Chapter 145: Acting skills improved by leaps and bounds
The high attention paid to Lin Feng did not affect his filming of "Better Days".
Moreover, the closed shooting was exactly what Lin Feng requested, so that he could devote himself to the film without being affected by the outside world.
Because Lin Feng understands one thing: no matter what the outside world thinks or what the fans think, an actor's popularity depends on his works.
As long as you have works and ability, and do not make any bottom-line mistakes, even if you have various habits or even problems, these are harmless.

Besides Lin Feng, director Wen Muye himself is a director with very high requirements, and he is willing to cooperate with Lin Feng to do so.

To some extent, Wen Muye, who was directing a feature film for the first time, had higher requirements. He was fully committed, rigorous and meticulous in his work on the set, even a little "brutal".

This is the feeling of almost all the crew members. Wen Muye has very high requirements for photography, scheduling, and rhythm.
Whether it is the scene lighting or the presentation of subtle conditions such as the camera movement, perfection is required.
In addition to the behind-the-scenes staff, even the main actors such as Lin Feng have witnessed Wen Muye's "brutal" side.
A director who is directing a scene with a magnifying glass in front of a monitor is very good at polishing scenes. He can polish each scene dozens of times.
So much so that in the end Lin Feng directly gave Wen Muye the nickname "Wen Baobao".

It comes from his catchphrase on the set: "Let's just take one more take, let's just take one more take!" Which means he wants the actors to shoot one more take as insurance.

Wen Muye's serious and rigorous attitude towards pursuing perfection does not make people feel disgusted. He has always been an "encouraging" person who is easy to accept.

"Teacher Lin Feng, very good, very good, really praised, I was moved in front of the monitor, let's keep one, and then another."

"Teacher Zhou Dongyu, this time is better than last time. Let's do another one and see if we can do better."

"Teacher Nazha is great. Who said you have bad acting skills? You performed really well this time. If someone says you can't act again, I will be the first to disagree. Let's do another one."

...

There were 24 takes for Nazha’s murderous look when she pushed Zhou Dongyu on the stairs. This is exactly the director’s high standard of creative attitude, which allowed the entire crew to see his serious side.
So in the end, no one wanted to hear “Let’s protect one line, let’s protect one line”, but wanted to hear the word “pass” more.

Wen Muye also had something to say about this, "Since Lin Feng chose me to be the director, I will do my best to do this job well, otherwise I will be sorry for such a good script."

"I just cherish this opportunity very much, so that this film can be better presented in a richer form and show a better side to the audience."

"I felt a sense of mission when I filmed this movie about school bullying. I felt sorry for the children in it, and this is not an isolated incident.
Therefore, we strive for perfection in performance polish and emphasize documentary style in filming techniques, hoping that after the release of this film, it will give the audience some reflection. "

It was Wen Muye's professionalism and pursuit of excellence that won him the respect of the entire crew.

Of course, what is more important is Lin Feng’s long-standing strong support. No matter what the director says, whether it is right or wrong, Lin Feng strongly supports it.

Even if it was wrong, Lin Feng would not object. He would just wait until all the filming was completed and then give Wen Muye feedback in private.

It is precisely because the director and the protagonist are so compatible that the entire crew can run smoothly.

Lin Feng can also devote more energy to filming and focus on improving his acting skills.

It has been a long time since Lin Feng found this kind of acting feeling after his last scene with Feng Xiaogang in "Mr. Six". He takes every scene seriously.

Zhou Dongyu is the heroine of the best youth pain film. She and Lin Feng complement each other in acting. They really make progress together!
In addition, Wen Baobao was willing to polish the work, so the crew's shooting progress was not very fast, but the shooting quality was very high.

Nazha felt this the most. She had been in other crews before. If it was a TV series, there would be dozens of scenes a day, and it would be calculated by the scene. Even for a movie, there would be at least dozens of shots a day.

In "Better Days", it was considered a good thing to shoot more than ten shots a day, and sometimes there were only one or two shots a day.

There is no other way. A good movie is made through polishing. If you polish yourself to the point of exhaustion, the quality of the movie will be affected. Fortunately, we are now using digital movies. If it were still the era of film movies, we really couldn't afford to polish it.

I am also thankful that Nazha was able to be with Lin Feng during the filming of the movie, otherwise she might not have been able to persevere.

