Old factory, abandoned factory building.

After several adjustments, director Wang Xiaoshuai was still dissatisfied with the previous shot.

The assistant director standing by was actually a little anxious.

It’s not that I’m afraid of affecting the shooting schedule, but I’m worried about the money.

The crew used a film camera.

Nowadays, almost all commercial films are shot with digital cameras, and most TV drama crews also use digital cameras.

But the crew of "Qinghong" was relatively "poor".

Few people use film cameras now, so the rental price is cheap.

Moreover, the shooting effect of film cameras is different from that of early digital cameras.

Many older generations believe that the images of digital cameras have a so-called "digital flavor".

This is similar to the argument that trams have no soul.

There is some truth, but not much.

Wang Xiaoshuai wanted that ancient feeling, so he used a film camera.

But the machine is cheap and the film is expensive!

Moreover, art films are different from commercial films.

Although Zhang Yimou has always been bold enough to want to shoot the entire film in one take!
But in commercial films, let alone one-shot shots, even long shots are very rare.

Because commercial films inherently need to use fast pace and high intensity to stimulate the audience.

Constantly switching shots can increase the rhythm of the film.

Whether it is "A World Without Thieves" or "The Return of the Condor Heroes", from movies to TV series, in such commercial blockbusters, there are rarely long shots exceeding 30 seconds, or even 15 seconds.

Art films are inherently slow-paced and require the audience to savor them carefully.

In addition, Wang Xiaoshuai believed that this film was about his own story, so he deliberately created a documentary style.

This results in a lot of long shots of one minute, or even three to five minutes, throughout the film.

Commercial films have sufficient budgets, so it's okay to repeatedly NG a few seconds of shots.

We were already extremely poor, and you kept shooting over and over again, with each shot only taking one or two minutes.

That’s nearly 1500 frames of film per minute!

Why does making movies cost money?

At this moment, Zhang Yuan rubbed his chin for a while.

After making sure that the NG was not caused by his performance, he thought for a long time, thought of something, and then spoke.

"Director, I may know where the problem lies."

Wang Xiaoshuai raised his head and looked at him with questioning eyes.

The assistant director who was "counting accounts" on the side became anxious when he heard him say this.

"The director is struggling here, why are you, an actor, messing around?"

He was afraid that Zhang Yuan would say a few more words, and Lao Wang would take several more shots, so he would have to prepare the film.

"What's the problem?" Director Wang asked casually.

He is not a dictator, but rather an inspirational director who is willing to listen to others' opinions.

"Picture problem."

“I know there’s something wrong with the picture.”

After Zhang Yuan spoke, Wang Xiaoshuai shook his head in disappointment. I've been struggling here for a long time, how could I not know that there's something wrong with the picture?
You are talking nonsense.

"Specifically, it should be a problem with the light source." Zhang Yuan spoke again.

Although his main job is an actor, he has also taken a lot of points related to directing!

He remembered that Wang Xiaoshuai's background was not in directing, but in art.

From this, he roughly deduced that the other party might have subconsciously noticed some flaws in the picture, but was unable to find where the problem was for a while.

"Light source?" Wang Xiaoshuai immediately turned his head to look at the scene.

There was only a small table lamp emitting white light and the faint skylight visible in the distance.

The light source was so simple, he didn't see the problem.

Zhang Yuan scratched his head, not knowing how to explain, so he walked to the machine he was operating, then raised his hand and reached for the desk lamp.

Wearing work gloves to provide insulation, I unscrewed the light bulb which was very hot because it had been on all the time.

Then he walked directly out of the factory.

Wang Xiaoshuai and others were completely puzzled. How come our male protagonist ran away while we were filming?
After a while, Zhang Yuan came back with a light bulb in his hand.

He returned to the machine again, screwed the new light bulb into the lamp holder, and then gently pressed the switch of the desk lamp.

blah blah blah!

With a crisp sound, a gentle and soft orange-yellow light gushed out from the desk lamp and diffused to the surroundings, making all objects in the picture covered with a layer of light gold.

