Martin Villeneuve: How I made an impossible film

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

譯者: Yi-Ting Chung 審譯者: Ellen Tung

I made a film that was impossible to make,

我製作了一部不可能做得出來的電影

but I didn't know it was impossible,

但我不知道那是不可能的

and that's how I was able to do it.

因此我才能試著將它做出來

"Mars et Avril" is a science fiction film.

《三月與四月》(Mars et Avril) 是一部科幻電影

It's set in Montreal some 50 years in the future.

場景設定在50年後的蒙特婁

No one had done that kind of movie in Quebec before

以前在魁北克沒人拍過這種類型的電影

because it's expensive, it's set in the future,

因為預算太高，場景設定在未來的世界

and it's got tons of visual effects,

需要大量的視覺效果

and it's shot on green screen.

以綠屏來拍攝

Yet this is the kind of movie that I wanted to make

但是這種電影

ever since I was a kid, really,

是我從小就想拍的，真的

back when I was reading some comic books

那時我讀著漫畫書

and dreaming about what the future might be.

然後想像未來會是什麼模樣

When American producers see my film,

美國的製片看到我的電影

they think that I had a big budget to do it,

他們認為我有很多的預算

like 23 million.

大概2300萬

But in fact I had 10 percent of that budget.

但事實上我只有那十分之一的預算

I did "Mars et Avril" for only 2.3 million.

我拍《三月與四月》只花了230萬

So you might wonder, what's the deal here?

所以你們可能會猜想，這是怎麼回事？

How did I do this?

我是怎麼辦到的？

Well, it's two things. First, it's time.

兩件事。首先，是時間

When you don't have money, you must take time,

沒錢的時候，我們就必須把握時間

and it took me seven years to do "Mars et Avril."

我花了七年來拍《三月與四月》

The second aspect is love.

第二個概念是：熱情

I got tons and tons of generosity from everyone involved.

每個參與製作的人都為我付出不少

And it seems like every department had nothing,

似乎就像是因為每組人馬都一無所有

so they had to rely on our creativity

所以他們必須依賴我們的創造力

and turn every problem into an opportunity.

化危機為轉機

And that brings me to the point of my talk, actually,

事實上，這就和我今天要談的重點有關

how constraints, big creative constraints, can boost creativity.

想像力受到極大限制時，如何激發創造力

But let me go back in time a bit.

在此之前先讓我回顧一下

In my early 20s, I did some graphic novels,

在我20歲出頭，我寫了一些繪本小說

but they weren't your usual graphic novels.

但不是一般你們看到的繪本小說

They were books telling a science fiction story

這些小說是科幻故事

through images and text,

以圖片及文字來表達

and most of the actors who are now starring

而現在大部分主演改編電影的演員

in the movie adaptation, they were already involved

已經將這些小說裡

in these books portraying characters

所描繪的角色

into a sort of experimental, theatrical, simplistic way.

實驗化、戲劇化及簡單化

And one of these actors is the great stage director

而其中參與製作的，是一位了不起的舞台監製

and actor Robert Lepage.

兼演員：Robert Lepage

And I just love this guy.

我喜歡這傢伙

I've been in love with this guy since I was a kid.

我從小就喜歡他

His career I admire a lot.

我很欣賞他的工作

And I wanted this guy to be involved in my crazy project,

而我希望他也能參與我瘋狂的計畫

and he was kind enough to lend his image

而他也非常好心的

to the character of Eugène Spaak,

出演 Eugène Spaak 這個角色

who is a cosmologist and artist who seeks relation

他是一位宇宙論者兼藝術家，他試著找出

in between time, space, love, music and women.

時間、空間、愛、音樂及女人之間的關係

And he was a perfect fit for the part,

他真的很適合詮釋這個角色

and Robert is actually the one who gave me my first chance.

而事實上是 Robert 給了我第一次機會

He was the one who believed in me

他相信我

and encouraged me to do an adaptation of my books

鼓勵我將我的小說搬上螢幕

into a film, and to write, direct,

鼓勵我自己寫劇本、親自指導這齣戲

and produce the film myself.

並製作完成這部電影

And Robert is actually the very first example

其實 Robert 就是第一個

of how constraints can boost creativity.

限制激發創造力的例子

Because this guy is the busiest man on the planet.

因為他可以說是世界上最忙的人

I mean, his agenda is booked until 2042,

我的意思是，他的行程都排到2042年去了

and he's really hard to get,

真的很難請他抽出時間

and I wanted him to be in the movie,

但我希望他能參與這部電影

to reprise his role in the movie.

透過電影再一次詮釋這個角色

But the thing is, had I waited

但問題是，我很難

for him until 2042, my film wouldn't be

等他等到2042年，那時我的電影就不是

a futuristic film anymore, so I just couldn't do that. Right?

以未來為主題的電影了，我不能這麼做，對吧？

But that's kind of a big problem.

但這有點棘手

How do you get somebody who is too busy

要如何請一個大忙人

to star in a movie?

挪出時間來演電影呢？

Well, I said as a joke in a production meeting --

我在內製會上開了個玩笑

and this is a true story, by the way —

順便一提，這是真實故事

I said, "Why don't we turn this guy into a hologram?

