Bright Era of China Entertainment

The end of the opening ceremony in Cannes represents the beginning of the ten-day screening day.

Film competition units, short film competition units, animation competition units, etc. will have films scheduled in various time periods in the cinemas where the screenings are held for the audience to watch.

The place where the film will be screened in Cannes this year is a very large cinema in Paris, with 2700 digital screen auditoriums and a total of more than [-] seats.

"We're here." The next day, Chu Xuan, Liu Yifei, Liu Xiaoli, and Wen Muye arrived at the cinema area early in a car.

It's only 07:30 in the morning. The reason why I came to the cinema so early to watch the screening is because the screening of the works in the short film competition section is scheduled from [-] to [-] am every day.

What a coincidence. I don't know whether Cannes officials deliberately used "Hope" as a gimmick to attract people, or it was just a normal lottery arrangement. The screening of "Hope" was scheduled for today.

"Hello, "Hope" team?"

"Correct."

As soon as a group of people entered the cinema, they met a short-haired lady who seemed to be the cinema manager.

The short-haired woman looked at the tags around the necks of the group of people in front of her and confirmed that they were members of the "Hope" team.

"We have provided ten screening rooms for works in the short film unit, with every five screening rooms in a group."

"That is to say, there will be five theaters playing "Hope" and five theaters playing "Summer in Norway."

"Although there are no clear regulations, it is best for you to go to each screening room to say hello, cooperate with media interviews, and interact with the audience present. This will be more beneficial to the selection results of your works."

"Each screening room has a staff member arranged by us. If you have any questions, you can communicate with the staff at any time."

"Summer in Norway" is a literary short film from a Norwegian director and a competitor of "Hope".

During the two hours from nine to eleven this morning, only these two short films will be shown for the audience to watch.

Two hours are divided into four sessions, and each session is only half an hour including interviews and breaks.

In other words, each short film will have four opportunities to be screened and exposed in Cannes.

Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei already knew about these situations. After nodding to the short-haired lady to express their understanding, the short-haired lady led them to the area where the five screening rooms for "Hope" were located.

"Have you made the allocation?" Liu Xiaoli asked.

"Senior brother and sister are in a screening room, and the four of us will go to one each." Wen Muye replied.

As the male and female protagonists and producers, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei are more suitable to be in the same screening room.

Director Wen Muye, producer Li Xue, assistant director Kong Sheng, and screenwriter Liu Yi each went to a screening room.

They tried to use their professional tendencies to respond to media interviews from different professional perspectives, allowing the audience to have a more comprehensive understanding of "Hope".

This was something they discussed yesterday.

"Brother and sister, let's take our places then?" Wen Muye seemed very anxious. He valued "Hope" so much that the screening room was still empty at the moment, so he wanted to enter the screening room to prepare in advance.

Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei nodded. "Hope" is Wen Muye's debut work. Over the past year, he has also devoted himself to the screenwriting and film industry of the full version of "Hope".

The position of "Hope" in Wenmuye's ambitions is self-evident. They also understand Wenmuye's anxiety and nervousness now that he is about to face competition.

What's more, I also learned from Wang Jiawei the importance of winning the award for "Hope". As the director of "Hope", Wen Muye can be said to have the greatest pressure among their colleagues.

In this way, the seven people were temporarily separated.

Liu Xiaoli followed the young couple into a screening room, which was a conventional hall with more than 100 seats.

The whole family was sitting in the front row, chatting out of boredom, waiting for the audience to arrive and for the screening of "Hope" to begin.

As the time got closer to nine o'clock in the morning, more and more people came to the door of the cinema.

From the situation of twos and threes in the morning, now you have to queue up to enter.

Seeing people gradually arriving in the screening hall, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei also stood up from their seats and raised smiles facing the entrance to greet their audience.

This is the first time the young couple has faced such a situation. No one has helped them, and it is also in an away game abroad. Most of the people they face are foreigners. This experience is very fresh, but there are also unspeakable things. nervous.

"Kino is probably more nervous." Liu Yifei pursed her lips and said.

Chu Xuan nodded slightly. After all, they were in a group of two. Liu Yi and the others could be regarded as seniors who had experienced the "battlefield" for a long time. Wen Muye, who was only 23 years old, was also facing such a situation alone for the first time. I think he was so nervous at this moment. no.

Familiar people such as Chen Kaige, Chen Hong, Wang Jiawei and others also came to support them. The young couple looked into their eyes and said hello.

In addition to them and the general audience, there were also quite a few familiar international stars and directors present.

