Chapter 56
The teacher was very excited: "You have the passion and the skills, why don't you consider becoming a Nuo opera actor? Even if it's just a part-time job, it would be great to perform a few times every year."
Qiao Yiqiao just felt that it was hard to refuse the kindness, but he also felt that this matter seemed quite interesting: "I will practice first, and you can see if I can do it after I have practiced well."
"Yes, yes," the teacher was delighted, "and I also found several good talents in your group. Li Wei is very suitable for the Saixi Opera, Nuotang Opera, and Guimianke Opera, and the boy named Qiao Mo is quite suitable for the Killing Opera and the Gong and Drum Opera!"
Qiao Yi Qiao has also been reading information about Nuo opera recently and learned that there are different Nuo opera schools in various parts of the country. What the teacher said is the name of "Nuo opera" in different regions, and the difference in these names also reflects the different emphases of Nuo opera in various regions.
According to the leaders and experts of the editorial committee of "The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of China's Ten Major Arts", all plays that are performed to thank gods for blessings, celebrate weddings and funerals, or pray for peace, longevity and good harvests based on folk beliefs fall into the category of "Nuo opera".
Nuo opera is essentially a form of drama based on "dressing up" and "performance", but different regions have different emphases. For example, in areas near the Yellow River basin, Nuo opera is relatively lively, and the words chanted are more numerous and complex. But in the southwest region, because religious culture is more prevalent, Nuo opera is relatively more sacred and quiet.
As the teacher said, Li Wei excels in body control and chanting, and is more suitable for the quieter Nuo opera, but A'mo's body movements are more open and close, and he is more suitable for the lively Nuo opera.
The five teachers invited by Qiao Yiqiao and his team also came from different regions. Some were from Sichuan and Chongqing, who were good at "Lushan Qingtan" and "Archery Tiyang Opera", there were also representatives of "Temple Nuo Opera" from the Tibetan area, and there were three teachers of Rural Nuo Opera, Yang Opera and Li Nuo Opera.
What they teach are as many as twelve different types of Nuo opera.
How to combine these genres together is the first problem faced by director Qiao Yiqiao.
Granted, he could have used just one type of Nuo opera in his short film, but Qiao Yiqiao thought that was not enough.
For example, should the school that appears in the scene be of the same type as the store?
Is it possible that the protagonist Xiaowei's wild dance at the end will also be the same type as the one his family members dance?
After searching for information and conducting in-depth interviews with several teachers, Qiao Yiqiao spent nearly a month to confirm the type of Nuo opera to be used in each scene.
For example, in school, the more passionate and youthful "Saixi" should be used.
"Winning the Number One Scholar", while the pedestrians on the street should perform in a more orderly manner, using "team play" "Pointing at the Ghost Soldiers", etc.
After teacher Qiao Yiqiao finished teaching the basic movements, he asked the teachers to redesign the group performance movements according to different scenes and traditional dramas.
One teacher even designed separate scenes for two highlights: the protagonist Xiaomo's wild dance on the rooftop, and the grandfather, father, and mother's mournful and moving prayer dance at home.
…
In addition to training with everyone, practicing this and that, Qiao Yiqiao also did two major things during this period.
The first thing was to finish writing the script for this 20-minute short play, but this was easy to do because there were almost no lines.
The second thing is to design the storyboard script for this play.
The logic of the storyboard design for a 20-minute short film will be very different from that of a feature film, and it will focus more on unity and watchability.
If it is a 120-minute movie, then you can use 30 minutes to lay the groundwork and slowly develop the story, and then build to a climax in the last 20 minutes.
But if you want to capture people from beginning to end in a 20-minute short film, it is obviously not possible to do so.
What's more, it is a horror film that urgently needs to arouse the audience's emotions.
Qiao Yiqiao had two choices. One was to change the temperament of the entire short film into a slow psychological horror, telling the story like telling daily life, making the audience feel terrified when they think about it carefully.
Another option is to bombard the audience with huge amounts of information, making sure that every frame and every second contains countless information, so that the audience is faced with excessive amounts of information, and feels breathless and extremely tired after watching it.
