2016-12-27

【Aiden in English】

        The movie industry in L.A. is unique. With Hollywood just around the corner and Universal Studios nearby, the films and shows produced here are broadcast worldwide. But the movie had to be taken somewhere, and that place was Warner Bros.

        To movie producers, the Warner Bros Studio is paradise. With multiple sets and an infinite supply of props, there's nothing money can't buy. The day is all about Warner's filming stages and scenes, props, and some effects behind the scenes. I'd like to say that if you are a fan of comics or superhero movies, then this place is for you.

        The day started with a video showcasing the best movies shot at the Warner Bros. Studio. Within the half-second clips from famous actors saying lines that may as well have gone into the record books, I saw many popular movies, from the Harry Potter series (2001-2016) to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Nearly all famous actors and actresses have appeared in movies at Warner Studios in their careers. Today was about discovering the gears shifting behind the final cinematic production, even if it meant seeing some off-limits areas that are usually closed to the public.

        It all began with the background of the scene. Warner Bros. Studio has put it together in Burbank, where it has been featured in many shows and movies. TV shows like Friends (1994-2004), Full House (1987-1995), and Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) were filmed around the small town, providing the backdrop for nearly all their seasons. Some houses were fit for specific purposes, and some even had two different faces. If a person were to walk through a particular home, he would see that the two sides were two different fronts for two other houses. Thus, it saves room for filming scenes. The studio also included towns and streets that resembled those of the early 1900s, where multiple shoots added more and more depth to the scenery. Each time a movie was shot, some items were left behind, and they usually would stay permanently. That's why the studio, in parts, looked the way it does now. 

        Some more hit movies, like Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012), got a special section. In a very dark Picture Car Vault, nearly all of Batman's special vehicles were parked, some of which had the power to drive up to 200 mph. Each cost over $250,000, since most cars had regular car bases. The Archives Building was also sectioned off for the Harry Potter (2001) exhibit, showcasing specific props and costumes of the characters.

        There was a lot more to see, but the lone subject that stood out was the editing. Behind each scene, a team of experts edited and assembled the footage to create the movie we all loved. There was motion editing or motion capture (Mocap for short). This involved having the actor wear a special suit with dots, which were later edited to a different look. Characters like the dragon Smaug of The Hobbit (2012) used this technique, revolutionizing the movie industry. We also went through the Art of Sound, briefly explaining the sound editing done. The movie "Gravity" (2014) utilized an orchestra, the actors' voices, and a unique sound pulse developed in collaboration with an astrophysicist who specializes in listening through the body. So, when watching the clip about the main character swinging into space on a piece of debris, each revolution of the broken ship brought a strong "wwwwrrrrooooommmmmppppp" shaking through the audience. Spoiler alert: the main character made it back to Earth.

        So what's in L.A.?

        There's Warner Bros. Studio, which makes most of Hollywood's movies. Not to depress anyone, but most of your favorite Warner Bros. movies are probably not shot on location. Have you ever wondered why people never waved at the tens of flying cameras? Exactly.

        So, L.A. has a lot of things.

        Now I know.

【紅霞譯】

        對於電影製片人來說，華納“警衛”兄弟工作室堪稱人間天堂，多種多樣的布景配置和無窮無盡的的道具組合，絕非有錢就能買到。今天參觀的對象無一不與華納攝影棚配景相關，包括服裝道具及其幕後合成等環節，順便提示一句，假如你愛好喜劇或者超級英雄之類的電影，那麼這個地方正是你想光顧的。

        參觀伊始大家先來欣賞華納兄弟工作室製作的最佳電影，不大工夫成串載入史冊的著名演員出現在眼前，從《哈利·波特“人類捍衛者》系列(2001—2016)到《查理“自由人”巧克力工廠》(2005年)我看過其中很多電影，想必幾乎所有知名男女演員在有生之年都先後來此試鏡，今天有幸探尋平常難得在公眾場合見識的後期製作。

        一切還得從拍攝場景說起。華納兄弟工作室位於伯班克“設防的堡壘”城，許多電影電視節目均從本地出品，像電視劇《老友記》(1994—2004)、《歡樂滿屋》(1987—1995年)和《吉爾莫“聖母的僕人”女孩》(2000—2007年)整季製作差不多都在這裡的攝影棚完成，一些房子專門為劇情而設，而另一些房子前後建成不同式樣的門臉，確切地說，如果有人來某個特定住宅串門，那麼他所看到的前後牆實際上是由兩棟不同房子正面部分組成，這樣可以節省拍攝場地。電影棚建有城鎮街道，看上去仿佛回到上個世紀初期。隨着拍攝工作不斷進行，越來越多情節迥異的場景被添加進去，而每次拍攝完畢，一些東西並未拆除，往往會一直保存下來，這也是為什麼攝影棚中有的部分頗具現代氣息。

        一些比較熱門的電影受到特殊對待。就拿《黑暗騎士三部曲》(2005—2012)來說，在烏漆麻黑的電影汽車大廳里，蝙蝠俠使用過的全套跑車依次排列，其中有的馬力強悍，時速高達200英里／322公里，每輛價值至少25萬美元，而且多數車輛均由常規汽車改裝而成。《哈利·波特》(2001年)也特設專區，展示一些服裝和人物造型。