If a foreign country makes a martial arts film, people in China will be very curious about what kind of martial arts film they will produce?
At this time, China is making science fiction, and foreign countries are also curious about what kind of science fiction the Chinese team will produce?
I think these famous people came here because of their curiosity about "Hope", a science fiction film from China.

"It will start soon." The staff reminded that it was almost time for the screening.

"Okay." Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei took the microphones and walked onto the stage together.

Following their actions, the eyes of more than 100 people present were also focused on them.

The screening room was filled with all kinds of foreigners. This unfamiliar environment and the experience of facing this situation for the first time as actors and producers made the young couple a little uncomfortable, but this was also the beginning of their international journey.

Chu Xuan picked up the microphone: "Thank you all for coming. "Hope" is honored to have its first audience abroad."

Liu Yifei took over and said: "I believe everyone is curious about what China's science fiction films will look like in international film and television. Let's wait and see."

The young couple each said a simple sentence and then walked off the stage.

Although it is simple, it also completes the process of announcing the start of the screening.

On the stage of international film festivals, most of the time, the two parties are not familiar with each other. People who are long-winded will only make many mistakes, and others don't like to hear them.

Most of the audience comes for the film. If you want the audience to know you, it is best to let your work speak for itself. Only after you have proven your strength will you have the desire to let others know you.

Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei sat back in their seats, and the polite applause from the audience gradually stopped. Everyone looked at the screen, waiting for the screening of "Hope".

The audience present consisted of people from all over the world, Cannes judges, official Cannes moviegoers, film critics from various countries, invited directors and stars.

After each screening, film critics will leave comments in the message area of ​​the official Cannes website, film professional media people will conduct random interviews, and moviegoers with different tasks will write professional viewing reports.

The 51 judges made a comprehensive evaluation based on their own artistic ideas, drawing on the comments of film critics, the interviews of moviegoers, and the analysis reports of moviegoers, and finally decided whether to vote for the film.

There is a person in the audience. If Chu Xuan sees him, he may realize that he is Damien Chazelle, who will become a world-famous young director in the future with "Drummer".

Chazelle is one of the professional moviegoers at this year's Cannes.

He is part of the Cannes Rising Star Director Program and successfully passed the assessment to become one of the direct new directors in Cannes.

This gave him many opportunities to learn, and he also had some resources given to him by Cannes. This time he came to Cannes to observe and learn as a moviegoer, which was a good learning resource.

Like everyone else, he was curious about Hope.

Science fiction is a blank slate in China and has been so for decades. This is a well-known fact in the global film and television industry.

Now that a movie "Hope" suddenly appeared, he, like many people who came to Cannes this time, wanted to find out and see the true appearance.

Of course, he kept his task in mind and wrote a movie viewing report based on the language of the lens.

Fortunately, this is what he is good at.

Unlike other moviegoers, who write movie watching reports based on performance, script, scene, editing and other elements, this is a bit difficult for outsiders like them who are not in the original team.

As for lens language, this is the most basic thing that a director needs to master. When he drew lots, he was lucky and won the simplest task for him.

At this time, the screen flashed brightly, and the production names of China Film Group and Brilliant Era appeared, indicating that the short film was about to begin.

Chazelle was sitting upright with a laptop on his legs and his hands on the keyboard, ready to take notes on the movie at any time.

The screen went black, and then the scene was like a person opening his eyes, and the scene slowly became clear from blurred vision.

The main film started, and Chazelle's director's mind began to work rapidly. He was typing on the keyboard while watching: [The opening is a subjective perspective shot, using the lens to simulate the perspective of the human eye, instantly shortening the audience's sense of substitution, combined with the messiness of the scene, reflecting Create a suspenseful atmosphere. 】

In Chazelle's understanding, using a subjective perspective lens to simulate the perspective of the human eye as the opening of the plot is a commonly used camera and editing method in many suspense film and television dramas.

Because it simulates the human eye and has the No. 1 perspective, the audience has a strong sense of immersion.

However, the human eye's sight is limited, which will make the audience panic subconsciously, and then burst into curiosity about the nearby environment. This is the suspense element generated by such camerawork and editing, which leads to the psychological state of the audience. effect.

In Chazelle's mind, he gave this shot an evaluation: mediocre and average.

Of course, we can’t tell much from just the opening scene, so naturally we won’t judge the entire work based on it.

But Liu Xiaoli, who was in the front row, had doubts and asked quietly: "Isn't "Hope" a CG scene at the beginning?"

