Director's Notes of Duan Mingyong's The Rise and Fall of Empire

Now that I am the director of the rise and fall of the empire, I have no reason to be happy.

The vast Hengdian, the wind swept away the dark clouds. Three times, "lightning" almost hit me.

The first time was because of the props. Before I came to Hengdian, I heard from various sources that the props of the TV series "Hu Le" can be provided to us at a price of more than 10,000 yuan. However, after arriving in Hengdian, the rumors were completely distorted overnight. We asked Gillian of Hengdian Group to help us find out the news, and the other party has already suggested that100000 rent is a bolt from the blue! So we took turns to go out to talk, outreach Tieshan to talk, art Lao Pei to talk, and I also went out to talk twice. The other party is really a man, insisting on the green hills and not relaxing, and will use the quality of bamboo to deal with us to the end. My blood pressure came up. The result is very good. Although there is no actual pricing, in general, the information given to us is 1 10,000 yuan. Now we are in Hengdian, only three days before the official shooting, and suddenly we sit on the ground and start bidding. Isn't this bullying? Isn't this commercial fraud!

He will do this because the other party thinks there is nothing we can do in Hengdian. There are only three days left to shoot, even if I make up my mind to make my own props, it will be too late. Compared with the Ming and Qing Dynasties, props in the Han Dynasty were rare in Hengdian. Seeing our weakness, the other party agreed to pay 50,000 or 80,000 packages of clothes without clothes, and never make a counter-offer. You can rent it or not.

So I put forward two other ways to rent a house. One is piecework payment, which is subject to the rental price of Hengdian Group. /kloc-daily pricing of props above 0/000 yuan 15 yuan, 1000 yuan or less. This plan is not accepted by the other party on the grounds that it is too tiring and troublesome for props to enter and leave the warehouse every day. Then I put forward the second plan, renting all the gauze in his library at the price of 5 thousand yuan, but the other party didn't accept it, on the grounds that small money was boring. This attitude is obvious. Either 80,000 rent costumes or 50,000 rent props, and other schemes will not be discussed.

If we can't talk about it properly, we won't talk about it. We had a meeting and made the following decision: first, dig three feet in Hengdian, and also find out all the props of the Han Dynasty, one by one, even if there is only one in their house. Second, I went to Yiwu to buy cloth that day, and then I came back to ask the tailor to make his own gauze. Engage in self-help in production and resolutely break the blockade of the "enemy". Third, we should intensify our efforts to drive out the most important props, such as falling beds and screens. As long as we can hold them, we should regard the negotiation process as a protracted war and see who can consume them. That night, I sent a message through Gillian, and our crew will never close the door to negotiations. Welcome all kinds of cooperation to negotiate, but the price of 50 thousand yuan is definitely unacceptable to us.

God knows, Lao Pei and others really found some props. Coupled with the excellent performance of two local tailor sisters, we finally started shooting. About seven or eight days after the shooting, the other party heard that they agreed to let us rent a library prop for 15 thousand (they have always had two libraries), and the prop rental war finally came to an end. Actually, neither side won. After all, there are not many props in his first library, and I am still coveting the props in his second library. But not renting is really unbearable. There are too many plays, 100. From the emperor's generals to ordinary people's homes, they eat props badly. Those few limited props can't hold up with you.

The vast Hengdian, the wind swept away the dark clouds. The second lightning almost hit me. It's a play by Hengdian Actors Guild. This time it's about the service of actors. Because there are too many actors in our crew, personnel service has become a considerable investment. In order to save money, we negotiated a very low price for special actors. What's the specific price? We have to protect these lovely actors, so we can't disclose them here. The day before the shooting, the Actors Guild found the crew and proposed the price we had discussed in advance, which the Guild could not accept. Their price is at least three times higher than ours. I have calculated that our expenses will increase by 40 thousand to 50 thousand pounds just for this special contract. So my blood pressure is high for the second time. When director Zhang came to visit the crew, I almost cried when I talked about it.

