Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 278 Xiao Liu draws, the set is shocked

Liu Yifei, Yang Mi and other visiting stars came with great excitement and left with great joy. Boss Lu's first day of filming after returning to work was quickly and smoothly concluded.

After a quick and simple working lunch, the heads of various departments of the crew gathered in the small conference room on time to begin today's summary and finishing work.

This has become an established rule in the film crew.

Although there is no tax payment guarantee system, the producers of each crew designated by Lu Kuan must represent his will and follow the due procedures at the daily summary meetings.

First is the head stage manager, Lao Zhang.

"Director Lu, everyone, I'd like to give today's report."

"Today's full-day shooting time is 9 hours and 20 minutes, and the number of shots is..."

Lao Zhang was making a routine data report, and everyone in the meeting room was checking the report line by line.

The most basic data include scene number, shot number, number of takes, actor's lines and action details.

If it is a scene with many special effects shots, the shooting details of each special effects shot, including the use of green screen and model information, must be included.

Finally, we will report on the preparation of tomorrow's shooting materials, the update of the notice list and the weather conditions.

Two years ago, Lao Zhang was an old employee of Qingying Studio. He finally made up his mind to give up his regular job and work in a private enterprise, only then did he realize how huge the gap was.

It's not just a gap in salary and benefits, but also a gap in the set system and work atmosphere.

According to the working habits at Qingying Studio and other old state-owned studios, after filming every day, we would drink, play cards and have business chats. The next day, we would start a new day of filming in a busy manner with dark circles under our eyes.

It’s okay for crews with stricter requirements, but for crews with experienced people, the director will scold them from morning to noon the next day.

Either the auxiliary light source was not prepared in advance, or the props were not placed in the designated location, or the green screen was not cleaned in advance——

Early green screens were not cleaned properly, and it was difficult to cut out images in an era when special effects were relatively backward.

Only in the film crews with wide experience, or those with a wide range of skills, although they were not used to this working mode at the beginning, once they actually implemented it, they would find that the filming on the second day was extremely smooth and beneficial.

This is an institutional advantage.

Old Zhang has a bald head and is almost fifty years old this year. Now he can hold a computer and use his finger to create data and reports.

The script supervisor's work is the most complicated, followed by the financial aspects.

Yu Feihong whispered to the young director, who was busy looking at numbers, "Xiao Li's child had to go back to Peking for surgery. I'll be taking over her job for the next two days."

"Yeah." Boss Lu didn't even raise his head. He didn't care about the division of labor below.

Yu Feihong is the assistant director. If she has to worry about these things herself, then her own mainland version of "Ghost" will definitely fail and go over budget.

The reports from each department took about forty minutes, and then it was time for the director to give instructions and summarize.

Zhao Fei, Yu Feihong, the lighting staff, the script supervisor, the special effects staff, and the comrades in charge of communication on the Tangshan side all opened their work notes and prepared to record the key points.

"Everyone's work is very meticulous, keep it up."

Lu Kuan frowned and looked at his watch, deciding to cut to the chase as he still had to go to the Olympic bidding team later to see what they had accomplished that day.

"Make a few requests."

"First, in the few clips I just reviewed, many of the extras' expressions and movements were still rather stiff."

"I know it's unrealistic to ask too much, but it's definitely not as simple as just asking them not to look at the camera."

"Feihong, please take out the regulations for this work and use half a day tomorrow to write a concise set of instructions for extras."

"Points to note, taboos, simple performance techniques and ideas, liaisons between different departments, etc."

Boss Lu smiled and said, "This time, Tangshan provided us with a large number of free extras. Although this is a help, if we don't make good use of it, it will become a burden."

Is free always good? Of course not.

If you hire extras with your own money and find them unqualified or acting recklessly, reprimanding, educating them, and expelling them are the norm.

But some of them are survivors of that year, and some came to help. The crew provides meals, and other expenses are to be paid by themselves. It is impossible to refuse for both moral and legal reasons.

The key is how to make good use of the resources provided by local governments.

Yu Feihong nodded: "Yes, Director, I will contact the comrades in charge of publicity in the street tomorrow and ask for their help."

