Chapter 36: The First Scene

There are many characters in the story of Scent of a Woman, but at the very core is Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, played by Al Pacino. Over eighty percent of Hugo's scenes as Charlie are opposite Al, and the chemistry between these two characters is the key to determining the quality of the entire film.

Although many actors will participate in the shoot in New York, the main characters are just Al and Hugo. Their arrival means the crew is ready; the other actors are merely cameos, and none will shoot for more than three days. That's also why, after Hugo arrived at the hotel, he only saw Al.

What they called a rehearsal of the script mainly included two parts: one was Martin's explanation and discussion of the character's setting, psychology, and motivations with the actors, helping them gain a deeper understanding of the work and better grasp their roles; the other was Al and Hugo rehearsing some lines—not only to prepare for the first scene to be shot, but also to help the actors develop chemistry, which also served as an opportunity for the director to observe their understanding of the characters.

Before filming officially began, the director and actors could preset the shooting conditions. Even if problems arose, they could be discussed in advance, which was very helpful for the film's production.

This was a very new experience for Hugo, because after entering the 21st century, people's lives became increasingly fast-paced, and so did film production. Directors were more accustomed to skipping pre-shoot rehearsals. Each scene was only briefly rehearsed just before shooting began. Even in the early nineties, few film crews were willing to spend time and effort on rehearsals before the camera started rolling. Clearly, Martin was a rather old-school, academic-style director.

However, two days of advance rehearsals were clearly very effective for Hugo, the "rookie." Martin's original intention was to build rapport between Hugo and Al, and to help Al better grasp the character of Lieutenant Colonel Slade. After all, in Martin's mind, Hugo was already a seasoned actor with rich experience, and with Dead Poets Society as his resume, the role of Charlie shouldn't be difficult for Hugo. Unexpectedly, it ended up helping Hugo quite a bit.

The film crew quickly started filming officially. Since it was a low-budget production, there was no grand opening ceremony—once all crew members were in position, filming began.

Martin chose the scene where Lieutenant Colonel Slade and Charlie check into the Waldorf Hotel as the first scene. Slade had half-forced and half-threatened Charlie to come with him to New York. Slade clearly intended to fully enjoy this vacation, while Charlie was anxious. Not only had Slade's trip to New York gone beyond the scope of Charlie's caregiving duties, but also because something had happened at school that might change his fate, making Charlie restless and constantly wanting to leave.

"Hugo, just stand next to the sofa. Our camera will be here." The stage manager held the script and explained the shooting sequence, camera directions, and movement paths for the scene in detail. "Then Al, you turn around and walk straight. Hugo, you must follow right behind Al. After a cut, our camera will switch to that spot." The stage manager pointed to the opposite side and walked behind the sofa, pointing specifically to that position. "To ensure continuity between shots, you must not miss your marks."

After the stage manager finished explaining everything, Hugo and Al rehearsed their lines twice more, and then ran through the entire scene as if it were the real take. Only then did the stage manager notify Martin, "We're ready to shoot."

Generally speaking, for a film's first scene, to get a good start, directors often pick a relatively simple and easy scene to shoot first. Of course, some directors like to shoot in chronological order, so they don't follow this tradition. Martin chose this scene, which could be considered the first scene in New York and was not particularly difficult, making it a reasonable choice.

As the lighting technician made a final check, Hugo stood by the sofa, took a deep breath, and steadied his slightly quickened heartbeat. Strangely enough, now that filming was about to begin, Hugo no longer felt nervous. Maybe all his nervous energy had already been spent, or maybe the two days of rehearsal had given him confidence. In any case, Hugo was now able to face his first official main camera shoot with a calm heart, which was rare and precious.

"Ready." Martin's voice came from nearby. Hugo stood beside the sofa and cast his eyes toward Al in front of him on the left and the extra playing the bellhop. Then he relaxed. "Action!"

In this scene, Hugo had no lines; all the focus was on Al. Hugo only needed to show confusion and obedience, so it wasn't difficult for him. But soon, Martin's voice called out "Cut," and Hugo thought the first scene was finished and they were going to change camera positions for the next shot. Unexpectedly, Martin called out, "Hugo, your mark was off."

