Lying on the dilapidated attic, Matthew looked ahead through the scope, the roaring sound of tanks came from downstairs, and Xiao Lou seemed to be trembling, but he was not affected at all, from hand to eye to hand, it was extremely stable.

Just ahead, the streets were in ruins, with masonry and rubble scattered in the middle, and in some places obvious bomb craters, and the houses on either side were in a dilapidated state, densely packed with bullet holes that seemed to tell a tragic story to onlookers.

War is just around the corner!

The town, which was carefully arranged by the crew, seemed to have been blown up by shells and strafed by machine guns again.

Matthew wore a military hat instead, and the hand holding the gun did not tremble in the slightest, like a real soldier who had been through the flames of war.

There are also the guns in his hands and the M4 rifle placed on the side, all of which bear traces of war.

The firearms look a little old, and the paint has fallen in many places.

The behind-the-scenes department of the crew has made careful preparations in the previous preparations.

Smoke from the tank drifted over the building, and Matthew lay on top of the attic, unmoving.

Sweat was streaming down his forehead, and Matthew whispered, "It's so hot here." ”

The camera was right next to him, filming his every move.

The observer next to him continued, "The mud here tastes like shit." ”

Matthew looked intently ahead, but still took the time to reply, "It's like you've eaten it." ”

The observer looked into the distance with his binoculars, then laughed and scolded, "Shut your foul mouth." ”

In order to create a real battlefield atmosphere, even if the tank will not appear in the camera, director Clint Eastwood still asked the actor who played the American army and the tank borrowed from the Pentagon to cooperate with Matthew's upstairs shooting.

Except for the cameras set up, everything looks like a real battlefield.

This is also the effect pursued by Matthew and Clint Eastwood, since it is an autobiographical film, the war must be realistic, it is impossible to restore reality 100%, and there is a certain conflict with the requirements of commercial films, but the war of this kind of film must not be illusory and sci-fi.

"Stop!"

Director Clint Eastwood called for filming to stop, and the originally chaotic set immediately fell silent, Clint Eastwood approached Matthew and said a few words, and filming began again.

Matthew took a few sips of water first, and then a makeup artist came over to touch up his makeup, then lay on the ground and continued to act as a sniper.

Luckily, it's almost November, and despite the strong sunshine, the temperature is not unbearable.

With Clint Eastwood giving the order, Matthew immediately got into the groove.

He lies behind an improvised bunker in the attic, staring closely at the battlefield in the distance through his scope, and thanks to Chris Kyle's personal training, he looks like a professional sniper at the very least.

"I saw a suspicious warfighter on the phone. "Matthew's voice isn't too high," he was watching our convoy on the phone, over. ”

A voice rang out from the intercom pinned to Matthew's shoulder, "If you think he's reporting on the movements of the convoy?

Hearing this, Matthew adjusted the scope slightly, and the observer next to him whispered, "He may just call his mother." ”

Matthew continued to adjust the scope, "He's gone!"

It's not just a blank description, it's that there's an Arab actor doing the action on the other side.

Then, Matthew moves his sniper rifle slightly in a pre-planned direction, and an Arab mother and son appear in his sniper shot.

"Wait, I saw a woman with a child walking towards the convoy. Matthew said quickly, "200 yards away, still walking towards the convoy." ”

In Matthew's scope, there is not only the mother and son, but also the camera and the cameraman, but he seems to be indifferent as if he doesn't see it.

Naturally, other cameras are responsible for the footage used in post-editing.

Matthew spoke faster, "The woman's arm didn't swing, she was carrying something, she pulled out a Russian-made RPG bomb ......"

Before he could finish his lines, Clint Eastwood stopped filming, "Matthew, your lines are not in the right tone." ”

The whole set stopped.

Matthew stood up and looked at Clint Eastwood, who wasn't far away, and he didn't notice what was wrong with him.

This kind of composite scene shooting, once there is an accident, is more troublesome.

But in order to give the actor an immersive feeling, to make him, the leading actor, a sniper on the battlefield, according to Clint Eastwood, these are all necessary.

Once, Clint Eastwood filmed "Million Dollar Baby", and in order to find the excitement of the game for Hilary Swank, he deliberately hired a lot of professional audiences to create an atmosphere on the spot.

