关于”故事” | About “Story”
今天与Group 3 的同学见面，小组共6 人，但是只来了4 个人，原因是另外两个同学有事情。在这里，我宣布一下拍摄的纪律，约定的时间和人数，不能现场改变！除非这两个同学退出你们的小组，或者突发重病/车祸事件。不能随便说个”有事”就可以不来。请同学们建立一个基本的概念，拍摄 – 是团队行动，不是绘画和写作，可以自由发挥。团队，就必须步调一致，不能迟到、不能缺席！不养成这个习惯，将来拍摄的时候，拖拖拉拉，片子是无法拍摄完成的。
今天同学带来了一页多一点的纸头的故事大纲。故事大纲与阎连科老师课上的同学不同，阎老师的学生讲述了一堆素材，今天Group4 的同学，带来的只是概念。这样离开一个短片的距离，就更加遥远。他们说，他们希望拍摄有点抽象的电影，表达人的孤独。即使是抽象的，也需要有具象的描述。特别是孤独，这是精神层面上的东西，没有细节和人物的行为，视觉是无法解决你的”孤独”主题。
如果是要拍形式主义很强的，象征的短片，首先需要非常好的摄影和灯光，以光影和构图效果来体现形式、抽象的内涵。讲故事，是电影入门最初和最基本的训练。
电影短片故事，它就是把一个基本的细节、情绪和瞬间故事线戏剧化。它所打交道的是图像，（不是抽象的文字和诗意的概念）它需要画面、一小片和一段能够拍摄的矛盾冲突：一个吸管对Jaal Gedi 生活的冲击；一个八〸岁的老太太怎么会在广场上跳Tango；一个红气球又是如何与一个孩子建立了友谊。这些矛盾的冲突，构成了人物出场时的镜头，Jaal Gedi去放牛，红气球被小孩子从路灯上解救下来，老太太拄着拐棍走到广场。这些，都是用文字可以描述，用镜头可以表达的具象的东西。
一个电影剧本（不论长短）就像一个名词，指的是一个人或者几个人，在一个地方或者几个地方，去干他（她）的事情。所有的电影剧本都是在贯穿执行这个基本的前提。那个人就是剧本中的主人公，去干他（她）的事情就是行为动作，行为动作受到阻碍，这就是冲突, 解决冲突就是构成故事。而这一切的一切，就是由一个画面连着另外一个画面完成，这里是非常具体的视觉展现，而不能用抽象的叙述和思考来完成。
即使最终想达到抽象的主题，那也必须是通过动作、画面来展现你”抽象”的追求。
抽象，这是拍摄电影最高的境界。如果，有同学认为自己可以达到这样的境界，也请同学提供几张你已经拍摄出来的效果照片，这样在课堂上容易跟大家交流。
Today I met with Group 3 students. The group has 6 members, but only 4 showed up because the other two had “something to do.” Here, I want to announce the shooting discipline: the agreed time and number of participants cannot be changed on site! Unless these two students withdraw from your group or experience a sudden illness/accident. You can’t just casually say “I have something to do” and not show up. Please establish a basic concept: shooting is a team action, unlike painting and writing where you can freely express yourself. In a team, everyone must be in sync—no tardiness, no absences! Without developing this habit, when it comes time to shoot, delays will pile up and the film will never be completed.
Today, students brought a story outline that was just over a page long. The story outline differed from those in Professor Yan Lianke’s class. Professor Yan’s students presented a collection of raw materials, while today’s Group 4 students only brought concepts. This puts them even further from producing a short film. They said they wanted to shoot a somewhat abstract film expressing human loneliness. Even if it’s abstract, it still needs concrete descriptions. Especially with loneliness, which exists on a spiritual level—without details and character behaviors, visuals cannot resolve your “loneliness” theme.
If you want to shoot a strongly formalistic, symbolic short film, you first need excellent cinematography and lighting to express formal, abstract content through light, shadow, and composition effects. Storytelling is the initial and most fundamental training in filmmaking.
A film short story dramatizes basic details, emotions, and momentary storylines. It deals with images (not abstract words and poetic concepts); it needs visuals, a small piece and a segment of filmable conflict: the impact of a straw on Jaal Gedi’s life; how an 80-year-old woman ends up dancing tango in the square; how a red balloon establishes friendship with a child. These conflicts form the shots when characters appear: Jaal Gedi going to herd cattle, a child rescuing the red balloon from a streetlight, the old lady walking to the square with a cane. These are all concrete things that can be described in words and expressed through camera shots.
A film script (regardless of length) is like a noun, referring to one person or several people, in one place or several places, doing their thing. All film scripts execute this basic premise. That person is the protagonist in the script; doing their thing is the behavioral action; when the action meets obstacles, this creates conflict; resolving the conflict constitutes the story. And all of this is accomplished by connecting one image to another—it’s a very specific visual presentation that cannot be accomplished through abstract narration and thinking.
Even if you ultimately want to achieve an abstract theme, you must still showcase your “abstract” pursuit through actions and images.
Abstraction is the highest realm of filmmaking. If any student believes they can reach this realm, please provide a few sample photos you’ve already shot to facilitate easier communication in class.