Shabby, too shabby.
There was no crane, no railcar, not even a tripod, and the only camera was actually a 16mm camera.
Li Tang, who had just finished filming "Shanghai Chronicle" and had seen the huge battle at Shanghai Film Studio, came to the set on the first day and had mixed emotions.
He was lying on the flood control wall by the Suzhou River, looking at Shanghai's former mother river, which was dark green and black, with all kinds of rotten and strange garbage floating on the water, and transport ships were still flowing on the river.
Why is it said to be the former mother river?
The Suzhou River that runs through the entire urban area has always been called the mother river of Shanghai. But since it turned black and smelly, Shanghai's mother river naturally became the Huangpu River outside.
Looking to the east, under the Waibaidu Bridge in the distance, at the intersection of the Suzhou River and the Huangpu River, the black and yellow water are clearly distinct.
The slogan of controlling the Suzhou River has been shouted for many years, but now it seems that it has achieved little effect. However, some polluting companies along the coast have begun to close down and relocate in recent years.
For example, today's shooting location is next to a demolition site. The houses on the shore have almost been demolished, leaving only the skeleton of a lonely steel structure building.
He didn't get two pages of the script from Lou Ye until yesterday, and then he knew that the character he was going to play was called Ma Da. He was a young man who dropped out of middle school and hung out with a few friends by the Suzhou River every day, doing nothing.
Cantonese call these people bad boys, northerners call them gangsters, and Shanghainese call them little bastards.
One day, one of the young bastards rode a stolen motorcycle. Ma Da fell in love with it at first sight. He rode the motorcycle into the wind. At this moment, he finally showed his long-lost unrestrained smile.
The population of the crew is very simple, only about twenty people in total. Lou Ye didn't know where he was hiding. Zhou Xun didn't come. The artist was graffitiing on a half-dismantled wall, the props were tinkering with a tricycle, and the photographer named Wang Yu was carrying the 16mm camera to scan He was leaning on the river, probably taking some photos.
Not far away, there were seven or eight young extras with messy hair. They were supposed to play the roles of Ma Da's little friends. At this time, Nai An, the producer, was telling them the story in person.
Li Tang felt amazing watching this scene. Although it was just a grassroots team, everyone knew what they should do and worked in an orderly manner.
"Tu tu tu tu..."
There was a sound of motor, and a motorcycle was seen driving over from a distance and stopped in front of Li Tang.
"Hey, Harley, a popular model in the 1970s! Director Yao, where did you get it?"
This motorcycle is very old, but its aggressive and retro appearance is very cool!
When Yao Anlian heard Li Tang call him "Director Yao," he was so happy that his teeth came out. He smiled and said: "This belongs to a friend of mine. Yi's relatives brought it from the United States more than ten years ago. It was definitely a mess at that time!"
Yao Anlian is a well-known non-famous actor in Shanghai. Because he looks like the old artist Chen Shu of the Shanghai Film Studio, he often appears as a villain and a citizen in some movies and TV shows.
However, he did not come from a major. He was originally an amateur drama actor, and now he is a self-employed actor who also does some assistant director and producer work.
He is an authentic local Shanghainese, familiar, and well-rounded. Nai'an initially only asked him to be the external producer and assistant director of the crew, but he insisted on pestering Lou Ye to get a role.
In his words: It doesn’t matter what you perform, what matters is having the opportunity to perform.
Li Tang liked motorcycles very much. He circled around the car and said, "It's still the same style now. How does it drive?"
"It's pretty good. The engine sounds smooth, but it's been a bit older and looks a little older."
"Then let me try riding a horse?"
"This is a prop in itself. You ride it and get familiar with it."
Li Tang rode this old retro Harley for two turns. It was much more powerful than his Fortune 90. When he turned the accelerator slightly, the car jumped forward, and the operation was also very flexible.
"Li Tang, don't be too skilled, Ma Da is a beginner."
Lou Ye came out of nowhere, stood aside and watched for a while, then waved and called Li Tang over to take care of him.
"Director, where are the lines?"
