Chapter 144: What is Acting?

  June 11, 1999.

  The weather is exceptionally good today, with bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. It's rare for Los Angeles to have such great weather, even the birds that are rarely seen are chirping away on the branches of trees, making it seem very lively.

  Dream Film Production, the crew of "Saw" started the opening ceremony as usual.

  The statue of Guan Yu, revered by Yifeng Yang as the Chinese God, stood majestically in the center of the filming location, with incense burners, sandalwood, roasted suckling pig, fruits and other offerings all present.

  Rabbit Bill, Fat Jack and others have already gotten used to this very Chinese ritual of worshiping gods, while James Wen, the assistant director, Max von Sydow, the lead actor, and a group of other actors are all experiencing it for the first time, so they all stared with wide eyes at what the people in front were doing, then followed suit, burning incense, kowtowing, muttering a few words, praying to Guan Gong...

  "Why is the face of this Chinese god so red?" asked Ray Winstone, playing Adam, turning to his co-star Downton's Hugh Bonneville.

  "Oh, he must have had a lot to drink, you know, Chinese people love drinking, especially that Erguotou stuff, I tried it once, God, it's pure alcohol!"

  "It's rare to see someone drinking like this."

  "Don't say that, I've seen a black-faced Chinese god, called Bao Qingtian, who's even more powerful. It's said he can traverse the underworld and hell to interrogate those who have committed wrongdoings..."

  ……

  The boot ceremony is finally over.

  Yi Feiyang stood majestically in the center of the venue as a director, smoking and looking at the crew members who were busy preparing around him.

  Next to him were Assistant Director James Wing and Rabbit Bill. Fat Jack was in charge of the overall arrangement this time, responsible for gathering and arranging the entire crew together.

  Originally, Yi Feiyang should have been responsible for his own animation, and this play should have let Rabbit Bill direct it. However, after a series of events such as script collisions, in order to rush the time and grab efficiency, Yi Feiyang still took the stage himself and directed this play... As for this, Rabbit Bill could only sigh that he was unlucky, but Yi Feiyang promised him that once the company's situation stabilized, he would definitely give him a new play to direct. Let him satisfy his craving as a director.

  "Director, all preparations are complete, everyone is in position, we can start!" a staff member ran over to say to Yì Fēi Yáng.

  "Ah? Can we start now? Alright! Let's all work hard together, 'Saw Horror'... prepare to shoot!" Yi Feiyang threw the cigarette in his hand on the ground, took a look, then stepped on it with one foot, twisted it forcefully, swung his big hand and rushed towards the new starting point of his life.

  Inside a well-appointed factory bathroom.

  "But, for a while, it's going to be a long take, all about the confrontation between you and Lei, two men. You have to bring out your true skills." Yi Feiyang held the script in his hand, spoke to Butler-Sutton standing on his left side, then handed him the script and instructed: "You come and perform it once, now consider me as Adam!"

  Under the stylist's dressing, But Ding painted a pale makeup look, giving people a sense of being tortured. He took over the script handed by Yifei Yang and nodded: "No problem." After that, he began to act out for Yifei Yang.

  Watching the finished performance of Dante, Yifei Yang called Ray-Volner over, his face didn't have too much makeup, mainly due to the character's setting. A guy who climbs out of a bathtub filled with water, does he need makeup?

  Yi Feiyang patted his shoulder and smiled: "Lei, you have to understand that the role you're playing is a photographer who specializes in taking pictures of people's private lives. You're a small-time person, envious of the rich and their lifestyle, with a bit of selfishness, and a very timid heart, always guessing and being on guard against others, got it?"

  Lei Werna nodded repeatedly and listened seriously to Yifeiyang's request.

  After talking for a while, seeing that the photography equipment was all ready, Yi Feiyang clapped his hands and looked at Lei and Dante, smiling: "Partners, take your positions!"

  ……

  In an instant.

  "Everyone in position, ready!" Yi Feiyang suppressed his extremely excited mood and stood behind the monitor, slowly scanning around.

  The script supervisor stood on the set with his clipboard, gazing at Yifei Yang, who was holding a notebook and pen in her armpit, ready to start recording from one side. Cinematographer Cindy carried the camera, intently staring at the lens, while lighting technician Charlie adjusted the lights to dim them down to achieve the dark atmosphere of the opening scene.

