I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 1023 1018 All heaven and earth work together

11pm.

Guo Fan covered his mouth and yawned.

Look over there, Director Xu is giving instructions to Keanu Reeves, who has turned into a god of death.

Gradually, fatigue began to set in.

But he was able to withstand it, but there was one disadvantage: the communication between Director Xu and Keanu Reeves was all in English, and he couldn't understand it very well. He could only look at Director Xu's gestures and make a guess. What is he saying.

There should be something wrong with the action just now.

Indeed... Keanu could tell that he was a little tired.

In fact, many people have the illusion that making movies is easy.

It's actually not easy at all.

First of all, waiting is a process that requires adaptation.

Just like filming this scene tonight.

Perhaps in the movie, the audience sees only one or two minutes of footage at most. But in these two minutes of footage, the director carefully selected the best parts of the footage, spliced them together, and presented them to the audience.

In order to get the most perfect shot, actors may need to act out the same scene three, five, or ten times...

Second, it’s not done in one go.

For example, this fight scene started with the killing of three intruders upstairs, during which a total of at least 11 camera positions were changed. The actors repeated the same actions at least ten or twenty times.

The purpose is to give the director everything he needs when he needs to present it from multiple angles.

What's more... adjusting the camera position, adjusting the lighting, trial and error, test shooting, etc., all require time and cost.

Behind every second that the audience sees on the screen is the hard work of the crew that takes the square or even the power of seconds to complete.

But fortunately... the progress tonight is very good.

The team's cooperation is very tacit, and everyone's actions are very standard.

After several sets of shots, both the texture and the picture are excellent.

The final stage of hand-to-hand combat with the last intruder has now begun.

After the filming is completed, today's task can be concluded.

Is it fast?

Actually very quickly.

We started shooting at around 7 o'clock, and it's only been 4 hours now.

It's really fast.

But in Guo Fan's view, this speed has two hard conditions.

The first is the tacit understanding of the team.

Whether it is Jonathan as the director of photography, or the cooperation between the three lighting directors, as well as the prop master, firearms master, action director, etc... these people are all very professional.

Obviously, Paramount has assembled a pretty good crew for Director Xu this time.

The so-called expert will know whether there is something or not as soon as he takes action.

From the first shot, Guo Fan saw how the photographer and lighting engineer worked together to perfectly express the contrast between light and darkness in the dark night... He knew that the technical level of the people in this team was very high. top.

At least, compared to domestic ones, their standards are at the top level.

This crew is amazing.

Second, it’s Director Xu.

In other words, this excellent team can play its own role and contribute its own professional standards, which is inseparable from Director Xu.

Director Xu is a genius.

This is the consensus within the circle.

At least this is the consensus among Chinese circles.

When Guo Fan was having dinner and drinking with other classmates and colleagues, when they talked about Director Xu, everyone seemed to have a common understanding, that is... Maybe in a few decades, Director Xu will definitely leave a mark in the history of Chinese film. A bold stroke of color.

After all, he is not yet thirty years old.

Sure enough, I feel so.

But many people who say such things have actually never worked under Director Xu. They just knew that Director Xu was great, but they didn't know what was so great about him.

Guo Fan actually doesn't know...or to be more precise, he doesn't know what makes Director Xu so good.

When "The Hawthorn Tree" was filmed, he was still a graduate student.

After graduating from law school, he worked at Tourism Television for several years. Unable to let go of his film dream, he decided to apply for a graduate degree at Beijing Film Academy.

After choosing Professor Yu as his mentor, he never thought that he would have a relationship with Director Xu.

After joining the crew of "Hawthorn Tree", although I had never made a movie at that time... I usually worked with the crew and watched Director Xu working there... Everyone's common understanding is that Director Xu is very good at filming.

He has a sense of harmony in which everything in the world is included in the lens and turned into something of his own.

The world in his eyes...must be wonderful, right?

Especially the scene where Jing Qiu, played by Liu Yifei, repeatedly walks on the old bridge.

The harmonious scene of mountain smoke, water vapor, single bridge and girl is still one of his favorite movie shots. Even in the mobile phone playlist, the song "BELLA CIAO" has been firmly in the top spot in the inventory that has been deleted several times.

Director Xu is really good at presenting the beauty of the shot, just like Director Zhang.