The feeling of fear will gradually deepen in subsequent recollections, and the aftertaste will last longer.
The second option is undoubtedly the more difficult choice.
But both options have their own advantages. Qiao Yiqiao couldn't make a choice himself, so he went to ask Zheng Mao, the chief director.
Zheng Mao quickly responded: "I recommend the second option because your short film will be played last."
Qiao Yiqiao felt the pressure on his shoulders increase.
Being the last one to play meant that he was responsible for the audience's feeling of leaving.
Overall, the last short film should be the climax of the entire movie.
Zheng Ming’s idea is also very simple. The last short film must be the one that can best arouse the audience’s emotions. It must be either a comedy or a horror film.
The director who made the comedy did not want to make a pure comedy, but chose a light comedy and
Dry humor doesn't seem to be suitable for the end, so the burden of the last part falls on Qiao Yiqiao.
Moreover, several directors agreed to sort by age. According to this calculation, Qiao Yiqiao should be the last one, which expresses their care and support for new directors.
Qiao Yiqiao is not a person who is afraid of challenges.
After a little thought, he accepted the challenge.
His storyboard design was completed together with the camera crew, art team, and even Nuo opera teachers.
For such an important task, the progress was not very fast. Even though it was only a 20-minute task, it still took a month to complete.
Under everyone's conception, every frame is rich and gorgeous. The tone of the whole film is wild, weird and passionate. Every scene is no longer a single scene, but expresses a certain metaphor. For example, the store scene represents the mainstream market's neglect of unpopular dramas, and the street symbolizes the public's prejudice against the outliers, and so on...
The words "discrimination" and "prejudice" are the core of metaphors that govern all scenes.
This is also well integrated with the "Nuo Opera" itself.
As a living fossil of drama, the artistry and folk customs contained in Nuo opera are self-evident.
But till today, it has not been recognized by the mainstream theatre community.
What's worse, not only do they fail to acknowledge the unique cultural characteristics of Nuo opera over thousands of years, they also give an unfair description of Nuo opera based on certain superficial phenomena, and simply and crudely classify it as "feudal superstition" and reject it.
What can eliminate this discrimination and prejudice?
It's "love".
It is the love of countless artists for Nuo opera, the love of families for their children, and the love of the audience for the art of Nuo opera.
Full marks for the question.
After deciding on the theme and sub-theme, Qiao Yi Qiao also breathed a sigh of relief.
Since he was a child, he has been most afraid of writing off-topic essays.
After Qiao Yi Qiao and his comrades completed the division of the scene, the entire team started moving.
The script and scene division can be said to be the basis of all industrial processes.
After the script and rough storyboard were completed, the pressure shifted from the director himself to the art team.
After all, the script and storyboard only focus on the plot, roles and the conflicts between characters, but whether the scene can be made believable depends on the art department.
Fortunately, the full-process industrial management app that Jiang Simeng had previously developed is now available for use.
Everyone in the crew downloaded this app, called "Hetu", on their computers and mobile phones.
Qiao Yi Qiao imported the script and storyboards into it according to the format.
Soon, the Hetu App automatically broke down all the script texts into different scenes, and the literary and artistic texts were instantly transformed into industrialized visual graphs.
At this time, Qiao Yi Qiao and his team realized a problem that they had not discovered before.
In fact, this script only covers eight scenes in total, but each of these eight scenes had to be re-shot twice - one version in the Nuo world, and one version in real life.
This meant that two sets of art design were required for each scene.
Let’s not talk about the actual operation issues for now, but when it comes to design, there needs to be many elements of echo and intertextuality.
The sub-theme of discrimination represented by each scene should also be reflected through these corresponding elements.
These details are not reflected in the script and storyboards, and need to be created by the art department.
As the leader of the art department, Xia Longlong is under tremendous pressure.
Not only did he have to quickly learn everything about Nuo culture, but he also had to apply these things to his designs.
To this end, the art department quickly became the largest group of the entire crew, with more than a dozen people.