"Oh!"

Wang Xiaoshuai reacted immediately and looked towards the camera.

And Zhang Yuan sat next to the desk lamp.

At this moment, half of his face was reflected in orange-yellow, while the other half, hidden by the bridge of his nose, was shaded by the light and appeared a long, bluish-purple color.

"correct!"

“It’s the color!”

Only then did Director Wang react.

The discordant part of the picture just now is the color of the lens.

The entire abandoned old factory building has a blue-gray background color, and the cloudy and gloomy sunlight makes the space seem even colder.

The punching machine was also cold, and coupled with the light from the white desk lamp, the picture tended to be too one-sided towards cold tones.

Therefore, no matter how Wang Xiaoshuai adjusts the props, it is useless because it is not a problem with the props.

And now, the warm yellow light emitted by this small desk lamp is like a red-hot sword cutting through thousands of years of ice, suddenly giving life to the lens.

The figures nearby are shrouded in warm colors, but the entire factory is cold.

Not only does it create a contrast between warm and cold colors in the picture, but it also draws the visual center to the actors.

“Change the light bulb, and the picture suddenly comes alive!”

"And the lighting also cuts his face into a half-cold and half-hot look, which just happens to be a metaphor for the duality of Xiaogen's character."

“It also gives the picture a Rembrandt-like oil painting feel.”

"Absolutely awesome!"

Wang Xiaoshuai looked at Zhang Yuan again at this time, with a look of surprise on his face.

"How does he know this?"

"Did he ever study art?"

Camera language and pictures are a very important part of film and television works. Zhang Yimou became famous for his calm and elegant picture arrangement and color control with strong national characteristics.

"Is this... okay?" The assistant director, who was still feeling sorry for the film just now, asked with wide eyes.

"much better!"

“No need to readjust it again, right?”

"Take a shot first and see."

Deputy director:……

You don't have to report to investors.

Director Wang hurriedly started filming again, and Zhang Yuan maintained his previous state and mood.

And after performing it several times, the performance was even better than before.

"Cut!" After more than a minute, Wang Xiaoshuai excitedly waved his hand and shouted to stop.

Director Wang watched the replay carefully through the monitor.

Most people think that only digital cameras can be connected to monitors.

In fact, this is not the case. Later film cameras can also be played back through special monitors.

But the picture is poor and the pixels are low, probably only about 480P.

"Passed!" Wang Xiaoshuai shouted excitedly after reading it.

【Received thanks from Wang Xiaoshuai, +1 for camera language! 】

Everyone at the scene, especially the assistant director, breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally it’s over…

"Zhang Yuan, how do you know about light sources and pictures?" Wang Xiaoshuai asked curiously.

"I'm a very curious person. I always follow the director on the set. After watching a lot, I know a little bit about it," he boasted.

"Oh." Wang Xiaoshuai nodded.

That means he has a strong learning ability.

And quite willing to learn.

"Okay, let's take a break first. Once the props are set up, we can take another shot."

Zhang Yuan nodded, walked aside, picked up the script and began to study it.

"I don't think Li Bing can do this." Seeing him leave, the assistant director said slowly in Wang Xiaoshuai's ear.

Director Wang was stunned, then smiled awkwardly and shook his head.

"I can't do that. Li Bing is just a pure actor."

Wang Xiaoshuai thought that although Li Bing and Gao Yuanyuan had acted together in his movie "Seventeen Years Old Bicycle", they were old friends.

He later co-starred with Shu Chang in "Magic Phone".

And like Zhang Yuan, Li Bing is also a "self-taught" person and has no degree from a professional college.

He really likes the original feeling of Li Bing, which is very simple and natural.

In comparison, Zhang Yuan is the type who is dazzling just by standing there.

But when he really started acting, he found that Zhang Yuan took the initiative to restrain all his brilliance.

Completely entered into the character.

"In terms of performance alone, he is on par with Li Bing."

"But in other respects..."

Wang Xiaoshuai knew that Li Bing was a very disciplined actor and would do whatever the director asked him to do.

