novelnext Chapter 141 Recording Songs
Chapter 141 Recording Songs
"Mine too!" Liu Haochun added;
"I usually post videos of the crew's daily work, which are quite popular with fans. They're quite curious about me. Many friends have asked me what I'm filming," Zhou Ye said.
"Me too~!" Xiaotian casually poked at the few peas left at the bottom of her bowl with her chopsticks. "Last night, a friend asked me what movie I was filming?"
"Weren't you drunk last night?" Wang Zian said casually.
Xiao Tian's smile froze for a fraction of a second, and her chopsticks stopped in mid-air.
She hadn't prepared for this question.
"She saw the news at the wrap party, so she was so happy that she drank several more glasses. This morning she was still bragging to me about how her friend praised her," Liu Haochun said with a smile.
Tian Xiwei nodded quickly, her pace as fast as if she were pounding garlic.
"Yeah, it's my buddy from the art exam preparation class, Wang Anyu. He's got a really sweet tongue, he said I'm already the first person in our circle of friends to become an actor."
The two of them worked together seamlessly, but the subtle atmosphere, like the steam rising from the small bowl of noodles, lingered above the dining table.
Everyone felt it.
Wang Zian picked up his teacup and took another sip, glancing lightly between the two girls without saying a word.
However, Wang Anyu...
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During the next two days of rest, Tian Xiwei and Liu Haochun spent an unprecedented amount of time together since they started living together.
They used to have a good relationship; they ate together, did their makeup together, and rehearsed their lines together on set.
But we've never been this close before, so close that we sleep in the same bed, so close that we even go to the convenience store downstairs to buy a bag of potato chips hand in hand.
Wang Zian had privately asked Liu Haochun about the strange behavior of the two people.
However, Liu Haochun did not answer, but simply looked up at him.
The emotions that flashed in those doe-like eyes were as complex as a spilled spice bottle—a little resentful, a little aggrieved, and something else he couldn't decipher.
This made Wang Zian think that Liu Haochun was still not out of character.
Even during these two days off from filming, Wang Zian couldn't stay idle.
He still had one important thing to do: record the three songs "Red-Clad Ladies," "Escape from the British Museum," and "Warm a Cup of Tea."
Old Li is working diligently on the editing according to his requirements; the background music and interludes must be in place as soon as possible, otherwise the editing rhythm in the later stages will be impossible to maintain.
Recording songs was a completely new and exciting experience for Zhou Ye and her three friends.
Before this, their daily lives consisted of going back and forth between the film set and home, and watching a movie on a projector in the living room was considered the best form of entertainment.
Upon hearing that they were going to the recording studio, Tian Xiwei was the first to jump up from the sofa. Zhou Ye was already changing his shoes at the door. Liu Haochun stood quietly behind Zhou Ye, but the anticipation in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Even Zhang Ruonan put down the financial statements in her hand and said, "I've never seen what recording a song is like!"
Wang Zian found a recording studio called Red Star online, hidden in a street lined with ginkgo trees.
Pushing open the glass door covered with various band stickers, a faint scent of pine filled the air.
Later I learned that it was the smell coming from the old-fashioned tube microphone preamp next to the mixing console when it was warming up.
The walls are covered with framed old record covers, from Cui Jian to Dou Wei to Pu Shu, like a chronicle of Chinese rock nailed to the wall.
A middle-aged man with short, neat hair was sitting in front of the mixing console, wearing monitoring headphones, his fingers unconsciously sliding lightly across the faders.
He was in his early thirties, wearing a faded black T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a small patch of faded tattoo on his forearm. He didn't look like a businessman; he looked more like a retired veteran from a rock band.
Hearing the door open, he stood up from his chair, took off his headphones and hung them around his neck, his gaze sweeping over the group of young people in front of him.
One man and four women, each with a face that could grace a magazine cover.
He silently made a preliminary judgment in his mind: they were probably trainees from a small company, or a few rich kids who came to play around during the holidays.
"Gentlemen, is there something you need?"
"Let's record a song!" Wang Zian said.
Upon hearing that business was coming in, the boss's face immediately lit up with a smile.
As he walked around from behind the counter, he casually pushed the pair of listening headphones on the table to the side.
"Oh dear! Please come in!"
His gaze swept quickly across the faces of the young people in front of him—one man and four women, each with a face that could grace a magazine cover.
He silently made a preliminary judgment in his mind: they were probably trainees from a small company, or a few rich kids who came to play around during the holidays.
"I want to record a song, is three days enough?"
Handsome guy, you must be joking!
The boss almost thought he had misheard.
Three days? To record one song?
He's seen far too many clients like this.
Because of his good looks, he thought he could do anything. But after entering the recording studio, he found that he couldn't even keep up with the most basic metronome. In the end, the sound engineer had to work so hard on the audio that he questioned his existence.
The boss was somewhat speechless, thinking it was just another hobby, but was he making money? He charged by the hour, so why bother with all that?
"Please have a seat and have some water first." He poured a glass of hot water for each person.
"Are you all recording a song together, or...?"
Zhou Ye pointed at Wang Zi'an. "He's the one recording; we're all just here to watch."
The boss nodded and turned to Wang Zi'an. "Hey kid, did you bring the lyrics and sheet music?"
Wang Zian handed over the items, and the shopkeeper took them, crossed his legs, glanced at the lyrics, and then silently hummed the melody in his mind.
After humming, he put his legs down.
He hummed it again.
Then he held the sheet music with both hands, his expression changing from a polite and professional smile to a serious one.
"Great songs. This one is folk-based, this one is ancient style, and this one is an emotional slow movement!" He looked at the three sheets of music over and over again, then looked up at Wang Zi'an, his scrutinizing gaze now different.
"Did you write all of these?"
"Hmm~! The copyright has already been registered~!"
The boss placed the sheet music on the table, smiled, and extended his hand, his tone much warmer than when he had entered.
"My name is Zhang Zhiqing, and I graduated from the composition department of the Central Conservatory of Music. This recording studio has been open for almost ten years. There are only a handful of songs a year that I can think are amazing just by looking at the sheet music; and who are you all?"
"We're studying acting," Zhou Ye answered for everyone.
Zhang Zhiqing's gaze swept over the faces of the group again.
Studying acting? That face makes sense.
But then he thought, how could someone who studied acting write such a song?
That doesn't seem right.
Did you get it from somewhere?
He hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Beijing Film Academy?"
"Beijing Film Academy, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Beijing Dance Academy!" Wang Zi'an rattled off a string of school names, as if explaining the backgrounds of the students, then changed the subject, "Can these songs be recorded?"
"Yes, yes, absolutely. Let's start by going through the arrangement framework."
When Zhang Zhiqing stood up, the chair slid back half a meter; he couldn't wait to turn on the machine.
"Our standard rate is one thousand yuan per hour, which includes professional sound mixing and post-production mixing. This price is very affordable compared to other recording studios of our kind."
Don't let the small size of our recording studio fool you; it's fully equipped, ensuring there will be no background noise or unclear recordings.
"Let's begin!"