Chapter 47
Despite such heavy rain, Jiang Weiguo managed to repair the car quickly.
This repair not only provided the shot for Jiang Weiguo's character to complete his final arc, but also contributed the famous scene in the rainstorm, which Qiao Yiqiao was very satisfied with.
The scene where the car encountered a mudslide was also completed within two nights. In the end, it was thanks to the efforts of all the prisoners that the car was pushed out of the disaster area.
If anything, this was the first time that an entire ward of inmates had worked together to solve a challenge.
This kind of cooperation also kicked off the entire "Thousand Mile Migration".
This is the third act of the entire film.
According to Mr. Shen Si’s previous suggestions, the obstacles encountered in the third act are not completely random, but a reflection of each character’s deepest fears and shortcomings.
For example, for Jiang Simeng, what he fears most is loneliness, so he is afraid as a night watchman when the bus stops in the wilderness at night to find a way.
For Xiaomi, his biggest problem is laziness, which is why there is a scene where he has to go under the car to check the situation by himself because he is the thinnest.
For Xiao Hu, his biggest problem is that he isolates himself, which is why there is a scene where he has to comfort a claustrophobic prisoner when the car passes through a tunnel.
Each dilemma does not appear randomly, and each character completes his or her final growth in some kind of dilemma.
Otherwise, the entire third act of the film would be like a third-rate road movie, encountering some difficulties randomly and then solving them in a random way, which would become very scattered.
Qiao Yiqiao is very grateful for Mr. Chen Si’s suggestion, which can be said to have elevated the quality of the entire film to a higher level.
Sometimes, a word from an experienced teacher can instantly change an entire movie. If an inexperienced creator is asked to do this, it would be difficult to come up with such an idea even if he reads more books and learns more.
No matter how outstanding one's talent and ability are, in the film and television industry, it is sometimes difficult to make up for the gap caused by experience.
Because this kind of experience has been seen by millions of viewers and is gained from practice.
Of course, all of the above designs are still subject to interpretation.
Qiao Yiqiao’s first priority is to photograph all these difficulties beautifully.
Even viewers who don't understand the meaning can still enjoy the show.
This is what is known as the "layer" of a movie.
Maybe for some lower-class groups, the stimulating visual effects are enough to attract them.
But for a higher-end audience, this interpretation becomes interesting.
After the earthquake scene, not only did the entire team work better together, Qiao Yiqiao also found that his directing skills had improved a lot.
In the past, when he encountered such big scenes, he would always be a little "at a loss" and didn't know what the key points were.
But now, he has become very targeted.
He knows what is the most important thing to reflect in each scene. If it is to reflect personal growth, then he will focus on each individual. If it is to reflect the bustle of a group, then how to express this bustle, he will also use layers of camera progression.
For example, the mudslide scene.
If it was shot by a third-rate director, it is very likely that the car was driving normally and suddenly encountered a mudslide, and everyone in the car panicked and screamed.
But Qiao Yi Qiao learned the skill of seeing the big picture from the small details.
He first let the car run normally while all the prisoners were drowsy.
Then suddenly a "tatatat" sound was heard. At this time, many prisoners had woken up and were looking for the source of the sound.
Gradually, they realized that it was small stones hitting the glass.
Many prisoners found this very amusing and came up to the glass to watch.
At the same time, in front, the bus driver's water cup also began to vibrate.
Then, from the pupils of these prisoners, they saw a fallen tree, a few branches...
Just when they were feeling puzzled, suddenly, there was a loud bang and a mudslide rushed down.
The driver barely stopped the car, and the tires left long marks on the ground.
One meter in front of the front wheels, a mudslide was pouring down like a flood.
No one in the car dared to breathe.
Just when they breathed a sigh of relief, another stream of mud hit their window directly.
In the script, this scene may be a simple word "car"
This design is much more sophisticated than a simple debris flow heavy-duty vehicle.
It also gives the audience time to react, so they don't feel that the disaster comes too suddenly.
Naturally, if every difficulty encountered is designed in this way, the difficulty of shooting will increase a lot.
But Qiao Yiqiao is the kind of person who likes to torture himself. If there is anything that is not designed well, he will feel uncomfortable all over.
In short, these scenes were filmed in various parts of the country and took more than a month to complete.
