Chapter 9 Hollywood Methods
After returning to the set, Ronald found Jim: "The boss will be here in two hours. Before that, we will continue to shoot."
"Wow, so you will continue to be the director?"
"Yes, until the boss takes over. He and his assistant Gail will come to the set. We have to hurry up. What is the next scene? You will be responsible for the movement."
"The next scene is the good girl Kate, who flirts with the handsome boy Tom." Jim picked up the storyboard and handed it to Ronald, "Congratulations, Ronnie.
You deserve it."
...
Ronald found the actor who played the handsome boy Tom, Vincent Van Patten. At first glance, he was strong, blond, and wearing a green and white school uniform. He was the dream lover of American high school girls.
Vincent was an American handsome guy. He was not like the old nerd Tom in the script. He was a sporty and sunny boy.
Ronald recalled the image in his dream. He played an honest and dull mama's boy, which was not suitable in temperament.
But since he can act like a good actor, his acting must be good, so the problem lies in...
"Clothes, where are the clothes?"
"Here," the plump costumer Linda raised her hand.
Ronald pointed at Vincent's chest, "Add a tie. I need him to look like someone who was brought up in a very serious Puritan family."
"OK, I have some prepared. I'll bring them out for you to choose from." The costumer Linda picked up two ties, one with blue and green stripes and the other one in crimson.
"This one," Ronald pointed to the blue and green stripes, "goes with this green and white school uniform."
...
After arranging the actors here, Ronald walked to the camera crew and made direct arrangements: "For this one we need a long shot, 10 seconds. Tom comes out of the room, wearing a school uniform and tie, greets only the male classmates, and finally sits here to eat breakfast. A main shot looks down from the jib,"
Roger indicated the position of the camera, and then pointed to the teaching building: "The male protagonist comes out of the building, holding a novel that no one is reading, and is out of tune with the people dancing happily around him."
He described the scene in the dream to everyone, and then asked, "Mr. Condie, what do you think?"
"Did you hear that?" The director of photography turned around and shouted to several assistants,
"Let's get started."
The red-haired assistant looked at Ronald, a little bit unbelieving that these words came from his mouth, but it was a bit like the majesty of an old director who had been in the film industry for decades.
"How do we shoot the feeling of being out of place?" Director of Photography Dean Conti asked back, "Tell me how to move the camera."
"No, it doesn't rely on moving the camera." Ronald explained, "For this shot, the width of the screen is about three people from left to right. Let the camera follow Vincent all the time and keep him in the center of the screen."
Ronald gestured to the Director of Photography: "When other people come up to greet him, their walking and movement frequency is normal, but Tom will be half a beat slower, so that the feeling of being out of place can be shot."
"Okay, I understand." The Director of Photography nodded, "You go and arrange the actors to rehearse, leave this to me."
"Thank you, Mr. Conti."
After Ronald thanked him, he turned around and hurriedly ran to explain the play to the actors.
"Hey, is it your first scene today?" Ronald looked at Vincent who was wearing a tie, and he really looked a little rustic and dull.
"Yes, how are you going to arrange my appearance?" Vincent replied.
"I will let the camera follow you all the time, so that the audience will have a deep impression of you. Come out from the room, show up here, then hold the book, walk over here, say hello to many male classmates, and finally sit down at the seat over here and have breakfast. Then wait for Kate to come over and chat with you."
Ronald demonstrated the movement, "What do you think?"
Vincent imitated it: "Show up... take the book... walk... say hello... sit down."
Ronald said: "Perfect. What do you think of this shot? Any ideas?"
Vincent was very happy, "No problem, I think this is great." It seems that he is quite satisfied with the picture and duration of his shot.
Ronald gave him a thumbs up, "Pay attention to your movement frequency, just like a slow reaction."
"No problem, watch me," Vincent stroked his handsome hair.
"Oh, you messed up his hairstyle. Gigi, fix his hairstyle." Ronnie called the makeup artist and hairstylist.
Being an actor is a troublesome profession. If the makeup and hairstyle are slightly inconsistent, the camera will magnify it exponentially. So after each shot, you have to check and touch up the makeup.
Ronald went to the director of photography again: "How are the preparations?"
"No problem, I can cover it well with a 20mm lens. Just lower the aperture by one stop to keep the brightness consistent with the previous lens."
