First scene

In the story of "Scent of a Woman", there were many characters, but the truest core was Lt. Colonel Frank Slade, played by Al Pacino. Charlie, played by Chris O'Donnell in the previous life, had more than 80% of his runtime with Al as his scene partner. The sparks between these two characters were the key to the quality of the entire movie.

Although there were many actors involved in the filming in New York, the main characters were Al and Hugo. Their presence meant that the crew was ready, and other actors could only be considered guest stars, with no more than three days of filming. This was also why Hugo only saw Al after arriving at the hotel.

The so-called rehearsal script mainly included two parts. One was for Martin to explain the setting, psychology, and motivation of the characters and discuss them with the actors, allowing them to have a deeper understanding of the entire work and better grasp their roles. The other was for Al and Hugo to rehearse some lines, not only to prepare for the first scene to be filmed but also to help the actors find their rapport with each other. It was also a way for the director to observe the actors' understanding of their roles.

Before the official filming of the movie, the director and actors can set expectations for the filming situation and communicate in advance even if there were problems. This was very helpful for movie shooting.

For Hugo, this was a very fresh experience because people's lives had been getting faster and faster after entering the 21st century, and filming movies was no exception. Directors were more accustomed to skipping the process of early rehearsals, and rehearsals for each scene were conducted in a simple manner before filming. Even in the early 1990s, there were not many movie crews willing to spend time and effort on rehearsals before the start of the movie, and obviously, Martin was a relatively old-school, academic-style director.

However, two days of early rehearsals were obviously effective for Hugo as a "novice." Martin originally hoped to cultivate rapport between Hugo and Al and let the latter better grasp the character of Frank Slade. After all, in Martin's perception, Hugo was already an actor with rich filming experience, and the role of Charlie was not difficult for him, especially after his performance in "Dead Poets Society". But unexpectedly, it also provided Hugo with some convenience.

The crew quickly started filming. As it was a low-budget production, there was no grand opening ceremony, and filming began as soon as all the crew members were in place.

The first scene that Martin chose to film was the scene where Lt. Colonel Slade and Charlie checked into the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Frank forced and threatened Charlie to come to New York with him. It was clear that Frank intended to enjoy this holiday, but Charlie was uneasy. Not only had Lt. Colonel exceeded his scope of work, but also because something had happened at school that could change his fate it made Charlie restless and always thinking about leaving.

"Hugo, you stand next to the sofa, and our camera will be here." The stage manager held the script and explained the shooting sequence, camera movement, and positioning. "Then, Al, you turn around and walk straight. Hugo, you must follow closely behind Al. After one shot, our camera will switch to there." The stage manager pointed to the opposite position and stood behind the sofa, specifically pointing out this position. "To ensure the camera can catch up, don't deviate from your route."

After the stage manager finished explaining everything, Hugo and Al rehearsed the scene twice according to the script. Then, as if it was the actual shoot, they went through the entire scene once more. Only then did the stage manager inform Martin, "We can start filming now."

Generally, for the first scene of a movie, directors choose a relatively simple and easy part to shoot for a good start. Of course, some directors prefer to shoot in chronological order, so there is no such consideration. The scene Martin chose could be considered the first scene in New York and was not too difficult, so it was a reasonable choice.

During the lighting technician's final check, Hugo stood by the sofa, took a deep breath, and adjusted his slightly faster heartbeat. Strangely, Hugo was not very nervous when it was time to start filming. Perhaps all the nervousness had been released earlier, or maybe the rehearsals over the past two days gave him confidence. In any case, now Hugo could face his first official main camera shoot with a calm mind, which was quite rare.

"Ready." Martin's voice came from the side. Hugo stood by the sofa and looked at Al and the extra actor playing the waiter to his left. Then, he relaxed. "Action!"

In this scene, Hugo didn't have any lines, and all the focus was on Al. He only needed to show confusion and obedience, so it wasn't difficult for him. But soon, Martin's voice saying "cut" came. Hugo thought it was the end of the first scene and they were going to shoot from a different angle. Unexpectedly, Martin shouted, "Hugo, wrong position."

