Chapter 24: The Golden Ratio

Translator: Lonelytree  Editor: Millman97

While people were busy sneaking looks at Ye Shuang, Fang Fei’s make-up was finally done. She had gone for a nude look, or a make-up that looked like there wasn’t any, aiming for a natural look.

However, since not everyone was like Ye Shuang, who had no bad angle and could be shot after just layering the hair, the nude look had to cover Fang Fei’s flaws but at the same time, not be too obvious about it. Therefore, the technical difficulty was rather high…

In any case, after Ye Shuang saw the finished product that was no less magical than plastic surgery, she was thoroughly impressed by the make-up artist.

The remaining time was simply not enough for an official shoot. According to what Fang Mo said, that first day was mainly for the two leads to get to know each other. How much personal interest was inherent in that order was hard to determine. In any case, the arrangement wasn’t that out of place, since it was not uncommon for new models to have an ice-breaking period… Since the paying boss wasn’t afraid of wasting time, why should other people bother‽

However, reality was harsher than expected. The breaking-in period between Fang Fei and Ye Shuang was harrowing… The man, who appeared unapproachably handsome, was surprisingly down to earth, but the girl on the other hand…

Even the director could understand why the boss purposely set aside a day for them to get to know each other… In just a few words, the girl had directly and indirectly snubbed the handsome man.

Seeing the man being so poorly treated by his co-star, the surrounding female workers were about to form a mob to crucify the female model. As letting them hash it out on their own wasn’t going to work, the director had to step in.

“How about we have a screen test‽

“It’s not the official shoot; we’ll just see how things go for the two of you in front of the camera.”

It’ll be better for them to interact in a working environment, right? For one, it’ll prepare them for the upcoming official recording, and for another, it’ll take care of the boss’ personal interests…

Of course, the director could tell what was going on; how could he not? After all, his observational skills had been trained to a very high level due to this work. Even though Fang Mo hadn’t told him anything, the way Fang Fei kept glancing at Ye Shuang while the latter wasn’t paying attention had given the director all the information he needed.

The director’s suggestion made everyone sigh in relief. This included Ye Shuang, who was continuously provoked, and even Fang Fei, who didn’t have to come up with reasons to talk to Ye Shuang but kept inevitably creating negative affection points for herself. Lastly, it was also a relief for the film crew; their pity toward Ye Shuang aside, a good relationship between the two leads could only be beneficial for their work.

Therefore, several cameras were set up, and the screen test started with an order from the director. Ye Shuang raised her head to look at the various placement of the cameras before turning to contemplate the position of the windows and the lights. The worker who was responsible for the clapboard assumed this was the sign of a newbie being anxious, so he moved forth to console Ye Shuang. “Don’t worry, our director has a nice temper, and since both of you haven’t done this before, even if you don’t get into it at first try, it’s okay.”

Ye Shuang, who had finished building the simulation of the scene in her mind, smiled kindly at the worker. “Thank you, I was merely doing some calculations.”

Calculations? The worker had no idea what she was talking about, but since Ye Shuang didn’t seem like she was going to explain it further, he nodded along without asking for details. After making sure the two leads were ready, he hit the clapboard and escaped from the scene as soon as possible.

What happened next changed everyone’s views.

It was common knowledge within the world of entertainment that sometimes an actor had the goods and the skills, but for some reason, they simply couldn’t catch their break… Sometimes, this was due to the issue of luck, but most of the time, this was because they lacked photogenicity.

Photogenicity was the noun form of photogenic, looking attractive in a photograph. Those who were photogenic, even if they weren’t the main lead, would become the focus of the shot no matter where they were.

In contrast, the actor without photogenicity would disappear from the scene no matter how long their lines were… The actor would melt inexplicably into the background, especially if there was a photogenic actor in the same scene as them.

If this actor had more lines or big action sequences than necessary, then they would stop being inconspicuous and become conspicuously incongruous, like they didn’t belong, like they shouldn’t have stolen the scene from the main character, like they were ruining the overall picture…

Of course, it was very rare for someone in the entertainment business to be so unphotogenic, but it was even rarer for someone to have such natural photogenicity. Many professional actors gradually honed this instinct through a lifetime of work, instinct that told them where to stand in front of the camera and how to react in a particular scene… This was why acting was considered a skill; it was natural talent combined with the accumulation of experience…

The director, who was sitting behind the camera, was impressed by Ye Shuang’s performance. Even though the shoot hadn’t officially begun, based on the video that was captured on camera, Ye Shuang’s performance was exceptionally eye-catching and smooth, like he could involuntarily capture the camera’s attention and refused to let it go.

Initially, the director thought this was because of his looks, but upon closer inspection, he realized how precise Ye Shuang’s pose, placement, and angle were. If one ignored the rather awkward facial expression, it would feel like he was shooting a masterful actor with decades of experience.

In comparison, the female lead was obviously a fresh model, standing beside Ye Shuang… she would often disappear into the background.

“My God, he’s good.” Unable to suppress his excitement from discovering a new treasure, the director called for the screen test to stop before ordering his unwilling assistant to teach the female lead some acting skills. He then sidled up to Ye Shuang and asked, “Son, you’ve shot other commercials before, right?”

Ye Shuang, who accepted a bottle of mineral water from a female worker, was startled. “Of course not!”

She had been trapped inside an office ever since her graduation; she hadn’t even touched the edge of a stage before, let alone starred in any production.

“Then, how do you explain your stance and positioning just now…” The director became more excited. Could he be a legendary genius‽

Ye Shuang thought about it before replying to the director as it dawned on her. “You’re talking about the golden ratio?”

“Huh‽”

“To put it simply, if we see the angle that can be captured by the camera as 1, then the angle of 0.618 is the most perfect place to attract the attention of the camera. This is known as the golden ratio. Of course, that is not all. One also needs to consider the light and dark separation line, the movement speed of the camera and…” Ye Shuang explained it all seriously like an old director teaching a master class. “…So, after you calculate all of these elements and set up a 3D simulation, then you’ll be able to…”

…

After ten minutes of being lectured, the director moved away with unsteady steps. He was so stunned that he forgot to give a polite farewell. The whole room of professional people was also stunned by Ye Shuang’s knowledge.

They now realized that Ye Shuang was more than just a pretty face, and they wanted to know just where Manager Fang found this insane person!