As Lyman picked up the microphone again and shouted, "Action," Nicholas Cage, who played the sergeant, also appeared on the screen. He was walking in the camp, holding his removed helmet in his hand, occasionally greeting a few familiar comrades.
Above the set on the camp, two black film cameras were simultaneously capturing the scene. One camera captured the medium shot while the other focused on close-ups of the characters. These different shots would later be used in the editing process to achieve the desired shooting effect.
Lyman sat behind the director's monitor, carefully observing the transmitted footage.
"Hey, Don." The sergeant, who had just returned to his squad's position, was called by someone.
The commanding officer approached and said, "Let me introduce you to a soldier, Norman. He will be a new member of your squad."
The sergeant immediately noticed that the soldier standing next to the officer was a fresh recruit. He felt a bit dissatisfied and pulled the commanding officer aside to a slightly more distant place before saying, "Sir, are you really letting a recruit join our squad?"
The commander glanced at Nicholas Cage and advised somewhat helplessly, "There's no other way. We are short-handed, and as you know, our mission is urgent. We must clear the defensive lines set up by the enemy in the eastern front to make way for the larger forces behind... Your squad has lost a member, and having him here will at least be of some help."
Nicholas Cage furrowed his brow and said seriously, "Yessit. F*ck my life."
A sound assistant promptly lowered a boom microphone to capture that curse. It was the sergeant's way of expressing his discontent, but as the commander had said, their squad had suffered a loss and needed to be replenished. Ranting wouldn't change anything.
"Cut, good, moving on."
The atmosphere on the set became lively once again. Indeed, nothing made them happier than smooth filming.
"Next shot," Lyman picked up the megaphone and ordered loudly.
Subsequently, the crew filmed several scenes of the sergeant and the new recruit Norman having conversations in the camp of the Fury squad. There were also shots of other squad members reacting differently to the newcomer's arrival.
In this way, the entire scene of "Norman joining the team" was almost completed. They would soon transition to filming scenes where Nicholas Cage instructed Heath Ledger on how to be a qualified tank gunner and other similar shots.
After the crew made some preparations, the filming resumed. Overall, these shots were not difficult, and any occasional mistakes made by the main actors were quickly adjusted.
Sometimes, Lyman needed to fine-tune certain scene details or, under Colonel Logan's guidance, adjust the use of firearms and other weapons. He might even add some improvisation to enhance the overall plot of the movie.
Nevertheless, the filming continued smoothly. With the experienced actors such as Nicholas Cage, Heath Ledger, and the one playing Trini Garcia, the advantages of their extensive filming experience or good acting skills were fully evident in a war film like this.
Their performances were fluent and exuded a genuine soldier's demeanor. Even when mixed among a group of extras consisting of veterans, they did not stand out awkwardly. This was much better than the typical traditional decorative stars. Especially Nicholas Cage, he had the acting skills of a versatile actor, more experience in shooting war films than Heath Ledger and others, and a robust physique that suited soldier roles.
Perhaps there was a reason why he could become a benchmark among male actors in the 1990s. Of course, actors were not omnipotent, and Nicholas Cage was no exception. Soon, the crew encountered a problem...
"Pay attention to controlling your facial expression. He is a seasoned veteran who has experienced life and death, so he won't be moved by the death of a comrade." Two consecutive NGs, Lyman pulled Nicholas over and explained carefully, "Just use a feigned look in your eyes. You can think about the meaning behind it and try to experience it."
"Give me five minutes," Nicolas immediately said. It was clear that he knew the issue lay with his emotional expression causing the interruptions in filming.
Lyman nodded and returned to the monitor, but just five minutes after filming resumed, he immediately called for another halt! Nicholas felt Lyman's gaze fixed on him, and he furrowed his brow, lost in thought.
The scene being filmed now was the one where "Wardaddy", along with the unit, was rushing to a small town to seal off its entrances and trap a retreating enemy force. But on their way, they encountered a group of German civilians fleeing the area. One young man from the group, who carried a Panzerfaust, an anti-tank rocket launcher, attacked a soldier in the marching unit from behind. The soldier died a gruesome death, with half his body blown apart and blood splattered onto the sergeant nearby...
