Standing in place, he raised his head and looked up and down at the behemoth in front of him, shocked and confused. Inexplicable puzzles:

How does the shooting work, how does the performance work, how does the camera work?

In the middle of the open space on the right is a large transparent box, about two stories high, but not very large, about three meters wide, like an enlarged version of a London street phone booth;

After walking in, I saw the physical object of the wall: this is actually an LED screen! LED bulbs are densely packed and neatly divided!

Lightbox, lightbox, now Lan Li finally understands why this prop is called "lightbox".

"There are 1.8 million LED bulbs here. Timothy Webb is standing at the entrance of the light box, "According to different shooting requirements, the intensity and angle of the light can be adjusted at any time, and when it is time for the official shooting, this folding door will be closed, all the staff will stand outside, only the actor will be inside, and the whole performance space will belong to you." ”

With Timothy's explanation, Lan Li approached the door, and the scene inside gradually became clear.

In the center is a simple white basket that can be swayed like an amusement park's thrilling play props, while the base of the white basket is also a turntable that can be rotated 360 degrees, and under the base is a simple cross-shaped track for lateral and longitudinal movement. Shelves for fixing cameras are left in different locations throughout the device.

On a wall near the entrance, directly above the left and right corners, there is a huge robotic arm, which is exactly the same as the robotic arm on the left side of the shooting prop, with flexible joints and dense gears, giving the robotic arm more room to rotate, and the top-down perspective gives the camera different angles.

In addition, outside the door of the light box, there are several other huge instruments.

One of them looks like a Russian turntable, with several handles fixed to a circular turntable on which the actor can stand to simulate the classic poster of "The Da Vinci Code", showing a large font.

Lan Li's eyes showed a new look, as if he had come into contact with a new toy, and although he didn't know how to fiddle with it, he still couldn't wait to play.

In fact, Lan Li can guess that different appliances should be suitable for different scenes and pictures, simulating different situations, and presenting the effect in space as realistically as possible; LED bulbs are used to adjust the light, and the mechanical arm is used to adjust the shooting angle, creating a real feeling of weightlessness through the change of visual effects.

In the previous life, as an audience, Lan Li was amazed by the reality and shock of "gravity", and in this life, as an actor, he will participate in the production with personal experience.

"What is the state of the actor's performance when he is actually filming?" asked not Lan Li, but Rooney. Lan Li couldn't help but turn his head and cast his gaze, and the two exchanged a tacit look, obviously, both actors were concerned about the same topic. "I mean, the basket can turn and move? What about the spatial change between the actor and the camera?"

Lan Li nodded, and then added, "Can that basket rotate at high speed? Or does the camera rotate?"

Motion is relative, when a unit is displaced, it cannot produce enough high-speed motion effect, then two units are displaced in different directions at the same time, and the effect of velocity superposition can be created. It's like the moment when two cars meet head-on on the highway.

"The basket can't be turned at high speed. "In the simulation of weightlessness, the basket can only be moved to a maximum of 45 degrees, and once it is exceeded, the actor is in danger of falling off, and we can't take any chances." ”

Alfonso walked into the light box in two big strides, shook the basket, and began to explain with gestures, "During the actual shooting, the basket will be displaced horizontally and vertically, and the angle will be adjusted, 45 degrees on the left and 45 degrees on the right, shaking within 90 degrees of right angles, but on the whole, the speed will not be too fast, and it will show more of a change of perspective." ”

Then, Alfonso raised his hand and pointed at the two robotic arms above, "All the velocity and impact are caused by the movement of the two IRIS robotic arms, creating the effect of relative displacement. Moreover, if the actor's body angle rotation is too intense, gravity can easily cause facial congestion, which will not only ruin the picture, but also break the sense of space that we create. ”

Timothy's voice came from the left, and without saying anything, he stood at a console and began to remotely control.

Suddenly, the mechanical arm moved quickly, and slammed into the basket at an unbelievably high speed, but before it was about to be shattered, it came to a near halt, which really startled both Lan Li and Rooney.

