Chapter 37: Entering the Game

Generally, when starting a shoot, to ensure a good omen, one tries to avoid retakes and scolding.

For the first shot of *3-Iron*, Cao Yang chose the very first scene of the film.

A female statue, blocked in front by a net, followed by a golf ball hit toward the female statue, which is intercepted by the net.

This scene utilizes what is called cinematic language.

What is cinematic language?

It is the technique of using visual elements within a film to convey emotions and plot.

In other words, setting aside subtitles, music, special effects, and other elements, using only the camera footage to visually convey the story and mood to the audience; simply put, it is using the camera as a language to tell a story.

Here, the female statue symbolizes women suffering, the golf ball symbolizes the abuser inflicting harm upon the woman, and the large net in front of the female statue symbolizes the protection of the woman currently suffering.

Is the purpose of cinematic language to be shown to the audience?

Of course not.

If the film were to cut this opening scene and go straight into the main feature, would it have an impact?

For the majority of the audience, it would have no impact at all.

Most audiences watch movies for relaxation and entertainment; why would they delve into the meaning of every segment or every shot?

Only a minority of the audience, either for the sake of showing off or because they truly love film, will dig deep into the meaning of a certain cinematic language.

Then, they post it online, interpret it, and when others see it, they have a sudden realization—oh, so that’s what it meant.

The biggest audience for this kind of cinematic language is relevant industry professionals, such as film critics, film school faculty, students analyzing films, or film festival judges.

This is what is called art, and arthouse directors all pride themselves on being artists.

This film has many more instances of such cinematic language and symbolism.

For example, in the female lead's home, there is a lion statue on the lawn facing the side of the female sculpture; this symbolizes the abuser eyeing the woman like a tiger, ready to attack the victim at some uncertain moment.

For example, in the scene in front of the police station, there is a shot of a goddess sculpture with angel wings.

This symbolizes the female lead's desire to escape the suffering she is enduring, but we can see ropes seemingly wrapped around the statue's feet; this reflects that the female lead has not yet fully broken free from her shackles, paving the way for her being taken home by her husband.

For example, when the male lead is at the boxer's house and uses white paper to cover the eyes on the photos, it is a satire of all high-and-mighty male figures; the eyes represent the windows to the soul, and having those windows closed actually mocks their inner filth.

For example, when he later takes the female lead's photo, the photo was originally framed; this expresses that the female lead is imprisoned within a gorgeous-looking shell, and the photo being taken out of the frame is meant to present the idea of saving suffering women.

For example, the photos of the female lead that appear in the film are all black and white; this is the truly terrifying part when you think about it.

There is a great deal of this cinematic language, and the most interesting one is the scale reading zero at the end, which can be interpreted in several ways.

"Liu Ye, you come hit the ball. Just hit it hard; I want the impact of the ball hitting the net. Don't worry about accuracy, it doesn't matter if you hit it a few times."

Cao Yang instructed: "Camera, close-up here, capture the entire statue and the net. Position the female statue to the left, leave space on the right. Don't stop until I say so."

"All units, prepare."

"Camera?"

"OK."

"Lighting?"

"Ready."

"Sound?"

"OK."

"Scene one, take one, shot one, action."

The clapperboard operator claps in front of the lens, and filming begins.

The camera position and framing were already chosen; just point and shoot, it's very simple.

Liu Ye hadn't played golf before and had only practiced a bit in the last two days. He didn't need to be accurate, just to make sure his posture looked fine. He hit the first ball, and the posture was indeed graceful, but it was useless; they weren't filming his posture, he wasn't even in the frame, the ball being hit was the protagonist.

With a *thwack*, the ball hit the net weakly on the right side.

Liu Ye turned his head in embarrassment. No one on set spoke, and no one mocked him; everyone was doing their own jobs, and it was terrifyingly quiet.

Swallowing hard, Liu Ye hit the second ball. This one was even more ridiculous; he swung over the top of the ball and missed it entirely.

Liu Ye was clearly starting to get nervous.

Cao Yang glared at him and pressed his hands down, signaling him not to be nervous.

He hit over a dozen more balls before three of them landed in the general area.

"Cut!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief; this shot was considered done.

