I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 142 140. Three cuts

"Xu Xin, this is Teacher Li Pingdong, a master in photography~"

When he saw three cars and about a dozen sleepy-eyed people getting out of the car, Jay Chou who went up to meet him immediately found a man with a gray beard, long wavy hair, dark skin and strong, about fifty years old. The man introduced.

Xu Xin raised his eyebrows in surprise.

If he remembers correctly, "In the Mood for Love" directed by Wang Jiawei... seems to have been directed by this person, right?

Recalling the introverted and calm scene at that time, which had a sense of aging, Xu Xin quickly shook hands with the other party.

Still using both hands, he showed the posture of the junior:

"Hello, Teacher Li, I am Xu Xin, please give me your advice."

Li Pingdong was quite polite and nodded with a smile:

"Good director~"

"No, no, no, just call me Xiao Xu. I can't bear this title in front of you."

Xu Xin became more modest, but Li Pingdong had the same attitude:

"This is a rule. The director is the director. You can't call me Xiao Xu~ You choose one, Director Xu or Teacher Xu."

"Uh...hahaha~"

Listening to his somewhat playful words, Xu Xin laughed out loud, but still insisted:

"I choose you to call me Xiao Xu."

"Then let me guide you~haha~"

"Haha~"

The two finally let go, and then Jay Chou began to introduce others.

"This is Huang Junlang, who plays Ah Lang. He composed the words for "The Seventh Chapter of the Night" and "In the Name of the Father"~ Warnhead, who plays Ah Bao, is a member of the Nanquan Mama group, eh, You two, this is Xu Xin, I have told you before, you are both good friends, great~"

In Xu Xin's eyes, these two buddies actually look quite distinctive.

Considering the positioning of A Lang and A Bao, he estimated that Jay Chou should be based on them.

So he smiled and shook hands with them.

This is the first time we have met, so we are not familiar with each other yet, but with Jay Chou here, we are always a little polite.

Then, after getting to know the team, including the art director, Li Pingdong said:

"Yesterday, Jaylen said he would bring a camera. Do you want to try shooting a few scenes? Do you want to set up a track? We have all brought it."

Xu Xin was naturally more polite towards this person.

He looked at the sky and then at the box next to Li Pingdong.

The box has been opened, and inside is an Alai-D20.

This is also used on Zhang Yimou's set.

Xu Xin also likes the film quality captured by this camera.

So he nodded and pointed to the beach next to him:

"There is a beach scene. Mr. Li, let's set up a slide lens on that sidewalk. How about it? The weather is just right and there are few people. Let's try shooting one shot and then move on to the next one, mainly to see the texture. "

"no problem."

Li Pingdong agreed:

"Hey, the track is set up."

Following his words, everyone, including Huang Junlang and Warhead, began to take the slide rails from the trunk.

Xu Xin took Jay Chou and Yang Mi beside him towards the beach.

When he arrived at the running track on the beach, he squinted at the rising sunshine in the east, pointed at his feet to Li Pingdong behind him, meaning to start paving from here, and then continued walking forward with Jay Chou and Yang Mi.

After walking about ten or twenty steps, he stopped.

I looked up...

Next to the three people is a row of trees.

Xu Xin happened to be standing in the shadow of the tree.

Shadows are sparse.

He looked through the shadows at the sea beach in front of him that had begun to wave, thought for a while, and said:

"You two...go here."

Pointing to a place three or four meters in front of him.

The two quickly stood over obediently.

Xu Xin looked at the beach in the distance again, turned around a few times, as if looking for an angle, and then said:

"Walk back and forth this way, at a slower pace, like a couple taking a walk, come on."

He always tilted his body, found a fixed angle, and shouted to the two of them.

Yang Mi took off her sunglasses and took two steps with Jay Chou when Xu Xin said:

"Slower down. Take a walk. You two are now Ye Xianglun and Lu Xiaoyu, joking and taking a walk."

Hearing this, Yang Mi took the initiative to slow down her pace again. After Jay Chou adapted to Yang Mi's pace, the two of them walked step by step towards the shadow of the woods, and Xu Xin followed their pace and began to retreat step by step.

Soon, the two of them entered the shade of the trees.

In the dim light of the morning, the red light and shadow spread from the feet of the two people to the top of their heads little by little.

The mottled shadows of the trees were quickly passed over.

