Global Film Emperor

Chapter 560 Disagreement
"It's raining again..."

Due to the temperate maritime climate, Britain experiences nearly half a year of rain. Lu Ze has long been accustomed to this terrible weather, but the long rainy season always makes people feel less than pleasant.

He sat on a bench at the station with his legs crossed, hands behind his head, gazing at the sky, the cigarette burning in his mouth occasionally emitting a bright light.

The rain intensified, with dense raindrops pounding against the station's dome. The sound was quite noticeable during periods of low pedestrian traffic. The station, which was not enclosed, was directly exposed to the wind, and the cold air that came with the rain rushed in, causing fine condensation to quickly form on the floor tiles, occasionally causing unsuspecting pedestrians to stumble.

"Hurry up, buddy, I don't want to pay the station for another day."

Mickey walked hurriedly, his hands busy as he spoke. He helped push the flight case, then sat behind the monitor with his legs tightly pressed together, seemingly feeling cold. He put his hands into the hand warmer he had snatched from Lu Ze, and his furrowed brows relaxed. He glanced at Lu Ze and nodded.

Upon receiving the instruction, he threw the cigarette butt into the empty coffee cup, stood up, and stood in the filming position. The staff quickly withdrew from the venue, and after a final inspection to ensure there were no continuity errors, they stepped forward with the clapperboard. Kesha stood behind Lu Ze with the camera, and the performance officially began.

……

This is the key scene where the male and female leads meet. In the empty train station, Lu Ze must first portray a mixture of unease and anticipation. There are no lines, no other actors, and the character's emotions must be conveyed entirely through physical actions.

If it were an ordinary actor, or according to the audience's expectations, this unease and anticipation would make the character Zuo Li restless, pacing around the edge of the platform checking his WeChat steps. Some actors might even choose some exaggerated movements, such as kicking something with their hands in their pockets or sticking their heads out to look in the direction the train is coming from. If they still can't portray that sense of anxiety, the lowest-level solution is to talk to themselves and force themselves to deliver lines to create the atmosphere.

Based on his understanding of the character, Lu Ze chose a different approach that better suited the character's psychology. He simply squatted down against the support pillar, hugged his knees with both hands, and buried his face in them. His center of gravity swayed back and forth, like a swing, leaning forward for a moment before slamming his back against the wall again.

About three breaths later, she raised her head slightly and looked sideways at the railway tracks. Her face below her cheekbones was still buried in her arms, with only her eyes showing, which shone brightly beneath the black hair that touched her eyebrows.

"Lucas, cut to close-up, slap him in the face, get close to Lu Ze's direction, pull back 15 degrees."

Mickey put on his headphones and communicated with Lucas at camera position number two via microphone. The camera angle on the monitor immediately changed. When the angle was turned to the side, nothing could be seen. Now, when the angle was turned to the rear, Lu Ze's slender figure became more obvious. He was not very big when he curled up. When the camera zoomed in, his dark and shiny eyes were more prominent. The feeling of grievance was much stronger than before.

"Cut it like this? Should we leave this part?"

Zhuang Yu, who was sitting next to Mickey, frowned slightly, pulled out his left earphone, and asked Mickey a question.

He doesn't like using subtle close-ups to highlight a character's individual traits or slightly alter the emotions an actor creates according to a predetermined plan. It's important to understand that the camera has its own language; different angles can change the visual experience. For example, filming a scene with people of different heights presents completely different perspectives. If the scene is complex, an observer might not even recognize it as the same location.

Originally, this was supposed to be a large shot, using the supporting pillars to hide Kesha's view, and to include the whole world in the shot. Zhuang Yu was quite happy about the rain. Although it was impossible to capture the rain streaks on the glass dome at night, the raindrops gathering and dripping at the train exit in the distance could still enhance the atmosphere. This was a visual language that Zhuang Yu really liked.

The darkness outside the station on a rainy night, the bright light inside the station, and the anxious people on the platform, with the load-bearing wall supporting the scene, create an extremely strong sense of loneliness and unease. It can be said to be a classic atmosphere creation. And what about Mickey's choice?
First, the camera cut inward by fifteen degrees, squeezing the train exit out of the frame. Then, it cut to a close-up, excluding the load-bearing pillars and the slightly condensed ground, making it a shot that truly highlights the character's emotions. Fortunately, Lu Ze's eyes were full of emotion, and his face could hold up well in this shot. If it were another actor, it would really lack eighty percent of the charm.

However, Zhuang Yu still didn't like the shot of this person being so emotional. Even with Lucas's original camera angles, the footage would most likely only be shown for three to five seconds in the final cut, or even cut out altogether. Mickey's shooting method, on the other hand, would ensure that the footage was used in the final cut, and even give it five to ten seconds to engage the audience's emotions. But for Zhuang Yu, disliking something meant disliking it.

Don't underestimate the slight difference that arises from just a few seconds of footage; it represents the completely different film styles of Mickey and Zhuang Yu. Mickey's style focuses more on the actors, whose performances play a crucial role, and the actors' emotions then influence the audience's emotions.

Zhuang Yu's style relies on the connection between characters and sets to deliver a powerful visual impact to the audience. There is no absolute superiority or inferiority between the two; it's just that Zhuang Yu, who comes from a cinematographer background, and Mickey, who comes from a directing background, have obvious differences in their choices of aesthetics.

It is precisely because of this that, after the movie co-starring Lu Ze and Zhuang Yu was released, it received very good reviews. Lu Ze also relied on his solid skills to establish himself as a powerful actor and became a leading young actor.

However, unlike when Lu Ze and Mickey collaborated, Mickey didn't showcase the pure vitality of the protagonist on screen, which allowed Lu Ze to make a name for himself internationally and reach the top. Compared to Zhuang Yu, Mickey was much better at filming people, especially Lu Ze; he really had it all figured out.

Conversely, without excellent set design, Zhuang Yu's work would lose 30% or more of its appeal, and without a good actor, Mickey's work would also lose a significant amount of appeal.

"Of course we should keep it, it's such a wonderful scene."

Mickey stared intently at the monitor, as if even blinking was a waste of time. His eyes revealed absolute appreciation for Lu Ze's performance. He answered Zhuang Yu's question without thinking, responding instinctively.

Hearing Mickey's answer, Zhuang Yu sighed inwardly. For a director, this feeling was very uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do. After all, he was just an assistant director, and it was so painful not to have the power to make decisions.

However, Zhuang Yu did not intend to give up on the absolutely excellent visuals. In his opinion, adding control over the scene to Mickey's excellent skills in filming people would not cause a stylistic break, but would instead create a more visually and sensorially perfect work. And that was precisely the purpose of his trip abroad.

"..."