1905 Film Network News The interview was arranged in Bad Rabbit Pictures, a film company co-founded by Cao Yu and his wife, actor Yao Chen. There are many trees and vines surrounding the company's building. Compared with other cultural companies in the surrounding area, it does have a "rabbit hole" feeling.
walked into the door and we saw the past award trophies and nomination certificates of Cao Yu and Yao Chen. The latter's "Golden Rooster Award Nomination Certificate", which was ridiculed by the former, was also included.
through the hot search topic, we directly talked about his "joke" on the Golden Rooster award stage, "Sometimes, I think she really deserves the award, for example, the last time "Everything is Good", but in the end it was pretty good. It's a pity. We should also respect the opinions of the judges, so that we can get better and better." Look, it looks like a "wife-loving demon" posture.
In fact, the so-called "poor luck" is mostly relative to Cao Yu himself.
In 2004, he was nominated for the first best photography in his life with "Kekexili" and successfully won the trophy; then he and Lu Chuan second cooperation "Nanjing! Nanjing! ", it won the best photography of the San Sebastian International Film Festival; out of ten subsequent works can be nominated large and small. This year, with the photography of "Devil Cat", he won the first Golden Rooster Award trophy.
In the eyes of many audiences, his most well-known identity is "Yao Chen's husband", but in the industry, he is one of the Chinese Mesozoic cinematographers recognized by major directors.
When we were curious about whether such an excellent photographer would consider changing careers as a director in the future, he said, “At this stage, there is not much interest. Photography is a more appropriate and natural way of self-expression, not a utilitarian. Calculation."
Cao Yu is like a urchin who grows up, and the camera is like Lego bricks to him, and various possibilities can always be changed in his hands. Before returning to zero, His joy will never disappear.
"It's clear at a glance"
"The Legend of the Demon Cat" is Cao Yu's first time to shoot costumes. Before that, he didn't like to make films on this subject. However, the co-director is Chen Kaige, and "Farewell My Concubine" directed by the other party is one of his favorite films. "From the perspective of photography, it has a particularly poetic beauty, which forms a unique aesthetic of movies. "When the two met for the first time, Cao Yu hadn't read the script, but they talked for 4 hours. The dialogue between the two Leo men is not about Wang Jianwang's strength, but the complementation of two powerful men in different fields.
The other party asked him if it was possible to photograph Chinese paintings. This is the most critical point of "The Legend of the Demon Cat". He didn't answer him at the first time, but he was sure he could give it a try. So he went back to study a series of similar but different painting schools such as Jinbi landscape painting and Japanese Ukiyo-e.
is the same as usual shooting. Before the official start-up, he will shoot a test film by himself, and use a more direct picture to visualize what the director wants, and use the image to show the product. "Because sometimes, it is only by language It is inaccurate to describe it, but after the film is taken, everyone will understand it at a glance." Of course, not every test film can be approved by the management.
shoot "Nanjing! Nanjing! "At the time, Cao Yu thinks that the shooting of people is particularly important, and if it is processed in black and white film, it can be purified and can remove the interference of color, so that the audience can pay attention to the faces of people and pay more attention to the mental state of people. However, due to commercial considerations, the producer has been hesitant.
"The final decision came from the Sichuan Fanjianchuan Anti-Prisoners Museum. There are black and white photos in the museum with the dignity of resistance. After that, we made a lot of black and white test films, and the investors saw the black and white images on the screen. The sense of realism and murderousness that came was also moved, and finally agreed to make us a completely black and white movie from beginning to end."
"Too special"
Cao Yu defined his style as "poetic realism" "—— "It has a certain sense of reality, but it is also very poetic, and can have a strong emotion in it."
His requirements for images are extremely extreme, and even a bit "venomous."
"The DI (Digital Intermediate) color grading of "Send Me to the Blue Clouds" is me, but photography is not me. Because it is a low-cost film, I don't think the whole style is particularly uniform, and it is too realistic for me. However, some parts are good, with a certain poetic flavor, but it has something to do with the natural environment. "
He doesn't like complete nature. Even in the interview state, he will have requirements for lighting. This is his demand for professionalism and an "occupational disease" as an expert. Of course, he also doesn't like that excessive False feeling, "For me, in "The Ferryman", that kind of decorative light has been used to the extreme, and if I go a little further, it is beyond what I can accept. "
In his existing work history, "The Ferryman" is the most unique existence.
producer Wong Kar-wai's style of work is also as legendary, full of uncertainty, the film will need to be remade because of the modification of the plot, so In terms of photography as a whole, Cao Yu continued to experiment several times. "At that time, he didn't specify what he wanted. The structure of "The Ferryman" was very loose. He filmed first, then stopped changing the script, filming and stopped, and After changing the script, I finally slowly tried out the feeling of the existing images. The experience of "
" working with Director Wang is really special, but his work is very good. "The seemingly tormented work experience has brought him a lot of new feelings, and it also brought him the first Golden Image Award trophy.
"If it is so difficult, will you consider cooperating with Wong Kar Wai in the future?" ? "We took advantage of the situation and asked boldly.
"Yes, I like Dao Wang and his works very much." But if you cooperate with him again, this may be the case again. "Look, this urchin always has a "pain and happy" mentality when he discovers the novelty of toys.