The filming of the entire film is coming to an end.
The entire crew, everyone has to go to Aba together.
Finish the last shot there.
…
Unfortunately, it is the rainy season in Aba.
When Qiao Yiqiao and his team arrived, it had been raining in Aba for half a week.
The weather forecast says the rain will continue for another week.
Qiao Yi Qiao could only smile bitterly.
Their final scene, which is also the end of the film, requires a day with the sun rising.
It has to be sunny.
Sometimes making a movie is like this, it depends on the weather.
So Qiao Yi Qiao and the others had no choice but to wait for the rain to pass.
But he didn't expect that Sabri's small work had already been completed before his own film was completed.
This suddenly occurred to him when he woke up in the morning and saw two little birds outside the window.
He counted the days on his fingers and found out that the fledgling project had ended half a month ago.
I didn't even notice it!
He quickly called Sabri over and asked her, "Have you finished your work?"
"It's done," Sabri said, "It's all uploaded, and it's already reached the award judging stage! I saw that you were too tired, QYQ, so I didn't bother you."
Only then did Qiao Yi Qiao click on the video list of the Fledgling Project.
Sabri laughed: "QYQ, guess which one is my work?"
Qiao Yi Qiao scrolled down the web page and finally saw a work below halfway.
The title of the work is "Ghost".
Qiao Yi Qiao clicked on this work and started reading it.
The story is actually very simple. It tells the story of a girl who was raped and murdered and became a ghost. Then we look at the reactions of her family and some people in society after her death from her perspective.
Sabri was surprised: "How did you recognize it so quickly?"
Qiao Yiqiao smiled but said nothing.
In fact, Sabri did not realize that her personal style was also very obvious.
The themes of the film are all related to women.
Just from the first two shots, you can tell that it was written by Sabri.
The camera was facing the wall. It was a dark, stormy night and only some sounds of struggling and screaming could be heard.
The camera slowly panned to the windowsill, and in the heavy rain, a pink flower was wet by the rain... The petals fell one by one, and finally only the thin stamens were left.
At this moment, a bloody hand grasped the pistil, and the camera angle kept rising and rising...
Qiao Yiqiao was always amazed at Sabri's talent.
This kind of opening is more creepy than directly shooting those violent scenes.
Qiao Yiqiao suddenly thought of a movie he had watched with Sabri before, called "One Nite in Mongkok".
In the film, the protagonist Lai Fu went to the bad guys' camp alone to save his girlfriend and was beaten.
But the director was very restrained and did not show the shot of Lai Fu being beaten. Instead, he gave a close-up of the door handle after Lai Fu entered the room.
The audience could only see the door handle being violently slammed again and again until it almost fell off, and finally blood seeping out from the gap in the door.
This scene gave both Sabri and Qiao Yiqiao a chill.
Man's greatest fear comes from his own imagination.
Just by looking at that door handle, one can imagine Lai Fu being hit against the door handle on the inside of the door again and again...
The sturdy door handle was almost knocked off. Anyone could imagine Lai Fu's miserable plight.
This is the director's more advanced technique.
Not only do we need to tell the story clearly, but we also need to tell it in a way that is more memorable.
Qiao Yiqiao watched the entire film of Sabri with this in mind.
Then he was convinced that Sabri was not only dedicated but also talented.
Many things are hidden behind the camera.
Everything in the camera seemed so peaceful, her father was eating seriously, her brother was still repairing the car, her sister was unable to sleep at midnight...
Through these shots, the pain of losing a sister and the pressure of being pointed at by people in society are all revealed.
To be fair, this is a very good work.
If we have to compare, Qiao Yi Qiao thinks this is better than "The Night of the Red Balloon" - in terms of technique.
After all, when he was filming "The Night of the Red Balloon", he was still a very... immature director.
But, a year has passed.
What makes Qiao Yiqiao feel more relieved is that the number of votes for this work is quite good at present, ranking in the middle of all works.
On the one hand, it was because the quality of the film was good. On the other hand, the role of the girl’s father was played by Qin Zhen, and one of the girl’s brothers was Qi Siqi, both of which brought a lot of popularity to the film.
but……
Even so, it is still unknown whether the entire film can make it into the top 50.
This year, there are more creators participating in the Fledgling Program than in the year when Qiao Yiqiao participated.
