DYUTVOBGA Chapter 27

The day’s classes and training concluded in a tight, orderly rhythm.

That night, Quentin turned off the lights and went to bed on time, entering the system’s practice room.

He instructed the system to construct a teacher proficient in the four skills of “Facial Expression Management,” “Acting,” “Stage Presence,” and “Dance.” He labeled this teacher, who had a completely unremarkable and average face, as “A”. Then, he imported [next! next!] into the practice room’s computer and sound system, preparing for tonight’s extra practice.

Teacher A, wearing a matching white-top-red-bottom tracksuit like Quentin’s, stood in front of the mirror with a smile. His voice was an unremarkable, average tone, like a passerby’s: “Hello, student. Nice to meet you. Which course would you like to start with?”

“Facial Expression Management. The facial expression management for idol boy group members.”

“Okay, understood.”

The man readily agreed: “First, let me briefly explain the concept of ‘Facial Expression Management’ in the context of idol boy groups.”

“The so-called facial expression management is essentially a tool for shaping a stage persona. Through systematic training, it gradually molds a trainee into a ‘perfect existence in front of the camera.'”

“It requires both technical training, such as muscle control, and artistic understanding, such as emotional resonance with the song. Regardless, the ultimate goal of facial expression management is only one; to allow the audience to remember the idol through a single glance and feel the idol’s charm through a single expression.”

“In fact, facial expression management is not a single, isolated course of training. It is integrated into multiple courses and gradually improved, with Acting, Stage Presence, and Dance being the three main areas of integration.”

Teacher A took out five cameras and set them up at five different near and far positions in front of the mirror, all aimed at Quentin: “Before the formal lesson begins, I need to understand your current stage performance. Please note, these cameras, from left to right, are numbered 1 to 5.”

“Next, after the song starts, these five cameras will randomly light up with a red light. A lit light indicates that the corresponding camera is the currently active correct shot. During your performance, you need to use your eyes, smile, or aura to communicate with the camera as much as possible… Are you ready?”

The body in the system practice room was composed of data and did not require warming up in advance.

Quentin looked around, memorized the specific positions of the five cameras, and nodded: “Yes, you can start.”

The familiar music started, and the movements already ingrained in muscle memory hit every beat precisely.

Hands forming seals, held out horizontally in poses, jumping and hovering in the air, elbow strikes, fingers spreading and closing, head and shoulder isolation, seamless chest and waist waves…

The choreography for [next!next!] was broad and powerful, with not many intricate details, but it contained a lot of large framework poses and movements hitting the bass beats of the accompaniment.

It tested dance fundamentals considerably and was a very standard Hip-hop dance set expressing the youthful energy of an idol boy group.

“Catching the camera on stage” was not unfamiliar to Quentin. He had, after all, held two world tours and performed on countless large stages. His camera sensitivity was fairly good.

Moreover, he was a rare artist who danced with his brain; every dance move was reasonably digested into his own style, and the sense of groove he possessed was truly captivating.

Quentin performed with ease during the first verse and chorus. However, when he reached the second chorus, the speed and range of the red light switching back and forth suddenly increased.

Teacher A, who had been quietly observing on the side, suddenly walked forward, picked up a camera, and approached Quentin, shooting a close-up face-to-face.

“Next! Next!”

Quentin turned his head and unexpectedly found the camera right in front of him. But he didn’t pause; instead, relying on muscle memory, he smoothly sang the next line of the lyrics.

“Start the engine, the target is the bubbling iced coast off the map.”

“Backpack thrown in the back seat, loaded with soda-flavored anticipation.”

This part of the chorus had a very cheerful drum rhythm. When other Class A trainees sang this part, they would all show big smiles, looking at the camera with bright eyes, conveying inspiring power to the audience.

The image from his attempt in front of the bathroom mirror during the day flashed through Quentin’s mind. He really found it hard to imagine how disastrous the effect would be if he suddenly broke into a big grin.

His hesitation lasted only 0.5 seconds.

Before singing the next line, Quentin briefly hooked the corner of his mouth upwards.

This fleeting smile, set against his sharp gaze directed straight at the camera, unexpectedly carried an indescribable youthful spirit and determination.

It was spirited, like a feather, lightly skimming the surface of the audience’s hearts.

Combined with the restrained curve of the smile and his smooth, flowing movements, at this moment, he naturally exuded a relaxed yet aggressive, domineering aura in front of the camera.

He could turn his hand to bring clouds and roll his hand to bring rain; from the moment the music started, the entire stage was under his control.

Of course, the most undeniable aspect was still his singing. His vocal ability was undoubtedly his most powerful weapon. Any audience member with a normal aesthetic sense would be infected by his voice.

His superb vocal tone, paired with his lazy and self-assured singing style, forcefully elevated this highly repetitive, assembly-line product of a song into something with a sophisticated and intriguing quality.

At this moment, the heavenly voice, the highly rhythmic movements, every subtle change on his face following the music’s beat……and all other visually objective factors perfectly fused together.

Forming a unique, extremely attractive “Stage Presence.”

The three-plus-minute singing and dancing performance soon ended.

Quentin controlled his breathing and did not gasp heavily.

He raised his hand and tugged at his collar, which had become crooked from the large dance movements, then stood up straight, quietly waiting for the teacher’s evaluation.

Teacher A was an all-around master teacher constructed by the system by extracting the strengths of all BKL’s top training instructors.

His mind contained countless examples of stage performances from trainees, both excellent and poor, and also stored the corresponding teaching plans for each.

