Green, taken from blue and green and blue; ice, taken from water and cold from water - "Xunzi Encouraging Learning"
…
Yan Qing is still somewhat frightened to independently control the first film produced entirely in commercial film standards. After all, "The Swordsman" in his past life is a film that came out in 1992 and is still unsurpassed by anyone.
He even privately believes that in the foreseeable future, no one will be able to surpass this classic Chinese martial arts movie.
In fact, Yan Qing, who has become increasingly perfectionistic under the influence of "playing roles", has never thought of copying a movie shot seventeen years ago from another time and space.
It is true that many details of the original work, such as the soundtrack, the transformation, and the martial arts are amazing, but in fact it is not impeccable.
Due to many objective reasons such as technology, cost, and time constraints, some of the shots in the film can be said to be quite rough. The first one to bear the brunt is the legendary Dutch gunboat that was filmed while soaking in a bathtub.
The plot is limited by the length of the movie, and there are also some flaws and bugs that make people feel stuck in their throats.
So in fact, Yan Qing has been thinking about a question when he was writing the script before - how to re-create the original film so as to conform to the current mainstream movie viewing aesthetics and accurately convey the core of what he wants to explain to the audience?
"Standing on the shoulders of giants, if the work is not as good as the original, then wouldn't I be a qualified perfectionist in vain?"
In this way, with a grand vision that surpasses the original work, and initially nourished by love, Yan Qing officially begins his third personal directorial work.
…
Imperial Capital Huairou Yanqi Lake
Whisper Films Film and Television Base
…
The Royal Capital Yanqi Kempinski Hotel, which occupies the entire island in the middle of Yanqi Lake, is composed of a high-rise main building, two single-family villas built on the lake and other courtyard buildings. The contractor has ingeniously integrated the entire island.
Decorated in a Chinese private courtyard style.
The access control of the island in the center of the lake is very strict. In order to ensure good privacy, non-hotel guests are not allowed to enter. The proud crew of "The Swordsman" spent a lot of money to rent the entire hotel for two weeks.
As soon as they moved in, Zhao Mu, the newly appointed drama team leader, led a group of drama staff to place five or six billboards in conspicuous places at the entrance and exit of the hotel lobby.
This is a decision jointly made by director Yan Qing, executive producer Shao Qing, and production director Luo Bing after discussion. In order to ensure the shooting efficiency and quality, the "Laugh-Dong" crew will fully implement Kanban management, and the production team will formulate it in advance.
The shooting management plan as well as the specific daily shooting node tracking schedule, the crew's whereabouts statistics list, etc. are all posted on the bulletin board, and are responsible for real-time tracking and updates.
——Boundary line——
Board 1, cast information and plot synopsis overview (Chinese and English bilingual)
Main cast list:
The Invincible of the East: Weng Huaijing
Linghu Chong:Yan Qing
Let me go: Qian Dejun
Ren Yingying:Fei Jingyu
Yue Lingshan:Yi Yi
Xiang Wentian: Luo Xuyang
Yang Shishi: Zhang Yameng
Blue Phoenix: Zhou Peipei
Sarutobi Sun and Moon: Tanaka Tatsumi
Hattori Sengun: Hirofumi Ito
Dongchang Thousand Households: Cheng Youqing
Hong Menda: Luo Lixian
Disciples of Huashan Sect: Several
…
…
——Boundary line——
Story summary:
During the Ming Dynasty, the Miao people in southern Hunan were suffering from natural and man-made disasters all year round. Coupled with the constant oppression by the imperial court, the Miao people were called untouchables.
For the sake of the last dignity of his people, Dongfang Bubai wielded his sword from the palace, practiced the peerless martial arts "Sunflower Book", controlled the Sun and Moon God Sect and decided to raise an army to fight against the imperial court.
After Linghu Chong, a disciple of the Huashan Sect, meets his friends from the Sun Moon Sect as planned, he and his other brothers and sisters will go to Niubei Mountain to retreat into seclusion and withdraw from the world.
