newbobooks Chapter 137 The Proud Youth
Chapter 137 The Proud Youth
Although he had been promoted to director for several days, Lu Ran was still a little unaccustomed to being suddenly assigned an assistant.
Seeing that Tan Yu and the others were already in the zone, Lu Ran said goodbye and left first.
When Lu Ran pushed open the door to the Animation Division's conference room, it was already full of people.
Upon seeing Lu Ran enter, the person in charge quickly turned on the animation.
On the projection screen, the first three episodes of "Those Years, Those Rabbits, Those Things" were being shown.
There was no voiceover, no background music, just simple visuals and subtitles, but the overwhelming emotional impact brought tears to the eyes of viewers.
The first episode opens with a group of rabbits trudging through a vast snow-covered plain. Their cotton-padded clothes are worn and their hats are frosted over, but every pair of their eyes looks so bright and energetic.
"Here, we added some details." The girl in charge of scene design pointed to the screen, "Look at the patch on this rabbit's foot. We referenced historical photos and specially aged it."
Scene change: In a simple cave dwelling, several rabbits huddle around a tattered map. One rabbit holds up a small notebook, while another leans closer to look. Gunfire outside the window illuminates their faces, but their eyes are focused and resolute.
"The script said 'a determined gaze,' but we felt that simply depicting the gaze wouldn't convey that determination," the head of the writing team pushed up his glasses. "So we added this little gesture: before speaking, the rabbit subconsciously touched the half-eaten piece of dry ration in its pocket, then withdrew its hand. It wanted to leave the food for its comrades."
Lu Ran watched quietly without saying a word.
He only gave the responsible personnel the simplest script and samples of a few main animals. The pacing of the plot and the depiction of details were all done by his own employees.
Lu Ran was very satisfied with these details. Although he could have made the animation even better, he felt it was unnecessary.
Even if I make further revisions, it would only be icing on the cake. But doing so might unintentionally damage their self-confidence.
After all, people have to grow up; who can be born with knowledge?
Episode 3 ending: On the icy battlefield, a wounded rabbit leans weakly against its comrade. Another rabbit pulls half a biscuit from its pocket, breaks it in half, and hands it to the comrade.
"Eat...you need to eat to have energy..."
"You eat... I'm not hungry..."
In the process of politely declining, the biscuit fell into the snow.
The two rabbits froze at the same time, then reached out to pick it up simultaneously, their fingers touching in the snow.
The image freezes at this moment.
The conference room lights came on, and everyone looked at Lu Ran, awaiting his evaluation.
These simple three episodes were made by them working overtime and staying up all night.
On the one hand, most of the people here are actually those who were rejected by various departments, and they also want to prove themselves here.
On the other hand, the animation itself is too captivating; they know that if the animation is well-made, it will definitely become a hit.
Moreover, with a main theme and storyline, the authorities might even help them with promotion.
At this moment, they were eagerly anticipating Lu Ran's opinion on these episodes.
Lu Ran was silent for a few seconds, then stood up and clapped his hands vigorously.
"Good, very good." Lu Ran's voice was somewhat moved. "What you did was even better than I imagined."
Upon hearing Lu Ran's evaluation, the atmosphere in the entire conference room instantly relaxed, and a chorus of quiet cheers and celebrations erupted.
"Just keep going at this pace. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me." Seeing everyone's excitement, Lu Ran directly arranged the follow-up work.
As the meeting ended, everyone returned to their posts, and Lu Ran also returned to his office.
Just as he was about to take out his phone to play a game of Plants vs. Zombies, there was a knock on the door, and Lu Ran quickly put his phone away.
He had just given everyone a pep talk, so it wouldn't be good if someone saw him slacking off in the office.
"Please come in!"
"Mr. Lu, I'm sorry to bother you." The head of the scriptwriting team said apologetically, "I have a question, and I'll leave immediately after I ask it."
"Look here, I think the overall effect is good, but it seems to be missing a little something."
Lu Ran took it and looked at it: Hey, not bad.
The point the scriptwriting team leader asked about was exactly what he had just noticed that could be improved. I didn't expect him to be so perceptive and to have spotted the problem as well.
"Here, after the cookie falls into the snow, we can add a half-second pause. The two rabbits don't immediately rush to pick it up; instead, they look at each other first. This rhythm will make the effect better and more realistic, understand?"
The head of the scriptwriting team's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, yes! Adding eye contact would better convey the camaraderie!"
The head of the scriptwriting team had just left when the animation director knocked on the door and came in.
"You could add more close-ups of footsteps here during the snow march."
"You have to convey that heavy feeling of sinking deep into the snow, pulling yourself out, and then stepping back down. This isn't just ordinary walking; it's carrying a heavy load."
The animation director couldn't help but nod in approval.
"Mr. Lu, you have such a keen eye! Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd been in this business for decades."
Lu Ran could only awkwardly reply, "I know a little, I know a little."
Next, a steady stream of people came to his office to ask him questions, and Lu Ran answered them one by one.
From the pacing of the storyboard to the use of color, from the characters' micro-expressions to the details of the scene.
Every suggestion was precise and to the point, prompting frequent nods of approval from the professionals present.
Lu Ran spent almost the entire morning guiding them on their questions.
Lu Ran even felt that although his official rank was getting higher and higher, he was getting more and more tired.
Should we talk to Li Mo and suggest demoting him to a junior employee?
After thinking about it, I decided against it. The animation had already started, and if I just washed my hands of it, what if something went wrong and it ruined such a good animation?
Anyway, Shen Yuege's studio has been established, so I'll just wait until this animation is finished filming and then find an opportunity to resign.
Just as Lu Ran was thinking this, the voice director knocked on the door and came in again.
"Mr. Lu, the animation's pacing is going well so far, but the voice acting and theme song are still undecided. What do you think..."
"How did the auditions for the voice actors go?" Lu Ran asked.
"We've shortlisted about twenty people; here are the sample audios." The assistant handed over a tablet.
Lu Ran put on his headphones and listened to the recordings one by one.
Some voices were too young, some too old, and some lacked emotion; the overall effect was somewhat lacking.
Upon hearing the seventh one, he frowned: "This... is too tragic. Our rabbits are resilient, not bitter and resentful. They need to have hope, understand? It's that kind of hope—even in the most difficult moments, their eyes must still shine."
"These voice actors aren't very good. The department still has funds, so you should hire some more experienced voice actors. You can't be careless with the voice acting; bad voice acting will break the immersion."
"Understood!" The voice director quickly took notes.
"What about the theme song, Mr. Lu? You said before that you would personally compose it..."
"It's finished." Lu Ran took out a USB drive from his bag.
The song is called "Proud Youth".
...