Chapter 58
Of course, the two words "Let's shoot!" were just an eager expectation sent personally by Director Wang of the Film Bureau.
Soon, the film review department of the Film Bureau sent a review receipt with as many as 20 suggestions.
These adjustments are very subtle and could actually be done during the shooting phase, but after much thought, Qiao Yiqiao decided to set a rule to resolve all issues during the pre-shooting phase.
Whether it is Hollywood or highly industrialized film countries like Japan and Tai Chi, there are actually no regulations regarding the review process in the pre-shooting stage, so Qiao Yi Qiao became the person who made this rule.
He thought that as long as the film censorship system existed in China, all creators would have to fight against this rule.
To this end, he not only established a standard - "censorship issues encountered at any stage will be resolved at that stage", but also established a database. In this database, sub-databases were established in the three stages of script, pre-shooting, and finished film. The sub-databases were further classified according to categories such as subject matter, general content, etc.
Eventually, this database will record every censorship opinion, big or small, raised by the Film Bureau. He even compiled various censorship opinions on "Chaotic Campus" and "When the Walls Collapse" and recorded them in this database.
The "Censorship Database" can be regarded as a film industrialization process database with Chinese characteristics. Although it currently only includes Qiao Yiqiao's three films, he thinks that after finishing this film, he will try to invite more directors and screenwriters to join this database. In time, perhaps they can gradually understand the rules of film censorship, avoid risks, and even... change the censorship system.
Of course, the information in this database is strictly confidential, and only directors and screenwriters with level 3 passwords can log in and view it. Not only is the information in the database confidential, but even the existence of the database itself is confidential, and only invited creators can participate in the compilation and viewing - this database must not be seen by foreigners or creators with bad intentions, let alone known by the Film Bureau.
While setting up the database, Qiao Yi Qiao also continued to have in-depth discussions with the camera and art departments on the content of the film. After more than two weeks of revisions by all parties, a new version of the pre-shot film was submitted to the Film Bureau.
Within three days, the Film Bureau issued its review opinion.
I think there are no other problems with the whole film and I can start the actual shooting.
And this day, away from this
Four months have passed since the project started.
Qiao Yi Qiao did not start shooting directly yet, but asked Zheng Mao about the progress of the other six directors in order to determine the shooting period.
After statistics, Zheng Mao quickly gave a reply that the other six crews had passed the script review and entered the shooting stage.
It seems that everyone is not idle, but is trying their best to complete this film.
It is already February of that year, and the film will be released worldwide on December 28 of this year. According to the current process, if we continue shooting for about two more months, and then do post-production, special effects, sound, review, modification, and then review again... ideally the entire film can be completed in September or October, just in time for its release.
But it is also foreseeable that various problems will definitely arise.
Zheng Mao also asked the heads of other countries around the world who were participating in the 150th anniversary compilation project of the birth of film, and everyone’s progress was basically the same.
After Qiao Yi Qiao determined the cycle, he asked another question that he was more concerned about.
What is the budget?
Zheng Mao has never made a final decision on the budget issue.
The overall funding is provided by China Film Group Corporation, and money from the film special fund may also be used - but the money in this fund has always been opaque, and no one knows exactly how much there is.
In the early stage, there was only development cost, 2 million for each project. Qiao Yi Qiao also paid some money himself to complete the pre-shooting.
Zheng Mao quickly responded that China Film Corporation would give 15 million yuan for each short film, and the directors could find other ways to raise the rest of the money.
But it’s not suitable to do too much.
After all, it will be released worldwide, and the global investment amounts are similar. If the price of a certain clip of theirs is visibly high, it will easily cause criticism.
Qiao Yiqiao and Xiao He calculated that fifteen million was already the richest battle they had ever fought.
What's more, there is no need to worry about issues such as subsequent publicity, this amount of money is more than enough.
He can even do two.
His own budget was enough, but he also asked Zheng Mao to help find out. This amount of money might not be enough for the science fiction group and the costume group shot by Zheng Mao, so he was very cunning and "the one who is close to the water gets the moon first", and invested several million in each of their two crews.
It was not for any other reason, it was because he believed that this movie would definitely make money, and if he didn't invest now, the box office share he would get would definitely not be much.
Every bit of money you earn is worth it.
After confirming that all crews had entered the shooting process, Zheng Mao also issued some technical regulations.