Hugo's shock was evident on his face, and his blank expression made Martin laugh out loud. "Hugo, you blocked the camera angle for shooting Al just now." Martin walked over to Hugo and pointed to the position behind the sofa. "The camera will shoot from there later. You were leaning on the sofa, but when you turned around, you shouldn't have turned directly. Instead, you should have gone around in an arc, followed behind Al, and then moved forward."

If it were in real life, Hugo could simply turn around and walk into the lobby from supporting the sofa. He could just turn around and move forward in place. But in the movie, it wouldn't work. If Hugo turned 180 degrees and walked forward as in real life, his body would overlap with Al's due to the shooting angle, blocking the shot of Al. Therefore, Hugo must take half a step forward, then turn around and move in an arc behind Al before taking another step forward.

This is the technique of walking positions.

After realizing his mistake, Hugo slapped his forehead in regret and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, it's my fault! Like an inexperienced novice, I made such a basic mistake." When talking about walking positions earlier, the crew had actually explained it, but they assumed Hugo was experienced, so they glossed over it, and Hugo thought he understood, so he made a mistake.

No one likes to make mistakes, but Hugo obviously didn't do it on purpose. His sincere apology coupled with self-deprecation made the on-site staff laugh lightly. Al gave Hugo a punch on his right arm and said, "Man, because of your mistake, I have to redo all my lines."

Hugo looked at Al and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Isn't just the last line enough? 'Puerto Ricans...

always made the best infantrymen.' that's it." Although Hugo had never played a major role, he still understood these contents, and he was not a complete rookie. The walking position error just now was only due to an insufficient understanding of the camera angle.

When Al saw that his joke was exposed, he immediately put on a black face and said, "You've already revealed the joke, what else is there to laugh about." This childish remark made the entire crew burst into laughter.

Hugo knew that Al was consciously helping him out of the situation. Actor mistakes are inevitable during the filming process, but the attitude of actors after mistakes is crucial and has a vital role in the atmosphere of the crew. Today, Al was telling Hugo through his actions: bravely admit mistakes, use humor to resolve embarrassment, and humbly ask for advice... all of these can be effective ways to resolve awkwardness after mistakes.

After resuming filming, everything went smoothly. The first scene was not difficult at all, and the second time was completed easily, which also set a good start for the "Scent of a Woman" crew.

"How's that inventory comin'?" Colonel Slade, who was on the phone, suddenly asked. Charlie, who was standing in front of the liquor cabinet, was stunned and looked a little nervous as he turned around to look at the colonel, then looked back at the liquor cabinet. "Um..." he fiddled with the bottles on the shelf, bent down to read the labels, "There's Jim Beam and Early Times."

Charlie obviously didn't expect the colonel to start wanting to drink as soon as he arrived at the hotel. He looked uneasy.

"Quartermaster's on the take again." Colonel Slade said sharply. The phone rang and he quickly returned to the phone. "Hello, is Sheldon or Mack there?"

Charlie stood still, obviously trying to figure out what the colonel's words meant. He was just a poor student and had never stayed in a five-star hotel, so naturally he didn't know much about these things. Of course, what surprised Charlie even more was: why did the colonel know about these things?

"Cut!" Martin shouted happily. "Hugo, very good, that was great."

Hugo had just said his first line after starting shooting. Although it was only one line, he didn't make any mistakes, and his expression and body language were also in place. He passed the first shot, which was a good thing. Hugo felt a little excited standing in front of the camera and portraying a completely unfamiliar character. It felt strange, but also enjoyable.

Unfortunately, as Hugo had said during the audition, Charlie didn't have any standout acting moments for most of the time. His character was constructed in the details, and the real test of his acting skills would come later in the film, in the second half, which also took place in this luxury suite. However, Hugo still had to wait patiently, even though he was already eager and ready to go.

"Hugo, get ready for the next scene!" Martin interrupted Hugo's thoughts about his performance and continued the filming process. Hugo knew that he would have more lines in the next scene, which made him show a brilliant smile. "I'm ready anytime."