Translation of the article

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/YJvpLJOdH3oK4TSX1rjyOA

Dynamic comics didn’t save money, and they didn’t stand up to restore "White Moonlight" in Tang Dynasty | Interview with the producer of "Long Song Xing"
Original Liu Bingqian Data ENT 2021-04-12

Author | Liu Bingqian

 

On March 31, "Long Song Xing" airborne Tencent Video.

 

Due to the urgency and synchronization of Shandong Satellite TV's non-prime time broadcast on the stars, the volume of the first broadcast of "Long Song Xing" was not large. However, as the fast-paced and powerful plot advances, the network broadcast data of the drama has been bullish all the way.

According to the effective broadcast of Yunhe data TV series, the ranking of "Long Song Xing" has risen from 13th to 1st on the first broadcast day, and has led the TV drama market with 1st place for 11 consecutive days, occupying the market share The rate also climbed all the way from 0.48% to 9.20%.

Just as the "Dungeon of 㮶Zhou" pointed to by the plot was just over and "The Copy of the Eagle" was opened, Digital Entertainment interviewed Yan Bei, the chief producer of the show, and talked about "Long Song Xing" as an ancient costume. Inspirational legendary drama, the difficulties and controversies from project development to landing, as the characters grow up in the plot, why they can be strong out of the circle, and how to open a real "big female lead drama".

Adapted from Xia Da's comic of the same name, "Long Song Xing", Huace Film and Television bought the adaptation rights and plans to develop it into a super boutique drama. After confirming project cooperation with Yan Yu Film and Yan Bei in 2016, project development began to enter Fast lane. After nearly five years of planning, polishing, and promotion, the current TV series "Long Song Xing" was born.

 

From Yan Bei’s point of view, I wanted to do this project at the very beginning because of its true historical background. "The original work has a spirit of spirit in it, which is rare in film and television dramas now, and it has the early Tang Dynasty. With such a true historical background, then as an audience, you will feel more immersive and empathetic."

But choosing such a Guoman IP with a large number of original fans and a established historical background for film and television is destined to be no easy task.

 

In the original book, Li Changge, the daughter of Li Jiancheng, began her escape in the "Xuanwumen Transformation". Her father, mother and five brothers were all killed. Her main task was to avenge Li Shimin. The original cartoon portrays this private grievance very clearly, but as a period drama with a real dynasty background, this setting becomes somewhat sensitive.

From comics to TV series adaptations, after all, it is a process of evolving from circle readings to mass entertainment products. Respect for history is still very important. During the period, there were also several times with Yan Bei suggesting whether to switch to an overhead drama will save a lot of trouble.

 

But Yan Bei and the screenwriter team have their own considerations, "We have five thousand years of history in China, and the Tang Dynasty is the eternal white moonlight, and it will be a dynasty that we yearn for. If we can tell a good story in the history of the Tang Dynasty The story, I believe that more young people will resonate. When they see the growth of the characters in the play, it is the reason why they can perceive the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and the Chinese civilization. If we take it away, there will be no such thing. It’s a'believe'. And if the background of the Tang Dynasty were to be suppressed without these historical figures and famous historical officials, it would appear very empty."

In order to preserve this profound background and tell such a Tang Dynasty story well, Yan Bei and his team have also done a lot of meticulous work. For example, whether it is the script stage or the cost production stage, there are authoritative history and ethnic fields. Of experts to give review guidance.

 

Therefore, when the "Long Song Xing" project was developed, many adjustments and optimizations were actually made in the script. "Audiences who have watched the play should understand that our overall perspective is still very positive, and the young teenagers have a strong sense of enthusiasm for their growth. So although it is not an ideological education film, I think when young It will have that kind of patriotic resonance."

Therefore, as an inspirational ancient drama rather than a historical drama, what "Long Song Xing" needs is not to describe history, but to convey the national and homeland spirit left by history to modern people. Even though the characters have different positions, the starting point is to seek the way to keep the whole life safe and benefit the people. From this point of view, the significance of the existence of a fictional character like Changge is sublimated, which is why the Tang Dynasty background of "Longge Xing" is preserved.

