Investment Cashback, Billionaire God [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 33: Styling Reveal

Chapter 33: Styling Reveal

The electronic sliding door slowly opened before everyone, eliciting involuntary gasps of varying pitches from the streamers.

The entire studio spanned over twenty thousand square meters with a height of more than ten meters, divided into more than twenty distinct work zones. Each section’s ceiling was equipped with two massive hoisting machines, while the attached workshops contained everything from cutting machines and 3D printers to various large-scale equipment.

The spacious studio remained brightly lit around the clock, with high-intensity fresh air circulation maintaining dust-free cleanliness.

From a distance, it hardly resembled a photography studio but rather appeared more like a highly technological spaceship terminal.

Tao Mi drew a sharp breath.

The competition venue had already been extravagant enough, but she couldn’t even imagine the cost of renting such an advanced studio.

Before applying to become a streamer at Mega-Entertainment, she had been just an ordinary insurance salesperson. Being pushed onto the spotlight of the competition stage was already a tremendous surprise.

Even if Mega-Entertainment had thrown together a shoddy script, she would have considered it a win. Never did she expect the company to invest more in short dramas than in group broadcasts.

Tao Mi’s gaze fell upon the various massive machines in the workshop, and she patted her chest in awe.

She couldn’t help but reflect that taking a day off to apply at Mega-Entertainment had been the best decision she’d ever made.

Just as the door opened, a ten-seat open-top sightseeing vehicle approached from nearby.

Jiang Yu jumped out of the vehicle, pulling off her dust mask in one swift motion:

“Director Fang, the costumes and specified photo shoot props have all been archived in Work Zone Three. Please follow me.”

Except for Fang Zhuo, the streamers moved with slight stiffness and unease. Tao Mi and Momo held each other’s hands, their palms damp with nervous sweat.

When they reached Work Zone Three, their eyes nearly glazed over from amazement.

The area covered at least four hundred square meters, with one wall neatly displaying eight glittering costumes that reflected colorful light from their embedded jewels as the angle changed.

Within the work zone, a young boy was excitedly explaining the chair props for the photo shoot to Director Fang

According to the script, these chairs were meant for the protagonists’ duels in the card competition arena. The black and white throne-like props were almost exact replicas of the script’s descriptions, as if freshly stolen from the card world.

Tao Mi couldn’t resist approaching to ask: “May I touch them?”

Cao Mao rotated one of the chairs: “Of course, you’ll be sitting on them for photos later.”

Calling it a chair hardly did it justiceit was more like an enormous throne, standing over two meters tall including the backrest, its surface covered in extensive fur fabric that draped from the seat all the way to the floor.

Behind the throne’s backrest were five staggered one-meter-long feathers, backed by a sculpture of an arena angel in a prayer pose.

As the boy pressed the activation button, both the feathers and the angel sculpture began to move. The originally closed-eyed praying figure shifted into a pose with hands extended downward toward the throne, as if silently saluting the competitors.

Tao Mi was startled by the prop’s exquisite detail, gasping softly when the angel sculpture animated.

She asked curiously, “How much does it cost to make one prop? This one must be at least ten to twenty thousand…”

Cao Mao didn’t give a direct answer: “The actual price is a bit higher than you’d expect, but Director Fang probably considers it quite affordable.”

Tao Mi chuckled, “That’s true.”

Before their conversation could continue, she was called away by a group of people to change into her costume. These garments were visibly expensiveseveral brand representatives assisting her wore gloves throughout the entire dressing process.

Tao Mi hardly dared to breathe deeply, afraid that one heavy exhale might strain the delicate fabric.

Only after the costume was fully secured did she realize how perfectly it fit her measurements.

Unlike the ready-to-wear outfits she’d worn during the Group Broadcast days, this custom-made piece by a renowned fashion designer seemed to grow from her skin itself, every contour perfectly matching her figure.

A large mirror stood before the makeup station. Tao Mi adjusted her companion weapon prop while quietly studying her reflection.

She barely recognized the person staring back at her.

The strongly regional-inspired gown blended classical and futuristic aesthetics

A thin, translucent silver veil enveloped her entire form. The bodice hugged her figure impeccably, adorned with silver reflective sequins in certain areas.

The skirt cascaded downward in layered tiers, gradually deepening in color until the hem deepened to charcoal gray.

