Back to the Republic of China as a director

Everything is ready, only the east wind is owed.

When a film is finished, it is always screened in Shanghai first, and then shipped to other places for screening depending on the performance.This film is quite special, and it will premiere simultaneously in Beijing.This is also something that makes the audience in Beijing very happy and even a little proud.

As the producer, Zhou Siyin held the premiere rights and negotiated with all parties for the first round of theaters.

In the current market, many first-run theaters are foreign-funded, and Chinese-funded first-run theaters also have to consider the quality of domestic films, whether they choose to screen them, and finally show them in one or two first-run theaters, because copies are also expensive.

One or two copies are copied every time a port in Shanghai is made, and several copies are made in other places.

For Ji Shuangyu's film, Chinese-funded first-run theaters all want to snatch it, and each bids for it. I am afraid that Zhou Siyin will only be shown in the theater invested by their bookstore. If you eat meat, you can give everyone some soup.

So Zhou Siyin negotiated with them, and the first round of joint screenings will be held simultaneously in all Chinese-funded first-run theaters: that is, each theater will screen for a few days in turn.

Compared with the round screening system, this screening method has to be quite confident in the quality of the film.For the audience, it is very convenient, and the audience who are far away can wait to see it when it is shown in a theater near their home.

As for the first round of foreign theaters, none of them participated.They basically only show foreign films, unless it is a Chinese film with a particularly large investment, which is rare.Moreover, the investment of overseas blockbusters can be in the hundreds of millions, so it is no wonder that the box office remains high.

Although "The Strange Tale of Things in the Ancient Capital" has a final total cost of nearly 10 yuan, it can be considered a domestically produced blockbuster, but because Zhou Siyin is going to have a joint premiere, and Ji Shuangyu's film is longer than many films, there are very few films that exceed 110. Minutes now, reached [-] minutes.

As the film gets longer, the number of screenings decreases.Foreign-funded theaters thought that Chinese films were too long and not cost-effective for them. They felt that the profits must be insufficient, so they gave up.

In order to express her gratitude, Ji Shuangyu also designed a poster for each Chinese-funded first-run cinema.

Speaking of posters, the current posters are too rough. After all, there are few professionals now. They are nothing more than close-ups in movies or hand-painted plot clips.

But Ji Shuangyu knows very well that the poster is to condense the essence of the whole film in one frame, at least, you should pay attention to the composition and color.

He himself is good at calligraphy, combining calligraphy, capital scenery, and film elements to create a series of posters.

Afterwards, the collection value of these posters soared wildly.

Of course, looking at it right now, their function is to make passersby who pass by can't help but look at them, and then they will suddenly realize.

It is Ji Shuangyu's new play.

This, everyone remembers it without posters!The newspapers are warming up for half a year!

Everyone knows about the joint screening of "The Strange Tale of Things in the Ancient Capital" this time, and I feel a little lucky. It's better than buying tickets for exclusive screenings in only one or two theaters.

But because there were too many people looking forward to it, there was still a long queue at the box office on the day of the release.

Many films will learn from overseas and conduct trial screenings before they are released. After the screenings, they may be revised according to opinions. But gradually, some people watched the spoilers and affected the box office. Many companies simply tested during the day and premiered immediately at night.

Ji Shuangyu simply canceled the trial screening. On a sunny day, the premiere of "The Strange Tale of Things in the Ancient Capital" started!

Next to the Changle Theater, the newly opened Wing On Cinema opened its doors to welcome guests on the day of the premiere, and "The Strange Tale of Things in the Ancient Capital" will be their first film to be screened.

Qi Haoran, as one of the most important characters in the Frost Fan Club, naturally organized his friends to watch it at Yong'an Cinema to support Ji Shuangyu's work.The tickets I bought were also the seats with the best viewing effect at that time, and the seats near the rear.

Before entering the arena, Qi Haoran specially told everyone to buy food outside, which is cheaper.If you don't like going to the bathroom outside, then don't drink too much, after all, Director Shuang's movie will be shown for a long time.

They are all lovers of entertainment, and they usually go to various theaters, theaters, Western style, local style, big stage, small stage, and have seen them all.

Nowadays, there are many types of theaters, and some of them show movies and dramas at the same time, so there are all kinds of strange things from the stage to the seats. There are also upstairs and downstairs theaters, and most of the seats are about the same height.

After entering the Wing On Cinema, everyone felt that it was rather novel. It is said that the entire theater only shows movies, and it has been built into a ladder shape, and the front and rear seats are staggered. In this way, the seats are from low to high.After thinking about it, this is really more convenient to watch.

Anyone who has watched the movie knows that if there is a strong man sitting in front of you, or someone who does not take off his hat blocks his view, it would be really annoying.Such a design can avoid that situation to a certain extent.