For example, each film can be 25 minutes long at most and 18 minutes short at most. All films do not need to be in 3D or 4D format, but must be produced in IMAX and CINITY versions. The size of the feature film should not exceed 1T. The aspect ratio should be 1:2.55 as much as possible, no more than 1:2.67 at most, and no less than 1:2.1 at least. The sound...
In short, some restrictions were made to ensure a unified effect for the final film.
Qiao Yi Qiao also imported these restrictions into his own cloud map platform and synchronized them with various departments.
…
After the cycle, budget and format were determined, preparations for the formal shooting of the film are in full swing.
Qiao Yiqiao confirmed early on that this film will have two major focuses: one is the picture, and the other is the actors.
In terms of actors, in addition to Li Wei, the roles of grandfather, father and mother are played by Bai Qiu and his two former apprentices respectively.
They and all the extras have been training overtime, getting down to the fine details of every move of every person in every scene.
Before the official shooting begins, they don't need to worry about anything else but training well.
Even more difficult are the two major departments responsible for the pictures, art and photography.
After repeated research by Qiao Yiqiao and Xia Longlong, the art department regrouped the teams.
Now it is divided into eight large groups based on the sessions.
Afterwards, each large group was divided into two smaller groups based on the "Nuo" world and the real world.
Under the middle group, there are several groups including costumes, props, modeling, and graphic design.
In addition to this horizontal grouping, all vertical departments of costumes, props, styling and graphics have a person in charge who is responsible for the unification of costumes, props, styling and graphics for all scenes.
According to current incomplete statistics, they need to make more than 150 masks, more than 200 common props and more than 100 special props.
Every prop must go through: 1. Design by the designer; 2. Joint participation of structural engineers and designers in structural development; 3. Production.
To this end, Qiao Yiqiao also purchased the most advanced CNC machining, 3D printing and plane carving equipment to ensure authenticity. In each link, professional personnel are needed to assist in the completion.
The costume department also had a difficult task, making hundreds of costumes and hundreds of casual clothes.
That's OK, you can buy it, but the costumes need to be carefully sewn stitch by stitch according to the advice of the Nuo opera instructor.
It is said that the costume team has gone online to learn how to operate a sewing machine. They now only regret that they did not experience this technology during the prison interview segment of "When the Walls Fall Down".
In order to create these more than 200 sets of clothes with different metaphors, all the styling departments worked late every day.
Fortunately, according to the industrial process, it has been determined what each extra will perform, so they can "tailor" according to each person's needs, saving the trouble of making modifications later.
Apart from modeling and props, the most difficult part of the art group is the graphic design department.
Normally, there are rarely graphic design departments in film teams, but in the "Nuo" world, everything is distorted. The various fonts, stickers, and trademark patterns that appear on the streets, in rooms, schools, and homes are completely different from those in the real world and require echoes and metaphors.
Even something as small as a brooch, cigarette box, business card, roadside billboard, poster, etc., needs to be created by the graphic design department.
While the art team was working all night, the photography team seemed... a little idle.
The main job of the photography team is to meet with Qiao Yi Qiao.
The first thing they decided on was the visual tone of the entire film.
Qiao Yiqiao decided to use rather risky high-contrast, highly saturated colored lighting effects and special motion lighting effects.
This is not only an extension of his personal style, but also the most suitable effect for the arrogant and bizarre temperament of the "Nuo" world.
The color is boldly used with contrasting bright red and bright green.
Globally, since the film industry entered the digital age, color grading has actually always been done in advance during the shooting period. However, in China, due to time and cost, most film projects put the color grading process after the filming.
But as a film that focuses on visual presentation, if the color grading work is squeezed to the last minute, the effect will definitely not be good. That’s why Qiao Yiqiao put this work forward, which can be regarded as keeping up with the world.
After the art director had roughly set up the scene, the photographer had already entered the scene and worked with the lighting technician to conduct multiple actual shoots, experimenting with a variety of different plans, and determining the color gel and digital color filters for each scene and even each shot.
As for the real-world scenes, Qiao Yi Qiao actually didn't have too many visual ideas. It was through repeated experiments that he finally decided to use Morandi colors as the main color scheme, with relatively low saturation and gray tones but still rich colors.
The process of adjusting digital color filters is very painful, because you have to make fine adjustments a little bit according to each scene and each shot. It is very likely that a little more red or a little more green will make a huge difference.
