While American media is convinced that Levi's new film will be artistically superior to the movies at the Cannes Film Festival, here in France, Levi has already made a decision.
The new movie will not be shot in the United States but will be prepared for pre-production in Europe, and the final post-production will be done back in the United States.
It's no surprise that Levi's film is set to be shot in Europe. In fact, over the years, many movies have been shot outside the United States - for example, The Lord of the Rings, which is currently being shot in New Zealand.
A large part of American movies are shot outside the United States. There are a few reasons for this.
Some countries have high tax rebates for movies, which can save money - places like New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom all give very high tax rebates. Enigma Company's X-Men is also filmed in Canada.
Secondly, due to the long-term mixed race, the United States is not suitable for shooting some movies in terms of race. Because there is a large amount of blood mixed with other races, the appearance of Americans sometimes looks different than needed.
Some movies set during World War II prefer to use Australians who look closer to pure-bred WASPs - their looks are closer to Americans of that era.
Furthermore, there is the use of some landscapes. The landscapes in Europe, Canada, and other places are different from those in the United States. This is also something that needs to be considered when filming a movie.
And this movie naturally takes these things into consideration. It's just that love movies don't need to consider racial issues. And this is Levi's movie; the investment itself has reached 20 million. Saving money is not something he considers. The biggest problem is shooting.
A romantic movie doesn't need too many locations. However, some special scenery is difficult to photograph in the United States. For example, even if you return to the United States for winter scenes, you have to go to Canada to shoot them. Compared with traveling long distances, it is hard to go back and forth. Levi chose to shoot the movie in Europe.
"Our movie is mainly shot in Europe — for scenes such as trains, indoors, and seaside scenes, the shooting environment in Europe is better. As for some outdoor scenes, we can just reshoot them after returning to the United States. For this movie, we will film in Europe."
In the crew, Levi also quickly talked about his arrangements for the film. And no one objected to his arrangements.
Everyone knows Levi attaches great importance to everything in his movies. When shooting a movie, he never ignores the film's shooting just to save money or for odd reasons. The reputation is there, so not many people will naturally question his decision.
Moreover, even if people doubted it, they would immediately express their confidence after seeing Levi's ability. After the crew members began to gather one after another, Naomi looked at the people in her crew.
She also had such an idea in her mind.
The filming of this movie requires special attention in a few places. One is the production of special effects: in order to reflect the dream world, many places in the movie involve the sudden disappearance and sudden disintegration of scenery and characters. These scenes do not need to be twists and turns, but they need to be quite real. This is also a test for the special effects company.
What is surprising is that the part that seemed troublesome was solved quickly by Levi. Levi's people have their own special effects company. He directly assigned his company to these scenes and asked them to be responsible for the production.
His own special effects company will naturally work very hard to produce this kind of scene. As one can imagine, these things will never be a problem for the movie.
The seemingly most troublesome problem was solved so easily, and the crew all knew how much energy a great director has. They don't have to coordinate with multiple parties like a small director when they make a movie. They have the support of the special effects company behind them. This is their capital for making movies.
Apart from these, the other troublesome thing is shooting.
The filming of this film encountered a big trouble. Levi's old partner, photographer Pfister, was unable to work with Levi at this time because he had other film appointments, so Levi had to find someone else.
For a director, having a director of photography who has worked with him for a long time is a great help that can save a lot of workload. Different shooting techniques can always create different atmosphere effects.
How to better reflect the director's intention is the cinematographer's job. A more cooperative camera crew is also a necessary condition for success. And the cinematographer Levi usually works with has other affairs, which also makes many people a little worried.
Naomi had been worried about this for a while, but she soon realized that worrying about Levi was unnecessary. While others were still discussing what to do, he quickly found a new cinematographer.
The cinematographer Levi chose was the Frenchman Bruno Delbonnel. He has been working for many years, but he has not had many works in recent years.
