This director needs to apologize

Chapter 86 Unwilling to give advice
Chen Yiming asked excitedly, "Uncle Cao, can you tell me in detail about your experience of returning to your hometown to visit relatives? I'll see if I can learn from it and give the actors more tips for their ideas."

Cao Bing's face was so wrinkled that it looked like old tree bark. He couldn't hold back a complete sentence even after mumbling for a long time. Finally, he spread his hands and said helplessly.

"I really can't tell what happened. I didn't even ask the kids in the village why they had to avoid me."

Chen Yiming tried his best to inspire, "What about adults, what do your peers and elders say about you? You haven't been back to your hometown for many years, so you always drop by to chat."

Cao Bing fell into "painful" memories again, and it took him a while to say anything useful.

"The war in the south was not over yet, so I didn't stay at home very long. I only had 7 days of leave on the way back and forth, and I stayed at home for 4 days.

What left a deep impression was the killing of the New Year pig on the 29th. Countless people I met on that day said a lot of things.

At that time, I just helped out with the work, tying pigs, lifting pigs, and dividing meat. Not only did I not say hello to my fellow villagers, I only talked more with Wan Butcher, who worked with me.

Lao Wan told me that seeing me unexpectedly when I entered the door made him feel as if he was seeing his master for the first time when he was a child.

He didn’t explain it, and I didn’t ask in detail, but his words were so strange that I always remembered them. "

Chen Yiming was stunned. A veteran who had just finished his military career and a greasy butcher. What did these two have in common?
One kills people and the other kills pigs, but both of them have the word "kill".

But this is not the same thing.

Speaking of killing pigs, it reminded him of a movie anecdote from his past life.

I heard that when director Ning was filming "No Man's Land", he felt that the criminals led by Bo Ge were too "delicate" and not "wild" enough, so he came up with a bad idea and sent them to the slaughterhouse to kill the pigs.

They were killed for ten and a half days from morning to night, and only after Bai Daozi entered and Red Daozi kept his eyes closed and his hands trembled, Bo Ge and the others were released.

Chen Yiming didn't really believe it at the time and felt that the film crew was hyping it up.

How could it be possible to kill a pig until he was filled with murderous intent? Although Chen Yiming grew up in the city, he had relatives in the countryside, and it was not like he had never seen a pig butcher before.

What's more, he also filmed "No Man's Land". The Bo Ge in it is indeed quite evil, but that is the superposition of acting, makeup and camera. How could he be the result of a butchered pig?

It was another key point in Political Commissar Cao's words that caught Chen Yiming's attention.

First, the half-year-old nephew cried when he saw him, then the children in the village walked around him, and finally even the butcher thought of his childhood when he saw him.

Those who were instinctively frightened when they saw Cao Bing were all children.

Adults either noticed but didn't care, or pretended not to care, or reacted but Cao Bing didn't care. Anyway, their sensitivity is not very high.

Does this mean that butchers and soldiers have something in common?

To put it bluntly, a soldier will not feel guilty when killing an enemy, and a butcher will feel at ease when killing a pig. They all naturally possess a certain degree of "justice".

The next problem is that the main audience of "1951" is not children, and it is not even suitable for minors to watch.

Even if Duan Yining and the others really show a state of "murderous intent", can the adult audience, who are more insensitive than children, really capture it accurately?
Will it be misinterpreted as being cold-hearted and unfriendly to colleagues?
Therefore, Lao Duan's acting cannot be performed from beginning to end, and can only be fleeting at critical moments.

That means that the murderous intention cannot be allowed to "overflow", but that it is completely controllable and can be released and contained.

Are the requirements too high for actors other than Lao Duan?
The next best thing is, if the software cannot reach the passing mark, can it be made up for by hardware, that is, lenses and makeup?
Huh?Isn't this the way of "No Man's Land"?
You are such a pig brain!
Chen Yiming patted his head. Director Ning might not be fooling him. Killing pigs might actually be useful!

He stood up and bowed to Commander Fan and Political Commissar Cao respectively, "Thank you, Uncle Fan, and Uncle Cao for your guidance."

After saying that, he turned around and ran out of the room.

Fan and Cao looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed in unison.

……

On the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, the day before the crew went on holiday, Chen Yiming asked Xiaomei to notify several core creatives in advance. Lin Xiao, Sang Ping, Xiangrui plus Duan, Hou, Shi, Mao and Er Zhang went to the conference room for a meeting.

Chen Yiming first played two pre-edited videos on the TV.

The first section includes the military parade in 84, documentary footage of several wars after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and several group photos of soldiers after the war.

The second section is a high-energy mix of war movies that have been the main theme since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the highlights are all selected.

The video is not long, and all of you here are industry insiders. Just watch the beginning and you can get the entire video in your mind. The two videos are just an introduction to today's meeting, and there is no need to cover everything.

Chen Yiming stood up and began to speak.

"Everyone, logically speaking, when the script has been finalized, I shouldn't make any major changes to the tone of the movie.

This is very unserious and something I have always opposed.

But Lao Duan's performance on the playground that day really shocked me greatly, prompting me to go back and review the "1951" project from the beginning.

My initial idea was to subtract from previous Chinese war films, reduce the propaganda color as much as possible, avoid ideological propaganda as much as possible, and strive to highlight the shooting technique of one shot to the end.

At that time, I was just a tailor. I would cut a section from China and a section from Hollywood, and then use some clever tricks to sew them together to complete a composition.

