Chapter 1023 When 1018 Comes, Heaven and Earth Will Work Together

Chapter 1023 1018. When the time comes, heaven and earth will work together

11 o'clock in the evening.

Guo Fan covered his mouth and yawned.

He looked at Director Xu over there, instructing Keanu Reeves, who had turned into a killing god.

Gradually, fatigue began to emerge.

However, he could still hold on, but there was one bad thing, that is, Director Xu and Keanu Reeves communicated in English, and he couldn't understand it very well. He could only look at Director Xu's gestures and guess what he was saying.

There should be something wrong with the action just now.

Indeed... Keanu could see that he was a little tired.

In fact, many people have an illusion that filming a movie is easy.

In fact, it is not easy at all.

First of all, waiting is a process that requires adaptation.

For example, shooting this scene tonight.

Perhaps in the movie, the audience sees a clip of one or two minutes at most. But this one or two minutes of footage is the director carefully selecting the best footage in the footage, splicing it together, and presenting it to the audience.

In order to get the most perfect shot, the actors may need to perform the same scene three, five, or ten times...

Secondly, it is not done in one go.

For example, this fight scene starts with killing three invaders upstairs. During the period, at least 11 camera positions were changed. The actors repeated the same action at least 10 to 20 times.

The purpose is to give the director all he needs when he needs to present from multiple angles.

What's more... adjusting the camera position, adjusting the lighting, trial and error, test shooting, etc., all require time costs.

Behind every second that the audience sees on the screen is the hard work of the crew members who have completed the work in seconds squared or even exponentially.

But fortunately... the progress tonight is very good.

The team cooperates very well, and everyone completes the action in a very standard scale.

After several sets of shots, both the texture and the picture are excellent.

Now we have entered the final stage of hand-to-hand combat with the last invader.

After shooting, today's task can be completed.

Is it fast?

Actually, it's very fast.

We started shooting at around 7 o'clock, and it's only been 4 hours so far.

It's really fast.

But in Guo Fan's opinion, there are two hard conditions for this speed.

The first is the tacit understanding of the team.

Whether it is Jonathan, the director of photography, or the cooperation between the three lighting directors, as well as the prop master, gunsmith, action director and others... these people are very professional.

Obviously, Paramount has assembled a very good crew for Director Xu this time.

As the saying goes, an expert can tell the quality of a work by just one move.

From the first shot, Guo Fan saw that the photographer and the lighting technician cooperated with each other to show the light and dark contrast under the dark night to the fullest... and knew that the technical level of the people in this team was top-notch.

At least, compared with China, their level is among the first-line ranks.

This crew is very powerful.

The second is Director Xu.

In other words, this excellent team can play their own roles and contribute their own professional level, which is inseparable from Director Xu.

Director Xu is a genius.

This is the consensus in the circle.

At least it is a consensus in the Chinese circle.

When Guo Fan talked about Director Xu with other classmates and colleagues over dinner and drinks, everyone seemed to have a common understanding, that is... maybe in a few decades, Director Xu will definitely leave a strong mark in the history of Chinese film.

After all, he is not yet 30 years old.

Guo Fan also thinks so.

But many people who say this have never worked under Director Xu. They just know that Director Xu is good, but they don't know where he is good.

Guo Fan actually doesn't know... or to be more precise, he doesn't know where Director Xu is good now.

When filming "The Hawthorn Tree", he was still a graduate student.

After graduating from law school, he worked at Travel Satellite TV for a few years. He couldn't let go of his dream of making movies, so he resolutely applied for a graduate student at Beijing Film Academy.

After choosing Professor Yu as his mentor, he didn't even think about the relationship with Director Xu.

After joining the crew of "The Hawthorn Tree", although he had never made a movie at that time... but he usually worked with the crew and watched Director Xu busy there... everyone's common understanding was that Director Xu was particularly good at filming.

He has a sense of harmony that he can take everything in the world into his lens and turn it into his own.

The world in his eyes... must be wonderful, right?

Especially the scene where Jingqiu, played by Liu Yifei, walks on the old bridge over and over again.

The harmonious scene of mountain smoke, water vapor, the single bridge and the girl is still one of his favorite movie shots. Even in the mobile phone playlist, the song "BELLA CIAO" has been in the inventory after several deletions and revisions, and it is firmly in the top spot.

