Chapter 477: The First Cut That Makes You Question Your Life

"The first cut of A Chinese Ghost Story is out, come and take a look!"

When Lin Fan received the call from Liang Wen, he was stunned for a moment: "So fast?!"

From the preparation and establishment of a film project to the official shooting and the final post-production, each link takes a lot of time, especially for films with high special effects requirements. The shooting may only take two or three months, but it will take several years to make special effects in the post-production! There are not many special effects in "A Chinese Ghost Story", so Lin Fan feels that the entire post-production will not exceed three months. This speed is really fast. If it is faster, it will be a bit shoddy.

Moreover, since we are currently in the editing stage and have not yet started working on the special effects, editing also takes a lot of time. According to Lin Fan and Liang Wen's estimates, it will take at least a month to finish editing the film.

But how long has it been since the first cut came out? This is "A Chinese Ghost Story"! Lao Liang, please don't cut corners for me! Lin Fan couldn't sit still and went straight to the editing room to meet Liang Wen.

As soon as he pushed open the door of the editing room, he was hit by a strong smell of secondhand smoke, which made Lin Fan cough several times before he got used to it. "Lao Liang, you guys are practicing immortality here. Can you see the computer screen clearly in this smoke?"

Liang Wen knew that Lin Fan didn't smoke, so he put out the remaining half of the cigarette in his hand: "If you don't pay attention, how can you get the first cut out so quickly?"

Lin Fan walked in and saw that Liang Wen and the editor had huge dark circles under their eyes and looked at him listlessly. If Liang Wen hadn't been able to talk to him logically, Lin Fan would have felt that he was looking at two zombies! "How long have you two not slept? Aren't you afraid of sudden death?"

Liang Wen waved his hand indifferently: "I don't remember. Come and take a look at the first cut."

The first cut is the process of turning a movie from a series of material clips into a logically complete film. After the director has shot all the material, the editor will follow the director's guidance and the shot-by-shot script to piece together the characters' actions, dialogues, and interactions.

After the initial cutting, there are several steps such as re-cutting, fine cutting and even comprehensive cutting, which cannot be done overnight.

What Liang Wen asked Lin Fan to watch now was the film after the initial cut.

Lin Fan pulled an office chair over and sat on the left and right of the editor with Liang Wen, and began to appreciate a film that only had rudimentary logic and even no soundtrack.

It was the first time that Lin Fan watched this kind of film. While watching it, he compared it with the finished film in his memory. As soon as he compared it, the cold sweat on his forehead did not stop.

"WTH?"

"Is this my performance? Is my acting so bad?"

"Can't even the old actors save it? What the hell is this howling?"

"It's over. How come it's completely different from what I imagined?"

"Is this the classic movie I remember? I can't say it's exactly the same, I can only say it has nothing to do with it!"

"It's ruined, all ruined. I don't know if I can get even a dime back from the money I invested. I'm going to be criticized to death by netizens after this movie is released!"

…

In short, it’s hard to put it into words.

Lin Fan didn't know how he made it through the rough cut of a film that was over a hundred minutes long. After watching it, he was in deep sorrow. It seemed as if countless villains were criticizing him in his mind: Is it too much to want to copy a classic movie just based on memories?

Lin Fan reflected deeply, and then realized, huh?

It seems that it is not as beautiful as I thought.

Although this rough cut of the film was hard to describe, Lin Fan added the soundtrack and special effects in his mind, removed some unnecessary shots, and slightly adjusted some clips. It seemed, it seemed, that it should be okay, right?

A lot of ideas flashed through Lin Fan's mind, such as how to deal with the details, adjust the logic and continue editing. After watching the film, these ideas naturally emerged from the depths of his mind, and Lin Fan himself did not realize that there was anything wrong.

Seeing Lin Fan's expression change, Liang Wen smiled and said to the editor, "I win. You pay for my cigarettes this month!"

The editor was helpless: "Oh, if I had known earlier, I would not have made the bet with Director Liang. I really lost a lot!"

A question mark popped up on Lin Fan's forehead: "What's going on?"

Liang Wen won the bet and was in a very good mood: "We made a bet about how long it would take you, a new director, to accept the reality after watching the rough cut for the first time. I bet you would recover in ten minutes, and he bet you would need an hour. Obviously, I won."

The editor was also very curious: "Director Lin, how did you recover from the shock of the first cut so quickly?"

The initial cut of the film has no music, no rendering, and even no color grading. It simply reorganizes the logic of the shots. The effect is probably not as good as just taking some random shots with a mobile phone.

To be honest, the first time you watch it, it does make you doubt your life, and you may even feel like you are not worthy of making movies. For a novice cross-industry director like Lin Fan to be able to adjust himself so quickly from this kind of blow, his mentality is really good.

Lin Fan had a blank expression on his face: "There are no more chicken legs in your lunch boxes!"

The editor wailed, "No, director! Director Liang forced me to do this. I didn't want to bet with him, but he insisted on making the bet with me!"

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Liang Wen chuckled: "I've smoked too much of this cigarette and want to change to a different flavor."

The editor shut his mouth aggrievedly: I can't afford to offend either of you!

Liang Wen took the opportunity to teach Lin Fan a lesson: "When watching the first cut of the film, you only need to pay attention to a few factors. The first is to see whether the overall logic is consistent with the lens design when you shot it, and the second is to see whether the story is fully expressed. As long as there are no major problems with these two points, other things can be compensated through secondary editing and post-production."

Moreover, Liang Wen actually discovered that Lin Fan had a clear understanding of the film in his mind. He knew which shots were used where, which materials could be discarded, the overall logic, and what the whole story should be like.

It’s like there’s a movie like this in my mind.

This is also the reason why editors can get the rough cut done so quickly: the director’s creative intent is clear and there is nothing to worry about or hesitate about. The editor only needs to combine the shots according to the director’s intention, which saves a lot of trouble.

Lin Fan was educated: "In other words, our first cut is actually pretty good?"

Lin Fan saw that the logic of the entire film was on point. As long as he adjusted the details, it would be almost the same as the movie he remembered. The effect should be quite good.

Liang Wen smiled widely, and placed his hand heavily on Lin Fan's shoulder: "Be more confident, Director Lin, this is more than good, it's great!"

It doesn’t even look like a first cut! The editor also flattered: “I feel like it’s almost time to start preparing for the celebration party!”

Lin Fan was naturally very happy to receive the approval of the two professionals: "A celebration banquet is a must, let Sister Xia host it well when the time comes!"

(End of this chapter)