Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1595 Audition
"Brother, my job has been stolen."

"I know."

In the corridor, Shangluo was walking briskly towards the film set.

"Are there any other jobs available?"

"Not yet."

"But how am I supposed to get credits if I don't have a job?"

"We'll talk about it later."

"What if it gets robbed again? I can't beat someone else at that."

Shangluo stood still, turned around and glanced at him: "If you really need a job that no one is competing for right now, that's not impossible. I'm just afraid you'll regret it."

"What's there to regret? As long as you get the credits, that's all that matters."

"Okay." Shangluo picked up the walkie-talkie. "Attention all units, the actor for the corpse has been found. Prepare to begin filming."

Studio 001 in Cybernia was the pinnacle of technology in the Roman Empire. It was considered the most important dream factory for the next century, because "panoramic shooting" itself was the ultimate form of filmmaking.

As long as human cinematic genres continue to be projected onto screens along a timeline, there is no better shooting method than panoramic shooting, which can record every detail completely.

However, Rome had never used panoramic filming to produce a feature film before, and now the filming of "Wang Lingguan vs. Flying Yaksha" is the first of its kind in history.

So before the actual filming, there was an experimental shooting segment.

Among all the objects that needed to be photographed, a "stationary person" was clearly very distinctive.

"So all I have to do is lie on the ground and not move?"

"Okay, lie still." Shang Luo stood to the side; there were only four people in the entire studio.

Besides him, there's Yanqiu sitting high in the director's seat, Shangluo who can walk around the set, and his sister.

Han Xingzhi lay on the ground, surrounded by a set resembling a sketch. There was a square table with a matte plate on it, on which was a piece of finely textured silk. On the silk was a shiny apple, still glistening with water droplets. All the common materials were photographed in one go.

Han Xingzhi plays a dead person in this experimental segment.

"If I'm going to play a dead person, how long will I have to lie there?"

“Soon.” Shangluo said, circling around him.

"Hey, big brother, the way you're spinning around is like you're going to sacrifice me to the heavens. What are you looking at?"

"I'm figuring out the best angle for the light to come from, since the light source hasn't arrived yet. Okay, let's make the light circle around. I was originally planning to have you circle around, but it seems a bit troublesome, so let's change the scene."

This panoramic photography studio allows for real-time adjustment of natural day and night light and direction, and lighting for various indoor and outdoor scenes can be configured with a single click. Since so many materials have been set up, it's natural to test the lighting.

“I feel that my subjectivity has been dissolved in this process. This is alienation of me.”

"Don't be so naive. Why are you thinking so much? Don't start having wild thoughts just because you've learned a few words—if you keep rambling on, I'll make you stand still and remain unchanged."

He fell silent, not daring to say anything more.

"Alright, that's about it. Now, makeup artist, you can get started."

"Okay." Han Xingsi had been waiting for quite a while. This wasn't the first time she'd personally done her younger brother's makeup; she'd loved doing it when she was little—because when playing with makeup, whoever got their makeup on their face got scolded. It was better to put it on his face than on her own.

By the time filming began, he appeared to have been dead for some time.

The makeup maintained a subtle sense of death. It wasn't a horrifying death; there was still some color in the face, but from a distance, it certainly looked like someone who was dead.

"Is this okay?" Shangluo asked Yanqiu.

As arranged by Master Sa, she was the director of this experimental segment.

"Okay, that's fine. But seriously, it's really convenient to film a movie here."

She looked around; she was actually the only person on set responsible for filming. All the shots and lighting were pre-set, and there was only one actor.

Although when filming actually begins, more people will be needed because there will be more actors, she is already thinking about something.

"Shangluo, do you think it's possible that we all evacuate during filming?"

"Is this okay?"

"It might not be possible, but there is an advantage to it—if the film crew is next to the set, then the camera can only shoot close-ups, not far-off shots, and it's easy for mistakes to be seen in the shot. There will be cables everywhere on set, and even if we can cut every moment, it's a waste of camera resources. We could have so many shots to use, but if the film crew is on set, we can't use them."

"So you mean to film without a film crew?"

This was indeed a method that no one before him had tried, and even he had never seen it before.

Because "panoramic shooting" is a non-existent technology, apart from certain experimental segments, no feature film can be shot without the crew present.

There are many advantages to doing this—first, it truly gives the camera freedom. The original approach, while allowing the camera to frame shots from most angles, became unusable once it encompassed the film crew. This effectively locked the perspective to a small area around the crew.

In addition, the presence of the film crew will add a lot of equipment to the set, because the film crew itself also needs to be supported.

Even if all of these are removed now, this form of performance is not entirely nonexistent.

That's how stage plays are.

There are no cameras or film crews in a play. The viewing direction of a play is "a wall," a performance directed towards countless eyes in the theater, rather than a specific perspective.

A play obviously doesn't need cinematic sound recording and lighting, because the people holding reflectors and microphones obviously can't be directly on stage.

"So, we've all gone out, so this has turned into a play, right?"

"Hmm?" Yanqiu thought for a moment, "It really is—I hadn't thought of it until you mentioned it. It's true what they say, those involved are often blinded, while bystanders see clearly. That's exactly how plays are. When there are no cameras, a play is performed for the entire audience in the theater, and the play itself must ensure that the drama is valid no matter which angle you look at it from."

[In that sense, Roman theater was similar. Ancient Greek theaters were also semi-circular, to ensure that at least all the audience members in the semi-circle could see the film. In film, the director's perspective guides the audience through the event. However, to accommodate the director's subjective viewpoint, the film itself sacrifices a significant amount of expression.] This is why, in most films, the director's personal style has a profound impact on the entire production.