Director Xu is really good at presenting the beauty of the lens, just like Director Zhang.

But... from my current perspective, "The Hawthorn Tree" still has a bit more craftsmanship.

However, this craftsmanship is more in the script and the story... and Director Xu has also been more or less stained with it.

If I were to evaluate it now, then the lens of "The Hawthorn Tree" would be greater than Jingqiu's acting skills and the story.

And his idea is also in line with many people's perception of Director Xu.

A disciple of Lao Mouzi, the lens aesthetics are passed down from generation to generation.

This is his idea in recent years.

But now...

Looking at Director Xu who was still gesturing and correcting Brother Ji, and explaining the location work to Jonathan... Guo Fan was unusually confused.

Because... since the beginning of this play, he couldn't see what Director Xu was good at.

He couldn't say why he felt this way.

But... Director Xu now seemed to be impeccable.

The details of the film, the details of the shots, the construction of the scenes... and even the most critical, his instinct for the film images...

All seemed to be integrated together.

It's hard to say what was so special and amazing.

But... even though I knew that "John Wick" was a story with a low ceiling, after watching the shooting route planned by Director Xu, the angle of the camera cut, and the movements during the fight, the photographers and actors today... even though the movie was not finished yet, a very strange... empathy still appeared in his heart uncontrollably.

Even though he was also a member of the crew... he was one of the "creators" of the movie.

But looking at these shots, it was as if he was in the cinema at this moment, watching the retired killer who had experienced the pain of losing his wife and dog embark on the road of revenge again, he actually felt a sense of empathy.

This feeling is really outrageous.

After all, the current film is still being filmed, and the actors can break the fourth wall anytime and anywhere.

But he already had this sense of empathy in his heart.

And this feeling is not because he likes Brother Ji, nor because he thinks the story is so good... or even more excessive, he has read the script and can spoil the direction of the story later.

But, he empathized.

And the only explanation is... he likes these shooting clips.

Like these shots that have not been added with gunfire, blood effects, and even the colors have not been fine-tuned in post-production.

Obviously, he shot it himself, but it feels like watching a movie.

Perhaps, this is where Director Xu is good.

In the past, he was best at lens aesthetics.

And now... he is good at everything.

Even if it was his first action scene, but... after the crew members followed the route he planned, every frame was just right.

This explains the problem...

After Guo Fan finished shooting a movie, he looked back... and found that the most troublesome thing for him was actually the lens.

The director is the brain of the crew.

The photographer is the eyes, the stage manager is the fingers, the set designer is the clothes, the producer and the investor are the five internal organs... Everyone has their own duties, but the general commander needs the brain to issue instructions.

In this film, Guo Fan has experienced many tedious things that he has to redesign and rework the shots he designed for many times because the shots he designed could not be taken.

When he asked others, he found that they were the same.

"The shots must be adjusted. Who can guarantee that their shots are the most perfect? ​​It's impossible..."

This is the original words of his colleagues.

But when it comes to Director Xu, it becomes an excuse for mediocre people.

Others don't need to adjust.

Really not at all.

According to Director Xu, he has come here several times and simulated all the shots, routes, and how to move the camera countless times in his mind.

This sounds simple, but the implementation is completely beyond Guo Fan's comprehension.

Just like the scene tonight.

Director Xu has not made any mistakes. For example, in the previous scene, he adjusted the camera position a little higher. When fighting with people in the corridor, you can still see the bodies lying on the edge of the corridor in the dark.

The corridor leading to the door also announced that Mr. Wick's road to revenge has come to an end for the time being... or it has just begun.

But Director Xu's occasional changes and frequent changes, including his own, are different concepts.

The former is at most to refine and modify the flaws, but for a mortal like himself, it is purely crossing the river by feeling the stones.

"Tsk..."

He couldn't help but sigh.

What a hearty feast of revenge...

Although it's just an appetizer, I can't help but sigh... What will it be like when the film is really finished?

Or it can be said that gunfire is the romance of men.

Just thinking about it, Xu Xin, who had already communicated, came over.

He glanced at Guo Fan, who was in a daze with a strange expression on his face, and ignored him, but shouted:

"OK, everyone, get ready."

He didn't care what Guo Fan was thinking.

