Two days later, Zhang Ran signed a contract with Yu Minghai. The first upfront payment quickly hit the crew's account, and the "Burst Drummer" project was officially launched.

The filming of "Burst Drummer" is different from "Time Prisoner" and involves censorship issues, so in addition to using the team of "Time Prisoner", some staff members had to be hired from Hong Kong. In addition, "Burst Drummer" is going for the award, and it has to come up with something different in terms of artistic approach. The level of the photographer of "Time Prisoner" is a little inferior, and it can't meet Zhang Ran's requirements, so he plans to find a stronger photographer.

The cinematographer is an extremely important position in the main creative team of the crew, and his importance is second only to the director and higher than other creative departments.

If the director is the designer of the building, he is responsible for designing the exterior of the building, as well as the internal structure of the building, where the elevators are, how the rooms are laid out, and how big the windows are. Then the cameraman is the engineer in charge of construction, building brick by brick, turning the director's artistic design into reality and the storyboard into a vivid picture.

Zhang Ran's target is Zhao Fei, one of the country's top cinematographers. Zhang Ran graduated from the Department of Photography in his previous life, and Zhao Fei is half of his idol.

In Zhang Ran's opinion, Zhang Yimou's most outstanding work is definitely "The Red Lantern Hangs High", which can be called a masterpiece in the world, and the cinematography of this movie is Zhao Fei. In addition, Chen Kaige's "Jing Ke Assassinates the King of Qin" and Feng Xiaogang's "See You or Leave" are also photographers by him. In 98, Zhao Fei went to the United States and made three movies for the master Woody Allen in a row. To be able to work with Woody Allen on three consecutive films is absolutely only possible with the best cinematographers. Zhao Fei, like Zhang Ran, just returned to China last year and is now teaching in Nortel's Department of Photography.

Zhang Ran chose Zhao Fei, not because he was his former idol, but mainly because of his style. Zhao Fei and Zhang Yimou are classmates, and their fifth-generation photographers have their own specialties, Zhang Yimou is good at laying out the colors of the picture; Gu Changwei's pictures are more printmaking effect, black and white are distinct, emphasizing the feeling of light; Hou Yong's photography is more realistic style, and the picture is more three-dimensional and heavy; while Zhao Fei's photography is more flat and patterned, with a strong decorative meaning, and he personally pays more attention to lighting.

Zhao Fei's characteristics are exactly what Zhang Ran wants!

Zhang Ran chose Zhao Fei for another reason, Zhao Fei has worked with many different directors and can play at a very high level, which shows that he is a person who is good at cooperation.

The relationship between a director and a cinematographer is often likened to marriage. The close cooperation between the cinematographer and the director on the shooting site is an important guarantee for the quality of the film. Cinematographers should make full use of their professional expertise and mobilize their own expressive techniques to reflect and improve the director's creative intentions. If there is a lack of tacit understanding between the two, the result is often unsatisfactory.

Therefore, in the film industry, directors and cinematographers generally work together for a long time, which is often referred to as the queen photographer.

Zhao Fei is well-known in the circle, and he has also cooperated with masters like Woody Allen, such characters are naturally arrogant, where Zhang Ran dares to slacken, he naturally has to visit and show his sincerity.

Daoming came, Zhao Fei did not underestimate Zhang Ran because he was young, and warmly invited him into the house.

Zhang Ran expressed his admiration for him to Zhao Fei, and asked him how he felt about working with Woody Allen and Zhang Yimou.

Zhao Fei didn't take Zhang Ran's words to heart too much, but everyone was a colleague of Nortel, and he didn't hide it, and talked about some feelings about cooperating with Zhang Yimou and Woody Allen.

The two sides were a little polite, Zhang Ran opened the bag and took out the storyboard: "Mr. Zhao, this is the storyboard of the movie, you take a look at it first, and let's talk after watching it." ”

"Storyboard?" Zhao Fei was stunned when he heard this. This Zhang Ran is also a graduate of the directing department, how can he be as good as this? Without breaking down the script and scouting the scene, he drew the storyboard first!

Zhang Ran knew what Zhao Fei was thinking, and explained: "I am a rookie director, just by talking about it, just by taking a dry script, where investors must invest easily, the storyboard can at least let them know the general effect." I've broken down the script, and I've surveyed the scenes, so I definitely won't scribble. ”

Zhao Fei understood a little, took the script and read it carefully as if no one was around, and after only turning two pages, Zhao Fei put down the storyboard and asked suspiciously: "Have you studied photography?"

Zhang Ran nodded and said, "I've learned a little!"

