I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 254 252. Men’s lighter

December 23rd.

Christmas is approaching in the West.

In Hengdian Town, you can vaguely see some garland ribbons, Santa Claus decals and the like.

But in the movie city, there is no Christmas atmosphere at all.

After all, we can't be filming a costume drama here. It would be really bad to suddenly see Santa Claus's head on someone's window.

The sun is still shining brightly today, which is a good weather for outdoor shooting.

At the Chenghuang Temple, there were already one to two hundred extra performers waiting there early in the morning.

The actors have already gone to put on makeup, and the crew is setting up the camera and setting up the scene, which is extremely busy.

Last night, all the actors met under the director's organization and discussed today's shooting plan and time. No, everyone had already arrived at the film and television city before 8 o'clock in the cold weather. In the rented room next to her, she put on her makeup when it was time to put on makeup and warmed up the fire when it was time to do so.

Xu Xin was wearing a down jacket and just stood aside, watching Li Pingdong adjust the crane lens.

To be honest, it's quite cold.

There is still a gap between the coldness in the south and the coldness in the north.

Compared with the refreshing dry cold, this kind of dampness and coldness is like a ghost, creeping in along the seams of clothes.

What will be filmed soon is the story of a cripple played by Ni Dahong who came to the City God's Temple to post a notice and the Secret Service was preparing to arrest someone. However, after recognizing that the cripple was an internal cleaner of the Military Aircraft Department, the operation was canceled and the action was taken to fish for a bigger fish.

The story is actually very simple, but because there are so many extras, it was difficult to film here.

Moreover, multiple camera angles need to be changed at once, so it was really troublesome to shoot this scene.

But it's okay for Xu Xin... After all, he came out of the Olympics, and the first movie he participated in in his life was "The Golden Jacket."

Xu Xin had some experience in dealing with such a crowded scene.

Last night, through the "thirty-person division method", the shooting situation on the entire street was divided into areas one by one. He had already made it quite clear how to route the cameras and how to perform the group performances.

No, the stage manager, including the action director, is leading the extras to explain.

Everyone only needs to move back and forth point-to-point within their own prescribed area. As long as they don't move randomly, it will be orderly and orderly in chaos.

At this time, a voice sounded:

"Director Xu, please put it on."

Xu Xin turned his head and saw Zhang Jiao holding a military coat in his hand. He didn't refuse and put it on directly.

At the same time he asked:

"Where is Zhao Liying? Is she here?"

"Already here... right at Sister Mi's house."

Zhang Jiao nodded.

There are two characters in the play "Baozi". One is the operator of the Military Aircraft Department, who is also Gu Xiaomeng's colleague.

When I shoot it later, I will give a side shot.

Then I went to Xi'an and went to the factory. Like Jing Tian, ​​I played the role of a kimono-wearing waitress in an interior scene.

There is no need to worry about being recognized, because the plot follows the protagonist group, and no one will stare at a supporting cast.

Although she has no lines, it is already a very good opportunity for Zhao Liying to be a supporting role in such a big-name crew.

Not to mention... Baozi was called out from the "group performance" by himself just now.

The original words are:

"Zhao Liying, Sister Yang Mi is calling you."

The voice is not quiet, and the fox pretends to be powerful.

And now Baozi was really called to the dressing room by Sister Mi to warm himself by the fire... This face was already very big.

Although they are both contracted artists of Huayi, the treatment between her and the Huayi Gang in the crew is completely different. But with this qualification, although she will not be able to walk sideways in Hengdian in the future, some crew members heard that Yang Mi knew her. She also led her on the set for a period of time, so Baozi will have enough capital to stand upright in the future.

It's just so realistic.

After Xu Xin heard this, he nodded:

"Well, let her behave well."

"Okay, okay!"

Zhang Jiao agreed, and then saw that Xu Xin didn't have a thermos cup in his hand, so he quickly went back to get a thermos cup.

It's too cold today. Drink some hot tea to keep warm.

Xu Xin turned around and looked at the corner of the street.

On the prop car at the corner of the street, Wang Zhiwen, who plays Wang Tianxiang, has been in the car for nearly half an hour.

Don't pay attention to anyone, don't bother anyone.

Didn't even read the script.

Just sitting in the car, smoking occasionally, but mostly alone.

