novellhall Chapter 8: Where did the gun come from?
Chapter 8: Where did the gun come from?
A short film with a single character and a single scene is most challenging in terms of the actor's acting skills and a little bit of technology.
Although Fu Dalong was a little confused about the plot, that was exactly the kind of confusion Gu Qing wanted.
Even the lead actor was fooled; that's the kind of atmosphere a suspense film needs.
It's like the final villain, who always stays by the protagonist's side.
The remaining challenge is the technical difficulty. With Hollywood's technology, it's not hard to achieve one person playing two roles in the same scene, but in China, especially with a limited budget, it becomes a bit of a stretch.
But the poor have their ways of playing, and the rich have theirs.
In the film era, multiple exposures were used to achieve this by blocking the lens.
In the digital age, things are much simpler; green screen keying is all that's needed.
Gu Qing instructed Fu Dalong to remain standing still when split-screen was required, so that the software could be used to easily synthesize the images later.
Of course, some extras are necessary, but they only need to show the back of their heads.
"This is my last request!"
"No, no!"
"Bang!"
Fu Dalong slammed the door to the cubicle shut. A bullet pierced through it and hit another man in the room. The time was 3:30.
With that, the time paradox was resolved, and with a click, the hand opened, and the protagonist strode away.
"I hereby announce that filming for 'The Dilemma' has officially wrapped!"
Gu Qing raised her arms and cheered. After five days of filming, the shoot had finally officially wrapped up.
"Phew, director, you've really worn me out. I've been exhausted from filming many times, but this is the first time I've ever been so confused while filming."
Fu Dalong loosened his tie and let out a long sigh.
The filming was done in flashbacks, and the acting was done according to the director's instructions. In addition, being too close to the situation, Fu Dalong was indeed very confused.
"Brother Hao, how's this shot?"
Gu Qing didn't reply. Instead, she squinted and smiled at Ning Hao beside her.
On the second day after filming began, Ning Hao delivered the edited music video and rushed to Gu Qing's film set without stopping.
Originally, he came not only out of curiosity about the script, but also to help his brother vet it and assess its quality.
Unexpectedly, it was indeed beyond his expectations. The various operations were incredibly skillful, and in terms of directing, it was probably far superior to his own.
"Awesome. Your film isn't even finished editing yet, so I can't say anything, but the script is truly amazing."
Ning Hao clicked his tongue in admiration. As a fellow director, he had come to understand Gu Qing after so many days. He felt Gu Qing's talent more and more. How come he hadn't noticed Gu Qing's screenwriting skills back in school?
With models shooting on campus, who would have the time or energy to do anything else?
"You guys have all worked hard. The filming conditions were a bit harsh. Here's a red envelope for each of you later, don't think it's too little."
Gu Qing was very pleased with Ning Hao's praise, but she didn't get arrogant, after all, it was just a short film.
Filming in a small, enclosed space for an extended period of time was a huge challenge for everyone. The filming went relatively smoothly. The budget for the short film was 150,000 yuan, and there was still more than 60,000 yuan left. So, we gave each of the crew members a red envelope as a token of our appreciation for their emotional distress.
"Director Gu is so generous! Wishing the short film great success!"
Several lights and the sound engineer exclaimed with delight, offering their congratulations.
After bowing slightly, Gu Qing carefully put away his digital negatives, which had cost him over 100,000 yuan, and he had to cherish them.
If I lose it, I won't even know where to cry.
"Let's go out to eat, three of us."
After packing their things, Gu Qing put his arms around Ning Hao and Fu Dalong's shoulders and walked outside.
With a huge weight lifted from her heart, Gu Qing's steps became much lighter.
Although there isn't much money left, it's still quite affordable to eat out.
"Director, let me toast you. Remember to call me next time you have a good role."
"Definitely. Something as cheap and effective as yours, I won't be polite."
Gu Qing raised his glass to Fu Dalong and spoke amicably.
He was quite surprised that the other party only paid 50,000 yuan for the role in this short film. There aren't many cheap, readily available actors with acting skills left in the Chinese entertainment industry.
Thanks to the other party, his film was completed without any major incidents.
One was eager to make friends, and the other placed an bet in advance; their relationship was rapidly escalating.
Ning Hao ate his food on the side, occasionally chiming in with his own words. Since they were in the same circle, they naturally had something in common to talk about.
"Director, if I may ask, where did that gun in the film come from?"
Fu Dalong held his hands, leaned forward, and asked with the same curiosity as a child.
The gun wasn't explicitly mentioned in the script, but it just suddenly appeared, giving him reason to suspect it was a plot hole in the film.
"Brother Hao, what do you think?"
Gu Qing took a bite of food, then turned her gaze to Ning Hao beside her, raising an eyebrow and asking.
"I think it should be something the protagonist carries with him. At the beginning of the story, the protagonist said a line, 'If you keep making noise, I'll shoot you all one by one.'"
"Everyone knows the protagonist has a bad temper and low character, so it's not hard to understand why he carries a gun."
Ning Hao rubbed his hands together and shared his guess.
"Brother Hao is half right, but it's not that you only talk about killing if you have a gun; it's that you want to kill first, and then you have a gun."
"Hey kid, stop beating around the bush and tell me why?"
Ning Hao and Fu Dalong laughed and scolded Gu Qing after he finished speaking and sat there calmly.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you."
Gu Qing's surrender also illustrates this chicken-and-egg dilemma from a different perspective.
In psychology, science fiction movies are defined as human dreams. Freud believed that dreams are repressed desires, disguised in the subconscious.
"The protagonist encounters another version of himself. After failing to break the cycle, his inner desire resurfaces, and he wants to kill the other person. So, the gun naturally appears."
"Of course, this is just a personal opinion; you can view it as a process from cause to effect."
Trying to explain this kind of science fiction movie with scientific thinking is just wishful thinking. Anyway, once the work is made, it's no longer the director's or screenwriter's business.
Ning Hao and Fu Dalong frowned. Although they were a little puzzled, they understood.
"Sigh, philosophy is always so mystical and rambling. No wonder foreign films and television shows are so good; they attribute anything that can't be explained to God."
"That's for sure. I can handle suspense and murder mysteries, but science fiction? I'm really not cut out for it."
"Haha, science fiction is all about the fantasy element. Convince the audience first, then convince yourself. Come on, let's eat."
Gu Qing suppressed a laugh and urged the two to eat.
I remember Ning Hao eventually made a sci-fi movie called "Crazy Alien," which was far more absurd than his fantastical film.
Aliens abandoned their invasion of Earth because of the culture surrounding baijiu (Chinese liquor) and instead established trade relations. What the hell are aliens doing business with you?
I heard this is an adaptation of Liu Cixin's work, and I really don't know how he managed to change it so drastically.
After this movie was released, Liu Cixin was probably so angry that he couldn't eat for several days.