Chapter 39: Dynamic Ads Acquired

Dynamic advertising shoots are quite different from still photography.

Dynamic shooting places more emphasis on emotion, much like acting, but shooting for an advertisement spokesperson is different from acting in a drama.

When an actor performs, they embody a person; they need the audience to focus on the character and immerse themselves in that character's joys and sorrows.

However, advertising emphasizes the product, so the plot is secondary; the goal is simply to highlight the commodity.

Furthermore, because the celebrity is a spokesperson, netizens will associate the star with the product when they see them. Therefore, in an advertisement shoot, a celebrity does not need to downplay their own beauty; instead, they should do their utmost to showcase it.

This is quite different from professional actors.

To portray a character well, an actor must instead downplay their "own personal characteristics" and emphasize the characteristics of the role.

A great actor is capable of achieving a "chameleon-like" quality—where after watching a show, the audience cannot recognize what other roles the actor has played before, as they are completely immersed in that specific character.

Jinli had no acting experience, but she was highly experienced at being an exquisite "vase."

The script arranged by Duomi was also very simple.

When the exquisite Koi Fairy fell into the mortal realm, she transformed into three different mortals.

First, she filmed the look of a white-collar professional without makeup, and then she filmed the look of a white-collar professional using Duomi cosmetics to create a "Lucky Koi" makeup look.

In addition to the white-collar professional, Jinli had two other roles to play: a recent university graduate and a lady preparing for a date.

These three roles served as transitions for one another. The shoot did not follow the order of the advertisement; instead, they filmed whichever look was the simplest first.

As the director filmed Jinli, she told her how the advertisement would eventually appear.

She said, "I think you look beautiful without makeup, but the advertisement needs to highlight the refreshed feeling after applying makeup. Your bare face is too beautiful; we actually need to help you look a bit less stunning."

Jinli accepted this completely. "Sure."

Since it was all for money, she felt no psychological burden about being asked to look less beautiful.

The afternoon's work proceeded very efficiently.

The most complex look was the first one: the Koi Fairy makeup.

This part of the makeup was the same look used for yesterday's still photography. The photographer flipped through the previous dynamic shooting records and found it could be reused, so there was no need to redo it.

Aside from this look, the other three makeup styles were very simple.

Jinli first filmed the "bare-faced" looks for the three professions, and then focused on filming the "transformative" looks after the makeup was applied.

As time passed minute by minute, everyone remained focused and serious.

The filming set, which had been a bit chaotic initially, became orderly under the influence of the invisible atmosphere, and work efficiency soared.

When the photographer finished the last set of photos and the director finished the last set of footage, the photographer, Sister Ming, looked down at the time and said in surprise, "It's already eight o'clock!"

Thinking of Jinli's physical condition, she hurried forward. "Teacher Jinli, are you feeling alright?"

Jinli let out a long breath, a hint of fatigue crossing her brow. "I'm okay. I can hold on."

Sister Ming said regretfully, "I don't know what happened, I just lost track of time while shooting!"

The other staff members also stepped forward, saying self-reproachfully, "Me too, I forgot the time while working."

"Work was going so smoothly just now that I didn't realize it was so late."

Sister Ming quickly spoke up, "Let's go eat quickly. Everyone is hungry."

Jinli hadn't brought an assistant. As soon as she sat down and opened her bag to check her phone, her eyelid twitched.

Good heavens, Sister Fang had called three times, all within the last half hour.

To avoid affecting her work, she kept her phone on silent during working hours.

Just as she thought this, the phone vibrated again; another call from Sister Fang.

Sister Ming walked over and was about to say something to Jinli when she saw the caller ID, and her expression changed.

Jinli signaled her not to speak and answered the call.

"Sister Fang, what's wrong?"

"Mm-hmm, yes, I was eating earlier and didn't hear it. I'm just about to head back to the apartment. No, no, you don't need to pick me up, I can go back by myself. It's fine, someone is heading back the same way as me."

"Okay, okay. Once the advertisement shoot is wrapped up, I won't go anywhere; I'll just stay in the apartment to study."

A few minutes later, Jinli hung up the phone.

Both she and Sister Ming let out a sigh of relief simultaneously and shared a smile.

During the group dinner, everyone was even more relaxed than yesterday.

The restaurant chosen for the meal was not large. Jinli was not one for grand displays and enjoyed home-cooked food. Eating in a small place allowed one to better feel the "flavor of human life."

Sister Ming still did not drink. She held quite a bit of authority in the team, so if she didn't drink, the other staff members didn't dare to either.

She looked at Jinli and said sincerely, "Jinli, I have a good eye for people. You will return to the front lines sooner or later!"

Jinli gave her a brilliant smile and clinked her teacup against Sister Ming's. "Sister Ming, I'll take your good words to heart."

The other staff members also raised their teacups, using tea instead of wine to congratulate Jinli.

"Keep it up, Jinli!"

"Wishing you success in your career and good health!"

Jinli smiled and thanked them one by one, accepting all the tea offered.

After eating, Jinli did not linger and left immediately.

Before getting into the car, she looked up at the sky.

The air in the city was poor, with much smog, but tonight, a few stars had rarely emerged in the night sky.

The stars were brilliant and bright.

After she left, the Duomi Cosmetics staff gathered to discuss Jinli's shoot that afternoon.

"She is very serious and very infectious. Her smile is so friendly that I didn't even dare to slack off."

"When she appeared in my lens, I just wanted to stare at her!"

"She really has the talent to be a star. Her camera presence is so good, she's beautiful, and her attitude is humble. If someone like this doesn't become famous, it would defy the laws of heaven!"

Sister Ming said gloomily, "You all should cherish this cooperation with Jinli. Fortunately, I asked her for a few extra autographs privately. I have a premonition that once that survival variety show airs, Duomi might never be able to work with her again."

The all-line endorsement contract the company signed with Jinli was only for one year, primarily to promote the new Spring/Summer products.

By next year, no one knew what level of popularity Jinli would reach.

On the other side, Jinli returned to her apartment.

She didn't dare rest immediately; she first attended an hour of online classes. Once she felt her spirits had recovered somewhat, she picked up her phone to check the group chats.

Recently, the group chats for the Pink Girls and the March Sky boy band had been flooded with messages; she could hardly keep up.

Ji Qinglian had a good impression of the March Sky boy band, mainly because they got along well and had many overlapping schedules, so she intended to mentor them.

Although March Sky had enough popularity, they were still somewhat lacking in connections.

However, those four young men were sincere enough.

Sensing Ji Qinglian's intention to mentor them, they reciprocated by proactively revealing the profit-sharing contracts they had signed.

As soon as she saw that number, the smile on Ji Qinglian's face faded.

Ji Qinglian made a video call to Jinli and said gloomily, "Liyu, they actually signed for sixty percent! In their very first year after debut, they signed sixty percent with their company!"

Jinli sighed inwardly; she understood Ji Qinglian's frustration.

The situation for March Sky was different from the Pink Girls.

When March Sky debuted, although they were incredibly popular on the show, no one knew what their future would be once they left the variety program.

But the Pink Girls were different.

When they terminated their contracts with their former employer, every member was already at the A-list level, giving them the leverage to negotiate with companies.

Although other companies tried to take advantage of the situation by attempting to lower their profit-sharing ratios, their A-list status remained; at most, they just couldn't demand an inflated rate.

For a famous female star like Ji Qinglian, the contract from LP Company was simply too harsh.

Jinli remained silent for a moment before asking, "Qinglian, do you have any plans?"