I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 384 You destroyed the entire editing industry!!!

"Hey, Xiao Ye, come in with me!"

After finishing her call with Bell, Chen Jin went back and immediately called Ye Xiang over.

Organizing materials is definitely not something that can be done without an assistant and a team. Even if he has a complete picture in his mind, he still needs to find several people to organize, cut, and so on.

Then Chen Jin said to the editors Delroy Lindo and Ye Ruchang, "We'll split up. Apart from the routine checks, you two will be in charge of the post-production. If you have any disagreements, come to me, or David and the others!"

"???"

Ye Ruchang looked at Chen Jin with a blank expression, while the big black Lin Duo next to him also looked puzzled.

What the hell happened?

The boss went out to calm down, and when he came back, he was a completely different person.

To say I was full of vigor and high spirits might be an exaggeration, but it definitely wasn't the feeling of being worse than dead these past few days.

You should know that these past few days, Chen Jin has been in the editing room, and deleting a little footage has been like a death sentence to him; he's been living a life-or-death struggle.

Now it seems like... I've figured it out?

Lin Duo glanced at Ye Ruchang beside him. Ye Ruchang was wearing glasses and looked very refined. He coughed and asked, "Brother Jin, are you... giving up?"

This is also the question Lin Duo wanted to ask.

However, the two people were not familiar with each other, so they could only ask Ye Ruchang, the middleman, for help.

In their view, it seemed that Chen Jin had given up her editing duties and handed over all the responsibilities to the two of them and the team.

"without!"

"I made a mistake!"

“We can edit them separately. I’ll edit a director’s cut, and you guys can edit yours!”

"Wouldn't that eliminate the conflict?"

Chen Jin tried to explain, and although Lin Duo understood, he still frowned and asked, "Boss, what's the point of doing this?"

"commemorate!"

"I'll cut out a copy to commemorate this moment..."

Chen Jin's words made the two of them understand something, but in fact, even in Hollywood, it is not uncommon for a movie to have several versions.

Differences in duration don't count.

The so-called "versions" refer to the practice of editing films by different people. Because everyone has different ideas, even if the source material is the same, the final product can be very different.

Your movie is only meant for release; making so many versions is really unnecessary and a complete waste of money.

Aside from... a certain quirk that some directors have in private.

Take, for example, the collection that Chen Jin just mentioned.

And then there's Zack Snyder.

Why is he so unconventional? Because he is one of the few directors in Hollywood who is proficient in editing and has a very intuitive understanding of his work—that's a talent.

In fact, many Hollywood directors only know how to make movies.

Chen Jin can be so willful now that he has the final cut; other directors, especially new ones, certainly wouldn't be able to do that.

……

Ye Ruchang and Delroy Lindo were somewhat taken aback when they saw Chen Jin, Ye Xiang, and several staff members enter another editing studio.

I'm not used to it!

One of the guys who had complained to them earlier simply left without looking back.

"Lindo, this should be a good thing!"

"At least we can start doing it with peace of mind!"

Ye Ruchang spoke to Lin Duo beside him. The two had become friends after a few days of interaction, and they both understood each other's abilities.

Since they all share the same understanding of film, editing together could very well be complementary.

It's common for several editors to work on a film together, and this is quite normal for many commercial blockbusters. In the future, the editing of the "Wandering Earth" series will involve more and more editors, and Guo Fan has been involved in all of them.

Without giving it much thought, the two of them led their people directly back to their original studio.

Meanwhile, Ye Xiang, who had followed Chen Jin into another studio, was feeling somewhat uneasy. He was tidying up the equipment just like he had done a few days before.

Computers are turned on, and editing software such as Final Cut Pro X is opened. Everyone is extremely busy.

"Xiao Ye, have all these video clips been arranged according to the script's order?"

Chen Jin looked at the organized material library, which contained various videos that he had directed and filmed a few months ago. He had kept many of them because he couldn't bear to delete them.

During filming, due to the producer and coordinator, it was definitely impossible to film in the chronological order of the script.

Usually, they film on one set or at one location, and then immediately move on to the next scene after filming is finished.

The beginning and end of "John Wick" are set in the villa in the suburbs where the assassin Wick was filmed. This was one of the earliest scenes that Chen Jin filmed.

The script supervisor and some editing assistants will then re-categorize and label these scrambled videos according to the script's development, so that the editor can simply arrange them according to the plot.

The rough editing process involves organizing these disorganized videos into a coherent story, much like a script.

