Chapter 90

Seeking recommendations.

In the quiet of the warehouse, Murphy stared intently at the set. Cinematographer Philippe Lachaise stood by the bathtub on the wall, the camera lens in his hand firmly locking onto Seth Rogen's figure through the murky water in the bathtub.

The bathtub shook violently, water splashing everywhere. Seth Rogen suddenly sat up, coughing violently. His mouth opened, and without any warning, he spat out a mouthful of water, which hit Philippe Lachaise right on, and the camera lens was not spared.

"Cut," Murphy shouted, "What happened?"

Seth Rogen was still coughing violently. After a while, he managed to stand up, holding onto the bathtub, and looked at Philippe Lachaise apologetically, "Sorry, I got up too quickly and accidentally opened my mouth, so water got in."

Philippe Lachaise waved his hand to indicate it was fine. Murphy shouted loudly, "Jack, do Seth's makeup. Philippe, readjust the lens, we'll start again in ten minutes."

This opening scene would start in darkness but wouldn't be shot in darkness. Hollywood's dark scenes are rarely actually shot in darkness; lighting is always a crucial factor in filming. For this scene, Murphy would use DaVinci Resolve to adjust the background to black in post-production, which is quite simple with today's film production technology.

After being choked by water in the first take, Seth Rogen performed normally in the second take. However, Murphy did not call it a pass and continued to have the fat man get into the bathtub, shooting three more takes before ending the scene.

Unlike when filming "Hard Candy," Murphy was now more experienced. He had fully considered the difficulties beforehand and had James Franco and Seth Rogen do extensive rehearsals. Additionally, the crew hired this time was no longer made up of the less capable people from the previous project. The morning scenes were shot smoothly, mostly passing within five takes.

In the morning, six scenes were completed, which was absolutely the most efficient half-day in Murphy's brief directing career.

However, when shooting started in the afternoon, the pace slowed down again. After James Franco's entrance, there were three people in the bathroom: the doctor he played, Seth Rogen's voyeur, and Jigsaw lying on the ground in the middle.

Of course, since Jigsaw didn't need to move, this was a dummy meticulously crafted by Beck Clark.

This was the first time all three characters appeared in the same shot. After two takes, they still couldn't achieve the effect Murphy wanted, so he called a halt to the entire production.

Murphy called over the cinematographer Philippe Lachaise, "In this scene, we need to intentionally ignore Jigsaw in the frame."

In scenes where all three characters appear, ignoring Jigsaw in the frame would also make the audience naturally ignore Jigsaw, which is essential for the shocking ending.

The ending of this film is crucial, as it elevates the entire film to a higher level. Otherwise, it wouldn't be much better than a traditional American splatter film.

Murphy walked onto the set, carefully avoiding the blood on the ground, and said to Philippe Lachaise, who followed him, "In this three-person scene, we need to highlight two and ignore one."

"If we emphasize two of the three actors and avoid the third, focusing on a single relationship," Philippe Lachaise quickly had an idea, "there are two shooting methods: partial emphasis and full emphasis."

He explained in detail, "Partial emphasis means showing all three actors in the first main shot but only the two leading actors in the second main shot. Full emphasis means transitioning from a 3-to-3 relationship to a 2-to-2 relationship, showing only the two main actors."

Murphy thought for a moment and said, "Let's try both methods."

Using both methods in shooting would provide more options in post-production.

Philippe Lachaise went to prepare for the shoot, and Murphy found the lighting designer David Roby to instruct him to add catch lights to James Franco and Seth Rogen's faces when switching to close-up shots.

The catch lights needed for this scene were different from those used for Carey Mulligan in "Hard Candy." Murphy needed them to be colder and harder, emphasizing the characters' alertness and panic upon waking up in an unfamiliar environment.

Catch lights are almost always used in close-up shots in film production.

Generally, when the main or secondary light positions are suitable relative to the camera angle, the catch lights can be produced simultaneously with the main or secondary light effects, so there's no need to add catch lights to avoid creating two highlights, which can make the eyes look scattered.

However, if the original main or secondary light positions do not produce catch lights, a small light can be used near the camera to add catch lights, or a large, soft light source can be used from a distance. The key is to set up the lights without affecting the main lighting relationships.

Unless for specific plot needs, the catch lights Murphy required should not be too bright to avoid creating two highlights, which could ruin the character's expression and even make it look like cataracts.

This is also a method used when filming blind characters, as catch lights are usually avoided to help actors portray the vacant look of a blind person.

Since filming "Hard Candy," Murphy had developed the habit of observing light and angles to quickly and simply identify shortcomings in the shots.

After shooting several takes with partial and full emphasis, the crew moved on to shoot individual scenes for James Franco and Seth Rogen. When setting up the lighting for close-up shots, Murphy realized his money was well spent. A lighting designer signed by CAA, even if as unknown as he was, was still very skilled.

The cinematographer Philippe Lachaise also had a unique method to verify catch lights.

His method was simple: standing on the set, he made a fist and placed a marble under his index finger. Through it, he could observe a reflection similar to that in a human eye. By turning his hand, he could observe the changes in the light on the marble to find the position and angle he needed.

At the same time, the curves and lines of his hand could show the contrast and backlight effects.

After a busy day, Murphy announced the end of work. However, he did not leave but sat behind the camera, reviewing the day's shots with the cinematographer Philippe Lachaise and the editor Jody Griffith.

James Franco also wanted to join, but Murphy sent him away.

Like most directors, unless an actor made a significant mistake that needed to be corrected by reviewing the shot, Murphy did not let them see the footage casually.

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