Chapter 705 Changes are inseparable from its origin
"Behind comedy is tragedy. First of all, we must explore and understand the development structure of the entire story from the character script, as well as the character's personality, the opponent's lines, and his own lines. Connect these together and the development plot of the story. We must accurately grasp the overall situation. The direction and the main tone, and then find the feeling of the character within this framework, and also understand the dynamics of the character's body..."
This is what He Xin was taught in the books when he was in school at China National Theater Academy.
Comedy can be roughly divided into black comedy, light comedy, costume comedy and absurd comedy. "The Piano" is not strictly a comedy. If you insist on saying it is, it can only be said to be between black comedy and absurd comedy, or It’s both.
Of course, there are many types of comedians, such as Uncle Ge's cold humor, Zhou Xingchi's nonsensical style, Uncle Benshan's migrant worker imitation show, etc., including Shen Teng, who was very popular in later generations, and also had a more or less nonsensical performance style.
As He Xin himself concluded, no matter the so-called comedy or drama, although the performance styles are diverse, don't talk about comedians being lonely at heart. As the saying goes, you have to immerse yourself in the characters. , as long as you regard yourself as a character in the play, whether the character is a comedy character or a drama character, the role will naturally be established.
As for the character Chen Guilin, He Xin feels that he is very similar to himself in his previous life. After the state-owned enterprise collapsed, he had to fend for himself and struggled at the bottom of society. The only difference between him and Chen Guilin is that his wife is not good-looking and cannot talk to others. Run. At the same time, he is considered lucky. With the progress of society, he finally has subsistence allowances and medical insurance. At least he is luckier than Chen Guilin in this era.
So this character must be serious. As a small band member of the Caotai Group, he is serious because this is his profession for a living; he is serious about treating friends because he needs their help; he is also serious about making a steel piano. Seriously, because he hopes to keep his daughter.
He feels that as long as the character trait of seriousness is grasped, the role is already half established, and the rest is the technical aspect.
"Okay, everyone, get ready!"
After some walking practice, I even made some small marks on the uneven ground, such as placing a piece of hay or marking it with a small stone.
At this moment, it started to rain lightly again, which fit the situation perfectly, so I took the time to start shooting.
"A!"
The teacher in charge of the conductor waved his hand outside the camera, and the small band, each wearing a black plastic garbage bag as a makeshift raincoat, began to play the classic Russian folk song "Troika".
It was very inconvenient for He Xin to play the accordion with a garbage bag tied around it. He could only hold half of the accordion, but he still tried hard to maintain it, and the tunes he played tried to keep up with the rhythm of the band, because this was work and the sign could not be damaged; At the same time, he had to try to prevent the accordion from getting exposed to the rain, because it was his meal.
This is a long medium shot, framing the entire band in the shot, and then the camera slowly zooms in to show a close-up shot of He Xin, who is standing next to him playing the accordion with great difficulty, and he is seen frowning slightly. His expression was sad, as if his whole body was immersed in sad music.
After the prelude, the song sounded:
"Ice and snow cover the Volga River, and three sets of cars are running on the glacier. Someone is singing a melancholy song, and the person who is singing is the driver..."
A soprano's bel canto voice.
As the song sounded, the camera lens set up seven or eight meters away retracted and began to move slowly along the track. Cheng Hao, who was wearing a black coat and a sky blue performance suit underneath, was holding a black handful in one hand.
holding an umbrella, holding a microphone in one hand and singing affectionately.
The camera stopped, first taking a medium shot, and then zoomed in to show a close-up of Cheng Hao's singing. Although her makeup seemed a bit exaggerated, Cheng Hao was singing with great devotion to the melancholy music.
The close-up lasted for two seconds, and the camera retracted, and the surrounding environment began to slowly reveal itself, including fallen grass, bare branches, old and dilapidated walls, and three huge cooling towers behind the walls that were continuously releasing white water in the distance.
smoke……
Long shot, long shot, freeze frame.
The band, singing, and the surrounding environment formed a strong contrast.
"Look at that poor old horse, accompanying me all over the world..."
Just as the singing reached its climax with the music, a voiceover suddenly sounded: "Stop, stop, stop..."
The voiceover is from Zhang Meng's father Zhang Huizhong. As a second-generation director, it is indispensable for the father to help him get on the horse and give him a ride. Just like Jiang Qinqin's ex-boyfriend David Li, including Director Chen, this was the case back then.
