Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 308: Creating the Ultimate Sense of Fragmentation in the Visuals, Mirror Maze
The streets of New York were slightly cool in the autumn night breeze.

Wu Chen held Liu Yifei's hand as they strolled along the sidewalk. Occasionally, pedestrians would walk past them, and the city's atmosphere carried a weary yet vibrant feel.

You're saying I'm stuck in a creative slump and suffering from aesthetic fatigue?

Wu Chen repeated Liu Yifei's words in a low voice, a hint of doubt in his tone.

The past two weeks involuntarily came to mind: arriving at the set on time every day, holding the script and storyboard, and shooting scene by scene one by one in an orderly manner;

The camera movement, lighting, actors' positioning, and rehearsals—every step of the process, while not quite like a tightly wound clock, is certainly somewhat mechanical.

He thought about it and realized that it had indeed been a long time since he had felt that kind of exhilarating, sleepless state during filming.

He felt a sense of déjà vu with many of the staging and scene designs, but the different backgrounds of the two films created a sense of contradiction.

Keira Knightley's performance was excellent, capturing both coldness and morbidity precisely. But it was like driving on a familiar road; the scenery was different, yet you always felt like you'd been there before.

"Right? The phenomena you described are very similar to what Director Zhang said."

"Director Zhang?"

“Director Zhang Yimou, I consulted professionals for your sake!” Liu Yifei raised her chin, a smile playing on her lips, and then repeated what Zhang Yimou had said.

"So you can look for new feelings in art, audiovisuals, or even narrative structure, even deconstruction is fine, as long as you make a breakthrough, you can rediscover your passion."

Wu Chen felt a surge of emotion as he listened.

This girl was so perceptive that she could sense his fatigue, which he himself was unaware of, through just a few words over the phone, and she even asked so many people about it behind his back.

"So? Do you have any ideas?" Liu Yifei looked up at him expectantly.

"It can't be that fast!" Wu Chen chuckled softly.

"."

The following morning, the Halloween spirit was in full swing in New York.

The pumpkin lanterns on the street and the shadowy paper-cut skulls intertwine, and the air is filled with the sweet smell of candy and a masquerade ball.

The crew worked as usual this morning, but this afternoon is a break, mainly due to requirements from some Hollywood associations.

Although it wasn't an official holiday, Wu Chen noticed that the crew members seemed to really enjoy the holiday, so he decided to give them half a day off to let them rest.

The film crew was bustling with activity, the roar of machinery mingling with the footsteps of people moving about.

During a break in filming, Keira Knightley sat down next to Liu Yifei, a polite smile on her face: "Crystal, you're really beautiful."

"Thank you!"

"I watched your performance in 'Black Peony,' it was really great. Can I ask you some questions about the movie?"

"Of course!" Liu Yifei said with a smile.

As Wu Chen watched the two discussing matters related to "Black Peony" and "Black Swan," a slight smile crept onto his lips.

After filming wrapped up at noon, Liu Yifei strolled around the set, greeting everyone. Walking up to Wu Chen, she remarked, "It seems like there are a lot of mirrors in 'Black Swan' too!"

Wu Chen nodded slightly. There were many mirrored symbols in "Black Swan," such as mirrors in the corridor and makeup mirrors. "After all, it is related to schizophrenia and self-destruction, so the use of mirrors is quite important. The mirrors are also used to strengthen the character's inner world, just like when you were filming 'Black Peony'."

At this moment, Keira Knightley and the other actors gathered around, laughing and saying, "Wu, Crystal, aren't you going to the Halloween party? It looks like so much fun!"

“No, we’re going to check out Carsten Holler’s contemporary installation art exhibition. He just opened one in New York.” Wu Chen smiled.

“Well, you guys are so romantic, going to an art exhibition on Halloween,” Keira Knightley and the others chuckled.

In the afternoon, the lights at the entrance of the Museum of Modern Art in New York refracted through the glass, creating a corridor of light.

Liu Yifei linked arms with Wu Chen, her gaze sweeping curiously over the exhibits:
"Junior brother, that's strange. Carsten Holler was originally a scientist, how did he become an artist?"

"Science and art are sometimes interconnected."

Carsten Holler's works are always full of chaos and confusion; sometimes it takes Wu Chen a long time to understand them.

The two walked up to a piece of artwork: "Sliding Doors, sliding mirror doors?"

Looking at the exhibit in front of me, a row of automatically sensing sliding mirror doors, the mirrors split, repeat, and extend the human figure, as if I had entered a visual maze.

The two walked in together, and Liu Yifei was completely bewildered.

"Junior brother, which door leads to the exit? Hmm, this feels really strange."

Wu Chen followed Liu Yifei's gaze and saw that the two people reflected were not individual reflections of himself, but rather a jumbled array of mirror images.

"Mirrors, maze, confusion."

Wu Chen frowned slightly. Although he used mirrors in both of his films, he felt that he hadn't used the "mirror" to its fullest extent. It seemed that he hadn't symbolized the mirror surface to create more impactful shots that resonated with the mind and the eye.

"If the backdrop of the mirror maze were set on the stage and backstage, with the slow, intense light from the mirrors, the reflections and reality would be out of place." At that moment, the image flashed through his mind:
Nina wandered through the backstage corridor, where mirrors endlessly repeated, creating a mirror maze.

The black swan's image reflected in the mirror appears and disappears, running alongside her, overlapping, and intertwining.

Her breathing became rapid, and she could no longer distinguish which was the real her and which was an illusion.

She raised her hand, trying to touch one of the mirrors, but found that the black swan in the mirror reached out first, its fingertips lightly touching the mirror surface, like the breath of dawn.

Suddenly, all the mirrors shattered with a "crash," flying everywhere like a rain of glass. Each shard reflected the faces of different black and white swans, along with different light and shadow.
This is the ultimate sense of visual fragmentation.

Moreover, each tiny lens symbolizes multiple tears in personality and self-collapse. The brokenness of the mirror maze can present the extreme of psychological split to the extreme.
Wu Chen's pupils contracted slightly, his heart surging with passion and inspiration.

This scene perfectly embodies the core spirit of the entire film, giving "Black Swan" a "classic memory point" with the most visual and spiritual impact.

"It really wasn't a wasted trip," Wu Chen murmured.

"Junior brother, what's wrong?" Liu Yifei looked at Wu Chen expectantly, feeling that Wu Chen seemed to have found inspiration.

Wu Chen cupped Liu Yifei's face and gave her a big kiss, "Thank you, my muse!"

"I really thought of that! Tell me quickly!" Liu Yifei said, her face slightly flushed.

"No rush, we'll talk about it after we get outside."

(End of this chapter)