Chapter 34 Trust Your Instincts 

Ronald got on the editing machine and started the movie. 

The sound of film rolling was heard, and an image appeared on the frosted glass, a close-up view of the old Principal Toga. 

"If the main criminal shows up, I can let the others go..." 

The good girl Kate Lambeau took the initiative to take responsibility. 

"Kate Lambo, I will punish you by making you stay in school today," announced Principal Toga. 

"And I'm also the main culprit," said the rebellious girl Liv Randall, standing on the table. 

"Who are you?" Principal Toga asked fiercely. 

Liv extended her hand, "Liv Randall, roll..." 

"Missing? All right, you and Kate will stay in school together." 

"This is going to be a copy of the photo I took later here," thought Ronald. 

The scene changed, and Liv and Kate consoled each other. 

With a panoramic shot, the two walked towards the prairie at sunset and faded into the distance. The setting sun dyed their hair a golden color. 

"Is it very good? There are no issues with the camera, and there are no distortions. There are no problems with the actors' expressions, emotions, and the use of light. It's simply perfect." 

Ronald seemed confused. What is the problem? He stood still for half a minute, then rewound the film and looked at it again. 

The principal speaks... punishes the students... and then cuts that perfect and poetic shot. 

I still didn't see anything. 

Ronald turned around and looked at Director Allen with his eyes. 

However, Joe Dante stopped Allen, who was about to give the answer, looked at Ronald, and said slowly: 

"Ronald, you better think about this reason yourself. If others tell you, you won't be able to obtain a true understanding." Deep understanding. Knowledge. If you can see it for yourself, then you have true talent, and you can be a successful director." 

After saying that, Qiao grabbed the smiling Director Allen and went out to lunch with the editor. 

"Remember, look at it from the audience's perspective," Joe added before leaving. 

Is this a test? ... All right, accept it yourself! 

Ronald saw this as a challenge for himself. I have a lot of talent for directing... I guess. 

Stand in front of the editing machine, rewind, and play again. 

And then again and again... 

I tried many times and still nothing! 

The more anxious he became, the less he could think of anything. Ronald walked slowly around the room. Thinking about what Joe Dante said before leaving: "You only have true talent as a director if you can see it for yourself." 

Calm! 

By his tone, does it seem that this is not a technical problem but an artistic talent problem? 

Ronald started to think, reason, and analyze. 

But this shot is obviously very beautiful. As the sun sets, the two good friends walk hand in hand, with a golden light reflecting on the edges of their hair. It seems that it was only taken by people with extremely high artistic taste. 

There can't be any problem here. 

Wait a moment, what did Joe say before leaving? 

"From the audience's perspective? So it can't be seen from the director's perspective?" Ronald said to himself as he continued to wander around the editing room. 

The audience's perspective? 

The audience just wants to see the plot, beautiful actresses, and beautiful images. 

Is there a problem with these? 

Ronald emptied the film again and looked at it. 

Both actresses are very photogenic, and the lighting of the image is perfect. Performance? There's nothing wrong with the acting, at least Ronald himself can't say so. 

I still didn't see anything! 

"Call..." 

Ronald was a bit anxious and started to sweat. 

He quickly went to the bathroom, turned on the tap, and splashed cold water on his face to refresh himself. 

There is still plenty of time. Ronald calmed down temporarily and kept thinking. 

Don't start analyzing what they said, but rather what they did. What was the process by which Joe discovered the problem? 

"There was no problem when Director Alan saw it. Joe found the problem when he went up. What's the difference?" 

"I cut this shot here and drew a mark." Ronald began to restore everything he had done. 

Then Alan appeared, rewound to the beginning of my shot, and then started playing it. He stepped on the stop pedal. At that moment, Alan was still very satisfied and said that my choice of editing points was fine. 

Then Joe appeared and also rewound the tape. Ronald closed his eyes and pointed to Joe's movements. 

Hey, it seems that Joe goes back more and looks at the previous shots together. 

Ronald hurried forward, trying to restore Joe's rewind time from his memory. 

I don't remember clearly... 

However, editor Larry finally stopped the film with a close-up of the outdated director, showing that the problems can be seen from now on. 

The editor also said that it wasn't me who cheated, so was it an editing problem? 

Editing problem... 

Originally, what Qiao was talking about was the theme of editing! 

After turning around and returning to the starting point, Ronald still didn't see the problem. 

Ronald poured another cup of black tea from the thermos, trying to calm himself. 

Qiao is not a god. He said I have talent, but don't I? It doesn't necessarily mean you have no talent. 

Moreover, even if you don't have talent, you won't starve. You can still live a good life working as a photographer and taking wedding photos for others. 

Aunt Karen is a waitress in a restaurant and supports herself and her cousin. Who can say she is not successful? 