Turn words into images.

But this is only the first step in editing. There are also sound effects, special effects, and post-production rendering... The post-production of the entire film is actually very complex.

What Chen Jin needs to do now is to do a rough cut!
However, unlike other editors and directors who produce rough cuts of around 3 hours, Chen Jin's rough cut... was a direct copy of "John Wick," even if the footage was slightly different, the plot development and so on could be similar.

If you can't achieve 100%, you can reach 90%.

Chen Jin wanted to take this rough cut, which consisted of about 90% of the footage, roughly two hours long, without background music, to the producers of the six major production companies.

Professional people do professional things.

Even without much post-production, many people can roughly tell from this unfinished product whether a movie is good or not, and whether it can be a big hit.

A rough estimate is possible.

If Hollywood producers can't even do this much, they don't deserve to work for the Big Six studios.

They might make a mistake, but to doubt their ability to identify commercial films is somewhat insulting.

According to the original timeline, John Wick, a low-budget action film and an independent film by a new director, had actually been bought out by a major production company during the script stage.

Although the producer said it was because of a line in the script—"You killed my dog, and now I'm going to avenge it."

She felt that this kind of revenge action film was different from those similar flashy and cheap films on the market.

If a script can have this kind of effect, then Chen Jin bringing a half-finished product is actually even more terrifying.

You should know that "John Wick" faced a funding crisis, and it was Lionsgate's investment that saved the movie. If you have no value, how could Lionsgate, which was almost on par with the Big Six in the future, possibly take you seriously?
Capital has to be interested in you.

Keanu Reeves was a washed-up, obscure celebrity at the time, so investors certainly weren't interested in him.

To be honest, disregarding the film's quality, at that time, it was actually a negative factor for the film.

Not only does he have zero box office appeal, but many people also strongly dislike the movies he stars in.

Because after The Matrix, he made too many bad movies... The Day the Earth Stood Still, 47 Ronin, and Man of Tai Chi all suffered critical and commercial failures, earning him the label of box office poison.

Six years of career slump caused the industry to completely lose faith in Keanu.

David initially wanted to cast Robert De Rooney, the "godfather of Hollywood gangsters," as the lead actor.

Unfortunately, the other party was a big name and quite old, so in the end they had no choice but to approach Keanu Reeves.

What capital is after is the story.

Therefore, as long as this edited version is similar to "John Wick," Chen Jin believes that this will be the key to the collaboration on "Hong Kong Trip."

It works better than anything else.

“小叶，就这，3分17秒15，凑78段的58秒01分34……”

Chen Jin sat there, her eyes fixed on the screen.

Regarding "John Wick," it's not just a matter of whether he's sick of watching it or not; he's even studied every frame of detail. So when he watches his own videos, he can almost immediately tell where the parts connect.

Ye Xiang acted as his editor, and Chen Jin only needed to give instructions.

And just like that, Ye Xiang was completely speechless.

Holy crap, he had expected Chen Jin's editing to be "intense," but he never imagined it would be so "intense" that it would be impossible to watch it at all.

Is this some kind of editing?

It feels like they just randomly pieced things together based on their own preferences. There was absolutely no skill involved.

Other editors analyze frame by frame, then compare, discuss, and study the footage after editing... But what about Chen Jin?

One word—Do it!

Do as he says.

Fortunately, Ye Xiang was young and inexperienced, only possessing editing skills. If it were any experienced editor, they would have already started asking questions.

"Director Chen, are you just kidding?"

Ye Xiang did not.

Despite his inner complaints, he had people find materials while he edited the footage according to Chen Jin's instructions.

The editing speed is incredibly fast.

Fortunately, Chen Jin didn't completely ignore everything. After he finished editing, he would still take a look at the beginning and end to make sure it was similar to "John Wick" before continuing.

If there are any inconsistencies, make minor adjustments until you are satisfied.

And just like that, three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the later stages of film production, this time frame might only be 5 minutes of footage cut... Wong Kar-wai might not even have started yet.

Three days wasn't enough for him to look at it over and over again.

but!
Chen Jin has finished cutting her hair.

The rough cut of "Killer Dragon" is finally complete.

It runs for 113 minutes, only 12 minutes longer than the original "John Wick".

These 12 minutes weren't about different places, but about Chen Jin's fight.

He believes his action scenes are much cooler than those of Keanu Reeves, who is nearing old age.

Without these action scenes, Chen Jin estimates she could have finished editing them in a day.

