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Chapter 115 Classic Kung Fu
🕑 Added 2024-12-15 17:52:26 +0000 UTCThe MV for Raymond's last song before his death officially entered the filming stage. Ethan rented a traditional karate dojo, with a Japanese style, as the main location for the shoot.
On the day of the shoot, Jessica Alba walked in front of the camera wearing a custom outfit designed by Ethan. It was a bright yellow Chinese kung fu costume, similar to the one worn by the female lead in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, but with more of a Chinese style. She was also tied with a wire to perform various aerial stunts.
The reason for choosing this outfit was, of course, to pay tribute to Bruce Lee's iconic look, which is the best pass to Hollywood fight scenes. As soon as someone wears this costume, everyone naturally understands the style of this MV.
Moreover, Bruce Lee's fan base is still vast, with many middle-aged people reminiscing about the once-popular martial arts films, while younger generations remain fascinated by the mysterious world of kung fu.
So, when Jessica wore the outfit, it immediately caught the attention of the crew.
"Chinesis... empty stomach!" José threw a few punches, swiped his thumb across his nose, and spoke in a clumsy accent, which instantly excited others.
"That's kung fu!" Ethan corrected several people's improper pronunciations in proper Mandarin, then looked at the scene setup that had been redesigned by the set crew.
Ethan didn't follow Kill Bill exactly. After all, it's common to wear similar clothes, but when it comes to the set elements, it becomes more complicated.
Tarantino's style wasn't his style either. Ethan preferred to use large contrasting colors to emphasize the central subject of the shot.
In simple terms, if you draw a black dot on a white sheet of paper, the black dot becomes the visual focus. Similarly, if a small yellow dot appears against a large red background, the yellow dot becomes the focus.
Humans naturally focus on colors that stand out.
So, when shooting street style or landscape photos and not knowing how to make them stand out, the easiest method is to move the camera and place the subject against a large area of a single color.
For example, a crow flying in a blue sky, or a yellow warning sign on a blue construction barrier. You don't need to see the picture, just imagining these two scenes will help you understand the concept of a visual center.
This MV was the same. Jessica's yellow kung fu outfit was the visual center of the entire frame. Her enemies, in contrast to Kill Bill, were dressed in dark red.
Meanwhile, their fight scene was set against a black background.
A vast black background, continuous dark red enemies, would be the main color palette of the MV, with Jessica naturally representing the yellow visual center.
As for how to depict the blood? Wouldn't it clash with the red costumes?
Ethan shrugged and told Greta, who was puzzled: "Who said blood is red?"
"What?" Greta didn't follow Ethan's line of thought.
Ethan smiled: "In this MV, blood is green."
"But human blood is red!" José was also confused.
Ethan spread his hands: "Hey, who told you these guys are human?"
Upon hearing this, Greta and José exchanged a glance, suddenly recalling the story Ethan had mentioned for the MV. They both burst out laughing.
"WTF!"
"That's a brilliant satire."
After the preparations were fully completed, Ethan strapped on a Steadicam and extended his arm holding the camera: "Let's go! Ready to start!"
"Okay! First scene! Begin!"
"Clap!" The clapperboard sound echoed, and Ethan started the camera. Jessica immediately charged toward the lens, swinging her knife forward.
Ethan's camera swiftly shifted, following the blade's movement as it pointed toward the enemies. However, the people in the dojo weren't Japanese; they were a group of blond, blue-eyed individuals dressed in dark red.
Among them were both men and women. After shouting, they rushed toward the camera and split, continuing to charge toward Jessica and surround her.
At the same time, Ethan crouched down and rapidly moved the camera backward, causing Greta and José to break into a sweat.
This wasn't slow-motion shooting; it was fast backward tracking. Usually, when people walk backward rapidly, they stumble, but Ethan managed to maintain perfect control of the camera, steadily moving backward on the mat without any shakes. It was truly unbelievable.
A crew member beside them quickly used a digital camera to record this moment as a keepsake.
However, the shot wasn't completed because a background actor made a mistake—twice.
Then, the long-absent roar of the on-set tyrant echoed across the room.
"FXXK! What the hell are you doing? Did your brain come from a WWII land mine? Do you want me to clear the dirt off your head?"
"Left! Left! If you keep moving right, I'll shoot your legs! Got it?"
"Damn it! Are you trying to ruin this MV? Are you going to pay for the wages of all these people on set? Keep the positioning in mind! If you mess up again, you're out!"
