The Best Director

Chapter 52: Show Yourself

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio | Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

How important is editing to a film? Before the advent of editing, “film” was just a series of life segments. “The Factory Gate” captured workers entering the factory’s gate, and “Arrival of the Train” captured a train arriving at the station, both with fixed shots from start to finish with not much of a story to speak of. After the initial curiosity had waned, this “little trick” was deemed dull and boring. Who would want to watch “The Sprinkler” and see how a gardener plays with a hose? It would be better to water one’s own garden instead.

Then “The Great Train Robbery” appeared, the first true movie, composed of 14 different shots. The collision between these shots constructed a complete film content. Without any spoken or written language, people could understand it was a story of a gang of robbers robbing a train and ultimately being shot by the police in pursuit.

With a story and a plot, audiences grew interested and were willing to pay to watch movies. The development of film advanced rapidly, and the ways of shooting as well as the techniques of montage increased. But ultimately, editing is so important because it allowed film to soar and brought it to life.

A Hollywood blockbuster almost always uses over 200 hours of film, and “High School Musical” used close to 20 hours of film. Although it is the same story, it can be edited into two completely different versions. If we convert these 20 hours of film into frames, with 24 frames per second, the basic unit would be “millions.” It is through the ordering, collision, and combination of these million tiny cells that an entire film is made.

Adding one cell or missing one makes a world of difference. A few extra frames, a few extra seconds, and the film could appear cumbersome and dragging; missing those few frames, and the film could become chaotic and disorganized, with characters in the picture even experiencing “drifting.” The editor’s job is to arrange these cells properly, neither too many nor too few, aiming for seamless editing while also matching the rhythm of the film, expressing the film’s story and feelings in the best way possible.

During the shooting phase, the director and the cinematographer are a couple; when it comes to the editing phase, the director and the editor are a couple. Whether their “marriage” is a happy one directly determines whether the film is good or bad. The two must “click” in terms of temperament, tacit understanding, aesthetic views, etc. Otherwise, it might well end in divorce, with the reason for divorce being domestic violence.

Quentin Tarantino, the director of “Pulp Fiction,” once said, “When I was making my first movie, I knew one thing – I needed a female editor. A female editor knows how to take better care of the film, care for me. They are not as competitive, won’t try to beat me at every turn. They provide me with the care and help I need to finish the film.”

The teacher of the editing class Professor Wang Yang agreed wholeheartedly. In keeping with this tradition, Wang Yang also thought it made sense; female editors should be more patient, and for “High School Musical,” women’s grasp of youthful vitality should be better than that of rough men.

After a week of non-stop interviews, Wang Yang finally found the right person, Margaret Goodspeed, a middle-aged white woman in her forties with black-framed glasses. She had extensive editing experience with many films, including “Four Rooms,” and had a good temperament. During the interview conversation, she also clearly understood what “High School Musical” needed – to be light, youthful, sunny, and to actively pursue what one wanted to do.

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At the editing room, Margaret was looking at the editing computer’s screen, where a psychological shot of Troy Burton was playing. She controlled the mouse in her hand, ready to remove a few frames from this sequence. Wang Yang, beside her, urgently exclaimed, “NO, NO, NO! Margaret, you can’t cut these frames, I need them!”

“You need everything,” Margaret said with a slight smile, looking at Wang Yang. “Our first cut was 200 minutes, and what we need to do now is to bring it down to under 100 minutes.” She went on to explain, “Kid, I know how you feel, directors are always greedy, if it were up to them, they wouldn’t want to remove a single frame. But why do directors need editors? Because some shots have to be removed, and if the director can’t do it, then that’s what we are for.” That said, she clicked on the editing software and removed those few frames.

