This director needs to apologize

Chapter 138: Playing tricks for fun

In the woods that were once again quiet, Mu Xiaolin was in front and Qin Zhiliang was behind. There was a safe distance of 3 meters between the two of them, heading north along a valley.

The nurse sister didn't notice that Mr. Li was in a state of nervousness for a long time, and his hands resting on the armrest were always relaxed, so she gradually focused more on the movie.

The two people walked forward in silence. It was clear that there was no communication at all, and the young man at the head did not turn around to speak. However, the aura formed by the two of them spread out, allowing the nurse to clearly feel the inner peace of the two.

The firm pace of the older staff officer, and the small movements of the young recruit were magnified by contrast. The occasional hesitation, shrugging of shoulders, and shaking of the head all showed that he did have something to say in his heart, but he was restrained by himself.

The nurse became obsessed with observing the back of the hesitant young man. However, the camera and the staff did not cooperate very well. They often panned away or blocked the scene at critical moments, causing her gaze to be interrupted repeatedly.

She herself didn't realize that this was a nearly 3-minute long shot with no dialogue, lack of action, a single rhythm, and consistent steps, just walking.

And she didn't feel dull or distracted.

This section of the camera movement embodies Sang Ping's 30 years of skill. Chen Yiming said that he couldn't stand it, and Paul was also willing to lose.

No matter how skilled the photographer is, there must be something to shoot. There must be a center of gravity and an object in the shot. A single empty shot will only make things appear, and the audience should be distracted or not.

Photographers are not afraid of rich content and drastic changes. Although the movement trajectory of such a lens is complex, it also has a large creative space. You can always pick out the satisfactory parts after taking several shots. Based on this, you can continuously optimize and improve. It is a good show.

The most difficult thing to shoot is that the content is single and unchanging. If a scene requires actors to remain still and not speak, and rely solely on micro-expressions to bring the audience into the scene, any actor will be confused when he first starts acting.

If the conditions were upgraded to a moving camera that only walks and does not talk, it would be the photographer's turn to have a big head.

It was only later that Xiangrui secretly told him that Chen Yiming learned that the two pairs of masters and apprentices had rehearsed the scene more than 40 times in private for this scene that was finished three times during the actual shooting.

Sang Ping took almost all the scenery along the way into consideration, how to make the camera movements logical, which micro-movements should be amplified, which micro-movements should be blocked, how much should be blocked, and what angle should be used. It was simply a matter of comparing the frames of the material. Dig out the details.

Sang Ping's apprentice also asked the master why he was so harsh on this paragraph. It was obviously just a transitional scene. If it hadn't been stretched for the sake of plot logic, the audience would probably not notice it.

Sang Ping's answer was that in the photography industry, technology, equipment, and equipment were advancing faster and faster. He had never thought of what Xiao Chen had done before.

He has saved half a lifetime of hard work, but the occasions where it is put to good use are becoming fewer and fewer. Which director nowadays would shoot such a plain film.

The next time he needs to exert all his strength, he may not be able to shoot anymore, so just pretend that he can still move and have a good time.

If Sang Ping knew the nurse's feelings at this moment, he would definitely be very pleased. Isn't the highest level of a photographer to show off his skills without disturbing the audience's normal viewing of the movie?

The best photographer is the one who makes his presence invisible to the audience.

Just when the nurse sister began to gradually notice the passage of time, the long silence was broken by the sound of gunshots like popping beans, and the unchanging rhythm suddenly sped up.

The nurse who was loyal to her duty immediately noticed the vigilance of Li Yucheng next to her, just like a lazy leopard that discovered its prey and immediately entered a hunting state.

She turned her head to look at Mr. Li and found that he looked like the driver getting out of the car at the beginning of the movie. His eyes were slightly narrowed, his facial muscles were tense, his hands were in fists, and his body was no longer close to the backrest, but was sitting upright. The board is straight.

The nurse's heart was lifted again. She no longer had the intention to watch the movie, and put most of her energy back on Mr. Li.

On the big screen, the two people lying on the ground were crawling forward. After the gunshots fell silent, there was the dull sound of "bang bang bang", getting closer and closer and deeper.