Every day they think about how to arrange several scenes.
The Hetu App also has the function of scene simulation. The art team needs to re-create in the created space, which includes modeling of hard scenery, as well as background, props, color matching and other work.
The art department was divided into several groups, each group was responsible for a set of scenes, and each person was responsible for the conception and creation of a pair of related props. After each team member finished their creation, they handed it to the team leader for review. After the team leader approved it, it was given to Xia Longlong for review before finally being handed over to Qiao Yi Qiao.
It is this kind of working day and night that has made them one of the most industrialized departments.
But even so, Qiao Yi Qiao still shook his head more often than nodded.
Everyone has a different understanding of the script and atmosphere, and sometimes it is difficult to reach a consensus.
After countless meetings with Xia Longlong, Qiao Yi Qiao finally confirmed one thing.
It is too inefficient to hold meetings based only on the existing script and rough storyboards.
On the one hand, text and solid images are not intuitive enough, and there are many obstacles to communication. On the other hand, the art department has the most things to consider, such as lighting and weather.
This requires not only the cooperation of the lighting department, but also
Adjustments need to be made according to dynamic effects - for example, in order to enrich the scene of the protagonist in the gift shop, Xia Longlong wants to put a vase on the table. Although this looks good in static shots, the position of the vase also changes with the movement of the camera. Is it still good-looking enough?
When the protagonist runs out, will he bump into the vase? Will the vase break? To what extent will it break?
All these factors influenced the production of the vase by the props department. What material should it be made of? What texture should it have? What kind of light should it refract at what angle? Will it be a mistake?
And this is just a problem caused by a small prop.
The bigger question is, how many panels do you need for each scene? Does the camera need to move in a few square meters of space or is a simple lens push and pull enough? Does the scene require a crane and a dolly? If so, you need to reserve space for them.
To some extent, the most important thing about a horror movie is the visual support provided by the images.
However, art design affects the entire system. Although every tiny change in the Hetu App is synchronized to all groups, it would be too difficult if all groups have to discuss together to finalize every detail to see if it is feasible.
What's more, this discussion remains at the level of paper talk.
What if the situation during the shooting is different from what we imagined?
Finally, Qiao Yi Qiao made a bold decision.
Why not, we use virtual shooting technology to pre-shoot the entire film.
After these words were spoken, the entire Hetu App dared not say a word.
As a team that has been keeping up to date with the latest film and television industrialization, they all know what pre-shooting is.
Pre-shooting means using all technical means to shoot the film in a virtual scene.
This is a very common practice in Hollywood, where directors usually need to simulate all the key scenes in the form of CG animation first, and then adjust the on-site shooting method based on the pre-shooting situation.
But this is still a blank in China.
Fortunately, Qiao Yiqiao is someone who likes to fill in the gaps.
During the pre-shooting stage, the director, art director, photographer, screenwriter and editor must all be involved in the entire process.
Because this is equivalent to going through the entire shooting process again.
The art team needs to first set up the general scene in the virtual software, and then use a camera to shoot the virtual scene.
What is finally presented is
It's called "visual script".
After deciding to take this step, the biggest problem came.
Virtual shooting requires PreViz (visual preview), and they need a special effects company to produce the virtual scenes built by the art team.
But in Qiao Yiqiao's Yi Zheng Entertainment, visual effects are the only shortcoming.
But Qiao Yiqiao was not stuck by this difficulty.
He quickly thought of someone, who was Ivy, a lecturer in the visual effects department at the film school who had worked with him on When the Walls Fell Down - he is now an associate professor.
Qiao Yi Qiao contacted Ivy, who quickly recommended him one of his students, named Xin Nan.
Xin Nan came from a wealthy family, and after graduating from university, he opened his own visual effects company, which Ivy also invested in. Their visual effects company is called Phoenix, and its goal at the beginning was to be a clean company, unlike most visual effects companies in the market today, which do things like stealing materials.
After receiving Qiao Yi Qiao's request for help, Xin Nan immediately said that she would take the job.
