Chapter 502: The Devil King Zuo is worthy of the name
The theme of the movie "Sewing Machine Band" is actually the story of a group of little people realizing their rock and roll dreams.
In the movie, a small rock and roll town was specially created, and a landmark building with a "big guitar" was built as the main body of the rock and roll dream.
Decades ago, a local rock band in a rock town became famous and set off a rock wave in the town.
The "Big Guitar" was built at this time, and therefore was endowed with special significance. It is regarded by countless rock fans as a rock mecca.
Hu Liang, one of the two male protagonists, is a typical representative of these people. He witnessed this rock wave when he was a child, and he had his own rock and roll dream ever since.
Even though he was later defeated by reality and became an ordinary car mechanic, he still engraved the word "rock and roll" in his life.
However, with the development of the times, the rock town has slowly abandoned its old dreams and been gradually eroded by capital.
A real estate company is preparing to build a large-scale real estate in Rock Town, and the area to be demolished includes the landmark building "Big Guitar".
After Hu Liang found out, he planned to hold a concert at the location of Da Guitar that would shock the whole city, and use practical actions to impress the city government and save Da Guitar.
Of course, in order to maximize the influence of this concert, Hu Liang needed the help of a manager who was proficient in operations, so he approached Cheng Gong, one of the two male protagonists.
Cheng Gong was also a rock singer in his early years. Later, he was injured for some reason, bid farewell to the stage, and became an agent. However, his career was not going well and he was very short of money.
Cheng Gong was completely indifferent to Hu Liang's so-called plan to save Dagui, but he couldn't bear the thought of Hu Liang spending all his savings to throw money at him.
Cheng Gong, who was short of money, planned to come over and make some extra money.
A mechanic full of rock and roll dreams and an agent whose edges have long been smoothed by reality.
One is straightforward and simple, the other is utilitarian and calculating.
If two people who are naturally on the wrong side work together, something will definitely go wrong.
This is also true. In the movie, after a series of frantic band formations and promotional road shows, the Sewing Machine Band formed by Cheng Gong and Hu Liang became more and more famous in their profession.
Therefore, the real estate company responsible for the large-scale demolition project found Cheng Gong and threatened and induced him.
Cheng Gong chose to stop, and the big guitar that ran through most of the movie was dismantled, Hu Liang's dream was shattered, and the Sewing Machine Band fell apart.
If this were reality, the matter would almost stop here.
Hu Liang stopped playing rock music and became his own car mechanic.
Cheng Gong felt guilty in his heart and returned to the capital to continue his career as an agent. If his career succeeds in the future, he may find opportunities to make amends. If he fails, there will be no future.
The other members of the band also perform their respective duties and play their own roles in real life. Occasionally, they look nostalgic when seeing information about rock music.
However, "The Sewing Machine Band" is a movie, and it is a comedy movie with a rock and roll inspirational theme.
Here, dreams are king!
Therefore, Cheng Gong in the movie returned to the rock town, reunited with Hu Liang, formed the Sewing Machine Band again, and held a shocking rock concert at the site of the dismantled Big Guitar.
From an empty space, the sewing machine band sang alone, to the crowds pouring in, and finally Cheng Gong came on stage and thousands of people sang "No More Hesitation", completing his own redemption.
It can be said that the last concert plot is the highlight of the movie "Sewing Machine Band" and the biggest tear point, which sublimates the entire movie.
When Zhou Yan rushed to direct the film himself, he was largely moved by the last plot.
After "Sewing Machine Band" was started, he silently prepared the plot while filming, determined to make this scene a classic scene with Chinese music themes.
Zuo Le came to visit the team this time because he deliberately wanted to take advantage of Zhou Yan's filming of this scene. He planned that at the critical moment, if Zhou Yan couldn't hold it alone, he would be able to help him.
Zhou Yan roughly understood Zuo Le's thoughts, but he didn't feel angry at all.
To be honest, he himself was a little unsure when filming this scene.
In the previous script of "The Sewing Machine Band", the final scene of this scene was set to have 3,000 to 5,000 people.
Later, in order to achieve greater results, Zhou Yan took the initiative to increase the number of people and raised the number to more than 8,000. Rounding up, it was a chorus of 10,000 people.
More people means more troubles. Tens of thousands of people gather together, covering mountains and seas. Ordinary people's scalps will go numb just by looking at them, let alone directing them to film.
Even though Zhou Yan is also a great director in the entertainment industry, he has never done such a big scene before, so he is still a little worried about his scheming.