The two protagonists seemed to be suppressed by the dull sound of shelling, lying lower and lower, which also made their movements appear more clumsy.

Just when the nurse felt that she was about to be unable to bear the heavy pressure on her heart, the protagonist finally stopped and sat secretly behind a small earthbag. The head of the staff secretly peeked his head in to observe.

The next moment, the nurse was startled by the ferocious muzzle of the tank. The exclamations in the theater gathered together and made a lot of noise, which showed that the nurse was not the only one who was shocked.

Strangely, she found that Mr. Li's body relaxed again and his fists were loosened.

The nurse sister was completely confused. She was nervous when she should relax and relaxed when she should be nervous. Why did Political Commissar Li always do the opposite of others?

Watching the two protagonists using the cover of grass to sneak around under the eyes of tanks and machine guns, the nurse's heart was in her throat. Although she also knew that the protagonists would succeed, she could not help but be moved by the actions of the two protagonists. nervous.

Mr. Li next to him had already leaned his body against the back of the chair. Although the nurse felt that according to the previous rules, Political Commissar Li should have been touched by the spectacular scene of numerous gun barrels. Unfortunately, she guessed wrong again. Mr. Li remained calm and even had a smile on his face. gave a hint of smile.

The nurse was able to focus her attention on the big screen again. It was the first time since the movie started that she could appreciate the "looks" of the two protagonists without any worries.

The angle of view seemed to have never been so close, so close that she could clearly see the tender Adam's apple of the boy in the foreground, and the breathing that gradually became thicker and heavier made her heart beat.

Looking at it from this perspective, the two protagonists are very handsome.

Especially the staff officer who was farther away, with his tightened eyebrows and sharpened profile, just right in line with hers.What is this actor's name? Why have I never paid attention to him before?

"Hang bang bang", a continuous volley of artillery fire, the fire storm exploding in mid-air, showing the ultimate destructive power in slow motion.

There were exclamations in the screening hall. The nurse sister noticed that many audience members in the rows in front of her were sitting upright and whispering to each other.

"Holy shit, it feels so good!"

"Good guy, this muzzle wind is about to catch up with the atomic bomb, it will split into a small mushroom cloud."

"Is this a stunt? Is there such a big movement in real life?"

"Nonsense, it can only be bigger than this, not smaller than this. Do you think the God of War is joking?"

"Just for this shot, I have to take a second look at this film. I was counting the gun barrels just now, but I didn't even see the whole scene."

The nurse turned her head to look at Political Commissar Li again, still looking unmoved, obviously not caring about this shot.

Political Commissar Li's thinking was completely confusing to her. Could it be that he had seen bigger battles than this before he retired?

But considering his deputy division level, it makes sense.

She is a girl after all. The nurse herself was only slightly shocked by this scene of heavy artillery firing. After watching it, she said "Wow" and passed over it.

As a girl, Mitu's feelings were similar to those of a nurse. She was more interested in the camerawork and composition of this scene than the visual spectacle of 18 mushroom clouds.

In the foreground is the protagonist crawling and dripping with sweat, and in the distant view is the apocalypse where smoke and dust cover the sun and flames fill the sky. She feels that she is watching a series of postmodernist paintings.

Looking at the close-up shots, every freeze-frame of the two protagonists crawling firmly is a romantic picture worth chewing over and over again.

Looking at the distant view, every salvo of artillery fire will split the dispersed smoke and dust again, just like the anger of the Demon King of Destruction outside the portal, roaring angrily at the insects escaping from him.

Mitu couldn't help but think of that "old friend" who knew both sides of the story. It was indeed because of the name Chen Yiming that he paid special attention to a movie with the main theme.

At the same time, she mobilized the power of many group friends and made many favors, and was able to grab movie tickets for the first test screening.

Now it seems that her "old friend" did not disappoint her, and even far exceeded her original expectations.

When she first learned that "1951" was a war movie, she was actually quite worried.

Jumping from a love sketch to a war drama, this span can no longer be called an upgrade, it should be called heaven.

He looks so young, can he control it?

