Global Film Emperor

Chapter 350 The Allure of Movies

How do we measure whether an actor is excellent? A strong command of dialogue and a vivid grasp of movements and expressions are enough to be considered excellent.

So how do we measure whether an actor has reached the top level? It requires not only being an excellent actor, but also having precise emotional control down to the smallest detail, consistent performance, and maintaining peak condition at all times.

If you can do the above, you deserve to be a top actor. This has always been the standard by which Mickey and his group measure top actors. But Lu Ze has broken their understanding of top actors in a very short time and even redefined the standard for top actors.

Mickey didn't expect to finish filming the first scene that day. Although the scene was only of medium to high difficulty, the tight filming schedule meant that the actors needed to get to know and adapt to their roles, and the extras were a group of farm kids who had never acted before. All these factors combined made the scene quite challenging.

But Lu Ze gave Mickey a huge surprise... or rather, a shock would be more appropriate. First, he mastered the script at an extremely fast pace, became familiar with the characters' personalities, and grasped the entire plot of the script. This was an extremely difficult task, but Lu Ze secretly mastered it all without Mickey even noticing.

Not only that, he also stirred the emotions of everyone on set, including the extras. Even the children who had never seen how a movie was made and were always curiously looking at the camera were inadvertently drawn to Lu Ze's attention, completely forgetting that they were being filmed and treating the environment as an ordinary yet extraordinary lesson.

If word got out that Lu Ze could so effortlessly seduce others, he'd probably be branded a notorious womanizer in the entertainment industry.

What was the final result? The scene, which was planned to take a whole day to film but was not intended to be finished, was completed in one take. When Mickey called "cut," everyone was a little stunned, except for the two actors involved in the filming of this scene, Lu Ze and Fanny, who were not overly surprised.

Fanny is Mickey's daughter. She received the script several months in advance. Given her exceptional talent, it's understandable that she performed consistently well. However, this excellence still needs a point of reference.

Compared to outstanding actors of the same age or older, her performance is indeed very impressive, but compared to Lu Ze... from language to actions to emotions, she inevitably looks a bit immature, and they are not even in the same league.

But this is already the ceiling of Fanny's level. Mickey also knows that with Lu Ze boosting her performance, being able to film like this is actually Fanny's exceptional performance.

Seeing that everyone was still in a daze, Lu Ze, who was used to being looked at with admiration while filming, did not do anything. He smiled and told the children below that get out of class was over, then turned around and raised his head to Mickey.

"Didn't we agree to buy kids' meals? Aren't you going to buy them yet?"

"Oh right, Abby, could you please make this trip?"

Mickey greeted his ex-girlfriend. She didn't object to Mickey's instructions, but she looked at Lu Ze with a hint of surprise, probably marveling at where Mickey had found such an unassuming genius. After glancing at him a few more times, she nodded, picked up her bag, and left the school.

What's next to film?

"Who knows what to film? We originally planned to do a test shoot for a day, but even including the time to set up the location, it didn't take more than two hours. The plan is completely messed up. What am I supposed to do? Oh well, I'll call Lola. It's only a little over an hour from Liverpool to here. Let's film some scenes of the kids playing first."

Lola is a guest actress who plays the school principal. She's on the same level as Chris and the other actor; they're both small-time actors. After receiving Mickey's call, she didn't hesitate at all and was truly available whenever needed.

Don't assume that British child actors have it easy. In fact, their living conditions are not much different from those of special actors in Hengdian. Without work, they have no food.

She was originally scheduled to come next weekend, which is the planned date for the actual filming. Now that we've called her over a week early, it's hard to say how she'll be doing.

But there was really no other way. After all, the crew had arrived and the equipment had been brought down. If they only filmed for two hours and then wrapped up after the scene they just filmed, the labor costs for the day would be too high. They had to film more scenes to make up for the cost. No crew could afford to keep going if they had to change scenes every time.

While waiting for Lola to arrive, Lu Ze took the children to the playground to film scenes of them playing. The children really liked this kind guy who reminded the "boss" to buy children's meals, and they cooperated very well by running around with Lu Ze and playing football, a sport that every British boy must be able to play with.

The parents had received the news in advance and had brought their children's equipment. British farmers actually earn quite a bit, and their lives are relatively affluent. Brands like Adidas and Nike are not expensive in the UK, so every child was dressed in designer clothes and looked quite professional. There were a few children who were good at football, and Lu Ze couldn't beat them at all. He even tripped and fell several times.

After filming several scenes and the children had changed several outfits, just as they were feeling a bit tired, Mickey's ex-girlfriend and Lola entered the school one after the other.