As the plot unfolds, another question that "Long Song Xing" encounters is the use of "dynamic comics" in the play.

As a "dynamic manga" that connects the plot and the protagonist's actions in the several big scenes currently broadcast in the play, it first appeared by some netizens as "too sudden" and "is the crew short of money? The big scenes are all made with animation." 

Regarding this point, Yan Bei also admitted that the pace of production innovation this time may have been a little larger, but the original intention was not to save money. In fact, it did not save money. "In fact, the comic format in the play is our In the script stage, the Hangzhou comic team was preparing for it. It was not just inserted in the later stage, and even the director had already decided which places we would present in comics before shooting."

"It's not a big scene without war. We really didn't want to save money. Doing these colorful dynamic comics actually didn't save much money. I was thinking that since we can't surpass Xia Da, can we do something else? Looking for an outlet to pay tribute to the original comics, but maybe the pace of innovation this time is a little bigger, some people can accept it, and some people cannot accept it for a while. The risk of this innovation is indeed higher than we expected." Yan Bei laughed Added.

Although "Long Song Xing" is known by its name as a major female lead drama developed from a female perspective, according to the user portraits of the drama according to Yunhe data, the female audience of the drama accounted for 75% and the male audience accounted for 25%. . This means that in addition to the inherently female audience, there are also many male audiences who are also very concerned about this series.

Yan Bei’s positioning of the show also confirms this point, “In terms of audience, we take both male and female audiences into consideration. Female audiences’ emotions are more delicate and may pay more attention to the emotions between characters; while male audiences will pay more attention to logic. And thinking. We just want to be a heroine drama in the true sense, not Mary Su who is dressed as a heroine." In order to meet this standard, in her opinion, at least two requirements must be met. .

First of all, the growth and strength of the heroine did not achieve success by opening gold fingers, nor relying on men. "Because I think the real heroine does not mean that she has to be in love all the time, or rely on the advantages of appearance and the abilities of others to achieve success. The difference between Changge's journey along the way is that she has to eat all the hardships. She has suffered the abuse and the blood she should shed. She does not regret the decision she made. There are reflections and changes in the process of growing up. I think this kind of heroine drama structure is more solid." Yan Bei said.

To say how much the heroine Li Changge in "Long Song Xing" lacks the heroine's aura, it can be seen from a tower duel between her and the hero A Shile Falcon. The heroes and heroines of two camps, when the two armies confronted each other, shot each other with arrows, and the heroine was shot by the hero. Because in the current sense of tension with this different position, "swordsmanship" is more in line with the character's position than "to release water because of love", and it also makes the hostess who does not open the perspective of God more three-dimensional. If not, it will fall into the halo of the heroine Mary Su again.

Secondly, the growth of the heroine must be indispensable to the interaction with the surrounding characters. In other words, the reason why the heroine can stand, the group portrait must be delicate and successful. Yan Bei said, “If the characters in the original comics are skeletons, then when we do the show, we fill up the flesh and blood of each character.”

For example, in the Chaotang drama, the most popular among netizens is the sparkling rivalry between Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Wei Zheng composed of "Chaotang F4". Du Ruhui, who is always rigorous, always prepares for the worst in case of trouble, and always keeps his mouth open to "kill and kill" to Changge; Fang Xuanling is a smiling tiger, smiling on the surface, keeping a long song in his heart; the old prince washes the horse Wei Zhengzi Since joining Li Shimin, he has been wandering between admonition and "fear" every day...

Each of these famous historical ministers in the play has their own stand and each has their own personality, but their main thrust is the same, which is to rejuvenate the Tang Dynasty. If you just talk about "good or bad", you lose the charm of the characters.

As the protagonist of the long song, the growth along the way is inseparable from the infection of these group portraits, and gradually found the way he wanted to find. Every place she went, every person she met, and every experience she gained was spread out like a script, and connected in series to outline the arc of the character's growth.