After filming the killing of Thomas Ince by William Hearst on the yacht, which was just released this year, there was a period of low ebb in his career. However, judging from his photography style, his style is quite fantasy and magnificent, which is very suitable for this movie.
But can someone found at random really succeed? This has also become people's biggest question.
But soon, the photographer used his skills to settle people's doubts.
"When we shoot the train scene, we actually shoot it on a moving train."
Bruno has not been with the crew for a long time, and he has already put forward his own opinions on the most troublesome scene of the film, "I believe that I have no problem with this section."
Bruno's words made people look at him with admiration.
There is a scene in the movie on a train, and this scene was shot on a moving train. The cost is not a big problem. The biggest problem is creating the best shooting, lighting, framing, color, and details. Good effect matching is a big problem in itself.
The details of a movie often determine success or failure, and Levi himself is a famously picky director and attaches great importance to these things. However, when Bruno made this suggestion, he didn't seem to care about these difficulties at all.
But Bruno soon proved his ability.
The filming of the movie has not started yet, and what the cinematographer needs to do now is to make preparations. Bruno soon showed what he was capable of: he captured the scenery with a digital camera. Then, he provided these to the colorist after adjusting the colors he wanted to see. And soon, the colorist adjusted the material.
Then, in terms of lighting, he quickly determined the shooting method. By weakening the colors and underexposing the picture, he created a very good sense of depression, and then, when the characters appeared, the gorgeous colors suddenly came out.
And in this ordinary carriage, the arrangement of the three cameras, the clever framing of the windows, and the use of natural light effects during the time period - all these aspects appeared in the design provided by Bruno.
"There is nothing difficult about these things."
People had no objection to his pride. Lighting, color, visual vocabulary, the way the camera moves, the scene, the walls, the floor - all the details are taken into consideration.
The ease of photography and the mastery of photography equipment all show that the level of this photographer is really high. He is qualified to say such things.
Moreover, what is rare is that his shots pay so much attention to dreamy colors and beauty and pay so much attention to details. This style is a perfect match for Levi.
Obviously, this is a very good, even great, cinematographer. Levi proved once again that his vision is outstanding.
"I believe that even if you change the cinematographer at this time, you will still be able to take good photos."
Naomi also praised Bruno's talent and Levi's selection.
"Of course, the cinematographer I found will be good." Levi smiled proudly and answered her question.
Who here, except Levi, knows that if it weren't for Levi, Bruno would be filming "Amélie" this year, and then he would be filming "A Very Long Engagement," "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," and "Dark Shadows." This person was originally a top cinematographer master.
As a director, in addition to his strong capital, his extraordinary vision is also his consistent advantage. Just like the composer of this film, Yann Tiersen, wasn't he promoted by Levi a few years ago?
"Actually, when I saw your script, I was reminded of a Corsican song called Love is Blue... I basically had the inspiration for your movie. Wait for me for a while, and I will write good music for you."
After Yann Tiersen finished writing the music of Emily, he has not released any good new works, but this does not mean that he has exhausted his talents. After getting Levi's call, he quickly found inspiration and began composing music for the film.
A good movie must have a good soundtrack, and a good soundtrack must also come from good inspiration. Levi not only found good composers but also provided inspiration. In terms of music, what should she worry about?
Pictures, music, scripts, and all aspects of the movie were prepared very well - when Naomi saw this crew, she couldn't help but admire him in her heart: Levi is worthy of being a great director, able to assemble such a good crew so quickly.
Of course, when Naomi thought this, she did not forget to take a look at the actors in the crew.
Like the actors Levi usually chooses, the actors Levi selected this time are also of an admirable standard. Levi's choices are pretty good, whether it's the leads or the supporting cast.
However, whenever her eyes fell on Scarlett, Naomi always felt a little unhappy - especially when she thought of Levi's talent, this unhappiness became even more severe.
*****
Thanks and kudos for my patreons
Scott DePaepe
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Britanna
Marcelo Maia
Danny York
Mandy G
DragonEz
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