"Well, secondly, starting tomorrow, Teacher Zhao and I will temporarily split into two groups for filming. Everyone should plan their division of labor in advance."

For large-scale scenes like earthquakes, it is common for three or four filming crews to start at the same time.

It is common to splice a long shot together by splicing together several scenes. Through overall planning, the efficiency of filming can be greatly increased, saving the crew's energy and money.

For example, when James Cameron was filming "Avatar", he had a motion capture team, a real-life shooting team and a production team. They shot separately and synthesized the work in a unified way, which greatly shortened the production cycle.

If there were no groups and motion capture, live-action shooting and special effects production were completed sequentially, the production time of the entire film might have increased exponentially.

Cameron's filming method saved a lot of scene construction and reshooting costs, amounting to as much as $3 million.

The most classic one is "Edge of Tomorrow". During the filming of the core scenes, the director found three stand-ins for the male lead.

The protagonist was filming a drama in the suburbs of London, one was jumping out of a plane in Florida, one was fighting in a London shopping mall, and another was driving a speedboat in Bermuda.

However, although the crew of "Tangshan Earthquake" now has three 4K high-definition digital cameras, only Zhao Fei and his eldest disciple can operate them skillfully, and they can be divided into two groups at most.

Everyone took the order and left. Boss Lu worked tirelessly to discuss with the Olympic team until 9: before returning to the hotel where the crew was staying.

Lying on the bed, Liu Yifei's strange behavior today flashed before his eyes, and he took out his cell phone and called her.

"Hey?"

"Well, the Holocaust movie might have to be filmed earlier."

Lu Kuan was a little tired after a day of work, and he couldn't think of any suitable excuse, nor did he have much experience.

Before, Xiao Liu would call me every now and then to harass me!

Concubine Liu Yi was painting in the room.

After hearing Lu Kuan and Martin Scorsese talk about Impressionism on the day of the Golden Globe Awards, she picked up the painting she had learned as a child.

I bought a bunch of oil painting albums by Monet and Van Gogh and set up a small studio in the study in the courtyard.

The brushes are from Faber-Castell, a German brand founded in 1761, the paints are from Winsor & Newton, the palette is from Courbet, and there is a Pebeo palette.

It can be said that poor students have too many stationery.

"Ah? Why?"

She now had mixed feelings about the washing machine, but this topic still attracted her attention.

"I'm going to be part of the final Olympic creative team. After the start of 2007, I'll probably be working on the Olympic opening ceremony."

"We want to finish the film before the anniversary of the victims in December 07, so we will definitely be preparing to start shooting next year."

Liu Yifei was calculating the date in her mind, but she did not doubt whether Lu Kuan could join the final creative team of the Olympic opening ceremony.

Even if he did not become the chief director or deputy chief director in the end, given how much Zhang Yimou valued him, he would definitely ask Lu Kuan to join the final team to provide creative ideas.

Lu Kuan hesitated and said, "You..."

"I want to do it! You must give me this role. I will give it 100% to whatever it requires!"

Liu Yifei couldn't wait to say: "I call Sister Chunru every week. I have been trying to understand her living habits, spoken accent, and the living environment she grew up in."

Lu Kuan pondered for a moment and said, "The release date of 'Zhu Xian 2' has been brought forward, and 'Foreign Land' will start filming in October. You can start preparing after you finish filming."

"It might take you six months to a year. You'll need to take time off to read her works, follow the footsteps of her research in China, and live with her for a while..."

Xiao Liu paused with his brush and said, "As long as you give me the script and the requirements, I promise to do my best. I have confidence."

"What's that noise? Are you writing?"

Liu Yifei looked at the Marco sketch pen in her hand and said, "I'm drawing."

"Ah? You have this skill? What are you drawing?"

Xiao Liu was dissatisfied with the sarcasm in his words and looked at the sketch of a washing machine's face that he had casually drawn on the canvas.

"Draw a dog."

Boss Lu had a keen intuition: "To be honest, I feel like you are offending me."

"Huh, why are there still people picking up insults? I'm just drawing my little black dog."

"You're lying. I've only seen your cat. Where did the dog come from?"

