Generation Z Artists

Chapter 329 Finishing

"Extras, get ready!"

"Cavalry Team 1 is ready!"

"Cavalry Team 2 is ready!"

"Infantry formations are ready!"

"The garrison of Xiangyang is ready!"

……

"Camera?"

"Camera ready!"

……

"Script supervisor, get ready!"

"The Battle of Xiangyang, Act 1, Shot 7, Ready to go!"

"Okay, let's start filming!"

……

With Fang Xinghe's command, the entire "Xiangyang City" erupted in excitement.

This Xiangyang is not the real Xiangyang, but a section of the city wall that has been recreated, along with the surrounding buildings within the city.

The city wall itself is 20 meters high, and the top of the wall is about 8 meters wide, which can accommodate four horses walking side by side.

It is certainly not a real brick and stone city wall, but a hollow "building" with a frame structure, covered with an antique-style brick.

Its structural strength is sufficient to support hundreds of people working on it, but most of the scenes will not be filmed on this section of the city wall, but will be filmed in a studio and then transferred to post-production.

Only scenes of the Mongol army setting up camp, marching, and preparing to attack the city outside Xiangyang City need to be filmed here.

Even so, this is still an unimaginable spectacle.

The key scene that sets the mood is the marching of the Mongol army.

The rented helicopter was equipped with a stabilizer, and Zhao Xiaoding personally piloted it to take aerial photos of the army.

The first thing to appear in the picture was the vanguard of the Mongol army's light cavalry.

Groups of three to five highly skilled light cavalrymen roared in; these were scouts.

Shortly afterward, a light cavalry unit appeared on screen, forming a loose formation.

Behind them are infantry corps marching in square formations—the infantry square formations appear differently under Sony's high-definition lens.

The Han Chinese laborers, loosely and carelessly whipped forward by the supervisory team, were being conscripted.

Those clad in simple armor were the armed forces of the Han Chinese warlords in the north, who constituted the main force of the infantry corps.

Protected in the middle were engineers and artillerymen, who were escorting traditional engineering equipment such as crossbows, ladders, and siege towers.

Once all the infantrymen had passed the screen, a cloud of dust rose behind them.

A few seconds later, a super army clad in heavy black armor and wearing demon masks gradually revealed its ferocious nature amidst the smoke and dust.

That was a heavy cavalry unit of the Mongol army, numbering only a little over a thousand, yet its overwhelming aura filled the scene, creating a strong sense of oppression.

The helicopter slowed down and flew over the large army. The leader in the front row suddenly looked up and looked at the camera.

In the close-up shot, the man is tall and strong, holding a 3-meter-long lance, as imposing as a mountain.

The aerial camera panned over the army and then turned to a more distant view.

In places like Baihekou and Lumenshan in southeast Xiangyang, laborers moved like ants across the hilltops and passes, and the first batch of fortifications gradually took shape.

Thousands of warships were densely packed on the Han River and its tributaries. Liu Zheng's navy drove wooden stakes into key waterways and secured them with iron chains to block rescue efforts.

Outside Xiangyang City, tens of thousands of laborers worked day and night to build a single-line city wall stretching for dozens of miles.

The city wall had a gate on only one side, not to keep out foreign enemies, but solely to blockade Xiangyang.

Surrounded by mountains and forests, with a typical Persian Gulf landscape, engineers led laborers to cut down trees and build cannons, and the giant counterweight catapult gradually took shape.

The central command tent consisted of five general tents arranged like plum blossoms, spaced far apart. Corridors covered with cotton cloth connected the tents, blocking the view between them. Asu, the commander-in-chief of the second campaign against Xiangyang, would randomly spend the night in one of the general tents, which was guarded day and night by crossbowmen...

This film includes footage from both the First and Second Battles of Xiangyang, which were filmed together.

In contrast, the first Battle of Xiangyang focused more on the display of individual martial prowess, and the ending was that Yang Guo beheaded Möngke Khan, and the Mongols withdrew their troops.