Of course, compared to David Li's mother and Director Chen's father, although Zhang Meng's father Zhang Huizhong is handsome, his level and reputation are much lower. However, the old man has rich experience and is both a consultant and assistant director on the crew.
He also does on-site production and group acting, so he can be said to be multi-talented.
Following the voice-over, the camera quickly moved to the middle shot. He Xin, who was playing intoxicatedly, was interrupted by the voice-over. He quickly stopped and shouted to his small band: "Stop, stop, stop!"
He Xin quickly stepped forward, nodded and bowed: "What's the matter, brother! What's the matter?"
At this time, Cheng Hao, who had looked like a singer just now, came into the frame in a hurry holding an umbrella. He quickly helped He Xin, who was hunched over and looking confused, hold the umbrella. Although she was covered with a coat, she was still exposed.
Her bare arms still made her tremble, and she looked to the side in confusion.
"This song is so painful to listen to!" Lao Zhang was helping with the scene outside the camera.
In the medium shot, all the band members were hunched over, stamping their feet and waving their hands. There was nothing they could do about it, the weather was too cold, and with the rain, they were all freezing.
He Xin quickly explained: "No, brother, this is what Russian funerals usually do. The theme is to express pain and sadness!"
As the leader of a small band, he is also serious about making music.
"That won't work. The old man's steps will be heavy when he listens to this music!"
"Ah? Yes, yes..."
He Xin hurriedly nodded and responded. It was difficult for small bands to survive and customers came first, but he still wanted to make a few remarks.
But Cheng Hao, who was beside him, quickly looked at him and gave him a hand, and shouted to Lao Zhangte outside the camera: "Okay, okay, I got it!"
It tastes like a big piece of rice cake and sounds very authentic.
She quickly said to He Xin: "Well, tell the old man to speed up!"
He Xin turned around, still a little confused and asked: "Why are you walking so fast?"
"You don't care where she goes!"
Cheng Hao muttered in a low voice and hurriedly walked aside. If she stopped singing, she would be fine. It was just that the wasteland was full of potholes and it was difficult for her to walk in high heels.
At this time, He Xin had no choice but to turn around and shout to his small band: "Come on, let's do a backgammon and a B flat!"
The brothers, who were shivering from the cold, quickly picked up their respective things. This time, he took over the command, slightly bent over, put one foot forward, with the toes pointing upward, making an enchanting posture, with one hand in charge.
With the accordion on his chest, one hand beats the beat: "One, two, three, let's go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the cheerful backgammon tune sounded. Standing on the side, Cheng Hao took advantage of his umbrella and began to sway his body to the music.
He beat the time without forgetting to look back, as if asking for advice, then nodded repeatedly, and then joined the small band playing in accordance with the rhythm of the music.
Cheng Hao, who was holding an umbrella next to him and swaying to the music, quickly leaned out and stretched out his arms to help hold the umbrella for him.
The plot here has several meanings. The band is playing at a funeral; He Xin is the leader of this small band; and finally, the singer Cheng Hao has an unusual relationship with him.
Along with the cheerful backgammon tune, the camera began to slowly pan horizontally again, and then the coffin appeared, with a crowd of mourners standing outside the coffin holding umbrellas. There was a big word "lie" in the coffin, and paper figures were placed on the left and right sides.
Inside the paper horse, virtuous sons and grandsons are kneeling in filial piety, and paper money is burning in a brazier.
Outside the funeral shed, a 13-14-year-old child with thin clothes, already soaked by the rain, and a yellow gown clinging tightly to his body, was performing a juggling act of breathing fire and then breaking a glass bottle...
The shot at the back is not important. This six-minute shot to the end is mainly about the band scene at the front. Teacher He's performance is impeccable. Cheng Hao sings well and cooperates well, except for the other members of the band.
The hands look a little dull.
Zhang Meng, who was sitting in the tent and staring at the surveillance screen, let out a regretful "tsk", picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted: "Stop!"
There is no way, this is a one-shot shot, if it doesn't work, you have to start over.
The aircraft positions need to be rearranged and everything needs to be restored to the original state.
"Hurry up and stay in the tent for a while."
Two tents were set up nearby for storing equipment. When Zhang Meng shouted stop, He Xin quickly asked Cheng Hao, who was shivering from the cold, to go in and take shelter from the rain.
"And you?"
"I'm fine."
He Xin took off the accordion on his chest, took off the garbage bag, and quickly put on the military coat given by Shen Ming. He looked towards the simple tent with the monitor over there, and saw Zhang Meng and his old man standing on one side.