Liu Yifei quietly replied: "In order to meet the standards of short films shortlisted in Cannes, Kino and the others re-spliced ​​and edited the scenes. Originally "Hope" was 28 minutes, and now this version is only 20 minutes."

Liu Xiaoli suddenly understood.At this moment, Chazelle watched the camera footage and recorded in the document: [The male and female protagonists do not know each other and are curious about the surrounding environment but...]

Chazelle raised his head and frowned. In the original version, Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei appeared lying in a cabin. After re-editing, the cabin was replaced with a hospital bed.

But Chazelle didn't know this. He only felt that the scene after the hero and heroine woke up from the hospital bed was strange.

Being under the same roof and not knowing each other would be normal if they were in a hospital, but the silver-white environment meant that the scene was definitely not a hospital, but more like a laboratory.

Even if you don’t know each other, the male and female protagonists are obviously very curious about their environment, but their facial expressions are not so obvious, and there are no lines.

This is very inconsistent with normal people's logic.

When a person wakes up and finds himself in a strange environment, he will probably be very panicked, anxious, and look around everywhere.

But as for the male and female protagonist, although they were also curious, they looked at it slowly and leisurely.

Although they clearly don't know each other, the male and female protagonists barely exchange a few words with each other, as if they are completely unprepared, unwary, and even don't care about the appearance of strangers.

This is very weird.

Chazelle shook his head. Although he couldn't understand and it was a bit weird, he had to admit a fact when he only looked at the camera language: [Using more close-ups and upper-body shots for the male and female protagonists magnified the male and female protagonists' differences from ordinary people. The performance greatly enhances the sense of suspense. 】

He turned to look.

Sure enough, a large group of male and female viewers had doubts on their faces, who are the male and female protagonists?Where are the male and female protagonists?The walls around this place obviously look very high-end, but why are the debris on the ground so messy?

Chazelle habitually commented at the end of the record: [Average. 】

But after thinking about it, he pressed the delete button to delete it and re-evaluated: [Not bad. 】

If you just look at the plot, these tens of seconds of footage are indeed a bit foggy and have a sense of forced suspense.

But if you just look at the camera, these tens of seconds of footage are successful and arouse the audience's curiosity for knowledge.

But Chazelle knows one thing: it is true that suspense needs to be foreshadowed, but if the audience cannot be given useful information as feedback in time, then the suspense is a garbage setting used to force the duration and will only dissuade the audience.

However, since "Hope" can pass the review, he believes that this short film will not make such a low-level mistake.

Sure enough, the plot of the hero and heroine walking out of the "laboratory" allowed him to see useful information: [Using the library lens as a presentation lens for the past tense fragment, the source of the entire story was explained: a disaster occurred on the earth. 】

The library is a place where books are collected, and the books are often written and written records left by the predecessors or predecessors. Whether they are predecessors or predecessors, they are already in the past tense.

For this reason, scenes similar to memories in film and television dramas are collectively called library shots. This is also a lens presentation method that many film and television dramas around the world like to use to explain the plot of the current time period.

"Oh!" Some people in the audience exclaimed, attracted by the shocking disaster scene in the picture.

"Is this a special effect from China?" Some people are in disbelief. Although they still can't understand the main line of the plot, the visual effects produced by the special effects in the CG pictures have made many people look at "Hope" in a new light, and they also have a new appreciation for Chinese film and television special effects. has a new definition.

Chazelle also sighed: [The CG special effects shots are mainly overhead shots and panoramic shots, showing the full picture of the disaster scene, reflecting the serious deterioration of global disasters, and setting the tone of a science fiction disaster for the background of the short film. 】

An overhead lens is a simulated lens that is shot at a height that cannot be reached under normal circumstances, such as high altitude or space.

An aerial camera is often used, or a crane camera reaches mid-air and then adjusts the focus to make the picture smaller. These are the two ways the crew uses the camera to shoot overhead shots.

This is a regular shot in a science fiction film, but Chazelle’s evaluation was: [Not bad. 】

Nothing else, just because this is a science fiction shot from China, it deserves his praise.

But what does the disaster on the earth have to do with the male and female protagonists?What are the identities of the male and female protagonists?Where are the male and female protagonists?
These are still unknown, but due to the appearance of disaster scenes, it is obvious that the audience is attracted by these suspense, deepening their strong desire to watch and find answers.

Chazelle commented on the CG shots, and also wanted to comment on the library shot that brought the past tense into the scene, but he felt that this type of shot would definitely happen again because the incident had not been explained clearly.

Sure enough, after the library shot that reflected the disaster scene ended, another library shot came back to the current time period.

"Hopefully, that's the plan."