Sister Lan’s makeup approach was bolder than usual, with cosmetic designs perfectly complementing the highly technological dress.

The colors around her eyeliner were intensely saturated, while the eyeshadow remained ethereally light. Several silver diamonds glittered near her temples at the outer corners of her eyes.

With her palms facing upward, a pale white pot rested in her hands, its body slowly rotating in rhythm with the throne’s movements.

Before entering the studio, they had discussed whether the card-background drama might present filming challenges. Yet the exquisite quality of the costumes, props, and makeup completely dispelled everyone’s minor concerns.

With production values like these, not only were they more than adequate for a Short dramathey’d be sufficient for feature film preparation.

The minor complexity of the card background meant nothing. Tao Mi felt that even if Director Fang were to film Godzilla battling magical girls, he could recreate it with perfect accuracy.

Qin Yi hoisted the camera and gestured to ask if she was ready.

Those who succeed long-term in streaming don’t necessarily possess exceptional acting skills, but they always have strong perceptive and immersive abilities.

Tao Mi closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she had fully embodied her character.

Facing the lens, she slightly furrowed her brows, capturing the demeanor of her early storylineinfiltrating the male lead’s circle to break the curse.

Her expression carried subtle melancholy, yet her eyes held no despair, instead revealing resilience forged through acceptance.

Qin Yi gave an OK sign and called to the crew, “Next.”

She had passed in one take. Tao Mi instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

But while her segment proceeded smoothly, Xiao Xiao’s progress appeared considerably less promising.

Qin Yi repeatedly asked for more emotional depth in his gaze, yet Xiao Xiao remained stiff as wood. Normally so articulate during live streams, once in costume he resembled a cat trapped in a towel.

Qin Yi shrugged helplessly at Fang Zhuo.

Watching the young male host on the verge of tears, Fang Zhuo clapped his hands and said, “Lunch break, everyone take a short rest.”

He turned and left the work area, settling into the driver’s seat of an open-top sightseeing vehicle. He sent a message to Zhang Kaigang via his Light Brain:

Teacher Zhang, when do you expect to arrive?

Fang Zhuo had contacted Zhang Kaigang yesterday, who replied that he currently had availability in his schedule. However, he mentioned this particular setting would be challenging to film and needed to see the shooting location before making a decision.

Fang Zhuo understood Zhang Kaigang’s hesitation. After all, similar background settings had never appeared in television dramas or movies before, making the risk of failure quite high.

At 1:30 PM, Zhang Kaigang arrived punctually at the studio entrance.

He wasn’t questioning Giant Entertainment’s financial capability, but rather worried that Director Fang might follow the pattern of other business owners entering the film industry – using the first production to build reputation and market presence, then filling the second production with 90% formulaic content and 10% half-hearted effort.

The card game genre was fundamentally different from period dramas. While historical dramas could still rely on established templates, this entirely new setting required constructing every detail from scratch.

In film and television, details are built with money, where the slightest miscalculation in budget could lead to vastly different outcomes.

He also worried about tarnishing his late-career reputation, which was why he proposed visiting the set first.

After exchanging greetings, Fang Zhuo didn’t immediately take Zhang Kaigang to Work Area Three, but instead brought him directly to Work Station One.

This area was even larger than Area Three, covering over a thousand square meters total. Two members of Cao Mao’s team were currently constructing the Arena for card duels here.

The competition platform measured over fifty meters in diameter with a maximum height of 1.5 meters, consisting of three-tiered platforms with ascending staircases on all sides.

Unlike the pre or post-production mapping methods used in other television productions, all three platform levels featured fully 3D patterns, with designs that perfectly matched the four major card families’ totems from the script.

While other productions might reveal that large Props were made of cardboard or PVC panels, every detail of this Arena platform carried the texture of ancient artifacts, capable of completely convincing audiences at first sight.

Zhang Kaigang was already stunned.

Compared to this quality, the art team he usually collaborated with seemed like elementary school homework level.

“Director Fang, may I ask where you found such a professional Props team?”

Fang Zhuo didn’t intend to keep secrets from Director Zhang: “They have an account on the long-form video platform called ‘Universe Prop Masters’.”

Zhang Kaigang rubbed his nose – he had actually heard of this account before.

