Chapter 28: Started shooting
"Thank you, just put the chair here."
After thanking the crew, Hugh Laurie moved the position of the prop chair. He made sure that it had a better angle for the camera before walking out of the set he participated in arranging from afar. This new crew was evidently new to him.
The crew clearly didn't do a good job of preparation: except for a few specific scenes and, more importantly, shooting props; other things are not ready yet. It stands to reason that the leading actors should at least have their caravan, where they can rest, change clothes, memorize lines, etc.—this is the habit of ordinary crews. But now, it seems he is the only one in the crew with an RV. In this TV series, he is the only leading actor, which is what the script says, although Hugh Laurie cannot tell from the script that he is the leading actor.
It's really a crude crew. This crew is filming a new drama and a TV series for the first time. People with little experience filming TV dramas will not make the crew so simple. Not only is there a lack of things here, but there is also a lack of manpower, and even the actors have to participate in the work by themselves, which is a bit too embarrassing.
Hugh Laurie still has his own understanding of this situation. He has acted in many dramas, and he knows that most of the dramas newly filmed by even freshly established companies face some inevitable troubles.
But these troubles are nothing: although for others, the money spent by the crew on renting four cameras and a complete set of supporting equipment, plus enough good props such as a dead body for an autopsy that can even reach 100,000 dollars, is also worth it. It may be too much to refuse to spend money to buy a good enough car for the leading actor and not to hire enough manpower to participate. However, Hugh Laurie feels that the TV series has some excellent pursuits, and it is more exciting to be willing to spend money on these places.
Such a situation is not considered unacceptable. Moreover, he did not come here for good shooting conditions but for the producer and script of this TV series. In fact, until now, he is thrilled that he can have such an opportunity.
In fact, he and Levi only met once - at the promotion meeting of the Sense and Sensibility crew. When Levi talked eloquently, he was also one of the peripheral audience. He also had a role in that movie, but as a supporting role, he was destined to attract less attention than Ang Lee and others. But who knows, after chatting with Ang Lee and others, Levi still found himself and praised his performance in the play.
He might not take it to heart if he didn't know the other party's identity. Even if he knew the other party's identity, he would have taken it as a polite word if it weren't for the conversation between Levi and Ang Lee. However, Hugh Laurie was somewhat flattered that a person who had just talked with the director about the excellent cultural background in the film praised his performance in the next minute.
As an Englishman, he knows how hard it is to get ahead in Hollywood. Wonder how many good British actors are doing the most challenging work in Hollywood with the price of cheap labor and working hard here just to get ahead. And he was appreciated by film critics before he had any works worth boasting about in Hollywood, which made him very happy. Of course, maybe Levi is not a professional film critic, but the younger brother of a film critic, and he has extraordinary insight that he could be a film critic.
At least at that time, he thought Levi was a film critic—his whole family was film critics, and his father and elder brother could largely influence the Oscar awards. Why didn't such a person become a film critic? It wasn't until a week ago that he realized the reason: this person had good insight, extraordinary creative talent, and ambition. After seeing the script of CSI, Hugh Laurie decided to participate in the audition without thinking too long. Fortunately, he was selected to play the role. Of course, this is also related to the fact that he was willing to give him the leading role in this TV series - there are many opportunities to act in Hollywood, but the leading role is not so easy. As an Englishman, it is not easy to get a leading role. Now that the opportunity has come, he doesn't want it to slip away.
And more importantly, the script itself is very attractive. Hugh Laurie has seen enough crime dramas—the UK is the home of Sherlock Holmes; how many British actors haven't studied crime dramas carefully? However, he never thought crime dramas could still be filmed like this.
The evidence is there, but as an audience, because there are not enough scientific means, there is no way to use the evidence. After introducing this concept, in the shooting process of crime dramas, the problem of the law of detective novels that has been unsolvable for a long time has been fundamentally solved. Very outstanding screenplay! Almost at first sight, Hugh Laurie saw the clues. If a TV series wants to be shot well, the most important thing is a good script. Screenwriting is the sole core of a TV series, and based on the level of screenwriting, this series can't be poor.