Liu Yifei couldn't help laughing over the phone, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised: "The puppy is quite playful, going out to look for little bitches every day, so you haven't seen any."

"When he comes back, I will definitely beat him up."

Boss Lu: ...

I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but this feeling of being offended is even stronger.

"Xiao Liu, you seem a little strange since yesterday. Is there anything you want to tell me?"

The scumbag tried to transform himself into a caring older brother, but this hypocritical mask was hard to wear in front of Liu Yifei who knew him well.

"No."

Lu Kuan didn't get any useful information out of her, so he didn't bother himself any more. He hung up the phone angrily and started looking at tomorrow's shooting schedule.

Xiao Liu couldn't help but sigh, looking at the sketch on the easel that looked like a washing machine, and covered it with a new layer of paper without worrying about it.

It is very difficult to make such a decisive decision. Of course, an eighteen-year-old girl also has nightmares and tossing and turning in the middle of the night.

But once you give up, you will fall into endless chronic death.

After pondering for a few seconds, she decided to make some preparations in advance.

I glanced at the time and it was 10 o'clock in the evening. Sister Zhang Chunru on the other side of the earth should have gotten up.

"Hello? Sissi?"

Zhang Chunru and her husband have a residence in San Jose, California, but in the past two years, due to excessive mental stress and harassment from some right-wing trolls, she has been living with her parents in Illinois.

"Sister Chunru, it's 8 o'clock in the morning there, right?"

"Yeah, it's late in China, why haven't you rested yet?"

Concubine Liu Yi lay on her back on the bed, her long hair spread out like a waterfall.

She addressed Zhang Chunru, whom she admired and respected, with the admiration and intimacy of a conversation with a life mentor: "Sister Chunru, I want to go to the United States to see you around March or April next year."

"Great! Is the movie about to start? Why didn't Lu Kuan tell me?"

Zhang Chunru suddenly became excited!
Zhang Chunru had been waiting for this day for a long time, ever since she met Lu Kuan in early 2003 and was cured or kept alive by him using this "medicine".

In particular, the success of "Alien" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in the North American market and the increase in his own influence have made this angel of justice have a stronger expectation that his unfinished career can be realized through the artistic talent of young directors.

"He's been busy with the Olympics lately and just informed me."

"My current tentative plan is that after I finish filming my next movie, I plan to go to the United States and live with you for a while. The film will probably start shooting at the end of 2006."

Zhang Chunru's heart suddenly brightened when she heard the exact start date: "Great! You can just stay at my house. I'll help you with the preparations."

"Sister Chunru, actually I have another thing I want to trouble you with." Concubine Liu Yi had a backup plan if the facial tattoo failed.

"You said."

Xiao Liu made a surprising statement: "I want to apply for study abroad programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign or the University of Chicago. Could you please write a letter of recommendation for me?"

The University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are both located in Illinois, where Iris Chang lives.

Zhang Chunru was stunned by what she said, and thought to herself, isn’t this girl a professional actress?

"Xixi, are you going to study drama?"

“No, I want to study business.”

When studying business in the United States, the preferred areas are generally New York and California.

The former is located in the center of Wall Street, the world's financial center, while the latter is backed by Silicon Valley, with many universities and well-developed education nearby.

But there is another inland state in the United States that is not very well-known, especially in China in 2005.

Zhang Chunru lived and studied in Illinois since childhood.

Illinois, known as the Land of Lincoln, is the inland economic and financial center of the United States and is nicknamed the Inland Empire State.

There is a rapper in China named Zigga who once compared Illinois with our Shanghai in his lyrics. Apart from being inland cities, they are similar in other aspects.

They are all transportation centers. The core city of Chicago is the world's largest railway hub, with 30 railway trunk lines and their branches converging here.

The state has also made achievements in both industry and agriculture, and has a rich cultural heritage. It is the hometown of the famous American novelist Hemingway.

Zhang Chunru burst out laughing: "You don't plan to be an actor anymore? Why did you want to study business?"

"Well... I feel like I've taken on too many roles in the past few years. I'm thinking of living there for a while anyway, and it's impossible for me to follow you wherever you go every day."

"I might as well study business. I'll take a break from school when the film starts."

