章節 208: On how to shoot women beautifully
Within a secluded chamber of Château d'Annecy, both windows were tightly covered with curtains, and there were no lights or candles lit inside. The sunlight from the outside couldn't penetrate the room.
Deprived of any source of light, even though it was midday, the room still appeared dimly lit due to its lack of illumination.
In this not-so-spacious space, a few chairs were placed against the walls, and at this moment, several big men were sitting there, completely engrossed as they stared at the screen in front of them. Nearby, a full set of Sony DVD players was set up.
Naturally, these individuals were Lyman, Thomas, and two key members of the lighting crew.
But what were they doing here, gathered in this spot?
Let's rewind time back to the previous day.
Lyman had found Thomas and asked him a question, "Can you shoot characters?"
"Of course," Thomas's expression carried a hint of confusion, as if he was wondering why Lyman was asking this.
"I mean, can you shoot women to make them look more photogenic and attractive? Have you studied this aspect?"
"Well, no," who would bother to study something like that?
Thomas was somewhat puzzled.
"Well, you should learn about it. This film will truly test your sense of framing," Lyman earnestly patted his shoulder.
"But... why?"
"I need this effect, a kind of aesthetic appeal. Oh, by the way, have you watched p*rn?"
This question caught Thomas off guard, and he stared at Lyman, hoping that Lyman would retract the question himself. But clearly, he failed. Lyman's expression appeared extremely serious, which left Thomas feeling somewhat speechless. Why ask such a private question? What does that have to do with anything?
He didn't know, but he chose to be honest, "I used to watch them quite a bit in high school, but not so much now."
Young people, during the stage of sexual development or when hormones are raging, who hasn't dabbled in private encounters like this?
Moreover, French adult films are openly shown, euphemistically labeled as art films.
"When you were watching, did you notice the lighting and camera techniques they used?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, did you observe how they filmed it? In p*rn, the lighting throughout the entire scene is soft and bright, which makes the actresses' skin appear very fair. And the camera angles effortlessly capture the beauty of each actress's body. It's quite remarkable."
"But that comes off as artificial. The person on the screen is completely different from the real world, it's too unreal."
"But you can't deny that it's very enticing and atmospheric. I don't mean to exaggerate it to the point of replacing the person, but during the filming process, I hope to achieve a sense of cinematic beauty purely through lighting and camera work. Moreover, I'd like to learn from them and use localized highlights to enhance the beauty. For instance, when filming profiles, we should emphasize the contours of the face..."
Thomas was left dumbfounded, only able to nod along, "I understand, but how do we execute it specifically?"
Lyman pursed his lips, thinking for a moment, "It's about magnifying the details of their expressions. But it's different from "Miscreant", the lighting is distinct."
The lighting used in "Miscreant" was quite meaningful, creating a tense and menacing atmosphere to heighten the sense of urgency in the audience. On the other hand, "Effervescent" represented an entirely different extreme. It didn't require a visually tense atmosphere; instead, it aimed to make viewers feel at ease, creating a sense of ambiguity. This was achieved by using soft light to magnify this ambiguity.
So, in order to achieve the effect envisioned by Lyman, the entire crew of relevant shooting personnel gathered together and conducted closed-door research.
This is how the scene mentioned above came about.
Yes, using the excuse of collecting inspiration, they all watched adult videos.
The screen gradually dimmed down, and Thomas hunched his body to hide his embarrassment.
He walked up to the television, crouched down, pressed the tray of the nearby DVD player to eject it, and took out the disc – the cover depicted a woman half-kneeling in a seductive teacher's uniform, accompanied by suggestive imagery, and the text next to it was in Japanese. Yes, driven by the excuse of artistic inspiration, this time he had collected films from Japan, Korea, Europe, America, and even some from Latin America.
Thomas put the disc back into its case and then took another disc from a pile of discs nearby. This one also had a seductive image on it, featuring two girls cuddling while dressed in revealing outfits, and the text was in English. It should be from the "Mother-Daughter" series.
He reopened the tray of the DVD player, smoothly placed the disc inside, and then returned to his seat to "attentively" watch.
As they say, does practice make perfect? Not that they were being perverted, but what should they call this? This was dedication to art.
It's just that a certain part was struggling a bit. It's hard to act normal with that sticking out like this. It's rather uncomfortable.
But there was no choice; after all, this was a task.
In a film, the cinematographer's desired style of shots largely determines the tone of the visuals.
For the film Lyman was currently preparing to shoot, "Effervescent", the cinematographer was even more crucial.
Because this was a women-centric story, starring Sophie Marceau and Eva Green as the lead actresses.
How to make the audience instantly like the characters and find them beautiful at first sight—other than their natural looks and acting skills, what's most important is the cinematographer.
In the entertainment industry, some sayings often circulate: as an actor, aside from not offending the director on set, you also have to be cautious around the cinematographer and the lighting guy.
The former generally holds considerable authority on the set, and the latter is responsible for how the actors appear on screen.
Whether the presentation is good or not is entirely up to them.
So, what Lyman currently needed was for Thomas to become a cinematographer who could shoot women well, or at least attempt to learn this style.
As for why they were watching adult videos, well, there are only these kinds of films that exclusively focus on women, and only these types of films can showcase the skill and technique of cinematographers when shooting women.
What Thomas needed to find was that feeling.
Of course, lighting is still quite easy to learn.
The lighting in adult videos is mostly bright, and it's not difficult to replicate.
The only troublesome aspect is whether watching it this way will be too much to handle.
After a whole day of this, with all the ups and downs down below, this group of grown men had rather erratic expressions. It's frightening.
"Did you find the feeling?"
Lyman asked softly.
"Not quite, but I have some ideas," Thomas remained as straightforward as ever.
"That's good. We've endured some hardship here, so there should be some gain."
"Done watching, who's up next?" It was Léon from the lighting crew who spoke.
Looking at him, he seemed to be quite enjoying this? So reserved? They had been working together for so long, and they hadn't noticed at all. He really hid it well.
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