Although Qiao Yiqiao felt that he had secured admission to the school with "Ghost", he still had a big goal in participating in the fledgling program, which was to enter the top 50 and get the substantial bonus.
Moreover, good works should be seen by everyone.
So, Qiao Yi Qiao made a little effort.
Their previous promotional song was produced, but it has not been released yet.
Qiao Yi Qiao listened to "Please Give Me Another Chance" again and felt deeply the dedication Tony put into this song.
Although the original song was composed by Qi Siqi and was already quite good, it was re-produced by Tony and added with Xiao Jia's reverb, which made the complexity of the whole song reach a new level and was quite catchy and pleasant to the ears.
The voices of the dozen or so prisoner actors also sound particularly powerful, complementing their respective lyrics.
Even though Qiao Yi Qiao doesn't know much about music, he listened to it several times and found it quite nice, even a little addictive.
The most important thing is that the lyrics match the temperament of the entire movie very well and are very thoughtful.
Qiao Yi Qiao immediately asked for hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos and videos from the photographer and the photographer. After spending a whole night editing, he finally produced an MV that satisfied him.
So he posted the song on his own account and asked Xiao He to repost it once using the official account of "When the Walls Fall".
In just one day, the song was played over 100,000 times.
And it continues to soar.
"Oh my god, this might be the best movie promotion song I've heard this year!"
"After listening to this, I became more curious about the whole movie. Are prisoners really the protagonists?"
"It's worthy of being Qi Siqi's composer, but who wrote the lyrics? I see there are more than ten lyricists. Did each of them write a line?"
"It's a bit scary to see so many stills. How did this prison collapse?"
“Is this a story about a prison break?”
"Ahhh, I saw Qi Siqi in the stills. The young lady he was talking to didn't look Chinese. Who was she?"
The response from netizens was very enthusiastic.
So, Qiao Yi Qiao answered a question from an enthusiastic netizen in the comment section at the appropriate time.
"The lady is our Pakistani executive director. She recently has a work that is participating in the fledgling project. If you are a public judge, please vote for her~ [link]"
Qi Siqi also forwarded the message using his own account.
By the way, he also spontaneously went to his fan group and gave a shout out.
Before taking this step, Qiao Yi Qiao also wondered whether this was fair.
But a quick search on Weibo reveals that not only do some contestants set up their own super chats, but many also spend money to attract attention. It can be said that each of them has their own unique skills.
He just released a song and advertised, and Qi Siqi went to the fan group and said something, so it’s not too much.
Does anyone know if there are any judges among his fan group?
If possible, he hoped someone would do these things for him when he participated in the fledgling program.
Although it is a selection of grassroots filmmakers, in the final analysis, the selection is still of "grassroots" who are influenced by a lot of off-field factors.
This is an unfair game.
But fortunately, the result was good this time.
With only one day left before the deadline for the preliminary round of the Hatchling Project, the number of votes for "Ghost" soared.
Finally, I successfully entered the top 50 and won the valuable qualification for the semi-finals.
The schedule for this fledgling project is quite tight.
The final will be held in three days.
Sabry was very excited as this was the second time she had been shortlisted for an award after the Rotterdam Film Festival.
Qiao Yi Qiao didn't know whether he should tell her that "even if she is shortlisted, there is a high probability that she will not win". Although he wanted her to be mentally prepared in advance, he didn't want her to lose the fun so soon.
After much thought and after checking the weather forecast for the second half of the week and confirming that it would rain, Qiao Yi Qiao decided to go with Sabri this time.
After all, he is also one of the public judges, so it is legitimate for him to attend.
…
Two days later, Aba was still cloudy and rainy, and there was no sign of the sun rising.
It seemed to foreshadow that this fledgling project journey would inevitably end in tragedy.
Qiao Yiqiao packed his luggage and took Sabri to the airport.
Throughout the whole process, Sabri was like a happy little bird, chirping non-stop.
Qiao Yi Qiao tried many times to find an opportunity to talk to Sabri, but there was no chance.
He could only keep hinting to Sabri to adjust his expectations and not have too high expectations on this plan.
I don’t know if Sabri understood it, but she looked very happy anyway.
This time the fledgling project will be held in a high-end hotel in Yanjing.