So easy!

Copying exactly from the original, what's so difficult about that?
As for the fight scenes, they don't affect the plot at all; they're just more exciting and violent than Keanu Reeves' fights.

This was largely thanks to Sun Nuo's design, and David and Chad's years of "stunt rehearsals" for special effects!
When filming action scenes, there's actually a simulated sequence of movements in the computer. David and Chad are really talented.

This way, Chen Jin can see it more intuitively; he just needs to type it out.

"How's it going?"

Chen Jin looked at Ye Xiang behind her, who had been working with her for three days and three nights. The group of them had only slept for about 12 hours in those three days.

They woke up today and were watching the final cut of the film.

Actually, it was finished last night, but I didn't see the final result.

I watched it several times this year, and made some minor adjustments and revisions. Actually, when I watched it the first time, Ye Xiang felt a bit numb.

"..."

While watching this rough cut, he would actually glance at Chen Jin every few minutes.

I was completely shocked.

The other editing assistants probably had similar expressions.

Two of them were foreigners.

They witnessed the entire editing process of Chen Jin and Ye Xiang from beginning to end.

Just like Ye Xiang thought.

Chen Jin knew absolutely nothing about editing; she was just messing around with whatever she felt good doing...

But...it looks pretty good!

This rough cut looks almost like a documentary, with audio, dialogue, and visuals. Surprisingly, everyone was already engrossed in it on their first viewing.

Even if they were unwilling to admit it, they still knew that Chen Jin's editing was brilliant.

The movie was really good.

It's a kind of violent aesthetic that's made even cooler by adding post-production sound effects and so on.

Especially the fight scenes.

The punches were realistic and crisp, unlike many Hong Kong martial arts films that look exaggerated.

A very realistic playing style.

Chen Jin portrayed a retired assassin very well.

Whether it's facial expressions, actions, habits, or so on.

"Are you stupid? I'm asking you a question. What's wrong?"

Chen Jin asked Ye Xiang, who was still in shock after looking behind him several times.

Xiao Xiangzi was almost kneeling: "Jin...Brother Jin—"

"Use your job title when you're at work!"

"Director Chen!"

Ye Xiang scratched his head, still puzzled: "How...how did you do that?"

Others might make a series of impressive moves, but their stats are abysmal!

Chen Jin's actions were far more ferocious than a tiger's, but the results... well, let's just say Ye Xiang will remember this scene for the rest of his life.

Those two guys next door who call themselves editors are nothing but greenhorns in front of Master Chen.

"I've taken so many photos that they're all in my mind!"

"I wrote the script, of course I know how to edit it..."

Chen Jin even put on an act.

However, no one doubted the truth of this statement.

What else can be said besides this explanation?
If he hadn't memorized the details of many scenes he had filmed, how could he have edited the finished product in just over two days?
"genius!"

A young foreigner couldn't help but give Chen Jin a thumbs up.

Besides those two words, they really couldn't think of anything else to describe Chen Jin's "miracle" over the past three days!
"Just average, third in the world!"

"I also think it's cut pretty well, haha..."

Is it any better to just copy?

In fact, Chen Jin put in a lot of effort in editing, and what he said was true; he did remember all the details clearly in his mind.

It's just a detail from "John Wick".

After all, I watched it countless times every day before filming, then watched it frame by frame during filming, and then watched it again a few days ago for editing. I can practically recite the plot and lines by heart...

"Alright, let's tidy up the master tape!"

"I'm taking this copy out with me!"

Chen Jin planned to go to Bell's house first to have him review it; if he approved it, it would be more beneficial for the negotiations.

"Oh, right!"

As Chen Jin was leaving, she made sure to tell Ye Xiang, "Don't show the rough cut to the neighbors, I'm afraid it will disrupt their editing rhythm!"

Director Chen, are you afraid of causing chaos?

They're clearly afraid of hurting the other party's feelings!
Ye Xiang didn't even bother to say it.

Chen Jin's editing style completely opened his eyes and refreshed his understanding of editing; if he were also a member of the editing team next door, Ye Xiang estimated that he would not be able to do the post-production work at all.

The worst thing about editing is comparison, especially with a freak like Chen Jin.

The blow of having to finish editing in three days can completely destroy the faith of editors across the entire industry.

This is not a joke, it's the truth.

Anyway... Ye Xiang is quite disillusioned right now.

He felt he would live in the shadow of Chen Jin's editing for the rest of his life.

(End of this chapter)