Lens language

When the media began to publicize the filming of the movie The Lives of Others, the filming of the movie had already started on the film set.

"Stop. Hugh, you're not acting in stage drama here. When performing, don't deliberately raise your face too high. Keep looking straight ahead, and don't lift it up." Hugh Jackman apologized and walked back to his position again. This time, he made a mistake again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's my mistake again this time!" After seeing his mistake, Jackman immediately raised his hands and shouted with a helpless smile. The photographers around greeted him and didn't criticize him: As a leading actor, it's very rare to have such a temper that he knows his mistakes and corrects them.

"Hugh, we've made new progress this time. Let's take a short rest. Think about how to act better. After thinking about this, let's continue to do it, okay?" Levi, who sat on the director's chair, said.

"Okay, I think I can act better... When I get used to shooting, I can definitely do it."

Hugh Jackman emphasized again before going to the side to prepare for the next rehearsal. It's just that at this moment, in his heart, he was also thinking about the wonderful parts of this movie.

The work of filming the film has already started, and Hugh Jackman already knows a little more about the film. There are some aspects of this movie that are very different from the publicity. For example, there are rumors outside that the filming of this movie is the result of the film director giving up the huge profits from the TV series to make movies for his own artistic pursuit, but Jackman is very clear that the director has not given up any income at all. On the contrary, as the big boss of the TV drama company, he probably has not cared about that little money for a long time.

And what's more, in the rumors, because of Spacey's participation in the shooting of this movie, many people have very high expectations for this movie, thinking that the shooting method of this movie may be pretty unique, alternative, or it is ingenious. However, during the filming process, Jackman still felt that there was nothing special about the filming technique of this film.

"I'm just a new director, and it's only my first time directing a film. I don't think it would be better if I didn't use an overly unique shooting technique. I believe that a peaceful shooting technique can also produce good movies." The director said this. When there is a problem, he will also appear to be quite humble. As a novice director, he is very self-aware and knows what to do and what not to do. However, the director should be cautious, but it would be a lie to say that he has no pursuit. Everything else in this movie is good, but what makes people feel troublesome is the camera setting of the movie. This is the biggest headache for Hugh Jackman these days.

It has been three days since the filming began, but Hugh Jackman still hasn't been able to adapt to the camera's position settings fully. In fact, not only he but even the photographers did not have the camera position that adapted to Levi's arrangement.

"Your camera arrangement, there are not many normal camera locations at all..." This is the question that Wally Pfister, as the film's director of photography, immediately asked after seeing Levi's settings, "The settings of these camera positions may expose the position of the camera."

According to the principle, the camera position of the movie shoot is, of course, at the height of the face, and the same height as the face can give people have the most comfortable look and feel. When the audience is watching a movie, they can only think that this is a normal conversation when they see the camera at the height of their faces. If it is another form of camera position setting, deviating from the normal perspective and falling into other perspectives is easy. Instead, directors often use shooting down in the sky to shape God's perspective.

As for Levi's shots, all of them were set at a relatively low level or at a relatively biased angle. Even when shooting Spacey's monitoring scene, there was a camera position that was simply set behind him. Such a position is not a normal angle for people to communicate with others. Therefore, Wally Pfister is naturally surprised, and he said that the position of the camera would cause the position to be exposed, not because these camera opportunities appear in the lens, but because it will give the audience a feeling that this is a deliberate shooting.

"I just use the angle to create a perspective similar to surveillance deliberately." Levi also explained his thoughts at the time, "I just want the audience to be in the perspective of an observer in this movie."

Levi and Wally Pfister explained the structure, and Hugh Jackman stood aside at the time and heard Levi's ideas.

"Wiesler, as the protagonist, is in the position of the monitor in the movie. However, as a monitor, we can't show his ability to watch. It is the audience of the movie who can really watch other people's lives. And the audience, while watching Dreyman's life, they are also watching Wiesler's monitoring process, so this forms a unique structure: Wiesler monitors Dreyman, and the audience observes Wiesler. Wally Pfister understood something, "You are trying to use the film's point of view to construct an observer above Wiesler - because the audience unconsciously uses this point of view to censor the film. That is to say, Wiesler is regarded as the monitored person on another level, not the monitored person."

"That's what it means." Levi was also very happy that Pfister knew the layout of the movie so well. "More than that, when shooting the characters later, I specially placed occluders in front of the characters to highlight the foreground, which is also to create this special effect deliberately." The protagonist of this movie, Wiesler, is a monitor. It is difficult to gain people's identity. However, through a relatively special angle, a kind of observation of Wiesler can be formed. The most important observation in the movie is the picture, followed by the sound. The audience observes Wiesler, but Wiesler only listens to Dreyman. The image is separated and becomes a person to be observed. This will make his transformation more acceptable.

This is the use of the right of viewpoint: In movies, the right of viewpoint is the right in the communication between people and the movie, just like the right to speak in the communication of ordinary people. And how to use the right of viewpoint to create the effect you want; this is the application of lens language.

Using some unique camera positions that are absolutely not used in ordinary movies means that the audience of this movie will be at another point of view: they will be watching Wiesler and Dreyman from above. Weissler, like Dreyman, has become the subject of surveillance, which has a better effect on the audience's identification.

Pfister is worthy of being a master of filming. After hearing Levi's explanation, he quickly understood Levi's thoughts, and after he figured it out, he immediately praised, "It's a genius idea. Use the audience to build a new layer of observers so that the three-dimensional layering of the movie appears—Mr. Levi, I have to say, you are really a genius!"

Jackman also sincerely agrees with Pfister's praise: How the film expresses the language of the lens through shooting techniques is all based on the director's skills. For the same movie story, how to use the lens to make the story more exciting and how to arrange it so that the audience can better integrate into it all need attention.

Good screenwriters are good screenwriters because they can write good stories. The reason why a good director is a good director is not whether they have a good script but how they use their own lens, use their own composition, and structure to tell the story well.

Movies tell stories through the lens, and the lens can also speak. Different shooting angles and camera setups can create different effects, just like using positive words and derogatory words to describe the same thing, which will make a big difference.

"Wally, don't bother to praise me." Levi was not easily blown away by Pfister, and he still remembered to remind, "Because of structural problems, this movie is often divided into two parts. The protagonist cross-shoots and marches. Dreyman's side needs brighter light, while Wiesler's should use darker colors: you have to grasp these aspects, and there can be no problems. Then there is the occlusion of the foreground; how to lay out these occlusions to form a better picture is also your problem."

"No problem, I will pay attention to this aspect." Pfister agreed without hesitation.

He has long discovered that the director's control of the camera, in addition to the unusual arrangements, also has a more persistent pursuit of the beauty of the camera. Pfister didn't understand why. Generally speaking, shouldn't TV drama directors pursue the story's continuity? The pursuit of camera aesthetics is more of a hobby for advertising directors. Why does Levi have these pursuits?

However, that doesn't matter. The important thing is that the structure of this film is very special, and the lens language is very different. Add to that its own terrific light-to-dark contrast, and the film becomes quite captivating. And if the beautiful shots are added, then this movie may even become a classic handed down from generation to generation.

Jackman doesn't understand this, but he knows one thing: the shooting technique is plain and simple, which doesn't mean that the shooting technique has no pursuit. The director is a person with his own pursuit, and this movie will be very good.

*****

Thanks and kudos for my patreons Cherif Doghri, Abdishakur Hasan, Adam LV, Danny York, haze2343, and Scott DePaepe.

You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.