After walking out of the shade of the trees, Xu Xin stopped, and so did the two of them.

"Teacher Li, this is it."

Xu Xin seemed to have found a supporting point for the camera. After shouting to Li Pingdong who was pushing the cart himself, he waved to the two of them:

"You two return to your original positions and wait."

After hearing this, the two silently returned to the way they came.

Xu Xin walked directly to Li Pingdong who started to set up the camera:

"Teacher Li, that mountain..."

He pointed into the distance.

Li Pingdong looked in the direction he pointed and found that it was behind the mountain with the white building at the end of the bay. He nodded:

"Um."

"For a while, the position of these two people will be on the left side of the screen, and the right half will be given to the mountain. Then I want you to follow the footsteps of the two people and start walking back, and the camera will move little by little. I will arrange their steps. , have you seen the shadow of this tree?"

Following where he pointed, Li Pingdong nodded again:

"Um."

"Look, this angle."

Xu Xin took a step back.

"The camera starts with two-thirds of the mountain, one-third of the two people and the sea behind them."

He made a box in front of him with both hands and began to move slowly to the left:

"Walk around, two-thirds of the mountains begin to cut in, and when you reach one-third of the mountains, one-third of the sea, and one-third of the people enter, they have to find their own steps. And when you step into When one step ahead of the shadow, the people in the picture become two-thirds. When the girl enters the shadow, I want her to be cut exactly on the center line of one-half. The light and shadow must be just right and can be seen in the camera. From her waist, move up a little bit, keep moving up, keep this speed, and keep walking out of the light and shadow. When the light and shadow come out, the picture freezes, and the two of them walk out of the camera. This way."

"..."

Li Pingdong glanced at the young man in front of him in surprise:

"Cut into thirds to end?"

"Yes, you see, when the two people walk out of the camera range, they should just capture the dividing line between the downward end of the mountain and the sea. Then when you see the tree, when the two people finally walk out, they should just be able to capture it. Cut it into this tree. It starts with people, sea, and mountains, and ends with trees, sea, and mountains. Let’s do it this way. Let’s try it, okay?”

After hearing Xu Xin's words, Li Pingdong seemed to understand Xu Xin's intention and asked subconsciously:

"Then how about putting something on the tree...such as wind chimes or tokens of love?"

"don't want."

Xu Xin shook his head directly:

"There are too many artificial elements at this time, and it will look very deliberate. It is enough for us to express this kind of harmony. The pictures of mountains, seas, forest trees, and young men and women are harmonious enough and can give people a soft feeling. Atmosphere. If you add some artificial decoration, although it will look good at first glance, the audience's attention will definitely be focused on the so-called wind chimes or other artificial elements. So, don't do anything, the picture will be frozen here. Nature It is the ultimate romance and beauty in itself. Therefore, no filters are needed. Even the colors should not be too strong. The light in front of you is just right. But when the light and shadow pass through the two people, in order to prevent glare, focus on the top You have to pay attention and adjust, okay?"

"no problem."

Li Pingdong nodded.

With a little surprise in his eyes, he agreed immediately.

This young man...is a bit interesting.

Although the two people didn't specify what they were talking about just now, the central theme actually had only one meaning.

It is how to show through the lens the tender and tender scenes of the first love between men and women.

Li Pingdong's choice relies on the language of the camera.

In front of the tree where the camera was fixed at the end, some artificial embellishments were added to use the language of the camera to point out to the audience that "they are in love"...or "have a good impression of each other", thus clearly showing the inner emotions of the two young people. world.

And as long as this point is pointed out, it can almost give the audience a very strong hint.

Tell you clearly that "they are already a couple."

But Xu Xin didn't think it was necessary.

He chose to use a more beautiful, but more obscure way of expression.

Through nature, through the environment, through the half-mountain extending all the way down to the sea, using a downward trend from the mountain to the sea to express a very obscure and difficult to describe in words, but it is indeed the two people. It has changed from a relatively solid and hard mountain to a love curve that is blue and gentle and makes people feel an endless ocean, thus changing their mental journey.

Don't point it out deliberately.

But through the method of segmentation, mountains, seas, and trees are used to express Cyan's ignorant view of love.

Mountains are static and motionless, representing solidity and heaviness, just like the state of two people meeting each other for the first time and having a new crush on each other, but being intimidated by it.