"I've made plans back home. I'll ask a teacher to help me graduate early, so I can start the enrollment process for next fall."

Her favorite destination is the University of Chicago.

Since the 50s, the traditional teaching school represented by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the practical teaching school represented by Harvard Business School have been regarded as world-class.

If Liu Yifei had not changed her nationality back, it would obviously be easier for her to miss the business school of this top international university than it is now.

However, with the halo of a famous actress, plus Zhang Chunru, a best-selling author with some influence in Illinois and the connections behind her, it was not too difficult to get the offer.

Because in addition to the normal GPA and language tests, American business schools also provide other application channels for well-known people in society.

For example, various school activities, professional awards and honors in business, performing arts, and charity, or recommendations from celebrities or alumni.

Zhang Chunru was a little confused by what she said, but she still decided to respect her own choice.

"Shenzhen University is relatively difficult, but I am confident in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I studied journalism there, and both my father and mother are professors there."

"Sissi, if you just want to experience life as an actor, just audit the class. It's very convenient."

Liu Yifei explained: "Experiencing life is one aspect. I am relatively dumb and I am afraid that I won't be able to act it out when the time comes, so I want to go through your life experiences, Sister Chunru."

"Also, I really want to improve in this area and develop my business thinking."

The little girl's idea is very simple.

Even if she failed, she was not willing to be just a painting or a vase to him. She wanted to improve herself in all aspects and fight for survival.

Liu Yifei lay in bed and chatted with the female teacher she admired about many beneficial life topics, and fell asleep very late.

The next day, the washing machine, unaware that it had become an all-round imaginary enemy, got up early to continue filming the earthquake movie.

There are some special features of major earthquake movies, that is, they need to be shot strictly in the order of before the earthquake, at the epicenter, and after the earthquake.

Because the explosion and collapse of buildings at the epicenter are irreversible, you can't just blow everything up and then find out that you missed a shot, so you have to go back and rebuild the house to shoot again, right?

Therefore, the crew under his management was like a precision machine, running at high speed in the week of return.

In addition, new generation actors such as Song Jia and Wang Baoqiang are gradually getting into the right state, and the outdoor scenes before the earthquake are almost completed, so we can enter the next important shooting stage.

Boss Lu is currently discussing the shooting plan with his old partner Joss Williams from "Alien Land".

"Roland adopted a method of synchronizing explosions and filming in 'The Day After Tomorrow,' but this required high safety measures and time control."

Williams advised: "Considering the safety factor and the margin of error, my suggestion is to blast first and then shoot."

"This gives you better control over the effects after the explosion. It's like setting up the scene first and then shooting. Your guys can have plenty of time to prepare."

Joss's daughter, Haley, is also a member of the team. She has been taken to the crew by her father since she was 18 years old. She proposed a compromise solution:
"The less significant and important shots can be blown up first. The building where the protagonist lives can be blown up right there. That way, the whole process can be shown."

Boss Lu pondered for a few seconds. If he wanted to be authentic, both Haley and her father's suggestions were worth considering.

But even though all the members on the set bought high-value insurance this time, he didn't want any accidents to happen.

"How about this!"

The young director chose another compromise plan: "The secondary shot will explode in real time, but please help me blow up the building where the protagonist lives first and then reinforce it."

"Tie the steel wire rope to the wall and help me pull it down manually while filming."

Jos and his daughter Haley looked at each other. This was a suitable solution, and it also had a greater advantage -

Manually dragging the collapsed house allows the collapsed shape to be arranged in advance, which is beneficial for filming and achieving the director's detailed requirements.

Old Joes exclaimed in admiration and went to discuss the operational details.

He could see from "Alien Land" that this oriental director's familiarity with special effects technology was no less than any top Hollywood blockbuster director.

There are often unique innovations.

The real major earthquake in history occurred in the early morning, and the shooting time of this highlight was scheduled at 3 am. The lighting, environment and other conditions met the requirements of director Lu Kuan.

Yu Feihong met with the staff from Tangshan who came to supervise and inspect the permit procedures: "Comrade, this is the 'Blasting Operation Unit Permit'."

