Back at the scene, Ronald found Jim and said, "The boss will be here soon. It will take two hours. Before that, let's continue shooting."
"Wow, so you're still directing?"
"Yes, when the boss comes to take over. He and his assistant Gail will be on the scene. We have to hurry. What's the next scene? You will be responsible for the movement."
"The next scene is Kate, flirting with Tom." Jim picked up the storyboard and handed it to Ronald. "Congratulations, Ronnie. You deserve it."
…
Ronald found Vincent Van Patten to play the role of handsome Tom. At first glance, he was strong, blond, and wore a green and white school uniform. He was exactly the dream lover of American high school girls.
Vincent is a handsome American guy. Unlike the old nerd Tom in the script, he is a sporty and sunny boy.
Ronald recalled the image in his dream. He played the role of an honest and dull mama's boy, which did not match the role in terms of temperament.
But since he can act like a good actor, his acting skills must be good, so the problem lies in...
"Clothes, where are the clothes?"
"Here," the fat costume clerk Linda raised her hand.
Ronald pointed at Vincent's chest and said, "Put on a tie. I want him to look like someone who was brought up in a serious Puritan family."
"OK, I have prepared some. I'll bring them for you to choose from." The wardrobe clerk Linda picked up two ties, one with blue and green stripes and the other dark red.
"This one," Ronald pointed to the blue and green striped one, "goes with this green and white school uniform."
…
After arranging the actors here, Ronald went to the camera crew and arranged directly: "We need a long shot for this one, 10 seconds. Tom comes out from the room, wearing a school uniform and tie, greets only the male classmates, and finally sits here to eat breakfast. A main shot looks down from the crane."
Roger indicated the location of the camera, then pointed to the teaching building: "The male protagonist came out of the building, holding an unread novel in his hand, and was out of place with the crowd dancing happily around him."
He described the dream scene to everyone and then asked, "Mr. Cundey, what do you think?"
"Did you hear that?" the director of photography turned around and shouted to several assistants, "Let's get started."
The red-haired assistant looked at Ronald, finding it hard to believe that these words came from his mouth. They sounded a bit like the authority of an old director who had been in the film industry for decades.
"How do I shoot a scene that feels out of place?" Director of Photography Dean Cundey asked, "Tell me how to move the camera."
"No, not by camera movement," Ronald explained. "With this shot, the screen is about the width of three people from left to right. Let the camera follow Vincent and keep him in the center of the screen."
Ronald gestured to the director of photography: "When other people came up to greet him, their walking and movement speed was normal, but Tom would be half a beat slower so that he would look out of place."
"Okay, I understand." The director of photography nodded. "Go arrange the actors' rehearsal. I'll take care of this."
"Thank you, Mr. Cundey."
After Ronald had thanked him, he turned around and hurried off to explain the scene to the actors.
"Hey, is today your first scene?" Ronald looked at Vincent, who was wearing a tie and looked a little rustic and dull.
"Yes, how do you arrange my appearance?" Vincent replied.
"I will let the camera follow you all the time so that the audience will have a deep impression of you. Come out from the room, show up here, then walk over here with your books, say hello to many male classmates, and finally sit in the seat over here and eat breakfast. Then wait for Kate to come over and talk to you."
Ronald demonstrated the movement and asked, "What do you think?"
Vincent imitated it: "Appear... take the book... go... say hello... sit down."
Ronald said, "Perfect. What do you think of this shot? Any ideas?"
Vincent was quite happy, "No problem, I think this is good." It seemed that he was quite satisfied with the picture and length of his shots.
Ronald gave him a thumbs up and said, "Pay attention to the frequency of your movements; it's like you're half a beat slow in reacting."
"No problem, watch me," Vincent stroked his handsome hair.
"Oh, you messed up his hair. Gigi, fix his hair." Ronnie called the makeup artist and hairstylist.
Being an actor is a troublesome job. If your makeup or hairstyle is slightly inconsistent, the camera will magnify it exponentially. So after each take, you have to check and touch up your makeup.
Ronald went to the director of photography again and asked, "How are the preparations going?"
"No problem, I can cover it pretty well with a 20mm lens. I just need to stop the aperture down one stop to keep it in line with the brightness of the previous lens."
