Made in Hollywood

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"Mike, all the opening scenes use high-speed slow motion."

Standing in the editing room of Rock Studio, Duke carefully stared at the screen on the monitor, "Fade in between shot seven and shot eight, insert shot twenty-three explosion..."

After Mike Dawson directed the two assistants to edit, Duke folded his arms and looked at it for a while, then said, "The wide-angle shot with sunset on number 45 is placed in front of shot number 23, yes, that's all. Effect!"

With the cooperation of "Speed ​​of Life", the editor Mike Dawson has more tacit understanding with Duke, and he is more convinced of Duke's editing method, because in the 65th Oscar nomination list just released, he Received the only Oscar nomination for "Speed ​​of Life" - Best Editing!

This is Mike Dawson's first Oscar nomination.

With the most authoritative recognition in the industry, Mike Dawson completely recognized Duke's post-production concept. Let's talk about the beginning of the film. The nearly four-minute scene is all slow-motion footage, which seems to be in line with the speed of the film. The rhythm is completely out of tune, but after cutting it out, it has another effect.

The slow motion highlights the grandeur of General Hammer and the solemnity of the film's theme, and this scene is again in the cemetery. General Hammer is ready to remonstrate to the government for justice for the dead and forgotten by the government. He came to the cemetery to tell his deceased wife When saying goodbye, I happened to see the funeral of the soldier, but the deceased could enjoy the treatment of covering the national flag. Through the slow-motion of the torrential rain, the incomparable anger in General Hammer's heart was even more brought out.

"Next..." He heard Duke's voice again, "Mike, our specialty is short cuts and quick cuts, and all action shots must be limited to less than three seconds."

Duke is still Duke, Mike Dawson felt that way.

Duke doesn't know about Mike Dawson's idea, and he doesn't care if he knows it. After running in, the two have found a tacit understanding and rhythm of cooperation. The editing efficiency is much improved than that of "Speed ​​of Life and Death". The first cut was completed in ten days.

However, the total length of the dailies was more than five and a half hours, and without the more time-consuming and more complicated and meticulous editing and production, the effect Duke wanted could not be achieved at all.

The final film must be longer than the 96 minutes of "Speed ​​of Life". Duke strives to control the film to about 110 minutes, especially the scenes of Christopher Lee, unlike the one he had to keep in order to take care of Sean Connery. Some pictures showing elegant demeanor, this Mason is more sturdy, not the traditional gentleman agent who makes people look fake.

There are also some side-by-side plots, and Duke also tried to simplify them as much as possible. This is a movie with action and thrills as its selling points, as long as it maintains the most basic plot logic.

In commercial movies, a lot of logic is ignored for various reasons, rather than bugs. For example, the relationship between Mason and his daughter in "Brave Island", Duke can completely start another two-hour movie. Describe this emotional relationship and psychological changes, but in this film, the shots that are not related to the theme must be spared, in order to highlight the theme, as long as the basic logic can be smoothly connected.

This is also one of the biggest points of conflict between commercial films and professional film critics. Film critics always think that commercial films deliberately ignore the plot of the film for those explosive fights, while the director must omit the slow rhythm in order to take care of the audience's feelings and commercial achievements. The details, in a limited time, offer the greatest enjoyment for the people who pay.

As for commercial films becoming the ideal situation of film critics, whether they will lose money, whether investors will go bankrupt, and those vampires who hold high the banner of art but lie in the industry will never consider it.

If there are relevant online scores now, Duke believes that after the release of "Brave Island", the Rotten Tomatoes index will exceed 60% at most, and he is confident that the popcorn index representing the audience will reach 8%. more than ten.

Duke really doesn't care about professional ratings. Film critics do have the right to speak professionally, but his films are not meant to win awards. If critics rate something, just watch it.

Just like Roger Ebert gave the film 10 points after the release of "Speed ​​of Life", Duke did not feel any joy, and the average professional media score of the film was only a little more than 7 points, and he would not feel it. Frustrated, none of this outweighs the benefits the film can bring him.

And it will take more than ten years at most, and the right to speak of film reviews will not be in the hands of film critics. Thinking about the last few years, there are not a few top film critics who were forcibly terminated by the media in North America.

Besides, after the massive criticism of "Star Wars", the influence of film critics on the film's box office has plummeted, and now it is relatively weak. If I remember correctly, next year's "The Shawshank Redemption" is almost by them. It was lifted to the sky, and it was released for the second time with endless sympathy after the Oscars. The total box office and attendance still fell to the ground, and it took the production company and the distribution company more than ten years to recover the cost.