In the second Battle of Xiangyang, the Mongol commander Aju learned from the previous experience and placed greater emphasis on strict military discipline, making every effort to guard against assassination attempts by top-tier experts, employing a steady and multi-pronged approach, and even utilizing the newly invented trebuchet.

Fang Xinghe filmed the two battles with very obvious differences, so that the audience could immediately tell that after the first time they underestimated the enemy, the Mongol commander learned his lesson and took extremely strict precautions. Assassination was no longer an option, and they had to fight head-on.

In this way, it would be enough to make up for the omissions and flaws in Jin Yong's original work.

In other words: Why did Guo Jing perish when the city fell, facing a Mongol army that had no more skilled warriors?

Fang Xinghe fully combined history and imagination during filming.

The complete blockade and the massive cannons are historical facts, while the exaggerated military capabilities of mid-level Mongol officers are fictional.

Logically speaking, even though Mongolia may not have the Five Great Masters, it certainly doesn't lack mid-level martial arts forces. So, Fang Xinghe selected a group of wrestling experts who were nearly two meters tall at the Inner Mongolia Naadam Festival. They wore hard plastic plate coated armor and played the role of Mongolian elites. They were very impressive, as they could fight and withstand heavy weapons.

Ultimately, Guo Jing's defeat was due to being trapped in an isolated city. As the saying goes, "Many ants can kill an elephant," and his decision not to abandon the city and sacrifice himself for his country was his personal choice.

Once the logic is clear, all that's left is to create the right atmosphere.

This was the first time Fang Xinghe had managed such a large-scale event. At its peak, the number of extras alone exceeded 20,000.

That aerial march scene, filmed in a single continuous shot, can be described as unprecedented and unlikely to be repeated in the history of television dramas worldwide.

The distance between the scouts and the rear guard spanned more than 10 miles, but at the same time, they each played their respective roles in their own way.

A total of more than 8000 extras played civilians, soldiers, and supply trainmen, driving more than 2000 oxcarts and horse-drawn carts.

More than 10,000 officers and soldiers played the role of elite troops, including 2000 horses, 8000 paper armor, and 1000+ plastic heavy armor.

There were also hundreds of real and fake attack vehicles, 20-meter-high ladders carried by shoulder and hand, and a trebuchet pushed by a hundred people...

Such a huge investment of manpower meant that rehearsing the stage movements alone took a week.

Even so, it's only because their officers and soldiers are well-trained that they can ensure orders are obeyed.

If everyone is as undisciplined as extras, they won't be able to practice together even in another two weeks.

The elite Mongolian cavalry were brought in by militia and herdsmen from the Inner Mongolia Armed Forces Department, along with the last remaining cavalry border defense company in the country performing stunt riding, which finally made the scene look real and intense.

The advantage is that you don't need to copy and paste during post-production, which is both spectacular and cost-effective.

The downside is... it's too torturous.

From a cost perspective, shooting the actual product is indeed cheaper.

The officers and soldiers were provided by the local government as a friendly gesture, so they didn't have to pay any money. The extras were paid a few dozen yuan a day, and the rental and borrowing of ordinary horses were not expensive. The equipment and props were 1500 million yuan, and the food and horses were provided for a month. In total, the cost was less than 8000 million yuan.

To achieve the same effect through special effects, Industrial Light & Magic would charge $4500 million.

How much was saved?

However, the large-scale scenes that took a month to complete really wore Fang Xinghe down.

They get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs, handling hundreds of major and minor matters and holding at least five meetings every day.

There are group meetings in the morning, a regular meeting at noon, a material summary meeting in the middle of the night, two coordination meetings in between, and occasionally a script adjustment meeting.

Sleep? Two or three hours in the early morning, half an hour at noon, not a minute more.