Talk, talk again, bite your teeth and talk with a smile. At this time, some comrades in the crew showed signs of being beaten, and the situation at that time was really a blow. But I can't, because I am a director, I am Haiyan, and I have the power of anger, the flame of enthusiasm and the confidence to win. So I can only laugh and laugh at them. These sea ducks can't enjoy the joy of fighting in life: the thunderous thunder scares them. I told myself no less than a thousand times, I can't hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground!

Talk, bite a tooth, talk with a smile, afraid of death * * * party member, fortunately, both sides are * * * party member, and I really talk to each other as a * * * party member. At this critical moment, I really think this intra-party talk has played a considerable role. I talked about the historic educational significance of this film, the landmark shooting method, the upcoming social benefits (which will be inversely proportional to the economic benefits, of course), and the bright prospect of establishing a strategic partnership between the two sides.

At the same time, Ari, as an actor's assistant director, walked between scenes, and we worked hard with one heart and one mind many times. Finally, the actors' union expressed its support for our labor standards. At this point, another battle is over.

The vast Hengdian, the wind swept away the dark clouds. This battle will never end. After the second battle, the third battle will begin. This time it was a nightmare, an exhausting nightmare, which lasted until the end of our filming. Comrade Meng Qi, the production director, greeted me mercilessly: "It's up to you, director. Anyway, I tell you, our total expenses for one day add up to 30 thousand yuan. How many days to shoot, you can do it yourself. "

The cost of 30 thousand yuan a day, including equipment, personnel services, food, clothing, housing and transportation, is like a mountain on my chest and Meng Qi's. In the face of money, unlimited creative desire sometimes becomes very funny. At this time, flexibility is often the first. It doesn't matter if you cut corners or lose your dignity. The key is to shoot the scenes to be shot every day. If you can't finish shooting, it means overspending, incompetence, and the work is not done well. However, do you really think it can be shoddy? Can you really get away with cutting corners? That's absolutely impossible, so as a petrel, you still have to practice with great spirit, so every day you suffer between the disappearance of funds and the unsatisfactory shooting.

The job of directing is really not practiced by people. Photographer Lao Li put it well: "What you have to do every day is to keep solving problems." Find the balance point, the balance point of the unit; The balance between film quality and funds; The most important thing is your inner balance. When watching the American blockbuster documentary "King Kong", director Peter Jackson complained in front of the camera: "I will definitely make a pure film next time. I won't make such a complicated movie again. " He is a big director and I am a small director, but I am beginning to understand what he said.

From then on, I know what directors all over the world are made of. They are definitely not seagulls, sea ducks and stupid penguins. All the directors who fought, all the directors who persisted, each of you is an immortal petrel!

The author is Matz, director of the Foreign Cooperation Department of the Central New Film Group, and the general director of The Rise and Fall of the Empire. I told this Norwegian foreign friend seriously, "There is a saying in China that people all over China will say."

"What words?" Mats asked.

"oh ~ fuck."

"oh ~ fuck." Mats followed the study meticulously, and all the colleagues in the whole crew laughed. The foreigner smiled when he asked the meaning of this sentence. This is our first day from Yinchuan to Ejina Banner. Everyone's mood is as relaxed as this joke. I didn't expect to have the most fucked-up shooting since work.

That foreigner is a friend of Ari, the crew producer. We invited him to be an actor, and he will play the Swedish archaeologist Bergman. In 1930s, this outstanding archaeologist discovered Han bamboo slips 2000 years ago at the peak of Han Dynasty in Erqi.

The filming of "Rise and Fall of the Empire" can completely light candles. We hope to reproduce the exotic customs of the vast Gobi and the great scene of Bergman entering Juyan for the first time in front of the majestic walls of the ancient city of Jablin. The whole crew has worked hard for this goal. Producer Hu Xiao went to the prop workshop of Beiying again and again to prepare all the archaeological equipment for Bergman's expedition. We found Bergman's photo on the Internet and compared it with the mat. We tried to surprise Bergman's grandchildren. In order to ensure the smooth shooting, we also called the leaders of the Erqi Propaganda Department and local experts for many times. But I still don't feel at ease, so five days before departure, I sent another copy to the propaganda department of Erqi.

"Ejina Banner Propaganda Department:

CCTV's "The Rise and Fall of the Empire" film crew has entered the formal shooting stage after the inspection process in Erqi last year.

