Chapter 213: Performance without Physical Objects
After the director left, Bai Baihe took Gu Wei for a tour of the studio of the "Monster Hunt" crew.
Get to know the venue.
Every time we go to a place, we will introduce it to him, telling him what plot in the film it is and what function the layout there has.
Everything in the studio opened Gu Wei's eyes.
The studio where the crew is located is very large and is divided into several small modules, each representing a different scene in the movie.
But they all have one thing in common, which is a large expanse of green cloth.
Whether it is a quiet mountain village or a prosperous ancient town, the real props and scenery are very limited, and all you see is green.
"Surprised, I felt the same as you when I first came here to shoot.
It turns out that when filming other dramas, there would occasionally be some shots that used green screen scenes, which is normal.
But our play is basically all green screen, and there are only a few shots shot on location.”
Bai Baihe noticed Gu Wei's surprise and said to him.
“It’s really surprising and novel!”
Gu Wei said as he looked at the scene in the studio.
“These sets are nothing. You’ll understand tomorrow when you actually start filming. The real difficulty of our play lies in the performance without props.
In the past, when we were filming, we always had opponents. Whether it was crying or laughing, you could react according to the other person's performance, but in this play, you have to rely on your imagination a lot of the time.
It was quite a headache to perform.”
Bai Baihe led Gu Wei and explained to him as they walked.
When talking about performance, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he was thinking of something bad.
"This is your second time filming, so you must be very familiar with it, right?"
"Hmm~ Honestly, if I hadn't had to, I really wouldn't want to do it again. My previous filming experience wasn't very good. I hope this time it goes much more smoothly."
Bai Baihe sighed and said.
Then she said happily:
"Fortunately, I didn't have to reshoot everything from beginning to end. I only needed to reshoot the shots of the two of us together. Some of the original shots were still able to be preserved."
"Sister Lily, I'll have to ask for your continued care when the filming starts tomorrow."
Gu Wei said with a smile.
"No problem, don't worry. Whether it's filming or any other problems on the set, you can come to me and I will definitely help you solve them.
Besides, the director told me to take care of you~"
Bai Baihe grinned and spoke very cheerfully, patting Gu Wei's shoulder lightly with her hand, as if she needed help with something.
The two of them walked around the scene for a while. When they met some crew members who were not busy, Bai Baihe would stop and introduce them to Gu Wei.
This is her second time shooting this movie. She has known all the crew members for a year and they are all acquaintances.
After joining the crew of "Monster Hunt", Gu Wei felt that it was different from all his previous filming experiences. In the past, because he was the male lead, he would join the crew as soon as the filming started, go through the pre-filming publicity and opening ceremony, and then join the crew and start filming slowly from the first shot.
He participated in the entire process and had a feeling of growing up with the crew.
Although he plays the leading male role in "Monster Hunt" this time, he feels like he is just making a cameo appearance.
Although the script he received was very complete and the storyline was clearly told from beginning to end, the script he filmed himself was a bit messy and many shots did not connect with the plot.
Gu Wei could also understand. After all, he was asked to come for reshoots, so the crew naturally just had to shoot the shots that needed to be reshot, and the original ones that could be used would still be used.
Because of this, their filming time was only a short month.
In the evening, producer Jiang Zhiqiang arranged for Gu Wei to have dinner as a welcome treat for him who had just joined the crew.
Also at the table were director Xu Chengyi, screenwriter Yuan Jinlin and leading actress Bai Baihe.
At the dinner table, Jiang Zhiqiang was as enthusiastic as ever and extended a warm welcome to Gu Wei.
Although he is a real big shot in the entertainment industry, he is not arrogant at all. Instead, he keeps praising Gu Wei and says that his joining will definitely make the movie "Monster Hunt" achieve higher success.
Of course, Gu Wei was very humble and said that he would shoot the film well and would not let down Mr. Jiang and Director Xu.
In short, both the host and the guests had a great time during the meal, which successfully eliminated the unfamiliarity that Gu Wei had just felt when he joined the group.
The next morning, Gu Wei arrived at the crew and started his first day of filming.
When he changed into the clothes of the male protagonist "Song Tianyin" in the movie, he wore a tattered patchwork robe that looked very worn out, with patches, wear, holes, and scraps of cloth on it.
It seems that most of the costumes in "Monster Hunt" are of this style. Bai Baihe is wearing a similar style, but it looks cleaner and tidier than Gu Wei's.
In the dressing room, the stylist is putting makeup on Gu Wei.