Assistant directors Yu Min and Cao Baoping couldn't handle the massive scenes that required adding action sequences, so they could only do supporting work. Fang Xinghe also had to take care of his own performance and script coordination. After a month, his health attribute dropped by 4 points. Fortunately, it was only an attribute below 90 points, which could be replenished with starlight value. He replenished it as he lost a point, and managed to persevere with 4 million starlight.

Of course, it's tiring, but you just have to rely on willpower to get through it.

Because of this intensity of work, he established absolute authority in the minds of all staff members.

Once, the ladder that the props team had built fell apart during filming, rendering all the work done that morning useless. Before Fang Xinghe could even open his eyes to curse, the props team leader nervously made a solemn pledge in front of everyone: "I guarantee this won't happen again! If there's another problem, I'll quit, and you don't need to pay me!"

Behind the scenes, the staff stopped calling Fang Xinghe "director" and started calling him "the boss."

This nickname carries a sense of intimacy, yet also a special authority of a patriarch, implying not only a working relationship but also a degree of subordination.

Fang Xinghe's work style is truly admirable, especially on big occasions.

For example, he could easily solve the difficult task of taking a single, continuous shot of a 10,000-person march.

From the very beginning, the task breakdown was clean, efficient, and clear. During the actual execution, it was even more methodical and always showed confidence.

The group was divided into 17 teams, with designated areas for action, rehearsals of maneuvers, and familiarization with routes. Each team leader reported on progress daily and addressed problems on-site.

The first training cycle is three days. If you still don't understand after three days, have a helicopter take the group leader for a flight over the plane to get a general overview. That will give you a rough idea of ​​how well they performed and if there are any problems.

The second adjustment period is two days. If the problem is still not resolved after two days, Fang Xinghe will not say anything harsh, but will directly remove the person in charge and let his deputy take over.

In the last two days, Fang Xinghe will personally oversee the team, supervising as needed and firing people as necessary, cutting through the mess swiftly.

Those unruly and slick extras were subdued by Fang Xinghe through a combination of kindness and severity. During the last two days of training, he drove away several group leaders. The night before filming began, he slaughtered a sheep and made a lamb offal soup, announcing that everything would go smoothly the next day and they would eat a whole roasted lamb. The next day, filming officially started and everything went smoothly without any problems.

Although the extras only stayed quiet for two days, that was enough.

Once the big show is over, a thousand obedient and hardworking people will stay, and the rest can go back to wherever they came from, and do whatever they want.

Later in the filming, most of the temporary staff expressed interest in applying for jobs at Galaxy Pictures.

First, they are quick to pay and reward merit; second, they have strong leadership skills and can get things done easily.

Most low- to mid-level employees in the entertainment industry don't have many unrealistic grand dreams; they just want to follow a good mentor and have a stable and smooth career.

Looking at the current state of private film and television companies, there is no better place than Xinghe Pictures; the Beijing and Hong Kong film and television circles have to take a backseat.

After a month, all the outdoor scenes in Xiangyang were finally filmed.

The main group disbanded, leaving approximately several hundred extras and a hundred stuntmen, who moved to the Qingdao Film and Television Base along with the lead and supporting actors.

Once inside the studio, the supporting actors felt more relaxed.

The most important task in this area is the high-difficulty action scenes, which are basically all done by stunt doubles.

The actors mostly perform dialogue scenes.

For example, actor Chen Baoguo would wear armor and pose every day, and after the performance, a stunt double would take the stage and start fighting.

Feng Yuanzheng and Wang Jinsong are similar; no one expects them to be able to master those difficult moves.

But this group of people loved watching the excitement of action scenes, especially Fang Xinghe's action scenes. They would buy a bag of sunflower seeds, sit there chatting, and watch for a whole day. They found it very novel.

Well, it is indeed novel.

The action style of the new Condor Heroes is groundbreaking. To summarize, it can be roughly described as: complex movement lines, sharp moves, and destructive strikes.

Complex movement patterns refer to the way light-footed skills are displayed.

None of the masters of light-footed kung fu in the entire play used the traditional wire work method.