        後面還有很多東西可看，但重點卻偏偏落到剪輯過程，每個鏡頭背後都有一幫專家將攝製場景拼接成我們喜愛的電影，從動作捕捉做起，先讓演員身穿布滿點點的特殊套裝，然後再加工改編成不同模樣，《霍比特人“洞穴居住者”》(2012年)中巨龍史矛革就是採用這種技術，結果給電影業帶來了革命性改變。接下來我們在欣賞“聲音藝術”的同時，簡單了解音效剪輯。《地心引力》(2014年)將管弦樂、人聲以及從專業天體物理學家那裡學到的特殊脈衝融合在一起，因此當看到電影主人公解開身上攔截索從碎片墜入太空時，破碎的太空船急速旋轉並發出“嗡…嗡…嗡…嗡…嗡”轟鳴聲，讓觀眾切身感受到逼真效果。劇透警告：主人公返回地球。

        洛杉磯究竟有啥好玩？

        這裡有盛產好萊塢影片的華納兄弟工作室，咱毫無破壞他人情緒之心，但多數華納兄弟出品的電影大都不是從實地拍攝而來，你有沒有想過為何數十架空中攝像頭裡從來看不到見過路人揮舞手臂呢？事實就是這樣。

        由此而言，洛杉磯有很多好玩的事情。

        現在我心中有數。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2016: Los Angeles Exposition Park, CA(加州洛杉磯博覽園)

2015: Brookside Gardens, MD(馬里蘭州溪畔植物園)

2015: Festival of Lights in LDS, MD(馬里蘭州華盛頓特區摩門教聖殿燈節)

2014: Fairmont Park in Philadelphia(費城友好城公園)

2013: Stone Town of Zanzibar, Tanzania(坦桑尼亞黑海岸石頭城)

2012: Antarctic Dream(南極夢)

2009: 新西蘭峽灣國家公園(Fiordland NP, NZ)

Map of Warner Bros (華納電影城地圖)

Warner Bros Studio (華納兄弟電影城 12-27-2016)

Warner Bros Theater @ Warner Village

(華納電影城·華納兄弟劇場)

Front of Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

 (電視劇《吉爾莫女孩》前院 12-27-2016)

Back of Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

(電視劇《吉爾莫女孩》後院 12-27-2016)

Joey (2004-2006) (電視劇《喬伊》12-27-2016)

School @ L & Court @ R @ the Same Bldg

(同一棟大樓：左·學校—右·法院 12-27-2016)

Two & A Half Men (2003-2015) 

(電視劇《好漢兩個半》12-27-2016)

The Big Bang Theory (2007-Present)

(電視劇《生活大爆炸》12-27-2016)

Midwest Street from Gremlins (1984)-Pretty Little Liars (2000-Present)

(中西部街道·電影《小精靈》與電視劇《美少女的謊言》12-27-2016)

Midwest Street from Gremlins (1984)—Pretty Little Liars (2000-Present)

(中西部街道·電影《小精靈》與電視劇《美少女的謊言》12-27-2016)

Hennesy Street from Spiderman (2002)-Friends (1994-2004)

(軒尼詩街·電影《蜘蛛俠》與電視劇《老友記》12-27-2016)

New York Street from The Artist (2011)

(紐約街道·電影《藝術家》12-27-2016)

Visual Effect of Pointing

(手動指向與視覺效果 12-27-2016)

Visual Batman's Motorcycle

(視覺蝙蝠俠摩托車 12-27-2016)

Pic Car Vault for Batman & Robin Bathammer (1997) 

(蝙蝠洞·電影《蝙蝠俠與羅賓》12-27-2016)

Camouflage Tumbler from The Dark Night Rises (2012)

(迷彩不倒翁·電影《蝙蝠俠：黑暗騎士崛起》12-27-2016)

Tumbler from Batman Begins (2005) & The Dark Night (2012)

(不倒翁·電影《蝙蝠俠：俠影之謎》與《蝙蝠俠：黑暗騎士》12-27-2016)

Batmobile from Batman (1989) & Batman Returns (1992) 

(蝙蝠車·電影《蝙蝠俠》與《蝙蝠俠歸來》12-27-2016)

Batmobile from Batman Forever (1995)

 (蝙蝠車·電影《永遠的蝙蝠俠》12-27-2016)

Neutron Bomb from The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

(中子彈·電影《蝙蝠俠：黑暗騎士崛起》12-27-2016)

NY Port Authority from Fantastic Beasts (1922)

(紐約港務局·電影《神奇動物在哪裡》12-27-2016)

Oval Office from The West Wing (1999-2006)

(橢圓形辦公室·電視劇《白宮風雲》12-27-2016)

Motion Capture (動態捕捉 12-27-2016)

Prop for Batman vs Superman Dawn of Justice (2016)

(道具·電影《蝙蝠俠大戰超人：正義黎明》12-27-2016)

Archives of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them

（檔案室—電影《哈利·波特》與《神奇動物在哪裡》12-27-2016)

Props for Agent Smith (1999)

(道具·電影《黑客帝國》12-27-2016)

Giant Spider for Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

(巨型蜘蛛——電影《哈利·波特與密室》12-27-2016)

Beaked Mask Stuffed w/ Herbs for Plague Doctor (2011)

(塞滿草藥的鳥嘴面具·紀錄片《瘟疫醫生》12-27-2016)

Vintage & Antique Props (古董古玩 12-27-2016)

Friends Wide Shot

(電視劇《老友記》廣角拍攝 12-27-2016)

Central Perk of Friends 

(中央公園咖啡館·《老友記》12-27-2016)

Trophy for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

(奧斯卡功績獎盃 12-27-2016)

Stage 48 Production (舞台48地獄廚房攝影棚 12-27-2016)

Stage 25 Production List

(舞台25攝影棚拍攝過的電影/電視名單)

Crosslinks(相關博文)：

Beverly Hills & Hollywood, CA(加州比佛利山莊與好萊塢)

L.A.—Griffith Observatory, CA(加州洛杉磯—格里菲斯天文台)

USA·California(美國·加利福尼亞州)

USA(出遊美國)

8th Grade(初中三年級)