[Filmmaker Series No. 9] Lu Lihua Film Colorist

At the beginning, I wanted to share the "Filmmaker Series" articles, mainly to introduce the stories of film colorist Lu Lihua, art director Mak Kwok Keung, and film producer Qian Xiaohui. After all, these creative personnel behind the scenes rarely appear under the spotlight. , and most of them are quite low-key, and there are no detailed information and stories about them on the Internet, so I wrote these interview articles with this mentality back then. However, because they are not as well-known as the previous directors, ordinary readers are naturally not very interested. Even on the Matters platform that loves words, the reaction is not as good as the previous photographers' articles, which is also expected. For me, reviewing and editing these articles is also a process of re-understanding the Hong Kong film industry, which is also very beneficial.

On the screen, the audience pays attention to the male and female protagonists; off the screen, everyone discusses the screenwriter and director. The lighting engineer, art designer, and lighting engineer are all behind-the-scenes personnel who have dedicated themselves to the film, but they are destined not to be remembered. Lui Lihua, a colorist known as Sister Lu, has been in the industry for 40 years. Over the years, she has worked closely with directors and photographers such as Wong Kar Wai, Johnnie To, Lau Wai Keung, Do Ke Fung, etc., and has done post-production for more than a thousand films. She is a well-known name in the industry. At the Hong Kong Film Awards 2013, Wong Kar Wai personally presented the Professionalism Award to Sister Lu (the other winner was Gao Tianzhou) in recognition of her years of contributions. Her story also deserves to be known by more people. Sister Lu joined the industry in 1974 as an apprentice in a comprehensive film printing company. At that time, there was no special subject for film printing, and many master craftsmen were from "red trousers". Sister Lu, who had not yet graduated from middle school, also started from a low level. At the beginning, don't say that you participated in the post-production, and you didn't have the opportunity to connect to the touch dimmer. "Apprentices don't really have much to do. At that time, many things were conservative. The teacher might not be willing to teach you. What impressed me the most was cleaning." At that time, there were no cleaners in the company, and the first thing Ms. Lu did when she returned to the company every morning Just cleaning, vacuuming, mopping the table, etc. all have to be done. "The printing factory pays great attention to cleanliness. Regardless of printing or light adjustment, no hair or dust is allowed to appear, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable."

After doing odd jobs for a while, I was finally able to learn how to print negatives. Although the process is simple, there is no room for carelessness. "This process is very critical. If the film is damaged, there is dust or hair in the potion, the whole film may be destroyed in this way." Therefore, every time the film is officially printed, it must be tested to ensure nothing goes wrong. After developing the negative, copy a rush copy (raw film) for editing, and then send it back to the printing factory for light adjustment after finishing the editing. Dimming is the most labor-intensive and time-consuming step. Whether to add color and how to add color depends entirely on the eyes of the dimmer.

"Light adjustment is very subjective. Why add a red to this scene and subtract a green to that scene? It's all about the accumulation of experience." When looking at the negatives, Ms. Lu will pay attention to whether the colors between each scene are too jumpy, and then Add color to the negatives, and then compare the changed colors with the previous negatives one by one. In order to be perfect, Sister Lu watched the negatives of each film at least ten times or eight times, and even tried to adjust the light five or six times for a set of films. "Sometimes the color effect may not be ideal. It may be that there is a problem with the dimming potion. I have also tried to forget whether to add color. After all, a film is tens of thousands of square feet of negatives. If you are not careful, there will be mistakes and omissions." Sister Lu said that a photofinishing factory is a place where team spirit is emphasized, and changing the color requires the cooperation of the printing room, potion room and machines.

It usually only takes a few days, sometimes even two or three days, for a film to be sent to a printing factory for post-processing. Almost every step is a race against time. After finishing the post-production, the film was tested at the midnight show. According to the audience’s response, sometimes editing, subtitles, and lighting adjustments were made immediately, and even after the film was released, changes may be made. Sister Lu said that in post-production in those days, everyone had to fight against time. . In the 1980s, Hong Kong movies were booming. Sister Lu did post-processing for more than 100 films a year, and there were hundreds of copies of a film in Southeast Asia. Sister Lu tried not to go home for a whole week when she was busy. Take a nap once in a while.

In the first ten years, Sister Lu did not participate in many post-production films. The first film she participated in was "Girl's Diary" directed by Yang Fan. In 1984, Sister Lu left the complex to join the Universal Film Development Company and became a colorist before she became more involved in post-production. What impressed her most during this period was the cooperation with Du Kefeng. At that time, she was doing the post-production for Du Kefeng's "Snow is Burning". Expand from here. "Wong Kar Wai and Du Kefeng have special requirements for colors. The general RGB three colors can't achieve the effect they want. In "Days of Being Wild", they tried many colors until everyone reached a consensus and were satisfied." "Days of Being Wild" After ", there are "Evil, West Poison", "Chongqing Forest", "Happy Together", etc. Sister Lu said that each one is a new attempt.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, the Hong Kong film market deteriorated, and the production of films dropped sharply. The Universal Printing Company where Sister Lu worked was also sold off a few years later. Sister Lu used this time to study computer and other courses. In 2000, Sister Lu went to China Star Group to do post-production and began to contact digital production. "Early digital production still used film to shoot, and then converted the film "over TC" (i.e. telecine) into video tape, and then output the film for dimming after computer editing." It was done on the computer, and Ms. Lu said that there is no need to use potions anymore. Many effects can be done on the computer. Not only can the effect be seen immediately, but the effect is 90% similar to that of film. By the late 2010s, even the shooting was digital. The era of film came to an end, and several original film development companies disappeared one after another.

Sister Lu said that the ideal way is to shoot with film and use digital for post-production. "Film and digital can coexist and complement each other. Film is very textured and tolerant. Digital production can remedy some shortcomings of film, such as connection points and scratches. But now that Kodak company is gone, I want to use film. Filming is not good either." Now Sister Lu is working as an image consultant for post-production and distribution of films. In recent years, her works include "The Grandmaster" and so on, continuing her cooperation with Wong Kar Wai for many years.

A movie not only needs a good script and good actors, but also music and pictures are very important to make the whole movie sublime. It all depends on the hard work of a group of people like Sister Lu who work silently and spare no effort for a better picture.

·Develop Instagram / Linkin.bio ·Originally published in "Outside" magazine