I really don't want to make bad movies!

Zhang Jun was stunned for a long time before picking up the mouse and slightly dragging the progress bar.

A strange interrogation room appeared in the scene.

The random lighting is like the dividing line between the underworld and the netherworld, making the character's face appear as two opposing forces of light and shadow.

"what?"

Zhang Jun was stunned.

Zhou Yi was furious, unable to understand how Zhang Jun had taken a liking to such a work.

"It's precisely because your aesthetic sense isn't up to par that I didn't recommend you to film crews!"

Zhou Yi slammed his hand on the table angrily, picked up his teacup, and returned to his seat: "Before graduation, just focus on making your short film, and don't get involved in movies!"

Xiao Li chuckled, not getting involved in the dispute between the master and apprentice, and used the arrow keys to fast-forward through the movie.

Zhang Jun was a bit confused: "That doesn't make sense. I saw Xia Ming's original footage with my own eyes. How could it be edited into this? Was he tricked by the editor?"

"How can so many people watch a film of this quality?"

Zhou Yi was still angry and ignored him, but Xiao Li smiled and came to her rescue: "Take a look at the other entries."

As he spoke, he switched to the artwork display interface.

Among a host of short films titled "Shadow," "Flower," "Life," "My Future," and so on, "Transformers 5: Hornet" stands out as an anomaly, captivating viewers' attention.

"If I were still a student, I would definitely watch this one first."

Besides the top-ranked "The Big Hornet," the second most-watched work was a remake of Stephen Chow's "King of Comedy," and the third-ranked work was a tokusatsu film.

Only these three works have received more than 100 views.

The remaining art films hovered in the double digits, with some even having only a dismal single digits of views.

Zhang Jun didn't follow the school's group chat and was unaware that Xia Ming had launched a terrifying propaganda campaign on social media.

He originally thought that it was because Xia Ming's skills were excellent that the other students came to him.

"That's impossible..."

Zhang Jun muttered to himself, found a chair and moved it next to Xiao Li, then used the mouse to fast forward bit by bit.

After the interrogation room scene, you can see the abrupt acting of the main actors.

Yang Kai could make Zhang Jun so embarrassed that he would scratch his toes on the ground as soon as he opened his mouth.

I wanted to punch the screen and scream, "Stop reading!"

Not to mention his disastrous acting and childish dialogue, which portrayed a story that made no sense at all.

When Yang Kai, playing Jason, slams a hammer into a block of wood, a cheap robot named Big Hornet suddenly appears as if using a built-in magnification effect in PowerPoint.

Zhang Jun no longer cared about the question of why knocking on wood could create a robot.

He was so angry that he leaned back and rested his head on the back of the chair, completely losing the desire to continue watching.

"This is a picture of you..."

He's still in the teachers' office, and he has to hold back from swearing.

Xiao Li, on the other hand, found it amusing and watched it with great interest, fast-forwarding through the episodes.

The website was already lagging, and he kept pressing fast forward, until the screen suddenly stopped, freezing on the scene of the main characters talking to the giant wasp in the forest.

"Hey? You know what, from this angle, the composition is actually pretty good."

Xiao Li suddenly sat up and stared at the computer screen.

In the image, the giant wasp is facing away from the sun, with a giant tree standing behind it, and three tiny figures surrounding it.

"If the colors are adjusted properly in post-production, the lighting and shadow details of the robot are handled well, and the Tyndall effect is enhanced, it will actually look quite realistic."

"What?"

Zhang Jun also turned his head back, gestured with his palm in front of the screen, and muttered to himself, "Wow, I have to say, this angle is really good."

"The three humans are positioned at the bottom of the frame. The upward angle not only allows the sunlight to show the forest but also naturally guides the viewer's eye to the robot."

"It not only possesses aesthetic appeal in its composition, but also naturally guides the story, and even subtly highlights the robot's power."

"Haha, aren't we over-interpreting things?"

Xiao Li burst into laughter, not thinking that the director of this kind of parody movie could think so much.

If someone really puts their mind to studying camera language, could they shoot something like this?

"Alright, Zhang." Li was about to close the webpage. "Go on with your work, I need to write the meeting minutes."

"Teacher Li, please wait a little longer."

Zhang Jun raised his hand to signal Xiao Li to wait a moment, then picked up a chair and sat down further forward.

"You're such a student."

Xiao Li shook his head helplessly, thinking that he was just being stubborn with Zhou Yi.

However, Xiao Li has a very easygoing personality, so he simply watched it with Zhang Jun.

Unlike before, Zhang Jun didn't fast forward this time; instead, he paused the video.

Gradually, he realized something was wrong.

In the film "The Big Hornet," every shot change, perspective shift, and camera placement is extremely precise.

Using the word "accurate" doesn't mean there's a standard answer for camera positions.

Zhang Jun just felt that the camera position was just right.

As the number of pauses increased, he gradually realized that the composition of each scene seemed quite reasonable.

When the protagonist is frightened by the appearance of the giant wasp, he shrinks into a corner, and only the mechanical sound of the giant wasp can be heard coming from off-screen.