"Clone?"

"Madefak! The hero and heroine turned out to be clones! Let me tell you why the performance is so weird!"

Through this library lens, the plot also explains the seriousness of the disaster on the earth. The surviving humans gathered in the underground city, and under the leadership of scientists prepared to build a spaceship to survive. This is the Hope Project, which directly touches on the topic.

In the last shot, an old man was holding the posthumous photos of the male and female protagonists, and the camera gave a close-up of the book "Biogenetic Engineering".

When "Hope" was played at Beijing Film School, many people didn't know what it represented.

But for Europeans and Americans who have read too much science fiction, they can immediately guess that the male and female protagonists are clones.

"Wonderful." A person next to Chazelle praised.

This person is also a moviegoer, with the task of giving a movie viewing report with performance as the core.

Combined with the unusual acting methods of the male and female protagonists, and now that the identities of the clones are revealed, everything can be explained.

"This is a reversal that I didn't expect." The man said with emotion to Cha Zelei.

Chazelle smiled and made his own movie viewing report: [The duration of the first library scene was well controlled, giving very effective information without confusing the plot by being too lengthy.

With clear priorities, the audience is given time to react, and then the second library shot is used to unfold the second paragraph of useful information. The plot is not procrastinating, is well connected, and proceeds step by step. 】

Chazelle spoke highly of these two library shots that were linked by splitting time and space: [Great. 】

Library shots have pros and cons. If there is not enough effective information in the recall scene, the effect will be greatly reduced and the audience's viewing experience will be affected.

If the memory scene is too long, even if there is a lot of effective information, it will lead to a lack of priority and the audience will be interested in the memories but not interested in the main film. Then this library shot is a bit putting the cart before the horse.

For the two library shots in "Hope", he thought the timing and the information displayed were just right.

It not only explains the source of the plot, but also explains the identity of the male and female protagonists. It also allows the audience to recognize the abnormal performance of the male and female protagonists. Whether it is the processing of the shots or the editing method, they are all very professional and have science fiction concepts.

However, the next few shots made Chazelle frown again.

In the process of exploring this strange environment, the male and female protagonists gave a close-up of the broken glass of the door and window, a close-up of the light tube on the wall, and a close-up of the overturned sofa...

Why give these props close-ups?

In his opinion, he did not find any useful information under the close-up shots of these props.

Unlike the previous close-ups of the male and female protagonists, the more abnormal the performance, the more suspenseful it is, which shows that these shots are useful.

But he didn't see the significance of these close-ups of props.

There are a lot of these scenes, and the total length of the plot is estimated to be two or three minutes.

Chazelle frowned. Now he roughly understood the plot, but these inexplicable shots really made him a little confused, and these ineffective shots also made him a little irritated.

He turned to look at the audience, and many of them seemed to have lost their patience.

It wasn't until the camera was given the main props, a high-end instrument on the wall, and the virtual screen that opened showed that there was insufficient oxygen, and the male and female protagonists realized the crisis and wanted to escape, that the audience became interested in watching.

Chazelle shook his head. If the invalid shots in the first two to three minutes were deleted and directly connected to the main props, the plot would be quite compact and more likely to stimulate the audience's emotions.

Those two library shots were obviously used so well, so why did he make a mistake now?

Chazelle made a record of watching the movie: [There are too many ineffective close-ups placed on props, which drags down the rhythm of the plot. If these shots are placed on the male and female protagonists, so that the male and female protagonists can exert their cloning characteristics to a greater extent, perhaps the effect will be greater. good. 】

Chazelle felt pity, raised his head and continued to look at the screen, only to be stunned the next moment.

"Omaika's!!"

"What's going on? Why is the door on the ground?"

"Don't you understand? Look at the painting on the floor. It's obvious that the floor is a wall!"

"Don't make noise, let me think about it."

"Oh my God, I want to do it."

Originally, a quiet environment was required to watch the movie, but people in the audience were shocked by the picture and couldn't help but marvel.

Chazelle held his head in his hands, eyes wide.

He found that he was wrong.

Only then did he realize that the sofa that was dumped on the ground was not dumped on the ground, but on the wall; the glass shards on the doors and windows were embedded in the gaps between the upper and lower doors, but in normal logic the doors opened sideways, so the upper and lower doors The gap should be the left and right door gaps; the light tubes on the wall are not on the wall, but in fact the wall is the original ceiling.

Those shots are not invalid close-ups, but powerful foreshadowing for a visually stunning scene before your eyes!

When did Chinese films become so detailed? ! (End of chapter)