Now she has no worries at all, but the scene just now reflects the creator's confidence and eclecticism.

If the artillery launches with high camera angles, large panoramic views, and multiple angles in conventional war movies are only used as a background for the actors' movements, it will obviously be criticized by many directors as a waste of natural resources.

The two boys in front of her were complaining that the bombardment was always fixed at a very low angle. Wouldn't it be more spectacular to pull it into the air?

Mitu was not angry, and suddenly there was a hint of superiority and joy in her heart.

Old friend, do you know that not everyone has the discernment to appreciate this doomsday oil painting that you carefully conceived.

The song is high, but there are few people, and it is difficult to find a close friend in the high mountains.

I feel all your creative intentions. You don’t have to endure the loneliness of your creativity.

Mitu smiled and watched the two protagonists set off again with extreme relaxation and disappeared into the woods.

The deafening sound of the cannons gradually became inaudible. When Mu Xiaolin spoke again, his voice was as dry as a rusty bellows.

"Brother Qin, did those artillery fire hit the river bank behind Tianma Mountain?"

"That's right, there are two artillery battalions working in shifts, and the shelling is non-stop day and night. We passed one of them, and there was another one in the other direction."

Mu Xiaolin fell silent, and the two of them continued to move forward one after the other.

Qin Zhiliang raised his hand to look at his watch, then looked up at the sky, his eyebrows furrowed and his face stern.

After a while, Mu Xiaolin asked again, "Brother Qin, do you think the artillerymen on that position knew that the shells they fired killed many of us?"

Qin Zhiliang asked, "Of course they know, why do you ask this?"

Mu Xiaolin muttered in reply, "I'm not doing anything, I just feel uncomfortable."

Qin Zhiliang did not ask further questions, but looked around vigilantly, raising his hand to look at his watch from time to time.

Mu Xiaolin continued after a while, "When I was in the transportation group, an aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery. We were all mobilized to search for the pilot in the mountains. That was the first time I saw the enemy."

Qin Zhiliang's face was a little impatient and his lips moved, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Mu Xiaolin continued, "As soon as we escorted the pilot into the station, the big-nosed man with golden hair was surrounded by a company commander from the anti-aircraft artillery regiment and his men, who said they would kill him to pay for his debt.

The squad leader had long told me that the People's Army treated prisoners preferentially. The company commander just pushed the pilot a few times and was put in solitary confinement after hearing that.

At that time, I felt that the anti-aircraft artillery company commander should not violate discipline, but I don’t think so now. Blood debt must be paid with blood, and it is a matter of course. "

Qin Zhiliang shouted, "Mu Xiaolin! Stand at attention!"

Mu Xiaolin stood still reflexively and turned his head to look over at a loss.

Qin Zhiliang continued to reprimand in a low voice, "Did I say turn back? Squat down!"

Mu Xiaolin squatted down in confusion. Qin Zhiliang walked over and squatted next to him, speaking in a low voice.

"We are soldiers, not killers. We must pay blood debts with blood? Is this how your squad leader gives you a political education?

Think about Company Commander Zhang, who took the initiative to expose the machine gun and exposed the position to another round of incendiary bombs.

Is he trying to avenge his comrades?He's trying to cover us crossing the river! "

Qin Zhiliang patted Mu Xiaolin on the shoulder, softened his tone and said, "Mu Mu, we are here to protect our hometown and relatives behind us, not to kill the enemy and perform meritorious service, nor to seek revenge.

Blood and sacrifice are the price of protection and the duty of soldiers.

Don't resent your enemies, they don't deserve it, it will blind you. "

Mu Xiaolin nodded blankly. Qin Zhiliang breathed a long sigh of relief, stood up and said, "Speed ​​up, we don't have much time."

After hearing this, Mitu was stunned like Mu Xiaolin on the big screen.

At this moment, she realized belatedly that this was a main theme movie that required a distinct attitude and stance.

Before this, the movie had always avoided preaching or indoctrination. Even if Mittu knew that a political commissar had appeared in the command post, his lines were very restrained and neutral.