This is also the reason why he likes each other.

obedient!

But Zhang Yuan is obviously the kind of "bad boy" who is not very obedient. However, this "bad boy" is not only a good actor, but his abilities in other aspects also surprised himself.

"I just don't know whether the adjustment of the picture just now was his real ability or just luck." "But no matter what, it is much better than expected."

On the side, Gao Yuanyuan listened quietly to what the directors said.

Then she smiled sweetly and walked to Zhang Yuan with her hands behind her back.

"You're amazing. After just one scene, the director has changed his mind about you."

Yuanyuan discovered that Wang Xiaoshuai's attitude towards Zhang Yuan had obviously improved a lot.

I was very resentful before because of the delay of the film.

She thinks Zhang Yuan is very talented and she likes talented people.

"Hmph!" Thinking of this, she secretly snorted again.

"Why would such a talented person be picked up by Cheng Hao?"

The good sister would never have thought that someone could be teasing her behind her back thousands of kilometers away.

After finishing work in the morning, I had lunch.

The crew's boxed lunches were ordered from locals and were quite unique.

The dish includes rice tofu and braised pork trotters.

He can even eat Brother Qian's cold dishes, so naturally he is used to eating everything.

It’s really hard to accept that Gao Yuanyuan, a girl from the capital, said that she couldn’t get used to the food.

You are used to eating bean juice and stewed pork, but you told me you can't eat this lunch box...

After dinner, I started preparing for the afternoon scenes.

It's still his show in the afternoon.

This kind of long shot made him very uncomfortable.

Zhang Yuan could only tell himself that this was a good exercise.

Qin Hao, who had not been seen for the whole morning, also came.

This person didn't sleep in, but went to practice dancing.

In this film, he has a dancing scene, so he was very professional and went to find local middle-aged people to learn in advance.

After all, the dance we are going to perform is from the 1980s, and those young people who danced back then are now old.

At this moment, he came to the director's side.

"Haozi is here." Wang Xiaoshuai greeted him.

At this time, the crew arrived at the door of a supply and marketing cooperative with a dark sign and a depressing atmosphere, which had long lost its former glory.

This thing seems very far away in most people's minds, but in fact, it still exists in many small places.

Zhang Yuan, still wearing his morning clothes, touched the door frame of the supply and marketing cooperative, the glass counter inside, and the mountains of miscellaneous brand shoes, socks, and daily necessities.

At this moment, time seemed to go back twenty or thirty years, and the world before my eyes became dim.

He touched all of this to get into the mood.

The next scene to be filmed is the one where Xiaogen personally chooses red high-heeled shoes for Qinghong, the person he admires.

The shoes symbolize the relationship between the two.

It starts with Xiaogen giving away the shoes and ends with Qinghong returning the shoes.

This is a very important prop in the film.

"Are you ready?" Wang Xiaoshuai asked after seeing him walk around the supply and marketing cooperative for more than ten times.

"almost."

"Then come on." Wang Xiaoshuai nodded: "In a moment, you can walk through the passers-by and go to the store from across the street. Just stroll around and look around casually."

"Row!"

As soon as the camera turned on, Qin Hao stood behind the director and watched together.

He also wanted to know how talented this actor was who had made the crew and himself wait for several months.

"ACTION!"

Zhang Yuan walked towards the supply and marketing cooperative from the opposite side of the street.

Halfway through the journey, he touched a little boy's head and patted him with a smile as he walked.

"Cut!" Wang Xiaoshuai called out, "Are you blocked by the extras?"

"No."

"Then why did you touch the child?" Director Wang asked puzzledly.

Zhang Yuan walked up to him and said, "Xiao Gen is a local who was born and raised there."

"In this small place, interpersonal relationships are relatively close, and most people in the town know each other."

"The child in front of me might be my neighbor or relative's. It's not normal to touch him."

Wang Xiaoshuai was stunned.

He has a point.

Moreover, this was an action he designed himself, which made the character more vivid.

"Okay, let's do it this way. Let's go again."