Don't look at this shot as being over two minutes long; when the excess is cut, only a few dozen seconds will be usable.

The next shot was also very simple: the camera is placed at an intersection, and Liu Ye rides a motorcycle from the distance, turns, and rides away.

!

The crew began setting up the camera at the intersection. Tian Zhuangzhuang first looked through the lens, adjusted the position, and felt it was about right before giving Cao Yang an OK gesture.

Cao Yang came over to take a look, immediately frowned, and said, "Who chose this spot?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang raised his hand, "It's just a very simple shot, I just picked a spot."

"Who told you to pick this spot? Didn't I explain? It needs a corner and a slope. The corner is there, but where is the slope?"

Cao Yang kicked the director's chair over, "Where is the slope I wanted? Did you eat the slope I asked for? Is it because you haven't directed a film in ten years that you don't know how to frame a shot anymore?"

He walked a few steps to the middle of the road at the corner, gesturing with both hands, and said word for word: "Here, right here, it needs to be an uphill slope, it needs to be a large, visible slope. Don't tell me this tiny bump is the big slope I asked for."

"Cinematic language, understand? The male lead comes up from below, turns up, from low to high, from right to left, going against the slope; it foreshadows that what he is about to face is not smooth, it is frustration, it is a predicament. Find it for me now, find another one."

Tian Zhuangzhuang smacked his lips in frustration and waved at two crew members, "You, and you, come with me."

Cao Yang walked to the car the crew had rented, opened the door, and sat inside.

"Director Cao, this..." Assistant Director Li Mingyi asked hurriedly.

"Wrap it up, we'll shoot tomorrow." Cao Yang slammed the car door shut, and the driver took him back to the hotel.

Cao Yang returned to his hotel room, and about half an hour later, Tian Zhuangzhuang pushed the door open and walked in.

"Senior brother, drink some water."

Cao Yang diligently poured a glass of water and handed it to Old Tian.

"That scolding felt good, didn't it?" Old Tian took the glass, took a sip, and asked.

"Thank you, senior brother, for entering the game."

Cao Yang gave Old Tian a thumbs up. Actually, it would be more accurate to call this scene "killing the chicken to warn the monkey," but if he said that, Old Tian would jump up in anger; it wouldn't be polite, wouldn't be polite, hehe.

With the recent hit of *On the Beach at Night Alone*, there was constant news, and the new crew members and the students from the Beijing Film Academy who came to intern were all affected.

They subconsciously thought that Tian Zhuangzhuang was the backbone of the crew, and if there was anything, they would go to Old Tian first; this trend was becoming more and more obvious.

After Tian Zhuangzhuang discovered this problem, he knew this situation could not continue; otherwise, based on his understanding of Cao Yang, he would definitely drive these people away and replace them with a new batch.

But this was not a way to solve the problem; it would not only delay the shooting schedule but also cause a bad influence, making it the least desirable method.

So Old Tian discussed it with Cao Yang, taking advantage of the start of the shoot to proactively enter the game, letting Cao Yang "kill the chicken" to warn the monkeys, so that everyone would know who was really in charge of the crew.

Otherwise, why would they have shot the golf ball hitting the statue first? That scene could actually have been shot by the assistant director. It was just to ensure the first scene was finished smoothly so they could use the second scene as an excuse to vent.

Thanks to the brothers for their monthly tickets and recommendations since the book started. I have compiled a list, but since there were too many recommendations, I couldn't display them one by one, so I can only keep them in my heart and thank you again. The following are the brothers who cast monthly tickets: Shuyou150811235514001, Shuyou20191214233016407, Xiaoli Xiaoyi, Buqumingzihai Buxing, felixkoo, Shuyou20210301105353343778, Shuyou20220317224434064, Saint-Venant's Theorem, Xingchen Qie Qingyou, lp_kst, Kunpeng Ru Nanhai, Haotian Ji Zhengyi, Shuyou20200325153920264, Shuyou201906221103416607, Luren De Jia, Vladimir Green, Shuyou20171117203458457, Yan Qing Zhaoming, Xiaoshihou de Wo, Huo Leng Ma, Huaxia You Lin, Ke Haokan Ne, thank you all for your support!

(End of chapter)