With Lyman's shout, the surrounding crew members looked at each other helplessly, their eyes revealing a sense of resignation. Three consecutive NGs; it was the highest number of mistakes in this week of filming, and it seemed they were all due to the performance.
This scene was very simple, seen from the perspective of the director, Lyman.
It was Nicholas witnessing his comrade being killed at close range by a Panzerfaust, with a close-up of his face. Whether it was astonishment or a tinge of sadness, his expression remained calm, conveyed solely through his eyes. But even such a simple scene couldn't be done well?
Both the crew members and Nicholas himself, upon reviewing the scene, felt that it was already quite satisfactory. The desired effect seemed to have been achieved, yet for some reason, Director Lyman remained dissatisfied.
Lyman looked at the crew members who had already stopped working, thought for a moment, and loudly said, "Let's take a break."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Those who wanted to drink water drank water, those who wanted to chat found someone to talk to, and taking a restroom break during this gap was a good idea.
The set became slightly noisy. Lyman sat back behind the monitor, replaying the footage from the previous takes.
In these repeated NGs, Nicholas fully demonstrated the depth of his skills as an actor. From the first take, where his face showed a hint of shock, to the second take, where he appeared cold and expressionless, and finally, in the third take, his facial muscles became stern, but his eyes showed a slight emotional fluctuation, adding some depth to the character.
With each performance, he made progress and attempted to interpret the same scene in different styles, enhancing the sense of urgency in the unexpected event of his character while maintaining the overall expression required by the director. However, Lyman still felt something was amiss. Although Nic's performance seemed fine when viewed individually, within the context of the entire scene, something was off, creating an inexplicable sense of detachment, commonly known as "breaking character".
Nicholas didn't take a break but instead tidied up his appearance a bit and approached Lyman. After spending such a long time together, he had become familiar with Director Lyman's personality and knew he was someone easy to get along with. So, even though he had just been scolded, he still wanted to communicate more.
From being a small actor to gaining such a big reputation, Nicholas Cage had always respected every director he worked with. Even when he became famous, he never acted like a big shot towards directors. This was the survival rule he had summarized as an actor on a film set.
A head poked over and stared at the monitor for a while before asking somewhat puzzled, "So, how should I perform it then?"
Lyman also pondered, feeling that his instructions were correct. A seasoned veteran on the battlefield would undoubtedly be indifferent to life, having witnessed life and death. Otherwise, such a person would have already broken down after prolonged exposure to killing. They would either be a born psychopath or simply insane, which was beyond the capacity of an ordinary person.
But, what exactly was wrong?
Lyman shook his head honestly, "I'm not quite sure; I just feel that your performance earlier was off..."
As an actor, this was probably one of the last things Nicholas wanted to hear. If even the director couldn't figure it out, how could he achieve the desired effect through emotional adjustments or subtle physical movements? The director was the sole brain of the crew, controlling the final style of the movie.
All the behind-the-scenes crew, including the actors, served to execute the director's ideas and concepts. So, if even the director himself lacked clear filming requirements, it would be a disaster. And that was the current situation with the NGs.
Lyman's intuition told him that the previous takes were definitely flawed, but he didn't know how to correct them. "Why is that?" Lyman muttered silently.
Nicholas could even smell the sweat permeating through his clothes, emitting a fishy odor. It further added to Lyman's growing irritability. If it weren't for the former's performance not being able to achieve the desired effect, he wouldn't be in such a moody state.
But why?
He couldn't pinpoint the source of the problem. In agony, he grabbed a handful of hair, and Nicholas suddenly suggested, "How about I add a little action, maybe furrow my brow slightly?"
Lyman ignored him and continued to stare at the monitor, replaying the footage over and over again. If adding a slight facial movement could solve the problem, wouldn't your first take have been satisfactory? Yet, I still shouted "cut".
Nicolas felt like he had come up with a bad idea, evident from the fact that the director didn't say anything. It was apparent that Lyman's mood wasn't great, so Nicholas silently returned to his own trailer.