Xu Xin knew that he was adjusting his condition.

I can't help but feel a little emotional.

As far as professionalism is concerned, it’s really hard to say.

After waiting for a while, the lame cleaner played by Ni Dahong, who also had no lines in the whole play but played an extremely important role, appeared soon.

Looking at his outfit, Xu Xin nodded with satisfaction, then walked up and said hello:

"elder brother."

There's no way to calculate this seniority anyway.

Everyone has their own opinions.

Ni Dahong also smiled and nodded, and took out a box of prop Camel cigarettes.

These cigarettes are provided by local prop companies in Hengdian, and most of the tobacco is grown locally. It is a quite novel experience for smokers.

Especially since it doesn’t have a filter.

There are many scenes in the play where characters puff out smoke after lighting up cigarettes.

Xu Xin took it and helped him light it.

As a tacit understanding of having already worked together in "Golden Armor", he didn't talk nonsense. He held the rolled-up storyboard of his mobile phone and pointed at the black tape on the ground in front of Ni Dahong.

"Brother, your position will be on this line in a while. Go to the notice board, paint the glue, and put up the lottery advertisement. I won't talk about the performance, you can play freely. In a while, you will have a close-up of the front, a close-up of the back, And a close-up of the side when playing lottery tickets. Adding this moving shot..."

After Xu Xin explained what he wanted to photograph, Ni Dahong nodded:

"Okay, I get it."

After saying that, he walked to the starting point of the tape.

In fact, this tape was used to give Ni Dahong a route, and on the other hand, it was to prevent some extras from moving randomly and blocking the camera.

As an extra, I must be right to stay a step or two away from this line when I see it.

Xu Xin just watched him imitate the lame man's walking, walking back and forth for a few times, and then the people who arranged the extras over there came back.

After everyone communicated, Huang Dongcheng’s voice as the “spokesperson” rang out from the loudspeaker:

"All the extras are in place, let's go through the camera positions first! Remember, avoid the black tape on the ground! Don't block the camera, everyone moves on their own point-to-point route, and don't make strange movements! It's cold, the director will give everyone I have prepared wheat kernel tea, and you can drink it after taking the photo in a while! Cheer up! Come on, come on, everyone stands in their respective positions..."

As soon as the sound came out, the group of performers sitting or standing appeared on the street of the City God Temple.

Including those "Japanese soldiers" who were also wearing their own down jackets, but underneath they were white shirts and yellow pants.

Xu Xin was sitting at the table at the entrance of the alley, with several LCD monitors in front of him, and a tent above his head, blocking all sunlight.

After hearing the commotion, Yang Mi, Yu Xuan, Su Youpeng, Liang Binning, and Zhang Hanyu, who were about to appear above the military aircraft office, also came out.

Came to the tent.

Xu Xin didn't stop him. After all the extras were in place, he took the walkie-talkie and said:

"Every department is ready, countdown to one minute."

One minute later:

"Test filming, three, two, one, start."

The sound of hitting the board sounded, and the frozen actors began to move.

A market scene appeared on the screen.

The crowds are diverse and diverse.

There were people in rags walking aimlessly, and there were soldiers wearing white shirts on a cold day, shouting slogans and running past in formation.

After these "Japanese soldiers" ran past the camera, Huang Dongcheng's voice sounded:

"stop."

Then there was no sound.

After a moment, the intercom sounded:

"Director Li, there's no problem with the angle. All the actors are ready to start filming."

After saying this, several more microphones appeared in the venue.

Strictly speaking, the "first scene" of "The Wind" officially begins.

As a director, after all the preparations are completed, all he needs to do is control the overall situation. Therefore, at this moment, he was just staring at the monitor and watching the pictures transmitted in real time.

In the picture, first there is the prosperity of the City God's Temple, then in the second scene there is a close-up of Ni Dahong smoking a cigarette from the front, and in the third scene there is a close-up of the back of Ni Dahong limping. When he arrives at the City God's Temple, he poses for a shot of plastering and plastering advertisements.

The entire scene was shot in one take and multiple times from different angles.

Different lens switching is completed by editing later.

After Ni Dahong finished filming, he stood aside.

Then there are shots of several secret agents hidden in the crowd.

In terms of difficulty, it was all a staged shot, so as long as the crowd didn’t intrude or anything went wrong, it was basically no problem.