But Timothy and Alfonso were both calm, and Alfonso explained, "All of these controls are adjusted by the double insurance of computer and manual control, and we can be accurate to within a millimeter." In the movie, we have a lot of shots of collisions, collisions, and explosions, at this time, the actors are basically not moving, and the basket will not move, but let the robotic arm complete the impact. ”

As he spoke, Alfonso turned his head to look at Lan Li, "In one of the scenes, the camera is going to smash at you at a speed of forty kilometers per hour, stopping at a distance of three centimeters from you, and in the process, you have to stay motionless, how about it, can you do it?"

Alfonso's eyes bloomed with a leaping light, faintly bursting out with a kind of extreme sports anger and boldness, but it made Lan Li laugh dumbly, turned his head, and then saw the absurdity and joy emerging from Rooney's eyes, and then the two of them chuckled at the same time.

"Well, I'll do my best. But physiological responses still need to be used to and controlled. "It's like climbing with bare hands, you can't help but get your muscles shaking at first, but as you get used to it, the adrenaline will be able to overcome your body's instincts," I would like to ask about the speed and range of motion of this robotic arm. ”

"IRIS robotic arm. Timothy's voice came, revealing a wave of dissatisfaction, and after feeling the gaze of Lan Li and Rooney, he emphasized again, "IRIS robotic arm, she has a name." ”

She, not it.

Lan Li bowed her head lightly and apologized.

Timothy was satisfied, and then explained, "The IRIS robotic arm has a speed of four meters per second, a radius of three meters, an accuracy of 0.04 millimeters, up to seven joint axes, and is equipped with lateral movement Guidong, which is enough to complete all the complex and delicate movements, and shoot shots from various tricky angles at will." ”

Lan Li didn't speak immediately, but digested it carefully, and then said what he thought:

"So, you mean, my job is to stay in the basket and stay still, and the camera does all the movement and change, and I just concentrate on the performance.

There could even be a limit situation, as Alfonso said, in order to create the effect of a perspective impact, the camera might tell me to hit me, but I can't move, and I can't leak the horse's feet, I have to act out what I feel like I'm hitting over?"

Alfonso and Timothy exchanged glances, and finally Alfonso nodded, "Yes, that's pretty much it." ”

Lan Li pursed the corners of his mouth and retracted his chin meaningfully.

From this point of view, although the environment has changed, the technique and feel of the whole shooting are basically the same as "buried alive". The actor is trapped in a confined space, doing all the performances, leaving the rest to the cinematographer and director, and that's all, the only difference is that "buried alive" is a rudimentary wooden box, while "gravity" is a luxurious light box.

However, Lan Li knew that this was certainly not the whole story.

"Can I test it myself?" Lan Li asked with a whisked hand, "I mean, I'll just sit in the basket and try out the actual effect and feel, and if you can, you can even schedule the camera and I'll find out how it feels to shoot?"

Alfonso didn't speak, and Timothy didn't speak, the two men just exchanged eyes.

Lan Li couldn't help but think of the 1.8 million light bulbs in front of him, obviously, the cost consumption of this appliance is definitely not a small number, "Sorry, if my request is too much......"

"No, no, no, absolutely not. Alfonso waved his hand and smiled brightly, "Actually, we've been waiting for you to join us and do some experimental shooting to test the finished product." You need to look for the feeling of the performance, we also need to look for the feeling of the picture, not only me and Timothy, but also Emmanuel, we have been waiting for it. ”

"It's just ......" Alfonso paused and turned, "It's just that I'm not sure about your status, after all, ......"

This morning, Lan Li had just arrived in London on a long flight, and after getting off the plane, he arrived in Surrey by car from Heathrow Airport without any rest and adjustment.

"Ha, don't worry. Lan Li waved his hand, on the plane, his sleep had always been peaceful, and the jet lag had adjusted, "So, let's start now?"

"That's great. Timothy's voice was cheerful, and for the first time he felt his initiative.

Turning her head, Lan Li noticed Rooney's excited gaze, and before he could speak, she said directly, "You first, and then it's my turn." The lively tone was obviously unbearable.

"Perhaps, you need a cup of coffee. The subtext is to imply that it may take him a long time, so wait in line slowly. This answer made Rooney roll her eyes speechlessly, causing Lan Li to chuckle, and then took a step and walked into the light box.