As the dialogue unfolds, when the giant wasp recites the robot's code, the camera slowly pans to show the giant wasp's broad shoulders and back, as it gently extends its hand, seemingly lifting the protagonist up.

Putting aside the actors' poor acting, childish dialogue, low-quality special effects, jarring sound effects, rudimentary sets, and chaotic story.

The use of camera language seems really powerful!

Zhang Jun's aesthetic standards may have been lowered because he was frightened by the cringe-worthy parts in the previous section.

He could only turn to Teacher Li for help: "Teacher Li, what do you think of the cinematography in this movie...? Is it alright?"

"hiss--"

Xiao Li also noticed something amiss, so he put his elbows on the table and stretched his head forward.

"Let's play it for a little while longer and see."

"OK."

The two stared intently at the eerie movie.

At this point, they no longer cared about other factors, focusing only on the camera angles and positions.

When the scene shifted to the inside of the pickup truck, the dim atmosphere and Jiang Xixi's tense expression caused both of them to involuntarily widen their pupils.

"Bang!"

Then came a loud bang!

The zombies attacked the front of the car, and the sudden sound startled both of them, causing them to pull their necks back several centimeters.

"Did you scare me again?"

This was Xiao Li's first time watching it, but Zhang Jun had watched it several times before.

Even with the screen of the playback device getting bigger, he still couldn't help but be startled.

"Wait, back up, back up."

Xiao Li pressed the left mouse button several times to return the scene to Jiang Xixi.

"This freshman, has he acted in suspense or thriller films before?"

Zhang Jun was taken aback and shook his head: "I don't know, I don't know anything about him."

The playful expression on Xiao Li's face had vanished. Pointing at the screen, he analyzed carefully, "The beautiful female lead is on the left. We're shining the light on her face to create a beautiful illusion and attract the audience's attention."

"The right side is a dark carriage, and most of the shot is focused on the carriage, giving the viewer the illusion that danger might come from the right."

"However, the danger actually came from the left, and outside the frame. The director was providing visual guidance until the female lead was startled."

"And the actress's acting in this scene was actually quite good; she seemed genuinely frightened."

Zhang Jun suddenly realized why he had been so frightened by this scene; the camerawork here was so sophisticated!

Xiao Li sensed something was wrong and shouted to Lao Zhou, "You really should come and see this! This movie is actually quite interesting!"

Zhou Yi turned around, intending to lash out, but saw that it was Xiao Li who said it.

He then calmed down, picked up his teacup, and walked back behind the two of them.

Xiao Li pressed the play button again.

Then came the zombie attack, all in one continuous shot!

Without the aid of a track and gimbal, handheld shooting is bound to result in some wobbling.

The people present were all photography majors; they weren't focused on the camera shake, but rather on the movement and arrangement of the camera positions.

As the zombies relentlessly pursue them, the cameraman, while retreating, keeps the story moving forward with his handheld camera, and other characters appear in an orderly fashion to rescue the protagonist.

Two words: Smooth!

Just as the three of them were watching intently, the screen suddenly switched to Yang Kai's big face.

It turned out that the camera had fallen, and when Yang Kai picked it up, the lens happened to capture his face.

"Hold!"

Zhang Jun couldn't help but curse out loud; the immersive feeling he had painstakingly built up was gone again!

He had never thought his cousin was so deserving of a beating.

"I've seen the original footage; it's a full ten minutes long, filmed in one continuous take. There's no such thing as this idiot suddenly jumping out of character!"

Are you sure?

Zhou Yi's anger had long since dissipated, and he began to think, resting his elbow on his hand.

Although there were only four actors, there was no complicated camera equipment to move on set.

But isn't it a bit of an exaggeration to film a ten-minute chase scene in one take?

This requires not only a skilled cinematographer, but also a director who can perfectly arrange the placement of every shot.

Zhou Yi returned to his seat, took out his camera from the drawer, and went back to Xiao Li's workstation: "Come on, let's try to recreate this one-shot sequence."

Zhang Jun was overjoyed when he learned that the teacher was going to offer some teaching tips.

Zhou Yi told Xiao Li to continue playing the movie.

He and Zhang Jun began to speculate on the camera angles while looking at the screen, drew up a script in their notebooks, and tried to replicate it.

After several attempts, Zhou Yi was still not satisfied, feeling that he couldn't capture the essence of the film.

In fact, it is not easy to replicate the master's sense of camerawork.

Renowned director and Golden Bear winner Claude Chabrol once considered remaking Fritz Lang's film "M".

Even just remaking a small segment of the scene required this renowned director to rack his brains.

In the end, he found all the original film reels and filmed them step by step according to the storyboard, but he still couldn't recreate the feeling of the original.

Zhou Yi's temper flared up, and he insisted on restoring the footage.

"Replay, replay, let's reshoot!"

Xiao Li nodded in agreement, but the screen went blank after he clicked the mouse.

As the loading buffer circle popped up, the entire screen went black.

"What's going on?" Zhou Yi asked.

Xiao Li was also stunned. This time it was even more serious than before; he couldn't even access the school website.

He turned to look at the master and his apprentice.

"How about we invite the director himself over?"