Reprinted: Luo Xueying's Red Sorghum: Zhang Yimou Photo
conception
Whoever does a thing must have a purpose, or idea.
The ancients had a saying: "... Therefore, those who are good at painting must intend to write first. It is better to be aware of it than to write it, and it is not possible to write it and not to notice it. Intentional and not pen, not yet, not to the point: the pen to the meaning is not, to the still has not arrived.
This area is the place where the Chinese ancestor Xuanyuan Emperor cultivated and conquered, and it is the cradle of the nation. To make a film here, there is always a lot to think about.
We want to express the vastness of the heavens, and we want to show the thickness of the earth; I want to express the water of the Yellow River flowing for thousands of miles, I want to express the unremitting self-improvement of the national spirit: I want to express the shouts and strength of people from the original obscurantism, and I want to express the singing of the intestines that arise from the barren loess soil; Want to express the fate of man, want to express man's feelings - love, hate, toughness, vulnerability, foolishness and kindness in the desire and pursuit of light...
Thinking is always better than being.
"Take the law from above, only get it." "Take the law in the middle, so it is below."
In fact, there is very little we can shoot; Land, secret cave, Yellow River, four characters.
We want to express the vastness of the heavens, and we want to show the thickness of the earth; I want to express the water of the Yellow River flowing for thousands of miles, I want to express the unremitting self-improvement of the national spirit: I want to express the shouts and strength of people from the original obscurantism, and I want to express the singing of the intestines that arise from the barren loess soil; Want to express the fate of man, want to express man's feelings - love, hate, toughness, vulnerability, foolishness and kindness in the desire and pursuit of light...
topic
The theme of this film is difficult to describe. I thought that if it was a story of rebellion against the sale and purchase of marriage, it would rather permeate the deep pursuit of man, the land, and the pursuit of light.
style
It is a high-pitched and melodious xintian tour that rises from the ground, a ravine like a knife and an axe, a waist drum like spring thunder that comes from stepping on, and a sighing Yellow River that flows quietly.
"Deep, rich" - this is the simplest description.
Photographic tone
The four elements of color, light, composition and movement constitute the style of cinematography, and I think they should all be unified under such a tone: not to seek light and to take rich, not to change but to take simple.
Zhuangzi said: "Both carving and craftsmanship, return to Pu." ”
Overall styling of the whole film
1. Color
"Cattle, land and people have the same skin color." Needless to say, yellow is the color of this film.
It is a calm earth yellow, not a jumping bright yellow.
In yellow, there are black coarse cloth cotton jackets, white tripe towels, and red wedding coat caps.
Yellow, black, white, red - yellow is the land, black is the pocket, white is pure, red is yearning.
Do not learn the bright color of Chinese New Year paintings, but take its simple richness.
2. Light
Since the Loess Plateau presents a near-white effect under the harsh sunlight, considering the calm nature and warm atmosphere of the soil, the light treatment of this film is mainly based on the word "soft".
The exterior scene is mostly illuminated in the morning and evening, and the interior scene is illuminated with a large amount of scattered light and soft light.
In individual scenes, there is a conscious use of bright sunlight to form a great contrast and strengthen the visual impression - this is the need of the play, the need of the content.
"Scenes that are difficult to write, such as in the present, contain inexhaustible meanings, and are seen outside the words." The emergence of the artistic conception of the picture is first in the light.
3. Composition
"Concise and calm", this is the purpose of composition.
"Those who think of support are good at applying, and those who are able to verify are good at deletion." In the picture, it resolutely rejects dispensable things, emphasizes simplicity, and emphasizes the thickness of large blocks.
The difference with "One and Eight" is that it is not the shock of force, but the tranquil beauty.
Composition does not seek strange and bold, but simple and complete.
4. Exercise
In order to create a deep, thick feeling, try not to move.
Through the organic scheduling inside the lens, through the movement of the actors, and the less moving camera form a whole, resulting in a visual impression that has both layers and changes.
Film is the art of movement, but cinematography is not necessarily only a method of "moving".
"The thickness of the mountain is the depth, and the stillness of the water is the movement."
There are several specific techniques
According to the needs of the content - this is fundamental.
Unified in the director's conception - this is the premise.
1. Repeat
Throughout the film, a large number of repetitive lenses with the same scene, the same camera position, the same lens focal length, and even the same light hole are used.
"Sunrise and sunset." The Chinese nation has thus come a long way. Day after day, there has been pain, joy, longing, struggle.
The same picture often contains and reproduces different qualities.
2. Color montage
Yellow is the overall color of the film, but in a few passages, a lot of red is photographed: car curtains, red hijabs, red pants, red belts, red waist drums, red flowers and red horses... Red full of pictures! Strengthens the visual impact and causes emotional ups and downs. Form a rhythm.
The same red, in different passages, gives people very different feelings.
3. Light jumping
The whole film is soft light, but there are two jumps:
Waist drum - dazzling bright sunlight! This is the indulgent singing of the turned-over peasants. This is a new life.
Pray for rain and bright sunlight! This is the cry of the mentally twisted clothed people. This is death.
When you die, you are born.
A few digressions
Young people in the 1980s were often referred to as "modern youth", and the so-called "modern" abandoned tradition.
In fact, in our conception of future films, we have benefited greatly from these few words of Lao Tzu: "Generous and boundless, large instruments are late, loud sounds are loud, and elephants are invisible."
March 31, 1984 Nanning