China Entertainment started in 2004

Chapter 665 Filming Starts

On August 2010, 8, La La Land started filming in Los Angeles.

The first shot was the traffic jam on the 110 Freeway in Los Angeles in the movie.

This scene may not mean much to people from other regions, but it has a special flavor for residents of Los Angeles.

After all, the old guys who judge the Oscars really like this shot.

Its specific location is at the intersection of California State Highway 110 and U.S. Highway 101.

Moreover, this traffic jam scene not only shows the traffic conditions in Los Angeles, but also adds a unique atmosphere to the film through dance and music.

And the hero and heroine met for the first time in a traffic jam. This scene not only set the tone of the film, but also paid tribute to film history classics such as "8 1/2" and "Famous".

As always, this is a very important shot for Oscar-winning films.

If Wang Shu had produced "La La Land" alone, it would have been difficult to coordinate road closures for filming.

But with Paramount on board, everything went smoothly.

Of course, even if the road is closed for filming, it cannot be closed for a long time.

Therefore, before the actual shooting, the scene in this shot had been practiced and simulated for a long time in other places.

Once you are confident, you can go to Highway 110 to shoot the actual scene.

However, Wang Shu did not take it lightly and blocked the 105 and 110 freeways for two weekends, a total of four days, in conjunction with Damien Chazelle's version of "La La Land".

During filming, the crew used a MovieBird jib with a maximum extension distance of 45 feet. Even though the Allan Padelford Biscuit Jr. trailer carrying the jib was on the left-most shoulder, the camera lens could still cover the four lanes to the left and right of the median.

However, under the bright Los Angeles sun, it was easy for the lens to capture the shadows cast by the crane and camera.

Therefore, the camera movement trajectory has to be redesigned.

Due to the needs of camera performance, the choreography also needs to be readjusted.

The final shooting plan is actually a compromise.

The scene, which was originally supposed to be shot in one take for six minutes, had to be completed in three shots, which were then seamlessly spliced ​​together using special effects in post-production.

"Fake long shots" usually use fast panning shots to conceal their real cutting points.

For example, in the opening song and dance of "La La Land", the first hidden cut point appears about 3 minutes into the opening, when the woman in the yellow skirt spins, and the camera pans to the left before she spins.

In the next series of shots, the woman in the yellow skirt moves along the right side of the road, runs to the front, and enters the picture from the right.

The first two clips were shot using a jib, and the third clip was shot using a Steadicam.

Finally, the operator stepped onto the rising crane platform to shoot the highway scene from above.

In addition to adjusting the photographic equipment, the crew also chose the time to shoot based on the sunlight patterns of the venue.

The first two shots taken with a car-mounted jib were both taken between 10 and 11 a.m., and the last Steadicam shot was taken in the afternoon.

Repeatedly shooting the same short segment at different time periods allows more room for control than shooting three segments continuously, and problems such as dance movements and camera position deviations can be corrected in a timely and effective manner.

With this in mind, the problem of "inconsistent light and shadow direction" that cannot be discovered at all without multiple viewings is a tolerable imperfection.

Another challenge of using public facilities such as highways as locations is the limited shooting time.

The crew of "La La Land" only had two weekends to block off filming.

The first two days of the weekend were mainly used for field rehearsals.

The second weekend, the official shooting started.

In order to ensure that everyone can keep up with the music in such a large venue and with so many actors, the crew secretly installed speakers on both sides of the road, about 150 feet away.

The film's choreographer, teacher Mandy Moore, hid in one of the cars during the actual filming and coordinated the dancers directly with her voice.

Even so, during the two days of actual shooting on the second weekend, we still had to shoot 20 to 30 takes for each of the three scenes.

It took 30 professional dancers, plus about 120 extras, to complete this shot.

Wang Shuyou tried to shoot the entire film in one take, but the venue was too large, there were too many people, and time was limited, so it was difficult to complete.

The only option is to use a "fake long mirror".

