Chapter 66: Tension and Finale

The first scene was of the protagonist failing in a piano competition due to nervousness.

For this purpose, Liu Zhou specially called some younger classmates to act as the audience. Although the scene in the audience only flashed by, it had to be there.

The protagonist of this scene is still Qin Hao.

He slowly walked onto the stage, bowed to the audience, and then sat down in front of the piano.

At this time, Yu Liwei immediately zoomed in the camera and gave a close-up of Qin Hao.

I saw that he clenched his hands tightly when pulling the stool, and it even made a friction sound when pulling the stool. Qin Hao also seemed to be breathing heavily and looked nervous.

Seeing this, Liu Zhou also shouted immediately.

Qin Hao had done plenty of homework. He wrote a biography of the character that was nearly 10,000 words long, and he also discussed the plot of the script with Liu Zhou several times.

Since he thought the performance was good, Liu Zhou didn't think about keeping another one.

Because the film "The Tuner" has a flashback narrative structure, and the narrative is mainly told through flashbacks, the piano competition in this film also tells about memories, and there are not too many shots of it.

But despite this, Liu Zhou still took a whole morning to finish the shoot and moved to a coffee shop in the afternoon.

In the coffee shop, the conversation between the male protagonist and the boss brings up the topic of voyeurism and exhibitionism in the world today, and also makes the male protagonist start pretending to be blind and enjoy the "privileges" of the weak.

Liu Zhou shot two scenes in one day, and he felt that this speed was acceptable.

However, Yu Liwei came to him in the evening to discuss matters concerning tomorrow's filming.

After the chat, Yu Liwei suddenly said:

"Ah Zhou, you're a little nervous."

“Am I nervous?”

“A little bit. Actually, you don’t need to explain many things in too much detail. Actors have their own way of performing. If you give too many rules and regulations, it will limit the actors’ performance.

I can see that Qin Hao is a good actor. Maybe if you let him perform on his own first, it might produce better results.

I see that everyone in the crew is familiar with you, so you can be more confident and decisive. "

"Is this obvious to me?"

“It’s not very obvious. At the beginning, people may not be familiar with your style, so they won’t think too much about it. But after a while, the actors themselves will feel a little awkward.

I can see it because I am more familiar with you.

Actually, it doesn’t matter. Everyone has their first time. Lao Jia was also nervous when he first took the director’s baton, and so was I.”

"I understand, Brother Yu. I'll think about it carefully tonight."

At this time, Yu Liwei also smiled and said:

"Ah Zhou, I think your short film is pretty good. Have you considered sending it overseas to participate in competitions?"

"Yes, I want to send it to Venice."

“Why not send it to Cannes? Venice prefers more artistic films. Although your short film has depth, it may not be very popular in Venice.

On the contrary, it should be better in Cannes, where they don’t discriminate against feature films.”

"Cannes will open in May, and it's already the end of March. I'm afraid I won't make it in time."

"Can you finish this film before April 10th?"

"If we hurry up, we should be able to do it."

"If possible, I'll help you with the exhibition. Maybe we can go to Cannes together this year."

"Let's go together? Brother Yu, are you also going to send your new film to Cannes for the exhibition?"

"That's right." "By the way, I forgot to ask you what the name of your new film is."

“Heaven and Earth” describes the bitter life of some lower-class people in the prosperous metropolis of Hong Kong.”

As expected, he is Jia Zhangke’s good friend, and they both like to make movies that reflect people at the bottom of society.

"That's really your style." Liu Zhou said with a smile.

"Haha, I have always believed that ordinary people living in this era need more attention, and we should have respect and reverence for ordinary lives."

"Why does it sound a bit like Stephen Chow's style? His movies also focus on the little people."

"How can I compare with Stephen Chow? He presents things in an exaggerated and funny way, which is more advanced. I can only present it with plain shots."

"Okay, let's not talk about this topic anymore. I don't know what my style is yet."

"Take your time. Take a rest first. We still have to shoot tomorrow."

After Yu Liwei left, Liu Zhou also carefully recalled today's filming process.

It seemed that he had indeed said too much to Qin Hao. Liu Zhou wanted to present the picture in his mind and tell every detail.

But when it comes to acting, actors are professionals, and the director only needs to see whether the actor can perform the shots you need.

On the second day, Liu Zhou also adjusted his state, letting the actors perform more and calling "cut" more decisively.

This made the crew run more smoothly.

Liu Zhou was also somewhat glad that he asked Yu Liwei to take the photo. He is his friend and would point out some shortcomings to him, otherwise he would have to figure it out on his own.

The crew was running smoothly and the shooting speed began to increase.

Liu Zhou had to work overtime because he wanted to send his short film to Cannes for exhibition and time was a bit tight.

Fortunately, everyone in the crew is familiar and they are very cooperative.

On the fifth day of filming, it was time for the last scene.

The protagonist was tuning the piano at an old lady's house. Because he was nervous and afraid, he managed to play a high-level piano piece.

Liu Zhou divides the scene here: the protagonist is playing the piano in the foreground, and the old lady is arranging clothes in the background.

Under the effect of the light, the old lady's shadow is projected into the foreground, which enhances the horror of the picture.

Yu Liwei also immediately moved the camera forward, giving multi-angle close-ups of the male protagonist playing the piano.

The old lady is checking the protagonist's things to see if he is really blind.

The male protagonist was playing the piano just like he was during the competition, nervous and with trembling legs, but this time he made no mistakes and played especially well.

At this time, the old lady was standing behind the male protagonist and raised the nail gun in her hand towards the male protagonist's head, but the male protagonist continued to talk about the piano.

Yu Liwei tilted the camera to the left and finally pushed the camera to freeze the scene:
The screen turns from the piano to the male protagonist, then to the old woman pointing a nail gun at the male protagonist's head, and finally to the mirror.

After shooting the last shot, Liu Zhou took a deep breath and shouted "Finish".

When they heard Liu Zhou say these two words, everyone couldn't help but cheer.

Although the shooting time was only five days, the intensity was not low. Now that it has been wrapped up, I can finally stop being so tired.

After everyone cheered, Liu Zhou also asked everyone to pack up.

Liu Zhou put away the precious film, and then he and Yu Liwei organized the equipment.

"Thank you, everyone. I won't say anything else. I have already booked a table at Quanjude. Let's eat and drink well tonight."

They have been really exhausted these past few days, and now that the filming is finished it’s time to reward them.

(End of this chapter)