…
…
——Boundary line——
Board 2, crew information table
Production team
Producers: Zhan Youhuan, Kang Changling
Executive Producer: Shao Qing
Production Director: Luo Bing
Lifestyle Producer: Yili
On-site producer: Li Hanyuan
External producer: Duan Shan (Xiaoyu Pictures Huairou Yanqi Lake Film and Television Base)
Assistant Director: Zhou Siwen (Shanghai Film Studio)
Executive Director: Mo Ran
Action Director: Cheng Chaoping (Shanghai Film Studio)
Location Director: Lu Yan (Whispers Pictures)
Notes: Lou Junwei, Wang Fuzhi (Whisper Pictures), Zheng Guanying (Shanghai Film Studio)
…
photography team
Director of Photography: Ke Diwen
Lighting Director: Liao Jingyi
Main photographer: Tan Sen, Mo Ran
Assistant cinematographer: Chen Huaize (Whispering Pictures), He Qidao (Shanghai Film Studio)
Photography assistant: several
Machinery operators: several
Lighting engineer: several
Lighting assistant: several
…
art group
Art director: Su Xiuzhen (Xuyu Pictures)
Costume director: Xie Wanying (Shanghai Film Studio)
Artist: Several (Shanghai Film Studio)
Costume designer: several (Shanghai Film Studio)
Makeup Artist: Several (Whispering Pictures)
Prop Master: Some (Whispers Pictures)
Special Technicians: Several (Shanghai Film Studio)
…
recording group
Recording Director: Ou Chuxiong (Whispers Pictures)
Recording Engineer: Several (Whispering Pictures)
Recording Assistant: Several (Whispering Pictures)
…
Theater crew
Drama team leader: Zhao Mu
Stage manager: several
Production Assistant: Several (Whispers Pictures)
…
editing group
Editing Director: Yan Qing
Soundtrack Director: Yan Qing
Chief Editor: Liu Yuze (Whispering Pictures)
On-site editing: several
Editing assistant: several
Main composer: Yan Qing
——Boundary line——
Bulletin Three: "The Swordsman: The Unbeaten East" shooting management plan.
The entire film was dismantled into a total of four reels, 56 scenes, and 2,878 shots, a plot of 105 minutes, and an average shot time (asl) of about 2.19 seconds.
The shooting management plan scientifically and systematically organizes the 56 scenes in four volumes into a controllable tracking inventory according to categories such as studio scenes, outdoor scenes, night battles, Wia, special effects, etc., and specifically lists the personnel who need to be in place for each scene.
Zhao Mu, who is responsible for updating the schedule in real time, wrote with various colored paint pens:
October 7, 2019 - Planning and script reading meeting (completed)
October 8, 2019 - Preparation (outdoor location selection, studio scene construction, art, martial arts style, etc.) (in progress)
October 9, 2019 - Preparation, actors joining the group, opening ceremony and opening banquet (tbd)
…
…
——
On location somewhere a few miles from the hotel
bare loess
Scattered low shrubs
A large group of xerophytic reeds gradually entering the withering stage
——
Lu Yan, the deputy location director of Huairou Yanqi Lake Film and Television Base of Whisper Pictures and the location director of the "Laughing East" crew, is taking Yan Qing to do on-site inspections. Behind them are the production team and the director team.
The photography team, lighting team, art team, and sound recording team were all crowded.
"Director Yan, this was the filming location for the decisive battle of the martial arts movie "Mobei Smoke" back then. This should be regarded as the most suitable place among our Yanqi Lake base to shoot the opening ambush scene."
Lu Yan held the scene script and the "Scene List of the Whole Drama" and carefully introduced it to Yan Qing, who was holding a slightly yellow dry reed in his hand: "The average height of xerophytic reeds is more than two meters. The landform of this area is
Our team of artists recreated it one-to-one according to the real scene of the northwest desert, which completely matches the sense of desolation described in your storyboard."
Li Hanyuan, who had never been with the crew before, was a little confused. She muttered in a low voice: "Isn't Heimu Cliff in the Miao Village in western Hunan Province?"
"Yuan'er, you don't understand. The plot of the filming may be completely different from the film that is released. This is the magic of editing..."
Miao Miaohao was a good teacher: "Martial arts movies always focus on artistic conception, Yuan'er, try to imagine..."