"These are the 'Safety Work Permits for Blasting Engineers and Technicians' and the 'Blasting Operation Permits' for our blasters and safety officers. Please inspect them."

In order to coordinate with tonight's scenes, Tangshan specially assigned several staff members to stand by. After checking everything was in order, they smiled and shook hands with Yu Feihong: "I wish you all the best! Be safe!"

"Thank you!"

Yu Feihong held the intercom to inform Lu Kuan, who was still communicating with Jos Williams: "Director, the inspection is completed, you can start at any time."

"Ok."

Boss Lu put down the intercom, picked up the loudspeaker, and stood on a high point. "Attention everyone on the crew, I want to emphasize a few things."

"The blast will begin in twenty minutes. Everyone please retreat to the safety line. Please monitor and watch each other. Do not fall asleep and put yourself in danger. Safety officers must also be alert!"

"In addition, we have communicated with the city's meteorological experts, and the intensity of the rain in the past few days is very suitable for filming, which is very close to the original historical appearance."

On the night of the great earthquake thirty years ago, there was also heavy wind and rain in Tangshan. It seemed that such disasters were always closely related to bitter wind and rain.

This is also the reason why he chose to shoot tonight. Light raindrops started falling in the evening, so he could start shooting at any time.

"Therefore, please try to finish the important scenes in one go over the next few days and don't drag them out, otherwise it will be very difficult to fix them later."

"Fellow villagers who are here to guest star as extras, please remember the contents of the extras manual and pay attention to your personal safety!"

Many of the local citizens performing in the extras were survivors of that year.

They looked at their old house, which was exactly the same as in their memory, and felt sad that it might turn into ruins in an instant.

Lu Kuan glanced at everyone's complicated and sad eyes, and thought to himself that the army's morale was good.

The extras with such emotions must be the most immersed and qualified extras in all movies, right?

Because they are not acting, they are repeating a heartbreaking disaster that happened thirty years ago.

The first thing that started was the preliminary blasting. Jose Williams, speaking fluent Chinese numerals, gave orders over the loudspeaker: "Umbrella! Ear! Intention!"

"Fire in the hole!"

Joss is not a spoof of game lines. This is a common command in military operations, mining blasting and film and television shooting, which was later reflected in the Hollywood movie "The Hurt Locker".

Everyone only felt the ground beneath their feet shaking slightly, and the high-rise buildings within the safety line trembled and then collapsed.

From the outside to the inside, it collapsed like dominoes. After about seven or eight seconds, only ruins were left in front of everyone.

Boss Lu checked the blasting effects and the state of the ruins in front of the monitor, and after confirming that everything was correct, he quickly picked up the loudspeaker.

"Attention all script supervisors and guides! Extras and actors, please take your positions and wait for the rain to stop before filming begins. Thank you all for your hard work!"

"Yes!"

"Roger that!"

Since the real earthquake happened in July, we have to shoot a rain scene tonight wearing large shorts and vests. Fortunately, the weather in Tangshan in May is only a little cool, so we won’t catch a cold from getting wet in the rain.

Around 4 a.m., there was a slight light in the sky, and the rain gradually got heavier as the weatherman predicted, but it still did not meet Boss Lu's requirements.

He decisively picked up the intercom and said, "The makeup team will go directly to the outside to put makeup on the extras."

"Old Tian from the props team, find someone to move out the industrial fans that were hauled in this afternoon. Prepare to artificially increase the rain. Daybreak is almost here, and time waits for no one!"

The audience responded enthusiastically. Thanks to the usual "good leadership", all departments quickly implemented the director's requirements.

Some of the extras were wearing shorts and vests, and occasionally long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, but without exception, they were all covered in crimson dirt, a mixture of mud and blood.

At this moment, a burst of crying suddenly came from the extras. It turned out that the makeup artist was putting makeup on a little girl in a hurry and accidentally scratched her eye.

Boss Lu was terrified, fearing that some safety accident might occur. He waved his hand to signal Yu Feihong to continue presiding over the situation, and hurried over.

"what happened?"

The young makeup artist said guiltily, "Director Lu! I didn't notice I touched Xiaonan's eyes just now!"