Ronald looked up at the sky. The sun had risen, and the school wall blocked most of the direct light. But the brightness of the environment was much brighter than before. The photographer had to make some technical adjustments to make the images taken before and after equally bright. Otherwise, the flickering images during the screening would frustrate the audience.
Shooting with natural light was quite complicated, but luckily, we had a very experienced director of photography.
Ronald and Jim whispered and prepared to shoot.
The plot is this: Kate sees Tom, shows a crazy expression, takes the initiative to sit next to Tom, and chats with him. Tom didn't like the good girl who was a top student, he liked the cheerleader Riff Randell more. He said hello in disgust and turned his head to read a novel. The camera finally stopped on Kate Rambeau's embarrassed and depressed face.
"Action!"
The shot was well done, from beginning to end.
"Cut!"
Next is to shoot the dialogue.
The camera switched to a medium shot, first focusing on Vincent. Dey Young sat opposite him, with only one shoulder showing in the frame. The two of them reenacted the flirting scene.
"Cut, pass."
Then the camera was moved behind Vincent, aiming at the good girl played by Dey Young. This time, it was Vincent's turn to show his shoulder. The two chatted for the third time.
After the shot is done, wait for the director of photography to confirm. Filming is not like filming a TV series where you can watch instant playback. Whether a shot is well shot and whether it meets the director's requirements must be approved by the director of photography.
"OK"
Then we started shooting reaction shots.
The red-haired camera assistant switched to a 100mm close-up lens and carefully moved the camera closer, almost to the actor's face.
The director of photography looked at the light and shook his head: "It's a little past the best time. The direct light is a bit strong now. The shadow on the face in the close-up is too strong. Put up a reflector."
The lighting assistant half-knelt on the ground, holding a foam reflector in his hand, reflecting the sunlight onto the actor's face to make the shadow less obvious. At the same time, he had to be careful not to let his hands enter the frame to avoid being exposed.
"Give me a shy smile..." Ronald commanded.
"Okay! Action!"
Vincent stood behind the camera and was approached for the fourth time. The camera captured Dey Young's face and printed it on the film. It was waiting to be developed, reprinted, copied, and finally enlarged on the big screen, to be seen by thousands of boys and become their dream lover.
"Cut!"
This shooting method is what Roger Corman called "one main shot, two shoulders, and three reactions". It is the standard method in Hollywood. First, use a panoramic shot, then use an over-the-shoulder shot to shoot the dialogue twice, and finally, take a few close-ups and add them in as the other party's reaction after hearing the dialogue.
There is only one advantage: it decreases shooting time.
Film shooting is boring and time-consuming. Every scene has to be rearranged, the actors have to put on makeup, move around, and rehearse. Indoor scenes also have a particularly time-consuming lighting process.
The low-budget film "Rock 'n' Roll High School" was shot very quickly, using a Hollywood method, and it took more than an hour to finish.
The actors left the stage, and the next scene to be filmed was a dance scene. Rock music started playing, and the students started dancing to a strong rhythm.
This shot has little to do with the plot, it mainly expresses a rock atmosphere.
More importantly, a few beautiful women dressed in cool clothes and dancing beautifully are like ice cream for the audience. In low-cost youth exploitation films, this kind of inexplicable dance is also a standard feature.
The protagonist of a dance drama is the choreographer. How the dance is performed and how beautifully it is performed are all determined by the choreographer's level.
The crew's choreographer is a Polish woman named Siana, who speaks with a strong Eastern European accent.
"Ronaldo, even though the Ramones sing rock, I plan to have the students dance disco."
Ronald was stunned for a moment before he realized that Ronaldo was himself. "OK, what's the consideration for doing this?"
"Disco is better."
The crew did not have actors with deep dancing skills, and the large number of extras could only dance some popular dances. Compared with the old-fashioned swing dance, everyone could dance the popular disco.
This kind of dance is very popular now. Last year's "Saturday Night Fever" and this year's "Grease" have set off a nationwide disco craze. The leading actor in both movies is John Travolta, who has also become a national idol and a new generation of Hollywood dance king.
"You have two beautiful ladies with great figures. You should let them dance more in front of the camera," Siana said.
"Oh, who is it?"