The crew entered the flag on June 5, and the shooting contents and arrangements are as follows:

On the first day, I entered the forehead flag from Yinchuan and arrived at the forehead flag around four or five in the afternoon. The crew of seven people stayed, and all the living expenses were borne by the crew.

The next day, I photographed the scenery of Juyanhai early and the site of Jiaqu Houguan in the evening.

On the morning of the third day, I entered Juyan City to meet the herdsmen and arranged the filming for the next day. (We have contacted four herders through Batu, Na Ren, and asked them to take four camels to take part in the reappearance filming of Swedish archaeologist Begemann entering Juyan area in the 1930s, and the specific expenses of herdsman shooting shall be borne by the crew. ) Enter the Black Water City in the afternoon and enter the strange forest (night scene) at night to shoot.

On the fourth day, I spent a whole day in Juyan City, filming "Reproduction of Begemann". The actor Begemann was brought from Yinchuan by the crew.

On the fifth day, I left Erqi early in the morning and rushed to Yinchuan.

The shooting plan is as above. Please help coordinate some details with the flag propaganda department.

Can Na Ren Batu be invited as a guide for the shooting? For three days, the crew has to pay a certain fee.

On the third day, I contacted Juyan City early in the morning. It is understood that the crew's Iveco can't enter. Can you ask the propaganda department to coordinate an off-road vehicle and do half-day work for the crew? The crew will have to pay for the fuel in 200 yuan and the driver's fee in 50 yuan. In the afternoon, the ticket fees for entering the Black Water City and the Strange Forest will be released by the leaders of the Propaganda Department.

On the third and fourth days, the filming of Juyan City was carried out all day. Can you ask the propaganda department to coordinate two off-road vehicles to leave the hotel at five in the morning and return to the hotel around ten in the evening? The fuel cost of two cars is ***400 yuan, and each driver is subsidized by 100 yuan, and the expenses shall be borne by the crew.

Is the above coordination and assistance feasible? Please ask the flag propaganda department for instructions.

CCTV Science and Education Center "

The propaganda department of Erqi said that it would make corresponding arrangements after receiving the fax, and I thought it should be more reliable. But I still can't sleep well I am always afraid that there is something unexpected and incomprehensible about this matter, so I am always caught up in it again and again. Do herders catch camels in the desert? Can herders find Mongolian robes worn by poor families in the 1930s? Can the driver of the propaganda department pick us up at the hotel at 3: 30 in the morning to shoot (the sunrise time at 5: 00 in the morning was recorded after stepping on the spot, so we have to leave at 3: 30)? With camel's feet, can we go to the desert a few kilometers away to continue filming the sunset after shooting the sunrise? Is this feasible? Camels entering the desert must be photographed successfully at one time, because there can be no repeated footprints on the big sandbags to be photographed, and animals are not much better than humans. Can such a complicated scheduling be successful?

Everything is related to Hwa-Sung Do. The equipment cost, personnel labor cost, food, clothing, housing and transportation cost of the crew beat the nerves of Meng Qi, the production director, and me every day. The only solution is to control the shooting cycle, only one day, only success can not fail.

Can only succeed but not fail, which is in line with the county situation. A herdsman and a camel shoot 400 yuan a day. This price is the price of two and a half people and two and a half horses when they are brought to Zhuozhou Film City or Huailai Mo Tian Third Cavalry, but it is still the price of buddies when they arrive at the flag. You don't want to forget it Who let people have a unique desert scenery and an ancient city two thousand years ago? So I made a rough calculation, including the actor fee of foreigners, the fee of four camels of four herders, the tour guide fee of experts from Inner Mongolia, the car rental fee in Qili and the driver service fee. The cost of this performance is close to 5000. Of course, this does not include the estimated daily cost of our personnel and equipment.

"The waves roar, and the waves are on both sides." Although I try my best to be cheerful and chic every day, no one knows the true feeling of jumping around like internal colic.