As expected, because I was fully prepared, everything went smoothly from the start of filming.

At this time, the camera came to the front of the car, and the agent said this to Wang Tianxiang who was sitting in the car smoking:

"Director, I know that lame man. He is a cleaner at our headquarters."

And the decision that Oda Kona made after hasty thinking:

"withdraw!"

In the end, several spies who wanted to arrest received the order and retreated in time, while the cripple played by Ni Dahong finished painting the bulletin board of the City God's Temple and posted the digital information of the white pigeon ticket.

The entire scene ends.

time cost……

48 minutes.

Then, 12 minutes later, Xu Xin, who had checked all the shots, took the walkie-talkie and said:

"Okay, let's start transitioning."

Exactly an hour.

He was wearing a military coat and nodded to the actors next to him who had remained quiet for an hour:

"How many people are here for the next show, come on. Get ready!"

Following his words, everyone nodded subconsciously and watched him take Li Haiping, Li Pingdong and others to the next filming location of the Military Aircraft Department.

While other members of the crew began to pack their things.

At this time, Zhang Jiao heard Zhao Liying next to her say:

"Director Xu...that's amazing."

"...?"

Zhang Jiao turned her head in confusion:

"What?"

Zhao Liying's voice is neither too loud nor too soft, so you can naturally hear her clearly if you want.

However, these people are all smart after all, and naturally they will not do anything to listen to the corner. So after hearing what this little girl said, they all showed recognition, and then followed the team one after another to the next filming location.

Zhang Jiao glanced at Sister Mi, who had been talking very little since this morning. She pulled Zhao Liying along with the staff to queue up for the transfer bus, and asked in a low voice:

"what does it mean?"

"Well……"

Zhao Liying looked around and then whispered:

"Jiaojiao, look back at everyone's expressions."

"?"

Zhang Jiao, who had only taken two steps away from the shooting area, turned her head subconsciously and saw the staff who were dismantling the crane arm, as well as the extras... who seemed a little puzzled, and were even discussing something in groups.

"What's wrong? What do you mean?"

Seeing that her friend didn't understand, Zhao Liying whispered:

"You don't do much filming, and after finishing "The Golden Jacket", all of your acting roles are high-priced, so it's normal not to know... This filming went so smoothly, you know?"

"...isn't it good?"

Zhang Jiao was a little confused.

Zhao Liying also knew that Jiaojiao had never experienced this kind of group performance.

Before she fell out with the group leader, she always relied on sister Gong Li to act as her replacement, playing roles that paid a lot of money.

A scene like today's scene belongs to the group of actors and is performed by the lowest level beings.

So explained:

"It's definitely good, but the problem is...haven't you noticed that except for the cigarette ashes of Teacher Wang Zhiwen accidentally falling on his coat just now, and I took a photo repeatedly when cleaning it, I took another photo again, do you understand the meaning? "

"……not understand."

She really doesn't have as much experience as her friends when it comes to this kind of filming.

Zhao Liying, who has already gained experience in filming, whispered:

"This shows that there is good coordination and sufficient preparation... that is, enough work has been done in advance, and the extras know what they should do, and they will not wander around. Remember "The Golden Armor", right? Let's be extras At that time, three or four executive directors gave us training on various actions, details of dressing each other, palace steps, and cutscenes..."

"Well……"

Zhang Jiao's memories began to flood back.

But after thinking about it, he asked doubtfully:

"You mean Director Xu did a good job in advance?"

"That's right. Because I did a good job in advance, there were no scenes where the extras were on camera today, and no extras bumped into anything while walking, or people on both sides accidentally collided, or accidentally bumped into each other. This is a common situation with cameras. Look at the time..."

Zhao Liying showed the watch on her wrist:

"It's only an hour. If I acted in it, I would have rushed all morning to get there... You still remember what I told you, Director Xu and I reunited during the location scene of "Love Killing Jiuhe Hall" Right?"

"Um."

Zhang Jiao naturally knows.

Because it was this reunion of my friends that made me who I am today.

"That scene was similar to this one. Do you know how long it took to finish filming? One afternoon! There weren't as many people there as there were here, so I said Director Xu was great... If there were other things, I might not be able to see anything. But I’ve done a lot of ensemble plays and seen a lot of them.

