Behind-the-scenes footage of Bill, the originator of street photography

The most mysterious and simple "fashion pioneer" For documentary director Richard Price, he went through a long process of 10 years before finally completing it. For "Bill, the Originator of Street Photography," Price said: "Of course, eight years were spent persuading Bill Cunningham to accept our filming, and the other two years were spent recording and editing the film. But I don’t think there is any real difference between them... As far as a documentary is concerned, Cunningham undoubtedly constitutes a very interesting topic, because what kind of person he is is actually different from what we all imagine. It's completely different. The reason why I am so interested in him is because I have always wanted to know what kind of life Cunningham leads outside of work, that is, I can temporarily forget about his never-ending movie. Use the camera to examine the habits and problems he may have as an ordinary person, including why he chooses such a lifestyle, and his devotion and dedication to his work as a belief - in the beginning. At the time, these were the root causes of my curiosity.”

However, as Richard Price determined the content and topics of the documentary, he also realized what was before him. There are undoubtedly some huge challenges and problems. Price said: "I was very troubled by this because I didn't know how to shoot this documentary. After all, what we wanted to unearth was a man like Bill Cunningham. The story behind this kind of photographer who lives a very hidden and mysterious life. Although everyone has known about him many years ago, they are still in a state of complete ignorance about him...other than that In addition, during the process of recording the documentary, Cunningham's reticence made us even more troubled, and it was destined that this film would not have a large behind-the-scenes production team, including photographers and sound recordists. It became an unattainable luxury - we had to photograph Cunningham in the way he worked, cautiously, quietly, carefully keeping his distance, and then completely reclusive, almost Nearly invisible."

If all of Bill Cunningham's requirements are met, it means that not only can Richard Price not bring any accompanying staff, but even the camera can only be selected. The most portable and ordinary kind, Price recalled: "Only in this way Cunningham would not feel disturbed, because he told us that he would only open his heart to people he truly trusted. Tell everything about yourself—not just me, but also our producer Philip Gefter, and finally another photographer from the New York Times, Tony Cenicola, who Not only was Cunningham a colleague, but the two were very good friends, so we unanimously decided that he would operate one of the cameras." Perhaps due to the nature of Bill Cunningham's work, Richard said. Price had no way to arrange a schedule for the filming of his documentary. The only thing he could do was to stand by with a camera at all times. Price said: "We go to the editorial office of the New York Times every day. Watch, be prepared and wait. As soon as Cunningham takes to the street to shoot, we will take action...but we have no way of predicting or predicting what he will find on the street. Presumably, in his words, he was letting the streets speak to him, so I understand that we have to adopt the exact same approach - and we can only believe that over time, this documentary and everything in it will The story being told becomes fleshed out and fleshed out in its own way. " Gradually building trust and understanding. Sometimes, Richard Price even felt that the process of making "Bill, the Originator of Street Photography" was like dancing with a person, and he needed to take care of the other person's mood and mood from time to time. demand, he admits: “For almost an entire year, we spent our time in the New York Times newsroom waiting for Bill Cunningham to come up with a moment or a story that would allow us to capture it with cameras. Emotions... Sometimes I would go to the newspaper's editorial office and stand at the desk of John Kurdewan, who designed the layout of Cunningham's 'On the Street' column.

If conditions permit, I will quietly turn on my camera and film them working together in front of the computer. But then, I experienced long weeks of waiting just to capture their collaboration again - it took me a month to convince Cunningham to install a wireless microphone on his body, but He often forgets to put it on, especially when he's in the mood. We would often leave notes on his desk, because in his opinion this was the perfect way to communicate, asking him to let us follow him to a dinner party or other social occasion, or simply to follow him on his bike. back. Tony Senicola and I could only appear by chance on the streets where he was shooting and in the darkroom where he developed film, or simply take a greater risk and go to Carnegie Hall where he lived and worked.

Soon, I had a feeling. I found that sometimes even though Cunningham was unwilling to face the camera, he was gradually respecting and appreciating everything we were doing, especially the special one. Applauding us for the sacrifices we made—and in return, he increasingly accepted us as a part of his life, first introducing us to his neighbors near Carnegie Hall and eventually allowing us into his apartment . "As Richard Price slowly got to know Bill Cunningham, he became more and more fascinated by the unique way in which people formed relationships with each other. "All of it," Price said. It was all going in a good direction, and Cunningham increasingly believed in our faith and ability as filmmakers, and he knew he should be an integral part of the stories we were telling through our lenses. This kind of movie experience reminds me of the early works of Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick. It seems that there is always an invisible sound, but it creates a great impact. Stinging and provocative topics and meanings—it feels a lot like what we and Cunningham are accomplishing. ” When it came time to conduct a face-to-face interview with Bill Cunningham, the process became much simpler and easier to operate. Richard Price described: “Basically speaking, this part is completely It was led and implemented by Philip Geft and I, with Tony Senicla joining us only occasionally...but, in order to merge several of us into a single easily identifiable persona, we decided to go all-in with Geft Geft's voice replaced other people's questions, which also made some things mentioned in this documentary that needed clarification and clarification easier and easier - I only had to re-record Geft's voice, and both Necessary questions and comments that add the finishing touch. ”

Obviously, in Richard Price’s view, Bill Cunningham is using the camera in his hand to study and judge in detail why there are so many completely different cultures in New York City layers, including the constantly superimposed social environment, Price said: "And this has become a basic principle that we need to follow when selecting interview subjects. They must not only have a certain relationship and connection with Cunningham, but also It has to span all areas of New York to help us tell his story more comprehensively... During the conversation, we used the description method of the photo combination to alleviate the dullness caused by the indifferent dialogue of each character as much as possible. and Lethality - I believe this also helps the audience get a better insight into who they really are? How do they live or work? I want their existence to become an indispensable component and element of "Bill, the Originator of Street Photography". " This documentary also uses much less music than Richard Price originally expected. He explained: "Including many of the scenes I selected, whenever I try to use music to emphasize When you think about their importance, you will find that they always create unnecessary conflicts, and even confuse the intuitiveness and emotional atmosphere... Although the music cannot achieve the effect I want, what makes me particularly excited is that I found the music of John Lurie and his avant-garde jazz band The Lounge Lizards to be tailor-made for Bill Cunningham - urban, quirky and fun. A work of sexual emotion. "

When it came time to edit "Bill," it was time to test Richard Price's film sensibilities. He described: "We tended to What makes this film have a strong narrative and dramatic conflict, it feels like a story system built around a male protagonist. The appearance of other characters is to serve him, but it does not look like a story system. A biographical documentary... We have set up multiple narrative threads in the film, which are slowly built up, so once they come together, we can get an extremely clear focus picture, and this is The last point we want to show you.

”