From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

"Elephant" is wrapped.

Everything happened too fast. It seemed like just yesterday I had joined the crew to prepare for filming, and in the blink of an eye, I heard the director announce that the entire movie was finished shooting—

This feeling is correct.

In fact, the shooting cycle for "Elephant" was only a mere five days; even adding the time Anson and Gus spent personally experiencing and investigating the school beforehand, the entire production cycle barely reached ten days.

Quick and decisive.

Five days.

In the "Spider-Man" crew, it was unimaginable. They might not even have time to set up one scene before "Elephant" was already wrapped up.

Although I already knew that independent films were streamlined and concise, and the entire working mode was completely different, I still couldn't help but be amazed after experiencing it firsthand.

Without a doubt, this was Anson's fastest shoot to date.

Moreover, the movie itself was special enough. Gus was trying to record those ordinary everyday moments. The filming work and real life seemed to have no difference. The short five days were not much different from the previous campus life. The days with filming and without filming were vastly different.

So much so that when Gus announced the wrap, it didn't feel real at all.

"It's over."

"Kids, it's all over."

Gus announced through a loudspeaker, so the entire campus could hear.

The last scene, the last shot, was still typical Gus—

Harris carried the camera quietly, prowling and lurking in the school corridors like a deep-sea submarine, moving along the corridors, classrooms, and activity rooms.

No close-ups. No medium shots. No stops.

Silently surveying the entire space.

Of course, not just any random space, but a space that had undergone a massacre, with no survivors, corpses everywhere, and blood splattered.

No close-ups, because Gus wasn't going to highlight any protagonist. All students were treated equally.

The entire survey was a panoramic display, presenting completely different scenes from the same calm perspective, allowing the audience to feel the contrast without the need for words.

Two-thirds of the movie was full of vibrant life, but now it fell into a deathly silence. Everything stopped abruptly without warning, simply and crudely hitting the pause button. The theme of the film was undoubtedly clear—

The impact naturally occurred.

However, Gus himself hadn't confirmed whether he was going to use this long shot to conclude the movie.

From the perspective of echoing the beginning and the end, such a shot would be a perfect way to end the movie. Those criticisms and accusations could be expressed without words; but Gus's hesitation lay precisely here:

Should he really display the criticism and accusations so bluntly?

Would this seem like gilding the lily? Or would saying everything too directly reveal timidity, fearing that the audience wouldn't see the message conveyed by the entire movie, so the ending needs to be emphasized again with a long shot?

Just like Gus's evaluation of Anson's performance—

Correct, it was indeed correct, analyzed from any angle; but would returning to the traditional Hollywood narrative routine, even if it wasn't a genre film routine, but the unique routine of Sundance-style independent films, excessively damage his original natural conception?

Perhaps the movie should have a cleaner ending, without the director using camera language to repeat what had been said in the entire movie.

Gus needed to calm down and think.

But thinking was one thing, and filming was another.

They could film it now and decide whether to use it during post-editing; after all, if they filmed it, they could freely decide whether to use it, but if there was no raw material, it would be too late to reshoot.

Thus.

The entire crew was mobilized. All the personnel who had participated in the filming over the past five days were dispatched to complete the most magnificent scene of the entire movie.

The students, one by one, "fell" into the blood, and the entire campus was shrouded in silence. The vibrant life was thus eroded and swallowed by the haze.

The stagnation and desolation revealed in the one-shot long take were more powerful than any language, any soundtrack, or any performance.

But at the same time, filming was not difficult at all, because the actors didn't need to perform, it was completely controlled by the director. This was a shot to show the director's ability, which meant that the actors could relax and immerse themselves in the filming.

Did we really film a movie?

This scene made the smile on Anson's lips lift slightly, and he couldn't help but turn to look at Gus—

Anson was a survivor, having left the school after Eric's reminder, escaping the disaster, so the last scene naturally had nothing to do with him.

"Director, how is it, do you have a feeling now?"

Gus shook his head gently, "No, still not sure."

Gus had been hesitant about whether the last scene should be filmed until the very last moment. This was no secret in the crew.

Gus paused, turned to look at Anson, and an idea popped up, "What do you think?"

Anson didn't hide his surprise, "Me? Director, are you sure?"

Gus chuckled, "No, I'm not sure, but I still decided to listen."

Independent film crews are small and精, the advantage is that they operate smoothly, agile and lightweight, the disadvantage is that everything needs to rely on Gus. When Gus is in a creative bottleneck, there is no one to discuss with, he must think for himself.

Just as Gus said, he wasn't sure if discussing with Anson was the right choice. As an actor, Anson showed excellent ability in the short five days of filming; but film art creation is not just acting. The director and the actor are two completely different positions. Gus still didn't trust Anson enough to start such a conversation—

However, he had nothing to lose, did he?

Anson looked at Gus's smile, covered his chest and let out a wail, as if injured; but then, Anson continued along the topic.

"I don't think this section is necessary."

Gus was waiting for the rest.

However, there was nothing.

Gus looked at Anson with a look of astonishment.

Anson spread his hands, "I'm just expressing a point of view, an intuition, an inspiration, that's my opinion."

A beat later, Gus realized that Anson was taking revenge.

But, revenge?

Gus was slightly stunned, and before he realized it, a smile had already climbed onto the corner of his mouth:

This should be the difference between Anson and River Phoenix.

You can't see such confidence and publicity in River. Behind those fragility and sorrow, there is a hint of tenacity and stubbornness, which is a good thing; what's more, Anson's publicity is not annoying at all.

Then, Anson didn't pause and continued to say.

"Director, the name of this movie, 'Elephant', why is it this name?"

A special entry point brings different thinking.