But... from my current perspective, "The Hawthorn Tree" still has a bit more craftsmanship.

But this craftsmanship lies more in the script and the story... and Director Xu is more or less tainted with it.

If I let myself evaluate it now, then the scenes in "The Hawthorn Tree" are greater than Jingqiu's acting skills and the story.

And his thoughts are in line with many people's understanding of Director Xu.

Disciples of Lao Mouzi, they have the same lens aesthetics.

This has been his thinking over the past few years.

But now...

Looking at Director Xu who was still gesticulating, correcting Brother Ji, and explaining the framing and other work to Jonathan... Guo Fan was unusually at a loss.

Because... at the beginning of this drama, he actually couldn't see the greatness of Director Xu.

He couldn't explain why he felt this way.

But... Director Xu now seems to be somewhat impeccable.

The details of the film, the details of the shots, the construction of the scene... and even the most critical thing, his instinct for the movie screen...

It seems like it all blends together.

I can’t say what’s particularly special about it.

But...even if I know that "John Wick" is a story with a low ceiling, after watching today's shooting route, camera angles, and fighting actions planned by the photographer and actors according to Director Xu...even if the movie It wasn't finished yet, but a very strange... feeling of empathy still appeared in his heart uncontrollably.

Even though he is also a member of the crew...he is one of the "creators" of the movie.

But looking at these shot scenes, it was as if he was in a theater at this moment, watching a retired killer who had experienced the pain of losing his wife and losing his dog return to the road of revenge, and he actually felt a sense of empathy.

This feeling is really outrageous.

After all, the movie is still being shot at this stage, and actors can break the fourth wall anytime and anywhere.

But he already had this feeling of empathy in his heart.

And this emotion is not about his liking for Brother Ji, nor is it about how good he thinks the story is... or even more exaggerated. He is someone who has read the script and can spoil the direction of the story later.

However, he empathized.

And the only explanation is...he liked the footage.

I like these shots that haven’t had gunfire, blood special effects, or even fine-tuned colors added in post-production.

It was obviously taken by myself, but it was like watching a movie.

Perhaps, this is where Director Xu is great.

In the past, what he was best at was lens aesthetics.

And now...he is good at everything.

Even if it was the first action scene,... after the crew followed the route he planned, every frame was so suitable and perfect.

This explains the problem...

After Guo Fan finished filming a movie, he looked back on the past and found that his biggest headache was actually the lens.

The director is the brains of the crew.

The photographer is the eyes, the set designer is the fingers, the set designer is the clothes, the producer and the investor are the five internal organs... Everyone performs their own duties, but the commander-in-chief needs the brain to issue instructions.

For this film, Guo Fan had to go through many tedious tasks where the shots he designed could not produce the desired effect and had to be redesigned and reworked many times.

And when he asked others, he found that others were like this too.

"The split shots must be adjusted. Who can guarantee that their shots will be the most perfect? It's impossible..."

These are the exact words of my colleague.

But when it comes to Director Xu, it becomes a mediocre excuse.

People don't need to adjust.

Really no need at all.

According to Director Xu, he has been here several times and simulated all the shots, routes, and how to move the camera countless times in his mind.

This sounds simple, but the implementation is completely beyond the level of Guo Fan.

Just like this scene tonight.

It’s not like Director Xu didn’t correct his mistakes. For example, in the scene just now, he adjusted the camera position higher. When he was fighting with people in the corridor, he could still see several bodies lying on the edge of the corridor in the dark. corpse.

The corridor leading to the door also announces that MR. Wick's road to revenge has come to an end for the time being...or it has just begun.

But the concept of Director Xu’s occasional changes is different from the frequent changes, including his own.

The former is at most a matter of finessing and polishing the flaws, but for a mortal like me, it's just a matter of feeling the stones to cross the river.

"Tsk..."

He couldn't help but sigh.

What a hearty revenge feast...

Although it's just an appetizer, I can't help but feel so emotional... So what will it be like when this film is finished?

Or maybe gunfire is a man's romance.

While he was thinking about it, Xu Xin, who had finished communicating over there, came over.

He glanced at Guo Fan, who was in a daze with a strange expression on his face, and ignored him, instead shouting:

"OK, everyone, get ready to start."

