Chapter 29 Mine Observations
When we arrived at the mine on the top of the mountain, the surrounding style became more and more like the Loess Plateau. Even the shacks where the miners lived were half-dug and half-built along the hillside.
Because it was the time when the miners went down to the mine to work, the arrival of Xu Kun and others did not alarm too many people. Only the mine manager, accountant, driver and bodyguard came out to welcome the crew.
Hearing that the actors from the crew were also here, the auntie who was in charge of boiling water and cooking hurriedly stuck her head out to look around. When she found that there was no one she knew, she shrank back in disappointment.
When he heard that Li Yang was going to lead a team down to experience it, the mine manager asked the accountant to distribute safety helmets without saying a word, and also arranged to find some old work clothes for them.
I was worried that the actors would find it dirty, but it turns out that each of the three dressed more neatly than the other.
The driver and bodyguard personally sent the group to the entrance of the mine, and handed Li Yang a walkie-talkie, telling him to contact higher-ups immediately if he encountered any trouble down there, and not to act on his own.
"You are all from the capital. If you are really buried down there, we will be in trouble at the mine."
He said "trouble", but looking at the other party's expression, it was obviously not a big trouble - although this mine is not big, the boss has more than one or two mines under his name, and his strength is huge.
Hearing that he did not take human life seriously, Li Yixiang and Baoqiang swallowed their saliva at the same time. They wanted to find out how many bodies had been buried in the mine and how often, but in the end they did not open their mouths.
Xu Kun took the opportunity to smoke a cigarette, as smoking was not allowed once he entered the mine.
A moment later, five people got on the wooden elevator and slid rapidly into the dark mine with a creaking sound.
After a short while, the sky above their heads turned into a pale small square, and darkness seeped out from under their feet, gradually enveloping everyone.
slap~
Li Yang took the initiative to turn on the mining lamp on his head, and said to Xu Kun and the other two, "When we really start filming, we can't turn on the lights when we go down the mine, because the battery power is limited. The miners don't turn on the lights when they go down the mine."
Li Yixiang nodded silently, and his silence seemed to be contagious to Xu Kun and Bao Qiang, who also nodded without saying anything.
But after a moment, Baoqiang raised his hand and asked to speak like a primary school student: "Director, when I went down to the mine for the first time, should I have nervously placed my hand on the switch, wanting to press it but not daring to?"
"Bao Qiang, well done. He's still trying to figure out the character at this time."
Li Yang praised him, then shook his head and said, "It's a pity that even if you do it, you won't be able to capture these details. When we don't turn on the lights, we can only capture the outlines of the three of you at most."
Baoqiang was a little embarrassed at first, but soon said firmly: "Then I have to act like this too!"
Li Yang showed his appreciation again. Although he chose Bao Qiang in the first place because he wanted Bao Qiang to play the role in his true self, if Bao Qiang could keep improving while maintaining the basic character, he would naturally be happy to see it happen.
Clang~
With a shock under my feet, the elevator finally stopped.
Xu Kun looked up and found that the entrance had turned into a small white dot the size of a needle tip. He couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise: "Are we halfway down the mountain?"
"more than."
The cameraman replied: "We've almost dug to the foot of the mountain."
As he spoke, he also skillfully turned on the mining lamp above his head - Li Yang had experienced working here for ten months, and this cameraman followed him throughout the whole process.
There is a lamp hanging every seven or eight meters in the mine, but the brightness is very limited. You have to rely on the mining lamp above your head to illuminate the bumpy mine tunnel under your feet.
Xu Kun and the other two also reached their hands behind their backs. The battery of the mining lamp was tied to their waists and connected to the top of their heads with an electric wire. It looked like everyone had a golden ponytail.
Li Yang led the way, followed by the cameraman. The five of them walked about fifty or sixty meters along the mine tunnel. Three forks in the road appeared in front of them, and the height of the mine tunnel was lowered to about one meter and sixty meters.
Even Baoqiang has to walk with his head down, let alone others.
