Writer Zhu Tianwen [1] once mentioned the word "su-reading", which refers to a way of reading or watching movies: that is, to meet the works in a simple and sincere way without resorting to any method or theory [2], "The Elephant Sitting on the Ground". "The image is "very plain", and it is also very suitable for "prime reading", which makes people feel a pure impact, like a pony that doesn't know how to turn and control the force directly crushing the audience. There are so many stubborn and even willful needs for any dazzling skills. The length of the film seems to be too long, but it is very simple. The style is not for establishment but its essence. Elephants are small, life is big, and perhaps losing the bond is the real fear: get rid of the constraints together to find the unknown elephant, get off halfway in the dark, and listen to the beasts chirping from nowhere. Prime reading. Plain beat Compared with other films that use a lot of hand-held shooting, such as "Breakthrough", "Dream of Drunkenness", "Tuina", the camera movement of "The Elephant Sitting on the Floor" is more stable and strong, just like the protagonist Webb,
if he is kicked down, he will keep repeating. When I stand up, the camera is tightly locked to an object, there is almost no counter-jump, it is all locked on the actor's expression or movement, the camera is very close to the actor, and many scenes are completed in one shot, which is a very test of the actor's performance skills. We all know that Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang often use remote adjustment of the camera to achieve natural performances in order to prevent amateur actors from avoiding the camera. Like "The Elephant", it is very bold to make the camera and the actors dance as if they are close-fitting, and even shallow. As long as there is one point in the focal length shot that is not ok, the entire shot must be retaken. It is a difficult test for both actors and photography. Pricing The director must also have a certain degree of confidence in the directing and the performance of the actors, and the method of locking the expression is even more bold. , if you can adjust the lens to move the picture to the object, space or hand at any time, you can move the lens when the actor's performance is flawed, or change the focal length to the supporting role or the distance, but this film has almost nothing that can make the four Where the protagonist steals a step, the focal length and the camera are closely watching them, almost straightforward. The composition that has been repeated in the second half of the film: shooting the back pull of the protagonists even shows a little ingenious deviousness;
almost abandoning the flexibility and variety of changing balls that can be achieved by hand (such as "Drunk Life and Dream Death"). There is only one shot in a scene, and the failure rate is extremely high. A flaw in one shot means that the whole scene is ruined. For the first film, I chose this almost suicidal high-pressure shooting method. Apart from courage, I can’t think of any other description. Without the use of stealing steps, it also extends to the pressure on the director to cut the film into a nearly four-hour version, which is very unfavorable for the new director. If the funds invested by the sponsor cannot be recovered, the filming will be completely lost. The chance to make a film is undoubtedly a death sentence for a director; let alone a four-hour movie that is not willing to appear in theaters, it can be said that it is absolutely foreseeable to lose money (before any awards are given); Hu Bo, who graduated from Beijing Film Academy, must not be. I don't understand this truth, but I still choose this choice that can't please anyone at all, and it is close to martyrdom.