Zhao Fei glanced at Zhang Ran, continued to look through the storyboard, and became very surprised after reading not much. To be honest, Zhang Ran's storyboard is very well drawn, and he has quite strong art skills, but Zhang Ran not only marked the camera position of the lens, even the light position, and what lamp was used, which was shocking.

Zhao Fei looked at it very slowly, thinking about Zhang Ran's lighting arrangement everywhere, trying to find out what was wrong, but until he finished reading the entire storyboard, he didn't find a single mistake.

The whole scheme is detailed, accurate and highly operable!

Zhao Fei almost wondered if Zhang Ran was deliberately running to tease him, the level of lighting is so high, there are obviously high-level photographers to give advice, why are you still coming to me?

Zhang Ran saw Zhao Fei put down the storyboard and looked at him with a little surprise, so he said, "Mr. Zhao, I don't know what you think of the script?"

Zhao Fei didn't answer, but asked, "Who designed this lighting plan?"

Zhang Ran took a sip of tea and said slowly: "It's me, and I ask Mr. Zhao for guidance." ”

Zhao Fei was taken aback, this lighting scheme is of a very high standard, it is definitely the handiwork of a photography expert, but he didn't expect it to be designed by Zhang Ran himself: "Your lighting scheme design is quite good, and the arrangement of several skull lights is also very ingenious, especially at the end of the movie, Zhou Xu returned to the stage and sat back on the drum stand, it was a skull light similar to Chen Wei before, which shows that Zhou Xu has fallen into the same magic as Chen Wei at this moment, which is very wonderful!"

The skull light is the top light, that is, the light hits down from the top of the head, and this light will cast a heavy shadow on the two eyes of the character's face, under the nose and under the cheekbones, which looks very much like a skeleton, so it is vividly called "skull light".

When Clarice went to see Hannibal in prison in the movie "The Silence of the Lambs", she gave Hannibal a top light, which was particularly bright at the top and dark at the bottom, so that the human eye, the most expressive part, was hidden in the shadows, like a black hole, and the character shape showed a skull effect, which looked very scary.

Zhang Ran's plan is basically a copy of the original movie, but this is not the effect he wants in the end: "It's just some small means, which are not worth mentioning in front of a master like Mr. Zhao, and I ask Mr. Zhao for advice." ”

Zhao Fei said: "I have nothing to point out, just follow this plan to set up the light, but your design is more black, and the light treatment should be a little finer, otherwise it is easy to appear dead black." ”

Dead black is the dark part that is too dark and connected to the details, and overexposure is the overexposure of the light, resulting in overexposure.

Zhang Ran stared at Zhao Fei and said slowly: "Although the lighting effect of this cloth is good, it is not the effect I really want, what I want is to leave white and black, but I can't distribute this kind of light!"

"What did you say?" Zhao Fei stood up violently, his eyes staring at Zhang Ran tightly, as if he had seen a ghost.

"I said I wanted to leave white and black. Zhang Ran said lightly.

"What do you mean by blank space and black?" asked Zhao Fei with a hint of trill.

"Needless to say, our Chinese paintings pay attention to blank space, while Western art does not say that there is white space, but their paintings, especially Rembrandt's paintings, the background is basically black, which I think can be called black. Leaving white space and leaving black is simply to have light and darkness, the combination of virtual and real, many dark places, to highlight important things. It can't be unobstructed, in terms of light structure, the difference should be very big, white space is very important, and some dark places are arranged for the audience to enrich with imagination. ”

After hearing this, Zhao Fei was completely dumbfounded, staring at Zhang Ran and unable to say a word.

Zhang Ran knew that he had shocked Zhao Fei, Zhao Fei's early films in China were very particular about blank space, but he went to the United States to work with Woody Allen, an extremely demanding old man, for three years, which gave him a new understanding of Western painting and a new understanding of light.

Of course, this is just a way of thinking, and it has not yet been practiced. Zhao Fei's idea of leaving white space and black is in Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises", while Dacheng has to wait until "Let the Bullets Fly". The thoughts in his mind suddenly let Zhang Ran say it directly, which naturally brought him a great shock.

Zhao Fei stared at Zhang Ran for a while, and couldn't figure out what was going on, but since this person knows how to leave blank and black, cooperating with him may inspire him, and finally made a decision: "Okay, I'll take this movie!"

The corners of Zhang Ran's mouth rose, and there was a kind of pride in his heart that the heroes of the world entered my court, Jiang Wen, Jiang Wen, my brother can't stand you, from now on Zhao Fei and I will be mixed, you can find a photographer again, stretched out his hand and said: "Teacher Zhao, happy cooperation!"

(Thanks to "Meow Meow's Pig Four, Very Sad Song" for rewarding, asking for collection, asking for recommendation!)