He didn't bother to care about what Guo Fan was thinking.

Finish the filming quickly and go home to sleep.

It's almost 12 o'clock.

…

"OK, it's over. Thank you for your hard work. See you at noon tomorrow."

The second day of filming "John Wick" ends.

After Xu Xin checked all the shots and made sure there were no omissions and adjustments, he announced the order to get off work.

After getting off work, Xu Xin took out his mobile phone and sent a message to his wife:

"My work here is over."

"It's just over? So late today?"

"I didn't go to work during the day. I was filming night scenes."

"Oh, I'm in Hengdian. I'm going to the studio to find Sister Bingbing. Let's have dinner together tonight."

"Just you two?"

"Definitely not, baby and Huang Xiaoming are here too."

"That's alright, you eat, don't wait for me."

Seeing this news, Yang Mi, who was walking in the car to the studio in Hengdian, rolled her eyes.

The heart talks nonsense.

Waiting for you to eat?

If I really wait for you, I will go from D to A.

I don’t know what you are talking about...

She simply didn't even bother to reply to her husband's message. She put down her phone, looked at the imposing door of the Hengdian Studio Base, and said to Sun Ting:

"Tingting, do you think this is more elegant or the Songye Factory where we filmed "Pacific Rim"?"

"Well……"

Sun Ting thought for a while and said:

"They all feel the same. But I heard that Hengdian will open a factory area next year. It will build a film and television shooting venue of more than 6,000 square meters. It seems that there is also underwater shooting... In this comparison, Canada is comparable to us. Isn’t it possible?”

Yang Mi did not answer. Along with the vibration of the commercial vehicle passing the speed bump, she looked at the factories in the park and muttered to herself:

"It's so fast... When Brother Xu and I first met, the largest factory shed in Hengdian was less than a thousand square meters. If you look at it now, it's really amazing."

Sun Ting nodded with the same empathy.

No.

At that time, the first car I drove in my life was a Santana.

It's a pity...I knew that car wouldn't be sold.

No matter what it was, it was a car with commemorative value for Brother Xu and Sister... It was sold for less than 40,000 yuan at the time, and I felt very happy. I thought it would be great to be a celebrity assistant, with all the benefits and benefits. Now that I think about it... I was really a stupid kid who didn't understand anything back then.

Just looking at it...it's been seven or eight years.

The assistant, lamenting how time flies, drove to the parking area of Studio 16.

After Yang Mi got out of the car, she had no intention of hiding herself.

We are all peers here, what can we hide?

He walked to the studio on his own.

The security guard guarding the door of the studio was stunned for a moment, then quickly said a few words with the walkie-talkie, and then walked over quickly:

"Hello, Teacher Yang."

"hello."

Yang Mi smiled sweetly:

"I'm here to see Sister Bingbing. Have they finished filming?"

"Not yet, please, please, it's right inside."

"Hey, thank you."

After the security guard diligently opened the side door, Yang Mi walked in.

As soon as you see it, you can see a scene built with green screen and rockery.

The green screen was in full bloom, and the white-haired Sister Bingbing, Huang Xiaoming, and a group of people were standing next to a stone wall similar to the entrance of a cottage. The two sides seemed to be confronting each other.

It looked like they were filming.

Then Yang Mi must not be disturbed.

She waved her hands to the two stage managers who were looking over to tell them not to come over. She turned to Sun Ting and asked:

"Who did the special effects for this film?"

"Chasing the light."

Sun Ting also lowered her voice:

"Physical special effects and CG are all about chasing light."

"What's the cost? Do you know how much it is?"

"I don't know...but it shouldn't be too expensive, right? Brother Cong mentioned it last time, saying it was troublesome and not profitable..."

Hearing this, Yang Mi nodded slightly, and there happened to be no one in the cave-like setting on the other side, so she walked over.

As he walked, he took out his cell phone.

In fact, no one is allowed to bring any shooting equipment in the studio.

What's more, Yang Mi is an outsider who comes to visit and must abide by the rules.

But who told her and Xu Xin to be a couple?

Didn't you notice that the two stage managers who were about to come over to say hello didn't dare to come over when she raised her hands?

Here, or in all the film and television drama crews in the northwest circle, she belongs to the absolutely privileged class, the kind who can do whatever she wants.