The chairs are also made of flannel.Not like the sprung leather chairs of some fancy theaters, or the cheaper rattan or wooden chairs, but comfortable enough for the right price.

"It's still air-conditioned... As expected, Director Shuang participated in the investment. How could it be possible to be so generous if it was Xu Laoji!"

"That's it."

"It's a pity that only movies will be played here in the future. Otherwise, the environment is so good. If you watch new and old dramas here, it will be a kind of enjoyment."

Ji Shuangyu and Xu Xinyue opened a pure movie theater, so when designing, Ji Shuangyu specified that it should be stepped, which is more convenient for watching movies, and even the width of the seats is stipulated.

The designer pondered for a while and found that such planning is really the optimal solution based on consideration of humanization.

Wing On Cinema has a total of nearly [-] seats, which is considered big no matter in Beijing or Shanghai. There are some small theaters in Beijing, with only a few hundred seats, and the most are [-].Although this is still not as good as the number of foreign countries reaching five or six thousand.

The expenses were beyond the budget, and with the addition of air-conditioning and heating machines, as well as the sanitary facilities, Ji Shuangyu also demanded that he pay more attention to it. Not only were the tap water and toilets connected, but also regular disinfection was hired.

After some operations, Xu Xinyue's heart ached enough.

When he was patrolling the theater, he heard everyone's discussions. Although he was very dissatisfied that everyone humiliated him as Xu Laoji and the like, he found that these people had agreed to come here to watch movies in the future, and he understood Ji Shuangyu's insistence.

After everyone was seated, the entire theater gradually filled up, and the staff put up a "Full" sign.

The lights dimmed and the screening began.

The first thing to appear on the screen is the logo of Kunlun Book Company, the majestic Kunlun Mountain. People who are familiar with it will find that it has been redesigned, and it is dynamic, which is very impressive.Naturally, it was also written by Ji Shuangyu.

Many people know the general plot of "Tales of Things in the Ancient Capital Town". Even if they haven't read the book, they already understand the pre-publicity.

According to legend, there are five Fengshui towns in the capital, which suppress all evil spirits here.Once the town property was stolen, strange things happened one after another in the city, and people panicked.

The protagonist of the story is the male protagonist Heng Xin played by Zhao Cuo'e. He was a newcomer to teach in a school in the capital, and he was also intimidated at first.But later, Hengxin noticed something strange and began to secretly investigate the matter.

At the beginning of the film, there is a scene familiar to the people of the capital, the panorama, the moat, a carriage is moving forward, the sound of wheels, faint cries, ducks...

This has already surprised the audience a bit.

There is nothing special about this picture, but since the beginning of the world, sound films have either been filled with dialogue or filled with music.This is also a sound film, there is no dialogue or music at the beginning, but in the distant view, for the first time, there is an extremely detailed ambient sound!

This is both uncomfortable and comfortable.

I am not used to it because it goes against the established formula, and I am comfortable because it uses sound to build an incomparably real world.Although there is only the distant view of the carriage and a section of the moat in the camera, many people even have a world outside the camera in their minds, duck houses, street vendors, ice-cutters on the river...

The people on the carriage were talking, and the next second, the camera cut to the wheels, and it took a few breaths to cut to the characters.

This sudden switch made Qi Haoran feel a little awkward. He had never seen such a cut shot before. It was a distant view just now. Why did he suddenly shoot the wheels, which made him feel a little bit in his heart, thinking involuntarily. Is there anything weird about this car?

In fact, it's not that Qi Haoran has never seen such a technique, it's just that it's applied differently.This is the same as the much-talked-about makeup passage in Hanxing Pen, which uses jump cuts.

The jump cut in the commercial is the same scene, but here is the close-up of the distant scene suddenly, because it belongs to two extremes, it is also called a bipolar shot.The camera jumps bigger, and the audience can't help but receive the message: Why is there an ominous feeling...

After that, something happened. The carriage passed by the Town God's Temple next to the cemetery, but the horses stopped moving.The people in the car also came down to help, leaving only one person inside.

The gloomy background music, the barking of wild dogs, the creaking noise, and the quick switching of fragmented shots make the atmosphere of watching the movie even more tense.

After comforting the horse, the characters thought it was all right, and the camera became more stable, which made people feel a little relieved.Opening the car door at this time, the background music also changed abruptly when the screen switched. A strong note matched the screen to switch to the closed compartment. The people left behind, wearing masks used for worshiping gods, had already passed their breath while sitting on their knees!

There was a gasp in the theater.

Qi Haoran's heart suddenly shrank, and his face turned a little pale.

Obviously there is no direct and bloody picture, but the use of sound montage and editing of the camera lens can make the atmosphere so frightening that people can't help but have so many details that it makes people feel like they are on the scene.

Qi Haoran once read in newspapers that some people in the film industry argued about the future of sound films, some criticized the current use of background music, and some looked forward to future sound films, but he never had a clear concept.