我說：「我們要不要乾脆把這傢伙變成一張全息圖？

Because, you know, he is everywhere

因為，你們也知道，他無所不在

and nowhere on the planet at the same time,

同時又不存在於地球上某個特定的地方

and he's an illuminated being in my mind,

他就像是我心中的一個發光體

and he's in between reality and virtual reality,

介於現實社會與虛擬世界之間

so it would make perfect sense

所以把他變成全像的

to turn this guy into a hologram."

是一件很合理的事。」

Everybody around the table laughed,

在場每個人都笑了

but the joke was kind of a good solution,

但這個玩笑其實是不錯的解決方法

so that's what we ended up doing.

所以後來我們也這麼做了

Here's how we did it. We shot Robert with six cameras.

這是製作的結果，我們以六台攝影機拍攝 Robert

He was dressed in green and he was like

他穿綠色上衣，他就像是

in a green aquarium.

在一個綠色水族箱裡

Each camera was covering 60 degrees of his head,

每台攝影機分別拍他頭部 60度

so that in post-production we could use

所以後製時我們可以看到

pretty much any angle we needed,

幾乎每個我們需要的角度都有了

and we shot only his head.

我們卻只有拍攝他的頭部

Six months later there was a guy on set,

六個月後由一位男子

a mime portraying the body,

不出聲來扮演他的身體

the vehicle for the head.

連接頭部

And he was wearing a green hood

讓他戴著一頂綠色頭套

so that we could erase the green hood in postproduction

然後我們可以在後製時將綠色頭套去除

and replace it with Robert Lepage's head.

以 Robert Lepage 的頭部來取代

So he became like a renaissance man,

所以他像是一個重生的人

and here's what it looks like in the movie.

這是他在電影當中的樣子

(Music)

(音樂聲)

(Video) Robert Lepage: [As usual, Arthur's drawing

(影片) Robert Lepage：跟以往一樣，亞瑟的畫

didn't account for the technical challenges.

並沒有解釋技術方面的困難

I welded the breech, but the valve is still gaping.

我焊接了底部的氣室 但是活塞的部分還是開開的

I tried to lift the pallets to lower the pressure in the sound box,

我試著提高閥板的位置 來降低音箱的壓力

but I might have hit a heartstring.

但我可能撞到心弦了

It still sounds too low.]

音準還是偏低。」

Jacques Languirand: [That's normal.

Jacques Languirand：「這很正常

The instrument always ends up resembling its model.]

樂器的原型都差不多。」

(Music)

(音樂聲)

Martin Villeneuve: Now these musical instruments

你們在影片中

that you see in this excerpt,

看到的那些樂器

they're my second example of how

是我第二個

constraints can boost creativity,

限制激發創造力的例子

because I desperately needed these objects in my movie.

因為我的電影裡非常需要這些東西

They are objects of desire.

它們是慾望的產物

They are imaginary musical instruments.

是想像出來的樂器

And they carry a nice story with them.

每個樂器都有它們自己的故事

Actually, I knew what these things would look like

事實上，這些東西的模樣

in my mind for many, many years.

已經在我心中很久很久了

But my problem was, I didn't have the money

問題就在於，我的預算

to pay for them. I couldn't afford them.

不夠去支付這些樂器，我付不起

So that's kind of a big problem too.

所以這又是一大難題

How do you get something that you can't afford?

要怎麼做才能得到買不起的東西？

And, you know, I woke up one morning with a pretty good idea.

有一天早上我醒來的時候，想到一個好主意

I said, "What if I have somebody else pay for them?"

我說：「讓其他人來幫我付怎麼樣？」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

But who on Earth would be interested

但到底有誰會對

by seven not-yet-built musical instruments

七個尚未成形

inspired by women's bodies?

且以女人身體為靈感的樂器有興趣呢？

And I thought of Cirque du Soleil in Montreal,

後來我想到了蒙特婁的太陽劇團

because who better to understand the kind of

畢竟有誰比他們更了解這種

crazy poetry that I wanted to put on screen?

我想搬上螢幕的瘋狂藝術呢？

So I found my way to Guy Laliberté, Cirque du Soleil's CEO,

於是我連絡上了太陽劇團的總裁 Guy Laliberté

and I presented my crazy idea to him

然後把我瘋狂的想法告訴他

with sketches like this and visual references,

我給他看這些草圖，和一些視覺上的參考

and something pretty amazing happened.

然後不可思議的事發生了

Guy was interested by this idea

Guy 對這些想法很有興趣

not because I was asking for his money,

不是因為我跟他要錢

but because I came to him with a good idea

而是因為我給他一個很棒的想法

in which everybody was happy.

並得到大家都很滿意的結果

It was kind of a perfect triangle

就像是一個完美的三角形

in which the art buyer was happy

藝術作品的買家很高興

because he got the instruments at a cheaper price,

因為他以低價購得他要的樂器

because they weren't even made.

因為這些樂器甚至是虛構的

He took a leap of faith.

