Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 483 Through Mutual Learning and Refinement, Gradually Reaching a Better Level

Filming began early on the morning of the 26th. The crew drove to Qinglong Village, the main filming location, which is called Xicunping in the movie.

The scenes here primarily serve three important functions for Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei, the male and female leads. These scenes were also the first to be filmed after Xiao Liu's unexpected pregnancy.

First, there's the village chief's courtyard, where the two first met and where their feelings originated. After Jingqiu went to the countryside, she lived here to write teaching materials, making it the main stage for the development of her relationship with Lao San.

Secondly, there are two iconic scenes here: the stone bridge at the village entrance and the "Holding Hands River," the latter being the location where the classic scene of the couple embracing across the river was filmed.

It also includes the scene where Jingqiu secretly visits Lao San and they meet on the bridge, interacting under the guise of passing an item, and the "holding hands with a wooden stick" scene that further highlights their pure love.

The third brother uses a wooden stick to guide Jingqiu across the river, and then deliberately moves back to hold her hand. This shot is one of the most classic symbols of pure love in the entire film, and it was filmed at the stone pier on the riverbank of Qinglong Village.

In addition, Qinglong Village is also a window reflecting the spirit of the times and slices of life.

For example, the scene where Xiao Liu plays Jingqiu washing clothes for Lao San by the river was filmed in a stream near Shengui Mountain, with the green mountains and flowing water in the background echoing the pure feeling of the countryside.

The above is the part of the shoot that we prepared after adjusting overnight, taking advantage of the fact that Xiao Liu's figure is not yet "plump" and she has almost no negative symptoms of pregnancy.

The film crew's vehicles stopped at the entrance of the village. This village is relatively isolated, and all the key scenes that needed to be filmed were requisitioned, making for a very good filming environment.

For entertainment reporters who try to take photos secretly or harass others, the local government can simply set up a cordon at the entrance of the village to keep the voyeurs away.

The production crew was busy with pre-production arrangements when the male and female leads came out after finishing their makeup, which immediately caught Zhang Yimou's eye.

Liu Yifei wore a light blue collared "Dacron" shirt and navy blue "polyester" trousers, the fabric of which was stiff and looked old.

Lu Kuan was wearing a light gray collared work jacket with dark patches on the elbows, and a faded navy blue cotton shirt underneath with a slightly yellowed collar.

Zhang Yimou chuckled and said, "Xiao Liu's pants with the ankles showing are the essence. A teenage girl's height exceeds that of her mother after puberty, so it's reasonable for the pants to be short."

In both the original novel and the movie, Liu Yifei is set to be 17 or 18 years old, in the post-adolescent period, the late stage of a girl's development.

Boss Lu smiled to himself, thinking that the little yellow duck you chose in your previous life, with its height and leg length, probably couldn't have captured this detail.

"This outfit I'm wearing could actually be altered a bit." After joining the film crew, Lu Kuan seemed like a completely different person, whether as a director or an actor, becoming incredibly focused.

Zhang Yimou took his opinion very seriously and quickly summoned the costume team leader.

Boss Lu pointed to his knees: "It was correct to adjust the pant legs to be slightly wider as requested, but I think we can refine it further and add some bulges around the knees. What do you guys think?"

He was wearing dark brown polyester work pants with the cuffs rolled up twice, revealing black rubber-soled cloth shoes stained with mud.

“Geological team members have to squat, kneel, and climb frequently. The bulges on their knees are natural wear and tear marks formed by long-term field work. This should be more convincing.”

"Good idea, Dawei, get things done quickly and think about it some more." Zhang Yimou turned around and instructed.

"Good director."

Zhang Yimou's crew still followed his own management habits, and the set was a bit chaotic, without strictly adhering to the process of blocking, lighting, rehearsals, fine-tuning, and formal shooting.

Boss Lu didn't mind; he and Zhang Yimou had worked together for over a year and were quite familiar with each other. But Xiao Liu was a little unaccustomed to it.