  Dante Suton was shackled to the ground with thick iron chains, his brow furrowed and eyes closed in concentration, while Ray Vollmer's entire body was submerged in a pool of water, with a faintly glowing key floating across his face.

  Looking at the clapperboard in front of him, it read SAW, Scene 1, Shot 1, Director Fei Yang Yi and other information. Yi Fei Yang looked at all the crew members and finally swung his arm: "Action!!!"

  "Clap!" The scene marker board closed sharply and clearly, and the movie officially began!

  The camera lens is focusing.

  Adam, played by Ray Winstone, suddenly wakes up in a bathtub full of water, coughing violently as he struggles to climb out of the tub and collapses onto the floor in a panic.

  Close-up: The lighting at this time is extremely dim, and Raynor can't seem to see what's in front of him. He discovers with a terrified expression that his feet are locked up by thick iron chains. He feels around the chains, shivering as he gets up, shouting loudly: "Save me! Save me! Damn it, who locked me up?"

  Tugging hard at the iron chain, Ray Vollmer panted heavily and shouted: "Oh God! Is there anyone? I need help! Dammit, I may be dead already!"

  The lens switches, switching perspectives.

  "You're not dead..." Dr. Gordon, played by "Dante-Sutton", said weakly as he sat on the ground, looking like a guy who had struggled with all his might and lost hope.

  "Who's there? Who is it? Speak quickly!"

  "Don't bother calling, I've tried"

  "Hey, whoever you are, turn on the light!"

  "I want to too, but I couldn't find the switch."

  ……

  Leigh Whannell and Angus Sampson were both regular actors for the production company before its establishment, neither of whom had attended any acting academies nor had many opportunities to act, so they were quite inexperienced in terms of technique. However, "Saw" was a film that pursued story effects, and the requirements for the actors' acting skills were not too high, so as long as the performance was not too out of place, Leigh would not say much, and it could pass. In short, this is just a fast-food movie, which was shot in just two weeks before its release.

  Inside the scene, Ray Winstone's character finally decides to use a hacksaw in his hand to cut off his own foot so that he can escape.

  The camera zooms in, and all we see is him holding the hacksaw in his hand, trembling uncontrollably.

  Yi Feiyang instructed photographer Cindy, "Use a subjective lens to shoot, this can enhance the sense of immersion..."

  Close-up, Ray Wollner's forehead is covered in cold sweat, holding a steel saw hesitantly. Off-screen, his heavy breathing can be heard...

  ……

  "Cut!" Yi Feiyang, who was standing behind the camera watching the shot, suddenly called out.

  On set, Ray Winstone and Dustin Hoffman paused, unsure what they had done wrong.

  Yi Feiyang made a beckoning gesture with his hand, letting Lei and Dandan walk in front of him.

  Then Yifeiyang asked Lei: "Dear Lei, I ask you, what is horror?"

  "Fear is... just being afraid. Yes, it's just being very afraid." Lei shrugged and replied.

  "What is fear then?"

  "Afraid... is... " Lei didn't know how to respond, "It's just very fearful, yes, yes, of certain things or people, very fearful..."

  "So what do you think a person who is very fearful would react like if they encountered something very frightening?"

  "This... should be loud screaming, or loudly shouting for help."

  "What about this..."

  "Hmm... Whole body trembling, lips quivering, and..."

  "OK, since you know all this, why were you sweating on your forehead while filming just now?"

  "Is... something wrong?"

  "Pal! Sweat on the forehead is tension, not fear!"

  "But I think... it's about the same!" Lei thought that Yifei Yang was being a bit too serious.

  Beside him, Butting also chimed in: "That's right, when someone is scared, they not only sweat on their forehead, but all over their body, to the point of dripping with sweat, isn't that so?"

  Yi Feiyang shook his head, "Then I'll ask you, do you guys like watching horror movies?"

  "Like it? Of course I like it! We're horror movie fans!"

  "If we didn't like horror movies, we wouldn't have come here to film!"

  Lei and Danting sang in harmony.

  "So when you're watching horror movies, have you ever been scared or terrified?"

  "Of course, we're looking for the kind of thrill that gets your heart racing, the more intense and frightening it is, the better."