Some directors don't know how to do this kind of scene, and they can spend a whole morning flipping over just one or two scenes, and they want to scream at the top of their lungs... But look at Director Xu, he didn't say a word at all, and he didn't put much effort into it.

When I arrived here, I saw several directors giving speeches to the group about the placement. As a result, in this hour, all the long shots, including small shots among the crowd, were shot...

Believe it or not, there are countless people here who haven’t eaten in the morning and are just waiting for lunch from the crew. Now it's so good... I don't even have anything to eat. "

After hearing Zhao Liying's explanation, Zhang Jiao nodded:

"I see... But this crew is all the elites of Xiying Studio, and they are also very powerful."

"Doesn't that mean that Director Xu is more powerful?"

"Well……"

Not to mention, what my friend said is really reasonable.

In fact, other people's thoughts are similar to hers.

They are all veterans who have filmed many films, and have been with and seen various crews. We all know that ensemble scenes are difficult to shoot and prone to errors due to the large number of people involved.

An expert will know if there is one as soon as he takes action.

Counting all the adjustments to the camera positions, it is conservatively estimated that it took about 12 to 13 close-ups and 78 character features, including tracking, fixation, etc., which is enough to meet the capabilities of an hour...

In fact, there are two situations.

First of all, the director is fooling around.

But this is basically impossible in the face of the fact that his debut film won the Golden Camera Award and one movie sold more than 400 million yuan.

The second point is what Zhao Liying said.

They have rich experience in arranging this kind of scene, and have done the best preparations before shooting.

The difficulty in today's scene is not the acting, but the scheduling.

And from the current point of view...

Director Xu is worthy of being the chief internal manager of the Olympic Games.

The well-organized scene only shows the temperament.

So neat.

…

Xu Xin didn't know how other people evaluated him, and he didn't have time to care.

His mind is now completely immersed in shooting.

When other transition actors arrived, he was leading Lin Li on the route.

In this scene, he had to take one shot to the end, and this Alai was really a bit heavy.

Li Pingdong is also older, so this time the apprentice carried the camera while he watched from behind using a split screen.

Lin Li had already put on a vest to stabilize the equipment at this moment and was following Xu Xin on the route.

After the actors arrived, he didn't say anything. Instead, Li Haiping communicated and asked everyone to put on makeup and get into position.

By the time the route was completed, Yang Mi, Liang Binning, Zhang Hanyu and Yu Xuan, including Su Youpeng at the end, were all waiting in their rooms to take their seats.

Among them are several good-looking extras, including Zhao Liying.

At this time, Xu Xin walked into Yang Mi's room.

Holding the script in his hand, he said:

"After a while, you take the notebook, write down these numbers, get up and walk to Li Ningyu's house. Don't worry about the position of the camera, I will let him cooperate with you. The two of you will have three intersections..."

He broke it apart bit by bit, crushed it into pieces, and patiently connected it all with Yang Mi.

Looking at...the fiancée who seemed to have changed into a completely different person in terms of hairstyle and temperament, after explaining everything that needed to be explained, she said:

"any questions?"

Yang Mi shook her head:

"No...but I think it would be better to add a small detail to the scene for a while, like this..."

After listening to her words, Xu Xin thought for a while and nodded:

"Yeah. Then you can control it yourself, and I'll tell her."

As he spoke, he suddenly unfolded the storyboard draft in his hand.

"And here..."

She laid the draft flat in front of Yang Mi's desk.

As soon as the girl lowered her head, she saw a sentence:

"Gu Xiaomeng, come on."

There is also a "heart" next to it.

"..."

His eyes moved.

She suddenly smiled.

He raised his head with a smile and looked at Xu Xin:

"Director, don't worry."

"Um."

After talking to her, Xu Xin walked to Liang Binning's room again and finished talking about everything from walking to extremes. He also followed the same pattern and finished talking about the interactions between "Wu Jianguo", "Jin Shenghuo" and "Bai Xiaonian". After that, the person returned to an office nearby.

He sat in front of the monitor again.

Shooting enters preparation process.

He was a little nervous for no reason...

Although he trusted his fiancée, after all, this was her first collision with Liang Binning.

That uneasiness and anxiety mixed with expectation turned into a long breath:

"call……"

This time, he personally held the walkie-talkie:

"The actors prepare."

moment:

"Three, two, one, start!"