This pain is not only mental, but also physical.
After shooting dozens of shots, Qiao Yi Qiao felt that he was almost color blind. He could not see the difference between the two scenes. He had to go shopping in the real world to see what normal colors looked like in order to feel better.
Lighting is also a tedious and detailed process.
In a movie that focuses on effects, even a close-up of a character often requires very complex light sources to handle, including soft and hard textures, backlight, contour light, side main light, backlight, highlight, transition light, etc.
Every light source needs to be carefully adjusted.
Sometimes, Qiao Yiqiao would also go out to be a model. He would be baked by the lights for three or four hours and felt like he was about to get heatstroke.
In short, every job is difficult.
And now, they are facing a huge problem that is almost impossible to solve and compromise.
About the choice of optical lenses when shooting movies.
In the virtual shooting, they had already conducted simulation experiments with different lenses, and finally Qiao Yiqiao decided that Panavision's Auto-Panatar lens was the best choice.
This lens has a semi-cylindrical lens that can produce different perspective effects, and the light input is soft, and it can even produce a horizontal glare effect and a special light spot.
This is something that no other filter or effect lens can achieve.
This set of lenses has been used in "The Hateful Eight", "The Avengers" and "Star Wars" series of films.
However, Panavision is a very strange company.
It is no exaggeration to say that it is the most outrageous among all lens companies.
All of their lenses are company property, so they are only rented out and not sold.
Even for leasing, there is a strict set of processes and selection criteria.
In short, it's extremely complicated.
Moreover, the Auto-Panatar lenses are extremely rare.
Qiao Yi Qiao made a phone call to inquire, and even asked Xiao He to go abroad in person for a tour. The result was that there is no idle Auto-Panatar in the world now.
As for when you will have free time, Panavision gave the answer
It's also very vague.
What’s most infuriating is that the last set of footage was just borrowed by director Park Jong-woo of Taegeuk Country.
Qiao Yi Qiao inquired and found out that the director was currently filming a part of the compilation film.
And the short film he was responsible for was also a horror film.
Now there are two paths before Qiao Yiqiao.
Either wait or use another lens instead.
But Qiao Yi Qiao tried other lenses, and now he has a feeling that "there are no clouds except those in Wushan".
Qiao Yi Qiao gritted his teeth and decided to wait another week. If it didn't work, he would use another lens to shoot.
At this time, he had not expected that this set of lenses would come into his hands in a very bizarre way.
…
There is one more thing during this week.
The world has set a unified date to hold a press conference.
At this press conference, posters and ten-second trailers for each country and each theme will be released.
It is to give all countries an opportunity to see each other's progress, and also to build momentum for the film compilation project for the 150th anniversary of the birth of film.
Of course, there is another layer of meaning for every director involved.
That is to look at the directors who are shooting the same subject and see what each other is doing, and compare them secretly.
Because there were no real shots of Qiao Yiqiao, the ten-second trailer used a pre-shot virtual video.
Fire Phoenix also worked overtime for two days and nights to produce excellent special effects. When it was submitted, Zheng Mao was very satisfied and even said to Qiao Yiqiao: "This clip of yours will definitely be a hit!"
The press conference starts at midnight and is unified worldwide.
The scenes in six countries were all connected to the real-time live broadcast.
Qiao Yiqiao saw his Tai Chi opponent Park Jong-yu.
But the other party seemed very tired.
Zheng Mao, on behalf of China, exchanged greetings with the heads of several other countries.
Soon, various countries released seven posters.
Qiao Yiqiao, hurry up and look...
The first things he targeted were horror films from other countries.
As usual, the Lighthouse Country has some bloody horror, the Neon Country has a long-haired female ghost who seems to be a relative of Sadako, and the Indian Country has a god who looks very religious and scary. Each country has its own characteristics...
Qiao Yiqiao's poster shows a wall of Nuo opera masks, with a blank, upside-down mask in the middle.
In addition to the Chinese character "傩", there is also the English character "NUO".
This was designed and produced by Xia Longlong. At a glance, only his horror movie posters are colorful, and those masks look very creepy.
He should not have lost this part.
Then, he saw the poster of Tai Chi Kingdom.
In the darkness, there is a candle.
The most important thing is that it is written as “Candel” in English.
The normal English word for candle should be “Candle”.
