This director needs to apologize

Chapter 9 Siming Village, Julu Road

Putting aside work and eating and chatting with friends, Chen Yiming also temporarily relaxed his tense nerves.

As the core of the crew, he has been working continuously since the project preparation began in mid-July without taking a day off.

Thanks to Lily as a cover, his "iron man" image didn't collapse.

At 9 a.m. the next day, the crew moved to Julu Road to meet the real challenge of shooting a large-scale group scene.

The conscientious Da Zhuang had already assembled a group of extras, dozens of men, women, old and young, all professional actors borrowed from the Phantom Film Factory.

For a long time, Moying Studio has been the largest film studio in China. There are as many as three "deck" studios that have been spun off to support brother provinces in the interior.

At its peak, the Phantom Factory could easily hire more than a dozen crews to film at the same time. There was no need to source anyone in front of or behind the scenes from outside the factory. You can imagine how many people it supported.

After the restructuring, the Phantom Factory, which has been "downsized" several times, is still a big camel. Not counting the "non-staff" staff who came back after retirement to enjoy acting, there are still a large number of young and middle-aged actors of the right age.

This group of talents is the confidence of Moying Group to compete with Diying Group and the backbone of supporting Chedun Film and Television Base.

It is no exaggeration to say that without this group of people, the quality of period dramas set in the magical city will drop by one or two notches.

Prince Ma was electrocuted when he was cheating, and his family had to help out even if they were not optimistic about it.

The actors who arrived have already brought their own costumes, and they can choose from the warehouse of the Phantom Factory. Clothes that meet the requirements are full of clothes, and the tailors who change the sizes have a class.

The aesthetics of the 1990s are back to earth, and it depends on who wears them.At least with the temperament of this group of professional actors, they can hold it up and don't look outdated at all.

Chen Yiming did not clearly stipulate that the costumes of each actor should be good-looking first on the premise of conforming to the style and identity.

Anyway, this is a story that blurs time. All the supporting actors in the movie are kind-hearted. Otherwise, how can it be called a magic city sightseeing movie.

……

This scene includes a total of three long shots of about one minute, interspersed with four medium and close-up shots, which is easier than a complete one-shot.

Still, the task is daunting, so rehearsals are scheduled throughout the day.

In fact, it was more convenient to shoot this scene at Chedun Base, without the interruption of ordinary residents.

However, after repeated weighing, Chen Yiming decided to shoot in real scenes.

Originally, the movie was just a fairy tale for adults. Without the fireworks contained in the real scenes, it would be completely floating in the sky and unable to come down.

The first scene is Siming Village at No. 666 Julu Road, a classic of the new Shikumen Lane in Shanghai.

During the early stage of the project, Chen Yiming and Ma Yunteng searched all the existing Shikumen alleys in the capital, and after several comparisons, they selected Siming Village.

To be honest, there are many well-preserved alleys in the city, but not many are suitable for filming movies.

After all, it is not a specialized alley of Chedun Base, so shooting needs such as framing, track layout, and lighting will be considered in advance.

Lanes in daily life are often narrow and full of debris. Just the sight of wires and clothes-drying poles scattered in mid-air can make the photography team die of worry.

Relatively speaking, Siming Village is the most suitable.

The alley is wide enough for machine tracks and personnel to move around.

The tunnel is long enough, and the lens content can be widened and filled to support long lenses.

The height of the house is also suitable. There are two-story buildings on both sides. It is neither too short to destroy the beauty of the picture nor too high to hinder the entry of light.

What's even more rare is that Siming Village has beautiful colors and a grand layout.

The exterior with red walls and red tiles is neat and beautiful, without feeling cramped at all.

The black wooden double doors are full of the texture of time and full of ancient charm.

Since there are many former residences of historical celebrities in the lanes, there are basically no "illegal buildings" in Siming Village, and random parking is relatively restrained, which is another big plus point.

Of course, being able to choose to film a movie here, the title of "Exclusive Promotional Film for the Expo" played a big role. When Da Zhuang showed his relationship with the Moying Group, the local streets and neighborhood committees naturally gave the green light.

……

The plot here is probably that the princess bid farewell to the hero in a friendly way, borrowed the little money he had left, and finally started the long-awaited "free shopping and eating" trip.

After leaving the male protagonist's apartment, the first scene the princess entered was the alley of Siming Village.

As for why he was in a small bungalow on Sichuan North Road one second, and then appeared in an alley on Julu Road a few kilometers away the next second.

Don't ask, ask about space-time interference and quantum mechanics.

The coolies behind the scenes have posted various signs on the lanes in advance.

Because the focus of the camera follows the princess the whole time, there are the most red marks.

In addition, there are several "big" supporting characters who have contact with the princess, each with their own logo and different colors.

The aunt carrying side dishes, the uncle carrying a small electric donkey, the grandma picking vegetables at the door, the uncle returning from fishing, and the primary school student swinging the keys all have their own movement trajectories.

The pan/tilt was set up on the left side of the gate, at an angle of 30 degrees to the alley. The photography team had done experiments in advance, and the camera movement was barely affected.

Chen Yiming stood on the edge of the cloud platform, commanding the overall situation from a high position.

Xiangrui was holding a paper tube trumpet and lying in front of the window on the second floor. The crew rented a suite here for a short period of time for dressing and makeup, and also served as a tea room.

The recording guy held up a big electronic clock with the number 60 on it very eye-catching, which was used as a reminder to the actors.