Qiao Yiqiao and Sabri checked in and prepared to attend the opening ceremony.
Qiao Yiqiao remembered the last time when everyone was competing for beauty and suggested that Sabri wear his country's national costume.
But Sabri refused.
She insisted on choosing a professional suit and looked like an office lady who often went in and out of office buildings.
"I was shortlisted based on my work," Sabri said stubbornly, "not because of my family background or so-called political correctness. I don't want to flaunt those things."
Sabri's Chinese is now very good and he can carry out daily conversations. When he said this, his eyes were determined and he was extremely serious.
Qiao Yiqiao understood Sabri's idea and agreed with it.
After all, he was just too narrow-minded.
The entire opening ceremony was almost the same as the one Qiao Yiqiao attended before.
The only difference is that there are two new final judges.
Wang Yige did not attend the event again, and was replaced by a famous director named Wu Ran who was good at long shots and was more inclined towards literary works.
Zhou Rong's position was replaced by a female director.
The female director is named Qi Hong and she is in her forties.
But if you count, she should be considered the number one female commercial film director in China.
For various reasons, the ratio of men to women in the directing industry is extremely unbalanced. Qiao Yiqiao has not done a serious statistics, but he guesses that the number should be much greater than ten to one.
It was not easy for Qi Hong to fight his way out of this situation.
She did not graduate from a professional school, but rather from journalism. After graduation, she worked as a reporter for several years before switching to the film and television industry.
At first, she worked as an assistant director at TVB in Hong Kong, which is commonly known as "PD" by Hong Kong people. This position is almost equivalent to the on-site producer in the mainland film and television industry.
TVB is a place with a very standardized film and television production system. It may be the pioneer of the so-called "film and television industrialization" in the entire East Asia. However, compared with the protection of working hours for various positions in Hollywood's industrialization, TVB is more like a "sweatshop", exploiting artists, directors, and even stage workers and PDs in an extremely abnormal way.
Qi Hong said in an interview that at that time,
The working hours clocked in for a month often exceed 450 hours.
That is an average of more than fifteen hours a day.
Qi Hong worked in this kind of training for five years.
Then he became a director.
She started out by directing a few family dramas, which received good ratings. Then, she found an opportunity and started working as a film director.
Qi Hong likes high-concept themes, and her debut film was an urban fantasy.
The so-called "high concept" refers to a type of film that uses marketing creativity to guide film creation.
This type of film usually has a relatively novel setting, and the story can grab you with just one sentence.
For example, "ET", "Pirates of the Caribbean", the Marvel series, etc.
Of course, high-concept movies do not necessarily mean big budgets. Qi Hong specializes in making low-budget high-concept films, such as "Crazy Stone" and "A World Without Thieves", which are all high-concept movies.
In short, high-concept films are essentially a continuation of the "film industrialization" and all that is produced are popular and box-office hits.
Qi Hong is one of the best among them.
Putting aside her female identity, she is a leader in low-cost, high-concept films in China.
Qiao Yiqiao likes her movies very much.
I didn't expect to meet her under such circumstances.
Now it’s time to choose a mentor.
Qiao Yiqiao originally thought that Sabri would also choose Qi Hong, but unexpectedly, Sabri finally chose Wu Ran, the most literary director.
The process for the next few days was the same as before, and everyone chose the courses they wanted to study.
Qiao Yiqiao has always been open to this kind of learning, so he also picked some courses.
Among them, what he is most looking forward to is the directing courses taught by teachers Wu Ran and Qi Hong.
The first class he went to was Teacher Wu Ran’s.
Wu Ran is nearly seventy years old this year, with long beard and white eyebrows, and has the demeanor of a very "cultured man", like an immortal who has attained enlightenment.
And his classes are very orthodox.
So orthodox that it's a bit boring.
The whole process revolves around how a director should present a good shot and a good work. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the 202nd basic directing course in film and television schools.
So many students rarely come to class on the second or third day.
But Qiao Yiqiao still thought it sounded good.
I basically attended every class and took notes seriously.
After all, if Teacher Wu were to go outside to teach, each class would cost several thousand yuan.
How much money can this save?
In these classes, the sentence that impressed Qiao Yiqiao the most was: "As a director, you have to control the entire play, you have to design every shot carefully, and you can't lower your own aesthetic standards just to please the audience."