  "So good, now I'll tell you a story..." Yì Fēi Yáng suddenly said.

  "Now, tell a story?" The people filming were stunned, not knowing what Yì Fēi Yáng was up to. James Wen, as the assistant director and Yì Fēi Yáng's apprentice, was even more perplexed, but he firmly believed that Yì Fēi Yáng must have had his reasons for doing so.

  Yi Feiyang then began his own strange story.

  "My aunt in Hong Kong is a doctor, graduated from medical school. Here's her account of the first time she encountered a dead person:"

  It wasn't long after I started school, one afternoon in anatomy class, the teacher asked me to help get something, which was placed on a tray covered with a cloth. I followed his instructions and brought it to the classroom, thinking it was a model. But when I lifted the cover, it turned out to be a real human skull, that of a middle-aged man with a thick beard and open eyes, looking quite strange! Some of my female classmates screamed, which wasn't surprising - although we were medical students who had mentally prepared for this kind of thing, it was still shocking at first sight.

  I couldn't eat for two days in a row and I couldn't sleep well at night. Later on, after seeing it many times, I truly got used to it psychologically and my nerves became numb. I could even go to the dissection room alone on the eve of an exam to fiddle with those things!

  This is a process that almost all medical students can go through, of course there are exceptions!

  An exception occurred to a thin boy: he was from another class, rarely spoke, studied hard, and could often be seen with some books under the trees on the edge of the playground opposite the dormitory at dusk. Because anatomy classes were combined, we often saw him facing the corpse specimens in class with a terrified expression. At first, I didn't think much of it, but later when even the most timid girls were no longer afraid, he was still so fearful and uneasy, everyone thought it was a bit unusual, someone started teasing him, saying he was allergic to those things. He didn't argue back.

  At the end of the semester, a strange thing happened, and the corpses in the morgue were severely damaged. Some were bitten to pieces, and the scene was terrifying! The school increased security measures but found nothing, so many students spontaneously organized themselves to take turns keeping watch at night, vowing to capture the perpetrators. Only one boy did not participate, he was still allergic to that thing, and several times during class, he even vomited, it seemed his symptoms had worsened, but nobody paid attention.

  As no one was caught for several days in a row, people began to suspect that it was an inside job. Someone came up with a plan and applied dye to the corpse. That night, they also got rid of the patrolmen.

  After a night of calmness, the second day brought about the most shocking event - the corpse was bitten again! At the same time, the young boy who was allergic to corpses was found dead in front of the dressing mirror in the bathroom, with his mouth covered in purple-red dye.

  "My aunt sighed and said, 'People can't always distinguish between what they like and what they fear!'"

  Yi Feiyang's story came to an abrupt end, leaving Lei and Dante feeling a bit spooked. The director's storytelling was very "Edgar Allan Poe-esque", with a strong sense of Gothic suspense and darkness.

  But others began to ponder Yifei Yang's last words - "People, likes and fears are sometimes indistinguishable!"

  James was the most perceptive and quickly understood the profound meaning that Yifei wanted to express.

  The actors Lei and Dandan were initially still in a daze, thinking that Yifeiyang's story was quite strange and could be published in an American horror magazine. But soon they realized that Yifeiyang wasn't telling a story, but teaching them how to act!

  A person who likes to watch horror movies likes to put themselves in the role and feel the fear that the character experiences; however, deep down they know that they are just watching a play and will not be harmed in any way.

  Shooting a movie is different. As an actor, when you need to get into character, you have to forget who you are... and that sense of fear is absolutely bone-chilling...

  Sometimes, people can't tell the difference between likes and fears, but actors must distinguish between them. Not for anything else, because you are an actor! You are a character in the play! When filming, you absolutely cannot have the idea that "I am filming, I am safe". You must immerse yourself...

  Inspired by Easy Rider, Ray Winstone and Dantin Seaton shook off their lethargy and began to throw themselves wholeheartedly into the shoot.

  It's true, as long as the actors are willing to work hard, the shots taken will be different.

  Lei, who used to sell goods on the street, has become the unlucky "Adam" in a movie, while Dandan, who used to carry pork in a frozen food factory, has become a weak and timid doctor "Gorden". The two of them are showing off their acting skills in the play, with a state that is worlds apart from steel.