Hugo's bewildered expression showed directly on his face. That dumbfounded look made Martin laugh out loud. "Hugo, you just blocked the camera angle for Al." Martin walked up to Hugo and pointed to the back side of the sofa. "The camera will shoot from there in a moment. You were holding onto the sofa before, and when you turned around, you shouldn't have turned in place—you need to walk in a curve, move behind Al, and then step forward."

In real life, if Hugo was holding onto the sofa and then needed to head into the lobby, he could just turn in place and go. But in film, that doesn't work. If he turned 180 degrees like in real life, due to the camera angle, Hugo's body would overlap with Al's, blocking the camera's view of Al. So Hugo had to step forward half a step, walk in an arc behind Al, and then move forward.

That's the technique of blocking.

After realizing his mistake, Hugo slapped his forehead in frustration and quickly apologized, "Sorry, my fault! Like an inexperienced rookie, I made such a low-level mistake." Actually, during the explanation about blocking earlier, the stage manager had gone over it, but he assumed Hugo was experienced and glossed over it. Hugo also thought he understood, so he didn't ask any questions, which led to the error.

No one likes making mistakes, but it was obvious Hugo didn't do it on purpose. His sincere apology, paired with self-deprecating humor, made the crew laugh, and Al gave Hugo a punch on the right arm, "Buddy, because of your mistake, I've got to redo my entire line again."

Hugo looked at Al, his eyes squinting slightly, "Wasn't it just the last line? 'Puerto Ricans, best damn Marines,' that's the one, right?" Although Hugo had never played a lead role before, he was familiar with the material and not a complete novice. The blocking mistake just came from not fully grasping the camera angles.

Seeing his joke had been exposed, Al pulled a face, "Now that you've pointed it out, there's nothing funny about it anymore." That childish line instantly made the entire crew burst into laughter.

Hugo knew Al was deliberately helping him save face. Actor mistakes are unavoidable during filming, but how one handles those mistakes is crucial—it has a major impact on the crew's overall mood. Today, Al was showing Hugo through action: Own up to mistakes bravely, defuse awkwardness with humor, and be open to learning… all great ways to move past slip-ups.

Once filming resumed, everything went smoothly. The first scene wasn't difficult to begin with, and it was easily completed on the second take—marking a good start for the "Scent of a Woman" crew.

"How's the liquor in the room?" Colonel Slade, who was on the phone, suddenly asked. Charlie, standing in front of the liquor cabinet, froze for a moment, glanced nervously at the Colonel, then looked back at the cabinet, "Uh…" He fiddled with the bottles on the shelf and bent down to read the labels, "Just Jim Beam and Early Times." Charlie clearly hadn't expected the Colonel to want to drink right after arriving at the hotel, and he looked a bit uneasy.

"Ah, the supply officer's been bribed again!" Colonel Slade noted sharply. The call had gone through, and he returned to the phone conversation, "Hello, is Sheldon or Mark there?"

Charlie stood there, obviously trying to make sense of the Colonel's earlier remark. He was just a poor student, and had never stayed at a five-star hotel before, so he didn't understand these things. But what surprised him even more was: how did the Colonel know all that?

"Cut!" Martin called out happily, "Hugo, great job, that was excellent."

Hugo had just delivered his first line on camera. Although it was only one sentence, he didn't make any mistakes, and both his expression and body language were spot on. One take, and it passed—that was a good thing. Hugo felt excited; performing as a completely unfamiliar character in front of the camera felt magical, and also incredibly enjoyable.

Unfortunately, just as Hugo had mentioned during his audition, Charlie doesn't have any major dramatic highlights in most of the film. His character is built through various small details, and the true test of acting will come later—in the second half of the movie, also set in this luxury suite. But Hugo would have to wait for that. Even though he was already eager, itching to go.

"Hugo, next scene, get ready!" Martin cut off Hugo's moment of reflection, continuing the filming process. Hugo knew his lines would increase from here on out, and a bright smile appeared on his face, "Always ready."

....

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