Clint Eastwood is one of the more old-school directors, and many of the shots are more traditional.

With the current director's practice, these shots must be completely separated and filmed, and as for the feeling of the actors, you can slowly find them over and over again.

Matthew got up from the ground and rubbed his arm and knee that were a little numb, and Clint Eastwood came over and said, "There's something wrong with the tone you just used. ”

"Hmm. Matthew nodded.

Clint Eastwood said directly, "You are a sniper who provides rear support, a person who can better observe the overall situation of the battlefield, and the essential meaning of the possible enemy that appears, whether it is a woman or a child, cannot be subjectively emotional because they are women or children!"

Matthew was thinking about it as he thought about it, and he had a lot of communication with Chris Kyle himself before filming began, and Chris Kyle described similar scenes, in Chris Kyle's eyes, there are only his own people and enemies on the battlefield.

In the words of Chris Kyle, your comrades believe in you, and you must provide them with cover to eliminate potential threats.

Clint Eastwood continued, "Matthew, try to describe the behavior of the mother and son from the perspective of a bystander, in the most prosaic and simple way, without any supervisor emotion. ”

He also reminded, "Remember, Chris Kyle is a trained ace sniper, he doesn't sympathize with people, and his sympathy for others can directly cost his comrades their lives!"

Matthew had already figured it out, and immediately nodded and said, "Okay, let's do it again." ”

With that, he moved his hands and feet, and once again lay down behind the improvised bunker in the attic, and set up his sniper rifle again.

After Matthew adjusted, the shot was shot without a hitch.

But before the next shot could be taken, Clint Eastwood came in again.

"Keep it as it is. Clint Eastwood is old but still energetic, "You are the protector of your comrades, remember that!"

Matthew understood what Clint Eastwood meant by reminding him of these words, and Chris Kyle had said that when he shot the mother and son on the battlefield in Iraq, he didn't have much guilt or psychological burden, because they took up arms, and if he didn't shoot, it was his comrades who died.

Clint Eastwood is an old and strong character, like the hardest stone in this desert, and Matthew is not a man who is overflowing with empathy, and at the beginning of the film's conception, the character and position of Chris Kyle were determined.

This is definitely not a character who repents at every turn, this is just a hard cowboy.

The old cowboy has said to Matthew more than once that this is the soul of this film – not only am I brave, but I know why!

Frankly speaking, this is also to ensure the effect of the film, and at the same time, restore the real psychological state and situation of the protagonist at that time as much as possible.

Of course, these are all true as described by Chris Kyle himself.

The male protagonist is a natural "sheepdog" who fights with "wolves", protects "sheep", finds the most suitable position in the harsh SEAL training camp, and then witnesses the tragedy of his compatriots in 911......

Chris Kyle himself said that his original intention was simple, to protect his family and protect his homeland.

On the battlefield, he can be regarded as finding the best position in his life, one task after another, one battle after another, the US army caught in the street battle has no advantage compared with the local armed forces, no matter how high-tech the weapon, in the end it is a wrestling between people,

Therefore, when the male protagonist in this scene aims his scope at women and children, his calmness and decisiveness are intimidating, on the battlefield, either you die or I die, this is the ultimate right or wrong choice, fight for your life.

Clint Eastwood mainly shoots the actions and performances of the male protagonist, and the details of the psychological level are basically brushed aside.

In fact, Matthew's overly delicate psychological depictions in war films are actually quite disgusted, Brown Williams, who has participated in many wars in Africa and the Middle East, once said that when a person is really in a tense state like the battlefield, he rarely has the energy to think about metaphysical things, the most typical is what war justice, political correctness, are bullshit, and when life hangs by a thread, there is really no other use than looking for death.

Besides, the big-headed soldiers don't have such a high level of consciousness.

The final characterization of Chris Kyle, Matthew believes that the audience, especially North American and Western audiences, should enjoy it.

This is also an artificial exaltation of Chris Kyle on the basis of the prototype.

He is the type who can remain strong in the most brutal living conditions, he is certainly not a lack of tendons or anything, he is just the kind of person who can overcome vulnerability and fear with the desire and courage to protect others.

These abilities, even in the real world, are quite cherished by the whole society.