Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 440 The Inattentive Master

Ronald's shooting plan was quickly approved by the executives of Saab. They expressed great satisfaction and set aside some extra shooting expenses, so Ronald asked a lighting expert from London to achieve the best in his vision. Effect.

  Apply to use the hangars, warehouses and runways of Barkabi Airport to shoot, Ronald moved to the airport and began to guide technicians to set up scenes in the hangar.

  The lighting expert from London was David Watkin, a typical Briton in his fifties. He has a big nose and messy hair.

  Watkin just wrapped up a film shoot in Canada as a photographer. The main reason for coming to Stockholm this time is that I want to travel, earn some extra money to buy my favorite classical music records, and help the “young directors from Hollywood” who I know well to solve some small problems.

Ronald gave Watkin his hotel suite in downtown Stockholm and moved to a small hotel near the airport, which made Watkin very happy and spent a whole day in the centuries-old lower city, Took a lot of photos. Then I came to the hangar to help solve the lighting problem.

"Mr Watkin, I want a spotlight effect that puts all the focus on the Thor fighter. Like the spotlight on the stage for the protagonist." The lighting idea of ​​"street" was used to design the advertising scene.

  Watkin nodded frequently, then tilted his head to see where the fighter was. He stretched out his palm and gestured twice.

   "My camera will be arranged here, I want one..." Ronald then stood at the door of the hangar, and then described the shots he needed.

"No no no..." David Watkin put a finger in front of his mouth and made a silent gesture, "I will light the scene as you want, but don't tell me how you shoot, how Shooting is your business."

   "Huh?" Ronald raised his eyebrows slightly, why did this director of photography act out of common sense? I don't know where the camera is placed, and how to arrange the lighting? At that time, I saw this old man at the scene of "Endless Love", but I didn't communicate with him, I only knew that his level was very high.

"I don't even need to be here when you're shooting. In my experience, as long as the lighting is done, 95 percent of the time, you don't need me. Just put your camera there, whatever. You can set up a few cameras."

"Okay," Ronald thought he still believed Nisita's long-distance call from Los Angeles that David Watkin was the best DP he could find on his budget, if it wasn't for being in Stockholm, And the workload is not large, it is impossible to invite this master who is the director of photography for "Endless Love".

   "Spotlights are very simple", David Watkin recruited local technicians in Sweden to arrange the lights according to his own ideas. A small light with a warm color temperature highlights the cockpit glass of the fighter jet, and then a cool spotlight is placed on a bracket on the ceiling, which has a mysterious and blurred effect in the usual smoke of British photographers.

  Ronald retreated to the position where he was going to place the camera. In a haze of smoke, the Thor fighter lay quietly like a warhammer. Waiting for the pilot to wake up.

   "Crack", David Watkin motioned to turn off the spotlight he was staring at, leaving only a small light on the scene, and the fighter became more mysterious and quiet.

   "Pop", the spotlight turned on again, this time about two-thirds of the body appeared like the Goddess of Victory, and her wings were still in the shadows, giving people infinite reverie.

   "Very good, put the camera here." Ronald directed the camera team to start the arrangement, and the actor who played the pilot also put on a flight suit and sunglasses to show Ronald.

   "Okay, I'll go to the warehouse next door and then light it up. If you have any problems, you can solve it yourself. If you can't solve it, let me call you," David Watkin said and walked out of the hangar.

  Ronald didn't care about Watkin's casual attitude. A powerful master always has various hobbies. This lighting is indeed very good, and his intentions have been completely realized.

   "Action!"

   When all parties were ready, Ronald called to start shooting.

  The camera shot with an upgraded lens (slow motion) makes a louder motor sound than usual. Fortunately, this advertisement does not need to be radioed at the same time, so it does not hinder the shooting.

   "Brush!" The light of the spotlight overhead seemed to have found its way, like a bucket of milk poured onto buttered bread, covered with Thor fighter jets.

  A man dressed as a pilot took firm steps from the darkness at the wing, walked to the vicinity of the boarding ladder step by step, and climbed into the cockpit.

   "Cut!"

  Not only Ronald, but all the technicians present, and the marketing manager of Saab, applauded desperately. This shot is full of the beauty of metal machinery. If the fighter department needs to sell fighter jets, the effect of this section is definitely good.

   took a few more shots inside the hangar, and Ronald switched the camera to the outside of the hangar, facing the door.

   This time, a real pilot got on the plane, and then slowly drove the Thor fighter out of the hangar.

  “Action!”

   Ronald used the radio to give an order, the assistant in the hangar repeated the order to start shooting, and then the staff pressed the button, and the two doors of the hangar slowly opened to both sides.

  The Thor fighter is like a huge iron bird, parked there quietly. The pilot closed the canopy slowly. The light outside the shed slowly shone in, and the fuselage was slowly lit up.

   "Brush", a yellow light suddenly came on, illuminating the fighter tires in the dark, the pilot started the engine, and the plane began to slowly slide out of the hangar.

   Next, Ronald moved to the side of the hangar door. The fighter pilot let the plane slowly slide out of the hangar, and the pitot tube pierced the boundary between the hangar and the open world, then the cone of the nose, and finally the cockpit. As the driver turned, he slowly closed the canopy, and a ray of yellow light from the lights left a highlight on the canopy.

   "Cut!"

The    team completed the shooting of the fighter jets on the side of the hangar, and then rushed to a small warehouse next to them to shoot the shots of the Saab 900Turbo car.

  David Watkin has arranged the lighting in the warehouse. I saw him holding a square transparent box and said to Ronald, "I have already thought about the camera at the door. You ask them to hang this on the shelf at the back."