他有充足的信心

And the artist, Dominique Engel, brilliant guy,

而藝術家 Dominique Engel，他很有才華

he was happy too because he had a dream project

他也很高興，因為有個企劃能讓他發揮想像力

to work on for a year.

可以讓他花一年來製作

And obviously I was happy because I got the instruments

而我當然也很高興 因為我得到我想要的樂器了

in my film for free, which was kind of what I tried to do.

沒花半毛錢，這正是我一直追求的

So here they are.

這部影片因而誕生

And my last example of how constraints

而我最後一個

can boost creativity

限制激發創造力的例子是

comes from the green,

來自「綠」這個顏色

because this is a weird color, a crazy color,

因為綠是個奇怪的顏色，一種瘋狂的顏色

and you need to replace the green screens eventually

最後我們還是要以綠屏拍攝

and you must figure that out sooner rather than later.

我們遲早都要明白這個道理

And I had, again, pretty much, ideas in my mind

而再次強調，我心中有很多的點子

as to what the world would be,

到底這個世界會變成什麼模樣

but then again I turned to my childhood imagination

但再次回到我小時候的想像

and went to the work of Belgian comic book master

回到比利時漫畫大師 François Schuiten

François Schuiten in Belgium.

他在比利時的作品

And this guy is another guy I admire a lot,

他是另一位我景仰的人物

and I wanted him to be involved in the movie

我也希望他能參與我的電影

as a production designer.

當我的舞台設計

But people told me, you know, Martin, it's impossible,

但大家都說，Martin，這是不可能的事

the guy is too busy and he will say no.

他太忙了，一定會拒絕你

Well, I said, you know what, instead of mimicking his style,

我說，你知道嗎，與其模仿他的風格

I might as well call the real guy and ask him,

我倒不如直接打電話問他

and I sent him my books,

然後我把我的書寄給他

and he answered that he was interested

然後他說他很有興趣

in working on the film with me

跟我一起製作這部電影

because he could be a big fish in a small aquarium.

因為他可以在小水族箱裡當條大魚

In other words, there was space for him to dream with me.

換句話說，那是他和我一起做夢的小小空間

So here I was with one of my childhood heroes,

所以我有了一位我童年的英雄

drawing every single frame that's in the film

來為電影每個鏡頭製圖

to turn that into Montreal in the future.

來描繪出蒙特婁未來的模樣

And it was an amazing collaboration

跟我崇拜的偉大藝術家一起工作

to work with this great artist whom I admire.

真的是一次非常棒的合作

But then, you know, eventually you have to turn

但最後還是必須將所有製圖

all these drawings into reality.

拍成電影

So, again, my solution was to aim

所以再一次，我的方法

for the best possible artist that I could think of.

還是找我能想到的，最好的藝術家

And there's this guy in Montreal, another Quebecois

在蒙特婁有個人，另一位魁北克人

called Carlos Monzon, and he's a very good VFX artist.

叫做 Carlos Monzon，他非常擅長製作視覺特效

This guy had been lead compositor on such films

他曾經是許多電影重要的後製合成師

as "Avatar" and "Star Trek" and "Transformers,"

像是《阿凡達》、《星際爭霸戰》和《變形金剛》

and other unknown projects like this,

和其他類似的影片

and I knew he was the perfect fit for the job,

而我明白他是我的不二人選

and I had to convince him,

我必須說服他

and, instead of working on the next Spielberg movie,

結果他放棄了史匹柏的電影

he accepted to work on mine.

決定製作我的電影

Why? Because I offered him a space to dream.

為什麼？因為我給他一個想像的空間

So if you don't have money to offer to people,

所以如果你們請不起別人

you must strike their imagination with something

一定要盡你所能，以某種事物

as nice as you can think of.

打動他們的想像力

So this is what happened on this movie,

而這就是電影呈現出來的樣子

and that's how it got made,

就是這樣製作出來的

and we went to this very nice postproduction company

我們去了這間非常棒的後製公司

in Montreal called Vision Globale,

它位於蒙特婁，叫做 Vision Globale

and they lent their 60 artists to work full time

這間公司派了60位後製人員

for six months to do this crazy film.

為期六個月，來全職製作這齣瘋狂的電影

So I want to tell you that, if you have some crazy ideas

所以我想告訴大家 如果你心中有些稀奇古怪的想法

in your mind, and that people tell you

然後身邊的人都告訴你

that it's impossible to make,

那是辦不到的事

well, that's an even better reason to want to do it,

那你就更有理由去實踐它

because people have a tendency

因為人都有盲點

to see the problems rather than the final result,

只看到問題表面，而看不到完成的結果

whereas if you start to deal with problems

然而一旦你開始解決問題

as being your allies rather than your opponents,

把問題當作你的戰友，而非敵人

life will start to dance with you

你的人生將能隨之起舞

in the most amazing way.

以不可思議的方式實現

I have experienced it.

我已經有過這樣的經驗了

And you might end up doing some crazy projects,

最後可能真的能夠執行一些特別的計畫

and who knows, you might even end up

誰知道呢！我們最後

going to Mars.

可能真的能登陸火星也說不定

Thank you.

謝謝大家

(Applause)

(掌聲)