Liu Miaomiao looked around and said, "The weather here is terrible, but the scenery is quite special. The photos will definitely turn out great."
Zhang Huijun smiled and said, "Yes, the scenery here is very unique, especially at dusk, when the setting sun shines on the loess slopes. It's particularly moving. You should settle down and rest for a while. I'll take you to familiarize yourself with the filming location in the afternoon."
The group followed Zhang Huijun into the temporary dormitory provided by the brigade for their crew.
This temporary dormitory is just a few adobe houses. One room is full of people sleeping on the kang and on the floor. Basically, there are about ten people sleeping on it. Although it is simple, it is very clean.
Zhang Qiurui and the others rested for a while, drank some water, and talked for a while. Then Zhang Qiurui heard a noise coming from outside the house, so he got up, walked to the window and looked out.
I saw about ten villagers carrying farm tools back from the fields, among them were You Benchang and Wu Yanshu.
The two of them have been here experiencing life for almost half a year. Their originally fair skin has long been tanned by the sun, and they are wearing clothes worn by farmers in Gansu, which has a more rustic and down-to-earth feel.
"Teacher You, Teacher Wu." Zhang Qiurui stood at the door and called out to them with a smile.
"Director Zhang, you're here."
"Director Zhang, congratulations on winning the Golden Bear and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature."
When You Benchang and Wu Yanshu saw Zhang Qiurui, they smiled and hurried over to greet him.
"Well, that's good. It seems that you have been experiencing life and working in the fields during this period, and it's been very hard." Zhang Qiurui nodded with satisfaction after seeing the thick stubble on You Benchang's face, calluses of varying sizes on both of their hands, and rough fingers.
In this way, you don’t need to wear makeup for your appearance.
"When are we going to shoot?" You Benchang asked.
"We'll start tomorrow." The shooting plan had been arranged earlier, and the scene could basically be completed by the team.
The next day, the crew became busy.
"The first scene, the first shot of 'Hidden in the Dust', Ike God."
The first scene to be filmed was very simple, which was the scene where Ma Youtie and Cao Guiying took the photo of their marriage certificate.
"Wait, Teacher Wu, don't look at the camera. Cao Guiying is disabled and can't control her excretion, so she has low self-esteem.
Even when you were getting married to Ma Youtie and taking the marriage certificate photo, there was no sense of humor about getting married. You should not look at the camera with a slightly bitter face, and try to keep your eyes blank.
"Teacher You, just look at the camera with a blank expression." While filming, Zhang Qiurui sat behind the monitor, carefully observing every detail in the picture.
"Okay, director, do it again." Wu Yanshu took a deep breath, adjusted her mood, and got back into the state.
As expected of someone who has performed in stage plays for many years, after hearing Zhang Qiurui's explanation, Wu Yanshu quickly performed the state that Zhang Qiurui wanted.
"Pass! The scene for the next scene is ready." After the scene was over, Zhang Qiurui asked the props team.
The next scene is the second day after the wedding, when Ma Youtie takes Cao Guiying to burn paper at the grave of his parents.
"'Hidden in the Dust', scene two, shot one, Ike the God."
"Camera one, short shot from the side, stay where you are for two seconds. Camera two, long shot from the right. It's done, good, keep it up."
"Shoot the next scene!" Zhang Qiurui sat behind the scenes, watching the monitor closely and giving instructions to the cameraman on the intercom.
"'Hidden in the Dust', scene three, shot one, Ike the God."
"This is Cao Guiying, we are married." You Benchang spoke with a local Gansu accent, tearing up paper money and burning it from time to time to tell his deceased parents that he was married.
This dialect sounded very authentic to Zhang Qiurui. It seemed that You Benchang had put a lot of effort into learning it.
Cao Guiying knelt aside, always with her back hunched, leaning to one side, a bitter look on her face, without joy or words.
She just mechanically followed You Benchang's movements, occasionally looking up at the pile of burning paper money. The firelight reflected on her face, but it did not reflect any warmth.
Her eyes were empty, as if only an empty shell remained, barely supporting her body.
"Passed, very good, keep it up, teachers." Zhang Qiurui nodded with satisfaction.
As the filming time passed day by day, more than half a month had passed quickly, and the time was approaching for the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony.
After filming for more than half a month, You Benchang and Wu Yanshu cooperated more and more tacitly. The scenes they filmed were basically shot in one take, rarely more than three takes. Most of the filming was done in the group, and there was little room for scene change and arrangement.
In the past half month, we have almost finished filming one-fifth of the scenes.
Later, when filming the scenes with the villagers in the brigade, there were many blunders and mistakes.
Except for Cao Guiying and Ma Youtie who are professional actors, the other characters in the play were selected from the villagers of the brigade.
These villagers had never filmed a movie before, and most of them could not read, so they needed the crew to teach them how to memorize their lines and how to move.
Memorizing lines is difficult because I have no culture and cannot remember them well. I often forget the next line after memorizing the first one. Sometimes I can't even pronounce the name of my own character clearly.
If the actors selected from the troupe memorize their lines, they can really fit in with the characters in the play. Their performances are natural and simple, as if they are a true portrayal of the characters in the play.
Their eyes, movements, and voice tones all revealed an unpolished authenticity, which greatly surprised Zhang Qiurui. Despite encountering many difficulties during the filming process, Zhang Qiurui always maintained patience and confidence in training these village actors.
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