Hollywood Production

Chapter 17 - Running-in

Producing, directing, and writing a movie, especially one with a high investment, is a lot of tiring work that requires careful planning.

The script has already been finalized, and will not be changed at will unless there are some special circumstances. In the past two months, Duke has also made sufficient plans as the director, but it's still will not be easy. The director must be involved in many matters. 

The director is responsible for making sure that the equipment and props needed for the production meet his or his needs. If they do not, the director must find a replacement. The director is also responsible for the production, photography, and art direction in the early stages of preparations.

The photographer needs to figure out how the camera works and shoot in the real-life environment; where he, the director, feels that there is a gap between the site and the scene in his mind, he needs to communicate with the set designer and the art director to see how to make it closer to the desired feeling; As for the venue, the producer will discuss the rental matters, discuss the time, cost, precautions and so on. 

The cast and locations have been determined. Duke rewrote the script again to match the actual situation and developed sub-shot drafts according to the plan - how many scenes to shoot for each scene, what cameras to use, and what kind of emotions the actors need to show at those times. Or how much control...

In addition to the sub-shot script, Duke also wrote a schedule to ensure that the different scenes taking place in the same location were filmed at the same time. This way, the director would have a clear idea of what was happening. and he won't make Low-level mistakes that could make him the laughed stock off crew.

In addition to hiring several assistant directors to help with the scheduling, Duke also has to deal with keanu reeves passive-aggressive behaviour from time to time. The work environment is very tense and Duke is under a lot of pressure, which has caused him to almost lose his temper a few times.

Fortunately, Duke knows that he won't gain anything by getting caught up in petty arguments and struggles. He would rather focus on his work and what he's good at. In the end, it's better for him to stay out of drama and just do what he loves.

It took more effort than expected to get the set things up, which made Duke think of another thing. He desperately needs an assistant who is smart and capable and understands the film business. If there is such an assistant, he can basically solve these complicated affairs . Which will free up Duke's time so he could focus more on film shooting.

It's a pity that he didn't even have the money to pay off his credit card bill, so where would he have the money to hire an assistant. 

Compared to the crews he worked with in his past life, the preparatory work for Hollywood movies is more complicated and meticulous, and it also takes more time, and it takes time for the actors to study the characters. The preparation period for "Speed​​" was delayed for two whole weeks. It was not until October that the preliminary preparations came to an end. 

On October 3, 1991, Duke, who had been suffering from insomnia due to stress, was reborn from the ashes and regained his spirit when "Speed" finally started in the studio of Universal Studios!

The filming started without any press conferences, flashing lights, or complicated ceremonies.

"Cut!"

Just ten seconds after the first test shot, Duke called to stop. He stood up from behind the director's camera, walked back and forth between the props and sets arranged as the elevator room on the ground floor of the building several times, and finally stood in the middle of the shooting site. 

Dennis Hooper, who played the villain, and another extra, stepped aside.

Some scenes look good to the naked eye, but when they are filmed with a camera, the smallest problems will be magnified. Duke has been communicating with various departments of the crew for more than two months, but this is the first time they have worked together, so it will definitely take some time to get used to it.

"Dim the lights a little bit, I need the grey metallic texture to be stronger."

Duke realized that there were problems with the scene and camera position after a few minutes of thinking and looking at the pictures he had just taken. He tried to adjust it by saying, "The second camera position is moved 30 degrees to the left, you only need to capture the back of Dennis, the clothes..."

The costume designer immediately raised his hand beside him. 

Walking over to Dennis Hooper, Duke pointed at his somewhat worn work clothes and said, "Change to a greyer one."

Then Duke turned his head and said to the extra, who was playing the security guard, "Come with me."

Duke walked to the door of the elevator, turned to look at the extra who was following him, pointed to the place where he came, and said, "Your surprised expression just now was too heavy, you have to be careful, You have to be careful and walk along the outside of the elevator ."

Seeing the other party's solemn nod, Duke observed the scene again, and then returned to the director's camera.