Chapter 14 The Structure of the Three-Line Narrative

Chen An found that he had made the right choice to go to Beijing Film Academy.

In my previous life, I always wanted to visit Hong Kong Island, but I never had the chance nor the money.

I got this opportunity through making movies in this life.

After arriving in Hong Kong Island, the crew prepared for two or three days and then prepared to start work.

"Run Lola Run" tells the story of the heroine Lola who needs to get 100,000 yuan within 20 minutes in order to save her boyfriend.

Here Chen An changed it to 500,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Moreover, "Run Lola Run" has an innovative story structure that breaks the classic Hollywood narrative structure.

Using the recently emerging gaming culture, you will feel like the protagonist being manipulated in the game.

It adopts a three-part story structure.

It’s different from Pulp Fiction, where several narrative lines are eventually connected into one story.

In the movie, Lola runs three times in total, making three choices, which represent three stories.

Each choice also brings a different ending to each story, just like the game's protagonist.

Not only the protagonist, but also the ending of the supporting characters changes accordingly, with a feeling of butterfly effect.

The first time he chose to rob a store, he was eventually shot dead by the police.

She robbed her father for the second time, forcing him to withdraw 100,000 marks from the bank, and her boyfriend was eventually killed.

The third time he chose to gamble to win money, and finally he ran while begging for God’s help. He did not commit a crime and had a perfect ending.

Chen An did not change the names of the two protagonists, and there is also a person named Luo in Hua Xia.

And the protagonist's name, Manny, sounds like money.

The origin of the story.

Others don't have names either, so there's no need to change them.

The initial shooting was relatively simple, just shooting the running action, as a practice.

"Okay! This part is over."

Seeing that the filming was almost finished, Chen An kept the shot and ended the filming.

"Fortunately, I exercised every day after reading the script, otherwise I really couldn't stand the director's filming."

Ning Jing stopped after running four times, gasping for breath.

She was wearing clothes designed by Chen An, and her hair was dyed the same fiery red as the original film.

It perfectly shows Lola's stubbornness and wild and unrestrained character.

Chen An looked at Ning Jing's miserable appearance and took the initiative to hand over the cup of water in his hand:

"Drink some water first, Sister Jing. This is just the beginning. There's more to come. Take a break first. Today we'll shoot some running shots to get used to it. Tomorrow we'll do the shots of you and Manny talking on the phone."

Chen An had no choice, this movie was all about running.

He could only let Ning Jing adapt as quickly as possible. Of course, he didn't dare to take pictures of the entire end of the run at once. If he ran badly, it would be a big problem.

Ning Jing, who had taken a sip of water and caught his breath, patted his chest:

"Well, you're the director, you have the final say. It's not bad to make a movie with you, but it's a bit tiring. Jiang Wen is really annoying."

Listening to Ning Jing's complaints, Jiang Wu, who was sitting next to him, did not say anything. He knew his brother's temper. The discarded films could fill a building.

After a short break, Chen An asked the lighting technician to adjust the lights and dim the color so that he could shoot the next scene.

The film is mostly on the run, in order to not feel monotonous.

The photographer is much more tired and has to constantly change his shooting methods.

Chen An was also standing nearby and watching his roommate Chen Wei busying around, which made him feel much more comfortable.

He was so angry that his teeth itched.

When Chen An was shooting the short film, he was busy running around with the camera. He was also busy with "The Emperor and the Assassin" during the shooting.

Seeing my good brother like this, I feel so happy, after all, I am the director.

The first day of filming was over. Because it was just to give Ning Jing some time to get used to it, he didn’t get through many takes.

But Chen An felt good and had a little feeling of filming.

Fortunately, he is the producer. If it were someone else, I don’t know how anxious they would be.

This is also the reason why Chen An tried so hard to save money, so that he could spend lavishly when shooting.

The second day of shooting also went well.

The scene of Laura making a phone call was no big deal to Ning Jing.

Our personalities and temperaments were somewhat similar, so we shot it twice and it was quickly approved.

It’s the part about Jiang Wu.

