This director needs to apologize

Chapter 109: The outsider
Facts have proved that Chen Yiming's estimate of the progress is still too optimistic.

It only took one day to install and debug the equipment, which improved the progress a bit. However, new problems continued to arise during the test shooting, and the two days reserved were completely insufficient.

One subtraction and one addition, it finally took five days to complete all preparations before the actual shooting.

The first thing to bear the brunt is to draw wire. Because it is a continuous long shot, the coercion must be drawn from beginning to end.

Lu Ping set up the steel cable and tried it on the spot, only to find that the distance was too long and the movement path was limited, which made it difficult to shoot and completely failed to meet the camera movement requirements of the shooting plan.

Mr. Sang proposed to lay tracks on the outside of the mound and board the camera truck.

The problem is that this place is already deep in the mountains, and it is also very far from the construction road northwest of Tianma Mountain. It is completely unrealistic to open a road to get here.

Finally, Lu Ping, who participated in the construction of the artillery position, came up with a way to open a road on the east side of the mound to connect the field road where the artillery vehicles entered the site. In this way, he only needed to climb a gentle slope more than 100 meters high and build a section of less than 1 kilometer. Long sidewalk.

At the same time, the camera truck also had to be modified. The fire truck was too wide and heavy, and the cannon barrel could not be used in the bushes.

After several experiments, I chose a 7-seater van, removed the body shell, and installed a photography gimbal, which barely met the shooting needs.

On the third day of tossing, the camera truck was finally in place, but something went wrong again as soon as it was turned on.

The roar of the vehicle starting up was extremely obvious during the intervals between shelling and could not be covered up at all.

In order to reflect the ultimate contrast between hustle and bustle and stealth, there is no dialogue between the two messengers in this section, and the post-production sound effects will further amplify the subtle sounds of the two people crawling.

Now the background sound of the car engine is mixed in, and the quiet atmosphere is completely ruined.

I thought I could save myself the trouble of laying tracks, but after going round and round, I still couldn't save it.

It took another day to lay the track, dismantle the van into eight pieces, remove the tires, leaving only the chassis, and put it directly on the track for people to push it.

Chen Yiming simply stopped trying to save trouble. After laying the track, he moved the green plants back, completely eliminating the risk of crossing and allowing the camera to have a 360-degree omnidirectional viewing angle.

There were also periods of wind and rain that did not meet the construction requirements. The first actual shooting of this scene was delayed again and again, until April.

Chen Yiming was also a little anxious. He only filmed two scenes in March. At this rate, would it really take more than half a year to film?
The artillery battalion has been stationed in the field for more than 10 days, and this scene really cannot be delayed any longer.

It's a pity that God doesn't make things easier, and it's useless no matter how anxious the crew is.

At the beginning of April, it rained for two consecutive days, and the artillery emplacements turned into big mud ponds.

Lieutenant Colonel Yang bluntly said that if the rain continued, he would have to pull the artillery back to the station.

After all, it is a main product for foreign trade, so leaving it in the wild will cause big problems.

If the artillery really moves, pulls it back, and resets it, another two days will be wasted.

Everyone was stuck in the camp with nothing to do. Xiaomei and Xiangrui took the lead in engaging in feudal superstition activities. They printed out a stack of gods from all over the world and hung them in a long row to worship them one by one, just praying that it would not rain again tomorrow.

Chen Yiming went over and took a look. In the middle, the second master Guan was on the left and right of Jesus, Confucius. Next to Confucius was Jiang Ziya, who was fishing, and on the left of Jesus was the Kitchen God. It was a post-modern mix and match style.

There was no incense available in the residence for a while, and all the food was provided, including tobacco, wine, melons, fruits, chicken, duck, and fish.

Everyone worshiped and ate at the same time, and those who were in front of them were offered to others after they finished eating. The laughter and laughter greatly relieved the anxiety that pervaded the entire crew.

It finally stopped raining on the third day, but it didn't get sunny either. God was like an unhappy child, with a gloomy face as if he would burst into tears the next moment.

Chen Yiming couldn't care less, so he immediately ordered to set off and go to the scene to take a look first.

When the crew arrived, the soldiers from the closer artillery battalion were already in place and were removing water and repairing the position.

Without any instructions, everyone immediately started cleaning the track, installing and debugging the camera car, and started rehearsing immediately.

The ground is not dry yet, and you will immediately be covered in mud when you lie on the ground, so it will definitely not be possible to take actual pictures today.

"ACTION", Xiangrui gave the order, and Duan and Liu fell to the ground without hesitation, ignoring the mud on their bodies and faces, and crawled sideways at the bottom of the mound one after another.

Sang Ping's assistant operated the control keyboard, and the photography platform stretched into mid-air pulled the camera. The lens vertically downwards covered the duo directly below.

Every 15 seconds, An Xiaofeng played the pre-recorded audio of the bombardment, and the two people lying on the ground increased their movements accordingly. When the sound of the gunfire ended, they returned to a slow-moving rhythm.

After the first climb, the two stood up. The good guys were all turned into mud monkeys, and there was no clean spot on their bodies.

Chen Yiming was also unambiguous. He did not stay behind the monitor to supervise the work. Instead, he followed the two actors and tested the movement route on the spot.