Teacher Wu even cited the recent popular comic-adapted movies as an example, criticizing them severely and even thinking that such behavior was an insult to the movie.
You can't use special effects for the sake of special effects, and you can't use fighting for the sake of fighting.
He strongly disapproves of the so-called film formula. He does not think that every film is divided into such clear scenes as one, two, and three. He believes that creation should be free from the heart.
Because the amount of information was too large, Qiao Yi Qiao was unable to digest it well.
He just listened and took note.
Just like during school, teachers always impart some content other than knowledge, such as being a human being and life.
But teachers also often say, "You may not understand these things now, but when you grow up and really encounter them, you will naturally understand them."
Wu Ran’s classes are probably all of this style.
The main reason was that his level and style were too high, and he couldn't land on the ground even if he wanted to, so Qiao Yi Qiao could only absorb it violently.
Even when it was the last day of the class and Qiao Yi Qiao was the only one left, he was still absorbing what he had learned.
Just think of yourself as a sponge.
If Wu Ran's class is orthodox, Qi Hong's class can be said to be completely unconventional.
She requires every student to bring their own computer to class and has certain configuration requirements.
Fortunately, Qiao Yiqiao is used to carrying his laptop, just like a soldier is always inseparable from his weapon.
In the first class, Qi Hong wrote a few big words on the blackboard: "Why do we need to industrialize the film industry?"
Qiao Yi Qiao was also very curious.
Everyone is talking about the industrialization of the film industry. What is the reason?
Then Qi Hong wrote a few more big words in full view of everyone.
"Save money!" "Save effort!" "Save time!"
Qiao Yiqiao: “…”
So simple and crude.
Okay, Teacher Qi Hong, you have already caught me when you heard the word "save money".
In the rest of the courses, Qi Hong never explained how a director should shoot better works.
Instead, I have been introducing software.
These software are also being used in Hollywood and facilitate the entire film shooting process.
From FinalDraft for script writing to Trello for production planning, to FuzzleCheck for shooting schedule notifications, and finally Miro for arranging the entire crew's schedule and budget.
During the seven-day course, Qi Hong explained how to use these software.
The reason why Qiao Yi Qiao kept listening was because he suddenly discovered that these software were really easy to use.
If the corresponding budget management software is used, then the previous incidents of Yisiqian collecting tribute and drivers stealing gas money can be greatly reduced. The use of script software can greatly reduce the cost of producers splitting scripts, and it can also make it easier for the props team to make props and the art team to set the scene...
Although these software are a little difficult to use, once you get the hang of it, they can greatly improve the efficiency of the entire crew.
The manpower and material resources saved can eventually be converted into financial savings.
Save money...
Isn’t this what Qiao Yi Qiao values the most?
For seven whole days, Qiao Yi Qiao had become madly interested in the so-called film industrialization.
Industrialization, after all, is actually "specialization".
This means that everyone only needs to do their own job and does not need to worry too much about the upstream and downstream links, as these software will do it for them.
How great is that!
But Qi Hong also talked about the current difficulties in promoting the industrialization of the film industry in China.
"Nowadays, the turnover rate of our Chinese crews is too high. It is impossible to ask everyone to learn this software every time a crew is formed. There will always be people who are unwilling to learn," Qi Hong sighed. "Besides, even if they learn it, they may have to use a different software when they go to the next crew. This is too inefficient."
"The result of a non-fixed crew is that every shoot wastes a huge amount of time on communication," Qi Hong added. "This makes it difficult for everyone in the crew to become professional. They need to constantly ask other teams about work progress and work habits. This is unavoidable."
"Another point is that most of these software are from foreign countries, which makes them difficult to use in China. Many parts are not suitable for Chinese input and analysis. If this problem can be solved, there will be no obstacles."
As Qiao Yi Qiao listened, he felt that his Yi Zheng Entertainment seemed to have avoided this biggest problem.
Not only is their team fixed, but everyone is also best at doing their own job, and this tacit understanding has been cultivated long ago.
After class, he found Qi Hong and told her about his situation.
Qi Hong was also very surprised after hearing this, and said to Qiao Yiqiao: "Then do you want to try the film industrialization?"
Qiao Yiqiao nodded: "Of course."
He's willing to try anything as long as it saves money.