She was used to working on the Iron Army Model film crew in the world of filming, and was not used to the complicated scenes of other film crews. According to the procedure, she should be rehearsing her positions now, but no one was making simple markings, and she didn't know how Zhang Yimou would arrange it.

Zhang Yimou hadn't realized all this yet. After all, every generation of directors and every director has different habits. He first sat down with the male and female leads to discuss the scene.

Zhang Yimou glanced up at Liu Yifei unintentionally, paused, and said with a helpless smile, "Xiao Lu, your wife looks too good. I think she needs to wear more makeup."

Mr. Lu looked around blankly, and his wife, who had slept soundly all night and was full of energy, looked at him innocently as well.

When I came in the morning, the light was not good and it wasn't very noticeable. But now, under the sunlight, the girl's skin, which she had deliberately made to look ugly and plain, still had a natural blush and vitality.

I don't know if it's because of the faster blood circulation during pregnancy, but even my lip color looks redder than usual.

Lu Kuan smiled wryly: "I realized this when I asked Jie to revise the script, so I changed Jingqiu's background compared to the original work."

"My father was a musician who studied in the Soviet Union and was labeled as 'Lao You' (old lyricist). My mother was a painter and a teacher, just to make up for her tall stature and appearance."

"Otherwise, in that era, people only ate coarse grains and didn't get much protein, so how could they have raised such a girl?"

Zhang Yimou said helplessly, "We have to make Xiao Liu suffer a little on the face. I think we even have to do his hair. It's all golden under the sun, which is too different from our photography style."

"Little nail!"

He called over his personal photographer, Zhao Xiaoding, and explained his ideas to him, wanting to hear the photographer's opinion.

We wanted to get the filming on schedule as quickly and efficiently as possible, but unexpectedly, problems arose one after another before filming even started, and everyone sat around the table with solemn expressions, communicating with each other.

Xiao Liu whispered a few words to her husband, and Boss Lu smiled and comforted her, "It's not your fault, it's my old mother-in-law's fault."

"I already made you the ugliest in the family, but I didn't expect you to still be so good at fighting."

The issue of Liu Yifei's suitability for the role in "Under the Hawthorn Tree" was a key consideration and adjustment made from the very beginning of the casting process.

Her tall figure, fair complexion, and classically elegant temperament suggest that her parents' family background should lean towards that of highly educated individuals and artists.

When deciding on specific professions, setting the mother, Xi Meijuan, as a painter and teacher was also to align with another adaptation in the script:
Regarding the way Jingqiu and Lao San get along.

In the original novel and film, much of the interaction between Lao San and Jing Qiu was achieved through Lao San's one-sided, unconditional gifts.

Even though this isn't a major flaw in a relationship between two young people in love, the plot is somewhat utilitarian and fails to achieve a more nuanced emotional connection.

So after communicating with the two, Zhang Yimou came up with an interesting idea: to set the main interaction between Lu Kuan and Xiao Liu as an artistic exchange.

Because of her mother's teachings and her privileged family background, Liu Yifei had some experience in painting. So, Lu Kuan, who played a geological team member, searched for various colored minerals to provide her with pigments during his work.

Isn't this more "pure love" than simply sending money, goods, or daily necessities?

At the same time, the male protagonist's death in the original work is due to leukemia, and this overly clichéd Korean drama plot needs a reasonable explanation.

This reasonable explanation comes from the resetting of Liu Yifei's background. She loved painting, but was unable to obtain raw materials such as pigments due to economic reasons and the oppression of the times.

During a geological exploration, the third brother, played by Lu Kuan, accidentally came into contact with radioactive minerals such as monazite while trying to find some mineral raw materials for her. Over time, this became the cause of his leukemia.

This was not mentioned in the original work, so this provides the answer and makes the logic more coherent.

Zhao Xiaoding looked at the camera for a while before saying helplessly, "Director Zhang, Director Lu, I think it's really necessary to refine Consort Yi's makeup and styling, otherwise it still feels disjointed."

