"Look," Ruby began, her voice steady, "I’m not claiming to be an expert in filmmaking. But I do know what makes people watch something and feel like they’re stepping into another world. Your audience doesn’t care about the struggles behind the scenes—they care about what they see on the screen."
Her words hung in the air for a moment, and some of the team members exchanged uncertain glances.
"And what exactly would you do?" Lyra asked sarcastically, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
Ruby smirked slightly, her confidence unwavering. "Let me see what you’ve got so far, and I’ll tell you," she said simply.
Sylvia leaned back, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "Alright," she said, gesturing toward one of the monitors. "Show her the latest cut."
Lyra hesitated, clearly reluctant, but eventually, she nodded toward one of her colleagues to pull up the footage. As the video began to play, Ruby leaned forward, her sharp eyes focused on the screen.
The tent was silent except for the sound of the footage, but Ruby could feel the team’s eyes on her, waiting for her reaction with barely veiled skepticism.
"Huh! She’s just pretending to look serious," one of the witches whispered to her friend, glancing at Ruby with a mocking smirk.
"Yeah, look at her clothes," another one added, her tone dripping with disdain. "They’re all worn out from washing too many times. She probably doesn’t even know what a computer or editing is." She giggled, nudging her friend.
"Exactly!" a third witch joined in, her voice low but sharp. "She’s just trying to sound smart to avoid getting thrown out. What if she’s just a thief? She was caught snooping around, after all!"
Ruby’s sharp ears caught their murmurs, but she kept her face calm, her red eyes fixed on the screen. She didn’t let their words faze her, but her grip on the edge of the chair tightened slightly.
"Why are we even letting her talk?" another witch whispered harshly, her voice filled with irritation. "She probably doesn’t even know how to turn on a computer, let alone suggest anything useful. This is a waste of time."
"I know, right?" Lyra said loudly enough for Ruby to hear. "Director, do you really think someone like her can help us? She doesn’t even belong here. For all we know, she’s just stalling to avoid being thrown out for sneaking around."
A ripple of agreement passed through a few others, their eyes narrowing as they looked at Ruby. Sylvia, however, raised a hand, silencing the whispers.
"That’s enough," Sylvia said, her voice calm but firm. "I brought her here because we’ve hit a wall, and I’m willing to hear her out. If you’re not, then you’re free to leave." Her sharp gaze swept over the doubters, silencing them.
Ruby smirked faintly, leaning back in her chair and finally meeting their stares. "If you’re so confident I can’t help," she said coolly, "then why don’t you prove me wrong?"
The tent fell into a tense silence, the whispers dying down as all eyes turned back to the screen. The footage continued to play, but the atmosphere remained heavy with doubt and skepticism.
Ruby, however, didn’t let it bother her. She had dealt with worse before and knew that the best way to silence doubters was through action.
The footage playing on the monitor showed a battle scene: the female lead, visibly injured, hurled a glowing magic ball at her enemies as the sun set in the background. Ruby’s eyes narrowed as she observed the details. The sunset lacked vibrancy, the colors blending into a dull haze. The blood looked unrealistic, more like spilled paint, and the magic ball resembled a cheap plastic toy with no special effects to make it look powerful or magical. The overall quality of the footage was far from HD, leaving the entire scene feeling flat and lifeless.
"Is this edited?" Ruby asked, her tone neutral but firm.
Lyra’s head snapped toward her, her expression shifting to one of arrogance. "Of course it’s edited!" she retorted sharply. "I’m the best editor here. You don’t understand anything, so don’t talk nonsense!"
Ruby raised an eyebrow but didn’t let the comment get to her. She gestured toward the screen. "The color grading is off. The sunset doesn’t pop—it should have deeper reds and oranges to set the mood. The blood texture looks too smooth; it needs darker tones and irregular patterns to make it realistic. And the magic ball—" Ruby pointed at the glowing sphere on the screen "—lacks any particle effects or glow layering. It doesn’t look magical at all. Plus, the resolution of the scene overall isn’t sharp enough. Have you considered post-processing techniques like depth-of-field adjustments or overlaying texture filters?"
As Ruby spoke, the room fell silent, but it wasn’t the silence of agreement. Instead, it was confusion. Everyone exchanged puzzled looks, their brows furrowing.
"What is she even talking about?" one of the witches muttered under her breath.
Lyra’s expression turned smug, and she suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, stop it! You’re just throwing random words around to sound smart!" she said, her laughter echoing through the tent. "If you don’t know anything, just stay quiet and don’t spout nonsense."
The others glanced at Ruby with skeptical expressions, some even smirking at her. Ruby frowned, her mind racing. She had assumed they would understand basic concepts like composition, color grading, and post-processing. How were they even shooting a movie if they didn’t know these fundamental things?
But when she glanced at their faces, she realized they had misunderstood her shocked expression. Instead of seeing it as disbelief at their lack of knowledge, they thought she was the clueless one.
"She doesn’t even know what she’s talking about," someone whispered loudly enough for Ruby to hear.
Ruby’s jaw tightened, but she stayed calm. If anything, this only confirmed that she was dealing with an inexperienced team. She crossed her arms, deciding to stay quiet for now and see how things unfolded. However, she couldn’t help but think to herself: How are they still shooting a movie with this level of understanding?
—To be continued...🪄