Until faced with Mu Xiaolin's "awakening", Qin Zhiliang turned into a political commissar and said something that could be regarded as ideological.

It's just that the attitude displayed by the staff officer didn't seem to be the main theme, at least it was not completely consistent with the main theme she imagined.

Based on her film memories, past Chinese films based on the Peninsular War have never conveyed such a "humane" attitude.

Don't resent your enemies, they don't deserve it!

Mitu was deeply touched by this sentence because it contained a strong spiritual confidence.

Believe that the goal is unshakable, believe that victory will eventually come, and believe that sacrifice will eventually pay off.

She couldn't help but think of the classic slogan about the Peninsular War, "Resist X, Aid Y, Defend the Home and the Country."

At this moment, she had a new understanding of these eight words, and a new understanding of those "loveliest people" who ended up in their prime.

They go there to protect their hometown and relatives behind them.It is not to kill the enemy and make meritorious service, nor to seek revenge.

In the screening room, the sound of small discussions that were still excited about the previous bombardment had completely disappeared.

The two protagonists got up and set off, still marching silently.

The quiet atmosphere seemed to penetrate the big screen, extending and stretching in the screening room until it was like a thin transparent blanket, covering every audience member.

Mitu felt that this atmosphere was very comfortable, and she seemed to be able to feel that Mu Xiaolin's light steps reflected his inner mood.

Although she was still marching in a orderly manner, she had the agility of a little bunny hopping.

Mitu watched him jump, jump, jump out of the woods, jump out of the grass, and jump into a hollow where the soil was freshly turned up.

The next moment, a bullet hole appeared on the parapet next to Mu Xiaolin's head, and a splash of soil hit his face.

At the same time, there was a dull gunshot.

"Lie down!" Qin Zhiliang reacted quickly. While squatting down, he did not forget to order Mu Xiaolin to hide.

While the two were still in shock, a camouflaged figure wearing a straw collar flashed out of the traffic trench on the side of the pit, followed by two other similarly dressed soldiers from their side.

Mitu looked shocked. After a long period of time, a new character finally appeared.

Compared to Mitu, Li Weiwei was even more excited because he realized that the next step would be the long-awaited battle scene.

After watching the movie so far, Li Weiwei thinks highly of this movie. The creativity is novel enough, the performances are strong, and there are many big scenes. If there is a flaw, it is that it has not been able to refute the criticism.

A film about contact without contact will always taste a little weird.

Obviously, the protagonist group encountered enemy snipers, and at the same time, they were lucky enough to encounter their own reconnaissance team.

On the big screen, Qin Zhiliang communicated information with the investigation team leader, and Mu Xiaolin exchanged tokens with the investigation team members. The atmosphere was quite harmonious and beautiful.

Li Weiwei knew that this was just the tranquility before the war. Didn't he see that the team leader was arranging offensive tactics? There should be another team member outside the camera who had already lurked in the offensive position.

The military fan genes hidden in his body were suddenly mobilized. Li Weiwei observed the terrain in the movie, compared with the team leader's tactical layout, and already had a rough personnel location map in his mind.

One person suppresses fire, one person moves around to contain the enemy, one person approaches to launch grenades, and the team leader is responsible for precise shooting.

Li Weiwei was almost moved to tears. Finally, a domestic film came up with the idea of ​​recreating the "three-three system" of our army.

It is not a sea of ​​​​people charge, nor a desperate charge, but a real infantry attack with division of labor, coordination, and tactics that embodies the pinnacle of light infantry.

However, Li Weiwei was too happy too early. It’s not like previous war films didn’t have war history consultants. Don’t they know about the “three-three system”?Other factories don’t know if it’s possible, but does the Bayi factory still know?

The reason for not filming the "Three-Three System" is simple: the people were too spread out and the picture was too spacey to look good.

What Bayi Factory can't do, Chen Yiming can't do either, and time travel doesn't bring much bonus in this regard.

Therefore, Li Weiyi's long-awaited battle scene only lasted only half a minute.

"Beep", this is the team leader's whistle.

"Da da da", this is the fireman's suppression submachine gun.