Seeing that Li Hanyuan was still a little confused after Zai Miao coordinated the explanation, Yan Qing smiled warmly: "Xiao Miao probably wants to describe the feeling of a knight using Qinggong and flying across the reed tips in the vast world."
"Well, it's most intuitive to look at the storyboard script. Brother Qing's painting skills have returned to the previous level. Look at this Fuso Ronin warrior named Sarutobi Sun and Moon... Yuan'er, let's go to the side and talk..."
Seeing the scattered team members gradually regrouping towards Yan Qing, Miao Miao pulled Li Hanyuan to the outside and continued to explain.
"Director Yan, the elasticity and resistance of this wasteland have met the requirements. If we want to shoot the kind of galloping or galloping horses, the hard ground is not suitable because there is very little contact between the horseshoe and the horse.
A slip will cause the actor to be injured, and the consequences will be very serious. We prefer to choose sand, grass or dust-free fiber venues."
Huang Jinbai, a senior action director appointed by Shanghai Film Studio and the full-time action director of the "Laughing East" crew, and action director Cheng Chaoping, after rigorously measuring more than ten randomly sampled soils, indicated that there was no problem with their action team.
"The wire lifting in the pursuit of that scene is considered a routine operation..."
Huang Jinbai, who is in charge of the WIA special effects team, added: "The mechanical equipment at the Yanqi Lake base is very advanced, and we have cooperated many times."
"Thanks to Director Huang and Chao Ping for their hard work, we can find someone to try out a few more laps for the horse riding part later. Safety comes first."
After checking the horse riding scene and passing the test, Yan Qing turned to Ou Chuxiong, a senior sound engineer from Whispering Pictures: "Director Ou, where are you recording?"
Ou Chuxiong also carefully compared the distance measurement with the shot script. After confirming the specific camera settings of several key shots with Yan Qing, he also replied: "If the real-time live recording is controlled by a robotic arm and an extension rod, it will not be a big problem."
After exchanging a few words, Yan Qing approached the lighting director Liao Jingyi who had been discussing the camera scheduling route in the scene with Mo Ran and Tan Sen: "Director Liao, what do you say about lighting?"
"I already know what's going on here. Mo Ran said that you will use a lot of close-up shots and overhead shots to direct this scene. Under the premise of sufficient natural light, it will be enough to use more reflectors as appropriate."
"Click! Click!"
According to the description of the scenes in the storyboard, Su Xiuzhen held a SLR camera throughout the whole process for framing and shooting. As an art director, she must ensure that the overall art style of the entire film is consistent.
The art team led by Su Xiuzhen also stated that they had no objection to the scene selection. After Yan Qing communicated with the heads of each group one by one about the scene's effect, he asked Miao Miao to confirm the selected outdoor scene in the scene statistics table.
"This is the place where Linghu Chong looked back and smiled after the mask of Dongfang Invincible fell down. I will remember to send it to Xiaoge when I have some time to relax."
Yan Qing also took out his mobile phone and took a picture of a large banyan tree standing abruptly in the desert landscape. He smiled and asked Lu Yan: "Will Lu lead us to the next point?"
——Boundary line——
The location selection team came to the natural fault zone between the main mountains of Yanshan Mountain and Jindeng Mountain. This is the piedmont basin landform that Whisper Pictures invested heavily in artificially transforming three years ago.
The cliffs on both sides of the rift valley are like being split by a magical axe, with the cliffs on both sides facing each other reaching the sky. The inner wall of the rift valley is full of jagged and strange rocks. In the middle is a winding stone staircase about 2 kilometers long. There are several stone cliff corridors under the cliff.
.
Standing in a safe viewing area, Yan Qing glanced down the cliff. The rift valley stretched endlessly and seemed bottomless to the naked eye.
He raised the telescope and looked again. The bottom of the rift valley was lush with wild flowers, dotted with herbs, moss-stained walls, hanging vines, clear streams, and the occasional chirping of birds. It gave it a quiet, tranquil, and profound atmosphere.
