Chapter 714: The Bald Goddess

As an audiovisual art, the charm of cinema lies in "presentation." Duke's editing of the plot and dialogue was an indirect way of drawing the audience deeper into the viewing experience.

Nowadays, many commercial films are blasted as brain-dead largely because they are terrified the audience won't understand them, resorting to exposition through dialogue or inserting massive numbers of transitional scenes.

This was something Duke naturally discarded during editing. In his cut of the opening ten minutes of Fury Road, he offered absolutely no exposition. He simply relied on the visuals to convey all the information the audience needed to know, including the world-building, character personalities, origins of the conflict, and the direction of the story.

In other words, one purpose of editing was to tell a story through visuals. This was not hard to achieve, as audiovisual language was a mandatory course for every director.

On the screen in the editing room, the opening scene cut by Duke and Mike Dawson was playing. A lizard writhing its ugly body mischievously scurried to Tom Cruise's feet, only to be eaten alive, becoming a dead lizard in Cruise's mouth. Aside from highlighting the male lead's aura, this served to establish an important piece of background information—this was a world ruled by the law of the jungle!

"For the vast majority of the audience, the thrill of watching this film will primarily come from its action scenes."

A new day of work had just begun, and Duke addressed the entire post-production team: "Car chases and fights are common, so how can Fury Road make them feel fresh? What the audience will notice most is the duration of the action sequences."

The audience was undoubtedly Duke's primary focus when making the film.

He added, "I've divided the film into three main action sequences, and the action in all of these segments must last for more than ten minutes!"

Mike Dawson picked up where Duke left off, saying, "Compared to the mere seconds of awe in other Hollywood action movies, our editing will make this film exhilarating to the absolute limit."

In theory, anyone could shoot lengthy action scenes. But whether they could keep the audience engaged, or even mesmerized, was an entirely different matter.

To be exact, everything from the choreography of the action itself and the rhythmic arrangement between movements, to the contrast and callbacks between sequences, not to mention the visual presentation of the shots, reflected a director's ability to direct and edit.

In fact, looking at the design of the action itself, Duke's version of Fury Road was similar to those Hollywood road trip cult classics, still focusing on vehicle designs and physical stunts.

But he was, after all, a director who valued technology. More advanced techniques were used during filming, making the action feel more like a "spectacle." For instance, simply admiring those 150-odd distinct, modified vehicles individually was already equivalent to a "freak show" in the automotive world. Yet they still had to chase and collide with one another, followed by violent explosions, and most of these unbelievable stunts were practically performed by stunt doubles risking their lives...

Combined, these visuals provided a novel thrill unmatched by other highly homogenized action films.

And compared to the spectacle of the action itself, the editing within the action sequences and the echoing rhythm between them better showcased his current caliber and skill as a film director.

Duke likened the entire film to a grand opera, with the three main car chase sequences undoubtedly serving as its most brilliant movements.

Through his and Mike Dawson's editing, these three scenes gradually brought out the distinct brilliance of each "movement" in terms of content and "melody."

Through clever techniques, Duke edited the three action scenes together, subtly yet precisely illustrating the escalating relationship between the male and female leads, fulfilling the mission of driving the plot and fleshing out their characters.

In truth, for the relationship between the editing arrangement of these action sequences and their cinematic expressiveness, Duke had borrowed some techniques from Ang Lee. The three sex scenes in Lee's Lust, Caution might seem completely unrelated to an "action" format, but they actually served the exact same purpose as his own approach.

An action director as demanding as Duke would also use post-production to edit and design enough rich variations within a single action scene, turning even the simplest action beats into something as rhythmic as music.

For example, in the rough cut of the third car chase sequence, he ensured that several main characters, a number of supporting roles, the two primary villains, and even the extras swaying on high poles all had their own moments to shine. Every one of their "performances" was a complete, thrilling design, linked together one after another.

The purpose of this was simple: to put the audience's hearts through the wringer time and time again, making the aftertaste so satisfying it felt like experiencing multiple climaxes.

Admittedly, these techniques for presenting action were nothing to a director like Duke, whose foundation was built on action elements, but he clearly wanted this new film to be crafted more "beautifully"—post-apocalyptic grit, deliberate aesthetics, bizarre, and captivating.

In post-production, Duke was pursuing a bizarre and captivating beauty, a deliberate amplification and enhancement of aesthetics.

Therefore, aside from editing, Duke had another important task: color grading the visuals.