I was still pointing and pointing while watching the replay.
"I'll go take a look!"
The director shouted stop and then indicated that he wanted to start over. He didn't say what the problem was yet.
When I walked over, I saw the child who was performing acrobatics in front of the funeral shed just now. He was wearing a single coat and was soaked to the skin. He was still making gestures in the drizzle.
He looked a little unbearable and shouted: "Hey, kid, aren't you cold? Then someone, give him a coat!"
"It's okay, it's okay, Teacher He, I'm not cold." The child patted his chest and said to show off.
This kid is said to have been recruited from a local folk acrobatic troupe. Despite his young age, in addition to being able to breathe fire, he has also practiced Iron Head Kung Fu, and he was hit on the head with more than a dozen beer bottles without any problems.
At this time, the middle-aged class teacher who came with the child also came over with a smile, nodded and bowed to him: "Oh, thank you Teacher He, don't worry, what we pay attention to is to practice three days in the summer and three nines in the winter, even in the cold winter
It’s the twelfth lunar month, it’s okay to be shirtless, today it’s just a trivial matter.”
As he spoke, he took out a small wine bottle from the pocket of the thick down jacket he was wearing and handed it over. The child took it over with a smile, took a sip, and suddenly became lively again.
He Xin looked speechless. This child looked like he was only thirteen or fourteen years old at most. He didn't know if he went to school...
He shook his head, turned around and walked into the tent.
"How's it going? What went wrong?"
Zhang Meng raised his head and said with some embarrassment: "Teacher He, you and Teacher Cheng are fine, but the band is a bit dull. We have to start over. I'll go and give you a few words of care later."
After saying that, he quickly stood up and gave up his position: "Teacher He, take a look."
This scene was relatively important, and it also had a strong sense of black humor. Moreover, it was a complicated one-shot long shot. He really wanted to see the effect, so he didn't hesitate to sit down and watch the replay.
I have to say that the design of this shot is very innovative. At the beginning, it was a medium long shot to capture the band's performance. When Cheng Hao's singing started, it started to move horizontally. First, it was a medium shot, then a close-up, and finally a long long shot.
, wrapping up the surrounding environment and the cooling towers emitting white smoke.
During the dialogue with the voiceover, every question and answer, Cheng Hao cooperated. Overall, he was satisfied with his and Cheng Hao's performances.
At this moment, the screen paused. Zhang Meng pointed to the scene where the horn players in the band were stooping and waving hands after the music stopped and said: "This is very good, it looks very natural, but..."
The scene was replayed, and when the welcoming tune of Backgammon sounded, He Xin was dancing and clapping, Cheng Hao was helping him hold the umbrella while shaking his head and body, which looked very vivid, but in stark contrast to them, Hao
The players had the same attitude as when they played "Three Sets of Cars" before, and the picture became unbalanced.
"It's right here. It's too dull and blunt. I have no choice but to start over." Zhang Meng pointed at the picture and said.
He Xin read it from beginning to end and determined that there were no problems except for the trumpeter's problem. Then he stood up and said, "Okay, let's do it again."
As he spoke, he mused: "I'll change the acting method. If it doesn't suit you, you can stop at any time and I'll adjust it again."
Zhang Meng's eyes suddenly lit up and he said hurriedly: "No problem, of course this will be fine."
After coming out of the tent, Zhang Meng ran over to talk to the trumpeters. He Xin turned into the tent next door. Although it was a place where equipment was stored, he and Cheng Hao cleared out a piece of ground in a sheltered area and set up two canvas chairs.
, and there was actually a heater at my feet.
Seeing He Xin come in, the assistant Wang Xiaohong who was sitting next to him quickly stood up and gave up his seat.
"Brother, sit down."
"It's okay, you sit down, I'll just stand."
As he spoke, he pointed to the little sun next to him and reminded: "Be careful, there is still film here. It's not a trivial matter if it catches fire."
Cheng Hao, who was holding an electric hot water bottle in his hand, said: "It's okay, Xiaohong is watching. Hey, what's the problem?"
"We're fine, it's just that the trumpeters playing together are a little unnatural, and we have to line it up twice in a while. Oh, by the way, when we come to the second part later, we have plan B, wow!"
"OK!"
This is the advantage of the couple acting opposite each other. From the very beginning of preparation, the two of them designed multiple plans for their rivalry, and they absolutely cooperated with each other tacitly.