Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

Chapter 78 Extraordinary Moves (Second Update, Seeking First Subscription)

The creation of cinema doesn't involve much editing; most films are short, one-shot sequences.

The photographers are basically just documenting a slice of life or the natural environment.

At this time, so-called movies were merely a reproduction of life, far from reaching the level of art, which is what is known as the primitive period.

It wasn't until 1915 that two truly narrative films emerged: *The Birth of a Nation* and *The Great Train Robbery*. These films employed extensive parallel editing techniques and highly innovative editing skills, breaking the principle of temporal and spatial continuity by assembling shots from different times and spaces. This created a unique set of editing rules for film, making cinema increasingly artistic.

With the rapid development of film, editing techniques are constantly being innovated, but overall they still serve the overall integrity of the film story. They are the invisible driving force behind the story and characters, and their form is relatively conventional and monotonous.

In other words, editing is only used to maintain the coherence of the entire story.

The 1990s truly ushered in an era of exquisite artistry and even transformative power in film editing techniques.

In the late 1980s, the innovation of digital technology gradually phased out traditional film, and digital compositing technology freed film editing from the crude method of cutting and gluing film.

At this point, film editing gradually began to express meaning beyond the film itself.

For example, in 2002's "The Bourne Identity," the shaky camera work and frequent camera cuts made the protagonist incredibly sharp and ruthless, greatly enhancing the overall character.

For example, Christopher Nolan's "Memento" is edited into countless fragments, but the story expands little by little through these repetitive and fragmented shots, ultimately elevating the somewhat mediocre story.

The editing techniques in "Let the Bullets Fly" are also very advanced; it is the result of innovations in various editing techniques.

Jiang Wen has always loved film on film. He is also known in the industry as a "film killer". His directorial debut, "In the Heat of the Sun", was shot with 25 feet of film, setting a record for the use of film in Chinese films.

In "Let the Bullets Fly," the scene of the Feast at Hongmen alone used over 100,000 feet of film, accounting for one-tenth of the entire film.

All this is to illustrate that the editing techniques of "Let the Bullets Fly" are extremely advanced even by today's standards, and comparable to those of Hollywood.

Before he traveled through time, Huang Wenbin watched this movie almost every week, on Bilibili, where he was a premium member.

Therefore, he knew this movie so well that every detail was etched into his mind.

When he was directing the editing of "Let the Bullets Fly" in the editing room, he hardly needed to think. He could always quickly find the shot he wanted and then have editor Wang Hua cut it out and paste it where he wanted it.

Wang Hua has been editing films for almost thirty years, and this is the first time he has encountered a director like this.

Although he was mild-mannered and always did exactly what the director said, it didn't mean he lacked appreciation; on the contrary, he was quite skilled. He simply never interfered with the director's creative process. It was precisely because of this that he was well-liked by directors, but the resulting films weren't very popular with audiences.

Because directors' expressions are often excessive, editors are needed to adjust and restrain them. This is why it's common for directors and editors to have heated arguments in Hollywood.

Huang Wenbin's expression is not excessive, but just right. He already has a mature film in mind as a reference, so he doesn't need to try anything and can directly reach the most perfect state.

In just half a month, the group of them worked together to edit the movie.

Not only Wang Hua, but also Zhou Qiyue and Yu Yang admired Huang Wenbin's abilities immensely.

They had never seen a movie like this before—so sharp, fast-paced, direct, and full of boundless imagination, like a hungry beast ready to devour anyone at any moment.

Editing a film is hard work, for both directors and editors.

Even in the digital age, editing movies is still extremely demanding on human energy and stamina.

At this point, Huang Wenbin finally discovered one of the benefits of time travel: his physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people.

Yu Yang, Zhou Qiyue, and editor Wang Hua—the three of them—couldn't outlast him alone.

For the last two days, Huang Wenbin did almost all the cutting alone.

However, after finishing the haircut, he was exhausted. After handing over his shift, he went straight back to the guesthouse, took a shower, and fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

He must sleep until the end of time, regardless of the changing seasons.

While he was sleeping, the Beijing Film Studio's screening room welcomed a group of very important guests.

The film "Let the Bullets Fly" attracted a lot of attention from its peers from the very beginning, and many people in the studio have been keeping a close eye on its progress.

Especially after discovering the whistleblower incident, the director, who had seen the rough cut, became very curious and spread the initial word-of-mouth about the film.

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This time, Chen Huaikai withdrew from editing due to illness and handed over the entire film editing work to the young Huang Wenbin, which caused a huge stir in the industry.

Now that the pre-production of the film is complete, it is undergoing its first screening at the studio. These directors have all rushed over, even though there are no seats available, they want to see what the film is like.

When Wang Yang led his group into the screening room, the moment he opened the door, Old Man Qin and his companions were nearly scared out of their wits.

Because inside sat Shui Hua, the director of "The White-Haired Girl"; Ouyang Hongying, one of the directors of "Little Soldier Zhang Ga"; Ling Zifeng, the director of "Red Flag"; Cheng Yin, the director of "Southward and Northward"; Xie Tian, ​​the director of "Red Guards of Honghu Lake"; Xie Jin, the director of "Red Detachment of Women"; and many other big names in the industry.

There are also female directors like Wang Haowei, who recently became a national sensation again with "Look at This Family," and Zhang Zheng, who rose to fame with "Little Flower," among others.

Even several high-ranking officials from the Film Bureau and the Propaganda Department were present.

What kind of formation is this?

Old Qin felt a chill run down his spine. It was just the premiere of a movie; was it really necessary to make such a big deal out of it?

Anyone who didn't know better would think some important meeting was about to be held.

Wang Yang had anticipated this move, so half of these people were invited by him, while the other half were people who wanted to come and see the film for themselves. His purpose was to let them see the quality of the movie with their own eyes.

Before this, he had inspected Huang Wenbin's editing progress several times and was equally impressed. He concluded that this must be a leap forward in film editing technology, which is why he dared to invite these people over so boldly.

The small hall, which can seat about a hundred people, was almost full at this time.

Wang Yang managed to get a seat, but the three like Old Man Qin had to stand. Even if there were seats, they didn't dare sit, because the people sitting there were of far too high status. They didn't dare breathe loudly at even a glance from them.

The version shown this time is the rough cut, also known as the director's cut, which is over 150 minutes long.

Compared to other directors' initial cuts, this is much better, even more refined than Jiang Wen's theatrical release. It's not that Huang Wenbin cut corners; it's simply a difference caused by the times.

This version has voice acting, but no background music or sound effects, and no opening credits.

Soon, the screening room went dark.

Everyone stared intently at the curtain.

After the snowflakes flickered for about ten seconds, the image gradually became clear.

First, there's a three-second black screen with only eight characters: "[During the Beiyang period, Southern China]".

Then, the screen gradually brightened, and an eagle took flight from the ground, soared over the hills, and flew straight into the sky.

A beautiful back of the head appeared on the screen, with an ear pressed against a section of railway track, and someone even picked at their ear a couple of times.

Suddenly, his head turned around, revealing Xiao Liuzi's (Zhang Guoli) face, his eyes filled with surprise.

The next second, a steam train sped towards them from afar.

Ahead, a dozen or so white horses were pulling, galloping wildly.

This opening scene alone stunned everyone present.

That's quite an achievement!