"Director Qiao, if I hadn't made When the Walls Fall, I wouldn't have thought of setting up my own company. After graduation, I might have gone to work for a big company and thought it was normal to borrow materials!" Xin Nan has short hair and is very straightforward. "Being able to do a little work for the film and television industry is exactly what I have always dreamed of."
Qiao Yiqiao felt very relieved.
He is used to sowing seeds, but often forgets that some seeds will take root and sprout, growing into a green shade that casts its shadow on his shoulders.
After confirming the cooperation with Phoenix, the pre-shooting officially started.
They used one of the most commonly used software in Hollywood.
It is relatively easy to build the scenes because the entire film has only eight scenes, including six interior scenes and two exterior scenes. During the pre-shooting stage, the spatial layout is the focus of the art department's design. As for the details, they can be improved after the virtual shooting is completed.
After the scene is built in the virtual world, it still needs to be implemented.
Regardless of indoor or outdoor scenes, virtual shooting is all shot in the studio.
But the studio they need is different from the real studio.
The virtual shooting studio will have a huge high-definition LED screen, and the special effects created by the background images will be displayed on the LED screen.
The props, roads, etc. in the foreground must be marked in the studio according to their actual locations in the virtual scene.
Virtual
The simulated scene setting includes these two parts: on the one hand, it is necessary to adjust the background image displayed on the LED screen, and on the other hand, it is the punctuation of the foreground. Qiao Yiqiao and Xia Longlong have to keep an eye on these two aspects and adjust them at any time.
The background picture is not the most important thing, it just prompts the actors to perform, but it also requires careful adjustment of suitable light sources, etc., otherwise the meaning of simulation shooting will be lost.
In the entire Heng City, there is only one studio that has the conditions for virtual shooting and a huge LED screen.
Qiao Yi Qiao went there and booked the use of the shed for two months.
The boss’s last name was also Qiao. When he heard that they were going to do pre-shooting for a movie, he also found it interesting.
After all, before this, he did this virtual shooting mainly to serve advertisements and short dramas - because the demand for pictures during broadcasting was not high, and the length of the film was short, using CG to replace scenes and props would be cheaper and faster than real shooting.
On the first day when the art team started setting up the set, Boss Qiao came over and said, "Director Qiao, you guys can use whatever you want. I have no problem with that."
Qiao Yiqiao nodded: "Thank you."
It’s not like they didn’t pay, nor do they owe Boss Joe any favors.
Qiao Yiqiao thought the other party was just being polite and didn't take it too seriously.
But unexpectedly, Boss Qiao came to the scene to watch over the next few days.
Qiao Yi Qiao was really worried, so he asked Xiao He to sign a confidentiality agreement with him.
However, on the third and fourth day, Boss Joe still showed up on time.
If I was still curious after coming here for two or three days, then it was not the case after coming here so many times. There must be something else.
As expected, Xiao He found Qiao Yiqiao who was watching the set that day and said, "Boss, there's something wrong with that Boss Qiao."
"What's wrong?" Qiao Yi Qiao asked.
"About the electricity bill," Xiao He curled his lips, "Our electricity bill these past two days is frighteningly high, and that Boss Qiao keeps hanging around the meter."
Qiao Yiqiao: “Oh.”
According to industry practice, the electricity costs used by the studio are not included in the total package price. Instead, they are calculated daily based on the meter readings and converted into commercial electricity costs, and each crew is responsible for the cost.
Since their crew often turns on the LED screen, it is understandable that the electricity bill is a bit high, but Qiao Yi Qiao was shocked when he saw the price list that Xiao He gave him. The electricity bill for these few days was tens of thousands.
Even if they keep the LED screen on 24 hours a day, the price wouldn't be this high.
Qiao Yiqiao didn't bother to calculate these twists and turns.
Then I found Boss Qiao and asked, "What's the matter with the electricity bill?"
Boss Qiao didn't hide anything and forced an awkward smile: "There's something wrong with the meter, I'll go adjust it..."
"Come back." Qiao Yiqiao said coldly, "What's the problem?"
