Looking at the scene before him, which was both strange and familiar, Pei Ran felt a pang of nostalgia. He walked lightly behind Director Xie and stared at the monitor just like him.
This scene depicts a branch of the underground Communist Party being discovered by the Japanese army. Cheng Yanxin helps the surviving members of the underground party to relocate, but in doing so, she reveals some flaws. Yokota confronts Cheng Yanxin with evidence, but Cheng Yanxin remains calm and dispels Yokota's doubts.
The camera followed Chu Meibo from behind, slowly panning into the room, and then from behind her to the front.
Cheng Yanxin was wearing an exquisite cheongsam, but her face looked somewhat tired. She casually placed her handbag on the table and walked towards the dressing table. However, after taking two steps, she seemed to realize something and paused, but quickly resumed her nonchalant demeanor, sitting directly in front of the dressing table and beginning to remove her earrings.
A close-up shot focused on her face; her expression seemed casual, but her jaw was clenched, her gaze lowered, scanning the corners of the room through the mirror on the dressing table.
This scene was performed with exquisite detail, demanding a very high level of skill from the actor. In today's film industry, such close-up shots are usually filmed as long takes and then reshot. However, Chu Meibo was so outstanding that Director Xie set high standards for her, and fortunately, Chu Meibo never disappointed him.
At this moment, Song Yimian had forgotten his original intention to take care of Pei Ran. His eyes were fixed on Chu Meibo in the arena, and he was silently pondering in his heart.
However, Pei Ran shifted his gaze from the monitor to the film set and muttered, "What a pity..."
His voice was so low it was almost a whisper, and only Song Yimian heard it. He turned to look at Pei Ran in confusion.
At the same time, Director Xie frowned and said, "Cut!"
Song Yimian's expression changed from confusion to shock: "You..."
Pei Ran's gaze fell on the camera shooting the close-up, and he still said in a low voice, "The angle just now was wrong. This scene was actually meant to convey a sense of crisis. A downward angle would have been better to create a sense of pressure. It's too peaceful now..."
Director Xie had already stood up and walked over: "That last part was too flat, let's change it, try shooting from an overhead angle..."
At this moment, Song Yimian's expression towards Pei Ran had changed from shock to admiration. He had thought Pei Ran was also an actor, but he didn't expect that she was also a skilled worker.
Pei Ran remained calm and composed, even though the filming environment he experienced back then had changed a lot compared to now. However, the essence remained the same, and it was not difficult for him to see these differences.
Director Xie adjusted the camera and lighting before starting the shot again.
Cheng Yanxin sat down at the dressing table and took off her earrings. From the darkness behind her came the sound of military boots hitting the floor, and Cheng Yanxin's back stiffened slightly.
Yokota's image gradually appeared in the mirror of the dressing table. He squinted slightly, but his gaze fell on Cheng Yanxin in the mirror. He said in broken Mandarin, "Good evening, Miss Cheng."
Cheng Yanxin slowly clenched her fist on the table.
She seemed to take a deep breath, stood up, turned around, and wore a flawless smile: "Mr. Yokota, this is my private residence. It's not appropriate for you to be here so late."
The camera zooms out, and the two of them appear in the frame at the same time.
Yokota raised his hand and stroked his beard, looking Cheng Yanxin up and down: "Miss Cheng, rest assured, I only want to ask you a few questions. As long as you answer them properly, I will leave immediately and will not do anything to you."
Cheng Yanxin crossed her arms and said in a slightly cold voice, "Oh? Mr. Yokota, what important question do you have that you have to break into my house so late to ask me? Although I am looked down upon as an actor, I am still a respectable person. As for Mr. Yokota, you said you were my fan before, and I was somewhat happy about that, but now it seems that you are not so sincere."
Her expression was flawless. Yokota paused in stroking his beard, but took a step forward and softened his tone: "Miss Cheng, rest assured, my soldiers are guarding this area. No outsiders will appear and tarnish your reputation."
This statement, seemingly an explanation, is actually a threat.
Cheng Yanxin unconsciously clenched her fist at her side, but quickly relaxed it, revealing an offended expression: "It seems I have no way to refuse? Well then, please finish asking your questions as soon as possible, Mr. Yokota."
Yokota smiled and said, "Miss Cheng, don't worry. The night is long, we can chat over tea."
As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and a soldier-looking man came over carrying a teapot and teacups. After placing them on the coffee table, he saluted Yokota and turned to leave.
Yokota walked to the sofa and sat down, poured two cups of tea, and then gestured for Cheng Yanxin to come over: "Miss Cheng, please have some tea."
The camera angle changed again. Although the two were still in the same frame, Cheng Yanxin was further away, while Yokota was closer. Although he was sitting, this angle made him appear more dominant.
Although this scene was shot entirely at eye level, the two actors used their positioning, actions, expressions, and the rhythm of their speech to create a tense and dangerous atmosphere that made the viewer hold their breath.
Song Yimian watched with rapt attention, while Pei Ran was clearly much more rational.
He already knew Chu Meibo and Guo Wenyuan's true identities, but he had never seen them film before. Now that he had, he couldn't help but sigh. These two truly deserved to be called the pinnacle of their era; their evenly matched acting was simply too wonderful, even making him a little tempted.
This scene is quite long, so it's impossible to film it in just one shot.
For actors, this is actually the most difficult part of filming because the shots are fragmented. Sometimes, after finally getting into character, the scene gets "cut" after one shot, but they still have to maintain their emotions to move on to the next shot.
Sometimes actors have difficulty getting into character, and it takes a long time to adjust, which may take a long time to film a single shot.
However, Chu Meibo and Guo Wenyuan seemed to not need this stage. As soon as Director Xie yelled "Action!", the two could quickly get into character. Even if there were cuts, it was mostly because of adjustments to the camera or lighting, because the two rarely had their performances cut.
For a director, working with this kind of actor is incredibly comfortable.
Director Xie was quite excited; he almost forgot to rest if the assistant director hadn't reminded him.
Filmmaking is not only an artistic endeavor, but also a physically demanding one. Both actors and crew members expend a great deal of energy. The actors sat in chairs while the makeup artists touched up their makeup, the crew put down their equipment, went to the restroom, or ate snacks, while Director Xie leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of strong tea to refresh himself.
Having watched for so long, Pei Ran had a general understanding of Director Xie's filming style, so he began to wander around the set.
Song Yimian had previously assured Pei Ran that she could ask him anything she didn't know, but after Pei Ran showed off that skill, Song Yimian gave up.
Pei Ran went to ask the staff questions himself. His face was so deceptive that he was almost always successful. He gained a lot from this trip.
Suddenly, a photographer turned pale and clutched his stomach, startling everyone. After some commotion, they learned that he had acute gastroenteritis.
Director Xie had someone take him to the hospital, but filming could not be interrupted, so the camera assistant had to temporarily take over.
However, the photography assistant, unlike the photographer who had worked with Director Xie for many years, simply couldn't understand Director Xie's meaning, causing Director Xie to call "cut" several times.
In the end, Director Xie had no choice but to let them rest first, so as not to exhaust the actors too much. If the camera assistant still couldn't get things right, they would have to abandon the simultaneous shooting and come back to fix the details after the main shot was completed.
The photography assistant sat dejectedly to one side. Seeing this, Pei Ran walked over to him and whispered a few words.
The photography assistant was both surprised and hesitant: "Are you sure?"
Pei Ran raised her eyebrows and revealed her usual harmless smile: "You can give it a try."