MTL - Exploiting Hollywood 1980-Chapter 9 Hollywood Method

  Chapter 9 The Hollywood Method

   returned to the scene, Ronald found Jim: "The boss will come over, it will take 2 hours, before that, we will continue to shoot."

   "Wow, so you continue to be a director?"

   "Yes, when the boss comes to take over. He and his assistant Gail will come to the scene. We have to hurry up, what's the next scene? You are in charge of the position"

   "The next scene is Kate, the good girl, talking to handsome Tom." Jim picked up the storyboard and handed it to Ronald, "Congratulations, Ronnie. You deserve it."

  …

  Ronald brought in Vincent van Patten to play Handsome Tom. At first glance, he is strong, with blond hair, and wearing a green and white school uniform. He is the dream lover in the eyes of American high school girls.

  Vincent is a handsome American guy. He himself is not like the old-fashioned nerd Tom in the script, but a sporty sunny boy.

  Ronald recalled the image in his dream. He played the role of the old and solid Ma Bao Nan, and his temperament did not match.

   But if he can act in a finished film, he must be good at acting, so the problem is...

   "Clothing, what about clothing?"

  "Here" Linda the fat dresser raised her hand.

  Ronald pointed to Vincent's chest, "Add a tie and see. I need him to be a very serious Puritan family schooled look."

   "OK, I'm ready, I'll bring it for you to choose." Linda the dresser picked up two ties, one with blue and green stripes and the other with dark red.

   "This one," Ronald pointed to the blue-green striped one, "to match this green-and-white school uniform."

  …

After arranging the actors here, Ronald went to the camera team again and arranged directly: "We want a long shot for this one, 10 seconds. Tom came out of the room, wearing a school uniform and tie, only greeted the male classmates, and finally sat here to eat. Breakfast. A master shot looking down from the jib,"

  Roger indicated the location of the camera, and then pointed to the teaching building: "The male protagonist came out of the building with a novel in his hand that no one was reading, which was out of tune with the dancing and happy crowd around him."

   described the scene in the dream to everyone, and then asked: "Mr. Candy, what do you think?"

   "Did you hear it?", the director of photography turned around and shouted to several assistants, "Start work."

  The red-haired Daisuke looked at Ronald, a little disbelieving that these words came out of his mouth, to a bit of the power that an old director who has been in the film industry for decades should have.

   "How to shoot the out of place feeling?" Director of photography Dean Candy asked back, "You tell me how to move the camera."

   "No, it doesn't depend on moving the camera." Ronald explained, "This scene, about the width of three people from left to right in the picture. Let the camera follow Vincent all the time and keep him in the center of the picture."

  Ronald's gestures to the director of photography: "When other people come up to greet him, the frequency of walking and movements is normal, but Tom will take a half-step slow, so that the feeling of being out of place can be captured."

   "Okay, I understand." The director of photography nodded, "You go to the rehearsal of the actors, and I leave it here."

   "Thank you, Mr. Candy."

   After thanking Ronald, he turned around and hurriedly ran to tell the actors.

   "Hey, today is your first scene, right?" Ronald looked at Vincent who had put on his tie, and it turned out to be a little more rustic and dull.

   "Yes, how do you arrange my appearance?" Vincent replied.

"I will let the camera follow you all the time, so that the audience will be impressed by you. Come out from the room, make an appearance here, then take a book, walk this way, say hello to many male classmates, and finally sit on this seat, eat Breakfast. Then wait for Kate to come and talk to you."

  Ronald demonstrated the walk again, "How do you think?"

  Vincent imitated it again: "Appear...get the book...go...greeting...sit down."

   Ronald said: "Perfect. What do you think of this shot? Any thoughts?"

  Vincent was very happy, "No problem, I think this is very good." It seems that he is more satisfied with his shot and duration.

   Ronald gave him a thumbs up, "Pay attention to the frequency of your movements, it's like reacting half a beat slower".

   "No problem, look at me", Vincent brushed his handsome hair.

   "Oh, you messed up your hair. Gigi, fix his hair." Ronnie called the makeup artist and hairstylist.

  Actor is a troublesome profession. If the makeup and hairstyle are slightly inconsistent, the camera will be magnified exponentially. So after each shot, check the touch-up.

  Ronald went to the director of photography again: "How are the preparations?"