Boss Qiao tried to smile: "Our electricity meter may be running faster than other places, but the average crew's electricity consumption is not that high, so the high percentage is not that obvious. Your base number is large, so..."
But Qiao Yiqiao obviously didn't care about that. He just asked, "Have you modified the electric meter?"
Boss Qiao immediately shouted, "It's not just me. Most of the people working in the studio business have modified it before!"
Qiao Yiqiao sneered.
This isn't about coming here to watch them filming every day; it's clearly about coming here to check the electricity meter every day.
Qiao Yiqiao immediately called Xiao He and said, "Terminate the contract."
Boss Qiao was dumbfounded: "You have been working here for three or four days. Wouldn't it be a loss if you terminate the contract now? I have already said that I can change the meter back and regard it as a contribution to our film industry. Is that okay?"
Qiao Yiqiao smiled at him and said, "This is the advantage of virtual production. All the set design content is computer data. We just need to go to the next studio and plug in the computer."
"Damn it." Boss Qiao jumped up again, "Isn't it that I am the only virtual studio in the entire Heng City? Where else can you go?"
Qiao Yiqiao looked at him and said, "Then remember, from today on, there will be more than one virtual studio in Heng City."
After saying this, he turned around and left with the group.
…
Qiao Yiqiao had been thinking about setting up his own photo studio for more than a day or two.
Since we want to industrialize it, we should handle the entire process ourselves.
After receiving payment for When the Walls Fall, Qiao Yiqiao arranged for Xiao He to move to a suitable studio in Hengshi.
It is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Just over a kilometer away from Yizheng Entertainment, there was a film for sale, and Xiao He had just signed the contract with them a few days ago.
Instead of renting one, it is more practical to build your own studio.
After Boss Qiao told him that many studios had modified their electricity meters, Qiao Yi Qiao became even more convinced that his idea was correct.
In fact, the electricity bill is not that important; safety is more important.
Unauthorized modification of the lines could lead to disaster if one is not careful, so Boss Qiao is so nervous and comes to monitor it personally every day.
Qiaoyi Bridge
After terminating the contract with Boss Qiao and receiving the refund, I reported the matter to the State Grid and the fire department. I also made suggestions to the State Grid, suggesting that they conduct a thorough investigation of all the studios.
This isn't just about saving money.
Although nothing went wrong when they used Boss Qiao's studio, if they allowed Boss Qiao to continue operating in this way, there was no telling who would be the unlucky one.
The supplier of LED large screens is in City A, which is very close to Heng City.
When Qiao Yi Qiao made the pre-shooting plan, he had already ordered the most advanced large screen from the other party, which was also delivered today.
So Qiao Yi Qiao didn't waste a single day and went straight into his new studio.
He sighed deeply that it was more comfortable to use his own studio.
After several days and nights of preparation, the virtual scene was completely set up.
Although many details are still missing, the shooting requirements have been met.
As for filming...
This brings us to the actors.
Li Wei and his colleagues are working overtime to learn Nuo opera knowledge. If they are called in for pre-shooting at this moment, it will waste a lot of time.
What’s more, the pre-filmed performances have no practical effect on improving the actors.
During pre-shooting, the actors need to wear motion capture suits and special helmets to transmit real-time data into the virtual shooting software.
And it's hard to find the right actors.
Because these actors will not appear in the final movie, their enthusiasm is greatly affected; and the motion capture suits are very heavy and the studio is very hot, which is also very hard for them.
Xiao He recruited for several days but couldn't find any suitable actors.
"Boss, what should we do if we don't have actors?" Xiao He scratched his head embarrassedly, "How about calling Li Wei over?"
"fine."
Xiao He never expected that Qiao Yi Qiao not only did not blame him, but was even a little excited.
Under Xiao He's puzzled gaze, Qiao Yiqiao cleared his throat and said, "Well, I can just be the actor."
After hearing this, everyone in the audience fell silent, and all looked at Qiao Yi Qiao in surprise.
Xiao He: ???
Boss, are you doing this to save money, or for... something else?!
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