And what about the film's director, Frank Darabont? Such a well-received film has not brought much improvement to his situation. He is still only a second-tier or even a third-tier director, not to mention ordinary audiences. Even in the Hollywood industry, how many people remember his name?

This is Hollywood, professional reputation cannot be completely ignored, but business achievements are more important!

Who dares to say that directors like Frank Darabont, Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, who were nominated for Best Director at the Oscars for their first directors, or even won an Oscar, have a higher status in Hollywood than Michael Bay, who was never nominated?

In this day and age, movies have become commodities. This is a fact that no one can deny. Before making a movie, we must first identify the movie’s positioning and target potential consumers. The movies that Duke chose are both It is not for awards, nor does it have to worry about professional reputation, the first consideration is business.

According to the plan, his next film is even a big collection of various summer vulgar elements.

Just like what he said, as long as there is a guarantee of business performance, he has enough time to hone himself and then transform. Even if the transformation fails, he can come back and continue his super-explosive road.

Post-production is a process that requires more patience than filming. The precise editing of "Brave the Deadly Island" can only be described as turtle speed. In addition to editing, there are still some special effects shots that need to be synthesized. The Pentagon provided the crew with an F-18 major For the wasps taking off and flying in formation, Duke not only had to choose the appropriate shots, but also edited and synthesized the fighter formations into the scenery of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Of course, what drained Duke the most was the action shots.

"Every fifteen minutes, I want an action scene."

Sitting at the rest table, Duke explained to Mike Dawson several key points for editing action scenes, "All action scenes must show a grand pattern, but not out of control, using short shots and high-speed slow-motion methods, To offset the procrastination that may be caused by a long time, the female characters can be saved if they can, and the tone of the whole film is tense and masculine."

"There's a question, Duke."

Charles Rowan, who was sitting opposite, said, "I just saw the F-18 video data provided by the Pentagon. It is an Air Force Blue Angel aircraft, not a Marine Corps."

"It doesn't matter, it's just a small problem." Dukra pulled the hat on his head. "Although the operation has always been dominated by the Marine Corps, the film will not explain where the final bombing was dispatched. The Air Force can also launch air strikes."

The Los Angeles Raiders hat Duke wore, which he dubbed the Lucky Cap, intrigued Charles Rowan, who pointed to the pattern and said, "This is the team you support?"

"That's it."

American football is the sport Duke participated in the most when he was in school. In the past two years, because of work, he has paid little attention to it.

"Have you heard?" Charles Rowan continued. "The Raiders may be moving out of Los Angeles, probably back in Oakland."

"Why didn't I know?" Duke was stunned for a moment, then thought that he hadn't been following sports news at all recently, "When did this happen?"

"It's not determined yet." Charles Rowan thought for a while, "It is said that after the Super Bowl, the Raiders will be sold."

"Oh..." Duke automatically ignored the second half of Rowan's words, "Super Bowl!"

"Super Bowl!" He suddenly clapped his palm, "I forgot about it!"

Mike Dawson and Charles Rowan both looked at Duke puzzled.

"Charles, I'm a layman with publicity,"

The propaganda of this era relies more on traditional media. Duke really doesn’t know much about it, and he seldom incorporates it into the propaganda. All of them are carried out according to the plan made by professionals, but now there is a little confidence in his tone, “I can Any suggestions for Warner's publicity plan?"

According to the contract signed by the two parties, Duke's accountant team can participate in the announcement and monitor related accounting expenses, etc., but he, the director, has no right to interfere with the announcement, and only needs to cooperate with the reasonable plan formulated by Warner Bros.

This is not the result of compromise, but a Hollywood practice. Duke also understands himself. He is not a great genius who is omniscient and omnipotent. Even if he has understood some theories, he still lacks practical experience. When it comes to actual combat power, it is definitely not comparable. Professionals at Warner Bros.

Perhaps in the Internet age, he will be able to do a little more in this regard.

"Suggestion?" Charles Rowan frowned.

After getting along for nearly half a year, he also has a certain understanding of Duke. The other party is within the scope of his own power, and he does not allow others to infringe at will, and he will not extend his hands indiscriminately within the authority that does not belong to him. It can be said that it is a Hollywood system. The kind of director the filmmakers prefer.

"Yes, a suggestion!" Duke emphasized.