Although Cao Zhiqiang is a little anxious about filming, always thinking of finishing the filming early this month so that he can go to Japan next month to make money, but he also knows that some things cannot be rushed, especially at the beginning, and even more so at the beginning. There can be no rush.
Especially since Cao Zhiqiang has to be a director and actor himself, there is no need to rush.
In fact, since the script that Cao Zhiqiang is going to shoot is originally based on "The Garden of Words" and was rewritten by himself, it can be said that no one knows the plot and characters better than him.
In terms of film shooting, this is indeed an advantage, because Cao Zhiqiang knows what he wants and what he wants to shoot.
But this can only be done in the general direction, or in terms of strategy, but in terms of the specific shooting process, or in terms of tactics, he is far behind.
First of all, as a director, you don’t just need to know what you want to shoot, nor do you just have to have a picture in mind, but you must have basic shooting literacy in scripts, such as understanding the limitations of shooting equipment first.
Different from digital cameras, today's movie shooting is basically film cameras, and film needs to be used during the shooting process.
Take 35mm color film, the most common color film in the world, as an example. This film currently generally comes in two length specifications.
One is a plate with a length of 400 feet, and the other is a plate with a length of 1,000 feet.
If converted into meters, it is divided into two types: 122 meters and 305 meters.
Since movie films come in one reel, 122-meter film and 305-meter film are generally called small reels and large reels.
Among them, the small disk can capture a little more than four minutes of content at a time, while the large disk can capture a little more than ten minutes of content at a time.
A typical film movie camera can only hold one reel of film at a time.
In other words, even a large camera with a 305-meter large reel of film can only shoot a little more than ten minutes at a time, and usually no more than eleven minutes of content.
Once you have been shooting for ten minutes, you have to stop shooting and change the film.
This is why there must be a slate during the filming process, and a slate is used to record which scene was shot.
In other words, although in the cinema, the movies everyone sees are continuous, usually about ninety minutes at a time.
But during the actual filming process, a scene usually lasts no more than ten minutes, and the shortest one is only four minutes or even two minutes.
Therefore, as a director in charge of shooting, you must be aware of the limitations of the camera and film, and control the shooting rhythm.
Once the rhythm is not controlled well, the film will not be shot well.
Of course, there are now cameras that can load two reels of film at once and change the film while shooting. This kind of camera can shoot continuously one shot to the end. It happens that the system is included in the Panavision camera given to Cao Zhiqiang.
At the same time, if you have two cameras, you can also put the two cameras together and take turns to shoot continuously. However, this shooting method requires more skills and timing, and requires at least two cameras.
But unless there are special circumstances, we generally don’t shoot in one shot because the actors’ performances are unbearable.
This involves the second issue, which is the issue of actors.
Filming as an actor is different from daily life. It requires full concentration. The purpose is to convey your expressions and emotions so that the audience can feel what you want to express and resonate with the character.
Therefore, in the process of acting, actors are actually very exhausted because they have to be as involved as possible.
Regardless of whether you are an experientialist, an expressionist, or a methodist, in fact, the ultimate goal is to be able to take on the role as much as possible, perform the role you want to play better, and let the audience recognize it.
To put it bluntly, different acting schools take different paths to achieve the same goal, all for the sake of better role representation.
If you step into a role for too long at one time, you will be easily affected, and it will be difficult to get out later.
There are many people who are unable to get out after filming, are tired of the role, and even commit suicide due to depression because they are too deep into the drama and cannot get out.
Therefore, during the filming process, especially those that require emotional dramas such as romantic dramas, we generally do not shoot for too long at one time, because we are afraid that the actors will get too deep into the scene at once and will not be able to get out in the end.
In short, making a movie is not as simple as Cao Zhiqiang thought. It involves a lot of complicated things, and not just anyone can act.
Of course, if you have a plan in mind and know the plot of the story and the characters you want to play, you can naturally get twice the result with half the effort, and Cao Zhiqiang happens to be this kind of person.
Therefore, after Cao Zhiqiang took Xu Qingdong and Zhu Lin into the hotel, he did not try to enjoy it. Instead, the three of them immediately got together and humbly learned filming and acting.
When learning directing skills from Xu Qingdong, you have to pay attention to a lens language, which mainly refers to being familiar with the photography equipment, controlling the shooting rhythm, and shooting what you want to shoot under the existing conditions.
To learn acting from Zhu Lin is to learn how to quickly incorporate emotions and how to break away from them.
For example, when filming a crying scene, if you can't cry for a while, you should think more about the sad things you have done in the past, brew up the emotions, then hold them back first, and then release them all at once when filming starts, so that you can get into it quickly. Crying state.
For example, if you want to get away from your emotions after shooting, you can go shopping, buy something to relax, or even eat more.
To put it simply, the threshold for acting is relatively low, but it is very difficult to act well, especially emotional scenes. Without rich experience and experience, it is often difficult to act well. At this time, some small skills are needed.