The hyper-saturated tones he wanted would make the world in the film so vibrant it felt like a comic book. In the words of the place he had once lived on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, it was truly enough to "blind one's krypton dog eyes."

When it came to color grading, the cinematographer and the editor needed a certain level of common ground in their concepts. After so many years of collaboration, Duke's dedicated cinematographer, John Schwartzman, and his editor, Mike Dawson, had formed a unique aesthetic synergy, capable of transforming camera movement and editing into an unprecedented, extreme aesthetic.

The editing also made the combination of shots in many scenes look crisper and punchier.

In more specific shot treatments, Duke also employed many meticulous little tricks, allowing the simplest of shots to radiate a breathtaking beauty through John Schwartzman's camera and Mike Dawson's editing.

For instance, during the mid-film chase, the shot of the female lead dropping the vehicle's front plow to shovel up a sky full of yellow dirt to put out a fire was enough to give anyone goosebumps.

Moreover, Duke needed to further elevate that atmosphere of "frenzy" through editing. Whether it was the villainous cultists' near-religious motorcycle worship, the unhinged performances of the main and supporting casts, or even the treatment of many death scenes that carried a sense of martyrdom—coupled with an adrenaline-pumping, maddening score—he wanted the audience to feel as though they weren't watching a movie, but were instead participating in a post-apocalyptic cult sacrifice. Even if they were bombarded by intense sensory stimulation to the point of exhaustion, they would still scream themselves hoarse, rushing to ascend to heaven.

What he pursued in post-production was this kind of "bewitching" beauty, giving a seemingly simple film a magical quality and an endless aftertaste!

Additionally, in editing many of the fight scenes, Duke borrowed the kinetic editing style from The Bourne Identity. When cutting shots of strikes, leaps, and so on, the following shot would overlap slightly, making the motion appear more natural and fluid.

To produce an outstanding film, one needed highly meticulous and rigorous cinematic language from start to finish; not a single frame could be treated carelessly.

Not a single character design lacked refinement, not a single set lacked scrutiny, not a single shot lacked depth, and not a single cut lacked careful consideration—this was the foundation for making a great film.

During the fine cut, the close-quarters brawl between Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise lasted barely a minute and a half, yet Duke used a montage of 96 short and long shots, spending three whole days on it with Mike Dawson.

He really wanted to know how those directors who could edit a standard-length film in ten days, or even a week, managed to do it. And if they did, how did they guarantee the film's quality?

To truly be a good director, one didn't need to listen to critics, nor pay too much attention to whatever theories academics pushed. Duke's experiences over the years clearly told him that making films and reviewing films were entirely different things.

Audiovisuals were the most fundamental techniques in film, just as language was the foundation of an essay, and color and composition were the basics of a painting. Only through constant film analysis, shooting, and viewing could a director integrate audiovisual skills into their own intuition.

Every shot of a film was completed through a process of conception, plotting, scripting, storyboarding, and actual shooting. During filming, every shot required consideration of lighting, focal length, movement, composition, and camera placement. Sometimes, just to capture a single shot, Duke would direct the crew to adjust the lighting and set up the camera for hours on end.

And he could never accomplish all of this alone; what he relied on was a formidable and highly coordinated team.

The same applied to post-production; it was not a one-man job for the director.

While Duke was busy with post-production, the promotional work for Fury Road was also underway.

As time crossed into April, Duke and IMAX Company held a press conference at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel. Both parties announced the formal signing of an agreement to co-produce five IMAX films over a span of five years. This agreement covered films in both IMAX 2D and IMAX 3D formats, and Fury Road was the very first of them.

Duke and Richard Gelfond, the new president of IMAX Company, sang each other's praises.

"IMAX's development trajectory has been outstanding. Coupled with 3D technology, it will bring audiences an unprecedented, ultimate viewing experience," Duke stated.

Richard Gelfond expressed, "The strategic partnership between Director Rosenberg and IMAX is a crucial step. This is a further expansion achieved following our cooperation in film marketing and release strategies. We believe this collaboration will bring better box office returns for the films in the future."

At the same time, IMAX Company would vigorously promote Fury Road.

The two leading actors, Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise, also made frequent public appearances. Charlize Theron, in particular, drew even more attention with her shaved head.

Warner made a big fuss over this aspect as well, with many media outlets running reports along the lines of "Do you like the bald goddess, and do you still think she's as sexy as ever?"