Acting school started in 1998

Chapter 19 The director does not take the usual path

Shabby, too shabby.

There is no crane, no dolly, not even a tripod, and the only camera is [-]mm.

Having just finished filming "Shanghai Chronicle", Li Tang, who has seen the big scene of Shanghai Film Studio, came to the set on the first day, and his mood was really mixed.

He leaned on the flood control wall beside the Suzhou River, looking at the former mother river of Shanghai, which was dark green and black, with all kinds of rotten and strange garbage floating on the water, and the transport boats on the river were still flowing.

Why is it called the former mother river?

The Suzhou Creek, which runs through the entire urban area, has always been known as the mother river of Shanghai, but since it turned black and smelly, Shanghai's mother river has naturally become the Huangpu River outside.

Looking to the east, under the Waibaidu Bridge in the distance, at the confluence of Suzhou Creek and Huangpu River, black and yellow waters are clearly separated.

The slogan of harnessing Suzhou Creek has been shouted for many years, but now it seems that it has achieved little effect. However, some polluting enterprises along the coast have gradually closed down and relocated in recent years.

For example, today's shooting site is next to a demolition site. The houses on the bank are almost demolished, leaving the skeleton of a lonely steel structure building.

He didn't get two pages of the script from Lou Ye until yesterday, and only then did he know that the character he was going to play was called Ma Da, a young man who had dropped out of middle school, and was hanging out with a few friends by the Suzhou River every day, doing nothing.

Cantonese call these people rotten boys, northerners call them gangsters, and Shanghainese call them scumbags.

One day, one of the little bums rode a stolen motorcycle, and Da Da fell in love with him immediately. He rode the motorcycle and galloped in the wind. At this moment, he finally showed a long-lost unrestrained smile.

The population of the crew is very simple, and there are only about twenty people in total.Lou Ye didn't know where to hide, Zhou Xun didn't come, the artist was graffiti on a half-destroyed wall, the props were tinkering with a tricycle, and the photographer named Wang Yu was carrying the [-]mm camera to scan Looking at the river, it is estimated that I am shooting some material.

Not far away, there are seven or eight young ensemble performers with messy hair. They all want to play Ma Da’s little partner. At this time, as the producer, Naian is personally lecturing the play to them.

Li Tang felt amazing watching this scene. Although it was only a grass-roots team, everyone knew what they should do and were working in an orderly manner.

"Suddenly..."

There was a sound of a motor, and a motorcycle came from a distance and stopped in front of Li Tang.

"Hey, Harley, a popular model in the 70s! Director Yao, where did you get it?"

This motorcycle is very old, but its domineering 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, and he said with a smile: "This is from a friend of mine. Yi's relatives brought it over from the United States more than ten years ago. At that time, it was definitely a model!"

Yao Anlian is a well-known non-famous actor in Shanghai. Because he looks like an old artist from Shanghai Film Studio, he often appears as a villain and a small citizen in some film and television dramas and TV programs.

However, he is not from a professional background. He was an amateur drama actor at first, and now he is a self-employed actor who also works as an assistant director and producer.

He is an authentic Shanghai local snake, with a familiar face and a good personality. At first, Naian 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 act, what matters is the opportunity to perform.

Li Tang likes motorcycles very much. He circled around the car and said, "It's still an old Zhatai type, how about it?"

"It's fine, the sound of the engine is smooth, but it looks a bit old after a long time."

"Then let me try riding?"

"This is a prop in itself, you ride it, you are familiar with it."

Li Tang rode this old and retro Harley for two laps. The power was much stronger than that of his Happiness 90. With a slight turn of the accelerator, the car would jump forward, and the handling was also very flexible.

"Li Tang, don't be too proficient, Ma Da is a beginner."

Lou Ye got out from nowhere, stood by and watched for a while, then beckoned Li Tang over to take care of him.

"Director, what about the lines?"

When he was at work, he no longer called Brother Ye, but the two scripts given yesterday didn't even have a single line.

"There are no lines, you can play it yourself."

"Uh... well."

The first day of filming was not smooth, firstly because the extras were inexperienced and kept making mistakes, which made assistant director Yao Anlian very busy.

After finally getting the extras trained, Lou Ye began to toss about.

His shooting method is very strange, most people will not be on the scene, but just hide in a corner and stare at a small monitor.He will not stop, nor will he give any instructions to the actors. Every time he finishes shooting, he always says: "Okay, very good." Then he will politely say: "Can I do it again?"

What he wants is to do it again, not to let Li Tang perform it again, but to see if there are other possibilities.

It stands to reason that this kind of acting would be very enjoyable for actors, one or two, or even six or seven times, but when a scene often needs to be shot more than ten or twenty times, no one can stand it, and there will even be self-doubt.

Moreover, during the shooting process, he would constantly adjust the camera position temporarily, shoot on the spot, shoot on the bridge, and even set up the camera to the opposite bank to shoot.

After two full days of filming, the scene was finally finished.

The next few days were Li Tang’s scenes alone, without lines or scripts, and he was asked to drive on the road on a motorcycle. The photographer Wang Yu either followed the film in the car or hid in a house on the side of the road. Lying on the window to shoot.

Then have him walk around in a messy room, with the curtains drawn, the lights dimmed, and a Hong Kong shootout constantly 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 education level struggling at the bottom of society, selfish, confused, and indifferent.

Especially confused, with no glimmer of hope in sight, in order to make a living, he can only drive this motorcycle that he bought with all his money, and run around in this dreamless city all day long.

This day, I was going to shoot a scene where the motor gets up and washes up. Because the venue is small, several people are crowded in a cramped space, and it is rare for Lou Ye to stand on the spot and watch.

Before the filming started, Li Tang couldn't help asking, "Director, do you have any requests?"

When filming "Shanghai Chronicle", the preparation work is always very cumbersome. There are regulations for lighting and positioning, but here there is nothing.

Lou Ye shook his head and said, "No, you can act whatever you want..."

As he spoke, he pointed to 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 no movement, so that the actors do not need to think about the way the camera is shot, is very challenging and very hard for the photographer.

Li Tang once asked Wang Yu in private, but this guy said with a simple and honest smile: "Lou Ye has this style, he is used to it."

……

""Suzhou Creek" No. 16 scene one scene for the first time, bang!"

"start!"

Li Tang wore a white undershirt, stretched his waist, got up from the sofa, and walked to the bathroom with his slippers on.

Wang Yu followed behind with the machine on his shoulders, and the camera shook, patting his back all the way.

Walking to the mirror, Li Tang in the mirror appeared in the lens, 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 can't see himself inside.

Just like that, wash your face, brush your teeth, and dry your face.

"Stop! Good, very good!"

Lou Ye shouted to stop.

Both Li Tang and Wang Yu stood still, but they didn't hear him shouting "One more time".

Looking back, I saw him sitting in front of the monitor, staring at the screen thoughtfully.

Li Tang was surprised, walked over and said, "Director, let me see."

The monitors are very small, and Li Tang usually doesn't take the initiative to go over them. Today is really unexpected. Could it be that one has passed?
It is said that people are cheap, and after being honed by Lou Ye for so long, he couldn't believe that he could pass alone.

Lou Ye stood in front of the monitor: "Don't watch."

"why?"

He was taken aback for a moment, but he still didn't show the replay to the actors.

Lou Ye smiled: "Don't stress, keep it fresh."

After a short pause, he said again: "Let's have another one."

Hehe, sure enough.

(End of this chapter)