Watchtower of China 中国瞭望塔 – Leonardo Dalessandri | 像素工程

Creating Watchtower of China was a labour of love. I say labour because we, meaning my crew and I, throughout three consecutive summers, visited over seventy cities and travelled countless thousands of kilometers. Everywhere we went, we found ourselves channelling the powerful energy of this great land to find the strength and inspiration to continue our quest along what became life-changing for all of us. When we initially gathered together we were a film crew. By the time we were done, three years later, we had become a family.

I say love, because what we have created is more than just a film. It is a declaration of our love for this Country.

When I set out on this project I wanted to create a visual tribute to China - an honest observation of daily life. Not a surface travelog, but a real and raw representation of the cultural history. An honoring of Chinese culture, identity, and the complex and varied way of living that spans the enormity of the Chinese territory. A window on the dedication and discipline, the craftsmanship and hard work of the Chinese people. They have an energy of moving forward together as they draw power and inspiration from a culture that looks back over thousands of years, yet rushes fearlessly towards a bold future.

I started to feel this intense energy, as though this cultural pride and determination were now moving through me and my camera. The experience of this film buried itself so deeply within me that I can still feel the hard day’s work in my muscles.

It couldn’t have come together without the help of my dear friends, especially Jolien Snyers and Ricky Choy (did you spot Ricky in the film? She’s in multiple shots and sings in the very last taxi shot!)

It is one of my proudest accomplishments.
I hope you love it.

创造《中国瞭望塔》是一项充满爱心的工作。我说劳动是因为我们，我和我的工作人员，在连续三个夏天里，访问了 70 多个城市，旅行了无数的数千公里。无论我们走到哪里，我们都发现自己在引导这片伟大土地的强大能量，寻找力量和灵感，继续我们的探索，这改变了我们所有人的生活。我们最初在一起的时候是一个电影摄制组。三年后，当我们完成这些的时候，我们已经成为了一个家庭。

我说爱，是因为我们所创造的不仅仅是一部电影。这是我们对这个国家的爱的宣言。

当我开始这个项目时，我想创造一种对中国的视觉致敬——一种对日常生活的诚实观察。不是表面的游记，而是对文化历史的真实而原始的再现。这是对中国文化、身份和复杂多样的生活方式的尊重，这些生活方式跨越了广阔的中国领土。这是中国人民奉献和纪律、工艺和勤劳的窗口。他们有一种共同前进的能量，因为他们从一种回顾数千年的文化中汲取力量和灵感，但却无畏地奔向一个大胆的未来。

我开始感受到这种强烈的能量，好像这种文化上的骄傲和决心现在正在我和我的相机中移动。这部影片的经历深深地在我身心刻下烙印，到现在肌肉里还留有辛苦工作的记忆。

如果没有我亲爱的朋友们的帮助，这部电影是不可能走到一起的，尤其是 Jolien Snyers 和 Ricky Choy(你在电影里看到她了吗?她出现在多个镜头里，在最后一个出租车镜头里唱歌!)

这是我最自豪的成就之一。
我希望你会喜欢。

意大利导演 Leonardo Dalessandri 发布了他的最新作品《中国瞭望塔》（Watchtower of China），这部影片的创作历程非常漫长。据了解，这部作品的拍摄始于七年前，素材整理工作始于 2019 年下半年，而正式的剪辑工作则于 2022 年 2 月展开。整个剪辑过程使用了 Final Cut Pro 软件完成。

值得一提的是，该导演此前创作的《土耳其瞭望塔》被誉为剪辑界的经典之作，激发了全球许多视频创作者的灵感。事实上，如今许多引人注目的短片转场效果都可以追溯到该作品的灵感来源。

然而，真正了解剪辑技术的人会发现，这部影片不仅仅依赖于大量素材的积累，更是在剪辑上达到了非常高的境界。与其说这部作品仰仗转场效果，不如说它运用了画面元素、镜头运动、色彩和音乐等多个要素的巧妙组合，将它们相互匹配。这种创作手法展现了剪辑思维的巅峰，让观众从中体会到了剪辑艺术的真谛。