= Composition of a blockbuster movie =
-Antarctica covered by ice and snow appeared in the soothing atmosphere of orchestral music, and the cracks in the ice layer that followed the geological survey by the scientific expedition team truly showed changes due to geo-gas , And the ice layer is recrystallized from the solid lateral structure into vertical ice ballast. The change of quality is the first step. The film took 6 minutes to complete this short but sufficient prologue. Afterwards, it was undoubtedly a closed discussion. Authorities sneered at it, signs of disasters around the world, and widespread panic, and this is just To pave the way for the overwhelming special effects scenes. Therefore, to a certain extent, the special effects of disaster movies are very important, and the reasoning component, whether it is true or ridiculous, is only a secondary cutscene, and does not affect the box office and the box office of such movies. Word of mouth plays a decisive role. In other words, the 2008 soap disaster film "Poseidon" and the bluffing "Water Roar and Mist City" and the domestic light comedy disaster film "Super Typhoon" will move to the table if they really are. Let’s compare it with this 2004 predecessor. There is really no need to go to the cinema. Although I don’t want to admit it, on the one hand, the overall level of the disaster film is indeed boring, and the creativity or expressiveness is lacking. , On the other hand, the works that can indeed attract the audience now, make them lose their minds to queue up to buy tickets for the first time, and set off a global movie-watching frenzy, probably without exception, they all rely too much on the magic of the later period, and powerful computers. Special effects can turn decay into magic, and it is a weapon to add to the cake. And the selling points of other works are nothing more than the slant sword, very violent, extreme pornography, pan-politicization, social problems, and these elements are all touched, but in fact it is a courtyard that relies on beautiful young people and half-aged milfs to support the countertops. Line idol dramas, but only trending dramas that are slightly suitable for young and old and only do technical changes within the traditional framework, can attack the domestic market together with the special effects giants. Of course, there are a large number of castration films for comfort.
In fact, it’s wise in any country to set up a one-size-fits-all setting in the early stage. Restricting screening is a huge disaster for the producers. This means earning one less vote, or even losing money, and relying on DVDs for the entire film. No matter how many extras, guides, and derivatives are distributed, it will not help. There are many ways to piracy. We can always find free and high-quality channels and selfless allies who deliberately or unintentionally fight against devotees, artists, and a large number of people in the film industry. merchant. And how to make the film unimpeded under various national policies is indeed a technology that a few people believe and master. In order to achieve a balance of payments and make a fortune, the fewer extraordinary elements, the better, and the more narrative rules are followed. The better with skills, the better to avoid offending people. So it’s always smarter to choose a global environmental issue than to set a certain race, a certain country, a certain person as an imaginary enemy, not to mention that global disasters can increase the number of countries that appear on the scene. This is very important for overseas box office. Pick a few more first-line stars, it’s really not good to be a little overwhelmed, the saved appearance fee can leave enough room for the special effects team, which is undoubtedly a cost-effective, by the way, take a few related households from series, plus Hollywood has more and more similar soundtracks and composers, with sound, light and color effects. If there are gold screenwriters and savvy producers to join, what else can stop the success of a commercial film?
-= The law of film narration=
-Key figures will always encounter resistance from different environments, work pressure, family conflicts, identity crisis, and even personal physical or psychological defects. Film narratives also have the same laws. This is no less than the skills of novels or dramas. It is just too much like the tricks performed by life itself, so it is not easy to detect. Restoring the motivation of the narrative is the worst strategy. Although it is the most common, but it is the least mind-free. It often appears in Japanese surrealist comedies, but through objective phenomena, side plot development and secondary characters. The reaction to express the main line and the protagonist is the skill of the screenwriter in the script and the director in the scheduling.
Although it has been seen frequently in previous film and television works, the panic caused by the aircraft being attacked by the air at 18 minutes of the film did not come from the judgment of the protagonist, or the sudden incident that the audience can feel is through other characters or half-joking. Or the seriousness of the behavior is shown by the contrast. The biggest advantage of this treatment is that it is more objective, it is a relatively simple hint, and it is also a way of observation. How to show that the situation is really bad? Let the experts show up, who is the expert on the plane? Do experts have to give an impassioned speech? The film did not tell the truth naked like "Air Force One" or "Pot Head", but through the panic reaction of a flight attendant who has been flying in the sky for a lifetime to this situation, it tells the audience that the situation is indeed unusual, and what is valuable is that This kind of panic is still arranged to match the role of the character, moderate rushing, realistic pretending to be reserved, reasonable everyone is in danger, and even accurate to the habit of closing the cabin door curtain. I was deeply impressed by this scene of buckling the seat belt. The director didn't make a certain hairy boy suddenly wise or righteous. Obviously, it needs to be demonstrated through a series of events and recognized by the audience, so that it will not appear abrupt. So he was soaked in the water at 57 minutes and fled all the way, and the 66-minute street dispatch before 51 minutes fully demonstrated the director's ability to control, not only arranged the chaotic performances of all kinds of people in an orderly manner, Still not forgetting to pave the way for the imminent catastrophe through a series of supporting roles' horror, which makes the huge waves that roll in the next have a preemptive effect. At this time, the shocking and helpless expression of the teenager in the face of the disaster may be more than righteous words. Heroic saving lives is much more advanced.