Speaking of Aunt Karen, by the way, what did she tell me on the phone last time? 

"When there is no direction, you must trust your own intuition to find the direction. Don't start thinking about solving the problem before your intuition points the way." 

"Trust in God's guidance for you." 

When you have no direction, trust your instincts. 

Ronald reflected on his experience since joining the cast of "Rock of Ages." 

Discovering that the bassist was unwilling to cooperate, he convinced Roger Coleman to give him the shooting rights and opted to use Demi Moore as a model to advertise in newspapers... 

It can be said that every successful decision is based on the direction given by intuition. Instead of analyzing, thinking, and reasoning beforehand. In the words of many religious believers in the United States, it can also be said to be "God's guidance." 

Of course, after determining the direction, the final solution to the problem requires rational analysis, thorough reflection, and continuous effort.

Here's the translation of the text into English without changing any words from the story:

---

But that first weak inspiration, the guidance of God, or the feeling of a reborn person, seems to be something that can be felt intuitively without thinking. 

Furthermore, after making a decision based on intuition, your body becomes extremely excited, and your thoughts flow very smoothly, as if your physical and mental strength has doubled. 

So, what was my instinct this time? 

Yes, the intuition is... 

The photos I took are good! 

So, is there a problem with the images taken by someone else? 

Ronald stood at the editing machine and simply rewound an extra section of the film. 

The scene that appeared on the frosted glass this time was of a group of artists disco dancing in the playground. The dancing was very amateurish and somewhat entertaining. 

There's also the good girl Kate, who tries to chat with the handsome boy Tom but is ignored. This script is quite stupid. How could Tom, a handsome boy, not understand that a beautiful woman is flirting with him? 

It's worthy of being produced by the master of exploitation films. The story is casual, and the supporting actors are amateurs. Anyway, the audience isn't here to see this. They have long awaited these silly and unrealistic plots. 

When the audience buys tickets, they know it's not a serious drama, so they don't care about the plot or the performances. Anyway, the primary audience is the young, who come to see beauties and rock music. 

The image continues to advance, showing the director, the detention, and the punishment, and then the sisters under the sunset that I took. 

Beautiful photos, so many photos are the best I took. The story of this film isn't worthy of this shot... 

Wait, is the story not worthy of the camera? 

"I see!" 

Ronald shouted happily. 

He really understood that he had made this shot too poetic. 

"Rock of Ages" was originally an exploitation film, with the villains making a lot of noise, beautiful women dancing and singing, and some funny jokes, and everyone ended up laughing. 

Suddenly, a warm and touching scene is inserted here, which is very unexpected. 

The audience's emotions were awakened, and they eagerly anticipated the next story, but what followed was again a very bloody plot. 

For example, it's like the TV series "The Feud of the Rich Family" that I've been watching at home these days. If suddenly a line from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" were inserted into the daily conversation between a rich young man and a beautiful woman, and then it reduced to the daily brawl among the rich family. 

The audience would only find that section of Shakespeare strange, instead of appreciating its aesthetic value. 

At that moment, Allen and Joe heard the sound and opened the door, "What do you understand, Ronald?" 

"This scene doesn't match... well, the tone of the film. The tone doesn't match." 

Qiao nodded, "Yes, it seems you really understand that if a particular shot is taken too well, it can have a bad overall impact. In fact, you have talent." 

"Always remember, the whole is greater than the parts," concluded Joe Dante. 

"What should I do? I remembered this place, so I took a photo." 

Ronald looked up and asked Joe, in a bad mood, as if he had dedicated countless efforts to writing a beautiful love letter, but the girl held it in front of her best friend and mocked his spelling mistakes one by one. 

"Don't worry, Ronald," Joe Dante laughed, 

"The advantage of low-budget exploitation films is that the audience isn't demanding. They already know it's an exploitation film and have no intention of seeing any authenticity or art." 

"In the middle of the film, inserting some dances, explosions, and funny scenes is allowed. The audience already expects to see a mix. It's okay to add a poetic shot." 

"Besides, we can't get funding to re-film," Director Allen winked. 

Ronald took a deep breath; as long as he could hold it, it didn't matter if it was sudden. 

When it was launched to the audience, he could tell his friends that this part was filmed by him... which was great. After all, it's my screen debut and has subtitles. Ronald thought happily. 

After passing Joe Dante's test and finding the correct answer, he felt very relaxed. Only then did Ronald realize that his stomach was already very hungry. 

He went to McDonald's and ordered a double Big Mac meal, extra-large fries and Coca-Cola, and a chocolate sundae, and enjoyed a wonderful meal. 

It seems that after letting myself be guided by intuition, I will be very hungry. 

End of chapter