Lu Kuan and Zhang Yimou went to the camera to watch it themselves. Liu Yifei in the main camera equipment, the Sony F35 lens, did indeed seem somewhat out of place with the background and characteristics of Qinglong Village.

Liu Yifei covered her mouth and laughed, "Then keep drawing, it doesn't matter how ugly it is."

Everyone laughed. The makeup team leader and Xiao Liu's assistant came over and went back to the makeshift dressing room.

This adjustment took another half hour.

Why didn't we notice this before?

This brings us to director Zhang Yimou's creative approach.

For a rural, pure love, period film like "Under the Hawthorn Tree," he set the tone for all departments, including cinematography, lighting, costumes, props, and sets, as "letting things take their natural course."

In terms of photography equipment, the most advanced digital equipment such as the Red-One was not used; instead, the F35, which is convenient for both film and digital use, was chosen.

In terms of lighting composition, most of the shots use natural light to create a sense of comfort that blends into the modern era.

It makes the audience feel as if they have stepped into the era, into the painting, and are working alongside ordinary villagers in Qinglong Village, living in an era when the filter wasn't so bright.

Unlike films like "Curse of the Golden Flower" or the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, which rely on enhanced lighting and composition to create a sense of drama, this film chooses to balance the contrast, brightness, and spacing between the characters and the environment, using highly realistic natural lighting effects to tell the story in a gentle and detailed way.

Therefore, Xiao Liu's makeup, which was considered "ugly" enough in the dressing room, was still overwhelmed by her natural beauty under the natural light.

She acted like a princess in distress.

This is not what Zhang Yimou wanted; she wanted a pure image of a female educated youth.

It can only be said that for 21-year-old Liu Yifei, the biggest obstacle to breaking through her established roles and stereotyped image is her face, which is the object of envy and jealousy.

In "The Sky of History," she plays a Chinese-American female writer whose parents are both highly educated at Harvard and Stanford, and who grew up in a privileged family.

This image is actually not much different from Liu Yifei's own appearance. In the scene where she went to China for an interview, she even wore a fashionable floral strapless dress.

But with "Under the Hawthorn Tree," as she herself said, it was truly a "revolutionary" image challenge.

She suffered the same fate as Leonardo DiCaprio.

About half an hour later, Xiao Liu returned to the set. The other stage crew work was basically in place, and they were just waiting for the two leads to get into character.

Zhang Yimou and Lu Kuan took another close look at her "ugly" appearance through the camera lens, and this time the effect was quite good.

The eyebrows were shaped to be straighter, the brow line was softened, and a slightly rough texture was created using gray-brown eyebrow powder.

The yellowish-brown shadows on her cheekbones had deepened. After all, she was a young lady from a once-wealthy family who had fallen on hard times. Her figure had improved after a period of weight loss, but her complexion couldn't remain so good.

After a series of minor setbacks, filming finally began around 9 a.m.

Zhang Yimou decided to first film a scene depicting Jingqiu's initial, tentative interaction with Lao San:

Jingqiu was organizing her teaching materials by the stone bridge at the village entrance when Lao San pretended to pass by and handed her her dropped notebook. Their fingers briefly touched before quickly separating. This scene required subtle facial expressions without any intimate actions.

His goal was simple: to help the couple get into shooting mode.

If it were a newcomer like the one in the previous life, Zhang Yimou would have been worried about whether they could accurately capture the awkwardness of a couple's ambiguous relationship, and whether they had the chemistry to act together, including the interaction of their eyes and actions.

But since the two are a married couple and have achieved great success in their acting careers, he was worried that their daily intimacy would dissolve the initial awkwardness between Jingqiu and Lao San.

Having strangers play lovers is actually more difficult than having lovers play strangers who have feelings for each other; the emotional restraint involved is a major challenge.

Once the two were in position, Zhang Yimou received the "start" command via intercom.

Two Sony F35 cameras have been set up on both sides of the stone bridge.

