As the weeks passed, several more students applied to transfer departments one after another. In the end, the dozens who remained were determined to pursue their dreams of film and television.
Maybe there are also people whose families have backgrounds in TV stations and studios, so they are not afraid of not being able to find a job after graduation. Ronald seemed to have seen something from the fashionable dress of several classmates.
Today's class is in the evening, in the screening room. In addition to undergraduates, there are also many master's students who come to attend the lectures. There is no other reason than that the instructor is the popular Hollywood director, Martin Scorsese.
Scorsese is very interesting. He did not offer a course related to directing, but a class on the appreciation of classic old movies. According to classmates’ gossip, the old man who persuaded me to quit originally wanted to take this course, but he couldn’t compete with Scorsese, so he could only take film theory.
A little man with a beard came in, walked to the stage in front of the screening room, picked up the microphone and started to speak.
"I'm Martin Scorsese, and I'm going to give you a classic movie appreciation class this year. Because my new movie was shot in Los Angeles, this class has been postponed for two weeks, and I'm sorry. I'll have to finish filming in New York. That movie, if there is a time conflict, my assistant will come and show the movie, and after you watch it, just give her the review assignment."
"I have always believed that the shortcut to making movies is to watch more classic and old movies. Don't just watch Ingrid Bergman and Grace Kelly, of course they are also worth watching."
The students burst into laughter at the occasion.
Scorsese himself also laughed, "I mean, you have to start from the silent film era. The common techniques of movies were all laid down in the silent film era, so we have to go back to that era. Start from the beginning and walk through the history of directors Through the process, you will have a deeper understanding of current film techniques."
"Today is the first day, so I won't torture you. I picked a black and white film with sound, which is 'The Grapes of Wrath' shot in 1940 by the great Western director John Ford.
The reason why I chose this movie is to show you that all the so-called rules of directors can be broken depending on the purpose you want to express. Of course, the premise is that you have mastered the rules before you know when to break them.
What I particularly draw your attention to is the first minute, how the lead actor Henry Fonda (Jane Fonda, and Peter Fonda's father) said nothing during this minute, but yet attracted the audience. of attention. "
Then Scorsese motioned to the assistant to start showing the movie in the screening room at the back.
Scorsese didn't say any theory, but asked everyone to watch the movie and write movie reviews after class. The teachings of real great directors are always simple, and there are not so many terms and theories as to persuade the old man.
The classmates took advantage of the short time before the screening to begin whispering about Scorsese's purpose. Some also cited the "auteur's film" theory, believing that Scorsese wanted to train their sense of authorship.
A black student looked at them disdainfully, put on his glasses, and looked around, as if he wanted to hear what others had to say. His eyes glanced at Ronald, paused, and Ronald nodded friendly to him. The black students also nodded to him and began to look at the screen.
Ronald felt it was not so complicated. This is a practitioner who has contempt for theorists. Scorsese also makes commercial films, and of course he knows the importance of the beginning. Roger Corman stuffed some beauty, violence, science fiction, and suspense at the beginning.
Scorsese is more advanced. The "Grapes of Wrath" he admired must have some different techniques to attract attention, so he asked his classmates to learn from it.
The movie started to play, and a beam of white light hit the screen.
The old film copies have been played hundreds of times, and the perforations of the film are somewhat worn. As a result, the film is not stuck firmly on the projector and will shake back and forth. So the movie screen is also a little shaken. There are also scratches and explosions from previous screenings, as well as some moldy spots that have been poorly preserved.
The opening composition is relatively plain, with a static camera facing a telephone pole and an empty street. A man walked from a distance. He walked past the camera and looked to his left. The camera turned with him and the man continued to move forward. A truck and an old house appeared on the screen.
A lot of rules were indeed broken. Ronald still remembers that Roger Corman told him that he must make the camera move as much as possible, not static shots, and stimulate the audience as much as possible.
But the first minute of The Grapes of Wrath didn't have any scenes that stimulated the audience's senses. Up to now, Ronald is still firmly grasped. This may be because he is attracted to this man. Who is he? What is he here for? Where do you want to go?
The film was two hours long, and Ronald found it very enjoyable after watching it. It tells the story of a murder suspect who, after being paroled from prison, returns to his hometown of Oklahoma just in time for the Great Depression. Taking his family to California to find work was a difficult journey.