At 10 o'clock sharp, following Xiangrui's order, the lane, which had returned to quiet after working hours, immediately became noisy.Twenty or so people were busy in the alley without any confusion. These actors were all experienced in background roles. They already had a set of mature character templates in their minds. As soon as they put on their costumes and shouted "Start", the play would begin immediately.

Deep in the alley is a horizontal four-story arcade. Lily walked down the stairs, walked out of the corridor and walked towards the door of the alley.

With a countdown of 45 seconds, the middle-aged man carrying a small electric donkey came into the frame first, shouting "Borrow me", as if he was in a hurry.

Lily turned around when she heard the shouting and huddled by the alley with a frightened look on her face, watching the strongman passing by.

With a countdown of 35 seconds, Lily jumped over the "stall" of the vegetable-picking grandmother at the door and passed by the fishing uncle.

The fish in the bucket will pop out at this time, which is easy to achieve through the prop bucket. It is a rehearsal now, so there is no need for it for the time being.

The uncle secretly gave Lily a gesture, which meant that the fish has jumped on you, and Lily gave a surprised and happy expression at the right time.

Chen Yiming looked at it from a distance and felt that it was a bit exaggerated. After all, he was not a professional actor, and the performance was still lacking in quality without real objects.

There is no way. This problem can only be solved by taking real photos, which means preparing a few more fish.

Counting down to 30 seconds, Lily squatted down and made a "fishing" action. The unconventional princess naturally failed to catch fish. She squatted and rowed all the way, knocking over the basket of the vegetable carrier without thinking about her head.

With her as the center, the alley immediately became a mess. People laughed, cursed and complained. Some people got out of the way and hurried on, some helped to pick it up, and some were attracted by the exotic-looking Lily and came to her side to look at her.

After counting down for 15 seconds, with the help of a passing primary school student, Lily finally held down the lively fish. She put the fish into the fishing master's bucket, then stood up, and was startled by the crowd surrounding her.

First there is fright, then surprise, and finally surprise. This is the keynote that connects the entire long shot.

Naturally, the first rehearsal was full of problems, so I could only barely go through the process.

Leaving aside the problems with Lily's performance, there are also many problems with the positioning and coordination of the group of actors.

After all, there are still too many people, and the requirements for scene management are too high.

Chen Yiming jumped off the platform, walked into the crowd, and pointed out the problems with the group performances one by one.

There is a time error in several of the big tricks. They are either too early or too late. This is not too serious. It can be solved by lining up a few times and having a tacit understanding.

Although the uncle carrying the prop cart was a professional actor, he probably had not played many coolie-type roles, so the heavy feeling of carrying the work was not expressed.

In addition, the shouts of "Borrow me" and the steps under his feet were not close to each other. Before the extras in front of him could react, he had already squeezed past.

Obviously, there is no awareness in his mind that the little eDonkey on his shoulder is a big guy, and others will be injured if they brush against it.

However, this cannot be blamed on the actors. The eDonkey should be ridden, not carried. Chen Yiming's arrangement is counter-intuitive.

The performance of Grandma Picking Vegetables was wonderful. Her reaction of shaking her head, shaking her hands, laughing and cursing was very dramatic. At first glance, she was a veteran of Che Dun.

It's a pity that what Chen Yiming wants is not drama, but life.

He told Grandma Picking Vegetables that she sits at the door picking vegetables every day, and there are always neighbors who go to the "stall" every day. Here, picking vegetables indifferently is the most life-like response.

The fishing man turned his back the whole time, and there was no problem except that he entered the frame 2 seconds late.

The key to this role still depends on the actual shooting. Whether the fish can jump out sooner or later depends entirely on the master's timing.

It’s not easy to do small movements while also carrying the drama.

The lady carrying vegetables actually entered the scene early, but she stopped at the right time and pretended to chat with the extras next to her, which was a wonderful adaptability.

The primary school student caught the fish well, but unfortunately he had a cold face throughout the whole process, and it looked like he was too nervous.

These were also one of the few young actors in the ensemble cast. What could Chen Yiming do? Of course, he would just smile and praise him.

Chen Yiming walked and talked, and each extra performer "commented" a few words. Within a few seconds, he made it clear and clear what problems he had.

Regardless of whether you really agree with his shooting philosophy, at least his comments are completely logically sound.

He turned around and stood on the platform, speaking loudly to the crowd.

"The rehearsal just now exceeded my psychological expectations. I was deeply moved by the teachers' belief in their roles. You vividly explained a truth to us newcomers to the film industry. There are no small roles, only small actors!"

“Thank you to the teachers for their hard work!”

After the applause, Chen Yiming began to say but.

"The only small problem is that everyone is too centered on our heroine when moving. The crowd will gather around us after the excitement of catching fish in the second half. Before that, please let the teachers do their own thing. That’s fine.”

After tactfully pointing out the inappropriateness of the extras for "stealing the scene", Chen Yiming retreated behind the stage, hiding his merit and fame.

After Chen Yiming's output, the morale on the set was obviously boosted to a higher level.

After all, Chen Yiming proved that he is knowledgeable, and the experts on the set naturally stopped complaining about "a pearl casting a shadow".

While Fu Ruixiang was directing the rehearsal on the second floor, he frequently cast his eyes on the figure on the platform.

If Chen and Ma hadn't figured out her shortcomings, she wouldn't have been convinced to follow Chen Yiming's command. She was a professional.

However, after substituting the scene just now, she clearly realized that she was not yet able to give Chen Yiming an accurate and comprehensive review.

In less than 1 minute, the performance of each actor in the scene is taken into view, recorded in the mind, and problems found.

It is not only about the excellent instant memory, but also about the precise inner control of the entire scene.

(End of this chapter)