The main camera used a 50mm prime lens to capture a close-up of Jingqiu looking down, while the secondary camera used a 35mm wide-angle lens to frame a panoramic view of the two.

The sound engineer slowly advanced the boom microphone down the riverbank slope to ensure that the sounds of notebook paper rubbing and the ambient sounds of the flowing stream were captured.

Liu Yifei immediately got into the zone, bending down to organize her teaching materials by the stone bridge. Her fingers trembled slightly as she deliberately folded the edges of her notebooks to create rough edges.

In the close-up shot, aside from her pretty face which has been heavily aged, there are traces of dirt remaining in her neatly trimmed nails. The contrast between the two highlights the girl's awkward situation to the audience.

A young girl from a middle-class family throws herself into the "wild" rural life.

This relatively static performance was flawless, filled with a rustic charm under natural light. Zhang Yimou was very satisfied with how quickly the actress got into character, clearly indicating that he had been working on it for a long time.

Lu Kuan (the third brother) walked over from off-camera, his gaze lingering briefly on her before he bent down to pick up the notebook he had deliberately placed on the ground. As the man handed her the notebook, Liu Yifei shyly reached out to take it, and the instant their fingertips touched, she reflexively curled her fingers.

"Click! Passed!"

The first take went smoothly. Like many established directors, Zhang Yimou is used to inviting actors to the monitor to watch their performances as encouragement.

Lu Kuan and his wife walked towards the surveillance camera.

Xiao Liu jumped for joy: "How did I do?"

She prepared for the film for nearly three months, even suppressing her appetite during her pre-wedding vacation in Argentina, all to better fit the image.

"There are flaws; you'll see for yourself later." Boss Lu played the riddle game.

It wasn't that he was being secretive; it was simply that Zhang Yimou was the director of the film crew. Apart from matters within the scope of his responsibilities as producer, everything else in filmmaking—lighting, composition, actor direction—was, in principle, based on Zhang Yimou's decisions.

During the two years of preparation for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, Zhang Yimou did his best to play his supporting role, and Lu Kuan naturally had to cooperate in establishing his absolute authority in his film crew.

This is the sense of boundaries in a gentleman's friendship. Unless Lao Zhangzi takes the initiative to ask him, he is not comfortable expressing his own opinions. At most, they can discuss and exchange ideas in private.

"Director Zhang."

Zhang Yimou laughed and said, "Yi Fei's performance was very good. I was worried that you wouldn't be able to get into character for a while. Come and see for yourselves."

Liu Yifei understood his unspoken meaning. Although she couldn't say it outright, yesterday's momentous occasion was indeed difficult to calm one's mind immediately.

"Thank you, director. I'll watch one take to get a feel for it."

For actors, watching the playback is like looking in a mirror. She watched it twice with questions in mind, while Boss Lu remained silent.

Liu Yifei suddenly turned her head and said, "Director Zhang, shall we do another take?"

"Ok?"

Zhang Yimou was a little stunned. His original intention was to encourage her and hope that she could continue her good form. How did he end up asking her to keep the positive momentum and even add one more point?

Xiao Liu frowned as she looked at the monitor, but her eyebrows were no longer as delicate as before, appearing much more pale.

"I feel that some details could be improved."

"Our film focuses entirely on Lu Kuan and me. There are no special techniques in lighting, composition, or narrative. Our performances are too crucial, and I want to strive for perfection."

Zhang Yimou looked around and grinned, saying, "If you're so close to Xiao Lu, then let's do it again."

"Director Zhang, I have a performance design that I would like your guidance on."

"Don't be shy, just say what you want."

Liu Yifei pointed to the still frame on the monitor: "When Lu Kuan walks over in a bit, I'll keep my eyes fixed on the textbook and see if you can give me a close-up of the book. Once Lu Kuan's body blocks the sun and casts a shadow on the book, I'll look up helplessly."

"Wouldn't this better express Jingqiu's shyness? Facing Lao San, whom she has feelings for, she doesn't dare to take the initiative to express her affection in this special era?"