"Teacher Gu, your skin is so good, and your face shape and facial features are the best I've ever seen among male celebrities.
Unfortunately, according to the director's request, I can only make you look a little more rustic.
Your skin is too white, so you can only darken it overall."
Gu Wei smiled after hearing this.
"It doesn't matter. Just do as you're told. It's all for the filming. I don't mind."
“What a shame.”
The stylist said regretfully while applying makeup on Gu Wei's face.
After a while, the makeup was done.
Gu Wei’s styling in the play is now complete.
He looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was tied up in a bun like ancient men's, and his skin from face to neck was two shades darker than his normal skin.
Wearing a gray-brown patchwork robe and grinning, he looks 1 part rustic, 2 parts honest and 7 parts handsome.
There was no way around it. Gu Wei had such a good foundation that even the attire of this poor country boy couldn't reduce his looks.
"Teacher Gu, the superiority of your facial features is so great that I can only do this much."
The stylist looked at Gu Wei who had finished his makeup and said.
She mentally compared Gu Wei in front of her with Ke Zhendong, who had been made up by her before, and felt that the difference between the two was extremely large.
When I walked out of the dressing room, I ran into Bai Baihe who had also done her hair.
Compared to Gu Wei, she is a bit miserable. She also asked to be made darker, but Bai Baihe's appearance dropped a lot.
After all, there is a saying that "whiteness can cover up a hundred uglinesses". Bai Baihe's facial features are not as three-dimensional as Gu Wei's, and after she became darker, she looks like a country girl.
The two came to the shooting site together.
Director Xu was also very satisfied with Gu Wei's look.
"Very good, very good, Gu Wei, you have to remember to try your best to show your honest side when you are filming later."
"Got it, Director!"
Soon, the filming of Gu Wei’s first scene in the crew began.
In the small house where the male protagonist "Song Tianyin" lives, he entertains two passers-by, a man and a woman, as well as the female protagonist "Huo Xiaolan".
What he didn't expect was that the couple turned out to be two monsters, and they brought their pregnant queen with them.
The demon-catching master "Huo Xiaolan" had a fierce fight with two demons, while Gu Wei was forced into a corner by the demon queen and could not move. Then the demon queen sniffed him for a while and sprayed her saliva in his face.
The two monsters were captured by the demon-catching master "Luo Gang" who came and the house was in a mess. Only the timid "Song Tianyin" and the angry "Huo Xiaolan" who had his prey taken away were left.
For this part of the plot, Gu Wei only needed to shoot the next conversation between him and Bai Baihe. He was not in the previous series of fighting shots, so naturally the previous shots would be used.
Gu Wei held a wooden bench and moved closer to Bai Baihe little by little.
Said cautiously:
"I'm the head of this place, you just killed someone~"
"Who are you killing? They're all monsters!"
Bai Baihe rubbed her shoulder which was injured during the fight and said in an impatient tone.
"Demon?"
"Yes, a demon in human skin."
As he spoke, he squatted down, turned over the human skin that the monster had dropped, then stood up and spoke in a firm tone.
"The most cunning thing in this world is the demon. They wear human skin, pretend to be human, and speak human language!"
"Then how do I know whether you are a human or a demon?"
Gu Wei plucked up the courage to ask tentatively.
Bai Baihe lowered her head slightly, rolled her eyes up, stuck out her tongue, and stretched her hands behind her head, making the movements of a monster about to peel off a person's skin to reveal its true form. Gu Wei was so frightened that he stepped back repeatedly.
“Hahahahahaha~”
Bai Baihe, who had played a prank, did not explain anything further and sat down impatiently.
"Then I want to ask, did you win or lose the fight just now?"
Gu Wei no longer had any doubts, but asked about the battle situation just now.
“I lost?
If I had lost, you would have been eaten by them.
fool!
Cook! "
Bai Baihe looked impatient.
"Ka! Very good, Lily is still performing steadily!
Gu Wei also performed very well, he was already immersed in the performance in the first shot. If this one is passed, we will keep it."
The director's voice was heard, and the staff around began to pack up the props and restore the venue to its previous state.
"Your acting is great! You nailed your first scene on set! It's amazing!"
Bai Baihe praised Gu Wei.
"That's okay, we're both equally matched. It seems this film isn't as difficult to shoot as you said."
"Haha~ Don't be too happy too soon, you'll know once we film a scene with monsters."
Bai Baihe smiled and said.