Now, having Zuo Le in charge has emboldened Zhou Yan to a certain extent.
Just kidding, two top directors in the industry can work together to handle even the most troublesome scenes...
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Quancheng, Changqing Film and Television Base
In an open space about a few kilometers away to the north of the base, there stood a huge demolished building, which could vaguely be seen as a large guitar.
This big guitar was built by the crew of "Sewing Machine Band". It is 22 meters high and weighs 238 tons. It took more than two months.
During the past two months, the crew also sent a photographer to record the construction process of this big guitar from scratch using time-lapse photography.
Looking back on this process, it will also be edited and put into the main part of the movie.
During the construction of the big guitar, "Sewing Machine Band" was started. Once the construction was completed, the crew immediately began to prioritize filming scenes with the complete big guitar.
After all these scenes were filmed, the construction team immediately dismantled the big guitar and left it for the crew to shoot the final sex scenes.
With continuous construction and demolition, the construction period was tight, and the crew spent nearly tens of millions on this big guitar.
However, in order to better achieve the movie effect, the money is still worth spending. After all, there are some things that special effects cannot do. When it is time to spend money, you can't hold back.
The final big scene is a very serious one, so it must be treated seriously. The possibility of passing it over once or twice is very low. If not, we may have to fight a protracted war.
However, this scene involved such a large scene, with nearly tens of thousands of people performing, which put a lot of pressure on the crew.
Before the shooting officially started, Zhou Yan had not slept well for several days. He spent more than ten hours a day discussing the shooting plan with his subordinates, conducting on-site inspections over and over again, trying to find the best shooting spots as much as possible.
After Zuo Le came to the set, he was dragged into a meeting even after two days of free time, and he took on the responsibility of his production in a serious manner.
After much discussion, everyone basically decided on the shooting plan.
First, shoot the position so that the extras can find their positions. During this period, take as many panoramic shots as possible. Also at this time, clarify some rules to the extras and make adjustments based on some realistic situations.
To put it bluntly, during this period of time, the crew will first conduct certain training for this group of extras.
This is very necessary. Group performances involving nearly tens of thousands of people are no joke. Responsibilities must be determined in advance and everyone should be guided to understand their position and perform their duties.
Otherwise, if you start filming rashly, it will be a small matter if the filming is not good, but it will be a big problem if something goes wrong.
This stage is undoubtedly very time-consuming, and the filming has never been officially started.
But it's all worth it. As long as the extras understand the shooting process, know their positioning, and the rehearsal goes smoothly, the rest of the official shooting will definitely progress quickly.
Therefore, a large period of time was spent on training the extras for this scene. It was not until a week later that the extras basically met the shooting requirements.
"Sewing Machine Band" has just officially begun the filming phase.
On the day of filming, Zhou Yan took the center stage and directed, while Zuo Le personally directed the movements of the extras and guest guests.
Two top directors have joined forces, and all departments of the "Sewing Machine Band" crew are fully prepared to win this big movie perfectly.
…………
"Qi Bin, you will sing normally on stage in a while. No matter whether the camera is on you or not, you will be in full performance mode."
"Pay special attention to the fact that when the venue is empty at first and when people start to enter later, the emotional transition should be fuller and more natural."
"As long as Director Zhou doesn't shout, even if you make mistakes, don't stop in the middle. Sing as hard as you can, as if you are really having a concert."
"That's right, Director Zuo is right. The important thing is not to interrupt the emotions. Anyway, we are not rushing through it. We can edit it later."
"Of course, it would be better if the song could be played over and over again."
"..."
Facing several leading actors, Zuo Le and Zhou Yan gave shooting instructions one by one.
Then Zhou Yan went to take care of the guests, while Zuo Le stayed behind to continue cheering for the leading actors.
There is no way, even these professional actors have never experienced singing in front of nearly tens of thousands of people, and they are all burdened with some pressure.
Among everyone, the only one who was calmer was Teacher Yu. This man has rich stage experience and has been in many venues with tens of thousands of people.
Not to mention, Teacher Yu doesn't have to go on stage in person at all, and his mentality is very stable.
Half an hour later, the extras were in place, and no matter what the leading actors thought, filming finally began.
In the construction site surrounded by fences, the band spread out under a big old guitar, and Zhou Yan gave the order.
"Prepare, Action!"
In the camera, Qi Bin, who played Hu Liang, looked at the deserted construction site in despair, but his eyes became firm again in a flash.
Finger flicking the guitar in his arms, and as the melody sounded, Qi Bin leaned on the microphone and sang softly "Plastic Bag", one of the theme songs of the movie.
