the movie as their attention shifts elsewhere. The still photos can, to an extent, whet their appetite, help maintain the heat of interest, and keep the anticipation alive, so the film isn’t completely forgotten in a corner.

However, Wang Yang’s reasons for posting these specific photos weren’t just that. The pictures he uploaded today would be categorized under the “East High” section of the site as part of creating the effect of the “school of dreams”. It’s not to advertise for East High School in Salt Lake City, but for the promotion of the movie itself.

This was also his reason for choosing East High; the campus is beautiful, well- equipped, spacious, clean, and has everything students like. Not every school looks that good, including the Lincoln High School he attended, which pales in comparison. If he could shape “East High” into the ideal school landscape in the minds of young people, make them feel a connection and fall in love with the school, they would be inclined to enjoy the stories that unfolded there.

Since the start of filming, “High School Musical” had kicked off a new round of preliminary promotional work, with uploading still photos to the official website being just one aspect. Being the first to indulge in “viral marketing”, Wang Yang naturally wouldn’t miss this vital tool. The company had specifically hired several new employees whose daily task was to post on the internet, with forums at different schools being their focus—never overdoing it, just ensuring there was always a presence.

Now was not the time to detonate the bomb just yet; what Wang Yang wanted was to maintain a steady level of awareness that wouldn’t fade away and then, when it came time to promote the movie’s release, launch a comprehensive blitz.

After browsing the official website for a while to check on the current promotional effects and making sure everything was progressing on the planned trajectory, he saw it was past 11 p.m. Wang Yang shut down the computer, brushed his teeth, and walked over to the bed to sleep. Just as he was pulling the covers over himself, his cellphone on the nightstand suddenly chimed. He reached over to check it, and it was a text from Jessie, “Yang, good night. I had a wonderful time tonight.”

Wang Yang offered a faint smile and replied with a text, “Goodnight, get to sleep quick!” He put his phone away, closed his eyes to sleep, but just as he was about to drift off, he vaguely heard someone calling him, “Yang…” Then came a knock on the door, and someone’s voice, “Yang, are you asleep?”

“Who is it?” Wang Yang opened his eyes reluctantly, rubbing them as he got out of bed and walked to the door to open it, only to see Michael Pitt standing outside with his hands in his pockets. Wang Yang stared blankly for a moment, frowning in confusion, “Michael? What’s going on? It’s so late.”

Michael Pitt glanced into the room and said, “I didn’t disturb you, did I? Jessica’s not here, right?” Wang Yang looked up irritably and said, “Come on, she’s not here, but you disturbed my sleep! What’s the matter?” After speaking, he yawned and turned around, intending to pour himself a glass of water.

“Yang, tomorrow…” Michael Pitt walked in, taking a deep breath, and looked at Wang Yang, “My scenes are tomorrow, aren’t they?”

Wang Yang looked at him, took a sip of warm water, and nodded, “That’s right.” He started to smile and said, “Nervous?”

“Maybe.” Michael Pitt touched his hair and blinked unnaturally, his other hand fumbling in his pocket, pulling out a cigarette. Wang Yang stopped him, “Don’t smoke here, otherwise I’ll kick you out!” With a shrug of resignation, Michael Pitt put the cigarette back into the pack, pacing back and forth with increased anxiety, and then asked again, “We’re shooting tomorrow, right?”

Wang Yang put on a coat and replied, “If you came here just to make sure of that, you can leave now, 100% shooting tomorrow!”

“I know, but I…” Michael Pitt exhaled deeply, spreading his hands wordlessly, looking at Wang Yang who sat casually on the bed, suddenly asking, “Yang, the first time you shot a film movie, what did it feel like?”

Hearing this question, any hint of sleepiness vanished from Wang Yang as he reminisced, “Nervous, excited, happy, blissful… what else? You achieved what you’ve always been pursuing, it’s absolutely thrilling!” He shook his head and added softly with a smile, “Actually, there was also a bit of confusion.” Michael Pitt pondered and asked, “Confusion? Why?”

“I don’t know.” Wang Yang lay back on the bed, staring at the pristine ceiling, softly saying, “At that time, a voice inside me kept asking, is this really what I wanted? Have I accomplished it? Have I fulfilled my dream? Is this all there is?”

Michael Pitt frowned, fell silent for a moment, then looked at Wang Yang and asked, “What was the answer?” Wang Yang suddenly sat up, looking troubled, “The answer? I don’t know, you tell me. I feel it’s not over; I’ve made it, but it’s not just over like that.”

“That’s a complicated feeling,” Michael Pitt said with a laugh. Wang Yang also chuckled and said nonchalantly, “Buddy, you’ll find out tomorrow.” Michael Pitt silently nodded, his restlessness returning as he habitually reached for a cigarette. Wang Yang’s tone became impatient, “Get out, go smoke outside, I’m going to sleep.” With a cigarette in his mouth, Michael Pitt walked out, saying “Goodnight” before he closed the door.

After sending Michael Pitt away, Wang Yang lay in bed but suddenly couldn’t fall asleep, his mind incessantly asking, what’s the answer?

After tossing and turning for a while, he simply got up, put on his coat, and stepped out onto the balcony. As he gazed into the pitch-black night sky, the cold wind made him shiver and also cleared his mind, “Is this really what I wanted? Of course, making films is what I want; have I achieved it? It seems I have, yes, now I’m a director, I’ve found what I’ve been searching for, then what?”

Keep making films! Isn’t that exactly what I love and want? Wang Yang suddenly chuckled, the answer was so simple; he had achieved it, but the dream wasn’t over, it wouldn’t be over.

“At least I still haven’t seen the final reel of ‘Cinema Paradiso’, right?” he said, smiling and shaking his head with delight. He had planned to watch it after ‘Paranormal Activity’ was released, but when the day came, he found he couldn’t bring himself to watch it, as if he would lose something precious, so he told himself to wait until after the premiere of his own film movie before watching it.

Wang Yang walked back into his room, laughing to himself, “Damn, what exactly are those film images like, so intriguing!”

O

PS: Starting today I’ll try to release two chapters, with another update around midnight! Since I’m busy during the day and I’m working hard to maintain quality, I write until midnight every day, updating late and making everyone stay up late, for which I apologize but also ask for your understanding and support.

My speed doesn’t match others, I cannot suddenly produce a lot but I’m giving it myall. I’m writing with blood and sweat until midnight, I’ve really put my life into it, so I beg for your support. Have a look at the new work on the monthly ticket ranking, we’re not far behind the books above us, so please give your monthly tickets to this book, we really need them! Let’s surge to fifth place! I’m not good with words in this regard, I can only pleadingly ask for your monthly tickets! Monthly tickets! Recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets… I’ll silently repay everyone with good writing.

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