A director is not just a director; he is also someone who understands the whole story and presents it to the audience from his own perspective. In other words, the audience is actually watching the whole story from the director's perspective and understanding.

The camera angle may not necessarily be the director's starting point, but the understanding of the camera angle must start from the director's starting point, and the same is true for the understanding of the story.

“So now, we can compromise between the two,” Shangluo replied. “We can now have unrestrained, theatrical performances; and after filming, we can tell the story from the director’s perspective—it’s practically avant-garde art!”

“Wait a minute, Shangluo.” Yanqiu bent down from her high chair. “This is a commercial film, not an art film. Will doing this affect the box office?”

"Although our shooting method is exploratory, our exploration is ultimately for the benefit of the audience. We are not doing art for art's sake, but to present a better viewing experience to the audience, right? The unrestrained perspective and the unprecedented freedom in the use of light and shadow and composition—you can treat this entire panoramic studio as a sandbox, and then we just need to observe from outside the sandbox."

Yanqiu pressed her forehead and pondered for a moment: "Okay, let's do it this way! Let's retreat."

She jumped off the chair, folded it up, and together with Shang Luo, cleaned up the traces around them. Han Xingsi also carried her makeup bag and other props away.

"Hey? Where are you guys going? Where are you going?!"

Han Xingzhi, with his eyes closed, noticed that Shang Luo was starting to pack up. He opened his eyes: "Are you closing up shop already?"

"Not yet, stay where you are."

"Huh? So you've all left, what's the point of me lying here?"

“We’ve all left. Filming is still going on, so we’re watching from outside.”

"Oh... how long do I have to lie here?"

"You can only stop when I tell you to. Don't move around. This is an experiment, and if you move around, the experiment can't continue."

Outside the film set, Shang Luo and others stood in front of a wall full of monitors, watching the people on the screen from various angles.

Han Xingzhi, lying on the ground, looked like he had been dead for a while.

He was left there, like a discarded water bottle, as if no one in the world remembered him.

The light and shadow that had been rotating in circles were now fixed at a fixed angle.

The huge studio was all gray and white, except for the area where they were.

Han Xingzhi, lying in the middle, was displayed there like an exhibit, forgotten by the world—this was the ultimate torment.

This is more agonizing than interrogation. During interrogation, at least someone looks this way. But now, no one is looking at him—or at least he can't see anyone looking at him.

The profound silence brought with it a profound emptiness, and he began to fear that he had truly been forgotten by the world. After all, if no one had been paying attention to him, it was entirely possible that he had accidentally slept for five hours.

"Sister, brother, are you still there?" Han Xingzhi opened his eyes slightly.

"Close your eyes! Don't speak!" Shang Luo's voice came from all directions like a god, and the entire panoramic studio echoed with his voice.

Han Xingzhi, standing in the middle, was scolded like an ant—but being scolded was better than being forgotten.

He felt comfortable. Lying on the ground, he continued to play the role of a corpse with peace of mind.

[Tsk tsk tsk.] In the monitoring room, Apollonia shook her head. [Humans are just like that. When no one is watching, it's like everything loses its meaning.]

“After all, humans aren’t solitary creatures,” Shangluo replied. “There aren’t that many people in this world as steadfast as a stone—a stone, even without onlookers, simply exists naturally. But most people in this world live in the eyes of others. It’s not difficult to exist like a human, as long as someone knows you exist. It’s harder to exist like a wild animal; you have to rely on your instincts to adapt to nature. To exist like a stone…that requires immense steadfastness.”

"Hmm," Han Xingsi nodded, "If we just stay in this quiet place, we might even become Buddhas."

Shangluo cautioned, "Whether he can become a Buddha is hard to say, but he seems to have grasped something. His consciousness seems somewhat anxious."

"What, he moved again? Wasn't it peaceful just now?"

"No. He seems to need to go to the restroom."

"Ah," Han Xingzhi said as he walked out of the restroom, "I feel so relieved."

His face was full of peace and tranquility, as if he had entered a state of enlightenment.

"You seem to be enjoying it?" Shang Luo asked in surprise. "I left you there, and you got pleasure from it?"

"Oh, brother, don't make me sound like a pervert. My sister is still outside."

"So I didn't bring you here to have fun."

"Who enjoyed it? Nobody did. How could anyone enjoy it in a situation like this?"

"So tell me, what were you thinking just now?"

"It's so quiet, I feel like there's no one else around. I feel truly at ease. It's as if I'm the only person left in the whole world."

"But you're alone in your room too, aren't you?"

“That’s different. When I’m in my room, I’m alone. But here, you’ve left me there. I know you’ve left me there, so I feel at peace and can better enjoy being alone.”

"But you still had your fun, didn't you?! You..." Shang Luo pressed his forehead, "Fine, you're free."

"No, I'm not free! How can you look at me like I'm some strange creature? You were the one who said that. Why don't you go in and try it? It feels like a zero-gravity bed, it's amazing."

"Let's not. At least the footage we just shot was used."

"So, what contribution have I made to art?"

"Your contribution is that I've learned to be careful with solo performances; there should be at least two people involved. I've been thinking of filling every scene with people, so that at least everyone in the shot can act more normally."

The filming technique in this movie seems quite different from other films. Many other films can simplify things, but the camera here is free. Even if you bring every possible person into the scene, the invisible camera can still find the right angle.

“Fahdon.” Shangluo picked up the walkie-talkie. “How many spots do you have left? I’ve confirmed it now. We can expand production here; we can bring in as many people as you need.”

(End of this chapter)