On the first day of flag raising, the mat vomited. This guy comes from a frozen country in northern Europe and never knows what a desert is. I seriously advised him to wear a hat and long sleeves to prevent ultraviolet radiation and keep the water from losing. He will listen carefully and then politely answer, "I'm fine, I'm fine." Am I not as strong as a cow compared with a foreigner? Let's just say he's really okay. Who would have thought that on the first day in the desert, less than 12 hours later, this guy spit out the best mutton in the world.

The next morning, we went to Juyanhai to shoot as planned. In order to shoot the sunrise, we set off from the hotel at 4: 30. Photographer Lao Li told me that the old mat could not move. Old m missed the beauty of the desert lake at most, and I didn't take it seriously. After coming back at noon, Mats was in high spirits and went out to eat with us. He said he vomited twice in the morning and wanted to sit with him. Old Meng Qi gave the Norwegian male escort a lot of medicine for diarrhea, but it was good to be empty, so no one forced him to eat mutton, which is the best in the world. In the afternoon, we went to the ancient city of Jabra to step on the spot. Mats volunteered to go with us because it is related to the most important re-shoot tomorrow. On the edge of the ancient city of Jabra, the Norwegian Matz once again showed the ultra-high quality of the Nordic people. He jumped to the edge of the sand dune, threw his clothes copied for tomorrow into the desert with bare arms and rubbed them hard in the sand. He wants to make it old! Standing in the distance, I was deeply moved. Camera Lao Li held up his Canon 350D and recorded this precious moment.

I can't get up at night. He has been lying in bed since he came back in the afternoon. At about eleven o'clock in the evening, he vomited twice again and had a fever of 38.5 degrees. I'm a little hairy. According to my doctor's idea, the first priority of the old mat is to reduce fever, and the second priority is to stop vomiting. I read all the medicines of Lao Qi Dai, and then I picked a bag of bamir and rushed it to him. When Mats was anxious to stop vomiting, he vomited all bamir. I think this is really fucking bad. Foreigners are really sick. The comrades of the whole crew simply discussed it and immediately sent him to Erqi County Hospital.

The doctor of the flag hospital looked at it and asked, but he didn't cut it, let alone the scientific means of blood test. "Intestinal inflammation, hanging water." I'm a little stupid. I'm thinking about hanging up. Mats said no, it turned out that this foreigner was extremely distrustful of China's medical and health system, and subjectively thought that China's needles were all recycled, and the potions were all fake medicines. There may be both AIDS and hepatitis B, and it is also possible to use fake drugs directly, and suddenly I met the face of Norway. Now my head is big, and it's almost twelve o'clock. We agreed with the herdsmen that the shooting time at five o'clock is coming.

There are many gods and buddhas in the sky, but anyone who cares about me as a citizen of the lower bound can't do things so well. At this moment, on the one hand, it is three years of hard work, on the other hand, it is related to the health of an international friend. What should I do? Whether to force foreigners to do it or give up tomorrow's shooting is really a question! Summer sleeping mat must not force others to hang water without hanging water. If it is only one in ten thousand, there is really something wrong with hanging water on the mat. What should I do? How long can an old mat without water last? This is the second question. What if, just in case, the Norwegian body really can't support it? After repeated communication with Mats, he expressed his real thoughts and hoped to go back to Beijing for treatment. This foreigner who hasn't been ill for more than ten years is really scared.

I discussed with Lao Qi what to do. Herdsmen have to pay if they shoot or not, but this is still a small head. The total cost of all flag-entry personnel has reached tens of thousands, and the camera has not been filmed yet, which is equivalent to the fact that the steel mill has not yet made steel and the spring seeds have not been planted. We really accompanied our wife to fold the soldiers. On the other hand, a terminally ill foreigner is eagerly waiting for us to make a decision.

"Fuck it." I grit my teeth. "Send a foreigner to Yinchuan early tomorrow morning, buy a ticket in Yinchuan and let him go back to Beijing immediately." I really don't know what to do next, but I know that Matz is a good comrade and his life is more important than anything else. What moved me was that this opinion was unanimously recognized by all my colleagues in the crew.

This evening is a bit tragic for everyone. After foreigners know our decision, they say sorry to us again and again. He is very, very sorry. But in the end, who can blame for this? Blame foreigners? Of course not; Strange amount of mutton in the world? Of course not; Blame me? Maybe a little, but I don't know; Blaming fate and the desert, that's a bit ridiculous.

