The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 788 Exaggerated Facts! (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
People from inland areas, upon first witnessing the vastness of Poyang Lake, will instinctively think that this is not a lake, but clearly a sea.

That's just how Zhang Yimou is!
I came to Poyang Lake with my colleagues and was attracted by the magnificent scenery of the lake, which is surrounded by mist and water and stretches as far as the eye can see.

The group settled in a circular, budget-friendly guesthouse.

In China at that time, it was quite fashionable and novel.

The film crew, numbering over a hundred, along with various equipment and supplies, occupied two three-story buildings of the guesthouse, making the space quite spacious.

To be honest, it's even more comfortable than living in the factory!

The food here is also quite good.

While the supply of meat and eggs isn't abundant, there's some at every meal.

There are also fish and shrimp, specialties of Poyang Lake, which are very cheap; you can eat your fill with just one meal ticket.

However, the person in charge of the guesthouse was a bald, burly man who was clearly not a kind person, so it was hard not to feel uneasy when you encountered him.

"Don't worry!"

The photographer reassured him, "As long as we don't provoke them, they're quite easy to talk to. After all, that person can take a portion of our expenses here, so why would they turn down money?"

"The rules here seem quite unusual!"

After holding it in for a long time, Zhang Yimou finally said this.

"Hehe, compared to other places, the situation here is much better. Don't you feel that?"

The photographer chuckled and said, "The tempers of the staff at the state-run guesthouse are not much smaller than those of their counterparts in the state-run hotels!"

Zhang Yimou suddenly realized!
He had sensed something was off earlier, but it turned out to be because the guesthouse he was staying at had very good service.

Anyone who has ever been mistreated in a state-run restaurant knows how precious it is to have good service in a guesthouse.

"Also, if you encounter any trouble in the area, you can ask the guesthouse for help!"

The photographer advised, "When you're traveling, the worst thing is being in an unfamiliar place and not knowing who to ask for help if you suffer a loss!"

Seeing Zhang Yimou's confusion, he smiled and explained, "Those who have the ability to contract out guesthouses are all well-known and capable people in the area!"

"It's easy to help resolve some minor troubles and disputes; otherwise, the film crew wouldn't stay at this guesthouse next time they come!"

Are there any other guesthouses available?

The old man was surprised and asked curiously, "Besides us, are there so many other guests staying at the guesthouse?"

"Hehe, there are quite a few tourists visiting Poyang Lake and Lushan Mountain!"

The photographer chuckled and said, "Do you think that just because 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' and 'The Guerrilla Force of Poyang Lake' were so popular, their subsequent impact would be significant?"

When Zhang Yimou heard this, he felt like his eyes had been opened.

All I can say is that the places where the film crew stayed were quite unique.

When taking the shuttle bus, it's not a combination of a driver and a female ticket seller, but rather a driver and two young men.

The country roads weren't too bumpy, and although the buses were old and dilapidated, the ride wasn't too bad.

There are many markets here, and a wide variety of goods.

Unless you have a particularly unusual need, you can buy everyday necessities at the market.

This is very rare!

According to the veteran crew members, the thing they feared most when filming movies outside of the city used to be...

Anyway, there are all sorts of troubles. If you don't lose a few pounds after going out, you'd be embarrassed to say you've done any work.

Otherwise, how could the filming of a movie take so long?

This time, filming the second installment of "Guild Team" at Poyang Lake gave Zhang Yimou a real taste of how astonishingly fast filming speed can be achieved without any worries. Filming was completed in less than a month and a half.

It's important to know that the film involves quite a few characters.

The guerrilla team alone has five main players and more than a dozen substitutes.

There were also guerrillas and other anti-Japanese armed forces.

The Japanese side also had a large number of troops.

The number of skilled players has increased, and their quality has also begun to gradually improve.

With the garrison troops and the mopping-up operations forces, simply coordinating them was no easy task.

If it were produced by a film studio, such a film would at least be considered of medium quality.

Even so, this ensemble film was completed in just half a month, which felt very unreal to Zhang Yimou.

"Don't find it strange!"

The cameraman chuckled and said, "The production team isn't that demanding about the shots; as long as they don't interfere with the viewing experience, it's fine!"

"There's no need to polish every single shot to perfection; if you did that, you wouldn't be able to finish filming in less than six months!"

"Isn't that just going through the motions for the audience?"

"What the audience wants is to have fun and enjoy themselves, not just so-called cinematic language. The key is to film the whole story smoothly and make it easy for the audience to understand!"

"Isn't this the logic of commercial films?"

"Yes, 'Guild Team' is a standard commercial film. Otherwise, how could it have been so popular in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia?"

"But we can't give up on our artistic pursuits!"

"The production budget is limited, it's basically deadlocked. How are you going to express your artistic aspirations?"

Zhang Yimou shut his mouth in frustration, though he was naturally unconvinced.

Of course, he benefited greatly from this filming experience.

During filming, I met many friends from the martial arts world.

They all have real skills!
Originally, I thought the plot of "Guild Team" was exaggerated. Where in the world could there be such powerful martial arts masters?
But the facts told him that such masters not only exist, but there seem to be quite a few of them; it's just that they are usually hard to come by.

Each strike unleashed a powerful, sonic boom, and they walked on water as if on flat ground.

The Japanese gunboats couldn't even withstand their relentless kicking and punching.

If he hadn't tried, he would have doubted that these martial arts masters could even catch bullets with their bare hands.

Especially the three little ones who were placed last—two boys and one girl—were quite young, but their strength was quite exaggerated.

Its underwater speed is not much slower than that of a swimming fish; it rides the waves like a galloping horse; and with a single strike, it can send people flying several meters into the air.

According to the martial arts heroes who participated in the filming, the three students, who are still in junior high school, are all formidable fighters in the martial arts world.

I don't know how they cultivated to this level at such a young age.

In short, although the trip to Poyang Lake was short, it left a very deep impression on the young Zhang Yimou.

What shocked him the most was that he originally thought the stories in storytelling were all fake.

Having witnessed the performance of a true master, he realized that the storyteller might have been being modest.

Clearly, he has witnessed the most authentic scene in the world this time.

What surprised him even more was that not only was the filming progressing rapidly, but the post-production process was also incredibly fast, with the final cut released in less than a month.

(End of this chapter)