"Jessica! Stop zoning out! Are you trying to commit seppuku with that knife?"
"Don't stomp your foot! You're not some wild African dancing around a campfire! Jessica! Did you leave your brain at home today?"
"Yes, that's it! Let's do it again! Get your energy up."
In fact, the reason Jessica made two mistakes was because she wasn't used to Ethan's intense directing style.
Although Cameron was also a tyrant, or rather, many directors in Hollywood were known for their sharp tongues, they weren't as contradictory as Ethan.
Honestly, when such a handsome face yells at you, even if you didn't make a mistake, you can't help but wonder if it's your fault.
That's also why Jessica didn't choose to fight back.
Moreover, Ethan's criticisms were actually more restrained compared to other directors. Some directors wouldn't even specify what the actor did wrong and would just repeat, "You ruined the movie! You ruined everything! You suck!"
Such emotional outbursts would make the actor's blood pressure rise and increase their mental stress.
Jessica's friends had encountered such directors on set, and after filming, they went straight to see a psychologist and were diagnosed with moderate depression.
Compared to those directors, Ethan was much better, though not by much.
However, there were some who held a different opinion than Jessica, like José. His perspective wasn't on the actors' emotions, but on the progress of the shoot.
Without Ethan, this scene might have been filmed multiple times. It was only because of Ethan's determination and decisiveness that the crew avoided filming many unnecessary takes.
Having worked on many sets, José knew that many directors had no idea what they wanted. They didn't dare to make decisions and would just ask the cameraman to shoot repeatedly.
They had little understanding of how to direct actors, adjust lighting, or camera angles, and would rely on the crew to experiment each time.
It wasn't a problem unless something went wrong, and then the entire crew would have to stop for hours. Many actors complained about long waiting times between takes, but the real issue was the prolonged adjustments of lighting and camera positions.
But with Ethan's high-intensity supervision, that didn't happen. He always pinpointed the problem quickly and provided solutions.
As a result, except for a few background actors with poor mental endurance who were kicked out, everyone else quickly finished their scenes.
By 10 p.m., the entire scene was finally wrapped.
"Phew!" Exhausted, Jessica immediately collapsed onto the ground.
Ethan walked over to her, his expression returning to normal. He looked down at Jessica, who was gazing at him with a wry smile, and said, "I know why they call you the Devil. Ethan, you scared me."
"But I won't apologize for it…" Ethan squatted down, gently brushing her bangs away from her face. "Did you gain anything?"
"Yes, a lot," Jessica admitted honestly.
This might also be the reason why Ethan's crew had gradually become so established. Because in his crew, you really learn something—whether it's visual aesthetics, camera movements, or even acting, you always learn something valuable.
Jessica found that Ethan was always unreserved on set. If there was a problem, she could ask him, and he would give an answer. He never kept things hidden, and he liked to explain practical techniques and principles to everyone.
During every break, the crew would gather around Ethan to listen to his mini lectures.
In this atmosphere, many of the crew members could now handle some lighting issues, and a small worker had even been promoted to a photography assistant.
This was rare in other crews, where roles were strictly divided. Everyone focused only on their own tasks, and even if someone wanted to ask, no one would teach them. Learning depended entirely on one's own intuition.
She herself was one of the beneficiaries. Ethan was very good at coaching actors, too. He would perform a scene for Jessica first, then explain how to capture the emotion.
Jessica felt she had learned a lot, so she wasn't as bothered by Ethan's harsh words.
"That's good." Ethan smiled.
But his next words turned that smile into a dangerous signal in Jessica's eyes.
"Tomorrow, we'll continue filming. There's still half of the scenes left to shoot, but this time, you need to step it up. You can't just act cold and ruthless anymore."
"OMG! Ethan, can you say something good for once?"
"This is good news because it means you're almost done. Are you happy?"
Jessica covered her head, messing up her bangs and letting them fall over her face, looking unhappy.
Unfortunately, things wouldn't go as she expected. The next day, filming resumed.
The remaining scenes were the ones Ethan had described as playful. While this scene had fewer actors than the previous one, it placed more focus on individual performances.
As a result, filming for this scene took two days, and after some additional shots in the green screen studio, it was finally completed.
Just as Ethan's new music video was announced as finished, the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards, regarded by the industry as a precursor to the Oscars, revealed this year's winners.
Ethan's musical film Chicago was prominently listed among them!
