Chapter 81 Kaigo's Classroom Is Open!

December 14, 2002.

At 12 noon, outside the solemn Great Hall of the People, there was a bustling crowd.

More than a thousand Chinese and foreign journalists and media, and specially invited audiences to watch the film, almost filled the square outside the Great Hall of the People.

Flashes flashed non-stop on various long and short guns mounted on tripods.

Interestingly, every reporter on the scene was dressed in formal attire, including the photographer.

Zhang Weiping's request was really strictly followed.

Outside the Great Hall of the People, there was a lively and crowded scene, and everyone's face showed an expectant look, after all, this was the premiere of the first blockbuster in China!

The staff of New Picture were strictly conducting entrance inspections. Every guest and reporter who wanted to enter had to undergo a security check, and no electronic equipment or recording equipment was allowed to be brought in!

Even the reporters, when they enter the venue, have to deposit their video recorders, cameras and other equipment with the staff, and they can only pick up the equipment again for interviews during the press conference after the movie viewing.

The reason for such strict requirements is mainly to prevent piracy.

In order to meet the requirements for Oscar nomination, "Hero" was first shown to the audience in Shenzhen.

As a result, some people used some illegal means to pirate the content of "Hero" and triggered a small-scale piracy.

Therefore, in order to prevent criminals from taking advantage of the premiere to carry out piracy activities, the cultural department has specially formulated various very cumbersome preventive measures, fearing that there will be another scandal of pirated copies before the movie is released.

Of course, this also makes reporters generally feel that the premiere of "Hero" is really big.

In the past, the organizers sent the invitations to reporters by express, mail or on the spot, but this time, in order to ensure that each person has a certificate, reporters had to go to the organizer's company in person to receive the invitations, which made the reporters' "uncrowned king" prestige fall.

When entering the premiere, reporters were required to complete a series of tedious procedures such as bag storage, security check, inspection, and storage of photographic equipment one hour in advance, and wait in advance.

This made the reporters even more unhappy. Many reporters were thinking in their hearts that at the press conference after the movie, they would definitely let the "Hero" crew feel the power of the "uncrowned king" and ask as sharp questions as possible!

The front-stage reporters and special guests were checked and entered in an orderly manner.

In the Great Hall of the People, in the screening room of "Hero", a group of guests who arrived early had gathered together and were chatting with each other.

Wu Yuan, who was also dressed in a formal suit, was also among them.

He arrived in Beijing at five or six in the morning. After a few hours of rest, he came to the Great Hall of the People with Director Han and entered the inner field from another door.

Wu Yuan and Director Han were not the only ones who received such treatment.

In addition to the crew of "Hero", several domestic first-line directors such as Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, leaders from the Ministry of Culture, and heads of China Film and New Picture were also among them.

These people quickly divided into circles and started to communicate with each other.

Wu Yuan got together with Jiang Wen, Chen Kaige, and Feng Xiaogang.

"Director Wu, this time I finally met the real person. After my wife finished filming your "Departures", she went home and praised you very much!"

Director Kaige looked at Wu Yuan with a smile and patted his shoulder very kindly.

Although "Departures" did not bring any art awards to Chen Hong, Director Kaige has always valued this, he really appreciates Wu Yuan himself!

"Your film "Departures" is really well shot, and the film is full of warmth. No wonder it won the Best Director Award in Berlin."

Director Kego smacked his lips, as if he was savoring the content of "Departures", and then said with some regret: "It's just that you still have some shortcomings in the lens aesthetics."

"The film has warmth, but the use of lenses is relatively restrained and simple. In fact, it can be bolder. For example, if I were to shoot the scene where Zhang Guorong played the suona under the snow-capped mountains, I would set up a few more cameras and add a bird's-eye view."

"In terms of color, some design should also be done. The snow-capped mountains are white. If Zhang Guorong can wear a red dress, the picture will be more impactful!"

"Or tie a red ribbon on the suona. When playing, the red ribbon fluttering in the wind is also good!"

Wu Yuan listened carefully and nodded seriously from time to time.

He was not acting. The lens aesthetics was indeed one of Wu Yuan's shortcomings.

After all, his dream is to focus on the field of commercial films, which is also the main development direction of Chinese-language films in the 21st century.

Let's put it this way, in terms of film aesthetics and color aesthetics, all the seventh-generation domestic directors put together may not be as good as Chen Kaige, Sunglass King, and Zhang Yimou.

Even Jiang Wen can't compare!

In "Sunny Days" and "The Sun Also Rises" shot by Jiang Wen, the lens aesthetics are also very good!

But commercial films don't value this. Commercial films value the conflict and drama of the film plot, the commercial value, and the use of special effects.

Wu Yuan is quite good at shooting special effects shots. Let him play special effects. He dares to say confidently that he is definitely better than several major directors now.

So he had no pressure at all when shooting "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Even if this movie needs to use a lot of special effects shots, and half of the scenes have to be shot in the studio, he can complete the shooting task very well, and he is very familiar with green screens, little green men, motion capture equipment, etc.!

If Director Kego were to shoot "Pirates of the Caribbean", he would definitely not be able to do it.

Similarly, Wu Yuan's level of lens aesthetics, which is achieved entirely by real shots, is only at the level of ordinary directors, far inferior to Director Kego's level.

So when he was selecting films, he also deliberately avoided some films that required a lot of empty shots, imagery beauty, color aesthetics and picture impact, and focused on films that rely on plot to win.

For example, "The Night the Comet Came" and "Departures", these are movies with good scripts, not movies with beautiful, classic and imagery pictures.

Like Director Kego's "Farewell My Concubine", "The Promise" and "Legend of the Demon Cat", they all used a lot of natural scenery images, man-made things images, color images and sound images and other artistic aesthetics.

This is something Wu Yuan can't catch up with even if he tries hard.

There is a saying that goes, no matter who plays in Director Kaige's play, their appearance will automatically improve to a higher level.

Yang Guifei in "Legend of the Demon Cat" no longer has that kind of thrilling beauty without Director Kaige's lens, and even looks ugly and unphotogenic under the lens of other directors.

This is all thanks to Director Kaige's top lens control ability.

No wonder many people say that Director Kaige is more like a top film cameraman than a director.

Wu Yuan doesn't want to distinguish whether Director Kaige is a director or a photographer. He just wants to learn more strengths and advantages from Director Kaige.

Director Kaige is also happy to impart knowledge to this young director he admires.

One of them is willing to learn, and the other is willing to teach. The atmosphere of the chat is harmonious and refreshing.

Jiang Wen, who has been banned from directing for five years, joined the discussion with great interest.

In terms of film aesthetics, he also has a lot to talk about.

In comparison, Director Feng is more embarrassed.

At least at this stage, Director Feng doesn't have much dry goods in his stomach.

His movies are just at the level of big sitcoms, and his shots have no artistic value.

Listening to two directors from Beijing Film Academy and one director from the Central Academy of Drama talking about film aesthetics and camera language, Director Feng couldn't get in the conversation even if he wanted to.

Just leave, other circles have nothing to do with him

He could only stand aside and laugh, listening carefully to the discussion of the three people.

Director Feng also has a heart for making art films, and this is also a good opportunity for him to learn!