This child has been with her mother on the crew for several days. She is very cute with two pigtails and everyone knows her.

"Xiao Nan, why don't you go back with your mother to rest first? It will stop hurting soon."

There are some scenes in the movie that are the most difficult to shoot, and children's scenes are even ranked before animals.

At least animals can be taught by trainers, but children's moods are unpredictable and difficult to grasp.

Another assistant director on the sidelines whispered anxiously, "Director Lu, if Xiaonan doesn't shoot, our shot will be missing an important supporting character!"

"The other young actors who were considered are far inferior to Xiaonan."

All the people present were fellow villagers. At this time, the extras who had just finished putting on makeup came over, and the little girl's mother was so anxious that she was about to cry.

Xiao Nan suddenly reached out to wipe her mother's tears, then turned back to Lu Kuan and said, "Director brother, I can act!"

"My mother told me that thirty years ago, she escaped from here in the arms of her grandfather. I want to experience her experience once again."

I don't know who in the crowd was the first to lose their guard and suddenly sniffed.

The supplementary light source at the shooting scene illuminated the actions of many local Tangshan extras wiping their tears.

Some of them were as old as Xiaonan back then.

Some of the children back then were as old as Xiaonan now, but their friendly voices, smiles and appearances will forever remain in that day thirty years ago.

This is also the reason why many survivors actively signed up to participate in the performance.

They have been separated from their loved ones for too long, and this method may make the faces in their memories more vivid.

"Okay! Everyone get ready!"

Boss Lu also felt a sense of empathy when watching this scene, but this kind of emotion is about to reach its peak. If the filming goes smoothly, one can foresee how exciting this scene will be!
Every extra can perform at a level comparable to that of professional actors, or even surpass them!

So they weren't performing at all!
Everyone was in place, and Lu Kuan once again checked the makeup, props, and details.

The dirt and scars on the actors in close-up and close-up shots are more realistic. The performances of other group actors cannot be perfect due to time constraints, and it does not have much impact on the final appearance of the film.

He called the production director and asked him to prepare dry towels and hot water so that they could remove makeup and wipe off mud for the Tangshan villagers who volunteered to act as extras.

Lu Kuan sat behind the monitor, stretched out his hand to feel the frequency of the raindrops, and everyone was waiting for his instructions.

The heavy rain after a major earthquake has a scientific basis, because the energy accumulated in the earth's crust is suddenly released, and the high-intensity heat evaporates the water vapor in the air, which naturally rains when it encounters cold.

However, filming rain scenes is very difficult, especially for a director with high standards like Mr. Lu. You have to make all preparations in advance and start filming at any time.

Only his direct crew, who are strictly disciplined and trained by him, can have such execution and adaptability.

Another five minutes passed. Lu Kuan looked at the sky and knew he couldn't wait any longer. He decisively picked up the walkie-talkie and began the final deployment:

"Reflectors and soft lights are in place, the light ratio is adjusted to 7 to 1, and the LED light board is the main auxiliary light!"

"Yes!"

The light ratio is the ratio of the intensity of the key light to the fill light.

For example, if the intensity of the key light is 4 times that of the fill light, then the light ratio is 4:1.

The light ratio determines the contrast of the picture. When shooting high-key pictures, such as bright indoor scenes or fresh portraits, a smaller light ratio is usually used.

When shooting low-key images, such as dark suspense scenes, a larger light ratio is used and the auxiliary light intensity is relatively low.

Boss Lu did it himself and walked behind the industrial fan: "The rain in the lower part is strong enough, but the spray from the high-pressure water gun is not strong enough."

"Lao Zhang, quickly find someone to drive the crane next to the blasting site over here, and find a way to tie the high-pressure water gun to the top to expand the spray range of the rain!"

"Okay, I'll go now."

Mediterranean Old Zhang turned around and ran, tripped over some gravel, got up and continued running without looking back.

While the crane was being put into position, Lu Kuan walked among the hundreds of extras and personally delivered his speech to the close-ups and close-ups of the group.

He did not use the same professional ideas and words as he did with Liu Yifei and Song Jia, but simply deliberately guided their emotions and provided a performance paradigm for imitation.