"That's great," Qi Hong smiled. "In fact, I have been following you since 'Chaotic School'. I originally thought you were going to go the route of art films, but I didn't expect you to be interested in the industrialization of film."
"As long as it can produce better and more profitable works, I am willing to give it a try," Qiao Yiqiao said, "If Teacher Qi Hong is free, can you come to our Yizheng Entertainment to give us training? I see that what you are talking about now is still relatively basic, and it will be difficult to explain these software in seven days."
Qi Hong nodded: "Of course, I'll give you my assistant's phone number. When you're done filming, we can make an appointment and have a good chat! If you plan to follow the film industry's process for your next work, it will be a great progress for our Chinese entertainment industry. But I suggest that you test the waters with a low-budget movie."
"Great! I like low-cost projects the most," Qiao Yiqiao extended a hand, "I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation with Teacher Qi Hong!"
When he said this, he was actually a little nervous.
Can his brothers accept such industrialized learning?
This means that each of them has to step out of their comfort zone. Can they really do it?
Qi Hong naturally had no idea what Qiao Yiqiao was thinking, so she just smiled and said, "Happy cooperation."
The two shook hands.
At this time, the two of them did not know what kind of era they were about to usher in.
…
The seven-day course ended quickly and it was time for the closing ceremony.
As usual, everyone goes in for a one-on-one talk with their mentor.
Seeing that Sabri was still very excited, Qiao Yiqiao couldn't help but tell her about one of the drawbacks of the Chinese entertainment industry - relationships are more important than anything else.
However, Sabri did not react much after hearing this. He just nodded and said he understood.
During the conversation, Qiao Yi Qiao waited anxiously at the door of the conversation room, hoping to see him the first time Sabri came out.
Unexpectedly, Sabri came out with a smile on his face.
"What? Did Teacher Wu say he would choose you?" Qiao Yi Qiao asked.
"Of course not," Sabri still smiled, "but he said my work was very thoughtful and wished me all the best in the future."
"Oh..." Qiao Yiqiao asked tentatively, "You're not sad, are you?"
"No!" Sabri walked back to the banquet hall and took a pile of food. "QYQ, you don't have to always think about protecting me."
Now it was Qiao Yi Qiao's turn to be speechless.
Sabry smiled and stuffed a piece of bread into Qiao Yiqiao's hand. "I don't think failure is a big deal. I am more concerned about the gains in the process. Just like your brothers, they don't really care whether your movie will be successful or not. What they care more about is the feeling of being able to build a career with you. Do you understand?"
Qiao Yiqiao nodded.
He seemed to understand something.
"I'm very grateful to have come this far. I feel like there are surprises everywhere," said Sabry, his mouth full of food, like a bulging hamster. "I hope we can pay less attention to the results and more attention to the process in the future!"
Sabry picked up a glass of champagne: "Let's drink."
Qiao Yiqiao also raised his glass: "Cheers."
The two of them clinked their glasses together.
…
After the two returned to Aba, they received good news.
Tomorrow will be a sunny day.
Their final scene was finally ready to be filmed.
At three o'clock in the morning, the rain stopped.
Everyone in the crew was ready.
At daybreak, more than a dozen buses loaded with prisoners slowly drove into Aba Prison.
This means that all prisoners have completed the "thousand-mile transfer" and arrived at the target prison area.
This is the last scene of the entire movie.
The prisoners got off the bus and the guards called out their names one by one.
Every prisoner's face was filled with relief and anticipation for the future.
In every sense, they are about to start a new future.
suddenly.
The national anthem sounded.
All the prison guards turned around and saluted towards the center of the square.
All the prisoners also turned around, looked towards the center of the square and saluted.
A brand new national flag rises slowly under the morning sun.
Everyone watched her until she reached the very top, rustling in the morning breeze.
The bright red of the national flag almost blends into the crimson of the rising sun.
In the presence of such a scene, everything seems solemn and dignified.
There were still traces of fatigue and fighting on everyone's face, but they all held their heads high and had firm eyes.
From then on, no matter where they were, no matter how low, how imprisoned, or how difficult the situation was, they understood that the national flag would rise again and a new day would come.
Moreover, the new day is bound to be a good day.
"When the Walls Fall Down" Scene 95, one shot, one take.
CUTEND.!
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