Photographer Lao Li told me a story. Halfway through Gladiator, the British actor who played the agent of Gladiator died suddenly. This outstanding situation makes the great director ridley scott at a loss. Someone has written down a diary, and ridley scott, who has always been at ease, sat in the room and couldn't say a word after hearing the news. They changed the script overnight, deleted many chapters with pictures of agents, and discussed whether computer stunts could replace real people. Finally, Lao Li concluded that there is no hurdle in the world. Old seven also came to me and said, what unforeseen expenses? This is unpredictable. She changed another angle and encouraged me. These in front of me are only documentary parts, and the real big head and feature parts have not been finished yet.

I know what they said is right, and they all care and comfort me. The rise and fall of the empire has lasted for two years and three months since its establishment, but it has just begun, and the next road will be longer and more difficult. Although many things cannot be solved by courage alone, courage is the only weapon to solve these things. The car sped along the periphery of the desert, and the Gobi scenery was everywhere. Gravel, fine sand, barren and arid land, half-dead hay, and occasionally wild camels trudge. Ten kilometers away is the end of the field of vision, connected with heaven and earth, without any ups and downs. In this vast land, a road leads directly to the horizon, which is really touching. There is no such road, only the sun and Gobi, which is completely a land of death.

The sinister nature of Badain Jaran Desert was known to the Han army two thousand years ago. According to Records of the Historian, Zhao Xin, the general who surrendered to the Huns in the Han Dynasty, once gave Attila such a suggestion: "The Han soldiers have already acted, and the Huns can wait and die." . Zhao Xin said that if the Han army crossed the desert, it would be exhausted. When the two armies were at war, the Huns could easily defeat the Han army. "It is known that the trench is far north, and all soldiers are waiting for the north." So the Huns moved the trench to the north of the desert, waiting for the Han army to attack.

What was the result of this war? In the fifth episode of The Rise and Fall of the Empire, we made great efforts to describe the war.

"BC 1 19 years, emperor wudi acceded to the throne for four years, emperor wudi ordered general Wei Qing and general Huo Qubing, far across the desert, against the huns. General Wei Qing traveled thousands of miles beyond the Great Wall and met the Huns Khan. Wei Qing ordered the whole army to take the Ring of Wugang Cars as the camp and take five thousand cavalry to attack the Huns. The Huns also sent ten thousand cavalry to fight the Han army. The two armies are locked in a bitter struggle. At the end of the war, suddenly there was a big storm, and the sand hit the surface and it was dark. Wei Qing seized the opportunity. Today, the left and right cavalry of the Han army outflanked Khan Zhong Jun. So Khan was defeated, and the Han army sent a Qing cavalry to pursue more than 200 miles overnight, killing more than 19 thousand Huns. On the northern battlefield, General Huo Qubing traveled more than 2,000 miles from Daixian and met Xiongnu Zuo Wang Xianjun. The two armies immediately launched a fierce battle, and the Han army killed a total of 74,443 Xiongnu soldiers and won a great victory. The successive victories of the Han army forced Yuan Ting, the king of Xiongnu, to move north of the desert. The situation of the Han Empire and the Xiongnu Empire began to reverse and gradually became stronger from weak. "

Walking northwest along the Badain Jaran desert, my mind is full of pictures of the Han army crossing the desert. Because of the hardships of their ancestors, they lamented and sighed. This situation was awakened by a loud drink from the camera Li Huifeng.

"damn it! There is a black man traveling around the world, damn it! " Lao Li's tone is full of reverence.

I looked back at a loss, and a car full of comrades-in-arms were particularly excited and turned their heads to look back. I also put my head out of the trunk, darling, on this desert highway, a little black brother with a bicycle cap is struggling to ride a bicycle. We stopped at once and decided to meet our friend, who crossed the desert alone.

I was closest to the car door, so I got off first. I stood on the highway and watched the cyclists from far to near. I greeted him. The brother parked his car twenty meters away from me and looked at me stiffly.

"Dude, how do you feel?" I asked him from a distance.