Leaving aside Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü, more representative examples are Qiu Qianren, who can walk on water with his Iron Palm, and Ouyang Feng's Toad Stance.

The former treads water at sharp angles rather than in a straight line, its form flickering and elusive, difficult to capture; the latter leaps into the air in an arc, then freezes in a unique position before crashing down like a meteorite.

The sharp and fierce moves are mainly meant to emphasize the suddenness and explosive power of the first move of martial arts masters.

The fight scenes in The Return of the Condor Heroes can be broadly categorized into only three types.

One way is to crush ants, another is to share the spoils with fellow Daoists, and the third is to thank the senior for showing mercy.

"Crushing" is an extreme form of combat in certain special scenarios, using explosive power to instantly kill the opponent before they can react.

A draw is achieved by both sides unleashing their ultimate attacks and dodging, exchanging blows two or three times, and using special effects when necessary.

The third type is when you can't win, so you focus on defense and determine the scene based on the needs of the plot.

Regardless of the method, the attack animation is always sudden and swift. Fang Xinghe even allows the camera to not capture the weapon's trajectory, only freezing the attack and recovery frames.

When it's shown on a regular TV, it might lose more detail and appear less lively, but the professional quality will definitely be on full display.

The last feature, devastating impact, is almost a direct continuation of the combat effects from "Heroes".

The iron palm struck the person, causing the chest to cave in and the back to bulge out.

When the sword tip pierces the body, violent internal force will cause a hole to explode; gentle internal force should allow the sword to be withdrawn without blood and with only a slight crack.

When you kick an NPC, full power should be like a cannonball, and when you combine your strength, you should hang on the wall like a painting.

In short, it can't be like a typical martial arts drama where the extras just yell a few words, fall over, and that's it.

How can the destructive power of a martial arts master be so cheap?

If it's not satisfying to look at, that's the biggest sin.

Therefore, this part was quite difficult to film, requiring the use of complex wire work systems and the creation of the effects by stunt performers in conjunction with special effects artists within a green screen.

Fortunately, Galaxy Pictures attaches great importance to martial arts, and the team has recruited all the top martial arts masters in the mainland. After the experience of "Hero" and more than a year of exploring the new system, they have successfully developed many unique skills.

For example, bowling balls flying backwards – Fang Xinghe no longer needs to do that himself.

Another example is the neck-break death scene. When actor Feng Yuanzheng lightly slaps a stuntman on the forehead, the actor's head immediately and abruptly snaps backward, as if the entire cervical spine has been broken, and the actor collapses like a puppet.

The bizarre and varied ways of dying fully demonstrate Galaxy Pictures' expertise in action films.

Although there is still a gap between them and the professional motion capture actors of later generations, it is no longer a matter of quality, but a difference in knowledge.

……

We filmed various actions of different characters for another month.

As early May arrived, the entire audience fell silent as Nenxian landed steadily on the tip of the umbrella, turning to look at Fang Xinghe.

Brother Fang exhaled a breath of stale air, raised his hand to rub his cheeks, and smiled.

"Pass!"

The wire operator hurriedly put Liu Yifei down, and Nenxian also turned around to look at Fang Xinghe.

Fang Xinghe stood up from the director's chair and clapped his hands twice.

"Brothers, thank you for your companionship along the way. I hereby announce: The Return of the Condor Heroes has officially wrapped up filming!"

"Oh yeah!"

A burst of cheers erupted at the scene, staff applauded wildly, and many people had tears in their eyes.

After three months of preparation, one month of training, and six months of arduous filming, the first half of The Return of the Condor Heroes' journey has finally come to an end.

Next, we do post-production, music composition, editing, submission for review, sales, promotion, and release.

For every person who has expectations, there is just as many who scrutinize harshly.

Will the remaining half of the journey be as wonderful as expected?

Nobody knows right now, but all anyone wants to do right now is get drunk and bid farewell to this chapter of the martial world.

(End of this chapter)