But I was actually a little reluctant in my heart, so I still did my best to complete the desk work that a director should do, such as visiting veterans.

The personal experiences of the veterans, especially the narration of the old hero Li Yucheng, changed my original intention of creation to a certain extent.Even though this movie was scheduled to compete in the three major European competitions at the beginning of planning, and hoped to obtain a certain overseas box office, I still believe that as the first Peninsula War-themed movie in the new millennium, "1951" has the obligation to explain this war. fundamental problem of war. "

Chen Yiming paused here and looked around the conference room before speaking word by word.

"How could the newly born China be able to withstand the overwhelming advantage of the coalition forces and stubbornly maintain the front line in the middle of the peninsula despite Mao's delay in lending a helping hand.

This is not only the awe of that period of history by a younger generation who is enjoying the success, but also involves the foothold of the entire movie.

We have created so many difficulties for the soldiers under the camera. If the characters themselves are superficial and are just tools to connect the plot, then there is no way to explain why they have to face the difficulties regardless of their own safety in a foreign country. "

In the conference room, there were all kinds of people with different reactions.

Xiangrui, who went abroad to study early, looked confused.

Lin Dashen, who is about the same mental age as Chen Yiming, looks serious.

Several actors with military backgrounds sit upright.

Zhang Yu, who is only two years older than Chen Yiming, has an expressionless face.

Mr. Sang Pingsang nodded happily.

Chen Yiming continued to explain his feelings, "Originally, my idea was to amplify the coalition's firepower advantage, reduce our army's numerical advantage, and portray the persistence of our soldiers in adversity and despair.

But when I re-examined my thinking, I found that this was not enough.

As for the second video clip just now, everyone must have seen the entire film. It’s not like this was not done before, and there were quite a lot of it, because it was originally a true war history.

In comparison, "1951" only occupies a gimmick of a nut army that only plays cannons but does not appear in the camera.

Does that make it more convincing?I'm afraid not. "

Chen Yiming looked at Duan Yining, who was sitting on his left, and nodded in greeting.

"Lao Duan's acting gave me a wake-up call.

Maybe the reason for the lack of persuasion is very simple and direct, that is, our soldiers are not shown to be strong enough! "

Xiangrui finally understood a little bit after hearing this and couldn't help but ask.

"Yi Ming, what kind of powerful method is this? Is it invulnerable like a magical drama?"

Mr. Sang was not led astray. He keenly grasped Chen Yiming's main idea.

"Xiao Chen, what I think you mean is that the writing and acting are too soft, which leads to the lack of persuasiveness when the enemy breaks out."

Chen Yiming nodded repeatedly, "Teacher Sang summed it up very well. Most of the literary and dramatic perspectives in war films are limited to our own side. This part is too soft and will inevitably neutralize the wildness and violence inherent in some soldiers.

Therefore, in the key passages showing the sacrifice of the enemy, it will give people a sudden impression. The first impression of the character is not that he upholds his own professionalism and thus "contempts death", but more like "embracing death" regardless of everything.

The former is understandable, because taking risky actions based on professional characteristics is a common human behavior, and the only difference lies in the size of the risk;
The latter is difficult to understand. In daily life, who would risk their lives for others?

And if we continue to create ideas in the past, the greater difficulty lies in the desensitization of the audience. The scenes in the movie have to become more and more harsh, the actors' actions become more and more like they are seeking death, and the sense of substitution is naturally getting worse and worse. "

Zhang Yi nodded in agreement and said, "What Director Chen said makes sense. The motivation for a desperate act really needs to be carefully scrutinized. The fearlessness of knowing that there are tigers in the mountains must be strictly distinguished from the senselessness of walking in the mountains with tigers."

Zhang Yu asked in a hoarse voice, "Does Director Chen mean to go in the direction of professional soldiers when constructing characters, emphasizing skills, experience and confidence?"

Hou Yong countered, "I disagree with Director Chen's statement. Treating comrades as warm as spring and treating enemies as harsh and ruthless as winter are the traditions of the people's army. Both should be given equal importance and cannot be biased.

If there are robot-like predators from beginning to end in the movie, that is pure militarism and fundamentally goes against the founding principles of our army. "

Lin Xiao, who had been silent until now, said in a deep voice, "Yi Ming, I understand your pursuit, but I don't agree with going to war.

I have no comment on the actors' performance, but I think that since the performance is part of the work, it must fit the overall tone of the movie.

As we all know, the background color of "1951" is very blue, the shooting technique is realistic, the emotional foreshadowing is soothing, and the perspective is single, so it lacks explosions and high dynasties. This is the first point that goes against the habits of Chinese audiences.

In terms of plot, silent retreat is the ultimate goal and the catharsis of victory in battle is missing. This is the second violation.

In terms of performance, only our soldiers were shot and killed, the enemy soldiers could not even see their shadows, and the audience's depression had no way to vent. This is the third violation.

The three are superimposed, and with one cry, do you want to continue self-castration?Put comradeship in the secondary position and professionalism in the primary position?
I can't help but ask, even if Teacher Duan and the others can perfectly reproduce the veterans of the 84 military parade, so what?

Aren't you sacrificing one after another?

I clearly remember what you said when we were filming "Holiday in the Magic City". Filmmakers are dream makers. They can't just weave dreams and ignore waking up. We must also take care of the audience's mood when they leave the theater!

Now that you are doing this, what kind of feeling do you plan to bring to the audience after watching it?Come and leave with joy and frustration?

Have you forgotten everything you said? "

(End of this chapter)