At around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Tang An and the crew got off the plane from Yinchuan Hedong International Airport. The crew had come to the set here half a month ago to prepare. This time he just brought a few actors.
"Hello, Mr. Tang, hello, Teacher Li."
Pang Hong, vice president of Ningxia Film Group, who was already waiting, came forward with a smile.
"Excuse me, Mr. Pang has come to pick up the plane in person." Tang An smiled and shook hands with him.
Pang Hong waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's no trouble. I would also like to welcome Director Tang to come to our Ningxia filming site. I have already booked a hotel and Director Yang will be arriving soon."
As he said this, Pang Hong asked Tang An to get into an old Audi A6, and the others got into the cars sent by the crew.
The filming location of "The Martian" is in Ningxia, and the studio is also in the Western Film and Television City, which saves time for transitions.
He was a local snake, and he also helped arrange the location and the construction of the studio. Tang An had to go socialize first and go to the studio later.
Arriving at the Kempinski Hotel on Yinchuan Beijing Middle Road, Yang Hongtao, chairman of Ningxia Film Group, came within a few minutes.
"Hello, Director Yang."
"Haha, this is our first time meeting Mr. Tang, please take a seat."
Yang Hongtao invited Tang An to sit down, and soon the food was served.
At the banquet, it is inevitable to drink two glasses of wine.
However, Tang An had to go to the set in the evening, so he didn't drink too much.
"Director Tang, our group is cooperating with Asia Entertainment on an action blockbuster. I wonder if you are interested?"
While talking, Yang Hongtao mentioned a project and asked with a smile.
Tang An's vision is obvious to all, and Hantang Media's publicity capabilities are not weak. Yang Hongtao also hopes that the two parties can have more cooperation.
"Director Yang, I'm busy with "The Martian" right now, and I don't have the energy to take care of other things for the time being. Why don't you send someone to talk to Mr. Chen, or wait until I finish filming this movie," Tang An said with a smile.
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Ningxia Film Group doesn't have much of a presence in the country. If it weren't for the "Painted Skin", most people wouldn't know there is such a studio.
It won't be possible to make a commercial movie in two or three years. What Yang Hongtao was talking about should be "The Wolverine" or no, it was "The King of Kong".
It's a complete bad movie. If it had no plot, no dialogue, and no lines, it would still be watchable.
The whole process is about fighting and fighting, and you can still watch the action scenes, but with this plot
It is basically difficult for this kind of small and medium-sized film companies to make good films. From directors, actors to Fu Huadao, there are no decent talents.
Looking at the successful low-budget dark horse movies in the past ten years, they are basically all produced with investment from medium-sized or above film companies. Only these companies have people and channels.
"Nightclub" was also invested by China Film and Chengtian.
"Thirty-three Days of Love" was originally a perfect world, invested by Xinli Media.
In addition to Huaqi Film and Television, "People on the Road" also has investment from the Xiangbei Yangtze Film Group. The annual box office of one of its cinemas in northern Hunan accounts for half of the annual box office of the entire Xiangbei Province.
It’s not easy to be a dark horse. Movies from small companies are basically released in theaters for a few days. Ningxia Film Group itself can’t handle the painting and has to recruit several other companies.
By the way, the later famous "Asura" was invested by Ningxia Film Group, which made a big joke.
After drinking and eating, Tang An declined some of the subsequent programs and took everyone to the Western Film and Television Base in the northwest suburb of Yinchuan.
The desolate northwest desert has created its simple, primitive, rough, desolate and unique architectural style.
Movies such as "Westward Journey", "New Dragon Gate Inn" and "Red Sorghum" were filmed here.
Xu Ke's remake of "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" was originally scheduled to be filmed here, but in the end it was chosen to be the Tianmo Film and Television Base in northern Hebei, which is also the desert closest to the capital.
The car stopped at the entrance of the base. Tang An asked the actors to go back to the hotel to rest first, and went to the studio to take a look.
We drove to the green screen studio specially opened in the east, which is 25 meters high and covers an area of thousands of square meters.
The complete Mars surface has been built in the studio, with a full-scale human center placed and even a Mars rover can be driven.
Green screen was only used to add distant CG mountains and panoramic footage shot in the Tengger Desert during the preparation stage.
The Tengger Desert was not shot directly. A large area was renovated, completely in accordance with the Martian landform reference data given by the space agency.
When Tang An arrived, hundreds of people on the crew were still busy in the studio. Art director Ye Jintian, photographer Zhang Li, and lighting engineer Zhou Ren were constantly adjusting the lights.
Assistant directors Zhang Yiping and Shi Tiangeng led two teams to arrange the surroundings. People were coming in and out of the Human Center, and the Mars rover was also checking.
"Lao Ye, Lao Zhang, how are you? Did you check it one last time?" Tang An walked over and asked.
"Director Tang."
"Director Tang is here."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and said hello to Tang An.
Ye Jintian rubbed his eyes and said, "Director Tang, the preparations have been completed and filming can start tonight."
"Don't worry, let's take a rest tonight and start working again tomorrow."
Tang An nodded, squatted on the ground, grabbed a handful of sand on the ground, put it in his hands and rubbed it.
Zhang Yiping came over and said, "Director Tang, these sands are dry enough, just like the Tengger Desert, our location."
Tang An wiped the sand off his hands and stood up and said, "Everyone has worked hard during this period. Our shooting period this time is about one and a half months. Let's work hard for a while."
Tang An looked up at the top of the studio and the seven or eight lights, "What is the height of this studio?"
Zhou Ping knew what Tang An was going to ask and immediately replied, "It's close to 25 meters. The height is limited, so the height of the daylight is also limited."
"According to the data given by the space agency, this keeps the plot always between 9:30 and 11:30 in the morning on Mars. When we move to the Tengger Desert to shoot, we must also use the same daylight altitude as much as possible
."
Tang An asked, "Does this mean that there are only two hours left to shoot exterior scenes in the Tengger Desert?"
Zhou Ren nodded, "It takes about two hours, depending on the weather."
Tang An asked again, "Can't it pass the later revision?"
Zhou Ren shook his head, "I asked Director Xiao to read it. It won't make much sense later on."
Tang An didn't force it, and asked the production director Zhao Lei to be called, "Old Zhao, please confirm the schedule with the coordinator. The location plans are arranged. Show me the plans for the next three days later."
"Oh, good Director Tang." Zhao Lei nodded in agreement.
Then Tang An went to other human centers and other studios to look around. The human center was built under the direction of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with a 1:1 ratio.
Preparations were completed in several other studios, and Tang An also sat on the modified Mars rover to try it out.
All aspects have been confirmed, everything is ready, and we are just waiting for the official start of filming.
With a complete and professional production team, Tang An basically doesn't have to worry about the early preparations. As long as he accurately conveys his requirements and ideas, it will be fine.
After switching to a small company, Tang An was extremely busy and could not achieve this effect.
After turning around in a circle, Tang An clapped his hands to everyone.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. We have already booked a meal at the hotel. We will go back to the hotel for dinner as soon as we finish what we are doing. Apart from not drinking, we can eat whatever we want.
After dinner, take a good rest, and we will officially start working from tomorrow."
A big meal can at least make them work more quickly, and their hands and feet can become more agile.