Moreover, in this play, his acting part is also satisfactory. In this play, he was entrusted with a heavy task. He is the core character and the soul of the whole play. On the one hand, he must show a scientist's wisdom and a scout's courage. For an actor, what is more exciting than asking him to be able to perform emotions on many levels? Hugh Laurie has his own artistic pursuits and wants to play this role well.
A good producer, coupled with a good script - well, with the considerable appeal of the leading role - is enough for him to overcome all difficulties.
"Hugh, how is your line preparation going? If it's almost ready, talk to Marge about the line. We're going to finish filming this part anyway." In front of him, it was the assistant producer, Michael, who greeted him. The entire production crew is friends of the producer, like Jack, who was in charge of moving the set just now, is a good friend of the producer. And this Michael is the same, and he has good abilities. He has always been busy taking care of various matters. The director and producer, Levi, is more about assigning everyone's work and letting everyone do the job.
What he does is also very interesting. Why is the shooting method here different? Because the crime-solving process of this TV series is interspersed with three or four cases simultaneously, all the actors need to do is prepare a short line daily. Because five or six people share the plot, although their daily shooting workload is very low, the daily shooting progress is swift. Hugh Laurie also thinks this kind of shooting method is relatively rare. Whether in England or the United States, generally speaking, the filming of TV dramas should not be to give the script to the actors from Monday to Wednesday, let them memorize their lines, rehearse on Thursday, and shoot on Friday.
However, this is not a bad thing for him. Today's lines will not be used tomorrow, and it is much easier not to memorize the entire episode's lines in one go. In this way, his workload is much smaller. There is nothing wrong with this way of shooting.
Why can't other dramas be shot like this? After thinking for a while, Hugh Laurie also understood the reason. In most TV dramas, too many scenes surround the protagonist, and the protagonist can't play like this. Those TV series have no interludes or edits, so they must consider continuity. Moreover, in most TV dramas, it is difficult for every actor to prepare the lines, actions, and acting skills in one day, memorize the lines in the morning and shoot in the afternoon. However, in this TV series, the level of the actors is indeed high. For example, the heroine Marg Helgenberger, as expected of someone nominated for an Emmy Award, is very high. Compared with ordinary TV dramas with actors who only know how to raise their heads to express pride, spread their hands to express helplessness, use 'Oh!' to express disappointment, use smiles to express happiness, and use exaggerated body language to express surprise and fear, this family, this show has absolutely all good actors.
And a TV series that can gather so many good actors, such a good script, coupled with excellent shooting techniques that seem simple, should have well-experienced professionals as well, but almost everything is lacking in shooting conditions. Such a producer, who also serves as director, how bad can this director be? These days, he has been directing and dispatching the entire crew, and his level is indeed surprising.
It would be great if he were a little more lenient with the actors in the crew.
"Our crew doesn't have too many requirements. I only hope for three things for you: don't take drugs, drink less, and remember to ask me for leave when you have something to do. Can you do it?" He still remembers when he came, Levi said his request. Levi has rigorous requirements for him. He refuses to accept drunk actors. Similarly, let alone drugs or doping, he strictly prohibits even sex, so the request made the crew complain, but it also made the filming process of the crew much faster.
However, Hugh Laurie has also thought about it carefully. He doesn't drink much, and he doesn't like to touch various drugs. Therefore, objectively speaking, he doesn't dislike the ban. On the contrary, he thinks that doing so speeds up the shooting progress, which is pretty good.
A competent, visionary, and ambitious director! Of course, it must be added that he has considerable art appreciation ability and a good network background.
Perhaps, the highest gain he got is not the income of 6,000 US dollars per episode, but rather something else. Getting to know a prominent Hollywood director is definitely of great benefit to his future.
In comparison, there are not a few people in the crew who think so, right? Moreover, the director is willing to promote himself and these actors to build his network. He may not know how far he can go. How high can this TV series as his starting point help him fly?
*****
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