Lola was a slightly overweight woman who looked to be around forty years old, though her actual age was hard to say, since it's a well-known fact that white people age faster. Mickey chatted with Lola briefly, asking how well she had grasped the script. Seeing her confident demeanor, Mickey didn't say much and called the photographer back into the teaching building.

"Lola, go change your clothes. The camera... let me see, let's set it up here."

With the equipment rearranged, Lu Ze had nothing more to do. He casually found a seat, but his eyes remained fixed on Mickey's every instruction. When Mickey told him where to place the camera, Lu Ze unconsciously frowned, got up, walked over to the camera, glanced at it, and then pointed at it, asking Mickey with a puzzled look, "Put it here? This angle... isn't it a bit narrow? The depth doesn't seem quite enough."

No matter what device people use to watch movies, such as a TV, a movie theater screen, a mobile phone, or a tablet, these devices are two-dimensional and planar projections, but the images inside are three-dimensional. In other words, no matter if you use a camera, a mobile phone, or even a landline to shoot video, what you capture is not a single image, but a space.

So, the so-called depth refers to the length of space. When Lu Ze and Mickey discussed this movie, they basically determined the shooting method from the storyboard stage. The main colors and spatial applications were based on coldness and openness. However, judging from the current position of the camera, the space is obviously too narrow, making it look a bit stuffy.

"Do you think I don't know? Look up."

It wasn't until he looked up that Lu Ze understood Mickey's helplessness. The school had a suspended ceiling, which made the already low ceiling seem even lower. Although a person who is 2.5 meters tall could walk around here without any problem, it was a big problem for filming. Not only was the ceiling too low, but the footage would also feel a bit dull. Most importantly, ceilings are considered important in the film industry.

If you pay close attention, you'll notice that most movies probably don't have a single shot of the ceiling. This is because many movies aren't filmed on location; they're shot in recording studios, which don't have ceilings. The space above the ceiling is now used for lighting and holding recording equipment.

So if a ceiling scene appears in a movie, don't be confused. Since it appears, it must have a purpose. It may not necessarily bring about a transition, but at least it will use space to express the atmosphere and emotions at that time. If Mickey still shoots the ceiling just to increase the depth of space, then if it is submitted to a film festival for evaluation, shooting a useless ceiling scene will definitely be a major loss of points.

How to change it? Lu Ze and Mickey both fell into deep thought, caught in a dilemma. If they didn't change the shot, the ceiling would be exposed, which would be a loss. If they did change it, the script's spatial characteristics mainly pursued openness. If a dull shot suddenly appeared, even for a second, it wouldn't matter to the average viewer, but to professionals, it would inevitably seem abrupt.

There's a simpler solution: dig a big hole in the ground, put a camera inside, and stretch the space to its maximum height. But... who would dare?! Just dig up someone's school like that? Are you crazy?

For a moment, Lu Ze's brain began to work non-stop, recalling the system courses to see if they could be of any help.

In fact, Lu Ze had far more experience than Mickey. After all, the system's practical experience was there for him. He had seen countless transparent directors use various techniques to film, and gradually, he came up with a solution.

A similar problem occurred once before in the system space. Because the system space usually doesn't go into a studio for filming except for scenes with special effects, it's all real locations. When the problem occurred last time, the transparent director didn't try to solve it with the camera, but instead... focused on the characters.

"Hey Lola, could you come here for a second? Please stand still and wait a moment. Mickey, what do you think of her updo? The higher the updo, the better. Her eyebrows should also be raised slightly. And her lines need to be changed a bit."

"You mean..."

"If it's dull, then so be it. The integrity of the shot cannot be compromised. If it's dull, then we have to express why it's dull."

Mickey perked up and looked Lola up and down. He had considered trying to find a solution through the role, but his ideas weren't very clear, and it would be a waste of time. He also couldn't be sure what the final result would be, which made him give up the idea.

But after Lu Ze said that, since it was just a test shoot anyway, and Lu Ze had passed in one take, why not let Lola try it out?

"Lola, try Lu Ze's suggestion. We'll wait a moment, and we'll put the camera back in its original position. Okay."

Seeing Lola return to the dressing room, Mickey chuckled, crossed his legs on the chair, took out the script, flipped to the part about the principal played by Lola, and casually twirled a pen.

"You have quite a few ideas, but if we're really going to make some changes, Lola's role, while not affecting the overall plot, will make her character a bit more complex."

"It's precisely because it doesn't affect the plot that I dare to say it, otherwise would I dare to say it?"

The two huddled together, their eyes glued to the script, making banter as they went, but their minds were racing. They weren't annoyed by these detailed revisions at all; in fact, they quite enjoyed them.

A simple change to a single detail can alter the meaning of an entire shot, even becoming the highlight of the film. Countless variations and possibilities are precisely the charm of cinematic art.

"..."

(End of this chapter)