Wang Yang sighed helplessly, scratching his head and said softly, “Alright.” But soon after, his eyes widened and he protested, “No, no, that sequence absolutely can’t be cut! If you keep cutting like this, there will be nothing left.” He was pained to see that Margaret was adamant about cutting and pleaded, “You can’t do this… please, oh my God… it’s over!” After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, “Margaret, go back to that part we were at before, I’ve thought it over, we can’t cut it like that.”

Editing is such a process, with directors and editors continuously “haggling,” trying out various combinations of shots, shuffling frame after frame, putting back what was previously cut and then cutting it again. Hence, editing is much more tedious and boring than shooting, especially for directors who often feel tortured, watching the material they worked so hard to capture on set being cut away like trash; naturally, it is an unpleasant experience.

On set, the director is the biggest; but in the editing room, the editor holds the primary say. Even big directors like James Cameron or Steven Spielberg don’t dictate in the editing room, as Margaret said, directors need other people’s help when it comes to choosing shots.

Meanwhile, the film’s promotional work was also underway. A couple of days ago, the “High School Musical” official website released the release date and plans, as well as the list of 500 schools for the first week of screenings, which have high movie theater attendance, of course, beneficial for box office numbers. However, students from some schools not on the list were quite angry, protesting on the official website and even claiming “High School Musical” was engaging in discrimination.

But Wang Yang and the company were well prepared, announcing a nationwide campus campaign “Show Yourself,” set to start in March and end on April 20th. By uploading a video of themselves dancing or singing to the campaign’s official website, anyone could participate. The top ten in votes would receive lavish prizes and a chance to attend the “High School Musical” premiere in Los Angeles for free; additionally, even by just participating, there was a chance to become one of the 100 lucky individuals to join the premiere, take a one-day tour of Hollywood, and receive a free return plane ticket.

This activity was estimated to cost around two million dollars, with the total movie promotion budget rising to seven million dollars. But the two million were absolutely well spent. First, the campaign would quell the students’ anger; second, it would engage more students and schools, coinciding with the release of “High School Musical” to kick off a wave of song and dance, which was most important.

How to get students interested in participating in the activity? Prizes were secondary; the focus of the promotion was that one slogan, “Show Yourself, and reveal the beautiful side of your youth!” But if you want to win, you’ve got to start practicing your song and dance now; and during the voting, remember to campaign for votes from your classmates.

Wang Yang was very confident in this promotional campaign because of the success of “Paranormal Activity.” The “Who Got Scared The Worst?” campaign made him realize that everyone actually desires to “show” themselves and share their brilliance with everyone else.

The release date for “High School Musical” was announced, but the media’s response remained lukewarm, with only a few online outlets reporting on it. If it weren’t for Wang Yang’s popularity, there might not even have been that much coverage.

His popularity also attracted some covetous looks. Over at “Idle Hands,” they seemed to want to stir up some drama. During an interview with the media, Producer Andrew Richard said, “I haven’t changed my opinion, that girl is going to regret it, oh come on, don’t ask me about that anymore. Anyway, I guarantee ‘Idle Hands’ will be an excellent film, its story is too interesting.” Director Dennis Rodman Fred said, “The same release schedule? I’m not worried about that. Although our movies are both aimed at teenagers, I’m not looking to compete in the ring. Wang Yang is a very thoughtful young man, I wish him success this time too.” One played the villain, while the other played the good guy.

Wang Yang and the company did not respond, as this kind of topic was not a good publicity opportunity. “High School Musical” needed healthy and uplifting topics, not disputes. Of course, it would be a different story if “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” challenged them to a showdown.

However, the most important thing was still to handle their own promotion, such as the “Show Yourself” campus event and the little program teaching dance.

“Yang, no TV stations are willing to work with us unless we pay a certain amount of advertising fees,” Mark Slant said calmly, in a tone that suggested “this is all within my expectations.” He added, “It would need at least fifty million a month.”