Hurry up and finish the filming and go home to sleep.

It's almost 12 o'clock.

...

"OK, it's over, everyone has worked hard. See you tomorrow at noon."

The second day of filming for "John Wick" ended.

After checking all the shots and making sure there were no omissions or adjustments, Xu Xin announced the order to go off work.

After get off work, Xu Xin took out his phone and sent a message to his wife:

"I'm done with work here."

"Just finished? So late today?"

"I didn't work during the day, I was shooting a night scene."

"Oh, I'm in Hengdian, I'm going to the studio to see Sister Bingbing now. Let's have dinner together tonight."

"Just the two of you?"

"Of course not, baby and Huang Xiaoming are here too."

"Okay, you guys eat, don't wait for me."

Seeing this message, Yang Mi, who was in the car walking to the studio in Hengdian, rolled her eyes.

She thought to herself, what nonsense.

Waiting for you to eat?

If I really wait for you, I'll starve from D to A.

I don't know what you're kidding...

She simply didn't even bother to reply to her husband's message. She put down her phone, looked at the imposing door of the Hengdian Studio Base, and said to Sun Ting:

"Tingting, which one do you think is more elegant, here or the Songye Factory where we filmed "Pacific Rim"?"

"Well..."

Sun Ting thought for a while and said:

"They all feel the same. But I heard that Hengdian will open a factory next year, and the construction will be more than 6,000 square meters of film and television shooting venues, and there seems to be underwater shooting... In this comparison, Canada is comparable to us. Isn’t it?”

Yang Mi did not answer. With the vibration of the commercial vehicle passing the speed bump, she looked at the factories in the park and muttered to herself:

"It's so fast... When Brother Xu and I first met, the largest factory shed in Hengdian was less than a thousand square meters. If you look at it now, it's really amazing."

Sun Ting nodded with the same empathy.

No.

At that time, the first car I drove in my life was a Santana.

It's a pity...I knew that car wouldn't be sold.

No matter what it was, it was a car with commemorative value for Brother Xu and Sister... It was sold for less than 40,000 yuan at the time, and I felt very happy. I thought it would be great to be a celebrity assistant, with all the benefits and benefits. Now that I think about it... I was really a stupid kid who didn't understand anything back then.

Just looking at it...it's been seven or eight years.

The assistant, lamenting how time flies, drove to the parking area of ​​Studio 16.

After Yang Mi got out of the car, she had no intention of hiding herself.

We are all peers here, what can we hide?

He walked to the studio on his own.

The security guard guarding the door of the studio was stunned for a moment, then quickly said a few words on the walkie-talkie, and then walked over quickly:

"Hello, Teacher Yang."

"hello."

Yang Mi smiled sweetly:

"I'm here to see Sister Bingbing. Have they finished filming?"

"Not yet, please, please, it's right inside."

"Hey, thank you."

After the security guard diligently opened the side door, Yang Mi walked in.

As soon as you see it, you can see a scene built with green screen and rockery.

The green screen was in full bloom, and the white-haired Sister Bingbing, Huang Xiaoming, and a group of people were standing next to a stone wall similar to the entrance of a cottage. The two sides seemed to be confronting each other.

It looked like they were filming.

Then Yang Mi must not be disturbed.

Waving her hands to the two stage managers who were looking over, she meant to tell them not to come over. She turned to Sun Ting and asked:

"Who did the special effects for this film?"

"Chasing the light."

Sun Ting also lowered her voice:

"Physical special effects and CG are all about chasing light."

"What's the cost? Do you know how much it is?"

"I don't know...but it shouldn't be too expensive, right? Brother Cong mentioned it last time, saying it was troublesome and not profitable..."

Hearing this, Yang Mi nodded slightly, and there happened to be no one in the cave-like set on the other side, so she walked over.

As he walked, he took out his cell phone.

In fact, no one is allowed to bring any shooting equipment in the studio.

What's more, Yang Mi is an outsider who comes to visit and must abide by the rules.

But who told her that she and Xu Xin were a couple.

Didn't you notice that the two stage managers who were about to come over to say hello didn't dare to come over when she raised her hands?

Here, or in all the film and television drama crews in the northwest circle, she belongs to the absolutely privileged class, the kind who can do whatever she wants.