They reshot the scene again, and both actors performed steadily.
The next scene is Gu Wei's role alone.
There are several shots. The first one is in a small shop. When the demons are fighting outside, Gu Wei shrinks into the corner and the demon queen comes up to him and sniffs him.
This shot was okay, as the director first explained the scene to him.
Then Gu Wei started his solo performance in front of the camera. Although there was nothing opposite him, he had to imagine that there was a big monster in front of him, and then act as if his body was stiff, his face was a little terrified, but he didn't dare to move at all.
Because this shot was short and relatively easy, it was approved after two takes.
The next thing was that he was dragged into the woods by the Queen Demon. Gu Wei, who was tied up, communicated with the Queen Demon for a while despite the language barrier. Finally, an egg was stuffed into her mouth, and her belly became like a pregnant woman's belly.
Then the Demon Queen died, and Gu Wei was entrusted with the care of the orphan.
The entire scene, including several shots, needed to be completed by Gu Wei alone through the script design and his own imagination.
The Demon Queen and other characters were added in the later stages.
This is a bit difficult, after all, everyone has no grasp at all when acting based on imagination.
Gu Wei already knew the requirements of the script for this scene, and there were only a few lines. He communicated with the director and then began to perform with confidence.
These shots were all Gu Wei's solo performances. Bai Baihe did not take a break either. She took an apple and took a bite, then stood next to the camera and watched the show while eating.
It’s not that she wanted to make fun of Gu Wei, but when Gu Wei came, she had already told him about the difficulties of filming, and now it was time for him to experience it.
It also let Gu Wei know that she was not exaggerating and it was really difficult.
After the script supervisor hit the cue, the scene began.
The camera was directly facing Gu Wei, who was tied up and sitting against a tree, looking at the air in fear and saying, "What are you doing?"
Then he said in confusion, "Can you speak human language?"
Finally, he looked terrified, as if he had seen something terrifying.
His eyes looked around, as if an unknown tentacle followed his gaze and reached his face.
Then his face seemed to be pinched by something, his mouth suddenly opened wide, and then it seemed like he had swallowed something huge.
"Crack! Great! Passed!
Gu Wei, keep this up, we'll save one!"
The director's voice came, and because Gu Wei passed it in one take, he asked for another reshoot to ensure it was the best possible take.
At this time, Bai Baihe, who was watching the show nearby, had a look of surprise on her face, her mouth wide open, and she didn't even notice that the apple in her mouth had fallen out.
Gu Wei, who finished filming, was praised by the director again.
After the show was over and they were taking a break, Bai Baihe came up to him.
“How did you do that?
In that shot just now, there was clearly nothing in front of you. How did you manage to act so well?
Of course, I think with your acting skills, it will definitely not be a problem for you to perform well in the end. The key is that this is your first time acting in this play. How do you manage to grasp the performance so accurately right from the start?
When filming last year, Ke Zhendong shot the same scene more than ten times, and finally the director reluctantly let him do it.
I think his best take wasn’t as good as your first take.”
As soon as Gu Wei sat down, Bai Baihe started asking questions.
“Well, I’m a student at the Film Academy, and this kind of non-property performance was taught in school when I was in school.
Ke Zhendong is just a puppet show actor from Taiwan, so it’s normal that I act better than him.”
Gu Wei explained reluctantly.
He couldn't tell Bai Baihe either, because he had already seen the movie, so he just had to act according to the original version and add his own understanding. It wouldn't be difficult for him to act better than the original Jing Boran.
After all, he is really not afraid of anyone among the younger generation in terms of acting skills.
"Are the acting skills of students in film academies so good nowadays?
I also graduated from the Central Academy of Drama."
After hearing what Gu Wei said, Bai Baihe murmured.
As everyone was busy, the day's shooting task gradually came to an end.
After finishing the filming of the last shot of the day, Director Xu came to Gu Wei specially.
"Well, Gu Wei, you performed very well today.
It seems that asking you for help was the best decision Mr. Jiang and I made.
If your performance can remain this stable, we can complete the filming task ahead of schedule."
"Director Xu, you are too kind. It's all thanks to your great guidance. Sister Lily also gave me a lot of help.
I will maintain my condition and help the crew complete the reshoots as soon as possible."
Gu Wei said this with a smile on his face, and praised Bai Baihe in passing. In the two days since he joined the crew, Bai Baihe has been warm and friendly to him. No matter why, he has to appreciate it.
In the evening
(End of this chapter)
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