independent filmmaker

In 2010, on May 5st, the World Expo was held in Shanghai, and 1 million people visited the park. Hosting the "Olympic Games" and "World Expo" often symbolize the rise of a great power. However, discussions on economic growth and transformation have not subsided.This year, China's GDP surpassed that of Japan and became the world's second largest economy.

Two far-reaching events took place in the Internet sector: First, "Computer World" published an article "Tencent in Dog Days". Then, the "3Q War" broke out, and Zhou Hongyi of 360 bombarded Tencent for stealing privacy, with full firepower , the majority of netizens began to pay attention to "plagiarism", "innovation" and other things.Second, the number of users of Weibo as a public platform has exceeded 5000 million, but at this time, the Internet is relatively pessimistic.

In the physical sector, Shenzhen Foxconn experienced a "13 consecutive jumps", and the "sweatshop" was a sensation.Gome shareholders are fighting among themselves, and countless eyes have been attracted.

The U.S. economy came out of the gloom, a large-scale crisis broke out in Europe, and the Greek Prime Minister publicly stated that Greece was about to go bankrupt.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs released the iPad.Three years ago, he also released the iPhone.

Xie Lansheng filmed a new work during this year, which was widely acclaimed in the world.

However, he has entered the age of [-], and many things are different.

For example, stubbornness, paranoia, and perfectionism have receded a lot with age. Sometimes, when facing actors, he would think: Why should I force him to do this?Why force him to do this?He will limit the shooting time to no more than 12 hours a day. He said to everyone, "Don't ruin your daily life because of a movie", which is very, very incredible.

Xie Lansheng no longer requires his actors to perform accurately.Gradually, he will adjust the script and modify the content according to the actor's temperament, and he will think about how to shoot to show the charm of the actor.Unexpectedly, in this way, his abilities will be broader. After all, inspiration can be drawn from each other.

Moreover, Xie Lansheng actually began to think about his own physical problems.For the movies he wants to make, he will shoot the ones that require physical strength first, and then the ones that require less energy.

Another example, he suddenly started paying attention to his and Xin Ye's house.In the past, his world only had movies and Xin Ye, but now, he would buy some gadgets, decorate the room, and add fun to life.

This year, Xie Lansheng and Xinye have gone through two seven-year itch.

But the passion has not lost one point.

They hugged, kissed, had sex.After the car accident in 2007, Xie Lansheng cherished Xinye even more. He always remembered the tears he saw when he woke up that day.He touched it with his hand and called Xin Ye, saying that he also wanted to kiss his tears.At that time, Xin Ye Tan passed by, and Xie Lansheng often thought of the salty tip of his tongue.

In addition, this year, the wife of the leading director Li Xian passed away, and he was very sad on TV.

…………

It was 2011 in a blink of an eye.

In March, there was a strong earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The cores of three nuclear reactors in Fukushima disastrously melted down, and radioactive sewage flowed into the sea.

On April 4, the wedding of "Prince William" occupied the headlines of major media.

On May 5, the US Navy SEALs killed bin Laden.

In December, North Korea's Kim Jong Il died and Kim Jong Un became the new leader.

In the field of science and technology, Xiaomi launched its first mobile phone, and Tencent launched a new product "WeChat". In October, Jobs passed away in the United States.

Xie Lansheng felt a little scared in 2011.

Because of the idiopathic tremor, Xie Lansheng's hands would shake slightly when writing the script.The cause of this disease is unknown. The doctor said that it may be related to genetics or nerves.

Xie Lansheng was in great pain again because he couldn't write a book.

He hired an assistant.But in two or three days, he found that because he was thinking a lot, the assistant had nothing to do during the interval between his thinking.Xie Lansheng's thinking time may only be two or three minutes, or it may be as long as one or two hours. If he does not let this assistant read fantasy novels on his mobile phone, the assistant's impatience and boredom will be clearly vented in the air, and he cannot hide it. , put Xie Lansheng under a lot of pressure, but if he let this assistant look at those things with his mobile phone, the whole atmosphere would be wrong, and people's emotions can be contagious-the assistant's excitement and "coolness" will affect Lansheng's writing.