Narrative is basically equivalent to the growth of a character, and it is also what the narrative hopes to reveal. Of course, this only refers to regular movies, natural weird chicken movies, philosophical movies that have no bottoming out and don’t want to live, self-made bad movies, and most of the domestically produced movies with lustful hairpins should be excluded. Yes, they are not movies. They are full of faith, full of fearless spirit.
-= Extension of psychological tolerance=-
Looking back at "The Day After Day", the slogans used by unknowing filmmakers such as "Water Roar and Fog" to fully surpass the special effects of "The Day After Day" are pure nonsense. If it is in front of the big screen in the theater, it will inevitably cost a lot to build; and the so-called disaster film of 2008 seems to only intercept some of the inside of the Poseidon ship. The same bridge was in the 1980s. Used (even appeared in the low-cost harmonious cartoon "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" in February 2009), obviously lacking sincerity, even as a remake of paying homage to the original, but still suspicious, with some atypical features After chatting with the white lips, a bird's eye view is over. The rest of the scenes are close to the neighbors not turning off the taps. It is unbelievable and of course not as realistic as the live video of the Maldives. That kind of compassionate sentiment did not break out at all. The entire universe of the disaster movie was like broth that had been kept in the refrigerator for a night, and it was frozen, and it would only sway with waves of fatigue.
A movie must first determine what the output terminal is. Playing in different media will impose different requirements on the level of detail shown in the screen. Mobile phones, PSPs, TVs, cinemas, shopping malls, the larger the screen, the performance of the details. The stronger the force, the greater the visual impact, and the audience's psychological endurance will be more severely challenged. Surrounded by a tumbling surround sound, a huge disaster scene that is boiling in the dark and turning into the sky rushes toward you. The vast ocean rises and falls like a sinusoidal curve, and the trumpets and drum rhythms in the soundtrack are equally nerve-racking. I am a guy who fears water. The floods in Guangdong in 2008 left me with lingering fears. The heavy rains for several days were gusts to the horizontal direction. The air was full of water vapor, thick like heavy fog, and the visibility was comparable to Beijing’s most unbridled sandstorm. Standing in the block, watching The heavy raindrops hit the concrete floor, mixed with fear of water, consciously deafening, due to poor drainage, the depth and shallowness of the ankles have been changed, the mud has long been changed to turbidity, and only the feet soaked in the water are faintly cold. , And there may be many unknown creatures in the invisible underwater.
I rarely watch horror movies, disaster movies, and so on, let alone go after a certain series, "Chain Saw" is an exception. American horror movies have almost been equated with plasma movies, so the transplantation of the concept of Japanese psychological thrillers will scare the old beauty. The development of horror movies in recent years has not only followed the inexplicable evil spirits such as "Ghosts". Route, all kinds of murderous series have already come to an end, and zombie films have already been quite happy. To explore more abundant human activities and crime logic is obviously one of the most popular ideas besides vampire blood, "Chain Saw". It is a typical model, combined with suspense, crime, secret calculations, and rich moral statements, almost set a new standard for horror films. The excellent light perception, editing and sound effects all create a great atmosphere for the film, but even so, it still faces In a crisis of clichés, the fifth film was filmed. If "Dead Silence" is counted, the unified production team already has six works that influence the style and logic. Under the premise of the audience's aesthetic fatigue, the filming party will not only show more cruel, Is there a better way out for bloody and extreme methods to kill characters?
People’s psychological endurance is gradually becoming stronger. The early horror films that were once fainting can only make people sleepy now. In 2008, there were even two thrillers filmed from the first-person perspective, "REC" and "Clover Archives". , Trying to use this kind of acting method borrowed from video games to enhance the film’s sense of introduction. But there is no doubt that everyone will soon adapt and become boring. By then, what extreme way horror films will appear, I really can't imagine. Going to the cinema to watch a horror movie is of course the most exciting way. In addition to compulsiveness and shock, sound is more lethal than the picture. It is a subjective hint, even if you see the picture, it really scares you Is the part that does not match your expectations. Don't be afraid if you are timid, you should not be able to see such exciting works in theaters in mainland China in your lifetime.