A big, rugged-looking man called his girlfriend for help.

That cowardly look and the helpless and furious look made everyone present laugh uncontrollably.

The filming failed once, and everyone had to hold back the second time to pass. Chen An also changed the plot. Chen An changed the location of the telephone booth to the front of Lin Dajiang's clothing brand "Jiang Shanghai". Although Chen An didn't know how he came up with this name, Chen An still did it.

And when the camera turns around, you can clearly see a plastic model in the transparent glass cabinet wearing the same clothes as Lola.

Although I didn’t shoot much in the first few days.

However, as the filming progressed, Chen An became more and more adept, and the actors' condition also improved.

The shooting progress also began to speed up.

Chen An also began to appear in person.

Played the role of the thief who stole the bicycle and wanted to sell it to Lola.

It appears three times in total.

The first time, Lola didn't say he stole it, and was eventually caught. After being beaten, he met his true love.

The second time, Lola said his car was stolen and fled, eventually becoming a beggar.

He was almost hit by Lola for the third time, but he did not ask Lola to sell the car to him. In the end, he sold the car to a beggar who took Manny's 100,000 marks, which led to the beggar being found by Manny.

In this movie, every choice has a butterfly effect.

Chen An personally took to the stage, intending to directly shoot all the scenes concerning the thief.

This was a tough situation for Ning Jing, after all, Chen An was riding a bicycle, while she was actually running over and over again.

Chen An also rejected his own performance many times, which caused Ning Jing's legs to become weak after filming the scene.

Filming was paused.

Chen An had no choice but to ask others to shoot the rest of the side stories, including the scene where the male protagonist Manny traded flour at the beginning of the film.

This is the strength of Hong Kong films, and with the help of local personnel, this scene was easily filmed.

Then Duan Long's scenes also began to be filmed.

He has been studying the script these days and is in good shape.

The makeup artist is very skilled and it looks very similar to the original.

The lines where he acted opposite Chen An.

'I'm such a bastard, life can be crazy sometimes isn't it?'

That playful look went through Chen An's life again.

By the time Ning Jing had almost rested, the segments for the other people had almost been shot, leaving only a few shots with Ning Jing.

After all, she is the real protagonist of this movie, and the others can only be considered supporting roles.

Including the male lead Manny.

The whole film is about Lola's tenacity, self-breakthrough and maturity.

Zhang Hanyu was relatively stable during his first shoot. Although he made a few mistakes, he still managed to pass it successfully in the end.

Chen An was very satisfied with the lines he had with Lola in the corridor.

'Of course I will help you.'

'I will see you to the door, then go home and have a good sleep. Remember to tell your mother that I will not be back tonight, tomorrow, or ever!'

'.'

'I didn't give birth to you, you are not my child at all!'

After filming a whole section of dialogue, although it was NGed five times, the effect Chen An wanted was finally presented.

After filming this segment, his performance was not difficult and he and Duan Long finally completed the filming together.

Chen An also held a wrap-up party for the two of them, which was something that didn’t happen during the short film.

"Thank you Director Chen for your trust and help in choosing me to act in this movie. Otherwise, I would still be a voice actor."

"Me too, I'm very grateful to the director for choosing me, a sophomore, to play this role."

At the banquet, the two drank and expressed their gratitude.

Chen An also smiled and waved his hand, and didn't drink more because he had to continue filming tomorrow.

In the middle, when Lola's father's friend hit three strong men with his car, Chen An directly found two extras to shoot with Zhao Xiong, and let Zhao Xiong stand in the center position, looking like the boss.

The next day after the meal, the two of them flew back to Beijing together.

Chen An also continued filming. As time passed, even Hong Kong Island felt quite chilly.

As the days went by, I started to wear more clothes.

It wasn't until the end of December that Chen An finished filming all the running scenes.

This made Ning Jing very happy, and he even treated everyone to a big meal.

The only scene left is of the two of them chatting on the bed.

This is also one of the core dialogues of the film. Chen An did not start shooting directly, but left it until tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)