"It feels great." Speak standard Chinese.

I found it when I got closer. This guy obviously belongs to China. He is naked and has no extra fat. He became black because of years of sun exposure. Watching me approach with mirth, the cyclist put away his folding knife, fearing that we were desert robbers.

"Where are brothers from?" Lao Li asked.

"Shanghai, Kunshan." The cyclist said slyly.

We looked around his bike, and there was a big sign hanging in front, which read: Travel around the world 196 countries, and now we have traveled to 37 countries. There is a big bucket of water hanging from the other handlebar. Behind the car is all his luggage, including three bags. The largest one is just a medium-sized travel handbag. The most striking thing is the national flag behind the car. He hung it up. No wonder we think he is black.

"After thirty-seven countries, do you ride a bike?" Qi manganese asked.

"I also want to drive, but I can't drive through the side mirror."

"Have the embassies of these countries approved it?"

"In the past, many things were dark. No, many countries don't recognize it. They called me crazy and called me names. "

"How many years have you been gone?" I asked.

"Seven years."

"How long will it take to go to more than 30 countries in seven years, 196 countries?" Qi manganese asked.

"Go for a lifetime." The cyclist suddenly fell silent. "However, this is very interesting. But only you know the ups and downs. " At some point, he began to suck again.

I know he wants to say too much, and I can't say it for a while. He began to send business cards to each of us, which were very distinctive and full of words on the front. "Give your life to travel around the world 196 countries. The public promise will make me full of confidence in the days of unemployment! Onlylife！ Do it! Goal: 1, then stick to 523 1 km and sprint 198000 km. 2, limited supply, wild naked straight. 3, shoot MT marketing, just looking for the market and not looking for the mayor! Excuse me: do you dare to take risks! Do you dare to support it! Special statement: LOGO can't be photographed without permission: fingerprints cover up handwriting. " On the back is his unique logo, covered with his handwritten name, Zhu Haifeng, with a red fingerprint.

"How far can I go in one day?"

"I can only walk 100 km today. It feels a bit strange in the desert. "

"Sleep in a tent at night?"

"There is no tent, the tent was blown away by the wind. Sleep in plastic sheets at night and dare not sleep to death in the desert. There are snakes here. "

"Is there a snake?"

"Yes, it's so big." Zhu Haifeng drew more than a foot by hand. "Black widow."

"Where are we going next?"

"Go to the forehead flag first, and then want to go to Lop Nur. I heard that a buddy is ridiculous. He took hundreds of thousands of people from his family to Lop Nur, and he didn't come out. When he found it, he had become a mummy. " Zhu Haifeng spoke of his pride and started with Liu Xi Liu Xi.

Everyone stood in the desert, under the scorching sun, asking and chatting. It's probably been a long time since anyone said so much to Zhu Haifeng. He looks very excited. Looking at the desert behind me, I don't know how a person can stand his loneliness.

Lao Li introduced Zhu Haifeng, our staff and our work to us. Zhu Haifeng asked us to leave him a message and sign it. Lao Li took the pen and was in high spirits at once. He wrote "The Rise and Fall of CCTV Empire" on the sign that Zhu Haifeng traveled around the world.

Then we take pictures together. Hu Han opened the national flag behind Zhu Haifeng's car, and we put this black brother in the middle of the photo.

When I left, I asked Ali to leave Zhu Haifeng $200. Ari speaks well and has little money. He can only talk about his feelings.

I shook hands with Zhu Haifeng to say goodbye. I don't know what to say at the moment. Finally, I thought, "Stick to your dream and you will succeed." He may have heard too much, but I told you, I really want to smoke. We got on the bus and drove away. Zhu Haifeng behind us returned to an uninhabited Gobi desert.

I pondered for a long time and looked at Lao Li, who also happened to have something to say to me.

"You wrote very well, CCTV's" Rise and Fall of the Empire "crew."

"Yes, I just want to use the brand Zhu Haifeng to let the rise and fall of the empire go to the world and to more than 100 countries."

"yes." I smiled. "Zhu Haifeng gave me courage."

The car continued to drive on the desert shore. At this time, it is 400 kilometers away from the nearest oasis in Mobei.