The central idea remains unchanged, and the natural performances of the extras will be more moving and realistic.

Another 5 minutes passed.

Everything is ready now. With artificial rain, the east wind is no longer needed. Lu Kuan walked back to the monitor.

"Lighting technician?"

"Director, take your positions!"

"actor?"

“In place!”, “Ready!”, “No problem!”

Not to mention young actors like Song Jia and Wang Baoqiang, even veterans like Hu Jun and Zhou Xun are feeling a bit agitated at the moment.

The crew is extremely professional, the atmosphere is extremely created, and the director pays attention to details.

Everyone is eager to integrate themselves into the tragic picture of this era and use their own vivid characters to compose a elegy of that year.

"Ten seconds countdown, recording and videography started, props team, rain."

“Begin the countdown!”

Yu Feihong picked up the loudspeaker and calmly read out the numbers. As the last sentence came out, the rain suddenly became heavier!

The extras who had been rehearsing on the scene for a long time started with faint sobs, which gradually turned into shrill cries and desperate screams, and the entire crew entered the shooting state!
The camera was mounted on a jib and shot from a high altitude with a bird's-eye view. Three camera assistants wore raincoats and followed the close-up actors to shoot with handheld cameras.

Handheld photography is a common shooting technique in documentaries, pseudo-documentaries, and horror films. It can enhance the sense of reality and presence, and capture dynamic moments more flexibly than large cameras.

Especially in the creation of subjective emotions and the rendering of atmosphere, it plays a unique role.

For example, when a crowd of people collapses and scatters during an earthquake, the shaking of the handheld camera and the left and right perspective of the protagonist can express the extreme panic of the people involved without a single line of dialogue.

The scene seemed to be recreating the hellish scene from thirty years ago. Bigger raindrops flowed down from everyone's head, carrying bright red blood across dirty cheeks.

A close-up of a round-faced female extra appears in the picture.

Red water marks kept seeping out of her face. Her big eyes, filled with confusion and fear, gradually became dull and her body trembled slightly. After a while, she fled to the east side of the family building.

Lu Kuan couldn't see her face clearly because of the dirty makeup, but she looked familiar to him.

"Feihong, did you recruit this extra just now?"

"Yes, you signed up for the film when you went to Cannes."

She lowered her head and flipped through the roster: "Zhao Liying, from Langfang, Hebei Province, graduated from Langfang Electronic Information School with a major in aviation services."

"She has no acting experience, but her appearance stands out among the crowd, especially in the rain scene. Her big eyes made it easier to act."

Tangshan and Langfang are very close to each other, so Zhao Liying's debut is equivalent to an early debut.

Lu Kuan nodded and continued to watch the live footage on the monitor.

The main camera, at a parallel height, suddenly panned to the right, placing the chaos and confusion of the main street in the center of the frame. It seemed as if it had become a hell on earth:

Some fell to the ground with bloody heads, some were mercilessly trampled by those trying to escape, some cried helplessly, some cried heartbrokenly while holding the bodies of their family members, and some continued to search for their loved ones in the rubble despite their bloody fingers...

The young director's throat rolled, and the primary school in Shuimo Town emerged in his mind, the red flag that was somewhat faded but still flying high, and Doji with a dark face but sharp eyes.

He couldn't imagine how sad and tragic it would be to see that paradise destroyed.

Boss Lu habitually touched the wound on his forehead that had long since healed, and was extremely glad that he had made that decision a month ago.

Otherwise, if he saw such a scene again, he would definitely collapse.

Suddenly, Xiaonan's figure appeared in the camera.

The main camera and handheld camera followed at the same time. The little girl ran around crying for her mother. Mud and water mixed with tears kept flowing down her dirty little face.

She stood alone on the ruins, clutching a piece of floral cloth torn from her mother's body, and cried desperately at the thundering and lightning sky: "Mom! Mom!"

The close-up shots here have been processed with a weakened recording, which is equivalent to a simplified version of polyphonic montage.

In the actual footage, the audience can only faintly hear the little girl's heart-wrenching cry, and the wailing and grief of more baby birds will be drowned out by the howling wind and rain.

