Returning to the 82 Mountain Village: An Encounter with the Journey to the West Film Crew at the Beg

Just as Zhou Fangyuan was about to speak, at the same time, Sun Wukong was quickly lifted off the ground.

Just as it rose

"Click!"

A not-so-loud, but exceptionally clear cracking sound came from the preparation area on the cliff edge where Zhang Jinlai and his colleagues were!

Immediately following was a dull thud as something hit the rock, followed by a few short gasps!

Everyone's heart clenched!

Zhou Fangyuan rushed over quickly.

Yang Jie's expression changed almost simultaneously. He stopped flipping through the book instantly and turned his head sharply towards the source of the sound.

They saw a flurry of people over there. Zhang Qiang and his colleagues rushed over, forming a circle to block the view.

Screams and frantic shouts were torn apart by the mountain wind and carried on:

"Teacher Jinlai!"

"Take a look!"

"The rope! It's that piece of hemp rope! It wore through!"

Zhang Jinlai fell from a great height onto the rocks, and Zhou Fangyuan, who was behind the crowd, felt a buzzing in his head.

It turns out that the thin hemp rope, which was already badly worn, was used as a "wire".

Since my rebirth, many things have long since deviated from their original course.

In their previous life, many people fell off the wires during filming, but all of them escaped unharmed.

But this time... Jin Lai, please don't fall and hurt yourself.

Director Yang also rushed over as quickly as possible, his face tense and silent, but his steps were both hurried and steady.

Pushing through the crowd, you can see Zhang Jinlai lying on his side on a slightly tilted rock, his face contorted with pain, but his eyes, painted with fiery eyes, are still open, filled with lingering fear and regret.

His costume was covered in dust, and one arm was awkwardly curled up.

On the ground nearby, there was a piece of old hemp rope that was clearly broken in the middle. The fibers at the break were uneven and there were obvious signs of long-term wear, so it was not a fresh piece.

"How are you? Where did you fall?" Director Yang squatted down and spoke very quickly.

A colleague from the art team who has some medical knowledge has already conducted a preliminary examination and quickly reported back:

"Director Yang, based on initial observation, your left arm may have been bumped or sprained. You'll need to move it slowly."

My right knee is scraped and bleeding, but not deeply.

Fortunately, the rocks here have a slope, so it wasn't a direct vertical fall. Also, we were just testing the location, and the hoisting wasn't very high. The main problem was that the rope suddenly snapped, causing a moment of weightlessness and a fall, plus the shock.

Zhang Qiang was still clutching the other end of the rope in his hand, his voice trembling:

"I took this bundle of 'dragons crossing the river,' but I checked its appearance and even tested its tensile strength. It should be fine. This... Jin Lai, how are you? Can you still speak?"

Wang Chongqiu looked grave. He first confirmed that Zhang Jinlai was conscious and that his bones were fine, and breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his brows remained furrowed.

The perfect opportunity to capture the sea of ​​clouds is slipping away second by second.

Zhang Jinlai gasped for breath, trying to brace himself with his uninjured right hand, but his colleague gently pressed it down.

"Teacher Jinlai, don't move around too much. Take a break and see if there's anything else that's bothering you."

"I...I'm fine..."

Zhang Jinlai clenched his teeth, cold sweat beading on his forehead from the pain: "I'm sorry for delaying everyone... this sea of ​​clouds..."

"Let's not talk about this now!" Director Yang Jie interrupted him decisively, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"The person is the most important! Xiao Li, treat his wound first and immobilize his arm."

Chongqiu, filming paused. Zhang Qiang, check all the ropes, one by one, inside and out! Everyone else, carefully help Jin Lai to a flat, sheltered spot nearby, make sure he's warm!

Her instructions were clear and decisive, instantly stabilizing the somewhat chaotic situation, and everyone immediately sprang into action.

Zhou Fangyuan's heart was pounding; the relaxed conversation just moments before seemed like it had happened an hour ago.

A chilling fear and deep self-reproach instantly gripped him.

It's as if if they had inquired about the purpose of the bundle of hemp rope earlier, or noticed the situation earlier, this whole thing might not have happened.

Zhou Fangyuan probably understood the terrifying consequences of the wire breaking better than anyone else present.

The excruciating pain and despair of losing control and falling from a great height in his previous life, which shattered all hope, now struck his chest heavily across time and space.

While feeling empathy, it also added a layer of fear.

He shook his head violently, forcing himself to break free from this futile regret.

There was no time for self-blame.

His gaze quickly swept across the scene, landing on the pile of "protective clothing" that had just been taken off Zhang Jinlai.

It was just an ordinary vest padded with cotton, without any hooks, buckles, or reinforcement.

Zhou Fangyuan strode over, picked up the "protective clothing," and squeezed the thin padding inside with his fingers, his brows furrowing tightly.

He turned to Zhang Qiang, whose face was still pale, his voice hoarse with urgency:

"Brother Qiang, this protective suit...why doesn't it have any attachment points for fastening ropes? It's just a thick cotton coat?"

Zhang Qiang was immersed in self-blame for his inspection mistake when he was taken aback by Zhou Fangyuan's sudden, scrutinizing question.

My instinctive response was: "A buckle? What kind of buckle do you need?"

Isn't this designed to protect the actors from being directly strangled by the ropes?

We also felt that the cotton-padded coat was a bit thin, but if it were any thicker, it would be too bulky and make it difficult to move around...

What are we going to do? This is already the final solution we've come up with, but who knows if something like this might happen again.

Upon hearing this answer, Zhou Fangyuan's lips tightened, and the furrows between his brows deepened.

He steadied himself and immediately realized the problem.

At that time, mainland film crews were still in a very primitive and exploratory stage regarding this suspended filming technique, which they called "crossing the river dragon."

There is absolutely no systematic safety standard or concept of dedicated equipment.

They directly applied their experience of performing suspended maneuvers, which is occasionally seen in stage acrobatics or opera, to real-life filming in the mountains and fields, where repeated operations and dynamic impacts are required.

Moreover, in order to cut out the image, they used thinner hemp rope, which is more prone to wear and tear!

He took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound more like an inquiry than an accusation, and continued to ask, "Brother Qiang, how exactly do you conduct this research?"

I used to work in a theater troupe and figured out how to suspend actors for performances, so maybe... it might be helpful.

Zhang Qiang was in a state of utter confusion. Seeing Zhou Fangyuan's unprecedentedly serious and focused expression, he didn't think twice and whispered everything he had heard:

"It's like this... Director Yang and the others watched some movies that wanted to be filmed in Hong Kong and felt that the 'wire' shooting effects for flying were particularly realistic, much better than our post-production work in the studio."

We originally wanted to learn it, but time was tight and resources were limited, so we let the props team and the stuntmen figure it out on our own first.

We figured that people had been suspended by thick ropes on old opera stages before, and the principle was similar, so we decided to give it a try.

However, the thick hemp rope was too conspicuous and couldn't be hidden in the shot or easily edited in post-production. So, we had no choice but to use this kind of thin hemp rope that was sturdy enough but not too thick.

The first few times we tested it on flat ground, you know about the part where Teacher Wu flew into the sky?

It was swaying at low altitude, but it was quite stable. Who would have thought this would happen...?

He pounded his thigh in regret: "It's all my fault! I was so focused on whether the rope would give itself away that I didn't even think about the spot on the branch where the rope was rubbing back and forth..."

The branch gets caught! It rubs back and forth!

A string in Zhou Fangyuan's mind suddenly snapped to life.

The root cause of the problem has been found!