Three years ago, when he took on a war-themed film led by an industry-leading distribution company, their art team suggested outsourcing several key Props to this account.

However, after receiving their quote, the budget department firmly refused, and the matter was eventually dropped.

…He never expected to finally see their finished Props here.

He was beginning to understand the envy of those internet strangers on StarNet whose back teeth were rotting from jealousy.

With some emotion, Zhang Kaigang followed Fang Zhuo to Work Area Three. The moment they pushed open the door marked “Three”, they were greeted by two neat rows of actors in costume welcoming them.

The handmade costumes by Great-Grandmother had already far exceeded the standard of S-tier major productions, but this time the costumes were pushing beyond even Zhang Kaigang’s understanding.

He approached the male actor at the very front, close enough to clearly see the hand-stitched subtle embroidery patterns on the fabric of the other’s clothing.

The overall design style was also perfectly suited for the Card Competition setting. Aside from a fully customized set, he couldn’t imagine where one could purchase such perfectly fitting outfits.

Zhang Kaigang immediately turned around. Before he could say anything to Fang Zhuo, he received another filming contract worth 80 million.

He beamed and said, “Director Fang truly understands me.”

After quickly signing the contract and briefly reviewing the costume photos of the previous few actors, Zhang Kaigang singled out Momo and Xiao Xiao’s individual shots and set them aside:

“If these are to be posted on public platforms, these two won’t do. The rest are all passable.”

Unlike the situation with Great-Grandmother, all the important roles in this drama were uniformly cast with streamers.

Currently, many minor internet celebrities from Star Entertainment were transitioning to acting, along with some former idols. However, Zhang Kaigang usually worked on major film productions where countless veteran actors auditioned for roles. It had been a long time since he’d dealt with an entirely rookie cast.

Zhang Kaigang pondered for a moment: “Director Fang, I can recommend an assistant director to you. He has considerable experience coaching new actors.”

“But his schedule is quite packed. You can try contacting him and mention my referral.”

Fang Zhuo directly dialed the number provided by Zhang Kaigang.

The phone rang three full times before someone answered. The line was noisy, as if people were constantly shouting in the background:

“Hello, this is Jia Weian. What can I do for you?”

Fang Zhuo: “Hello, I’d like to inquire about your availability. Director Zhang Kaigang gave me your contact information…”

“Sorry, I’m completely booked recently. I’m currently on the set of ‘Autumn Letter Decree’ and joining the ‘Blossoming Mortal World’ production next week.”

Fang Zhuo still wanted to try: “This is Fang Zhuo, Executive Director of Giant Entertainment”

However, upon hearing this introduction, the other party’s tone did a complete 180.

Before Fang Zhuo could finish speaking, Jia Weian interrupted excitedly: “My apologies, Director Fang. That was rude of me earlier. Please hold for a moment.”

The background noise gradually faded away, and the other party said breathlessly:

“What instructions does Director Fang have? Is your short drama project starting? I’m available now, completely available. I could join the crew today.”

“Actually, not just todayI can come right now.”

Zhang Kaigang: “…”

He had collaborated with Jia Weian three or four times already, never expecting his own name would carry less weight than Director Fang’s.

It stung, as if something had just slapped him across the face.

Fang Zhuo’s tone remained perfectly calm, as if he hadn’t heard the initial cold rejection, and continued smoothly:

“That’s excellent. May I ask if you’d accept a total package of 4 million? If so, we’d like you to come to the Planet 399 filming location as soon as possible.”

Assistant directors at Star Entertainment rarely calculated their fees by episode like main directors did. After all, a production only has one main director, but major projects might employ over ten assistant directors.

Assistant directors typically received package fees ranging from 100,000 to 600,000 per production, with variations based on reputation and capabilityequivalent to monthly salaries of 20,000 to over 100,000.

The offer Fang Zhuo proposed essentially multiplied Jia Weian’s hourly rate by more than a hundredfold.

An ecstatic shout erupted from the other end of the line as Jia Weian exclaimed excitedly:

“This kind of good fortune has finally come to meoh no, I mean I finally have the opportunity to be of service to you.”

“Director Fang, please wait a moment. This old servant will be right there.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Kaigang rubbed his face vigorously.

He distinctly remembered that when he previously collaborated with Jia Wei’an, the other party was still a steady and reserved young man.