Zhu Lin was already in his thirties at this time and had rich experience. He had also studied acting in an amateur training class at Nortel, so he was quite confident about roles like female teachers.
For Zhu Lin, who is in his early thirties, and a young female teacher who is twenty-seven years old in the middle of the night, there is no sense of disobedience at all.
As for Cao Zhiqiang, his true inner age is already over thirty, and he has a lot of experience. In addition, he has watched "The Garden of Words" and read many reviews, so he has a clear understanding of the situation of the male protagonist in it. There is no problem with acting.
What's more, Cao Zhiqiang is currently very young, only nineteen years old, so there is nothing wrong with playing a sixteen-year-old boy.
Yes, Cao Zhiqiang is very serious about learning how to film and act with Xu Qingdong and Zhu Lin. After all, before filming, it is better to learn more.
Anyway, the other members of the photography team were still on the road. After all, they were taking a train. At this time, it would take at least one day, or more than twenty-three hours, to get from Beijing to Jinling.
In other words, others will have to arrive at Jinling City tomorrow.
So before others arrived at Jinling City, Cao Zhiqiang had less than a day to learn filming.
In fact, with the director Xu Qingdong and the two heroines Cao Zhiqiang and Zhu Lin, some actual simulation shooting can already be carried out.
For example, now, Xu Qingdong has been holding a camera as a video camera, plus a stopwatch, simulating shooting at normal shooting times.
Cao Zhiqiang and Zhu Lin performed real performances in simulated shooting.
One session lasts ten minutes, and if you do a few more sessions, you will soon find the feeling.
As for why each scene takes ten minutes, it is of course because the film footage for this shooting was prepared by Cao Zhiqiang.
The film films prepared by Cao Zhiqiang were all high-end goods provided by the system.
These film films are all of the same specification, that is, a 305-meter reel of 35 mm color film, which is ten to eleven minutes long, and there is no small reel.
Therefore, when we were performing, we had to set the shooting time of each scene according to the length of the film. This means that people have to follow the equipment.
Of course, although there were two people acting and one person filming the simulation, in fact, there was a fourth person on the scene of the simulation filming, and this person was Qiao Simei.
Unlike Cao Lili, who is not interested in filming, Qiao Simei seems to be naturally interested in acting, and she also has a talent for acting. At least she doesn't have stage fright.
Therefore, after arriving in Jinling City, Qiao Simei did not go home with Cao Lili to visit her brother and biological father. Instead, she wanted to learn acting from Cao Zhiqiang and Zhu Lin first.
Although Qiao Simei was only a supporting character with a small role, and Cao Zhiqiang was in a hurry, there was no chance for her to perform during the simulated filming, but she was very happy to watch from the side.
At the very least, she can learn a lot about acting by being by her side all the time, which will be of great benefit to her as an actor in the future.
Yes, Qiao Simei changed her dream again. She no longer wanted to be a singer, but she wanted to be an actor again.
Qiao Simei is just a child after all, and it is normal for her dreams to change.
In this way, Cao Zhiqiang had just arrived in Jinling City, and before he had a chance to take people around Jinling City, he dived into the process of learning to film.
At this time, Cao Zhiqiang's mind was filled with the excitement of learning to film, and he was full of energy. It can be said that his progress was rapid.
On the contrary, Zhu Lin and Xu Qingdong were a bit older, but their energy was a little low, and they could not keep up with Cao Zhiqiang's high-intensity learning pace. They were fine at the beginning, but soon became exhausted as time went by.
At six o'clock in the evening, Xu Qingdong couldn't hold on anymore and asked to go back to rest.
Cao Zhiqiang saw the tired faces of Xu Qingdong and Zhu Lin, and felt that he had gone too far, so he agreed to suspend the simulated filming and let everyone go back to their rooms to rest. After nine o'clock tomorrow morning, we will discuss the filming together.
After bidding farewell to Xu Qingdong and Zhu Lin, Cao Zhiqiang originally wanted to take Qiao Simei with him to Qiao's house for a family dinner. Who knew that as soon as he returned to the room, the phone rang.
When I answered the phone, it was actually Li Youfu. And why? It turned out that a young actor named Yu Feihong had arrived at the train station and wanted to ask Cao Zhiqiang how to arrange it.
Only then did Cao Zhiqiang remember that there was still this problem.
It turned out that when choosing young actors, Cao Lili was not suitable for acting and could not play the role of the male protagonist's eldest sister. So after learning about this, one of the supporting actresses in the cast, a Beidian teacher named Cui Xinqin, recommended She picked up a young actress she had worked with in a movie, namely Yu Feihong.
Yu Feihong is only twelve years old now. She is currently in junior high school in her hometown of Hangzhou. She is still on summer vacation, so she has nothing to do.