But he didn't need to go up the mountain or fix the camera. Instead, he cleverly found the continuous downward line of the mountain toward the sea, to imply that the two of them were breaking this prohibitive state.

Why use cutaway shots?

Why must the girl appear on the tangent line of the shot when entering the light and shadow?

Because it happened to be the junction of mountains and sea at that time.

The change of the girl's position also means that the two of them have "went down the mountain" and begun to move towards love...or the next stage of love psychology.

The originally daunting sense of distance disappeared, replaced by a feeling as continuous as the sea.

Love itself is gentle, so the background between the two people will be cut into this gentle state.

As for why he had to walk into the dappled shade of trees, which was very picky about light and angles when shooting, he still couldn't figure it out for the time being, but he understood that the tree where the two people walked out of the camera at the end was the end of the journey.

It's hard to say whether it's just a rest for the shot, or whether the story of the two was cut apart by some accident, causing the two parties to "break up" and "grow apart".

He hasn't read the script of this story yet, so it's hard to judge.

but……

Seemingly thinking of something, he turned his head and glanced at the young man who was staring blankly into the distance.

The things this young man shoots are so restrained.

Unlike some other directors, whether they are cynical or uninhibited.

Young directors always like to be extremely generous with things.

When it comes to killing fish, it means bleeding, cramping, scraping scales and removing gills, which is a complete mess.

The pursuit of rich and colorful lens language, the pursuit of full and saturated picture tension... If you want to be happy, revel to the end, if you want to be depressed, suppress it to the extreme... It seems that you must give all the emotions in your heart to the audience.

When making a love movie, I wish the two of them would just take off their pants when they meet, expressing the kind of love that explodes in an instant.

This is why many film critics say that to see the style of a young director, you only need to watch his first three works.

Because the first three works are the most authentic embodiment of the directing style.

What kind of thing is shot, then what kind of style the director may have in the future.

To put it bluntly, it is like a calf that is not afraid of tigers when it is born. What they pursue is to express their own views on the world, so the director's first three works are like the original sin of tasting the forbidden fruit for the first time, full of content and never tired of it.

He has seen many young directors, and they all want to tell the audience all their inner camera language. No matter what the plot is... they must tell the audience everything they shoot.

It’s very, very full.

And in the past decades of photography career... this young man is the first young director he has seen, the first young director who can shoot with such restraint.

Otherwise, he would not ask the other party if he should add some elements to highlight the subject relationship between the two based on experience.

But the other party actually expressed it so implicitly and cleanly.

As pure as a white flower...

He was really surprised.

Obviously when Jay Chou found him before, he specifically said that the director was a new director who had not made any films so far.

But the first part... was shot so restrained?

Really a newcomer?

He was really surprised... but he liked this shooting method very much.

Whether it's the cutting-shot technique reflected through background images, or the subtle and restrained approach.

They all fit in with his own definition of "unsatisfied lover".

People are old.

Something like dry firewood meeting fire...

Can't do it anymore.

True love is the care and companionship that continues for decades and flows deep.

How can there be so much excitement?

I'm old, my teeth are bad, I can't chew anything that's too hard, I can't drink too strong wine, and I can't eat too much sweet food.

On the contrary, this kind of simple style contains a lot of heart...

He loved it.

really like.

Because, this is life.

simple is the best.

…

The track is laid.

"Director Xu, let's see the angle."

Following Li Pingdong's words, Xu Xin quickly walked over.

Seeing that the angle was no problem, the mountain happened to be behind "two-thirds", so he nodded:

"no problem."

After saying that, he looked up at Jay Chou and Yang Mi:

"Go and walk at the same pace just now. Come here in a leisurely manner and talk about whatever you want. Anyway, it's a test shoot. Whether it's good or not, let's call it a day and go to the next location, okay?"

"OK."

Yang Mi responded, and Jay Chou also made an OK gesture.

So, Xu Xin nodded, stood next to the slide rail, stared at the digital screen above the camera and shouted:

"Come on, three, two, one, let's go..."

The screen starts to move.

The two started walking.

Yang Mi was the first to speak:

"What should we talk about?"

"Uh... whatever."

"Then you have to say something, right?"

"What do you want to say?"

"Just say something."

"What can you say?"

"There seems to be nothing to say."

"Then you have to say something."

"Are we...going in circles?"

"It seems like you're going in circles, right?"

"It feels so strange."