Zhang Yimou remained silent, then watched the two-minute-plus scene of their encounter on the bridge, following her lead, and suddenly found the girl's suggestion quite interesting.

Liu Yifei's words were merely a simple and straightforward description of her performance design, but for a renowned director like Zhang Yimou, they sparked even more inspiration.

"Little nail!"

"director."

For a moment, Zhang Yimou didn't have time to talk much with Liu Yifei and quickly explained his gushing ideas.

"For this shot later, I need you to give me space to match the line of sight with the editing."

"First, keep your gaze fixed on the close-up of the textbook. When the silhouette of the path forms a shadow on the book, then use your eyes to shift your gaze from the book to the person."

He then turned to Liu Yifei and said, "Yifei, you know what I mean, right? When the time comes, be careful to find the camera so that we can show you your profile."

"Your hump nose is very distinctive and perfectly complements the female lead's personality."

"Then!"

"By using visual symbols of contrasting light and dark, the author can both intensify the emotional repression of that special era and use the act of covering and transitioning scenes to naturally bring out Jingqiu's shyness, which can be described as a gentle and detailed narration."

Zhang Yimou looked at his junior brother excitedly: "Xiao Lu, what do you think?"

Boss Lu smiled and said, "That's good, but I have a suggestion."

"When taking close-up shots of teaching materials, use shallow depth of field to highlight the blurring effect of the text, and then switch the focus to the facial micro-expressions when the shadows are cast."

"Hey!" This time, not only Zhang Yimou was impressed, but even Zhao Xiaoding, who was standing nearby, slapped his thigh in amazement.

The remaining photographers, stagehands, and other staff members were somewhat stunned.

It's not that they don't appreciate it, it's just that their level of understanding isn't high enough to grasp the ingenuity of the design right now.

Liu Yifei looked at her husband with a somewhat confused expression. He clearly didn't intend to explain his boasting to her, but instead watched Zhang Yimou watch the replay again.

This is almost a first in Zhang Yimou's career.

Originally, we followed the established procedure and secured a take, then asked the actors to watch the playback as encouragement.

The actress herself rejected one suggestion, and then the actor, who is also the director, made another one.

Looking back at this point, it's a bit "unseemly".

What did Boss Lu mean by that?

What does it mean to "use shallow depth of field to emphasize the text while blurring it, and then switch the focus when the shadow is cast"?

In layman's terms, this is like making the audience put on "reading glasses" first.

According to Liu Yifei's design, when the camera focuses on the book and her, the handwriting becomes hazy and soft, like looking at a distant road sign through the morning mist.

In this situation, the audience's attention, projected onto the big screen, will naturally be drawn to the only clear element in the image—

Jingqiu's drooping eyelashes or tight lips, and Zhang Yimou's distinctive hump nose.

Using this method to attract the audience's attention, like the only beam of light in a dark theater following the ballerina's toes, is much more effective than simply giving a close-up.

Then, as shadows fall over the book, the camera, like a quietly moving microscope, guides the viewer's attention from "observing the props" to "dissecting the emotions."

At this point, if you look at Liu Yifei's micro-expressions, and see her shyness, confusion, and panic, the latter performance will have an excellent explosive effect on the big screen.

The emotions in her eyes are like ink dripping into clear water, spreading ripples in the hearts of the audience.

The two highly engaged male and female leads returned to their positions, and the director calmly ushered them back into the 70s in the steady "Action".

Zhang Yimou stared intently at the monitor, wanting to see how the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress would perform this scene.

Everything was as usual. After the design's shadow enveloped the book, she suddenly looked up, her pupils contracting slightly, a mixture of wariness and longing in her eyes.

"Here, your notebook."

"Oh."

Lu Kuan handed her the notebook. The girl stiffly stretched out her arm as she took it, her fingertips only lightly touching the edge of the notebook with the first knuckle.

When the former accidentally brushed against her finger, she first tilted her head back, then forced herself to calm down, but her cheekbone muscles twitched slightly, fully demonstrating the contradiction of an intellectual daughter from a declining family who "wanted to maintain her dignity but could not hide her panic."

