Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 83 Filming Starts

As Cao Yang expected, Xu Jinglei refused.

She has no shortage of resources, so it's okay for her to play a role just to make friends with Cao Yang, but if the heroine is Gao Yuanyuan, that's another matter.

These sisters are very proud and arrogant.

This time, Beijing Film Academy was given three roles with decent screen time. One is the rebellious daughter of the kindergarten principal, one is the younger brother of the heroine, and the other is the owner of a clothing store.

Maybe they thought Cao Yang was a nostalgic person, so the interview at the Beijing Film Academy was conducted by assistant director Li Mingyi and casting director Liu Shan, and they actually used two acquaintances.

The heroine's younger brother was given to Zhou Yiwei, the clothing store owner was given to Dong Xuan, and only the rebellious daughter of the kindergarten principal needed a younger one, so they finally chose Wang Luodan from Class 01.

Wang Luodan, who was born in 84, is only 17 years old. She has short hair and looks like a tomboy, which really fits the role.

There is also a drugstore clerk who has a relatively important role. It is she who teaches the heroine, and it requires a lot of acting skills.

Just a few days ago, Ding Jiali called me and said a lot of compliments, just wanting a role.

Cao Yang took advantage of the situation and gave her the job of pharmacy clerk.

Before she could say anything else, Cao Yang told her that there were no more male roles, so Ding Jiali had to give up.

Gao Yuanyuan didn't receive a call until two days before joining the crew, telling her that she had become the heroine of Cao Yang's new movie. Cao Yang was mainly afraid that he would tell her too early, and that she might be too happy and lose the state of happiness that Cao Yang wanted.

For a moment, Gao Yuanyuan was filled with mixed feelings of sadness and joy.

After she made the decision and implemented it, she did feel pain in her heart, which lasted for a while. But she was also happy from the bottom of her heart because she became the heroine of Cao Yang's new movie.

Very contradictory feeling.

Cao Yang called Gao Yuanyuan and Wu Qihua over, and explained the play to them when he had time. If he didn't have time, he asked them to read the script and write character biographies. Before filming began, he made sure they understood what story the movie was going to tell.

I have to say that Gao Yuanyuan made a good choice. Every time she listened to it, she would cry her eyes out. When she read the script herself, she would cry unconsciously. Her mental fluctuations were very great.

This made Cao Yang feel that with Gao Yuanyuan's current state, there was no need for her to put on any extra action. If she could just immerse herself in the role, her acting skills would definitely explode.

Cao Yang was still a little hesitant about Wu Qihua.

In terms of acting skills, Wu Qihua is actually pretty good. Let's see how he can play the male lead and then decide whether to join the show to experience it.

In late November, "Secret Sunshine" started filming on Ludong Island.

There is a small town in South Korea called Miryang, and the original film was shot there.

But the English name of this movie is "Secret Sunshine".

Sunlight represents brightness, happiness, good luck, and reliance. Hidden sunlight, hidden brightness, hidden good luck and happiness, reliance in the dark.

So the name of the movie does not need to be changed, the meaning is good.

This was also a question asked by reporters at the launch conference.

Cao Yang explained that Mi Yang is the hidden sunshine, the hidden sunshine, the light, support, and love hidden around us that have not been discovered...

So, the media reported that the new film by the great director Cao Yang is a romance film, and judging from the title alone, it might be a great and sweet love story.

For a time, many media outlets rushed to report that Director Cao’s new film was a love story.

Well, you can report it however you want. I hope you can see a touching and sweet love story in the theater and don’t cry. In the filming of this movie, except that Lao Tian was replaced by Gu Changwei, the main staff was still the team of "Empty Room", and the assistants of various departments were still students of Beijing Film Academy.

Compared with "Empty Room", this movie uses very few metaphorical shots. The most prominent scenes are three. The first is the first scene, where the bright sunlight shines through the car window and into the car, seeming to be full of vitality.

There is also the last scene of the movie, where the heroine silently cuts off her hair, and then a gust of wind blows her hair to the ground, and a beam of sunlight hits it.

The third scene is when the heroine is getting her hair cut for the last time. The hero is holding a mirror, and through the mirror, the heroine's head appears in it, which looks very much like the hero is holding the portrait of a dead person.

When discussing the shooting of the first and last scenes with Gu Changwei, Cao Yang discussed with him for a long time, and finally reached a consensus and decided to use the language of the lens to give these two scenes more meaning.

The first shot of this movie is an upward shot of the sky through the car window, while the last shot is just the opposite, a direct downward shot of the ground.

Looking up at the sky, “God” is in heaven, and there is a layer of transparent glass between us and Him. It seems that there is no obstruction, the sun is shining brightly, and it is very beautiful. But in fact, that beauty is hard to touch.

The bird's-eye view of the ground shows chaos and unobstructedness, which means that one's hair is mixed with all the trivialities. This is the real life we ​​have to face, with its sunshine and ugliness.

Gu Changwei likes to use a gray tone, especially when shooting this kind of tragic fate. Through the gray texture, the character's fate struggle and spiritual sustenance slowly seep into the audience's deep consciousness, which is particularly complementary.

Therefore, in terms of shooting style, Gu Changwei is better at dealing with the conflict and integration between the individual and the world, emphasizing the powerlessness and resistance of tragic characters when facing the real pain and their own destiny.

For the first shot, Cao Yang chose a car parked on the road with its hazard lights on.

I didn’t choose to shoot people, but cars instead, just to make the first shot go smoothly.

The second shot was of the child in the car, who was looking through the windshield at the woman in front who was on the phone.

Before the filming, Cao Yang once again said to the child: "Meng Yun, we will be filming in front of the car. You just need to look forward, or look at the camera. You can make some small movements, pout your lips, or stare, to show that you are anxious. Is that okay?"

The child was found by Liu Shan from Ludong Island. There were two candidates at that time, a little girl and a little boy, both of whom were young reporters learning hosting at the Children's Palace.

The little boy's parents had a lot of demands and the child was quite naughty. In the end, Cao Yang chose a little girl who looked very docile and whose parents were much easier to get along with.

The little girl's name is Du Mengyun and she is 5 years old.

In the original film, the heroine's child is a son. In fact, it doesn't matter whether it's a son or a daughter. When he asked Liu Shan to choose someone, he didn't particularly emphasize gender. In order to get things done, Liu Shan found two children as candidates.

"Okay uncle, I understand."

"Attention all units, prepare to shoot."

Cao Yang picked up the walkie-talkie and said.

The crew acted quickly, but the atmosphere was not chaotic and the whole place was silent.

Gu Changwei sets up his camera in front of the hood and adjusts the lens. He likes to use natural light to create a sense of reality.

Because you need to shoot the inside of the car through the windshield, natural light alone is not enough, so you need to use a reflector to adjust the natural light.

After Gu Changwei made the gesture and the script supervisor hit the clapboard, the filming officially began.

Du Mengyun pouted and looked ahead, showing an impatient look, which made him look playful and cute.

"Okay, passed."

Cao Yang shouted and gave a thumbs up to Xiao Du Mengyun. Then it was Gao Yuanyuan's turn.

(End of this chapter)