The only thing that made Nazha a little dissatisfied was that she had too few scenes with Lin Feng, and the only scene where she had a scene with Lin Feng was when "Xiao Bei" beat up "Wei Lai" played by Nazha.
Before the filming began, Lin Feng specifically told Nazha, "Be careful when I use force later."

"Don't worry, it's okay. I'm not a little girl. It's not like I haven't acted out scenes where I was beaten up before." Nazha said confidently.

But when Lin Feng fiercely pushed Nazha against the wall, he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't touch Chen Nian!"

Nazha had never seen such a terrifying expression on Lin Feng before. She even suspected that Lin Feng wanted to kill her. She was really scared and cried, and turned into "Na Pa Pa".

Director Wen Muye was very happy and praised on the spot, "This one is very good, very good, really very good! It can be passed. How about we keep this one and try another one."

However, we shot several takes for this scene, but the effect was not as good as the first one, mainly because Nazha was frightened.

Wen Muye simply took two more shots and let the scene go. Sometimes filming is like this, perhaps it is just a matter of chance and coincidence.

This scene was very unfriendly to Nazha, and she was traumatized, so much so that Nazha was a little reluctant to be with Lin Feng at night.
"Lin Feng, you really scared me during the daytime shoot! Tell me how you're going to compensate me!"

"How do I compensate you? I'll make it up to you tonight, how about that, hehe." Lin Feng's smile was unnatural.

"Hmph, stop it. I don't like this. I want you to do something practical, or don't even think about touching me again." Nazha was even more unhappy.

Lin Feng was well prepared. He casually took out a "Zenith" high-end custom-made ladies' watch from his backpack and gave it to Nazha. "Do you like it?"

In fact, this watch was given by Lin Feng when he signed the contract with Zenith last time. He specially chose a ladies' watch. He originally planned to give it to Zhao Liying, after all, she gave Lin Feng the watch first.

As a result, Nazha got angry this time, so Lin Feng simply gave it to her. The reason why Lin Feng did not give this "Zenith" to Zhao Liying was,
It was because the last time Zhao Liying called Lin Feng, she said that she was going to endorse the "Longines" watch, so Lin Feng planned to customize another "Longines" watch for Zhao Liying.

When Nazha received the watch from Lin Feng, she smiled brightly. She didn't care about the price of the gift.

The key point is that this is the first gift Lin Feng gave to herself. Nazha really likes it, and this gift is quite expensive.

"You really gave it to me?"

"Of course, I have prepared it for you a long time ago. I have also found a suitable opportunity. Since I scared you today, I will give it to you in advance."

"Brother, love me as much as you want. I will do whatever you want tonight."

...

And it was precisely because of Nazha's nourishment that Lin Feng had some spice of life during this boring filming process.

Sometimes Lin Feng would take Nazha for a spin around the theater on a motorcycle. The main reason was that this was Lin Feng’s first time riding a motorcycle, so he felt a little fresh about it. He liked to ride a motorcycle for a spin when he had nothing to do.

Although Lin Feng looks so handsome riding a motorcycle in the movie, when he first started learning, he was a little clumsy and didn't ride very steadily.
The first time he started the motorcycle with Nazha on his back, he stepped on the accelerator hard. Nazha, who was sitting at the back, bumped directly into Lin Feng's back. Nazha was so scared that her expression changed.

However, Zhou Dongyu saw Nazha riding Lin Feng's motorcycle, but she, the heroine, had not ridden Lin Feng's motorcycle yet, which made her feel very unhappy.

What made Zhou Dongyu even more upset was that she found that Lin Feng had no feelings for her at all, not even a little bit.

The two of them worked very well together in the film, and really made progress together in their professional performances. They were both immersed in the roles they played, and their love was pure and full of youthful love.

But once he was away from the filming of a movie, Lin Feng would quickly withdraw and draw a clear line between himself and Zhou Dongyu, which made Zhou Dongyu very unhappy.

This dissatisfaction caused Zhou Dongyu to explode directly in the "head-shaving scene".

Zhou Dongyu was already unhappy, and the key point was that she had to shave her head for this role. It was absolutely cruel to ask a beautiful girl to cut off all her hair.

Of course, Zhou Dongyu agreed to play this role and also agreed to shave her head, but when it came to shaving her head, she was a little reluctant.