Jia Wei’an arrived as quickly as he had promised during the call, and the entire shooting schedule quickly resumed its pace after his arrival.

In just three minutes, he pinpointed the source of Xiao Xiao’s discomfort

“Teacher Xiao, the character you’re playing is indeed a villain, but you can’t portray it with a villain’s mindset. Do you think bad people consider themselves bad? Certainly not.”

“Setting aside the objective framework given by the script, just act as a somewhat proud young man from a card-playing family…”

When the camera shutter clicked again, Xiao Xiao was noticeably more immersed than before. After this set of costume photos was completed, both directors on site gave him a thumbs-up.

At six in the evening, Qin Yi finished retouching both sets of photos taken that day and sent them to Fang Zhuo’s Light Brain.

In the office, Deng Jiaqiang sat on the sofa eating an ice pop and asked Fang Zhuo:

“While the Group Broadcast hype hasn’t faded yet, I suggest releasing the costume photos today. Should we post this set directly on our company’s official account? I’ll draft a copy and send it to the operations team later.”

Fang Zhuo leaned back in his office chair, slightly raising and waving his right index finger resting on the armrest:

“No, I’ve asked operations to register a new account for Liu Xiaolan. We’ll post it on her side.”

Exchanging a glance, Deng Jiaqiang laughed: “Business genius.”

@WeiLan Styling Studio: Just finished with the Group Broadcast and immediately joined the Short drama crew. This time, I’m responsible for makeup and accessory coordination. Honored to collaborate with my idol~

Recently been a bit overloaded with work, so posting a simple recruitment notice for the studio:

Hiring three styling assistants, fresh graduates accepted; monthly salary starting at 100,000 with generous bonuses. Employment includes five social insurances and one housing fund plus 25 days of paid annual leave. Interested candidates can just DM me~

Attached to this post were twelve animated stills from the latest Short drama costume photos and a simple recruitment notice image.

Before this post, her account had only about a dozen followers from internal staff. But as the post went viral on StarNet, she gained over 100,000 followers in just one night, with the comments section becoming unprecedentedly lively

Wait, did I miss some news? What Short drama???

Holy shit holy shit holy shit is this the Short drama I’m thinking of? Mega-Entertainment’s new Short drama?

It mentions the Group Broadcast competition toothis is definitely that styling studio exclusively used by Mega-Entertainment ahhhh, finally revealed! Sis I’m gonna kiss you to death (holding flower) (kneeling on one knee) (offering ring)

@Desen Entertainment, @Zhuoyang Studio, can you please abandon your funeral-style aesthetics and inexplicable nude makeup obsession? Come look at this studio ASAP

Hard vouching for my favealready DM’d my idol’s studio to recommend this sister

Predicting Sister Lan’s makeup brushes are about to spark from overwork. Guess which young actress will book the first appointment

This costume style looks kinda like Gong Zhou lol, maybe I’m hallucinating

“Don’t overthink it, I’ve never seen any film or TV drama specifically hiring a luxury brand’s creative director for design…”

“Did no one notice the job posting? Monthly salary 100k monthly salary 100k monthly salary 100k – these four words will be burned behind my eyelids until 2 AM tonight”

“Wow Tao Mi’s makeup is divine! My girl originally had that round-faced cute vibe, but this styling gives such goddess energy. Can I just say – Sister Lan’s screen makeup works better than her stage or red carpet looks”

“Hehehe look at these costume designs, the new series must have combat-themed settings. But who made these Props? How come the teapot in Tao Mi’s hand can move? So magical!”

“Not just the teapot – the angel sculpture behind the chair is also moving, and it coordinates with the character’s lighting. Looks like physical objects, holy shit.

Every time I think Mega-Entertainment is impressive enough, Brother Fang always pulls out something new to shock me.

Brother Fang opening the Century Heritage List reads like the Humble Abode inscription, opening what should be wish-fulfillment fiction feels like misery literature – this isn’t satisfying at all.jpg”

The post had only been up overnight, but by midnight three or four related hashtags had climbed the trending charts. Besides receiving thousands of resumes, Liu Xiaolan’s account inbox got flooded with countless work invitations.

She used software to extract all work invitation DMs into a spreadsheet, discussing it with the group when they met on set the next day.

Fang Zhuo glanced at the list and tapped at one entry: “Starry Galaxy Media sent you an invitation too?”