Ronald looked up at the sky. The sun had risen, and the school wall blocked most of the direct light. But the brightness of the environment was much brighter than before. The photographer must make some technical adjustments to make the images taken before and after almost the same brightness. Otherwise, the flickering picture during the screening will make the audience upset.
It is quite complicated to shoot with natural light, but fortunately there is a very experienced director of photography.
Ronald and Jim whispered and prepared to shoot officially.
The plot is like this: Kate saw Tom, showed a crazy expression, took the initiative to sit next to Tom, and chatted with him. Tom didn't like the good girl who was a top student, he liked the cheerleader Liv Randall more. He replied with disdain, and turned his head to read the novel. The camera finally stopped on Kate Lanbao's embarrassed and depressed face.
"Action!"
The shot was done well, from beginning to end in one take.
"Cut!"
Next is the dialogue.
The camera switched to a medium shot, first aimed at Vincent. Dai Yang sat opposite him, with only one shoulder showing in the frame. The two acted out the flirting scene again.
"Cut, done."
The camera was moved behind Vincent and aimed at the good girl played by Dai Yang. This time it was Vincent's turn to show one shoulder. The two flirted for the third time.
The shot was done, waiting for the director of photography to confirm. Filming is not like filming a TV series, where you can watch the instant playback. Whether a shot is well shot and whether it meets the director's requirements must be approved by the director of photography.
"OK"
Then start shooting the reaction shot.
The red-haired assistant photographer switched to a close-up with a focal length of 100mm. Carefully push the camera close, almost sticking to the actor's face.
The director of photography looked at the light and shook his head: "It's a little past the best time. The direct light is a bit strong now. The shadow on the face in the close-up is too strong. Put up a reflector."
The lighting assistant half-knelt on the ground, holding a foam reflector in his hand, reflecting the sunlight onto the actor's face to make the shadow less obvious. At the same time, he had to be careful not to let his hands enter the frame to avoid being exposed.
"Give me a shy smile..." Ronald commanded.
"Okay! Action!"
Vincent stood behind the camera and was approached for the fourth time. The camera took Dae Young's face into the lens and printed it on the film. Waiting for development, reprinting, and copying, it was finally enlarged on the big screen and seen by thousands of boys, becoming their dream lover.
"Cut!"
This set of shooting methods is what Roger Corman said: "One main, two shoulders, and three reactions." It is the standard method of Hollywood. First use a panoramic shot, then use an over-the-shoulder lens to shoot the dialogue twice, and finally shoot a few close-ups and add them in as the other party's reaction after hearing the dialogue.
There is only one advantage, it is fast.
Filming is boring and time-consuming. Every scene needs to be rearranged, the actors need to touch up their makeup, move around, rehearse, and there is also a particularly time-consuming lighting process for indoor scenes.
The low-budget film "Rock High School" was shot very quickly. It took more than an hour to shoot a Hollywood-style film.
The actors left the stage, and the next scene to be shot was a dance scene. Rock music sounded, and the students started to dance with a strong rhythm.
In fact, this shot has little to do with the plot, and it mainly shows a rock atmosphere.
What's more important is that a few beautiful women dressed in cool clothes danced beautifully, which was like ice cream for the audience. In low-budget youth exploitation films, this kind of inexplicable dance is also a standard feature.
The protagonist of the dance scene is the choreographer. How to dance and how to dance beautifully are all determined by the choreographer's level.
The choreographer of the crew is of Polish descent, named Siana. He speaks with a strong Eastern European accent.
"Ronaldo, although the Ramones sing rock, I plan to let the students dance disco."
Ronald was stunned for a moment before he realized that Ronaldo was himself. "OK, what's the consideration for doing this?"
"Disco is more beautiful."
The crew did not have actors with deep dance skills, and a large number of extras could only dance some popular dances. Compared to the old-fashioned swing dance, everyone can dance the popular disco dance.
This dance is extremely popular now. Last year's "Saturday Night Fever" and this year's "Grease" have set off a nationwide disco craze. The leading actor in both movies is John Travolta, who has also become a national idol and a new generation of Hollywood dance king.
"You have two beauties with great figures. You should let them dance more in front of the camera." Sienna said.
"Oh, who is it?"
(End of this chapter)