The misery and helplessness under various capitalist economic crises are fully expressed in the story. The economy has been terrible in the past few years, which is somewhat similar to the Great Depression. Ronald watched the movie and felt some sympathy.
After the film was finished, Scorsese had already left, and the teaching assistant began to distribute course outlines, assignment requirements, and other information. Ronald met the black student wearing glasses again.
"Hi, hello." Ronald stepped forward and said hello, "I haven't seen you in undergraduate courses. Are you a master's student?"
"Yes, I'm Sheldon Jackson Lee, I know you, you were in 'Rock'n'Roll,' and I've seen the Sisko and Albert review."
Ronald couldn't help but smile. This family member, whose surname was also Li, did not say his nickname of "Sleepy Luo". Hello, nice to meet you.
"Me too, you have been on the crew before. I am currently preparing for my graduation film. Can you come to my crew to help?"
Students at the Tisch School of the Arts must make a short film and submit it as their graduation thesis. Ronald already knew this. In order to save costs, many students help each other. You act as my assistant director, I act as your photographer, etc.
However, this black man's requirements are quite high. He has been on the crew and has shooting experience before he is willing to invite.
"Of course, if you let me know when the time comes, I will be happy to help." The college understands the needs of students very well, so many courses are held in the evening so that they can be free to shoot videos during the day.
"That's great. Let's exchange phone numbers." Sheldon took out a pen and paper and exchanged phone numbers. "What are you doing recently? Are you going to any other productions?"
"I recently worked on MGM's 'Famous,' and now that filming is finished, I'm just in time to go to school."
Sheldon was a little envious of his resume, "I also hope to be able to join the crew and learn, but my ultimate goal is to be a director and shoot black stories. So I hope to make my short film well and participate in film festivals, so maybe I can There are producers willing to invest in me.”
"You will definitely succeed." Ronald said goodbye to him.
Back home, Ronald ate some midnight snacks alone and poured a cup of black tea. Studying is quite stressful. It is common to be busy until night with various assignments, reading, and writing.
Antonia is still undergoing training for newcomers. I heard that Balanchine is quite satisfied with her and will give her a formal small role next year. So now she devotes all her body and mind to practicing. Both of them are very busy and only talk on the phone at night.
The video recorder buzzed and started recording automatically. Ronald set a timer to record old late-night movies broadcast by CBS, NBC and other TV stations, and watched and studied them over and over again when he had time.
This is what Walter Mersey taught him in his reply. Walter was very honest, saying that he was just a craftsman who knew some techniques and art of picture and sound editing. Ronald asked him big questions about film production and marketing, and he didn't have the answers.
However, in the letter, Walter repeatedly reminded Ronald of the importance of old movies. Nowadays, apart from the occasional old movies shown on TV stations, the only way for ordinary people to watch them is in film school classes. This is a stage that all masters have gone through and requires careful study.
Walter Mersey also told him that movies have experienced two major technological revolutions. The first was from silent to sound, and the second was from black and white to color. The consequences of the two revolutions resulted in large-scale unemployment among the original technical personnel because they could not adapt to new technologies.
But their techniques have not become outdated, so the new generation of filmmakers after the technological revolution often go through the process of re-inventing the old techniques of the previous generation. Many techniques that reached a very high artistic level in the era of silent films and black-and-white films were later lost.
Watching a large number of old movies with a photographer's perspective will help to pick up these leftovers and enrich your own arsenal of filmmaking arsenals.
Ronald heard Martin Scorsese say the same thing today, and he couldn't help but pay more attention to watching classic old movies. If he has the opportunity, he should build his own video library and study repeatedly.
"Ring ring ring ring..." The phone rings.
It was Antonia. Ronald picked up the phone happily, "Hi, honey."
"Ronnie, the leading lady of the American Ballet Company was suddenly injured. After the B corner was introduced, they didn't have a B corner. They asked me to try dancing the B corner, and I was selected!"
"Really? Congratulations! This is really great." Ronald was happy for Tonya from the bottom of his heart. This was the best career start.
"However, I will go on tour with them for half a year, and we won't be able to see each other for half a year." Antonia said in a low voice.
"Don't be sad, Tonya, didn't we agree? You will work hard to develop your ballet career, and I will work hard to make money and try to buy your dance company."
"Pfft," Antonia over there was amused, "You always make me happy, Ronnie."
"I'll go to your place tonight, and you'll take me to the airport tomorrow. I have to go to the west with a group."