Looking at her clearly recognizable lip movements, the word "Ma Ma" that all mankind can understand and hear, but cannot hear or pronounce clearly, will destroy the tear glands of all the audience.

This is the only scene in the whole film that is more "miserable", which leaves a deep scar in the hearts of the viewers.

Coordinating plays has always been Lu Kuan's weakness, and today's large-scale play with hundreds of extras was undoubtedly difficult.

The scale of disaster scenes, with collapsed buildings, broken roads, and displaced people, makes it difficult to organize and arrange effectively;

For extras, the mobilization and regulation of their emotions, as well as the planning of complex action routes, require careful rehearsal and practice of their movements.

Just like now, young directors have realized a very serious problem.

The extras are so into the show!
They cried so hard and it was so realistic!

However, according to Liu Heng's investigation and the recollections of almost all survivors, the people who suddenly suffered a great disaster were not in this state on the night of the earthquake!
There were also many people who were wooden, slow, yet strong enough to quickly move and start saving people.

When a real disaster strikes, apart from children like Xiaonan who suddenly suffer misfortune and are separated from their families, most adults do not collapse like the ones in the current picture.

However, most of these extras are survivors and descendants of survivors. Faced with such realistic scenes and scenes, their emotions are temporarily out of control.

Seeing that something was amiss, Boss Lu quickly grabbed the megaphone and said, "Close-up actors, control your emotions! Control your emotions! Don't overdo it!"

In fact, such a scene of universal grief and hundreds of people crying together is extremely devastating in a movie theater.

But what Lu Kuan wants to shoot is far from the idea of ​​destroying beauty to arouse sympathy and tears.

What he wanted to express through the film was the majestic calmness of flowers blooming among the ruins, and the beautiful home rebuilt by the people with their unyielding blood and tears.

As for playing the victim, the role of Xiao Nan, an extra, is enough.

His thinking was different from Pants, who had already arranged for his wife Xu Fan to cry in front of the camera:
"Jesus Christ! You son of a bitch!"

. . .

The actors in close-up and close-up shots were carefully trained and quickly understood the director's intentions. The entire scene was carried out in an orderly manner according to the pre-rehearsal process.

In the last shot, the jib quickly rises into the air.

First, a panoramic bird's-eye view brings a strong visual shock to the audience, followed by rescue, seeking help, calling for help and escaping from various perspectives.

"Crack!"

Apart from the gradually fading noise of the machines, the only sound left on the scene was the actors' heavy breathing after their busy work.

The "unrecognizable" actors, whether they were extras or professionals, stared blankly at the young director who was scanning the entire film from beginning to end behind the monitor.

It was past four in the morning and the sky was still pitch black and silent. Xiao Nan in the crowd hugged her mother's thighs tightly and looked around curiously.

She didn’t understand what everyone was waiting for, what they were looking forward to, what they were reminiscing about…

After a long moment, the young director in front of the monitor stood up and bowed slightly to the crowd: "Thank you everyone."

"This one passed."

Strangely, there was no cheering or excitement.

All the actors sat down exhausted and held their waists.

Someone in the crowd suddenly couldn't hold back their emotions and burst into tears, and then the grief spread and covered the entire set.

The survivors of that time, as well as their descendants and relatives, could no longer suppress their emotions.

They supported each other, comforted each other, but also cried bitterly together.

They lay on each other's shoulders, their trembling bodies twitching as they expressed their longing for and grievances towards their loved ones.

This is the grief that has been suppressed for thirty years!

This is the homeland that has been buried for thirty years and is hard to rest in peace!

Lu Kuan also gently wiped the corners of his eyes and turned around and said, "Cut out this part of the footage and put it at the end of the film."

"Okay, director." Yu Feihong had already burst into tears.

Outside the cordon of the set.

"Leader, this one has passed, we can go through..."

Secretary Xiao Li was stopped by Zhao Yong who was wiping away tears before he could finish his sentence.

"Let's go, don't disturb them."

"We've been up all night, let the guide have a good rest."

"Yes."

At this moment, Secretary Zhao knew better than anyone that this film would be the best remembrance and memorial to the people of Tangshan on the 30th anniversary of the earthquake.

(End of this chapter)