Simon West attended the Masters Carnival of the Second Hainan Island International Film Festival.
■ Our reporter Zhou Yuan
The last work was a few minutes long commercial, and the next feature film can sell for more than 200 million US dollars worldwide. This legendary director is Simon West . He has directed many classic action films with big box office reputations such as "Prison in the Air", "Tomb Raider", "The Mechanic", and "The Expendables 2". He is a film by Hollywood superstars such as Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie. Bole".
On the morning of December 2nd, at the Second Hainan International Film Festival Masters Carnival, Simon West, dressed in a light-colored shirt, witty and elegant, described his experience of embarking on the film road in the name of "movie trader" Feel with the director.
is different
unique elements "win" the big production
"I have always been obsessed with movies. I wanted to make movies when I was about 12 years old. At that time, I would use a small camera to make movies, and I would save The money that came down was used to buy film tapes." Simon West said with a smile when talking about his career as a director. After graduating from college with a dream of film, he joined the BBC British Broadcasting and Television Station. After learning some editing and shooting skills there, he quit his job and traveled across the ocean to Los Angeles, where he became a "beauty drifter" in the Hollywood film factory. ".
West, who was still unknown at the time, took a few minutes of commercial samples that he shot and tried his luck everywhere. "At that time, most of the commercials were elements of sunshine, beaches, and beauties. I wanted to do different things, so there were some comedy and action elements in the sample. It happened that this film was seen by the producer of "Prison in the Air" and thought these The elements are more in line with the style of this movie, so I contacted me." West said.
In this way, West, who has only experienced directing commercials, won the big action movie in one fell swoop, and it became an instant hit. The key to this luck is that he always insists on being a different person.
"Although my first film was a large-scale production and the funds were relatively sufficient, it was not easy." West said, a film from polishing the script, finding a venue, shooting to post-editing, etc., every link When faced with endless problems, it is very difficult to complete these things in a short time.
For example, during the filming of "Prison in the Air" for more than 100 days, there were more than 500 staff and more than 40 special effects actors every day, which is equivalent to running a large factory. "I think the process of making a movie is very difficult. Just like running a marathon, you can only reach the end by constantly overcoming difficulties and moving forward. But in this difficult process, you can learn a lot, basically to shooting In the middle and late stages, you will become an expert in a certain job." West said.
is ready to make preparations
is the best choice in film editing and editing
When talking about director skills, West emphasized his point: "It is better to do more in the early stage than to do less." He believes that one scene is enough to be shot. The picture, adding enough elements, can be achieved by editing in the post-production of the film from more to less, selecting the best, and once the lens is not enough, it is difficult to add it later. For example, when he was shooting the new film "Sky Fire", there were 5 scenes of collisions of vehicles, but they did not take one scene of one car, but prepared 5 cars to present different action scenes.
In addition, adequate preparation and communication in the early stage can also save a lot of valuable shooting time. "Directors and actors may have different understandings of character creation. I think we should communicate fully in advance, reach consensus, and give full trust to each other during shooting. Instead of expressing opinions or even disputes during shooting, this will waste a lot of time and manpower. Material resources." West said.
With the development of science and technology, CG technology (using computer technology for visual design and production) has added many virtual scenes, characters, objects, and special effects to the film. For thrilling action movies, CG technology is widely used. For real shooting and the use of virtual technology, West also has his own understanding. "I like the real shot scene very much, because it can truly control the shooting state of each scene, and observe whether the expected effect is achieved in time. If it does not achieve the desired effect, you can retake it." West said, with CG technology, it may be possible to shoot. It will be easier, but more time will be spent on post-processing, and there will be more unknowns.
After the host’s conversation with West ended, four young Chinese directors also took the stage to join the conversation.From the perspective of my own creation, I ask questions of interest to West.
"Listen to the master's sharing, very rewarding." Zhang Qing, a junior who came from Guangdong on a special trip, told reporters that she is a movie lover. After learning about the Hainan International Film Festival, she first applied for volunteers. . Although the volunteer registration was full later, she rushed over to buy tickets to listen to the lecture, just not wanting to miss these precious opportunities. "I will stay in Sanya for 3 days, listen to a few more forums and master carnivals before leaving."
(Sanya, December 2nd)
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