When he was working seriously, he no longer called him Brother Ye, but the two scripts he was given yesterday didn't even have a single line.
"There are no lines, you can play it your own way."
"Uh...okay."
The first day of filming was not smooth. First of all, the extras were inexperienced and kept making mistakes, which kept the assistant director Yao Anlian busy.
After finally getting the group performance under control, Lou Ye started to mess around.
His shooting method is very strange. Most people will not be at the scene, but will hide in the corner and stare at a small monitor. He would not stop or give any guidance to the actors. After every filming, he would always say: "Okay, very good." Then he would politely say: "Can you do it again?"
What he wanted to do again was not to ask Li Tang to perform it again, but to see if there were other possibilities.
It stands to reason that acting like this would be very enjoyable for actors. It can be done once, twice, or even six or seven times. But when a scene often needs to be shot ten or twenty times, no one can stand it, and there may even be Self-doubt.
Moreover, during the filming process, he would constantly adjust the camera position temporarily, shoot on location, go to the bridge to shoot, and even set up the camera to the other side to shoot.
It took two full days of filming to finally finish the scene.
The next few days were all performed by Li Tang alone, without lines or scripts. He was just asked to drive on a motorcycle on the road. Photographer Wang Yu would either follow him in the car or hide in a house on the roadside. Lie down at the window and take pictures.
Then he was asked to walk around in a messy room, with the curtains drawn, the lights dimmed, and a Hong Kong gunfight movie always playing on the TV.
Although there is no script, after this period of filming, Li Tang roughly figured out the character of Ma Da. This is a young man with a low cultural level who is struggling at the bottom of society. He is selfish, confused, and indifferent.
Especially confused, with no glimmer of hope in sight. In order to make a living, he could only drive the motorcycle he bought with all his money and rush around in this dreamless city all day long.
Today, we need to shoot a scene of getting up and washing up. Because the venue is small and several people are crowded into a cramped space, it is rare for Lou Ye to stand and watch.
Before filming started, Li Tang couldn't help but ask: "Director, do you have any requirements?"
When filming "Shanghai Chronicle", the preparation work is always very tedious. There are lighting and positioning. There are regulations for all aspects, but here there is nothing.
Lou Ye shook his head and said, "No, you can act whatever you want..."
Then, he pointed at the camera and said, "He will always follow you."
Sure enough, Li Tang glanced sympathetically at Wang Yu, who was carrying the camera.
This kind of shooting method without moving, so that the actors do not need to consider the lens, is very challenging and very hard for the photographer.
Li Tang once asked Wang Yu privately, but the guy said with a simple and honest smile: "This is Lou Ye's style. I'm used to it."
…
"The sixteenth scene of "Suzhou River" was shot for the first time, snap!"
"start!"
Li Tang was wearing a white undershirt, stretched out, got up from the sofa, and walked to the bathroom in his slippers.
Wang Yu followed behind carrying the machine, and the camera shook, filming his back all the way.
Walking to the mirror, Li Tang appeared in the mirror, with a clean face and messy short rustic hair.
The whole person has a paralyzed face, and there is no expression in the eyes. Even when looking in the mirror, it seems that he cannot see himself in it.
Just like that, wash your face, brush your teeth, and dry your face.
"Stop! Okay, very good!"
Lou Ye shouted stop.
Li Tang and Wang Yu both stood motionless, but did not hear his voice shouting "One more time".
Looking back, I saw him sitting in front of the monitor, staring at the screen thoughtfully.
Li Tang was surprised and walked over and said, "Director, let me have a look."
The monitor was very small, and Li Tang usually wouldn't take the initiative to get close to it. Today was really unexpected. Did one pass?
It is said that people are cheap, and after being tortured by Lou Ye for so long, he couldn't believe that he could get away with it.
Lou Ye blocked the monitor and said, "Stop looking."
"Why?"
He was stunned, but he didn't even show the actor the replay.
Lou Ye smiled: "Don't be stressed, keep it fresh."
After a short pause, he added, "Let's have another one."
Haha, sure enough.