What's more... even if there is no connection with the Northwest Circle, "Pacific Rim" currently beats "Iron Man 3" in the domestic box office and won 820 million box office. The final box office is likely to reach the absolute level of 860 to 900 million. In the female lead role, she can also walk sideways.

Now anyone who wants to film with her can kneel down from outside the Meridian Gate to Qianmen Street.

And she was walking towards the unused set over there. She happened to pass by the outskirts of the filming area when she heard an actor standing in the set room say something with a strong voice:

"Yihang! You were indeed captured and put under pressure!"

"..."

Yang Mi paused in her steps and twitched the corner of her mouth.

I wonder which retarded person made up this line?

The movie "The White-Haired Witch" is supposed to be a tragic drama, right?

She turned and glanced.

But I didn’t care.

Naturally, a humorous character can also be used to make jokes in a tragic scene.

It's quite pleasing.

As for what this movie is like...just kidding, I have the best idea of what she is capable of.

Let yourself act, no problem.

But it’s hard for her to judge whether the film is good or bad without seeing the complete script.

And the reason why she came to this set now was also very simple.

After seeing the standard special effects system at the peak of the Hollywood industry in "The Ring", she asked herself that she had a rough idea. Now she just wanted to compare it and see how the special effects of chasing light were like.

But after seeing it, I was disappointed.

She discovered... that she didn't even need to look at the display on the mobile phone screen. She could tell with the naked eye that the scenery revealed one word everywhere:

"Fake."

In fact, this kind of fakeness is not the same as the special effects in Xiangjiang. You can tell it is staged just by looking at it.

But the texture is really incomparable.

She had seen how the special effects in "The Ring" were done.

In fact, the old Americans are not very sophisticated... For example, the special effects in the monster attack on Xiangjiang, those building ruins are real ruins, which were filled up by forklifts pushing a pile of building ruins. It is said that it is a physical special effect, but it is actually no different from real shooting.

But...the problem is that they don’t have everything.

Construction waste, science fiction waste... they are all stored in warehouses like props.

When shooting some jungle adventure themes, although they also use real shots, they also strive for excellence in choosing props and special effects in this natural environment, and they are not careless at all.

It's not that I worship foreigners, but simply... I can't do this job well.

Too rough.

Thinking of this, she took out her phone, looked at the cave scene again from the screen, and shook her head slightly again.

It looks better than the naked eye, but still not satisfactory.

then.

The sound of "click, click" sounded.

After taking a few photos, she sent them all to her husband.

"Chasing light is a bit rough, to be honest."

"Although I don't know what the project cost is, but...if we compare it with the industry in Hollywood, the difference is quite large."

"This was taken on camera, but it actually looks worse to the naked eye."

"If it were on camera, the effect would probably be average."

After sending it, she closed her eyes with regret and shook her head.

Pity.

Tsk…

Just as I was feeling regretful, my phone vibrated.

Xu Xin sent a message:

"?"

"Are you sick? How could this kind of scenery be made by chasing light?"

"This kind of scene requires a light chaser. Do you know how much it costs? We don't own the physical effects of this film. Do you remember Jody?"

"Remember, there is a programmer in Huan's special effects company."

"He is specifically responsible for physical effects. The physical effects of chasing light are still relatively weak. We have always been in contact and want to bring him over. But that is a follow-up matter. The scene construction and chasing of the film "The White-Haired Witch" The light doesn’t matter. Besides, a costume film uses physical special effects lenses? They can’t afford the money. What you’re looking at is probably something made by a prop manufacturer.”

After Xu Xin finished sending the voice message, he heard Guo Fan ask curiously:

"Director Xu, what's wrong?"

"Yang Mi, I went to visit the crew of "The White-Haired Witch"."

Xu Xin said as he handed the phone to him:

"show you."

Guo Fan enlarged the photo taken by Yang Mi, took a look at it, and said:

"This scene was indeed not created by professional special effects."

"That's right, that stupid woman doesn't know anything. When she saw the scene construction, she thought it was physical special effects..."

"..."

When these words came out, the corners of Su Meng and Guo Fan's mouths twitched.

Guo Fan was speechless.

Su Meng thought more simply.

If you dare to deduct another five hundred from me in the future, I will tell my sister that you call her a stupid woman!