In short, not very good.

Xie Lansheng changed his assistant again, but it still didn't work.

Finally one day, Xin Ye sat at the side of the table and said softly to Xie Lansheng, "I'll be an assistant tonight."

"Can……"

"Not busy, nothing."

"Um……"

That was Lan Sheng's most comfortable experience in two weeks.Xinye sat beside him quietly, while Xie Lansheng was thinking hard, sometimes writing a sentence, sometimes writing a sentence, sometimes deleting a sentence, sometimes deleting a sentence, sometimes thinking quietly for two or three minutes, sometimes thinking for an hour or two, and Xin Ye Wu was impatient, his demeanor was calm and calm, he only stared at the words on the screen, or looked at Lan Sheng's serious face, Xie Lansheng felt very at ease, he made a lot of progress in one night, and before that, he consciously wrote all Rubbish.

From that day on, Xin Ye put down his work at night and only worked as an assistant. He would work from 8:5 to 6:1 at Deep Blue Films during the day, and from [-]:[-] to [-]:[-] at night at his own home.Lan Sheng knew that this was very tiring, but Xinye didn't care, saying that the "sickness" of shaking hands didn't need to be sad, they could always be like this.

Fortunately, after taking some medicine, Xie Lansheng's illness gradually recovered, and it took about three months.Even the doctor couldn't tell whether it was cured by medicine or Lansheng himself, but he said: "Xie Lansheng's sudden drop in pressure is very helpful for recovery."

…………

Then came 2012.

In July, heavy rains in Beijing killed 7 people. Suddenly, "drainage system" became a hot topic on the Internet.

In the first half of the year, the Japanese government wanted to purchase the Diaoyu Islands from private individuals and "nationalize" them. On August 8, seven Diaoyu activists from Hong Kong landed on the islands to declare their sovereignty, but were detained by the Japanese side. Sino-Japanese relations reached a freezing point. On September 15 In Japan, China saw the largest anti-Japanese demonstrations since the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations 7 years ago.

In October, Mo Yan "beat" Haruki Murakami to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In November, China changed its leadership.

In the same year, "muddy waters" attacked Chinese companies, and Oriental Paper and others were recruited one after another.Zhang Yiming launched "Today's Toutiao", and Cheng Wei launched "Didi Taxi".

中国电影票房首次突破100亿，某部喜剧票房竟然超过10亿。2003年，中国电影的总票房每年上涨30%左右，2009、2010、2011更是达到了50%。

2012 was a turning point for movies and independent films alike.

Film lost its former glory, and its decline was as swift as lightning.The director switched to digital shooting, and 2012 was a watershed year.Once the film business fell to the ground, in a short period of time, movie theaters all over the country no longer accepted film movies, and film movies had to be converted to digital to play.From 2003 to 2011, the Shanghai Film Technology Factory opened all eight production lines, with hundreds of workers operating at the same time. Only four years later, in 2016, it was officially closed as the last film production line in China. The last film on film," while the major Hollywood studios are still making film films.

Xie Lansheng is not used to this development trend.He always feels that digital has the benefits of digital, and film has the benefits of film.The quality of digital shooting is higher, and students can also shoot very clear movies. At the same time, its requirements for "acting skills" are greatly reduced.Actors can shoot N times, and post-production is like magic.Its projection is equally simple. For example, the diameter of the IMAX film reel is 1.8 meters, and the film and reel weigh 800 catties.During projection, four discs act simultaneously.Projectionists learn to project in January to ensure success.