But after watching Quentin’s performance, it took him about 5 seconds to slowly regain his composure: “…. Student, may I ask where you think your facial expression management is lacking?”

Quentin thought for a moment and said honestly: “It’s…… emotion? I can’t express the positive, sunny emotion of this song.”

He raised his hand and placed it on his chest; his heartbeat was steady under his palm: “My emotions remained very flat throughout the performance. In the past, on my solo stages, I could compensate for this with my singing……but in future group stages, I won’t always be the one singing.”

“If I’m not singing……” He paused for two seconds, then continued, “I don’t know what to use to mobilize the audience’s emotions.”

He couldn’t wink and smile as naturally as Yan Qiao, nor could he maintain bright, cheerful smiles like Zhou Zilin and the others all the time. If Teacher A hadn’t held the camera right in front of him, he wouldn’t even have remembered the matter of “smiling.”

It wasn’t like he had facial paralysis.

Teacher A was silent for a long while: “……I understand. Let’s first return to facial expression management. I need to emphasize that facial expression management does not equal exaggerated, big expressions. The real core is microexpressions.”

“For example, many trainees undergo camera training before their debut. Companies hire professional instructors to guide trainees to repeatedly sing and dance the same song in front of multiple cameras, then review and evaluate the expressions and actions with the best expressiveness, finally forming muscle memory.”

“Some famous idols have their own signature microexpressions. These microexpressions repeatedly appear in their stages, deepening the audience’s impression time and again. Although the idols appear natural, in fact, these microexpressions are almost all cultivated under the guidance of the company, combined with the male group’s concept.”

“For instance, an ‘oxygen-type’ boy group might have healing smiles, while a rebellious, cool, and aloof boy group might have fierce angry vocal shouts. These are very broad examples, so I won’t elaborate further.”

Teacher A looked at Quentin: “My original plan was to methodically analyze the ‘signature microexpressions’ most suitable for you, then summarize a set of facial expression management routines unique to you. But now…… I don’t think you need it.”

“You don’t need to be bound by the so-called rules and frameworks of ‘idol facial expression management.’ Perhaps you think your emotions on stage are very faint, but in my view, that is the composure granted to you by your powerful stage control.”

This composure was mainly reflected in the fact that no matter how explosive or large the dance moves Quentin performed, they always gave people a natural, skilled, breathing sense of integration with the stage.

He didn’t need to deliberately make exaggerated expressions or movements to attract the audience’s attention, because the rhythm and aura in his every move had already drawn the attention of everyone in the audience.

The audience would unconsciously stare at him.

Their heartbeats would accelerate, and their emotions would surge.

Even across a great distance, they would eagerly want to explore the expression on his face.

Were those green eyes fully open, or were they half-lowered with casual indifference?

Would the sweat from the intense exercise dampen his golden eyelashes? Would his thin eyelids flush red?

Were his pink lips parted? When singing, was the slightly prominent lip bead kissing the microphone again?

Had the fleeting, light laugh been caught by the director? He is fair-skinned; would the camera overexpose?

…..

Every hint of joy, anger, infatuation, or resentment was so fascinating.

“Your stage presence is very mature. You have passed the stage of exhausting all means to attract the audience’s attention.”

Teacher A’s tone was emotional: “I don’t know how much time and effort you have invested to reach this point, but the you of now deserves countless audiences actively seeking out your figure on stage. Believe me, whether it’s a solo or a group performance, you are definitely one of the most unignorable presences on stage.”

“How strong is your presence…”

The man pondered for a few seconds and said: “Perhaps it can be put this way…”

“Not the Center, but surpassing the Center.”

A born center. Regardless of whether he had the C position or not, it didn’t affect his Center aura.

Quentin was stunned for a moment, then asked doubtfully: “But the system previously evaluated my stage performance as B. If it’s not because of facial expression management, then what other deficiency is causing me to remain at B-grade?”

The system muttered faintly in Quentin’s mind: “Host……A B is already very high. Excluding you, host, there are 100 trainees in the entire [Next Stage]. In all aspects like singing, dancing, rap, original composition etc, the number of people who can achieve a B-grade rating under this system’s evaluation can be counted on one hand…”

Unlike its host, who was like he was using cheats and was constantly getting A, A+, S, S++ nonstop. He acquired them faster than stocking inventory.

Quentin ignored the system’s muttering, waiting intently for Teacher A’s answer.

“I suppose the system’s evaluation is probably based on the standards of idol boy group stages, right?”

Teacher A said thoughtfully: “Stage performance? Is it possible that what you lack are actually those skills that are conducive to improving the on-camera appeal on an idol stage? For example, catching the camera, synchronizing singing and dancing with full live vocals, interacting with the camera, complex formation changes in group dances……skills of that sort?”

He gestured with the camera in his hand towards Quentin: “I was planning to mention this anyway. During those three-plus minutes just now, you seemed quite unaccustomed to finding the camera. Especially from the second chorus onwards, I could see you using your peripheral vision to determine the positions of the camera switches, but that’s not enough.”

“There are many techniques for camera awareness, like predicting the director’s switching logic, or remembering some common camera switching patterns. For example, the main camera is always switched to during climaxes, low-angle shots are often used during rap parts, and so on.”

“As for synchronizing singing and dancing with full live vocals, it mainly tests issues of physical stamina and breath control. Your physical stamina probably is probably not very great, right?”

Teacher A smiled: “In any case, you still have a lot to learn on this path of being an idol group member.”