"That's why you want to say something, right?...Hey, look at my eyes, are they still swollen?"

As soon as he finished speaking, light and shadow spread from his toes to his upper body.

Just in time, Jay Chou turned around.

The two looked at each other.

After looking at it twice, Jay Chou shook his head and chuckled:

"It's not swollen anymore~"

"As long as it doesn't swell, otherwise my eyes will be uncomfortable if they are as small as yours."

"……ha."

A smile appeared on Jay Chou's face again:

"Please, I have single eyelids, please don't listen to his nonsense. My eyes just look small, but they are actually not small."

"Hey, where will you take us for breakfast later?"

"It's around here, over by the pier."

Just point to the distance:

"The fishing boats are back. There are a lot of fresh seafood and they taste great~"

"Gudu~"

The girl swallowed:

"So hungry..."

As the words fell, the camera froze.

The two walked out of the camera.

"OK."

Xu Xin shouted, but without him having to say anything, Yang Mi, Jay Chou, and the people standing next to them all crowded in front of the digital screen of the camera, wanting to see what the shot was like.

Everyone was huddled together, and Li Pingdong directly called up the scene he had just taken.

Xu Xin, who was at the front of the crowd, narrowed his eyes.

"Three, two, one, let's go~"

As his own voice sounded, the screen began to move slowly...

Less than a minute.

The screen ends.

Xu Xin sighed and said:

"Teacher Li, you are so amazing..."

"Hahaha~ Director Xu, you are not bad either. This part was shot very well. The camera feels very good~!"

Li Pingdong smiled.

But everyone else couldn't help but look at each other...

Including Jay Chou and Yang Mi...

More or less, everyone has an idea in their mind, that is...

This part... isn't it just walking and moving?

The actor talks and walks at the same time, what else?

What were you filming?

These two people... just compliment each other like this?

Although the lens looks quite comfortable.

But I can’t see anything special...

This is the true thought of many people, and Xu Xin doesn't know what they are thinking...or even if he knows, he won't explain it.

The director's primary function is to interpret a good story for the audience.

Let me tell you what story I photographed.

In other words, presenting a story from the text of the script to the screen.

This is the first thing to do.

And after achieving this, expressing something, or using lens language and so on...that is the director's personal matter.

This is called "style".

And the artistic appreciation that many viewers pursue is not to watch the director's filming. What they look for is the story, the pictures, and the acting skills.

Whether the story is clear, whether the picture looks comfortable, and whether the actors' acting skills look natural.

These are what they are after.

And did Xu Xin do it?

done.

Mountains, sea, tree-lined roads.

These images have been presented to the audience through the two's unhurried pace and slow panning of the camera. That's why they feel that this section looks pretty good.

But when it comes to deconstructing the director’s lens language, or what it’s for… it’s actually not necessary and out of the question.

The first is the level of art appreciation.

The second thing is...the movie screen is advancing every minute and every second. Unless you are a film critic who deliberately picks out details, or a certain scene by the director left a very deep impression full of specific emotions.

Otherwise, with regard to the settings of scenery, characters, dialogue, and plot, the audience's first impression will always be as simple and direct as "whether it is comfortable or not" or "whether it looks beautiful or not."

It's not that the audience doesn't have artistic appreciation, but...

99% of the audiences in the movie market pay attention to this at the beginning when watching a movie.

Perhaps in the second or third brush, they will pay careful attention to some things, such as analyzing the lens language, acting skills, or some easter eggs in it.

But in the hearts of the audience, there is also a clear dividing line, that is, which movies are worth watching more and which movies will be forgotten after watching them.

It's that simple.

A movie worth watching more times must be a certain kind of movie itself, through some "aftertaste" of pictures, shots, and themes that you can see, or can't understand, or simply ignore, but still leave an impression in your heart. Win or lose is decided.

Most of the problems with movies that are not worth watching come from the plot or the audience's inability to understand them.

Perhaps it is because the audience themselves are not experienced enough, and it will take a few years to gradually understand the director's expression. Or just plain bad.

That's a story for another day.

But no matter what, Xu Xin always liked what his girlfriend said to him.

Life is the same as movies, winning or losing depends on the aftertaste.

And if he knew that everyone's current perception of this shot, which Li Pingdong thinks highly of, is just "it's quite comfortable to watch," he would definitely smile and express his approval.

because……

That's enough.