"Bang, bang, bang," this is the diversionary fire of the flanking rifleman.

"Bang", this is the leader's big eight pills firing.

"Boom", followed by the explosion of the grenade thrown by the grenadier hitting the ground.

The team leader jumped out of the gun position with a rifle in hand, and the staff rushed forward and lay on the parapet, giving the audience a wider perspective.

Li Weiwei could see the team leader looming high among the mounds. In front of him, the grenadier had already rushed into a gun emplacement. The scouts on the side were approaching from another direction. No firepower could be seen in the field of vision. Traces of hands.

At this moment, there was a "bang" gunshot, and the figure of the scout on the side disappeared.

Li Weiwei was shocked, and then felt pain again.

The team leader reacted very quickly by standing up, twisting his waist, setting up his gun, and firing. While emptying the magazine as fast as he could, he shouted "Ryoko, Ryoko" repeatedly.

"Ding", the empty magazine of the Garand rifle popped out of the magazine. The team leader who received no response did not hesitate to call the other two team members to retreat.

The team leader jumped back to the artillery position and said to the staff, "I'm not sure whether I killed the observer. The artillery fire is coming soon. We have to retreat immediately."

We will retreat to the southeast later. You two wait for the shells to land before setting off. Go south into the woods and follow the valley to the east slope of Tianma Mountain.

Run as fast as you can, this area has been marked, and the enemy's artillery fire will spread very quickly.

Those who guard Tianma Mountain are all good, you must bring them down. "

The three-person investigation team ran away quickly, as if to prove the authenticity of the team leader's judgment. A moment later, the scream of artillery shells was heard in the air, and the falling mortar shells brought up large clouds of smoke.

Li Weiwei was shocked to find that the battle drama he was looking forward to ended like this.

Just like the cowboy showdown in a Hollywood western, the gunshots sound and the winner is determined.

The enemy and we exchanged lives with each other, but in the end the opponent with more fierce firepower gained the upper hand.

Did it turn out that the seniors won the war under such a bad situation?

The two protagonists followed the instructions of the reconnaissance team leader and set off after the bombardment started.

From time to time, the staff officer looked back at the fire line extending to the southeast, and the smoke rising higher and higher, reminding the audience of the dangerous situation of the investigation team.

The team leader once again anticipated the enemy's reaction, and sporadic shells began to fall behind the protagonists. The staff officer ran and shouted, "Speed ​​up, this is a school shooting."

Soon, the smoke rising behind the two people connected into one, and the explosions became denser and denser, driving the smoke closer and closer.

Li Weiwei had previously praised the authenticity of the film. The ever-present sound of shelling perfectly restored the extravagant firepower equipment used in the Peninsular War.

At this moment, he only felt disgusted with this.

As if he knew what he was thinking, just when the two were about to leave the grass and enter the woods, the staff officer who was behind them suddenly paused and stopped moving.

Mu Xiaolin, the leader, plunged into the woods without any distractions. Only when he turned around did he realize something was wrong, and immediately rushed out of the woods and ran towards the staff officer.

From the moment the staff freezes, the camera changes from the swaying style, and the staff and the staff remain motionless, watching Mu Xiaolin's back go away, and then watching Mu Xiaolin turn around and return.

As a senior military fan, Li Weiwei immediately realized something, and the subsequent shouting from his staff confirmed his conjecture, although he did not want to see his conjecture come true.

"Don't come close, leave me alone, turn around and run, remember our mission."

Li Weiwei shouted in his heart, the camera is about to pan, why don't it stop panning? Wasn't it panning quite happily before?

However, the camera ignored Li Weiyi's thoughts. It was firmly fixed behind the staff officer's shoulder, not giving Li Weiyi a chance to look at the staff officer again.

Just a slight tremor told Li Weiwei that the shell was approaching step by step.

At the edge of the forest in the distance, the camera focused on Mu Xiaolin's figure.

He was trying to move forward, but his body seemed to be restrained by something, and his right foot was struggling to land.

Finally, its right foot landed firmly on the ground, its left heels came together to stand at attention, and its right hand was raised in salute.