However, Xie Lansheng believes that digital images are composed of pixels, while film images are composed of grains. This "graininess" is very suitable for certain themes, such as those that require a tense atmosphere, while digital is so silky and cold.In addition, in terms of color and tone, film movies are far superior to digital movies. It can reflect changes in light, more realistic, more delicate, more tolerant, costly, and beautiful in color.The dark part of the film is not completely black, but has a sense of haze and blur.Moreover, sometimes, film movies are more three-dimensional because of "out of focus", and the subject will shake, not one frame is one frame, one plane is one plane.

Xie Lansheng, he kind of misses the period of film movies - the camera that most people can't carry falls on the set with a "bang", it is very, very heavy, everyone's attention is highly concentrated because of the camera, they know "this is The set", awe of the set.But now, people on the set pay more attention to the monitors outside the set, and they always feel that "it can be reshot" and "can be handled". The feeling of a showdown is gone, and the main creators and actors have become lazy.But from another perspective, digital shooting can relieve the tension of actors and actresses.

Xie Lansheng feels that investors in Chinese films place too much emphasis on "profit".It is true that the number has greatly reduced the cost, and the distribution cost has been reduced by 90%, but this cost must be paid back in other places, such as actors and publicity.

Because I really don't know how many years the digital version can be stored, the film company will still make a copy and hide it well.

For independent films, 2012 was also a watershed.

This year was called "the year of forced demolition of independent films" by Nortel scholars.

None of the three major independent film festivals were successfully held.

After 2000, the DV generation stepped onto the stage, and independent films were in full swing. Three independent film festivals were established one after another in two or three years, and reached their peak around 2007. One was in Beijing, one was in Nanjing, and the other was in Kunming. Except for these three major film festivals There are also small and medium-sized film festivals in various places, where everyone conducts academic discussions and even debates.What these film festivals have in common is that there is no radio and television approval, but there are exhibition records from universities and art management.They basically show unlicensed films, with a small amount of compatible licensed films.

It is said that when the Guangzhou Documentary Conference was founded by the TV station in 2003, the relevant local departments in Guangdong requested to ban it. Moreover, they bypassed the Central Propaganda Department and handed it directly to the leader. Some spaces "pay attention to strengthening management work", this may be the guiding ideology.

But in the second half of 2012, the external environment changed.Before that, the officials only did "precise strikes". For example, if they thought that a certain film had problems and was not suitable for release, they would notify the organizers to say, "Take it away, it is not suitable for release." But in 2012, the Beijing Film Festival first The accident may have happened because there were quite a few politically charged films participating in this year's film festival, and there were two or three films. Moreover, the Beijing Film Festival is a "die-hard group", and the location is still in Songzhuang, Beijing, where artists gather.

The shutdown method is simple and rude - power off.

The Beijing Independent Film Festival had just finished its opening ceremony, when suddenly, the electricity went out.

During the heat wave in Beijing in August, the independent film festival was cut off, and all participating filmmakers sat quietly in the dark.

Then, in October, the Nanjing Film Festival was "postponed for some reason".In fact, throughout October, the organizers have been under some pressure on their organizational work. Different departments put forward different requirements to the organizing committee. Screening...but the organizer did not provide information in order to protect the film director.Eventually the officials lost patience and decided to end everything.

One month before the Nanjing International Film Festival, the cooperative theater received a call saying, "The venue cannot be provided." So, the organizer signed a contract with the auditorium in the university to prepare for the film festival, but the university also received a call. In the end, even the finalized private exhibition hall was prohibited from participating. Among them.With the venue gone, the film festival couldn't be held or continued. However, all the judges went to a hotel to judge.

By the next year, the independent film festival in Yunnan could not be held.A few years ago, this film festival had an incident because of a certain film. They moved to Dali and communicated in the attic, but this time, even Dali did not accept it.

The three major film festivals encountered difficulties, and the small and medium film festivals were also closed.The Beijing Film Festival persisted in 2013, but the next year, it is said that the person in charge was taken away by the police and signed a letter of commitment to suspend the event. The officials also took away 10 years of completed films.As for the Nanjing Film Festival, it persisted until 2020 before announcing its permanent closure.