ψ(｀)ψ

Guo Fan thought for a while and suddenly said:

"Director Xu, when do you think we can make a big movie?"

"What kind of blockbuster are you referring to? A big investment? A big production? Or is it just a huge project based on the purely industrial system?"

Originally, he planned to close his eyes and rest.

But at this moment, Guo Fan's topic happened to touch his itch.

So he adjusted his sitting posture and continued without waiting for the other party's answer:

"If it's the previous one...then we've already filmed it again. You don't have to compare with Hollywood, which can easily cost one or two billion US dollars, so there's no point in comparing it. What about their per capita income? Right. So from this aspect, In fact, we are a little worse than them..., but not by much. And as the market becomes more and more prosperous, the amount of investment will definitely increase. So, for now, the so-called big-investment movies are already in I took the shot. As far as investment is concerned, it is only a matter of time to catch up. But..."

Having said this, he paused for a moment before continuing:

"If you are referring to a project like "Pacific Rim" that reflects the Hollywood industrial system, then my answer to you is... I don't know."

"have no idea?"

"Hmm, I don't know."

Xu Xin sighed:

"How is it possible to know?... Think about it, is there any science fiction film that our country can produce?"

"...No. In other words, there are science fiction films, but there are no science fiction films that are completely imaginary and divorced from reality."

Following Guo Fan's words, Xu Xin nodded again:

"Yes, that's what I want to say. In fact, if you talk about special effects technology... we are definitely not good enough. But I don't know if you know clearly. Last year in Hollywood, George Lucas and Spielberg worked together on the same project. It has been said on the forum that if Hollywood continues this pattern of investing more and more money, it will implode sooner or later.”

"This... never heard of it."

"Well, it's normal that you haven't heard of it."

Xu Xin didn’t say anything about having a paper.

No need.

It's like he wants to show off.

"Needless to say, the influence of these two people in Hollywood. After they put forward this point of view, large companies also began to control costs. But that is capitalism. Everyone is used to high wages. If you control costs and want to keep improving, naturally Impossible. So since last year... or the beginning of this year, Chasing Light has been taking on some small Hollywood jobs... all of which are outsourced. Do you know what this means? "

"..."

Guo Fan seemed a little clear and stupid at this time.

Looking at the way he shook his head, Xu Xin knew that he obviously hadn't figured it out.

He didn’t hide it and said directly:

"It shows that the Hollywood special effects industry is undergoing transformation. To put it bluntly, they are beginning to take the route of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. They will hand over more work to countries with lower costs to increase their profits."

“…It’s very capitalist.”

"Yes, but this is what we need. What I told the company is that we can take on as many jobs as there are. As long as they come over to provide guidance, we will do it even if it doesn't make money. Whether it's physical special effects or CG technology, We have accumulated model libraries and work experience, treating them as stones and crossing the river by feeling them. In this way, when the technology has accumulated to a certain level, we ourselves will be able to make rapid progress in the field of special effects."

Guo Fan was a little surprised:

"You're already doing it?"

"yes."

Xu Xin nodded and asked:

"Otherwise, why do you think I have no problem spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy special effects companies, upgrade equipment, and expand staff?"

"...I thought you were the leader in domestic special effects..."

Xu Xin was speechless:

"I really count on the domestic market. I have to starve to death...at least at this stage."

As he spoke, he shook his head:

"I don't expect to make money from this company, and the point is, I can afford to lose tens of millions of dollars this year, but others may not be able to afford it. Anyway, it's easy for me to make money, so I'll do this job. I'd rather lose money first. point, let us have a shortcut to overtake... not to mention overtaking, at least to catch up.

If you want to ask me, when will our country be able to produce a science fiction film with a large-scale project similar to that of Hollywood, the answer I will give you is that I don’t know.

This thing requires a lot of investment and good technology.

like me.

Money, I have it.

And now my company is also vigorously learning technology.

Now that everything is ready, all I have left is time.

When will the accumulation be almost complete..."

Xu Xin hesitated again.

Guo Fan couldn't help but turn his head and look.

In the dark carriage, Director Xu's eyes were filled with a glimmer of light that could not be concealed no matter what kind of night it was.

There is determination in the glow.

There is perseverance in determination.

Persistence is full of confidence.