Originally, Li Yang was most worried about Xu Kun. After all, his huge physique made it difficult for him to move freely in this mine.
But when he looked back frequently, he found that Xu Kun adapted the best, with flexible and unhurried steps, even surpassing Bao Qiang, who was the shortest.
Seeing Li Yang looking at him frequently, Xu Kun grinned at him and said, "Director Li, didn't I say that I learned lion dance since elementary school? Have you ever seen a lion dance with its tail held high and chest held high? Bending over and walking on the pole as if walking on flat ground is the basic skill of our lion dance."
Li Yang suddenly realized it. At the same time, he felt a little regretful that his play had gathered Shaolin disciples and northern lion dance, but there was no martial arts scene.
At this time, the rumbling sound of the drill bit could be heard from the front. Li Yang said, "We are almost there. Everyone, just watch from the side and see how real coal miners work. If you don't understand something, ask me first and try not to disturb others' work."
After walking another twenty meters, I saw several miners working. Two of them were holding impact drills, and the rest were holding both hoes and pickaxes. They first used the pickaxes to loosen the coal blocks, and then used shovels to load them into the trucks.
Li Yang stepped forward and greeted them proactively. The miners stopped their work and responded with laughter.
Li Yang added: "You guys do your own thing. I'm just bringing the actors here to have a look. I'll have to be your apprentice for a few days."
"director."
A thin man with a straw in his mouth said as he was shoveling coal: "How about I act as an actor for you? I guarantee I can act more like a coal miner than they do."
The miners burst into laughter.
Li Yang also smiled and said, "That's great. When we start filming, everyone can come and audition. Whoever performs better than these actors will be the lead actor."
Xu Kun also echoed: "Brothers, you have to work hard, the actresses in our drama are all beautiful!"
The miners burst into laughter again. Most of them didn't take it seriously, but some of them did.
After chatting for a while, Xu Kun, Bao Qiang and Li Yixiang began to observe how the miners worked.
Xu Kun focused his observations on a tall and thin man. He discovered that every time this man would dig two holes in the ground first, then step his boots into them and then start working. After a long time, he would walk back and forth with his legs crossed, just to give himself a chance to straighten his back.
Xu Kun kept these details in mind. Although this may not be reflected in the movie, it is never a bad thing to spend more time and effort to be prepared.
He also found that most people who held impact drills had better physical fitness, which means that if he were a miner, he would probably be assigned to do this job.
It seems that he has to learn how to use an impact drill. He has used ordinary drill bits before, but this one is obviously used only in coal mines.
Bao Qiang changed several observation objects, and suddenly ran to Li Yang and asked, "Director, is there anyone who has just arrived?"
"Aren't we?"
Xu Kun interrupted and said, "You don't need to learn how to work like a newcomer. Just pick up your tools and start working. People will know you're a newcomer at a glance."
Baoqiang then realized that he had been stuck in a dead end, and said with a silly smile: "Then I won't watch it for now, I'll learn it when we shoot."
Li Yang also realized that he had made a mistake and said hurriedly, "Yes, yes, yes, you must ensure the freshness - at least before you finish filming the scene of going down the well for the first time, you must maintain this freshness!"
In order to maintain the so-called freshness, Li Yang simply asked the cameraman to send Baoqiang back to the ground.
Xu Kun and Li Yixiang stayed in the mine for two and a half hours before walking out with the miners who were getting off work.
Even though Xu Kun had practiced since he was a child, he still felt some back pain, not to mention Li Yixiang.
Li Yixiang got on the elevator with unsteady steps, wiped his sweat and said, "We'll come again tomorrow."
This Brother Li is such a jerk!
Xu Kun naturally couldn't lose face, so he wiped his face with a towel and added: "Bring your tools tomorrow and we'll start digging."
Li Yang panted and praised: "Good, good, you need this kind of energy to make a good movie!"
As he spoke, he wiped his sweat and said to the others, "It's a good thing I chose to shoot in winter. If it were summer, I wouldn't be able to work. I'd get my pants wet after walking down there."
(End of this chapter)