What's more... even if there is no relationship with the Northwest Circle, "Pacific Rim" currently beats "Iron Man 3" in the country and won 820 million box office. The final box office is likely to reach the level of 860 to 900 million. In the female lead role, she can also walk sideways.

Now anyone who wants to film with her can kneel down from outside the Meridian Gate to Qianmen Street.

And she was walking towards the unused set over there. She happened to pass by the outskirts of the filming area when she heard an actor standing in the set room say something in a strong voice:

"Yihang! You were indeed captured and put under pressure!"

"..."

Yang Mi paused in her steps and twitched the corner of her mouth.

I wonder which retarded person made up this line?

The movie "The White-Haired Witch" is supposed to be a tragic drama, right?

She turned and glanced.

But I didn’t care.

Naturally, a humorous character can also be used to make jokes in a tragic scene.

It's quite pleasing.

As for what this movie is like...just kidding, I have the best idea of ​​what she is capable of.

Let yourself act, no problem.

But it’s hard for her to judge whether the film is good or bad without seeing the complete script.

And the reason why she came to this set now was also very simple.

After seeing the standard special effects system at the peak of the Hollywood industry in "The Ring", she asked herself that she had a rough idea. Now she just wanted to compare and see what the special effects of chasing light were like.

But after seeing it, I was disappointed.

She discovered... that she didn't even need to look at the display on the mobile phone screen. She could tell with the naked eye that the scenery revealed one word everywhere:

"Fake."

In fact, this kind of fakeness is not the same as the special effects in Xiangjiang. You can tell that they are staged by looking at them.

But the texture is really incomparable.

She had seen how the special effects in "The Ring" were done.

In fact, the Americans are not that meticulous... For example, the special effects of the monster attacking Hong Kong, those building ruins are real ruins, filled with a pile of building ruins pushed by a bulldozer. It is called physical special effects, but it is actually no different from real shots.

But... the problem is that they have all their stuff.

Construction garbage, science fiction garbage... they are all stored in the warehouse like props.

When shooting some jungle adventure themes, although they will also use real shots, they are also meticulous in choosing props and special effects in this natural environment, and they will not be sloppy at all.

It's not that I worship foreign things, but purely... I'm not good at this job.

It's too rough.

Thinking of this, she took out her mobile phone, first observed the cave setting again from the screen, and shook her head again.

It's better than what the naked eye sees, but it's still unsatisfactory.

So.

The sound of "click, click" rang out.

After taking a few photos, she sent them to her husband.

"The light-chasing work is a bit rough, to be honest."

"Although I don't know the cost of the project, but... if compared with the industrial benchmark in Hollywood, it is quite different."

"This is still filmed, in fact it looks worse with the naked eye."

"If it is in the camera, the effect will probably be average."

After sending it, she looked away with regret and shook her head.

What a pity.

Tsk...

Just as she was feeling regretful, her phone vibrated.

Xu Xin sent a message:

"?"

"Are you sick? How could this set be made by Zhuo Guang?"

"This kind of scene needs to be built by Zhuo Guang. Do you know how much it costs? The physical effects of this film are not ours. Do you still remember Qiao Di?"

"I remember him. He is a programmer in Huan's special effects company."

"He is responsible for physical effects. Zhuo Guang's physical effects are relatively weak. We have been in contact and want to bring him over. But that is a follow-up matter. The scene building of "The White-Haired Witch" has nothing to do with Zhuo Guang. Besides, a costume film uses physical effects lenses? They can't afford to spend that money. What you are looking at should be something made by the prop manufacturer. "

After Xu Xin sent the voice message, Guo Fan asked curiously:

"Director Xu, what's wrong?"

"Yang Mi went to visit the crew of "White-Haired Witch".

Xu Xin said while handing him the phone:

"Here, take a look."

Guo Fan enlarged the photo taken by Yang Mi and took a look, saying:

"This scene is indeed not made by professional special effects."

"That's right, that stupid woman doesn't know anything. When she saw the scene being built, she thought it was a physical special effect..."

"..."

"..."

After saying this, Su Meng and Guo Fan's mouths twitched.

Guo Fan was speechless.

Su Meng thought more simply.

If you dare to deduct 500 from me again in the future, I will tell me that you called her a stupid woman!

ψ(｀)ψ

Guo Fan thought about it and suddenly said:

"Director Xu, when do you think we can make a blockbuster?"