As a disaster film, "The Day After Tomorrow" is different from a horror film. It does not require so many scary passages to calculate. It will be closer to traditional films in terms of narration. The scenes designed are usually those that people are really afraid of and imagined. People who have experienced similar experiences will have a strong fear and rejection of this, so they will feel shocked, and because of this, poor disaster films are total disasters. The reason why I choose these water-related disaster films is that I am in awe of them. Therefore, the visual success of such films depends entirely on whether the directors and actors really understand and respect the hearts of people like me. Real fear.
The special effects and quality of the disaster film are really important, and this is also one of the pain points of "Red Cliff."
-= The
scene of the emotional passage=- The special effects swept from 48 minutes, the momentum is magnificent, and the disaster scene is full of sincerity. This is similar to crime, espionage, and science fiction subjects that pay attention to science and technology. It is always necessary to show the elements required by the genre around the theme. Undoubtedly, this is the key to please the audience of the genre. What the audience hopes to see is the amazing background imagination in the science fiction film. Powerful and dazzling superpowers, extremely sophisticated high-tech equipment in spy films, organized and undisciplined conspiracy theories, heinous criminal tricks and incidents in crime films are due to the vicissitudes of justice and evil, but there is no genre film. Questions should be written more in these aspects. Unlike romance films, those slightly nasty emotional passages can only be more or less embellishments, which makes the image of heroes more cordial, and at the same time reveals that they have what ordinary people should do. Some shortcomings thus narrow the distance with the audience, the image is full, authentic and credible (obviously, patriotic classic films do not think so).
How does the branch plot show sincerity? When the first protagonist is impeccable or played by an overwhelming actor, give young people guidance for growth, so that they can overcome their own and external problems and become a good helper for the protagonist, so as to come forward at a critical moment, or become a sequel Idol; when the film is lackluster or the theme is well-known, create a sense of topic, so that the secondary screenwriter has the opportunity to display their talents; when the theater line orders the film crew to shorten the duration to match the number of sessions to maximize the benefits, provide a feasible editing plan, that is to say No matter how you cut on the branch line, it will not affect the development of the main line and the branch line, even if there is only one line in the dark: "I am using my body temperature to warm you." or "Come on, baby." The audience can also appreciate it. What happened, there must be a subtle difference between the relationship between the characters and the time when it did not happen, and this happened to meet the needs of film critics, who began to talk endlessly in order to defraud attention and contribution fees.
In serious films, we must also know how to be humorous, what to do when it’s cold, burn a book to keep warm, what can’t be burned, because that’s his spiritual bottom line, what can be burned because when human beings are at a critical juncture, the legal and taxation is really a bullshit. , Paying attention to these knowing condiments is the audience’s after-dinner talk, and it is enough to show that the production team is making movies with joy. This is their hard work and the crystallization of the wisdom of the group, even in the general direction. , But each department always has the opportunity to use their own imagination to add to the film. Every bit of creative idea will promote the film to become a classic and go to the palace. The example set by the film industry in this regard is worth learning from most companies, and this is one of the reasons why corporate culture is struggling in China.
The branch plot, or the detailed description to echo and influence the main line, is indispensable. It can not only prevent the angle from being too single, but also contrast the main characters, fight for the minority voice, and create a paranoid but unique image of a small person. In the side plots, you will find more truth, and it is also a test field for the director to complete different narratives. When the main line is arranged with too much emotion, the branch line appears more rational, more marketable, and more straightforward. On the contrary, the main line has the righteousness, and the branch line should reflect the truth, goodness and beauty of human nature, the beauty of life, and the texture of details. In general, maybe after many years you can't even remember which movie it is, you can still clearly retain all the impressions of a certain detail that touches you.
In the past two years, from medium production to folk spontaneity, the multi-line narrative has a small climax, and the end can be seen. Multi-line narrative does not mean playing individuality and slanting the sword. Proper montage can be said to be skillless in conventional narratives. And it can create a sense of rhythm and fatalism, making the story development more exciting, especially when the decisive moment is approaching, it is especially fascinating.
The visual feast created by "The Day After Tomorrow" 5 years ago is still a leader in disaster films. It is not only the award of topic and special effects, but also the film's performance in drama, science, performance, narration, and details. The overall quality of the film is really excellent. In these years away from the 1990s, I can abandon impetuosity and shoot such a serious and high-level disaster film that is comparable to "Extreme Panic" and "Tornado". It is sincerely admired.
2009.02.11 Beijing
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