"Tianmen Hero Huo Yuanjia", which has been planned for a long time in Shanghai Star Film Company, has finally started filming.

The chief director is Zheng Zheng Qiu, and there are two deputy directors, namely Li Pingqian and Gu Kenfu. They are said to be deputy directors, but in fact they are helping Zheng Zheng Qiu do odd jobs.

Because Zheng Zhengqiu also has to prepare for "The Great Trouble in the Heavenly Palace" at the same time, he doesn't spend much time on this movie, and it's not difficult to shoot silent films, just place the camera position.

How did Chinese film directors shoot movies at this time?

"The director's skill is never dreamt of it. When the camera is set up, he ordered the actors to perform in front of the camera, with various expressions and actions continuously until the film of 200 feet per box is finished. The camera's status will never change, and will always be a long-term vision..."

This is Zhang Shichuan's later memory of filming in the early years of the Republic of China.

It can be seen from this that Chinese directors during the Republic of China were in no experience.

Zheng Zhengqiu went to the United States and watched it on the Hollywood set for a few days before he suddenly realized that the camera was divided into long-range and close-up scenes, the characters and facial expressions, and the camera could be placed in a car and run with the actors.

Although I used to read foreign movie magazines and knew some nouns, I only knew the truth but not the reason. Only by seeing it with my own eyes can I understand how the camera shot it.

He is eye-opening in Hollywood.

There is also a problem with the use of actors. Before going to the United States, Zheng Zhengqiu insisted on filming movies and using actors who used previous civilized dramas because these people had stage performance experience.

But movies and dramas are very different.

The drama actors are exaggerated in their tone and shape, which is the dramatic accent they are called.

It gives people the feeling that it is divorced from life, is too mechanized, is not natural enough, and filming movies requires naturalness and life, and it is not easy for an actor to change freely.

In Hollywood, actors who come out of the Broadway theater are often used, but these actors must forget their stage performance skills when shooting movies.

Now Zheng Zhengqiu no longer insists on using drama actors, but instead selects people from the acting school.

The Star Acting School is the first school in China to teach people to act in movies. It not only recruits actors, but also recruits professional talents related to films, such as photography and drama affairs.

This is how Li Pingqian entered the celebrity acting school.

He is from Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He is just 20 years old and studies at Hujiang University in Shanghai. However, he failed to graduate. He likes movies and videography. When he saw a celebrity film company recruiting workers, he came in without thinking.

Zheng Zhengqiu inspected him and felt that he had a lot of ideas about camera and was educated. In addition, he was short of people, so he took him with him.

At this time, most of the teaching in acting schools is not in class, but on-site internships, using the way the master leads the apprentice.

Gu Kenfu was dug up by Lin Zixuan from the Chinese Film Research Society.

The China Film Research Society was founded in 1920 by Chen Shouzhi, Shao Peng, Shi Binyuan and others. It is a Shanghai film enthusiast group, and they filmed "Yan Ruisheng".

However, since the film "Yan Ruisheng" was criticized by Shanghai social public opinion, the research club did not have a good life and was close to the brink of bankruptcy.

Lin Zixuan poached Gu Kenfu because he founded a movie magazine called "Movie Magazine" in December 1921, and it was also the first movie magazine in China.

This magazine introduces the trends of the domestic and foreign film markets, as well as some articles analyzing the current situation of Chinese films.

This is a very thoughtful person.

Lin Zixuan originally wanted to run a "Star Weekly", which was similar to "Movie Magazine", so he directly acquired "Movie Magazine" and also brought Gu Kenfu into the celebrity film company.

Gu Kenfu graduated from Jiangsu Dongwu No. 2 Middle School. He studied law in his early years and established a law firm to perform lawyer business.

As a result, this person became the legal counsel of a celebrity film company, working part-time set management and post-editing, as well as the publication and distribution of film magazines, which can be said to be a skilled person who works harder.

In the newly built studio, the shooting is underway.

When filming "Tianmen Hero Huo Yuanjia", you can't really go to Tianjin, you can only set up a set in a studio. This studio is built on Du Mei Road in the French Concession, not far from the celebrity film company, and can accommodate two crews to shoot at the same time.

Generally speaking, large studios should be built in Zhabei District like Du Yu’s Shanghai Film Company.

Because it does not belong to the concession, it is a Chinese area, so the land price is low and the water and land transportation is convenient, making it the first choice for building factories.

However, the forces in the Chinese area are relatively complex and very chaotic. Lin Zixuan does not want to cause trouble. In the French Concession, Feng Jingyao supports him, and no social force dares to come and cause trouble.

At this time, a piece of martial arts, which is the Huo family's mysterious fist, plays Huo Yuanjia as a martial artist who travels in the Liyuan.

It doesn’t take real kung fu to make movies, just behave like it. The same is true for opera performances. This martial artist looks heroic and looks like a decent figure at first glance, and has a martial arts foundation. The most important thing is that his salary is cheap.

Next to it, Jingwu Sports Association sent someone to provide martial arts guidance.

Although Lin Zixuan and Jingwu Sports Association reached a tacit understanding, Jingwu Sports will ignore it, otherwise the filming will be unsatisfactory, which will damage Huo Yuanjia's image.

Especially in martial arts, if Huo Yuanjia did not fight the mysterious fist and instead fought the Mantis fist, it would not have become a laughing stock in the martial arts world.

Lin Zixuan welcomes this, and the better the quality of the film, the more popular it will be in the future.

However, he will not give in to some commercial elements. The purpose of this film is to be passionate and happy, and there is no discomfort.

Douglas Sheila, who was taking a photo behind the camera, was very interested in Chinese martial arts.

Zheng Zhengqiu stood aside and guided Li Pingqian and Gu Kenfu to see how foreigners took the photos.

Because it is a silent film, there is no need to record sounds and you can speak on the spot.

They spoke Chinese, and Douglas Sheila couldn't understand it at all.

"During the shooting, you must keep a close eye on this guy, not only the shooting technology, but also the sets and lighting, including makeup and later printing." Zheng Zhengqiu explained, "If you don't understand, just ask directly. You must take out all the techniques he knows. This is something we invited for a lot of money, and we can't let him go easily."

This is the current situation of Chinese films.

After all, movies are imported products. If you want to learn new technologies, you have to pay a price. If you are a technician from a foreign film company, it will keep it confidential.

Fortunately, Douglas Sheila is not a film company employee, so she is still easy to get along with. Moreover, he is quite interested in being a director. Everyone discusses and solves various problems in the shooting process together.

Lin Zixuan thinks this foreign guy has a very international spirit.
Chapter completed!