The foreground's shoulders straighten suddenly, and he raises his right hand in a mirror-image salute.

The camera finally moved, but it wasn't the only movement trajectory that Li expected. It penetrated from the triangle formed by the shoulders and arms, and quickly jumped to a close-up of Mu Xiaolin.

What a painfully twisted face this is.

It can be seen that its owner is trying his best to maintain a military appearance, but the facial muscles are not controlled by subjective thoughts.

They twitched violently, trembled, struggled, resisted, and finally collapsed completely, covered with tears and snot gushing out.

Mu Xiaolin closed his eyes, opened them suddenly, turned back in a standard manner, and rushed into the woods again.

The camera followed Mu Xiaolin's back and gradually moved away, but after all, it still didn't pan back as Li Weiyi wanted.

Palais des Festivals, Cannes, Debussy Screening Room.

Pollack smiled and shook his head, writing down in his notebook, "The art of blank space, the cunning director."

He has been looking forward to seeing the growth arc of the first protagonist, and also guessing how the second protagonist will end and leave.

As a result, part of it satisfied expectations, part of it was a pleasant experience, part of it was unfinished, and part of it was laughable.

He noticed an extremely personal characteristic of Chen Yiming, which is to play with extremes based on a balanced look and feel.

For example, there is an opponent that has never appeared from the beginning of the movie to now.

For example, one Taoist person after another has a cat-like personality and will never die in front of others.

Once or twice is accidental, and continuous accidental nature is inevitable.

Obviously this is a deliberate design by the director, just like a naughty child stubbornly asking his parents to accompany him to play boring games all the time.

It's just that Pollack wasn't disgusted.

Because the growth of the first protagonist is in line with Pollack's psychological expectations and does not make him feel repetitive or boring.

Different from ordinary viewers, Pollack's eyes always follow Mu Xiaolin, who is in a secondary position in the camera, whether it is a big scene where all the guns are firing or a battle scene where snipers show off.

So he collected enough clues and connected them into lines, depicting the hidden trajectory of Mu Xiaolin's growth.

Witnessing the shocking scene of heavy artillery bombardment with his own eyes and the real concrete image of enemy artillery finally equated with the sacrifice that he had heard and heard, and the young man's mind experienced the first change.

After being given a slap in the face by his advisor, he reversed his narrow-minded thinking of revenge, regained his pure original intention, and returned to his cheerful nature. This was his second transformation.

The friends he had just met during the sniper battle were facing death the next moment. Pollack thought this would be the third change.

However, he was tricked by the director, and the plot suddenly took a turn for the worse. Crisis came one after another, and the young man had no time to change.

The staff officer stepped on the mine and took a final call at the speed of light, leaving only a word and a military salute. Friends and mentors left one after another, and the two transformations merged into one.

As for the final episode of the second protagonist, Pollack had already determined it to be the highlight of the film based on drama theory, but the director actually left it blank here.

Abnormally, Pollack carefully sorted out his inner feelings and found that he did not have any negative emotions. In other words, he was completely able to accept the end of the staff like this.

That's why he felt unfinished and dumbfounded. Generally speaking, how the second protagonist in a road movie ends the scene is a very critical issue.

Everyone knows that the first protagonist’s character arc needs a catalyst, which can only be provided by the second protagonist. How to make this fixed routine innovative is a test of the director’s skill.

What Pollack didn't expect was that Chen Yiming was slippery on this key issue. With the willful capital of one shot, he forcibly shifted the perspective from the second protagonist to the first protagonist.

However, Pollack had to admit that this approach made logical sense.

Because the first half of the movie has done a lot of preparation for this moment, such as the stern character creation of the staff and the dull boy, the overall style of concise dialogue, and the consistent hidden fate of the supporting characters.

Now that the young man has the foundation for transformation, what he lacks is an appropriate opportunity.

Pollack watched with interest the back of the young man walking blankly on the big screen, guessing how Chen Yiming would "torture" him next.

　This paragraph is a bit delayed. I originally wanted to finish it in one go, but I couldn’t finish it until late at night. I will finish it tomorrow.

　　Thank you book friends for your support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)