On September 14th, Li Qian brought the crew of "Frequency of Life and Death" to Shenyang to shoot outdoor scenes.
The indoor scene was filmed in 18 days, all within schedule.
The location scenes are mainly an explosion scene, a fire scene, scenes around the two protagonists' houses, and some scattered scenes.
We chose to shoot in Shenyang mainly because the movie has two plots of time and space.
1987 and 2007 should not only show the difference between the two eras, but also not make the difference too big, which will create a sense of fragmentation.
For example, when we filmed small cities in remote areas in 1987, we filmed big cities like Beijing and Shanghai in 2007. The difference was so big that it would make the audience look awkward.
It's possible to tell that there are two eras, but the difference is not particularly big.
The Northeast is undoubtedly the most suitable. In the 1980s, the Northeast was ranked first in the country in terms of urban construction and living standards.
Due to various reasons, development has been slower than that on the eastern coast.
In the past two decades, Northeast China has seen relatively little change.
But the foundation is here. The eldest son of the Republic, the three provincial capitals are stronger than the several provincial capitals in the central part.
It happened that the champion of the Chinese League One in 1987 was the Liaoyang Dongyao Team. At that time, the national football team had not yet become professional, and the Chinese League One would later become the Chinese Super League.
Football was also the sport with the highest audience and participation in that era, so there was no choice.
When he came to Shenyang that day, Li Qian first went to Liaoyang Film Studio. Although the entire film business in Northeast China was concentrated in the Changying Group next door, the development and printing workshop of Liaoyang Film Studio was still there.
Li Qian is not worried at all about the skills of the workers. These veteran workers who have been in the industry for decades are more reassuring than machines.
I also visited various exterior locations. The exterior location of the two protagonists' home was a village in the city, with small western-style houses for each household. It was built in 2000.
It's just right to be neither new nor old. If you do the later stage, it won't be a problem to make a 20-year gap.
This is not as convenient as in the West. Let alone twenty years, many cities have not changed significantly in forty or fifty years.
There are basically no outdoor scenes in other urban areas, so there is no need to bother looking for them.
In the first two days, we filmed scenes near the house. Zhang Hanyu played football with his son and taught him to ride a bicycle.
Deng Chao sat in the yard at night reminiscing about the past, talking to his father through the radio, and after confirming his identity, he excitedly rushed out of the house on a rainy night to vent.
The filming of the movie was in full swing. Fortunately, it was not too cold in Shenyang in late September. It was close to 10 degrees in the morning and evening, and the highest temperature during the day was close to 20 degrees.
On the evening of September 25, the crew came to the suburbs to shoot the explosion scene at the beginning of the movie.
A tanker truck rolled over on the road and leaked fuel. The truck happened to pinch the entrance of the underground cable duct. There were two workers inside repairing the cables.
This explosion has nothing to do with the overall plot. It just shows the father's character. After all, he is a firefighter. Only the fire scene can better show the image of a firefighter.
The scene of rescuing people and catching fire inside the pipeline was filmed in Huairou Studio. This scene was about Zhang Hanyu being the last one to come out of the pipeline after rescuing people.
After coming out, the tanker immediately exploded.
Now let’s shoot the scene where the oil tanker rolls over. The Jiefang oil tanker in the 1980s was a little bigger than the ordinary vans today, not the particularly long oil tankers today.
When shooting, it was a real car, when it exploded, it was replaced with props of equal proportions, and then rendered later.
Professional things have to be done by professional people. The state-owned studio has made many war scenes in the early years and has sufficient experience.
Instead of giving random directions, Li Qian just stood by and waited with the actors.
It was still quite cool at night in Shenyang in late September, and the wind was not too strong. Li Qian zipped up his coat.
"The temperature seems to have cooled down a bit today, and it is estimated that it will be below 10 degrees Celsius at night."
"It's okay now, but it will be uncomfortable in two months."
Zhang Hanyu just filmed the scene of riding a motorcycle home from get off work in the afternoon. Along the way, he filmed several streets with a sense of the times and went for a ride.
Fortunately, it's just a little cold now, not too cold. If you ride a motorcycle in the Northeast in winter, you don't have to think about how uncomfortable it would be.
"It was really uncomfortable when we were filming "Assembly" before. We were wearing cotton-padded jackets and coats as much as we could. At that time, there was a very short dead tree near the trench. In the afternoon, we just stared at the tree, waiting for the sun to shine. The tree is still short and it’s time to call it a day without any night shows.”
"It's really uncomfortable to film in the Northeast in the middle of winter, with the ice and snow."
Li Qian shook his head, opened the thermos cup, and took a sip of hot water.
"By the way, Brother Chao."
"How is your relationship going with that young actor?"
Deng Chao on the side sighed when he heard this, with a troubled look on his face, "That little guy is too naughty and not obedient at all."
"Then you have to hurry up and shoot the final scene of your family playing football together in two days. It's such a heartwarming scene. You are both a son and a father, and your relationship is in place."
"I'm asking people in the group who have children for advice. I don't believe it's possible to handle a little kid!"
"Then you come to me. My daughter is nine years old. I am always with her at home, but she listens to my words."
Zhang Hanyu smiled and said, "I will play with the little guy tomorrow when I have free time. You can learn from me and teach you the experience of being a father. By the way, I also want to find out what it feels like to be a grandfather."
"Ahem"
Li Qian just drank water and almost choked.
Deng Chao also had a lot of black marks. Even if the movie he co-wrote was not completed for a day, Zhang Hanyu would not forget to make fun of himself.
"That's okay."
Li Qian took a breath and said with a smile, "I'll give you a day off tomorrow afternoon. It's a good time for you three to cultivate your relationship. Don't let anything slip while filming."
Although they made fun of me a lot during this period, I couldn't help but get angry every time.
Deng Chao felt angry for a while and secretly cursed in his heart, "Why don't you let your girlfriend develop a relationship with me? After all, they are a couple in the movie!"
This is just a curse in my heart. If I really want to get high, I don't know how to put on some shoes for myself.
After chatting and joking for a while, the shooting officially started after more than an hour.
For safety reasons, this lens was taken apart.
First, we filmed the scene where Zhang Hanyu climbed out of the ground, and then we filmed the scene where the prop oil tanker exploded alone.
The explosion scene uses soft explosives. The principle is that combustion generates pressure and explodes. The destructive power is much less. Anyway, it is enough to capture the moment when the oil tanker explodes.
Then came the fire scene. Zhang Hanyu was put into a firefighting suit, with a protective suit underneath, and a protective cover on his head for layer-by-layer protection.
Anyway, it was taken at night, so there was no need for close-ups. No matter how much you wear, it won’t look too revealing.
Otherwise, why are the highlights of many Hollywood blockbusters shot at night? It’s hard to see clearly at night, so the requirements for special effects are much lower.
After working hard all night, I completed the explosion scene without any surprises.
Immediately afterwards, I filmed a chase scene between Zhang Hanyu and Wang Qianyuan, a fight scene by the river, and a scene in the water.
On the 18th, we went to the city gymnasium to film a scene of a family playing football with several neighboring families.
All parts of the crew rushed to the scene and sat down to prepare.
Li Qian smiled at Zhang Hanyu and Deng Chao and said, "How is the emotional communication between you three and your grandson going?"
Occasionally when I get bored, joking about Deng Chao is one of the few joys in the long and boring shooting life.