Qiao Yiqiao: “…”
Hmm. It should be a special design, right?
He heard many directors quietly saying the English word "Candle".
I think everyone has noticed this outrageous thing.
After hearing what these people said, Director Park's expression was obviously not good.
Qiao Yi Qiao looked at the font carefully again and felt that it looked like some kind of English font that came with the computer, and it didn't seem to have been carefully designed.
If that is the case...
It seems that Director Park’s poster design was quite hastily made.
I wonder if he is deliberately hiding his strength?
That's not very kind.
However, Qiao Yi Qiao quickly dispelled this doubt.
It’s time to play the ten-second trailer.
Other countries all have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they are all normal.
Qiao Yi Qiao fixed his eyes on the trailer of Tai Chi Kingdom.
It’s worth praising, the trailers for Tai Chi Country’s romance and comedy themes look pretty good.
But the historical themes...seem really outrageous.
It is a scene of a palace banquet.
Then the table was covered with kimchi.
Qiao Yiqiao felt sick to his stomach after seeing this.
But this is not the most outrageous thing.
The horror trailer actually had a black screen for fourteen seconds, and then at the last moment, a hand lit a candle.
Qiao Yiqiao immediately noticed a mole on that hand, and he saw a mole on Director Park's hand as well.
What I mean is... the director shot it himself?
Not only Qiao Yi Qiao, many directors from other countries have also discovered this detail.
After watching it, not only did everyone not feel scared, they were all laughing.
Even the barrage was full of “?”.
After Taiji Country, the trailers for various themes of China were released.
The opening is a historical theme directed by Zheng Mao.
A queen dressed in gorgeous clothes was walking hurriedly in front of the red wall.
The camera continued to pull upwards, revealing a palace-wide night banquet, with all kinds of singing, dancing, and delicious food, all grabbing the audience's attention.
Then, the camera turned.
There was snow all over the city.
Many families lit candles and ate warm meals. In the snow, a girl covered in blood opened her eyes.
The girl was holding a piece of cloth with words written all over it, but the only two words that were clear were "Join the army."
After reading it, Qiao Yiqiao just felt cold.
This is a kind of coldness that comes from history. Zheng Mao not only pays attention to the lives of kings, princes, generals and ministers, but also pays attention to the lives of ordinary people of that era.
It looks like a historical theme with very rich connotations.
The subsequent science fiction, comedy, romance and other themes all look very interesting.
Qiao Yi Qiao is not looking at it through a filter, but from the perspective of a filmmaker. Overall, the quality of Chinese trailers is the best.
And he didn't let down.
The horror theme begins with the sound of suona and a mournful chant. In the camera, a mother and a father, dressed in gorgeous Nuo opera costumes, are praying in front of a bed.
The camera moves forward and sees a young man nailed to the bed.
And a mask was slowly put on his face.
The mournful chanting suddenly stopped.
The camera turned and saw a wall full of masks.
The frantic and bizarre Nuo dance of my parents and grandfather continued, turning into shadows and projected onto the masks on the wall.
And a tear suddenly slipped from the blank mask.
The screen is black.
At this point, all trailers have been played.
But directors from various countries seem to have not yet recovered from the strange and ethereal Nuo opera singing.
It was Zheng Mao who spoke first and broke the silence.
Directors from various countries just said some polite words and hurriedly ended the global live broadcast.
After the live broadcast ended, the audience inevitably began to compare the short films from different countries.
The most striking contrast is between the historical fragments of Taiji Kingdom and China.
On social media around the world, people are complaining in a variety of languages.
"The dinner in Taiji Country doesn't look as good as the family dinners of the common people in Bianjing City, China."
"two countries
The contrast between the palaces in the United States and China is not too strong... the palaces in a certain country are just like playing house."
"I compared the costumes of the queens of the two countries. Why do they have so many similar elements? (Of course, the Chinese one is more exquisite)"
“Thanks for the invitation. I’ve wanted to talk about cultural appropriation for a long time…”
"Let me popularize the history of the two countries..."
"Kimchi also originated from China..."
There is endless debate online.
Screenshots of the palace dinners of the two countries were also circulated wildly by netizens from all regions, with the caption "You are invited to the palace for dinner", and became a popular emoticon package for a while.
The creativity of netizens is unlimited.