"What kind of blockbuster do you mean? A big investment? A big production? Or a huge project on a purely industrial system?"

Originally, he was planning to close his eyes and rest.

But at this moment, Guo Fan's topic just happened to touch his itchy spot.

So he adjusted his sitting position, and without waiting for the other party to answer, he continued:

"If it's the previous one... then we have already filmed it. You don't have to compare it with Hollywood, where it's easy to spend one or two hundred million dollars. There is no point in comparison. What about their per capita income? Right. So from this perspective, we are actually a little worse than them... but not much. And as the market becomes more and more prosperous, the investment volume will definitely increase. So, for now, the so-called big-investment films are already being filmed. In terms of investment, it's only a matter of time before we catch up. But..."

Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and then continued:

"If you mean a project like "Pacific Rim" that can reflect the Hollywood industrial system, then my answer to you is... I don't know."

" Don't know? "

"Well, I don't know."

Xu Xin sighed:

"How can I know? ... Think about it, does our country have any science fiction films that are worth showing off?"

"...No. Or there are science fiction films, but not the kind that are completely fictional and out of touch with reality."

Following Guo Fan's words, Xu Xin nodded again:

"Yes, that's what I mean. In fact, if you want to talk about special effects technology... we are definitely not good enough. But I don't know if you understand that last year, George Lucas and Spielberg in Hollywood said at a forum that if Hollywood continues to invest more and more, it will sooner or later implode. "

"This... I haven't heard of it."

"Well, it's normal that you haven't heard of it."

Xu Xin didn't say that he had a paper.

There's no need.

It's like he wanted to show off.

"There is no need to say much about the influence of these two people in Hollywood. After they put forward this view, large companies also began to control costs. But capitalism is like this. Everyone is used to high wages. It is impossible to control costs and strive for excellence. So since last year... or the beginning of this year, Zhuiguang has successively taken on some small jobs in Hollywood... all of which are outsourced. Do you know what this means?"

"..."

Guo Fan seemed somewhat clear and stupid at this time.

Seeing him shaking his head, Xu Xin knew that he obviously hadn't figured it out.

He didn't hide it and said directly:

"It shows that the Hollywood special effects industry is undergoing transformation. To put it bluntly, they are starting to take the route of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. Some more work will be handed over to countries with lower costs to increase their profits."

"...This is very capitalist."

"Yes, but this is what we need. What I told the company is that we will take as many jobs as possible. As long as they come to guide us, we will do it even if it doesn't make money. Whether it is physical special effects or CG technology, we accumulate model libraries and work experience, treat them as stones, and cross the river by feeling them. In this way, when the technology accumulates to a certain level, we can make rapid progress in the field of special effects."

Guo Fan was a little surprised:

"Are you already doing it?"

"Yes."

Xu Xin nodded and asked back:

"Otherwise, why do you think I spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy special effects companies, upgrade equipment, and recruit more people?"

" ...I thought you wanted to be the leader of special effects in China..."

Xu Xin was speechless:

"If I really count on the domestic market, I will starve to death...at least that's the case at this stage."

He shook his head:

"I don't expect this company to make money, and the point is, I can afford the loss of tens of millions this year, but others may not. Anyway, it's easy for me to make money, so I'll do this job. I'd rather lose some money first, so that we can have a shortcut to overtake...not to mention overtaking, but at least to catch up.

If you ask me when our country can make science fiction films similar to Hollywood's large-scale projects, my answer is that I don't know.

This thing requires a large investment and good technology.

For example, me.

I have money.

And now my company is also vigorously learning technology.

Now everything is ready, I just need time.

When the accumulation is almost enough..."

Xu Xin paused again.

Guo Fan couldn't help but turn his head to look.

In the dark carriage, Director Xu's eyes were filled with a glow that could not be concealed no matter how dark the night was.

The glow was firm.

Firmness was persistence.

Perseverance was full of confidence.

Confidence was a relentless persistence.

"I believe there will always be such a day."

"Then..."

"When the time comes, heaven and earth will work together."

"The door to Chinese science fiction movies will definitely be kicked open by our generation!"

It was obviously just a casual chat.

But since when, his words sounded like a deafening roar in Guo Fan's ears.

Deafening.