As for what you can understand or do later...

Let’s talk about it later.

The important thing is that at this stage of life, this fragment, or this moment, the things I shoot can make you feel comfortable, comfortable, or happy, sad, angry, etc...

That's enough.

Because at least... it won't make you feel that you are wasting your life by watching my movie...

That’s it.

…

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

Others may still be confused, but Li Pingdong, who has gradually understood Xu Xin's shooting philosophy, is relieved.

While disassembling the equipment, I kept chatting with Xu Xin.

He also smokes.

The two of them just had a cigarette each and chatted about the tone of the movie by the car.

And when Xu Xin said to him: "Teacher Li, I hope that every scene in this movie can be used as wallpaper." Li Pingdong gave him a surprised look...

Then nodded:

"It should be possible. Those locations are very good. You'll understand after taking a look."

Soon the equipment in the car was installed and the motorcade headed towards Tamkang Music Middle School.

For a campus drama, there are two filming locations in the script.

One is Jay Chou's alma mater, Tamkang Music Middle School, and the other is Jinri University.

Go to Tamkang Music Middle School first.

Because the students were still in class at this time and there was no holiday, Jay Chou did not go in.

Xu Xin, Li Pingdong, Yang Mi and other seven or eight people entered the middle school under the leadership of the school.

After entering near the teaching building, you can hear the sound of various musical instruments.

The destination of everyone is actually very simple, which is the corridor on the first floor of Tamkang Music Middle School.

Jay Chou is not here, so naturally no one will listen to his story about when he was a child studying here.

Xu Xin and Li Pingdong walked back and forth in the corridor twice and basically circled various places.

Xu Xin also took many photos during this period, but he walked out after less than an hour in total.

The team starts heading to the next stop.

University of Truth.

In the script, the old piano room of Tamkang Middle School has long been demolished, and there is a place called "Red Girl Building" here at Jinri University, which is similar to the old piano room in Jay Chou's memory. The playground scene in the episode is also shot here, so the crew must come and see it.

But you definitely can’t shoot in the old piano room.

Instead, they used a one-to-one reproduction method to copy the ones that were needed. Currently, the old piano room and video studio of the University of Truth are being built in the studio.

This time, Jay Chou dared to appear, but he still covered himself tightly.

It aroused the curiosity of many students.

But fortunately, the security personnel arranged by the school were strong enough and did not cause any commotion. Just when everyone was wondering whether the man in the round hat was Jay Chou, everyone left.

After coming out, the convoy started heading towards New Taipei City without stopping.

The Linshanbi Trail over there, and the living area that serves as the home of "Lu Xiaoyu".

At noon, they also went to the video store in the script.

In fact, it was not a video store, but a restaurant called "LABU".

When Jay Chou was a kid, this was indeed a video store, but it later closed down. He had already negotiated a temporary lease with the boss, and the LABU restaurant was currently closed. When he went there, the decoration workers were busy setting up the venue.

Convert the small bay in the restaurant’s front hall into a video store.

In the afternoon, everyone returned to Taoyuan Airport. Jay Chou thought that the most beautiful shot in the picture, the Chaoyin Haifeng Drive, was here.

After arriving here, Xu Xin specially imagined the scene and asked Abao, who was wearing a white shirt today, to play the role of Warnhead, riding a borrowed bicycle up and down the half-slope, and went around in circles for two times. Three laps.

And after running all the exterior scenes throughout the whole day, the time also came at night.

Everyone started busy at around five o'clock in the morning, and now... they are indeed exhausted.

In addition, I didn't sleep well. When I returned to Tamsui Town from Taoyuan, everyone except Dani who was driving, including Xu Xin, was snoring.

Dani is actually very tired, but Sun Ting's driver's license cannot be used here.

The two cannot exchange hands.

And when she returned to Jay Chou's house in a daze, Dani didn't leave either...

Sun Ting is not leaving either.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the sofa or the floor.

Anyway, if you lie down, you really can’t get up.

This is true for everyone.

Xu Xin was so dazed that he couldn't even remember how he got back to bed.

I feel like I close my eyes and the world is spinning.

Then when I opened my eyes again, it was pitch black outside.

Subconsciously touched the side...

My girlfriend is still here.

but……

"Gu~~~"

His stomach, which had not eaten for more than 12 hours, reminded him crazily...

hungry.

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