How can a director be a gigolo?

Chapter 115 Dilemma

Wang Xiaohao once considered whether to simplify the plot of the movie.

Or perhaps Hiroko Watanabe could be cast in a different role.

However, if Watanabe Hiroko and the female tree don't look alike, then the male protagonist's unrequited love and affection for the female tree will be hard to be as profound!

Wang Xiaohao even considered cutting Watanabe Hiroko's storyline altogether.

The plan was simply to have Hiroko Watanabe make a final appearance so that the woman would see that Hiroko Watanabe looked exactly like her, thus creating a profound shock within her.

However, in this way, the shock and regret that the female tree felt when she finally saw the portrait of the male tree in the book seemed to disappear.

This put Wang Xiaohao in a very difficult position!

As for Jin Ningxin's acting skills, Wang Xiaohao is not worried.

Jin Ningxin's acting skills are notoriously bad!

He always seems so out of place in every film.

But Wang Xiaohao wasn't worried about that!

Directing actors is the director's responsibility!

Wang Xiaohao believes that any actor will present the image he wants under his lens!

He believed in what Fatty Qu said: to treat actors like livestock!

Of course, Wang Xiaohao dared not say such a thing aloud.

He was afraid he would be beaten to death!

For actors, acting skills can be roughly divided into three schools: the method school, the performance school, and the experiential school.

However, for directors, there are only two attitudes towards the so-called acting skills of actors.

One type of director gives actors room to express themselves, allowing them to showcase their acting skills and create more brilliant artistic effects.

This is why actors are often considered key members of the production team in many film and television crews.

Another type of director, represented by Fatty Qu, believes that actors are merely tools for the director to achieve his own goals.

The role of actors in movies is actually no different from that of props!

In the hands of this kind of director, whether an actor shines or not has virtually nothing to do with the actor's own acting skills; it all depends on the director's methods.

In the golden age of Hollywood, the latter type of director reigned supreme. Back then, in the eyes of big directors and major studios, actors were merely tools, expendable resources!

However, at this point in time, anyone who dares to treat actors as mere tools and even dares to say it out loud would likely face public condemnation!

In Wang Xiaohao's eyes, Stephen Chow in his previous life was a typical director who treated actors as tools!

Many people are quite curious as to why there are so many outstanding and memorable supporting actors in Stephen Chow's films.

However, once they left Stephen Chow's movies, these people quickly lost their luster and became just another face in the crowd!

The reason is simple: these people are able to perform well in Stephen Chow's movies not because of their own abilities, but because of the director's arrangements!

To put it bluntly, as long as the director is there, even if someone else plays these roles, they can still shine!

In Wang Xiaohao's view, a major reason why domestic commercial films are not well made is that they place too much emphasis on the actors' performances.

The entire industry chain in mainland China, including actor training and film and television production, initially originated from feature films and art films.

That is why the actors' acting skills are highly valued.

Even commercial films place great emphasis on actors' performances, as evidenced by the frequent use of close-ups!

Domestic films, especially those from mainland China, are the most fond of using close-ups of faces.

Many people are proud of this, believing it to be a key factor in the fact that the acting skills of mainland Chinese film actors are on average superior to those of foreign actors!

However, in Wang Xiaohao's view, this is actually a major reason why mainland directors are not good at making commercial films.

Commercial films need a smooth rhythm. Why do you keep inserting close-ups of an actor's performance?

Will it disrupt the smooth narrative? Will it disrupt the pacing?

Often, when creators are making commercial films, their underlying logic remains the same as that of art films, prioritizing actor performances. Can such commercial films be truly entertaining?

In Wang Xiaohao's view, commercial films are actually like online novels.

Art films are serious literature!

In the early days of online literature, many people looked down on it, thinking that it was easy to write.

As a result, many literary elites who try to write online novels often end up failing miserably.

The reason is that these two are two completely different creative modes!

Commercial films and art films are the same; they have completely different creative models!

Directors who can easily navigate between art-house and commercial films and balance both are very rare.

Even commercial films made by top domestic directors aren't true blockbusters at all. They're commercial films made using the creative methods of art films!

Zhang Yimou, the poet Chen, and others from previous lives were all like this!

That being said, commercial films don't actually require very good acting skills.

As long as it's passable and fits the character's setting, that's perfectly sufficient.

Even in commercial films, if the actors' performances are a little exaggerated, Wang Xiaohao doesn't think it's a bad thing!

I don't need you to express your inner thoughts to me, nor do I need you to deliver a phenomenal performance in my movie.

Therefore, Wang Xiaohao has only one expectation for Jin Ningxin's performance in "Love Letter": just be a pretty face!

As for your lack of acting skills, that's a problem I, as the director, need to address.

It has little to do with the actors!

Many directors will try to improve an actor's acting skills when the actor's skills are not up to par.

This is even considered one of the essential abilities of a great director!

However, Wang Xiaohao prefers to use technical means to solve the problem.

If the actor can't show fear, you have to scare them. If they can't show anger, you have to provoke them.

Alternatively, one could use techniques such as montage editing to solve the problem.

This is the real meaning behind Fatty Qu's statement that he treats actors like livestock!

There is a very famous experiment in montage editing.

A blank face can evoke completely different feelings when edited with different scenes.

An actor's expressionless face, if followed by a shot of food, gives the impression that the actor is hungry.

If a shot of a child playing is added behind the face, the audience will feel that the expressionless face is actually looking at the child with affection.

However, if a coffin is added behind the face, it gives the impression that the actor is portraying sadness.

This is the core principle of the most basic montage editing!

For a director, with montage editing and other lighting techniques, I don't need the actors to convey any specific emotions.

Director, I can solve this using any means necessary!