"like water"
" loves and believes. "This is the key to Cao Yu's choice of co-director.
Before that, he was the "Lu Chuan Queen Photographer" in everyone's mouth. The two collaborated on "Kekexili", "Nanjing! Nanjing!", "Nine Demon Towers", etc. Film, but he actively strives for the possibility of cooperating with other directors. No matter who it is, as long as he thinks it is worth it, he will integrate himself into the director’s work model as much as possible.
"actually is like water, it has Your own style, of course, has strong power, but at the same time it has strong adaptability. It can be placed in any shape container. "
Cao Yu has changed in different modes in different modes, but he has always maintained his own style. In the new Guanhu film, he used IMAX cameras to shoot the whole film, which has become In the whole country and even in Asia, the first photographer to use this equipment to shoot movies. "The equipment is really heavy, more than 60 kilograms, and the physical requirements of the handheld are particularly strong. "For this kind of preferential treatment, he has only given a few words of experience. Even though
is so heavy, in the shooting process, he often insists on using his shoulder to maintain the subjective feelings presented by the film with this kind of photography movement. With film technology, he has always maintained a rational curiosity. From filming to the present, he has almost never made a 3D movie except for "Nine Demon Towers." He himself smiled, "Some plays are just not suitable. Humanistic plays like "The Legend of the Demon Cat" do not require sensory stimulation. Of course, 3D has its own advantages, and it depends on whether the work has elements suitable for it to complete. "
"
"more than 500,000"
won the Golden Rooster award this time, Cao Yu carefully studied Weibo for the first time. "I saw those comments and found that everyone had cut out the screenshots of "The Legend of the Demon Cat". There are kind of animated pictures, but none of them overlap. "
He discovered that more and more audiences are now paying attention to behind the scenes of the movie, and more and more comments point to the behind of the movie. This phenomenon makes him very excited. In the past, directors and actors often received attention and became A selling point in film marketing. Nowadays, behind-the-scenes work has gradually become one of the focuses of film promotion. With this momentum, Cao Yu launched the "Carrot Project."
"The first time I just wanted to be a salon , Facing more than 100 people present. In the end, the highest peak of online live broadcast turned out to be 160,000! I was particularly surprised, how come so many people listen to a photographer's lecture? "The first success of
gave him a little confidence. He invited the voice guide Zhao Nan for the second period, and the editor for the third period.Teacher Zhang Yifan, I hope the audience can learn about the fun behind the scenes of the movie through this window.
"In the third issue, the total number of platforms was more than 500,000!" He was particularly surprised. Perhaps this number was very easy for his wife's live broadcast, but for a group of filmmakers behind the scenes, it was really not easy. .
For the promotion of movies behind the scenes, he only plans to carry out the "Carrot Project" at this stage. For newcomers in the industry, he is more eager to see that it is brought by new directors.
"Because only the new director is supported, he naturally needs photography and art and other staff. But if there are only new photographers, it is more difficult for others to get to know them. For example, the photographer Li of "The First Parting" Yong was nominated for the Golden Rooster Award this time. But before that, no one knew him. But because of the debut work of a young director, he had a chance, and as a result, more people saw his brilliance. "
He also hopes that young filmmakers can form a long-term cooperative relationship in the future. "The combination of Li Yong and Wang Lina seems to be cooperating in another film. This is also refreshing, and it is also a vitality for the film industry. In this "symbiotic relationship", he saw the shadow of him and Lu Chuan at the beginning, because after "Kekexili", the two formed a long-term stable combination. Of course, his current relationship with Chen Kaige is also the same. After "The Legend of the Demon Cat", he once again collaborated on the new film "Flowers in the Dust" (temporary name).
is "very fun"
Cao Yu is definitely an interest-oriented "player" in film photography.
was not very good since childhood. After watching "The Last Emperor" in the third year of junior high, he was suddenly attracted by "photography". The Forbidden City is a place where he has bought tickets countless times, but the scene presented by the movie is completely different from reality.
"This is a magic!" In the eyes of young Cao Yu, he still didn't understand the use of color and light, but this subtle picture deeply touched him. So, since then, he was determined to take the road of film photography. "I may be born suitable to be a photographer, so I should take the same path, but I am on the right path and didn't make any detours." Before
went to Beijing Film Academy, this poor student from childhood to college became a student because of that passion. The first in the class, until I graduated from university, "At that time, I wanted to study every day. It was really fun and it was full of freshness for me." After
graduated, Cao Yu made a few movies, but these movies He can't remember the title until now. But in order to make a living, he ran to the advertising circle halfway through. In the eyes of the people around, this behavior is somewhat unsatisfactory. But he didn't think so. He entered the amusement park like a urchin, trying various equipment under various names.
"In the past, there were more than one million production costs for an advertisement, so I can try various equipment. I also find it very fun, and most importantly, I have accumulated a lot of experience. Without these experience, I may have difficulty To cope with the changeable situation of "Kekexili"."
Cao Yu has maintained a kind of excitement about film photography all the year round, and occasionally there will be bottlenecks, but this bottleneck is like an adventure on the road to pass, let him keep it forever With the sincere heart of the young, he can "play" with work at any time.
"And it can be combined with the breadwinner." The boy did not forget his man side in the end.
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