  Ronald looked at the coolie of the photography team. They took the box, carefully hung it on a high place behind, and turned on the power.

   A soft light that shines from the box. There are a total of 14X14 matrix lights, a total of 196 lights, which illuminate the ground very brightly.

  In the dark warehouse, it was very clearly illuminated.

  Ronald was amazed. Generally speaking, the lighting of night scenes is more troublesome than that in the daytime. Because the lights have to be hidden where they can't see, and the artificial light sources are attenuated so much that the actors walk a few more meters, the lighting will be completely different, and they have to be re-lighted.

   But this David Watkin's magic box makes the light so evenly distributed that the naked eye can't tell the difference. Ronald walked up and down the ground with the light meter and was surprised to find that the readings were almost the same everywhere.

"how did you do it?"

"It's all about Wendy's lights," David Watkin smiled. "This is my patented invention, and the night scene can also be solved with a single light. You shoot first, and I'll go over there to set up the scene of the car. ."

   "Oh, it's amazing." Ronald felt that today was really an eye-opener. The British film technology is indeed unique.

The    props put the four letters SAAB in milky white on the two doors of the set in the warehouse. The actor in the pilot's uniform came diagonally behind, and the door with the SAAB subtitles opened slowly.

  “Cut!”

   Then there was a man in a trench coat, who also repeated the actions of the pilot, the route and angle of the two walking, and the posture of standing in front of the gate at the end was exactly the same.

   Finished this scene. Ronald was back to where the Saab 900 was being filmed.

  David Watkin still finished the lighting ahead of time and waited for him there. "The area of ​​the car is very small, so I only got you a spotlight on the top, and no special highlight lights."

  Ronald watched Watkin demonstrate the effect of the spotlight switch, similar to the effect of two lights on a fighter jet. Probably Watkin's principle is that if it is not necessary, then don't add lights, it is best to get one light.

   "Okay, all departments are ready." Ronald asked everyone to start preparing for shooting. This shot is almost the same as the fighter jet just now. A driver wearing a windbreaker and sunglasses walked slowly to the car and opened the door.

   "Cut!"

  After the photographer cut off the switch, the camera, which was shot with an upgraded lens, took longer than usual to slowly stop.

   "Hu... chi" Everyone heard a faint grunt.

   "David, David" Ronald gently shook David Watkin, who was dozing in the corner.

   "Uh... have you finished filming?" David asked quickly after waking up.

   "Yes, why did you fall asleep?"

   "Filming is boring, what if you don't sleep? It's the only thing that keeps you from getting sleepy on set. Are you sleepy on set?"

   "Uh...but if you are passionate about movies, you won't run out of energy on the set, right?"

   "Enthusiasm, I have to work harder, I have no passion for making movies at all. Still listening to classical music suits me."

   "Okay, we have one last shot, you can help me see it." Ronald snapped his fingers, "Mr. Watkin a coffee? What do you want?"

   "No sugar, no milk."

  David Watkin swayed behind Ronald with coffee and came to the runway of the airport.

   "I'm going to shoot a shot where the audience can see the Saab fighter jet, taking off from the top of the Saab car."

   "Then you need a low camera and a telephoto lens," David Watkin said without hesitation.

   "I'll leave it to you, I'll coordinate the airport and the pilot. We probably only have one shot." Ronald nodded to Watkin, then walked over to discuss the details of the takeoff with Saab's manager.

After a long time, Sabo finally confirmed the take-off time. David Watkin led the camera team. At the end of the runway, a camera head was set up. On Alai's camera, an extra-large long camera was installed. Focus telephoto lens.

   "There is no problem in terms of safety. Do you think the picture can produce the desired effect of the Thor fighter?"

   "Sure, come and see." David Watkin got up and let Ronald confirm himself through the frame.

In the distance between    in the lens, a new Saab 900Turbo is parked. As much space as possible was left above the car to accommodate the Thor fighter taking off.

In the afternoon sunlight, the hot air on the ground rose, causing the air to distort in the telephoto lens. The lens formed by the hot air on the car was slightly deformed, like a mirage. Ronald looked at the lens and felt his whole body covered. heat.

   "This is the effect." Ronald took out the walkie-talkie, "Attention all departments, the official shooting!"

   In the camera lens, Saab 900Turbo began to slowly emerge from the horizon, and the roar of the scene was getting louder and louder, deafening.

   Suddenly, a huge nose appeared on the horizon, a Saab Thor fighter jet, emerging from the back of the car.

The    telephoto lens is just right deformed, so that the person shooting on the runway lens can see the fighter jet as if it is behind the car.

   With a loud bang, the pilot started the engine afterburner, and the Thor fighter jet began to take off. In the camera, the two wheels of the fighter jet, which appear to be just a little bit on the roof of the Saab, brush across the car and pull up.

   "Cut!" Ronald took out his electric horn and started shouting. After shouting several times, everyone heard the order.

"I heard that you are making exploitative films in Hollywood, but today, several of your lens designs are full of beauty, as if making a film of the author, full of artistic energy." David Watkin applauded the completion of the shooting Later, gently ask Ronald.

"This is an advertisement. It doesn't tell a story, it only tells about beauty. I also recently watched a movie that only pays attention to beauty and not story, and then I came up with this way of shooting. Sometimes audiences really don't need stories, they just need A feeling. Their imagination automatically completes what I have to say."

   "Very good. If there is a chance in the future, you can find my agent when making this kind of movie."

   "What? Are you optimistic about my directorial prospects?" Ronald smugly.

   "No, movies that don't tell a story are generally bad big productions. They give money very easily."

   (end of this chapter)