"The rift valley area is considered the gold medal location resource of our base. It is about 3,500 meters long, 18 meters wide, and has an average height of 97 meters. The valley slopes are steep, mostly around 80 degrees. There are four towers standing upright at the steepest point, and the deepest part of the valley is up and down.
The height difference is one hundred and ninety-four meters…”
Lu Yan is very knowledgeable about all the data about his family’s outdoor attractions.
"This is much better than the conditions Director Xu and Director Xiaodong had back then... but safety has also become an issue..."
Yan Qing asked with concern: "What about the lowest height difference..."
"More than sixty meters, but there are several stone cliff corridors that can be used to set up a scenery platform, reducing the actual viewing height to four or five meters."
Lu Yan memorized the data by heart, and he responded fluently: "Several high-cost domestic disaster movies have been filmed here. In addition, we have hosted several Imperial Capital International Rock Climbing Championships here, so safety will definitely not be a problem."
"Kang Changling said before that there is a miniature model of the cliff here? Then the scene of the fall of the Blackwood Cliff can be shot more delicately."
After taking out his mobile phone and taking photos with Su Xiuzhen for later use, Yan Qing pulled Lu Yan close to him. He opened the last few scenes of the storyboard and asked in detail.
——Boundary line——
The location selection team took golf carts to the next location, the hilly bamboo sea.
Both sides of the road are lined with slender and tall green bamboos. The tallest bamboo is more than ten feet tall. At a glance, it looks like a sea of bamboo, full of green. It is late autumn in the imperial capital, and the bamboo leaves are still as fresh as if they were coated with a layer of green paint.
General.
Green bamboos cover the entire hill, and a corner of Yanqi Lake is mixed in among the mountains. Yan Qing looks from a distance, and the lake and mountains, shaded by green bamboos, show a quiet dark green.
The mountains are covered with lush bamboo forests, some as thick as bowls and as thin as small wine cups. When the wind blows, the bamboo leaves rustling all over the forest, the sound of wind, the sound of streams and the rustling of bamboos make people feel relaxed and happy.
"Everyone in the world loves to plant flowers, but I only plant bamboo! Mr. Banqiao is sincere and I will not deceive him..."
Yan Qing, who has recently been immersed in Chinese studies, praised while taking photos: "It's so beautiful here! It perfectly fits our scene of wearing flowers and chasing the moon..."
"Let the Bamboo Sea Bloom...it's more reasonable than the iron tree silver flowers that appeared inexplicably in the original film. The only concern may be that the bamboo forest is too dense..."
After some exchanges with Lu Yan, Yan Qing learned that there was an elm forest with relatively open terrain as an alternative. He was a little reluctant to part with his bamboo sea complex. He asked Huang Jinbai for advice: "Director Huang, our Wia team is having difficulty operating.
?”
After discussing with Cheng Chaoping, Huang Jinbai and Cheng Chaoping asked the question back to Lu Yan: "Director Lu, would it be convenient to cut down some bamboo?"
Lu Yan kept in mind Kang Changling's instructions to fully support him regardless of the cost: "It's not a big problem..."
Yan Qing made the final decision: "Then let's settle here, and we will work together to find solutions to other difficulties."
——Boundary line——
"Laughing East" has a total of 5 scenes with lakes and swamps as the main background. The last location requirement of the crew was to have mountains and rivers.
Yanqi Lake naturally has no shortage of outdoor shooting scenes of forest lakes. It has clear and translucent lake water, lush mountain forest vegetation, and lake beaches covered with fine white sand, which makes Yan Qing extremely satisfied.
Lu Yan took the location selection team with ease and went straight to check out the locations where the water depth met the requirements of the script.
Yan Qing noticed that Whisper Pictures even built a movable comprehensive water-based shooting platform here, with all kinds of cranes, wire rope tracks and other equipment.
"This kind of location can be said to be much superior to the conditions of the original film at the time. Standing on the shoulders of giants, I have no reason not to make a work that surpasses the classic."
Yan Qinghao, who was surrounded by the lakes and mountains, said angrily: "What's more, I'm still buzzing, there's no way to retreat, I will definitely win!"
…
The content of this chapter is relatively hard-core. It is recommended to combine it with the 500 words in the author's statement and a new popular science post published today.