Fifty million? Wang Yang rolled his eyes, stood up with his phone in hand, and walked toward the balcony of the apartment, saying into the phone, “If it’s that expensive, forget it. Follow Plan B, we’ll upload it to the official website, and also get it played on those campus TV stations.” This little program could not only shape idols but would also promote the “Show Yourself” event. Mark Slant knew this and replied, “OK, then let’s get ready for the production.”

After ending the call, looking out into the night sky, Wang Yang dialed another number and chatted with a smile, “Hey, Jessica. You, Rachel, Zachary, you guys got a new job, yeah, that program I told you about before.” Leaning on the railing, he continued, “Oh, I’m not directing it. Does that kind of show even need a director? I don’t know, I still have to deal with editing. Today, I almost got into a fight with Margaret, ha, just kidding…”

After a long conversation, Wang Yang put his phone away, went to the kitchen, and opened the fridge looking for some soda and snacks to watch an NFL game. Because of labor disputes, his favorite NBA was still in a lockout, and it was unclear when the season would resume. But the fridge was completely empty, without a single item stocked. Wang Yang scratched his head, then prepared to head to the nearby supermarket to grab some groceries.

Michael Pitt had already moved out and was sharing a small apartment with George Harry. He had found a part-time job and attended auditions when there were opportunities, working hard towards his next role.

Walking down to the street beneath the apartment, Wang Yang had only walked a short distance when he felt someone following him. He turned around warily, only to see a blonde middle-aged white man trailing him—it was that paparazzo again! Wang Yang, a bit helplessly, called out to the paparazzo, “Buddy, you’ve been following me for quite a while now.” Many paparazzi had followed him, but only once or twice. This guy, however, was practically on his tail every day.

Seeing that he’d been spotted, the bearded white man simply stepped forward, lifted the camera around his neck, and snapped a picture of Wang Yang, saying with a smile, “It’s my job. My name is Cole.”

“Hard at work, aren’t you?” Wang Yang said, walking a bit further. Watching Cole closely follow him, Wang Yang felt a bit bored and asked, “Why do you keep following me? I’m not some big star.” Because of the paparazzi, he had been reluctant to date Jessica recently. Rolling his eyes, he said, “You should be following Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, or Tom Willing.”

Cole, keeping up with his pace, replied, “Yang, you’ve been very popular lately, you are a star now, and everyone is paying attention to you.” He spread his hands and added, “18, almost 19 years old; multimillionaire, no girlfriends? Who would believe that?” Wang Yang laughed, “So you’re saying you want to get a photo of me with my girlfriend?” Cole shrugged, “Actually, boyfriends would do as well.”

“Of course, it would be even better if I could get something more explosive,” Cole added. Wang Yang, intrigued, asked, “Like what?” Cole said with a smile, “Like going home with two hot girls, smoking weed, peeing everywhere, or fighting in the streets—all of those would be great.” Wang Yang laughed out loud, “Then you must be hoping I’ll hit you.” Cole nodded, “Yes, I indeed hope so.”

“Let’s not talk about those kinds of photos. Do you know how much a photo of you and your girlfriend being intimate would be worth?” Cole pointed the camera at Wang Yang and took another shot. Wang Yang asked out of curiosity, “How much?” Cole laughed, “I don’t know, buddy, this is the first one, and it’s worth its weight in gold! Maybe I could trade it for a nice little car.”

“Well, you keep at it then,” Wang Yang said, picking up his pace. Falling behind, Cole called out, “I think I’ll get it soon, your birthday is coming up in a couple of days, isn’t it?” Wang Yang looked back at him with annoyance and said, “Please, can’t you let me have a peaceful birthday?” Cole immediately captured his annoyed expression with a satisfied smile and said, “Finally, something worthwhile, this one should be worth 300-500 US dollars.”

Wang Yang couldn’t help but laugh and gave Cole a thumbs up. Now he really was “showing himself,” albeit reluctantly. But Cole was probably going to be disappointed because Wang Yang had no plans for a big 19th birthday party- just a simple gathering with good friends would do.