Not only him, Damien Chazelle was like this when he was filming "La La Land".

Although it took two weekends to shoot this shot, it wasn't just two weeks of shooting.

From Monday to Friday, we will shoot other content.

When the weekend comes, take this shot again.

In addition to the traffic jams on the highway, another classic filming location in "La La Land" is the Grand Central Market, which is one of the places where Mia and Sebastian dated in the movie. The various delicacies and goods in the market are so delicious that people will never want to leave.

There is also Hollywood Boulevard, one of the memorable scenes in the movie, and Cathy's Corner, which is located here and not far from Griffith Observatory, which is a great place to see the beautiful scenery of the city.

and the Rey Theatre, where Sebastian’s old acquaintance Keith’s popular jazz band performs in the elegant Art Deco style of the theatre.

There is also the Colorado Street Bridge. The actors walked on the majestic Colorado Street Bridge, which was full of summer romance and is one of the classic scenes in the movie.

There is also Griffith Park. Casey's Corner on Hollywood Hill Road in the park is the place where Mia and Sebastian danced in the movie. There are also zoos, museums, horseback riding trails and other attractions in the park.

It can be said that "La La Land" can also be regarded as a promotional film for the city of Los Angeles.

This can also satisfy the vanity of those old men in the American Film Academy and is one of the factors for winning awards.

In the original timeline, although "La La Land" did not win the Academy Award for Best Picture, many people believe that this film is the uncrowned king.

In other words, "La La Land" is more likely to win the Oscar for Best Picture than "Moonlight".

Now the director has been changed to Wang Shu, who is not only the director of "La La Land" but also one of the producers.

Therefore, if "La La Land" can win the Oscar for Best Picture, it will be an honor that is closely related to him.

Therefore, it is necessary to operate it.

However, it is quite difficult to operate both the Best Director Award and the Best Picture Award.

Fortunately, "La La Land" itself is a very powerful film and has the corresponding qualifications.

If he can present this film perfectly and cause a revival of American musicals as he did in the original time, then he will still have a good chance of winning the two major awards, Best Director and Best Picture.

Even Emma Stone may win an acting award.

It is undeniable that compared to a few years later, Stone's acting skills are somewhat lacking as she has had fewer years of refinement.

However, Wang Shu can train her. With his help, it is not impossible for Stone's performance in the film to be improved.

And Stone has said before that she hopes Wang Shu will be strict with her so that she can give the best performance in the movie, rather than just doing an average one.

Stone said this specifically to Wang Shu because she was worried that Wang Shu, a quick shooter, would not pay close attention to the actors' performances in order to finish the film as quickly as possible.

Worrying about just passing is considered completing the task.

She wanted to win the prize, so just passing was not what she wanted.

She pursues perfection.

Only in this way, at her age, will she have a chance to win an Oscar.

Otherwise, it's just a nomination at best.

Again, at the Oscars, actresses are treated differently than actors.

Male actors often have the ability to win awards, but they end up being runners-up. They need to accumulate experience and only when they have enough experience and happen to star in an award-winning art film can they get the award.

Actresses don’t need to wait for seniority.

The youngest actress in Oscar history won the award at the age of 21.

Stone is 22 years old this year and will be 23 next year.

Even if she really wins the award, people would just sigh that there is another young movie queen, rather than be surprised that she can win the award at such a young age.

……

It was already early morning when we finished shooting a night scene.

Since shooting night scenes was quite tiring, Wang Shu paid for the crew members to have a midnight snack.

Of course, the expenses come from the investment in this play.

He is one of the investors of "La La Land" and there is nothing wrong with him treating the guests.

The actors gathered together for a midnight snack, but Wang Shu was chatting with photographer Sandgren and others about details related to the filming while eating supper.

On set, Sandgren shot the film on 35mm with custom Panavision anamorphic lenses to create a brightly lit atmosphere that was fitting for the show-business dreamer at the heart of the story.