More comparisons between short films from several countries have also been brought to the table. While everyone feels that the customs, folkways, historical and cultural factors of each country are indeed different, many up-and-comers from various countries have interpreted the short films of their own countries, hoping that everyone can see the best side of their own country.
In addition, among all the short films, Zheng Mao’s words really came true. Apart from some European and American short films featuring world-renowned stars/directors, the most popular one is "Nuo".
Especially in Asia.
"Looking at the wall of masks gives me goosebumps."
“But it’s so weird and beautiful!”
"Their dancing and lyrics are very... unusual, and I can't stop thinking about that melody."
"I still want to mention this secretly. What the hell is that short film from Taiji Country?"
"Yeah, it doesn't look scary at all, it seems like the director just shot it casually, right?"
"Since you are so insincere, why not go ahead?"
"Please, my Chinese friends, tell me what "nuo" means, thank you!"
Qiao Yi Qiao also looked at the news on the Internet. He felt honored but also felt a lot of pressure.
But he was also very curious about what went wrong with Director Park's short film.
He soon got his answer.
When he got home, he saw a private message on his Weibo.
This private message is super long.
The sender's IP address is "Tai Chi Country".
“Hello, Director Qiao, my name is Qu Xiaomeng, and I am an international student studying in Taiji Country, majoring in film and television directing.
"I like your movies very much. Your "Campus of Chaos" gave me a lot of strength and helped me get through the dark years here. Your "When the Walls Fell" also made me understand the roots of our nation and the
And be proud of your kind and giving nature!
"And with your encouragement and the desire to make a good movie, I joined Director Park's film studio this year. At that time, he was preparing to shoot a horror short film.
"But what makes me very angry is that the horror film he conceived is full of Chinese elements, including but not limited to drama, zombies, Taoism, the Five Elements and Eight Diagrams, the Book of Changes, etc.
"To put it bluntly, it's simply a hodgepodge of Chinese culture! What makes me most angry is that he thinks these cultures are all the culture of their Tai Chi country! There's even a villain in it who is Chinese, and he lost to the people of their Tai Chi country because his Taoism was not high enough! It's too much!
“I pointed out these inappropriate things on the spot, but I didn’t expect to be fired!
"When I was at my lowest point, it was your award speech at the Venice Film Festival that gave me strength. You said, 'I hope the beauty of our country can infect the world.'
“So, I gathered the international students in Taiji Country and started a protest on Director Park’s set for more than half a month!
"At first, no Taiji media reported us, but as time went on, more and more people gradually learned about our protest. We did not protest with force, but found facts and evidence to refute Director Park's previous ideas one by one.
"Just yesterday, our protest was finally reported by a media outlet in the Lighthouse Country. You know how much the people of Taiji Country value the opinions of the Lighthouse Country, so Director Park stopped filming immediately! Then he quickly changed to that broken candle. God knows what he was going to film.
"Without your words, I really couldn't have persisted! So, thank you very much!
"And, I didn't expect it, and what made me even more excited was that both you and Mr. Zheng Mao's trailers today were so outstanding! Especially your "Nuo", the sound of the suona gave me goose bumps! And I watched Nuo opera when I was a child, and when I saw the whole wall of masks, I completely felt your dedication!
“You are really great and courageous to boldly use our Chinese elements in such an important film! Now, we are working on a multilingual popular science content to interpret the historical details and metaphors behind the masks that appear in your short film. However, the workload is too heavy and it may be a bit slow. It is hard to imagine how much thought you put into the conception!
"In short, I wish you all the best. I hope your filming of Nuo goes smoothly. Let the whole world experience Chinese horror. Ha ha ha ha!"
After reading it, Qiao Yiqiao felt his heart pounding.
He didn't expect that he could influence others and make them do such a difficult thing.
Maybe the movie itself can bring strength to people?
Qiao Yiqiao was determined to make a good film of "Nuo".
He must not let these people down.
And God seemed to be helping him.
The report from the Lighthouse Country also became a hot topic due to the sharp contrast between the short films from China and Tai Chi Country.
Although no one knows what the original content of Director Park's short film was, the issue of Taiji Kingdom stealing culture has not only aroused public outrage in China, but countries around the world, especially those in Asia, are condemning it.
Under pressure, Director Park had to apologize and withdraw from the filming of the compilation film.
The moment Director Qiao saw the news, he became very excited.
Not only was I excited about his apology, but also...
The lens he had always dreamed of was finally available! !
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