Zhou Dongyu was even more dissatisfied when she saw Nazha's long black hair. She threatened everyone in the crew to shave their heads with her.

"Director, I made such a big sacrifice for the role. I can't bear to cut my long hair. It hurts me so much!

I can do the shaving scene, but other people in the crew have to shave their heads too, and if we shave together, it will show our solidarity!" When Zhou Dongyu said this, he even glanced at Nazha, who refused in person, "If you want to cut your hair, you can do it, I won't. There was no such clause in my contract!"

Nazha is not an ordinary protagonist, so Zhou Dongyu can't force it, but other staff, especially those behind the scenes, can't escape it.
The key point is that there are many girls here, even the photographer Yu Jingping is among them. Many people think that Zhou Dongyu is a bit too willful.

You have to know that the supporting roles here are basically young actors, who pay great attention to their image.
As the protagonist, Zhou Dongyu is willing to sacrifice for art, and does not represent the willingness of others.

Besides, Zhou Dongyu shaved his head because it was required by the plot and he had signed a contract, but other supporting actors and behind-the-scenes staff had no obligation or contract to force them to shave their heads.

Moreover, as supporting actors, they also wanted to seamlessly join other crews after filming this drama. Once they become bald,
For young actors of their level, this will only mean losing the opportunity to play more roles, so Zhou Dongyu's behavior seems a bit selfish.

Wen Muye also wanted to persuade him, "I'm a man, it's okay for me, I'll accompany you to shave your head, forget about the others, you can't force them."

Zhou Dongyu was unmoved and insisted on appointing a few people to shave her hair together on the day of the "head-shaving show".

For some it’s okay, they can just shave their heads; but for some, it’s not okay, many of them are girls, they definitely won’t want to, especially photographer Yu Jingping, she is firmly against it.

This time Zhou Dongyu directly took the hair razor and pushed it on everyone he saw. For a while, many people with uneven hair appeared on the set.
Just as she was still making trouble, Lin Feng stood up and said, "Zhou Dongyu, don't go too far. You signed a contract and it's necessary for the story!
Why should others shave their heads? If they want to, they can shave. If they don’t want to, they don’t have to. No one can force them. That’s what I say.”

Originally, Lin Feng didn't want to get involved in these trivial matters. The key point was that Zhou Dongyu did something wrong. It's his own free will, and you can't force him.

And if she continued to make such a fuss, it would already delay the filming progress, so he had to stand up and speak out.

In order to show his attitude, after Lin Feng finished talking about Zhou Dongyu, he was the first to stand up and finish filming the shaving scene.
Even a top star like Lin Feng, who pays the most attention to his image, will shave his head whenever he is told to, without caring about his image at all.

It’s just that I feel that Lin Feng looks more handsome and charming after shaving his head!

And I have to say that the shaving clip that Lin Feng just filmed was really explosive and handsome!

Seeing Lin Feng being so tough, what else could Zhou Dongyu say? He just obediently got his head shaved and cut. When other crew members saw Lin Feng like this, many of them also took the initiative to come forward to get their hair cut.

Finally, we took a group photo with a dozen little bald guys and director Wen Muye, and the matter came to an end.

***
After the "head-shaving" incident, Zhou Dongyu didn't cause any trouble, and after this scene, it also meant that the filming of the movie was coming to an end.

Soon we arrived at the most crucial scene in the movie, where Lin Feng and Zhou Dongyu looked at each other through the visitor glass.

This 58-second eye contact shot, without the help of lines, relies purely on the actors' performance changes, coupled with close-ups and close-ups of the face, which is definitely the most challenging for acting skills.

Close-up and close-up photography, as the name implies, is to capture the details of a person's expression. Close-up photography can allow the subject to fill the entire frame.
This is closer to the audience and can better convey the characters' emotions and portray their personalities, making "silence is better than words" a reality.

The eyes are the part that can best express emotions, and eye contact is the embodiment of an actor's acting skills.
Other facial expressions can be modified with makeup and special effects, but eye contact is the only thing that cannot be modified.

So Lin Feng shot this scene 32 times, which really exhausted him, but the effect was quite good. The scenes where they laughed and cried together were enough to generate empathy.