Celluloid also allowed Sandgren to get the best out of Emma Stone's red hair and blue eyes, the eye-popping costume designs and the violet sunsets over the city.

In Sandgren's words: "Digital captures reality, whereas film just naturally captures the image in a heightened, magical way, and it looks more like an impression of reality, and maybe you remember it."

“Shooting film isn’t really about nostalgia, it’s about capturing the richness of color, and digital video simply doesn’t give you that unless you add it in post-production.”

As for Wang Shu, he urged Sandgren to shoot a lot of footage in case there was no B-camera as a safe backup or for quick editing.

For example, in one particularly stunning shot shot at dusk, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling dance for six minutes straight on a ridgetop in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Los Angeles.

Wang Shu communicated with Sandgren that the scene needed to be shot at the most dramatic moment.

And this moment is the dusk between 7:20 and 7:25.

By design, "La La Land" contrasts the diverse and divided city of Los Angeles through the characters' moonlit dreams and gorgeous dance performances.

In Wang Shu's words: "Whether it is the pale and bright daytime or the lamp posts, they are all part of the city. And at night, there is also the incredible night sky. The film needs to capture these beauties, nature and the city, presenting the impossible combination to create a kind of beauty."

Again, the reason why "La La Land" won an Oscar is not only because of the artistry of the film itself, but also because the scenes of Los Angeles presented in the film resonated with the old guys at the American Film Academy.

This gives us a great advantage in award judging.

Wang Shu made "La La Land" for the purpose of winning awards, so he naturally put a lot of effort into the film.

It will take a lot of time to carve it out meticulously.

But it’s only the end of August now, so there’s still plenty of time.

It is expected to be completed in October, and with his quick editing speed, he will be able to edit it into a film very quickly.

As an art film led by him, "La La Land" not only has the casting rights in his hands, but also the editing rights.

When the movie is released in the future, the theatrical version will be the director's cut.

La La Land was shot in 2.55 CinemaScope, a format that was widely used in the 50s before Hollywood switched to the 2.40:1 aspect ratio seen on most films today.

In order to adapt to close-range zoom scenes, Wang Shu also asked Panavision to design a 40mm anamorphic lens with a close focus of 23cm.

As for the camera itself, Wang Shu chose to shoot with the Panavision XL2, a camera first released in 2004 and used as a primary or secondary camera in many films.

The shallower the depth of field a film is shot with, the softer areas it can create within a given frame of a film, which can make it easier to direct the viewer's attention to specific parts of a given scene.

In addition, film has a greater latitude for underexposing and overexposing areas, showing more details and richer colors than images shot digitally.

The color of "La La Land" is an important part of the film. Wang Shu followed the shooting method of Damien Chazelle's version, using the primary colors of red, yellow and blue to achieve a subtle and impressive effect.

Each of the eight primary colors evokes a certain feeling in the person who observes them.

Dark green evokes terror, bright red evokes anger, and dark blue evokes sadness.

Each of these colors has variations that evoke slightly different emotions, and a mix of the two colors will evoke mixed emotions.

This is used to make filters and color grading effects that can color an entire scene or movie with "emotion" to give a consistent feel across different lighting and locations.

The blue and yellow costumes in the film make the actors extremely eye-catching.

Wang Shu chatted with the photographers for a while, then went to where Emma Stone was and gave her private lessons.

Emma Stone wanted to win an award, so she specifically asked Wang Shu to help her present the character in the movie perfectly as much as possible.

Although good performance by the actors is what the director wants to see.

But many directors don’t necessarily pursue perfection when making movies. Instead, they think that as long as the shots are up to standard, they are OK.

Some actors' performances could have been better.

But, this is a laborious job.

It is very likely that after a long period of guidance, the actors only gave a sloppy performance.

At times like this, people often just give up on passing the exam and are too lazy to waste time on it.

There is also the way of presentation. Different presentation methods create different visual effects.

Some ways of presentation may be good, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t better forms.

(End of this chapter)