This drama was mainly shot in Jinling, and Hangzhou is not far from Jinling, so I asked Yu Feihong to come over during the summer vacation to make a movie. Everyone liked it.
The main problem is that teacher Cui Xinqin likes Yu Feihong very much, so she wants to cooperate with her again.
So, after Cao Zhiqiang agreed, teacher Cui Xinqin called Yu Feihong's parents and contacted Yu Feihong.
When she heard that she was going to make a movie, Yu Feihong was very interested. In addition to the general plot, she also told Yu Feihong's father. Her father was also very interested, so the matter was settled.
After the decision was made, Yu Feihong must not be allowed to come to the capital first, so the person appointed at that time was Li Youfu, who had recently been working at Jinling City Yuhong Machinery Factory for a long time.
Li Youfu is a serious publishing house manager, and Yuhong Machinery Factory is also a regular and established manufacturer, so Yu Feihong's parents are quite relieved.
This time, it was Yu Feihong's father who brought his daughter here in person.
In fact, Yu Feihong’s father is also great. He is currently a teacher at Hangzhou University, which is the predecessor of Zhejiang University.
Yu Feihong's father is usually very busy, but now that he is on summer vacation, Yu Feihong's father is also on summer vacation, so he can bring his daughter to Jinling.
Originally, Yu Feihong's mother wanted to come, but Yu Feihong's mother was not a teacher and had no summer vacation, so she couldn't get away, so her father had to bring the children.
Moreover, it is safer for fathers to bring their children here.
Although Hangzhou is not far from Jinling City, it takes some time to get here by train. After all, trains during this period are generally not very fast.
By the time Yu Feihong and her father got off the bus at Jinling Railway Station, it was already past six in the afternoon.
Then, as soon as he arrived at the train station, Yu Feihong's father was at a nearby phone booth and dialed the phone number given before. That number was the duty room number of Yuhong Machinery Factory.
The person in the duty room of Yuhong Machinery Factory answered the phone, asked about the situation, and called Li Youfu, who was living in the local guest house. After all, the factory director had already explained these things.
Li Youfu came to the duty room and called back the phone booth at the train station. He finally contacted Yu Feihong's father who was waiting there, and promised that a car would be sent to pick them up soon and let them stay there for a while. Wait a moment.
After Li Youfu finished the phone call with Yu Feihong's father, he thought about it and then called Cao Zhiqiang directly. His intention was just to inform him about this matter.
In fact, even if Cao Zhiqiang was not notified or Cao Zhiqiang could not be found, Li Youfu would have sent a car to pick him up. However, Cao Zhiqiang came in advance after all, so it would be inappropriate not to tell Cao Zhiqiang about this.
Coincidentally, when Li Youfu called to inform, Cao Zhiqiang was in the room and was about to take Qiao Simei away.
It can be said that if the call had come three minutes later, Cao Zhiqiang would not have been found.
After all, most people in China now have fixed landlines. There are not many mobile phones, and there are not even many pagers. It is difficult to contact people.
Initially, Cao Zhiqiang didn't think much about it, but when she heard that Yu Feihong and her father were here, she suddenly became interested.
Yu Feihong is different from Zhu Lin.
Although Cao Zhiqiang also knew Zhu Lin, after all, his impression of Zhu Lin in his previous life was that he was the king of the daughter country in the 1986 edition of Journey to the West, and nothing else.
But Yu Feihong is different.
Because when Yu Feihong became famous, Cao Zhiqiang in his previous life was already in elementary school, and he was once astonished by the fairy Jinghong played by Yu Feihong.
It can be said that Yu Feihong had a much greater impact on Cao Zhiqiang than Zhu Lin, and the memory is deeper.
After all, that was his elementary school idol in his previous life!
Even Cao Zhiqiang still remembered that when he was in elementary school in his previous life, he had determined that when he grew up, he would marry a woman like Fairy Jinghong.
Although this wish did not come true later, I had a dream after all.
Now, that Yu Feihong has arrived. Even though he is only a junior high school student, he still touches a certain heartstring of Cao Zhiqiang.
Well, it’s not like he wants to do anything to a child, Cao Zhiqiang is not that beastly.
It was just out of curiosity that I wanted to see Yu Feihong herself as a child.
Thinking of this, Cao Zhiqiang directly gave instructions to Li Youfu on the phone:
"Old Li, this little actress is very important and cannot be neglected.
Let's do this, you come to my place first, and I'll pick you up with you. "
"Ah?" Li Youfu was stunned, "You want to go in person? Is it necessary?"
Indeed, Li Youfu only came here to report out of habit, and he really didn't think that the little child star named Yu Feihong was very important.
"Of course it is necessary." Cao Zhiqiang said seriously.
"No matter what, I still have to play the role of my sister. It will be good for the filming to get in touch with her in advance and get more pairs to play with her.
Forget it, you don’t understand this, anyway, come to me first, that’s it! "
(End of chapter)