However, it is not without film festivals surviving the pressure.What these film festivals have in common is that they were established between 06 and 08. They have obtained approval from radio and television in the name of art/independent films, are compatible with films without dragon labels and films with dragon labels, are half folk and half official, and have transitioned from "underground film exhibition" to "independent Film Festival".They are all relatively "smart" and branded as "youth", and some of them have received strong support from the local government. At that time, only two cities in the north could hold the "International Film Festival".After a certain film festival in Xining, it was criticized for its long-sleeved skills, but at least it persisted, and it is still showing "no dragon standard films", even rough low-budget films, and they are getting better and more popular, providing independent filmmakers with Money, stage and future.This is something.

In short, in 2012, the official attitude changed.

Lan Sheng was still a little sad about this.Now that he is a great director, he can talk to officials and try to persuade them, improve censorship, and promote development, instead of blindly confronting them.However, a large number of new directors lost a stage, and he was still a little sad.You know, the official film festival has high technical standards, but those who use DV to shoot movies can't meet the standards at all, and there are no occasions for happy exchanges.In addition, Xie Lansheng has always felt that the censorship is still too strict, and he really hopes to see some new things at the film festival.

To put it bluntly, the core of whether to review or not is "whether citizens need guidance."Xie Lansheng couldn't help thinking, if movie audiences are mature enough to judge movies by themselves, is it possible for the government to give up censorship on that day?Although, this sounds too ethereal.

…………

Next came 2013.

The central government has stepped up anti-corruption efforts, financial supervision has been relaxed again, private banks have sprung up, and Alibaba has launched "Yebao".Huawei launches the smartphone AscendMate.

"Chinese aunt" is the key word, and they are crazy about buying gold.

In April, a terrorist attack occurred at the Boston Marathon in the United States. In October, the US borrowing reached the upper limit, and the government shut down for 4 days.

In December, Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, died.

Xie Lansheng made another film this year, which was China's first literary film with a box office of over [-] million.

He also served as the chairman of the 63rd Berlin Film Festival.The chairmen of these film festivals are all changed once a year, and almost no one can be twice, Xie Lansheng is quite honored.In the end, the judges unanimously decided that a certain Chinese film won the award, and Xie Lansheng failed to turn the clouds and rains in the process.

This year, Deep Blue Films produced two more films, earning a net profit of 9 million.At the same time, because the mobile game company he invested in in 2009 was successfully listed, as soon as the restricted shares were released, Xinye sold some of them, cashing out 7.2 million yuan, leaving 14.4 billion yuan in his hands.At present, the total market value of this mobile game company has reached 100 billion, and the stock price has risen by 300%. Xin Ye's initial investment of 6000 million has now increased to 21.6 billion.He also sold part of the stock of another company and got another 3.6 million.

Xinye has built "Deep Blue Cinemas" in two cities again, but this time, Deep Blue Films chose to build it by itself. In 2007, Xin Ye acquired all the equity and creditor's rights of a certain real estate, because with this shell, he can independently acquire the land.The current policy is that the real estate company's own funds account for at least 30% of the project funds, and Deep Blue is enough to handle it.

Also this year, Xinye's father "retired", and the XYZ Group was handed over to his son.However, the company's CEO is an old subordinate that Robert brought very much. He is in charge of the company's operations, and Xin Ye basically does nothing.

…………

In 2014, the two major e-commerce companies Ali and JD.com successively landed on Nasdaq. Tencent and Ali invested wildly in unicorns and encroached on land. , They want to hold everything firmly in the palm of their hands.

Internet companies have also not let go of the "movie" piece of fat. Around 2014, the strong capital of the Internet entered the film industry on a large scale. They began to acquire and invest in film-related companies, and laid out the market one after another. They also established various "film industries". For example, at the end of 2013, Alibaba established The large digital entertainment business group has also established Ali Pictures, and has gone from behind the scenes to the front desk, and other large, medium and small IT companies are not far behind.

