Ang Lee Dialogue with Xiaogang Feng: New technologies all serve stories and characters.

Ang Lee and Xiaogang Feng seem to be made for each other. Four years ago in June 165438+ 10, Xiaogang Feng's "1942" and Ang Lee's "The Fantasy Drifting of Pi" met by chance. It's almost time for Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and Xiaogang Feng's I'm not Pan Jinlian to meet again.

165438+1On the evening of October 7th, two directors from China had a face-to-face conversation with Kan Kan in the new campus of Tsinghua. Appreciate the other person saying, "We are all the safest people in the movie."

New technologies are all for stories and people.

Four years of grinding a sword, more coincidentally, the coincidence of time, this time, they all brought changes.

Shooting in the format of 120 frames /4K/3D, which exceeds the existing shooting specifications, has unprecedented brightness, clarity and immersion. Ang Lee's Billy cheered supporters and frightened skeptics.

For movies, 24 frames per second is the basic rule used by the industry for many years. The number of frames refers to the fluency of playback. At the same time, the more frames are displayed, the higher the smoothness of the picture. To put it bluntly, you will feel clearer and smoother when you look at it.

The person in charge of the last technical transformation was Peter Jackson. When The Hobbit was released on 20 12, 48 frames were tentatively released. At that time, he also left a golden sentence: "No one will stop moving forward, and technology will continue to change."

Four years later, Ang Lee took this step, and this step was 120 frame. This makes many people feel incredible.

The origin of everything began with The Fantasy Drifting of Pi. Ang Lee recalled that when shooting this 3d movie, he felt that the effect of watching it with 3D video was different from that of the actors watching it in 2D, which deeply stimulated him. "I need to make adjustments. I need it to be more real and complicated. "

So during Billy Lynn's long intermission walk, he kept changing and trying. When the number of frames reached 120, he found that there was a space between 3D foreground and background, which made all the rules and viewing attitudes different. You can have a sense of subjective participation at the beginning of watching movies.

"120 frame has a subjective feeling in it from the beginning, which makes the audience feel involved. At first, I was also confused. Does the movie need a sense of participation? So it took me 1 year to consider whether to go from 60 frames to 120 frames. In the past, many skilled things could not be used, including lighting, so I could only take a few simple shots at first, and I didn't know where to aim. After all, the audience has not formed the habit of watching movies. So it's like learning to walk again. On the one hand, there are risks. I took tens of millions to do experiments in it. On the other hand, I am fortunate to have the opportunity to study, which is very similar to the feeling that recruits are sent to the battlefield. "

"In any case, movies are people's feelings after all, and they still serve art, stories, people and drama. I never feel that technology is here and art is on the other side. "

Just like Ang Lee's adventurous spirit, Xiaogang Feng's I'm not Pan Jinlian challenges the audience's viewing habits with circular format and composition narrative, which is extremely rare in the world film history.

"I have always had such a desire to find a new way to make movies." Therefore, Xiaogang Feng tried many forms. Finally, he chose the unique circle in Huizhou Mansion in Xianghui, Anhui Province as the carrier.

When he started taking circular pictures, he found that all the details had changed. "The composition can't follow the traditional composition method. In this circle, the scenery is more relaxed, with the taste of Chinese painting, and the screen is also reduced. "

The innovation and adventurous spirit of film technology made two China directors feel the same way. "The film has not been reformed for a long time, and Feng Dao feels the same way. Everyone has this feeling. Think of it as a new beginning. " Ang Lee said.

There is no experience and nothing to throw away.

1999, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made Ang Lee the pride of director China. In the choice of actors, he chose the young Zhang Ziyi. This drama has also become an important turning point in Zhang Ziyi's career and opened her international fame.

Ang Lee seems to be particularly fond of using non-big-name actors, such as Tang Wei, who is unknown in Lust, Caution, Sura Martha, an Indian high school student aged 17, and joe alwyn, a British junior in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.

"I think talented actors seem to have learned it in a previous life. When teaching them, they seem to be just reminding, not teaching. " Ang Lee has an unusual attitude towards actors. Unlike many big-name directors, he cares about the spirituality of actors rather than fame.

"No experience, no loss. Those famous or experienced actors have many obstacles. " In Ang Lee's view, sometimes the more you know, the more obstacles there are.

At this point, Xiaogang Feng and Ang Lee happen to coincide again. "Experience may make us better control the situation, but experience will make the film lose its creativity." When filming "Pan Jinlian", Xiaogang Feng has been struggling with his habits. "Every time I set up the camera with the photographer, he will discuss whether this method has returned to the old method. Once he finds such a tendency, he will be very vigilant.

Xiaogang Feng said frankly that for him, the most enjoyable thing in filming every day is to shoot in a new way every day and learn, instead of doing one thing with experience.

It is safest for filmmakers to return to movies.

Ang Lee's "Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk" is of great significance to many people. It describes all kinds of people in the United States from the perspective of soldiers returning from the battlefield in Iraq, including big bosses and ordinary civilians, and reflects the real situation of Americans and American society. After the performance, these American soldiers with outstanding military achievements clashed with the on-site staff and were sent back to the battlefield. They only said "I love you" to each other and experienced a sad scene.

Ang Lee also used this film to satirize some experiences. In his view, the current American film industry is relatively rigid, and many studio systems are modular, lifeless and have nothing to do.

"It is China, not only has the capital, and desire. I vaguely think that place is promising and precious. I hope China movies can be made and developed healthily. At present, there are still unhealthy places, but the China market is dynamic and I think it is very promising. "

Ang Lee's words were supported by Xiaogang Feng, who described his experience with a passage from Billy Lynn's Long Half-time Walk. At the end of the movie, these American soldiers all returned to the car after taking part in the half-time performance. They lamented that they thought the battlefield was particularly dangerous, but now they feel that it is safest to return to the battlefield after returning home.

"This sentence impressed me very deeply. What I want to say is that we filmmakers are very nervous when faced with complicated relationships such as investors and publicity. So we are safest only when we go back to the movies. "

As one of the most successful directors in China, Ang Lee is also full of expectations for the development of the China film market: "The China film market is in a golden age. I hope everyone can grasp it and do more well-founded things. I hope it can develop healthily for a long time. This is my wish. I hope everyone will work together. "

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