Latest update December 15th, 2015 10:12 PM
Hou Hsiao-Hsien On Filmmaking
AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND LANGLOIS
Director Hou Hsiao-hsien, the leading figure of the Taiwanese New Wave, scooped the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival for THE ASSASSIN in 2015. Hou recently joined a panel discussion with Jean-Michel Frodon and Shunji Iwai during the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival. Here are some of his viewpoints selected by THE CHINESE FILM MARKET.
From film to digital units
Who talks about art-house film any more? Except for film schools and researchers, art-house film has long since faded away. But just as with characters, real images should have a certain depth, which exists on the surface and between the lines. When you regard film as an important art form, the way that you deal with images will differ from the films we generally see. General film images mostly are messages, and the difference is that we must organize these messages to make them dramatic so that audiences can quickly understand.
It is so easy to get images nowadays. We had to shoot with film in the past, but now there are all kinds of cameras. However, the difference between film and the so-called digital unit is huge as the former is chemical while the latter is physical. In my eyes, the images on film are more realistic as they are chemically developed to produce various colors.
Maybe one day, digital shooting will be very mature and powerful, but this makes no difference. The key lies in what we are shooting and what we want to express. Sometimes, we could unconsciously shoot something that contains great value. That’s because filming is never absolute or mechanical; it is humanistic. If you want to make a good movie, you may also be fond of novels, and be keen on various artistic carriers, you probably have an understanding intuition towards them and you know how to enjoy them.
THE ASSASSIN entailed fifty thousand feet of film being shot. But there was no place to store the copies, we had no choice but to turn them into digital ones. It was such an unnecessary move. To be honest, the visual was not that good after digitalization.
Digital image processing is still at an early stage, and is far from maturing. What is certain is that it will keep developing. It is hard to say whether I will continue to shoot with film or not, for they eventually have to be changed into digital ones. I was used to film and need time to test and adapt to digital shooting.
The change of distribution system
Money is always a thing but not the only thing that matters. I make films all by myself. I find money, shoot and sell films. Though there is huge financial pressure, I can still survive. Nothing can beat me.
What worries me is the change of broadcasting systems. In the past, we could only watch movies at the cinema, but with the rapid emerging of various platforms, it is hard to imagine how the image will be shown in the future, since my little granddaughter can watch videos on the phone now.
There was a director who wished to return to the world every 100 years after death, only to read the newspapers of that day, which means he knew this world changes rapidly. He was curious about everything in the future, so am I. I can hardly imagine how the images will be presented and what people’s favors will be after 100 years.
I have been devoted to images all my life. It’s kind of sad to see our times gone. But we are still doing things with old-styled methods, and the contents to which we pay attention are still human beings. Actually the young generation also pays attention to human beings. Everything begins with the surface; the difference is that the things every person sees are different.
Capturing moments and making arrangements
When the media interview us, they all cast lamps, baking us as if we were éclairs. What if they don’t cast lamps?
Everyone can be an expert photographer, even shooting pictures with smart phones, for they can take pictures of their family, friends and children. But capturing life moments is only a start. Through this experience, they may take a further step to arrange some artistic or dramatic scenarios and take the picture.
If you want to make a film, you cannot just sit there and wait for the script, investment and casting to fall into place. Do you think the investors are so generous? And do you think they will know that you can succeed at first sight of you? Sometimes when shooting a film, companies even replace a famous director with an emerging one. Do you have any idea how many directors are behind the film? Don’t always wait for the chances. You can start making films right now; no matter whether it is a five-minute or ten-minute video. But keep in mind that it is useless to shoot the conventional things. You can on one hand capture the real parts of life, on the other hand make artistic arrangements. As for how to arrange, you must make your own efforts.
Big screens and small screens
Previously in Taiwan, we discussed whether we can take NT$5 or NT$10 from every sold film ticket for future film investment. But after all kinds of discussion, we realized it couldn’t be achieved. Cinemas are still the dominant players and are not willing to reduce their incomes. But the Internet may be able to beat them one day, even though we have no idea when this day will come.
However, both big screens and small screens have their prospects respectively. As with characters, images will not vanish, it is the form that changes.
As I never use a smart phone or computer, let alone watching movies online, the things I shoot basically belong to cinema. The approach that small screens express ideas differs from that of cinemas. The difference could be a challenge to the creators, but not to the youngsters as it happens naturally to them. They may don’t even know why they can shoot something that is great to be watched on phones.
From the time when there were images and characters, the two have always been in a seesaw battle. Characters have been in decline while images are more and more developed. But Chinese characters are also images, which were painted with lines. I believe the images or videos will eventually change with our life style.
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