Everything seemed to be business as usual as filming got underway on a dimly lit set in a basement in Hengdian, a town nicknamed “China’s Hollywood” for its sprawling complex of film studios.
Cameramen raced around hectically setting up lights and checking shots as choreographers ran through fight sequences and a prop team worked out how to hoist a net that would later restrain a hostage.
Actors, most dressed as assassins and hitmen, milled about or squatted, smoking cigarettes and getting occasional touch-ups from roving hair stylists and make-up artists as they waited for their scene to start.
But behind the bustle was a new reality: while just a few months ago, production of these so-called “microdramas” was flourishing in Hengdian and other hubs – today, these sets are falling quiet.
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