…

The camera in the monitor began to move.

Lin Li is young and strong.

Coupled with the function of the stabilizer, the entire lens has a flowing water-like texture.

He passed over Zhao Liying, who was sitting sideways and sending information, and walked step by step to Gu Xiaomeng's desk.

Gu Xiaomeng, played by Yang Mi, showed her profile, holding an earphone with one hand to listen to the rhythm of intelligence signals, and quickly wrote down numbers one after another in a notebook.

At this moment, Gu Xiaomeng's face had a very formulaic look.

She couldn't decipher this piece of information, so she had to hand it over to her superior, Li Ningyu, the section chief of the Translation Department.

So, after writing the signal numbers, she picked up the folder next to her, put the translated message in the folder, and stood up.

She walked casually, as if it didn't matter what the message contained.

But when she walked out of the office door, turned into the adjacent office in the camera lens, a smile suddenly appeared on her face.

This smile comes from the happiness and excitement from the heart.

But people don't know why.

The clatter of high heels made Li Ningyu, who was facing away from her, turn around.

After also seeing her smile, Li Ningyu let her put the document on his desk.

Then the camera was about to leave, but Gu Xiaomeng's hand suddenly scratched Li Ningyu's cheek...

Li Ningyu seemed a little stunned, but the surprise didn't stay on her face for long, and she said with a charming voice:

"Ghost girl~"

"...Click."

Suddenly, Xu Xin's voice came from Lin Li's walkie-talkie.

The shooting progress paused.

Footsteps sounded, and Xu Xin came out of the office next to him and walked into Liang Binning's office.

He took the small monitor from Li Pingdong and came to Liang Binning:

"Sister Bingbing, the expression here is wrong. Li Ningyu is doting on Gu Xiaomeng, instead of showing such a touching smile. You can be beautiful, but it cannot be charming here. Your expression should be as if you are treating your own sister. , reflected with a doting smile..."

This footage, which was temporarily added by Yang Mi, appeared on the screen.

Xu Xin pointed at her expression and began to correct it.

Liang Binning nodded knowingly.

After Xu Xin looked at her carefully for a moment, he said:

"Makeup artist, come and touch up your makeup."

Two makeup artists quickly came over to touch up the makeup and smooth out the scratched foundation.

Xu Xin thought for a while, took the walkie-talkie and said:

"Props, bring up a lighter."

Soon, Liang Binning finished applying her makeup and brought over two prop ZIPPO lighters.

Xu Xin chose a lighter with a brass texture and said to Yang Mi:

"Stop scratching Sister Bingbing's cheeks for a while. Just take the lighter off her table."

"...?"

Yang Mi was a little confused:

"What are you doing... with a lighter?"

"It's good to show the relationship between you two. Sister Bingbing, she takes the lighter away, and you say "Ghost Girl" in a doting tone."

"good."

Liang Bingning responded, but Yang Mi was even more puzzled:

"Why... just holding a lighter can prove a good relationship?"

But the men present, including Li Pingdong, all showed a... tacit smile.

Just listen to Xu Xin say:

"You are not a smoker, so you don't know. Smoke sometimes belongs to everyone. But lighters can only belong to you."

After the words fell, Li Pingdong on the side said with a smile:

"More important than my wife."

"That's...ok."

Although she didn't understand the strange reason, Yang Mi still nodded.

Everyone returned to their positions and continued shooting.

Familiar position, familiar click of high heels.

And when Gu Xiaomeng sent the information to Li Ningyu, grabbed the lighter on the table, shook it at her, and turned to leave, the words "ghost girl" with a doting tone came out of Liang Bingning's mouth. .

In another room, Xu Xin, sitting in front of the monitor, nodded with satisfaction.

very satisfied.

Really satisfied.

On the one hand, I was satisfied with the generosity of my sister Li Ningyu. She was not upset when someone took her lighter away, but her eyes were filled with doting expressions.

On the other hand.

He had to admit, even if this was just the first scene...

But judging from the fact that Yang Mi playfully shook the lighter at Li Ningyu, as well as her previous actions.

Her performance here is really more fulfilling than Liang Binning.

Her year of preparation was not in vain...

Very good performance.

For the time being... he had already let go of most of it.