"I can't even remember where I came from.
Forgot why, but exists
I don't want to turn into dust just yet
Because my hometown is called the future
………”
When Qi Bin was singing, the camera observed other stationary band members from multiple angles, as well as from the panoramic view and behind the band, explaining that the band was singing to the empty field.
And according to the script setting, some flashbacks of the band’s happy times will be added in the later stage.
In a word, it suppresses the atmosphere and slowly brings the audience into the scene.
After Qi Bin sang a solo, the rest of the band followed the rhythm, first gently echoing, and then became more intense as Qi Bin's singing rose in pitch.
"Nothing will change for me
You also need to be ready to fly
Don't try to bury me
There will always be strong winds to take me away
………”
"Start banging on the door!"
Zuo Le, who was in charge of on-site dispatching, picked up the walkie-talkie and informed the executive director outside the construction site.
The inside of the construction site gate immediately began to tremble under the gaze of the camera.
one time.
Two times.
Three times.
The gate opened, and a group of people waving colorful flags and streamers rushed into the construction site. The camera moved up to reveal a large crowd outside the construction site.
As the crowd rushed in, the mood of the leading actors who were singing under the big guitar also changed, from the previous disappointment and loneliness to surprise and emotion.
The tone of their "Plastic Bag" also became passionate and full.
Everyone laughed with tears and contributed all their strength to give the best performance to the audience who came to support them.
At the same time, I am also excited and relieved that this performance that I have cherished and worked hard for for a long time has come to a successful conclusion.
If you want to advance, suppress it first!
Although it is an old routine in plot creation, it still works every time and always works...
Finally, when more than 8,000 extras shouted "Sewing Machine" in unison under the leadership of the crew, even Zuo Le felt his scalp numb.
People's emotions are contagious. When everyone is in the same atmosphere, it is difficult for you to stay calm alone.
Zuo Le and other behind-the-scenes staff were okay, they knew it was filming, but the leading actor on stage couldn't stand it any longer. He was immersed in the atmosphere of the scene, blushing and shouting to interact with the audience.
As soon as he saw this posture, Zuo Le knew that he wouldn't be able to take pictures today.
By the time these people's excitement has subsided and they have calmed down, their spirits have already entered a period of exhaustion. At that time, they can only move around and try to follow the process of filming, but I'm afraid they won't be able to find the right state at all.
Fortunately, the quality of the footage captured during this trip was quite good, at least Zhou Yan was very satisfied with it.
In particular, the atmosphere of interaction between the actors and the audience is very rare, and it is something that cannot be performed even in acting.
This is also due to Zuo Le.
After the extras were in place, Zhou Yan wanted the band to perform and rehearse the extras several times, but Zuo Le stopped him.
Of the 8,000 extras we found this time, a small number are professional extras from the Changqing base and are responsible for some specific performances.
About half of them are college students and ordinary citizens. Most of these group performers are just joining in the fun and mainly responsible for filling up the number of people.
As for the remaining people, they are rock fans that Zhou Yan found through his connections. The role of this group of people is to act as an atmosphere group and create a lively atmosphere for the concert.
It was precisely because of this that Zuo Le stopped Zhou Yan from rehearsing and only asked him to arrange the group performances and the band's moves in sequence, but never let the band actually start singing.
The reason is that the audience's enthusiasm will be exhausted during the rehearsal, and when the shooting actually starts, the stunning on-site atmosphere will not be achieved.
Zhou Yan adopted Zuo Le's suggestion, and now the filming is officially underway. He was shocked by the emotional feedback from the audience when they heard the band singing live for the first time.
This kind of true emotion is the rarest and most touching thing.
As for the unfamiliarity and flaws during filming, reshoots can be done later. As long as we can get the true emotional expression of these audiences, everything else is a minor problem.
The next day, the crew re-shot the "Plastic Bag" segment several times. Combined with the material from the first day, the requirements were almost completed.
However, to be on the safe side, Zhou Yan still shot some additional scenes on the third day.
During this period, he obviously discovered that after multiple shootings, the enthusiasm of the extras dropped significantly. Many of them had a perfunctory attitude and lost the excitement and seriousness of the first day of shooting.
This discovery made Zhou Yan admire Zuo Le, who was worthy of being able to accomplish such a big undertaking.
The Big Devil of the Left lives up to his name!
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ps: After the annual vacation, I have to start working hard. I beg for a guaranteed monthly ticket next month▄█?█●