"Click! Perfect! Perfect!"

Zhang Yimou was deeply moved, realizing that great reputations are not undeserved. Even if the Berlin Film Festival Best Actress award was won for a politically correct subject, it could not overshadow the actress's own brilliance.

Iris Chang was the first role she played in her transition, but the difficulty wasn't that great yet.

Although Jingqiu is close in age to me, there are just too many details to portray.

It's hard for someone who didn't live in that era, or who wasn't shrouded in psychological trauma, to describe the feeling of being suddenly "burned" by pure love.

The two lead actors watched another replay, and Boss Lu pointed out a funny little change in her with a smile: "In the last take, you curled your fingers after being touched, but this time you pulled your hand back."

"Is it okay?"

"That's right, but we also need to be careful not to overdo it."

After all, this is only the beginning. The character's unfamiliarity and timidity are enough to support this kind of performance. We can't focus too much on it later.

Zhang Yimou was the happiest of all: "I'm really enjoying making this movie at this stage. I really hope we can film for a few more months, haha!"

Liu Yifei smiled, thinking to herself that if you changed the plot to the male and female leads getting intimate and pregnant, you could indeed film for a few more months.

Zhang Yimou watched the playback again and still thought those two minutes of footage were brilliant: "Yi Fei, where did you come up with that idea?"

Xiao Liu frowned and said, "In the third act of 'Sunrise,' there is a scene where Chen Bailu stays in the area covered by Fang Dasheng's shadow as he stands in front of the window."

"I was thinking at the time, if we were to use alternating light and dark in the movie, could we use this to suggest the character's conflicting feelings of both longing for and fear of redemption?"

"The same was true for Jingqiu just now. She was blocked by Lao San's tall figure, which cast a shadow. The shadow represented the love that she dared not touch for the time being, and on a deeper level, it was the pressure that the era brought to her."

Zhang Yimou, Zhao Xiaoding, and the others listened in silence for a long time. The old man sighed, touched his buzz cut, and turned to his daughter, Zhang Mo, saying:
"Although Yifei is a few years younger than you, her acting experience, dedication, and understanding of the script are already quite good. Mo'er, you two sisters should communicate and get closer more often."

The old man certainly hoped his daughter would succeed, but he couldn't very well ask her to follow in the footsteps of Lu Kuan, who was already married, seeking enlightenment from him. This was also a subtle hint to Zhang Mo—

When they're both there, just shamelessly go over there!

He won't hold back because of your father's sake!
Zhang Mo was quite quick-witted: "I understand, Director Zhang. Qianqian and I will learn more from you."

Xiao Liu waved his hands, saying, "No, no, no! We can just talk about movies. For studying and stuff, you should ask Lu Kuan, haha."

With a producer like Mr. Lu overseeing things, and directors and actors who respect each other and work together seamlessly, the atmosphere on set is truly wonderful.

With such an open creative environment and discussions between Lu Kuan and Zhang Yimou at the same level, this version of "Under the Hawthorn Tree" will continue to be strengthened in terms of details and core themes.

This also includes Xiao Liu's active participation; good actors can always provide directors with a source of inspiration.

In "The Godfather," Marlon Brando's self-created gesture of stuffing cotton balls in his mouth and his cat-teasing actions became Corleone's iconic symbols, giving Coppola more inspiration.
In "Black Swan," Natalie Portman suggested using the pain of tearing fingernails to represent Nina's mental breakdown, and she also designed the twitching details in the dance movements herself, all of which fall into this category.

The filming went very smoothly for several days. Zhang Yimou arranged the emotional scenes between the two characters in a gradual manner, and the creative team also came up with more inspiration during the filming.

It wasn't until early October, when Zhao Benshan, who played the village chief in the film, and Wang Jingsong, who played Director Li and was also Xiao Liu's homeroom teacher at the Beijing Film Academy, joined the crew, that the film crew became even more lively.

(End of this chapter)