It's just that this time, Director Wen Muye was satisfied and said it was "passed", but this time, Lin Feng himself was always a little dissatisfied. He always felt that he could do better.

But Lin Feng didn't know what to do, as if there was a wall separating him. He felt that he was just missing something, and as long as he could break through this wall, the road ahead would be clear.

Wen Muye also suggested this matter: "Lin Feng, I understand what you mean. I think your acting skills are very good, but you set too high standards for yourself.
If you want to improve further, you can try to completely immerse yourself in the role, forget all the acting skills and methods, and act purely as the character in the play. You can try it.

You see, the reason why Zhou Dongyu performed so well this time is because this role fits her. She is very suitable for this role and has a stronger sense of substitution. "

This is a good method. Lin Feng used to focus too much on skills. Since his "rebirth", many roles can be handled with skills and methods. He is more "expressive".
But for the role in "Better Days", it is not enough to just use a simple "expressionist" approach. Lin Feng must devote himself to it and truly integrate himself with the role.

This time the performance was indeed different.

Lin Feng does not need any skills or methods. He just needs to blend into the character and follow the character's expressions. He can even do some subconscious performances following the character himself.

The two of them didn't say a word when they met and were silent throughout the whole process. There was no need to shed tears quickly at the beginning, and they just needed to act naturally as the characters' emotions changed.

When the two met, they smiled at each other and even wanted to make each other laugh, because neither of them was honest and was stubbornly sticking to their original agreement. This is tacit understanding.

Then they went from laughing to crying, and the crying scenes changed and progressed. At the beginning, they were sad, but as they cried, they smiled knowingly. No one betrayed anyone, and no one shirked responsibility.

In the end, they burst into tears, with rich emotions surging in their hearts, but they didn't say anything. They just looked at each other, and tears rolled down their faces as they laughed.

In this performance, Lin Feng did not use any skills. He did not deliberately control the twitching of his facial muscles, nor did he deliberately shed tears. He just let the character follow the plot.

And finally the effect came out. This natural performance can better reflect the inner changes of the character.

It is not necessary to control the character to cry, but to let the character cry naturally. There is no need to deliberately control the facial expressions and body postures, just let the facial expressions change with the character, and they will change naturally.

This kind of natural performance lacks a lot of deliberateness, and combined with Li Linfeng's multi-level and multi-dimensional performance changes, it is enough to make people empathize.

Not to mention director Wen Muye who was sitting in front of the monitor, even the staff behind the scenes couldn't help but burst into tears after watching Lin Feng's performance.

After this performance, Lin Feng's acting skills improved, as if he had broken down the wall and entered another level.

There is no need to deliberately shed tears, nor is there any need to deliberately control them. Just let the character act out. You don't even need to control yourself. When the plot comes, the character will cry naturally.

Director Wen Muye has never seen an actor's acting skills improve so quickly, never, let alone a traffic star like Lin Feng.

It is not realistic for an actor to improve his acting skills quickly, because "acting skills" not only include technical aspects, but also physical aspects, that is, one's understanding of life, which is a long process.

Acting itself is the actor using his or her own language, facial expressions, body movements and other resources and techniques to create a character that is not himself or herself.

To meet the requirements of acting and make the image authentic and believable, it means that the actor has accumulated enough observation, experience and speculation from life.

Only by combining this with professional performances can one bring into full play one's own resources and skills.

Even if it is the same person playing the same role, you now and you five years later will definitely have different understandings when interpreting this role.
Because you have experienced all kinds of things in the past five years, your understanding of this role will naturally be different.
In addition, during this period of time, your dialogue skills and facial expression control have become stronger, and the character image that is finally presented will be completely different.

The reason why Lin Feng made such a quick breakthrough this time was because he completely put into practice the decades of life experience he had accumulated in his previous life.

The perfect combination of his life-long acting theory and skills, coupled with his performance experience in recent years, finally ushered in this highlight moment.

It’s just that this kind of expression makes it easy to get too deeply into the role and not easily get out of it. After the filming of "Better Days" was completed, it took Lin Feng three days to completely get out of the role.

Lin Feng's way of adjustment is to exercise, intense competitive sports, basketball, football, boxing are all fine.

Only through this kind of intense confrontation between people can one quickly get out of the role.

Now it is October 10st and the movie "Charlotte's Troubles" has been released.

……

(End of this chapter)