   "No problem, I've got good coverage with a 20mm lens. Just lower the aperture by one stop and you'll get the same brightness as the previous lens."

  Ronald looked up at the sky. The sun had risen and the school walls blocked most of the direct light. But the brightness of the environment is much brighter than before. The photographer had to make some technical adjustments to get the front and rear images to be about as bright. Otherwise, the flickering picture during the screening will cause the audience to collapse.

   Shooting with natural light is quite complicated, but fortunately there is a very experienced director of photography.

   Ronald and Jim whispered, ready to shoot.

  The plot is this: Kate saw Tom, showed a **** look, took the initiative to sit next to Tom, and chatted with him. Tom doesn't like schoolboys, he prefers cheerleader Liv Randall. After saying hello in disgust, he turned his head to read the novel. The camera finally stopped on Kate Rambo's embarrassed and depressed face.

  “Action!”

  The shot is well done, from start to finish.

   "Cut!"

   Next is filming the dialogue.

  The camera is changed to a medium shot, first aiming at Vincent. Dai Yang sat opposite him, with only one shoulder exposed in the frame. The two acted out this conversation again.

   "Cut, it's over."

   Moved the camera to the back of Vincent and aimed at the good girl played by Dai Yang. This time it was Vincent's turn to show a shoulder. The two met for the third time.

  The lens is ready, waiting for the director of photography to confirm. Shooting a movie is not like shooting a TV series. You can watch instant replays. Whether a shot is good or not, whether it meets the director's requirements, you must ask the director of photography to nod.

   "OK"

   Then we started taking the reaction shots.

  The red-haired camera assistant changed to a close-up lens with a focal length of 100mm. Carefully push the camera close enough to almost touch the actor's face.

  The director of photography looked at the light and shook his head: "It's a little past the best time, the direct light is a bit strong now, the shadow on the face in the close-up is too strong, put on the reflector."

  The lighting assistant was half-kneeling on the ground, holding a foam reflector in his hand, reflecting sunlight onto the actor's face, making the shadows less noticeable. At the same time, you have to be careful not to let your hand enter the viewfinder, so as not to wear it.

   "Give me a shy smile..." Ronald commanded.

   "Okay! Action!"

  Vincent stands behind the camera and is approached for the fourth time. The camera took Day Young's face into the shot and printed it on the negative. Waiting to be developed, reprinted, copied, and finally enlarged on the big screen, seen by thousands of boys and become their dream lover.

  “Cut!”

   This set of shooting methods is what Roger Coleman said: "one master, two shoulders and three reactions". It's standard Hollywood workmanship. First, take a panorama shot, then use an over-the-shoulder camera to shoot the conversation twice, and finally take a few close-up shots to add to the other party's reaction after hearing the conversation.

   is just an advantage, the shooting is fast.

  Film shooting is boring and time-consuming, every scene has to be rearranged, actors have to touch up makeup, move positions, rehearse, and indoor scenes have a particularly time-consuming lighting session.

   The low-budget film "Rock and Roll High School" was shot very quickly, and it took more than an hour to complete a Hollywood method.

   Let the actors leave the stage, and the next thing to do is the dance scene. Rock music played, and the students danced to a strong rhythm.

   In fact, this shot has little to do with the plot, it mainly shows a rock and roll atmosphere.

   What's more important is to bring some cool beauties in cool clothes and dance some beautiful dances, which can be regarded as ice cream for the audience. In low-cost youth exploitation films, this inexplicable dance is also a standard.

  The protagonist of a dance drama is the choreographer. How to dance and how to dance well depends on the level of choreography.

  The choreographer of the crew is Polish, named Siana. Speaks with a strong Eastern European accent.

   "Ronaldo, although Ramones sings rock, I'm going to let the students dance disco."

   Ronald was stunned for a moment before realizing that Ronaldo was himself. "OK, what are you thinking about doing this?"

   "Disco looks better."

  The crew has no actors with deep dance skills, and a large number of extras can only dance some popular dances. Compared to the old-fashioned swing dance, the disco that is now popular can be danced by everyone.

  This dance is now red and purple, last year's "Saturday Night Fever", and this year's "Grease", set off a national disco popularity. The male protagonist of both films is John Travolta, who has also become a national idol, a new generation of Hollywood dancers.

   "You have two beauties with a particularly good figure, you should let them dance more in front of the camera." Siana said.

   "Oh, who is it?"

   (end of this chapter)