From this point of view, "Long Song Xing" is a leading female lead drama, and even a leading female lead drama set off by group portraits. The screenwriter uses the eyes of the long song and the growth of the long song to let the audience see the reason why the flourishing Tang Dynasty has become The reason for the prosperity of Tang Dynasty. "Only when everyone is full of flesh and blood, will you believe it enthusiastically, and only when you believe it will you be touched." Yan Bei said.

Of course, the reason why a drama can become a hit is the result of the concerted efforts of everyone involved in the production of the project. Yan Bei revealed that in the past few years of project development, Zhao Yifang, the chief producer of the project and the president of Huace Film and Television, has given full trust and support. For the chief producer, with this trust and support, the easiest and most difficult thing to achieve is to put everyone in the right place.

Director Zhu Ruibin is the one and only candidate that was decided a year and a half before the launch of "Long Song Xing", and the director himself spent at least 8 months on this project from preparation, scene surveying to shooting. Why must Zhu Ruibin be "deadly"? Yan Bei said, "Because I was very moved when I got the first draft of the script. I think its story rhythm and character characteristics are very strong, and the only thing that needs to be strengthened in the later stage is emotion. Director Zhu is really emotional when shooting. Powerful, like the previous masterpieces "Sweet Honey as Ashes as Frost" and "Snow Pear Stewed in Rock Sugar", he is very good at capturing the delicate emotions between the characters and enlarging them. So even if he knew that his schedule was scheduled to 2022 at that time Years later, I must also find him."

As for the actors, Di Lieba, because of her exotic appearance, actually felt that she might not be able to act well in traditional costumes at the beginning. "I asked her to read the comics, because in the original book Li Changge is a girl of Huihe descent, and she has a mole under the corner of her eye, so there is no need to draw up later. This is Li Changge. In addition, this character has grown up all the way. After going through a very complicated mental journey, there are five or six levels of change in the middle, and a girl who is too young may not be able to control it. In the end, Reba was moved by such a character, and recognized her growth from the heart, and agreed to play the role. 

 When the series first aired, controversy arose. Some people said that the two mustaches on Dilraba's forehead were not good-looking, and others said that Wu Lei looked too young. In this regard, Yan Bei said, “I still urge everyone to calm down and watch the show. We completely restore the style of Reba to the style in the comics. This is a respect and tribute. Although Wu Lei has not acted this way before. Similar to the role of a tough guy on the prairie, but he fits well with Ashley Falcon. And from the perspective of acting skills, watching his performance this time has completely escaped the original feeling of Xiao Feiliu. We. The actors should be given the opportunity to grow with the new role."

As for the choice of the second female Zhao Lusi, the crew can completely describe it as "dig to treasure". "When I found her, "The Rumored Chen Qianqian" had not yet been broadcast, so Ruth was not as popular as it is now. At that time, her agency had hesitated to get the script because she had never played the second female second (in the past). They were worried about the impact on her overall planning. But Ruth decided to take it after reading the script, because the role of Li Leyan is very complete in terms of personal growth and emotion. She likes it very much. This role. " Yan Bei revealed to Shuyu.

The crew even specially hired etiquette teachers, because Changge has both men's and women's costumes in the play, such as how she bows when she shows people in menswear and how she bows when she shows people in women's clothing. The movements and details are exquisite.

Today, when the "genuine" heroine drama has not become popular for a long time, the popularity of "Long Song Xing" is not surprising. For such an ancient costume inspirational legendary drama with a high degree of difficulty, the crew has not only its own persistence in the process of polishing, but also the changes that have to be made. Judging from the ever-increasing broadcasting performance and the increasing enthusiasm of the audience to follow the drama, "Long Song Xing" has hit the audience's demand for watching the drama.

Holy shit that was long! It’s Google translated so so some words might be weird and out of place 

 4everfun:

Thank you Linh for translating. It is indeed a good read!

Np! :) 

 CAviews1309:

This was awesome to read. Explains alot. Indeed so much negativity in the beginning but at the end so many have bowed down to congratulate their hard work portraying these characters