What do these people say about the future of sound films?

Until now, he didn't understand that movies with good sound can have such an impact!

At the beginning of the film, it caught everyone's heart, and the heartbeat accelerated, arousing suspense.Sure enough, it is still Ji Shuangyu's style. The rhythm is extremely fast at the beginning, and it doesn't make people feel slow because the film is much longer than the advertisement.

The suspense is set at the beginning, and then the protagonist will appear.

Hengxin is different from many male protagonists in the market now, as soon as he comes out, he will be late and rush to school.

It is another shot that everyone has never seen before, but it is quite attractive. The moving shot naturally makes the audience's eyes move, and the whole process is completed quietly and very briskly.

Hengxin's small details on the way and the fluent conversations with passers-by made the audience smile slightly after seeing it, and also relaxed the tense nerves just now.There is tension and relaxation, which is called rhythm.

In getting along with colleagues at school, Heng Xin, who appeared a little funny on the stage, showed her meticulous thoughts.

Hengxin also learned why the atmosphere in the capital has been so weird for the past few days, and he jumped wildly in doubt and belief, because he himself does not believe in ghosts and gods.

And this is what the audience has always felt, swinging, swinging between belief and unbelief.If it wasn't for ghosts and gods, how could it be so terrifying? If there were ghosts and gods, wouldn't the hero be slapped madly in the face?

Hengxin had to go on a blind date with the heroine Liu Yeer because of the pressure of an acquaintance who could not escape.As soon as they met, Hengxin felt that she had seen through Liu Ye'er: a weak and gentle primary school teacher.

But after the boring blind date ended, Heng Xin discovered unexpectedly that it was all Liu Ye'er's disguise. What he saw was only what the other party let him see by using the disguise and psychological suggestion skills.

In fact, this girl shouldn't be too fond of exuding malice.Hengxin was punished by Liu Ye'er several times, and laughter burst out from time to time in the theater.

This Zhao Cuo'er, I used to watch him in other movies, he always played some bad faces.Although the image is not strong this time, and he will even be bullied by the heroine, but it makes people like it.

Qi Haoran repeatedly exclaimed in his heart, he had read the original work, but the arrangement of the film made him read it with gusto and immerse himself in it.

The degree of restoration of the story is not only higher, but even because of the excellent technique, people get a refreshing experience that is much higher than that of words.Many details that I didn't think of when reading a book are presented by the camera, which is actually full of wit and wit.

In fact, Hengxin's character setting has been slightly changed compared with the original book, and it is more humorous, but it is also more lovable on the screen, adding a bit of relaxation, so that it will not be a scary scene from beginning to end.

Several horrifying episodes in the film really make people's hearts jump out of their throats.

Especially when Hengxin and Liu Ye'er went to the scene of the crime, they used the lens as if they were there, creating a sense of fear psychologically.Even wild dogs licking things inside have clear sound effects.It is obviously a cute puppy, but because it is at the scene of the crime, it makes people feel very uncomfortable.

There is also the faint sound of Beijing opera, Tsing Yi's elongated voice: "Young master died here today—"

It can be heard that it is dubbed by a famous actor, but it is full of metaphors, and no one can enjoy it.

When the atmosphere is rendered to the extreme, it is natural to connect with the classic jumpscare of horror movies, that is, suddenly turn to a strange scene, with masks hanging densely in a room, and the sound suddenly increases!

There was a burst of screams in the theater, "Ah——"

Qi Haoran also almost bounced off his chair, covered in cold sweat!

This method, as well as Ji Shuangyu's grasp of rhythm, made people realize the superiority of sound films.Real and rich ambient sound, just right background music, all kinds of scary sound effects that I don’t know how to make.

In fact, this is also why Ji Shuangyu chose to adapt the work of Shu Huayan at the beginning, and the sound is quite a blessing to this type of film!

Next, Hengxin and Liu Ye'er were framed together, and Zhao Cuo'e shouted anxiously on the screen——

At this moment, his anxious face disappeared, and the screen switched to a static advertisement that was unsightly.

"How did this become an advertisement??"

"Is there something wrong with the projector? Replace it quickly!"

Everyone looked at the screening room, all anxious.

Until someone whispered: "It seems to be, because it's time for intermission."

It was only then that everyone realized that for a film that is too long, there will indeed be an intermission in the middle, and everyone will go to the bathroom to buy drinks.This theater is 110 minutes long, so of course it cannot be avoided.

but……

"Actually, has it been halfway already?? Why do I feel like it hasn't been long?"

After such a long time, they hardly noticed the passage of time, which is completely different from the usual films that require an intermission!After all, there is a saying, "No matter how long a good movie is, it's never too long, and no matter how short a bad movie is, it's never too short."

"I don't care, we don't want to rest, we have to continue watching, old chicken Xu, come out—"