Qin Hao on the side raised his eyebrows.

Designing the action details by myself...that's quite a skill.

According to Zhang Yuan's idea, this shot was passed after two or three takes.

Next, he changed the position of the camera, facing Zhang Yuan, and filmed him picking out the pair of red high-heeled shoes from a pile of shoe boxes.

As soon as the filming started, he started to busy himself with his hands, expressionless face, selecting left and right.

As the camera pulled down, a pair of bright red high heels appeared in front of the camera.

Bright red, like fire and blood, the vermilion color occupies most of the camera.

After the high heels appeared, the focus of the camera gradually shifted from his face to the shoes...

"Card!"

Wang Xiaoshuai waved his hand and then started watching the replay.

Unfortunately, and to the assistant director's dismay, what happened in the morning happened again.

“This picture isn’t right!”

"What's wrong?"

"It's hard to say."

The assistant director was annoyed.

If something goes wrong on your end, the film stock on my end will fall down. Who can stand this?

The assistant director was sweating all over his forehead.

Someone come to rescue me... Oh, that's right!
"Zhang Yuan, come and help."

"what's up?"

Qin Hao standing aside narrowed his eyes and looked at the assistant director.

"Why are you looking for him if the picture is wrong?"

"Come on, come on, help Director Wang take a look. He thinks the picture is not right. Do you have any ideas?"

Wang Xiaoshuai wanted to refuse, but then he remembered his performance in the morning and waved for him to sit next to him.

No, he really wanted to talk to him... Qin Hao's eyes widened when he saw Director Wang asked him to sit down, obviously he really wanted to discuss something with him.

After watching for a long time, Zhang Yuan thought about it, then ran out of the camera to the other side of the supply and marketing cooperative.

He took down a large red thermos from the wall and placed it in the farthest corner within the camera.

"Does this look better?"

Wang Xiaoshuai observed for a while, then clapped his hands.

"correct!"

[Received thanks from Wang Xiaoshuai, +1 for Art Basics! ]

“That way, the whole picture is balanced.”

"The red high heels were too eye-catching before. They looked like they stood out from the crowd."

“Now there is a blurry big red thermos in the corner, which just happens to echo the shoes in the picture.”

Wang Xiaoshuai knew that this principle was very basic and was the most basic art technique.

But it's amazing to be able to discover the problem in such a short time and come up with a solution that fits the film.

It seems that what happened this morning was not a coincidence... Wang Xiaoshuai muttered to himself.

“He really has the ability.”

"Li Bing is indeed not as good as him in this respect."

After the changes were made, the shot was quickly approved.

"Okay, take a break." The assistant director arranged, while turning back to look at Director Wang.

"Better than Li Bing?"

"Yeah." Director Wang nodded: "I think with his ability, he will definitely do better than Li Bing in the future."

"He is doing better than Li Bing now." The assistant director continued with a smile.

"Yes, that is..." Wang Xiaoshuai replied with a smile.

"I really want to understand why Xingmei insisted on using him."

"Me too."

Both directors nodded their heads.

Qin Hao standing aside had a strange look on his face.

What am I missing?
Wasn’t the director very unhappy with him before?
We agreed to unite against the common enemy, so why did you, a guy with thick eyebrows and small eyes, betray us?
After the show, we had dinner.

The crew chartered a car to take all the actors and staff back to the hotel in the city.

There is only one guesthouse in this small town. The accommodation conditions are terrible. The bed sheets are moldy and there is no private bathroom. The conditions are terrible.

Every day, I would pick up and drop off the actors to work just like going to and from get off work.

Zhang Yuan returned to the room, took a shower, dried his body, changed into clean clothes, and then sat on the sofa to read the script.

The film was on a tight schedule, so he had no time to study it in advance and could only watch it while filming.

Fortunately, the story is not complicated and the characters have few lines, so it is not too difficult.

beep, beep...

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

He stood up and opened the door, thinking that he didn't know many people in the crew. Who else would come to see him at this late hour? (End of this chapter)