I really found a few bugs, which are not the fault of the actors, but insufficient natural shielding, which makes the actors’ movements awkward.

But making a movie is not a real war. Chen Yiming can be artificially buffed.

He, two photographers, plus Lin Xiao, the four of them put forward their requirements, and Lu Ping and Yang Xiaoguang modified the scenery accordingly. The theme was still "tree planting".

After 2 hours, the transformation was initially completed.Duan and Liu got down and crawled again, and the major bugs were basically gone.

After lunch, I continued for the third time, this time picking out details one by one.

This time, the speed is not that fast. After all, remote control of the camera has limitations compared to the photographer's manual operation.

For example, Paul's specialty is shaking the camera, which can cover up loopholes, speed up the pace, and create changes.

But once the control keyboard is used, the lens cannot be moved, and the camera's own movement speed cannot meet the requirements.

In this way, the requirements for actors will be much higher.

The vertical camera position directly above made it impossible for Duan and Liu to grasp the position of the camera, and they were unable to adjust their speed and posture with the camera.

They can only memorize by rote and turn the whole process of movement into a mechanical memory engraved in their minds.

The actor himself is in a rhythm that is fast and slow, and now he has to actively cooperate with the changing needs of the camera. His memory is slightly blurred, and he turns around half a beat later, which does not match the shot above his head.

In addition, Lao Duan is a crazy actor who keeps coming up with new ideas. As he increasingly assumes the role of the big brother, he will improvise some interactive plots outside of the script during the performance.

In his words, at that moment he experienced it, and he just did it, completely unable to help himself.

The result of uncontrollable emotions is often a little better than the original version.

What can Chen Yiming do? Of course he chooses to forgive him.

As a result, the filming plan progressed even more slowly. After each rehearsal, after N old problems were solved, N new problems would appear.

As the problems are solved and reduced one by one, the whole scene becomes smoother and smoother, the rhythm becomes stronger and stronger, and the two actors under the camera make the audience more and more immersed in the scene.

From this, Chen Yiming gained some insights into filmmaking.

He increasingly believes that the camera and the actors should be one, and neither should be prioritized or biased.

The camera is not only a recorder, but also a participant.Even if it is not a long-shot movie like "1951", it should still conform to and follow this rule.

In his previous life, he was completely unaware of these insights when he was sitting in the director's chair and filming soap operas with fixed camera positions.

He couldn't help but extend it further and think about how he, as a director, should view his relationship with actors and photography.
The duo and Paul a few days ago were the duo and Master Sang Ping today. They were a natural pair who were in perfect harmony and inseparable.

So at this moment, how should the director's position be placed?
A matchmaker?The newlyweds paid homage and the matchmaker threw them over the wall!

Rude parent?If you don't like it, beat the mandarin duck with a stick!

Chen Yiming stood aside and thought wildly. Lin Xiao, who was also relatively leisurely, didn't hear Chen Yiming speak for a long time. When he looked back, he found that the other person was in a daze.

He poked Chen Yiming in the waist and said, "Director, what are you thinking about? Are you going to change the play again?"

Chen Yiming suddenly woke up and asked reflexively, "Ah? Did Lao Duan change the play again?"

Lin Xiao held his forehead and was speechless, one or two of them were worried.

"Did you hear what I said? You are in a state of confusion!"

Chen Yiming put his thoughts back together and was stunned for a moment before replying, "Brother Lin, tell me if a movie has its own personality and soul. We outsiders may be able to influence it, but in the end we cannot change its essence." ."

Lin Xiao touched Chen Yiming's head, "You don't have a fever, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Chen Yiming raised his head and shook off Lin Xiao's hand, "Damn it, you didn't even wipe your hands clean, you threw all the mud on my face."

Pulling a tissue to wipe his face, Chen Yiming continued, "That's right. I feel that the further I go, the less sure I am about the direction of the movie. I always feel like I am no longer the driver, but a passenger in the car."

Lin Xiao said disapprovingly, "Isn't that a matter of course?
You wrote the script and you drew the storyboards, that’s all correct.But once the shooting starts, the movie is no longer yours alone. Me, Teacher Sang, Paul, Lao Duan, and even every staff member involved in the shooting will add their own ideas and creations to it.

If the movie is still what you imagined, that is our tragedy. It means that all the rice we have eaten for decades has been in vain. There is no difference at all with or without us! "

Chen Yiming was embarrassed to express his sudden "outsider" feeling in his heart, and sighed covertly, "No wonder there is a saying in the circle about dog-lead directors. As long as a group of elite soldiers and generals are recruited to help, directors can indeed do anything."

Lin Xiao was slightly surprised and stared at him with squinted eyes, which made Chen Yiming upset.

After a long time, Lin Xiao turned around and said casually, "The old people in the factory say that I care more about outside work than my own. In fact, what they said is not accurate enough. I never distinguish between internal and external work. It just depends on whether I like it or not.

If you want me to like you, you only need to meet two things. "

Lin Xiao turned his back to Chen Yiming and stretched out two fingers and shook it, "First, you have to make sure that I can do what I say and do what I say. Second, you can't just rely on me to do what I say. Do you understand what I mean?"

(End of this chapter)