The main force of film investment has changed to IT companies. Directors such as Xie Lansheng feel that the film industry has changed again: these companies have changed all modes of film, and social networks have instantly become the main battlefield for film promotion. The film follow-up provides possibilities, and things such as "big data" bring guidance to film production.In other words, the investment will use "big data" to make the director and producer obey the arrangement.

From 2004 to 2007, the main force was the vast number of coal bosses who praised actresses and made money, and film directors spent a few hours listening to their family history, and the funds were obtained. By 2008 or so, the main force was the new Rich real estate developers.But later, film and television companies went public one by one, merged and acquired, and even engaged in gambling. In 2014, finally, Internet companies entered the market.

The extensive intervention of investors is more like Hollywood, but this model has obvious shortcomings compared with Hollywood.For example, IT companies lack professionalism, are superstitious about data, and lack love. The opinions of film companies like Deep Blue are much more professional.For another example, China is a director-centered system, and directors who are not good at speaking can’t convince each other at all, while the United States is a production-centered system, experienced producers can help out, and investors are generally unwilling to offend big producers. People are also more inclined to trust big producers, for example...

Whether this trend will make the movie good or bad, Xie Lansheng really can't tell.He only knows that the directors of future movies will be even more caught between the cracks.

Perhaps, after a period of chaotic period of desperately catering, investors will realize that "blindly catering" is useless, and will realize how important directors and so on are.

In an impetuous environment, people also become very busy.In the past, the main creator entered the crew to prepare for the film one month in advance, but now it takes a day or two, and the actors often only recite their lines when they arrive on the set.There are very few people who really want to spend time on a movie.

In addition, this year, the video website put forward the concept of "big online movie".

Xie Lansheng continued to shoot the literary films he wanted to make.

As for Xin Ye, movies make money, investments make money, shopping malls make money, and other things make money.He also plays with capital, bank loans, bond issuance, trust financing... various methods.

By the end of 2014, the total market value of "Deep Blue Films" exceeded [-] billion.

The author has something to say: I'm sorry, for example, it's boring... But I still have to write it for a few years... It's still a red envelope refund!There is no background anymore.

Note: Three major independent video exhibitions at that time: Beijing Independent Video Exhibition, China Independent Video Exhibition, and Yunzhinan Documentary Video Exhibition.Now, the largest "independent" category is the Xining FIRST Youth Film Festival.It is not officially organized, and not all films have been reviewed, and only the first films of young directors are accepted. FIRST also provides funds, proposal meetings for investors and distributors, etc. The quality of the films is quite high. For example, "A Boundless North" later won the Golden Tiger Award in Rotterdam, and "August" won the Bay Bay Award. The Golden Horse Award, Wen Muye, the director of "I'm Not the God of Medicine", also came from here. He won the Special Award for Short Films.There are a few other titles that have won/nominated for film awards.This film festival does not have high technical requirements for films, and DV films can also win awards, and if they are noticed, investors will invest in reshoots.

Well, I have hesitated for a long time whether to write about the closure of the film festival. After all, the previous official events all happened in ancient times, and the official did not shy away from it. The information comes from official publications.But this period, the time is relatively recent... After much deliberation, I finally feel that since I am writing about the development history of independent films for nearly 30 years, this important change should still be mentioned, but here is a note, the specific details are mainly from the parties involved The online review, as well as several articles by Zhang Xianmin, a professor of Nortel, cannot guarantee its authority or credibility...

The last chapter wrote about the Beijing Olympics.The director of this article is all empty, so I won't say much, let me talk about it here.As we all know, Zhang Yimou was in charge of the opening ceremony.The most prominent advantage of hiring a director instead of someone else is that the director will be more sure about the effect of the broadcast of the opening ceremony. At that time, the official cared more about the effect of the broadcast of the opening ceremony than the scene.

In addition, "Tencent of the Dog Day" was written by my former classmate... He became popular as soon as he finished writing...