The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1500 Camera Scheduling
"Have you seen 'The French Connection'?" Anson asked.

Alfonso, “Of course!”

"The French Connection", at the 44th Academy Awards, defeated "A Clockwork Orange" and won five major awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing, and went down in history.

Judging from the title of the movie alone, it seems to be a literary work; in fact, it is a classic police and gangster movie.

The pioneering tracking and chasing scenes in the film are jaw-dropping, all thanks to handheld photography, real-life recording, fast editing, and zoom-pull shooting techniques to create a sense of reality, presence, and crisis. The tension is overflowing.

For the younger generation, everyone knows that the handheld photography and fast editing of "The Bourne Supremacy" bring an incredible viewing experience, but in fact, the movie has only learned the basics of "The French Connection". This movie released in 1971 is still a must-see work for film school film screening.

Alfonso immediately became excited and his eyes lit up. "You mean..."

Anson nodded in affirmation, "We need to create that effect."

"In the movie, there is a car chase scene. I think we should shoot it from the main perspective, handheld and close to the body, to present the chaos of the environment and the crisis of the situation in 360 degrees, not only to let the audience feel the speed of life and death, but also to let the audience's adrenaline rush."

Before he could finish his words, Alfonso had already trotted over to the desk, took out the cereal and milk, and showed his notebook to Anson.

Alfonso, “I was just thinking about how to shoot this scene.”

Anson, "It's not just the camera, the chasing vehicles and the running routes of the extras also need to be designed. The movement of the camera in the narrow space of the car can indeed bring a top-level immersive feeling, but it is not enough."

"I think that following the shift of the camera, we should also add parts such as continuous car crashes or motorcycle interceptions and sniper shooting to create a chaotic situation, but we rely entirely on the camera's lens scheduling to connect them together."

"Is this possible?"

Anson is an actor after all, and his understanding of photography and directing is only superficial, and it is all just theory, so his words are inevitably uncertain.

In the previous life, the long shot in the narrow space of the carriage during the chase scene in "Children of Men" was completed in one go and amazed everyone, which can be called a classic.

Now, Anson hopes to further increase the difficulty based on the classic and challenge the limits of Alfonso and Emmanuel.

Alfonso looked at Anson quietly, "Let's not discuss whether it is feasible or not. Why don't you throw out the whole process first and see what we need to face."

Then, we will slowly discuss and study it to turn the impossible into the possible.

Anson did not hesitate and took the notebook. "I think the vehicle should face this situation first when entering this road..."

Go back and forth, concentrate on it.

Anson and Alfonso communicated with each other using pencils and dialogues on their notebooks, just like a sandbox interpretation, with inspiration and ideas colliding in the air.

Until someone knocked on the door, interrupting the conversation between the two.

Alfonso motioned to Anson and trotted straight to open the door of the room.

"Alfonso, what happened?" The man spoke in a series of Spanish.

Alfonso did not respond, but pulled the visitor into the house, "Emmanuel, this is Anson; Anson, this is Emmanuel."

Emmanuel looked at Anson sitting in the chair, his mind was a little tangled, obviously, he didn't understand what was happening in front of him, Alfonso just sent him a text message asking if he was free for help. Emmanuel was undoubtedly the best of the Mexican filmmakers, having been in Hollywood for ten years, and had already established his own reputation and fame, with one film after another, and he had the right to freely choose the directors and projects he was interested in.

Of course, Mexicans help each other, and Emmanuel also helps to make connections. Alfonso was initially able to enter the vision of 20th Century Fox thanks to Emmanuel's introduction, and a group of people worked together in Hollywood.

Recently, Emmanuel had just finished filming a work and was on vacation in Los Angeles, preparing to join the crew of Terrence Malick's new work next month. When he saw Alfonso's text message, he came directly, and the result was -

Anson Wood?

Emmanuel felt a little dizzy, and subconsciously looked at Alfonso and asked in Spanish, "Alfonso, what's going on?"

Alfonso didn't say anything, so Anson interrupted, "We have encountered some technical difficulties and need the professional advice of the photographer..." This was also in Spanish, and although he spoke in a halting manner, he at least fully expressed his meaning.

Emmanuel was stunned.

Alfonso had already pulled Emmanuel directly to the desk and showed Emmanuel the notebook. "We are considering shooting a chase scene in one shot."

"Inspired by 'The French Connection,'" Anson added.

This sentence immediately caught Emmanuel's attention, and he immediately looked at his notebook, "That's hand-held and editing."

“We wanted to create a similar experience with the long take,” Anson explains.

Emmanuel, “You are creating problems for yourselves.”

Alfonso, "So we need you."

Emmanuel, "Give me a reason."

Anson, “We hope to bring the audience an immersive frontline experience.”

"In fact, I was saying to Alfonso that the film doesn't need to be overly showy. We don't need the audience to realize that this is a long shot. We don't need to deliberately remind the audience, 'Hey, did you see it? This is a blockbuster long shot.' We need to quietly integrate these difficult techniques into the film to create an immersive experience."

"For example, in the first scene of the movie, we can use the camera to follow the hero into the coffee shop, where the TV is broadcasting a global sensation. Everyone is paying attention to it, except him."

“Then, when the camera follows him away, the coffee shop is blown up, and blood and flesh fly everywhere. We need the audience to feel the blood and impact, and to draw the audience into the atmosphere of the movie before they realize it.”

Alfonso doesn't mind using long shots, but he never shows off for the sake of showing off. The use of long shots must serve the plot, the movie, and the viewing experience.

Anson liked this and agreed with Alfonso that he didn't intend to break this principle; but on this basis, they could enhance the viewing experience.

Hollywood movies often like to drop a punchline within three minutes of the opening; this has long become a routine for commercial films.

Emmanuel frowned slightly, and he immediately grasped the pattern behind Anson's words.

Top photographers like Emmanuel are often used in art films, because only art films pursue the language of the lens; commercial films do not pay attention to these things. When it comes to shooting genre films, Emmanuel does not think he is better than those photographers who have been immersed in this field for many years, because those photographers pay attention to simplicity, cleanliness and narrative efficiency.

If they were making a commercial film, they wouldn't need Emmanuel at all.

So, what is this doing?
(End of this chapter)