“Who told you to run your mouth? Hurry up and apologize.” Wu Guoqiang’s voice trembled.
It had not been easy for him to get the director to agree to let his nephew work on this crew. One wrong sentence might offend someone. For people like them, whether they stayed or left depended on a single word from others.
Before Qin Xuan could speak, Wu Guoqiang had already bent at the waist and hurried over to Wang Bide. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Director Wang! This kid just came out from the countryside. He doesn’t know the rules and was butting in nonsense. Please don’t lower yourself to his level!”
Wang Bide ignored him. His eyes remained fixed on Qin Xuan as he took two steps forward. “Repeat what you just said.”
“What I mean is to use a double-layer light-and-shadow isolation method. Use a set of dedicated lights, arranged into a panel array, to illuminate the entire green screen from multiple angles and ensure the green screen is clean and shadowless. This layer of background light serves the keying process,” Qin Xuan said steadily.
“Double-layer light-and-shadow isolation method?” Wang Bide repeated the term. It did sound rather novel.
“Yes. Then, between the shooting area and the green screen, build a second layer of diffusion, and use high-power spotlights from above to simulate sunlight as an effect light.”
The idea was fresh, and a thoughtful look appeared in Wang Bide’s eyes.
Wu Guoqiang listened anxiously from the side. He did not really understand his nephew’s lighting design, but he knew his nephew was just a farmer from the countryside.
How could a farmer from the countryside possibly understand lighting? If he delayed things, wasting manpower and resources would be one matter, but delaying filming was something they absolutely could not afford.
The shooting cost of this crew for a single day was easily over a million. An ordinary person could not repay that in a lifetime.
“Director, Supervisor, he’s just a kid. He’s never studied lighting. Please don’t listen to him.” Wu Guoqiang remained as respectful as ever, trying to smooth things over for his nephew.
“You say he’s never studied lighting design?” Wang Bide’s tone carried a hint of suspicion.
If he had never studied it, how did he know about a double-layer light-and-shadow isolation method, and explain it so clearly? An expert recognized the craft; the moment Qin Xuan spoke, those in the field understood.
“That’s right. He just came from our hometown after farming. How could he possibly have studied something so advanced?” Wu Guoqiang was honest and simple, not like someone who was lying.
“A farmer?” Wang Bide’s voice rose involuntarily as he sized Qin Xuan up.
Bao Dexi also pushed up his black-framed glasses and scrutinized Qin Xuan, finding it both surprising and hard to believe.
Qin Xuan wore a coarse linen short-sleeved shirt, revealing two sun-darkened arms. His dark blue trousers were patched. He was not short, and the skin on his face had the wheatish tone unique to rural youths.
Yet his eyes were astonishingly bright, without the slightest trace of timidity, and he had a maturity that did not seem to belong to someone his age.
Such an appearance and such a bearing seemed contradictory on him, yet they existed in the same person. It was just that Qin Xuan had only recently come out of the countryside, and the plainness and youthful innocence about him had yet to fade.
“Where did you learn all this?” Wang Bide was very curious.
“I usually like reading books on film production. I figured it out myself after thinking it over,” Qin Xuan said, unable to explain too much.
“You figured it out yourself?” Wang Bide genuinely found that a little hard to swallow. Then what did his decades of study count for?
He said, “Let me test you. With this isolation method of yours, there definitely has to be enough space between the green screen and the shooting area. Otherwise, there will be shadows. How many meters do you think is appropriate?”
Qin Xuan looked over the green-screen space and estimated. “Six to ten meters, I’d say. But we’d need to measure it with a ruler for specific data. I can’t judge accurately just by looking.”
“Good.” Wang Bide also knew that question was a little too demanding, so he changed to another one. “Then tell me, what material should be used for the second layer of diffusion?”
“Butterfly cloth or diffusion paper. If diffusion paper is used, it must be stretched taut. If it sags or wrinkles, the light will be uneven. Since this layer of light is meant to illuminate the performance area, barn doors need to be installed on the lamps to cut the light and prevent it from spilling onto the green screen.
“Black flags should also be hung between the shooting area and the green screen, wherever the light travels, to ensure that no shadows fall on the green screen,” Qin Xuan said with clear logic.
One could only say he was very familiar with it, as if he did this often.
That was because in his previous life, he had learned all kinds of lighting equipment from his uncle, and later became a lighting technician himself. Added to that, in later years, green-screen filming became commonplace, and there were already many advanced, mature solutions.
After all, green-screen filming was very convenient. There was no need for all kinds of location changes, saving both time and effort.
In this era, however, green screens were still in the process of becoming widespread. They had not yet reached the point where the naked eye could no longer tell the difference. In recent years, only Transformers had been shot impressively, and it had been released this year.
Avatar would not come out until 2009. That film had also been refined over many years, raising the filming technology of all Hollywood and even the world. It was a revolution in filmmaking.
Green-screen special effects were absolutely not finished simply by cutting out the characters. Light and shadow had to blend perfectly for the fake to pass as real. Otherwise, it would become an “Angelababy cutout,” fake at a single glance.
So some of Qin Xuan’s filming methods had a generational gap compared with the present.
To put it this way, even Old Mouzi would have to learn from him. At the very least, he knew how 3D was shot, while Old Mouzi had probably only heard of it at this point.
Wu Guoqiang listened until he was dumbstruck, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Since when did his nephew understand all this?
Although he did not know how to design lighting, he still knew the materials used for setup. Yet his nephew could explain everything in minute detail, without even pausing.
Wang Bide and Bao Dexi exchanged a glance, confirming that this person truly had ability. Wang Bide asked again, “Then do you also understand what lighting equipment should be used?”
“For the panel array illuminating the green screen, use space lights or LED lights. These two types of lights generate little heat and consume less power. For the simulated light, you can use high-power softboxes and HMI spotlights. Softboxes would be best,” Qin Xuan said.
Hearing this, Wang Bide thought for a moment, then lowered his head and discussed something with Bao Dexi.
“Xiao Xuan, stop messing around. We can’t afford to take responsibility for this,” Wu Guoqiang said in a low voice as well, not wanting his nephew to show off.
Qin Xuan, however, was very calm. He patted his uncle’s hand, telling him to settle down.
If he did not do this, he could not really go carry those lighting cables or equipment.
“Your idea is very good, but the final result may be completely different,” Wang Bide said, not quite willing to take the risk.
After all, it was only theory. Filming was about to begin. If it did not work then, they would have to redo everything and set it up all over again, which would be especially troublesome.
Lighting was a very complex systematic project. Art, electricians, cinematography, and other departments all had to cooperate, and not the slightest mistake could be allowed.
They also had to leave enough space for the camera equipment and avoid shining light into the camera lens. Every single part had to be considered thoroughly.
Otherwise, why was it that some special effects were good, while others could be seen at a glance to be Photoshopped? On-set lighting arrangements played a major role.
If the lighting was poorly arranged, then no matter how professional the post-production computers were, flaws would still remain where flaws should be.
If it were an ordinary day with nothing urgent, he really would have liked to try it. After all, he had never operated according to this line of thinking before, and it would be good to learn. But right now, it was not very feasible.
“Even if you don’t use my plan, you currently don’t have a better one. The concerns you have can absolutely be solved perfectly by my plan, and it will save even more on costs,” Qin Xuan recommended himself.
He had heard the conversation between the two of them just now. Due to power limitations, Wang Bide was still mulling things over.
And these words were directed not only at Wang Bide, but also at Bao Dexi.
“Young man, don’t speak too absolutely. If you end up getting slapped in the face, it won’t look good,” Bao Dexi said, telling him to rein it in.