《Tian Xingjian》Create an author-style "unique work"

The recent hit - Tian Xingjian - is very popular. Many viewers not only follow episode after episode, but are also deeply curious about its plot and characters.There is no doubt that - Tian Xingjian - creating an author-style "unique work" has become a topic of great concern to everyone.Therefore, in order to let the audience have a more comprehensive understanding of this TV series, the editor has compiled the following relevant content for your reference.

The drama market in May suddenly became lively.At the beginning of the month, there was 《 Freshman 》 My Altay 《 which sparked a heated discussion, and now there is 》 Qing Yu Nian 2 《 which is flooding social media platforms.And in this, Tian Xingjian found another way.

》Tian Xingjian《written by Bai Yicong and directed by Lou Jian and Wei Lizhou, tells the story of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, facing the rapid changes of the times, the thinking, choices, transformation and growth of all living beings in society, as well as the commonThe spirit and ideal of saving the country.Just like the origin of the title of the play“Zhouyi”“Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman strives to constantly strive for self-improvement”.

This is a work whose genre is difficult to define. Elements such as martial arts, legend, adventure, and detective work are all reflected in it.Moreover, it combines the love between children and the feelings of family and country, making it both dramatic and humanistic.

Poisonous Eyes chatted with Tian Xingjian's co-producer, executive producer, screenwriter Bai Yicong and one of the directors Wei Lizhou, and asked them to share the process, methods and relevant market opinions of creating era group portraits.

“The Eight Parts of Demi-Gods”Style Group Portraits

For Bai Yicong, creating Tian Xingjian has been a thought for more than ten years.When he was still studying at the Central Academy of Drama, he was influenced by popular American dramas and became interested in fast-paced, strong plot, and high-density narrative methods.

A few years before graduation, with the screenwriter Hu Jun's version of Tianlong Babu, he began to think about creating his own group drama.Later, Bai Yicong accidentally read Mr. You Fengwei's short story "Shimen Night Talk". He admired the language art of bandits persuading good women and the changes in the mood of the related characters, and wanted to try similar dramatic expression techniques.

At this point, a fast-paced group drama with multiple gangs and reversal of character relationships gradually formed in his mind.Taking into account the adaptability of the historical background, the scene of the imperial hawks and the alliance instigating each other to rebel emerges in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.This scene is also an important plot in the later play.

The story framework was set up, and Bai Yicong created a folder with the same name as the solar terms on one day - Mang Zhong -. In his free time, Bai Yicong conceived the characters and the stories that happened to them in his mind, until - Three Body -In the later stages of production, the content really became richer, and the plot of the play "Tian Xingjian" also started from "Mang Zhong".

In Bai Yicong's understanding, characters are the most critical and complex part of a group portrait scene, and they need to be clearly prioritized.Bai Yicong followed the rules of drama creation and the real background of the times, and established the character strategy of leading the male and female protagonists, supplemented by various supporting roles, and positioned the identities of the three male protagonists as guards, swordsmen and detectives.Connecting temples, rivers, lakes and markets, using individuals to reflect groups, forms the foundation of group drama.

Although their identities and classes are different, under the impact of the torrent of history, the three people all have a common predicament, which forms the unity of the group portraits.

“The main method I use is contrast. Each person’s growth and original worldview deviate from each other, that is, the beliefs they each adhere to are actually vulnerable, and all behaviors are contrary to what they see.”

The bodyguard Ilgenjueluo Muqing (played by Qin Junjie), nicknamed Men Sandao, was a confidant of the late emperor. He was imprisoned for 12 years for his loyalty to the late emperor and for safeguarding the Reform Party. But now he was released because of the investigation of new forces..During the inspection process, he became more and more aware of the turbulent situation in the country, and gradually became clear about the path he wanted to take.

Zhuo Bufan, a foreign swordsman, is the head of the Rongtian Sword Sect of Jianghu sect. He has the ability, sense of responsibility and belief in martial arts of a traditional martial arts master, and he wants to glorify the sect.However, he was born at the wrong time, and the emergence of firearms made it difficult for him to realize his ambition in martial arts.

Wang Jialuo (played by Pang Hanchen) is a county police officer, also known as Wang Dibao.He studied hard but was dismissed from the imperial examination. After becoming a policeman, he still maintained his tenacity, but also had some problems. He did not know how to adapt and could not adapt to changes.

The three people intersect because of the loss of the Wenyuan Pavilion - the secret treasure of Jingtan - the treasure map. This also indicates the tone of the whole play: the crisis encountered by the court will inevitably affect the fate of all classes.

At the same time, Tian Xingjian exaggerated the contrast between the heroine and the supporting role through different degrees of ink.For example, Wu Lanshan, as the last generation of Princess who returned from studying abroad, has seen new ideas and a more diverse world, and has a country that is not inferior to men, but she still cannot avoid an arranged marriage; another example is that Tang Yu, a disciple of the Rongtian Sword Sect, accepted the alliance.He had new ideas and just wanted to start a career, but he was assassinated in the forest in the blink of an eye.

The creation of these characters is also symbolic. If Wu Lanshan's experience represents the awakening of women who have been coerced, then Tang Yu's encounters reflect the social thoughts of the time. Many new trends of thought were just emerging, but were quickly strangled in the cradle..

“Tian Xingjian》is not a pure treasure-hunting story, it is about breaking conventions and getting rid of hypocrisy. Under the rule of thousands of years of feudal dynasty, it is very difficult to break the conventions.The late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China were a tragic era. For decades after the story in the play happened, the country was in turmoil.Therefore, I also want to use this drama to express the powerlessness of small people under the torrent of the times.”Bai Yicong said.

“Era road movie”

The character arc that carries the group portrait requires a large enough scene and plot capacity.Bai Yicong said bluntly, "Tian Xingjian" is like a "road movie".The protagonist group followed the suspenseful main line of treasure hunting and traveled through Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shanxi, Fujian and other places. The footprints were from north to south and from east to west. The scenes were more in line with the context and visual effects in terms of plot advancement and visual effects.theme.

At the same time, in order to further enhance the drama of the story, Bai Yicong and his team did more work on the main line structure and buried branch lines.

On the one hand, the main line structure contains cases within cases, which progress layer by layer with constant reversals, and are connected with the branch lines to jointly sublimate the theme.At first, everyone stood on their own sides, and internal struggles continued. Later, when facing the Japanese and Europeans, everyone had to unite and share the same hatred.

On the other hand, the characters have different emotional dilemmas. For example, Mu Qing and Wu Lanshan are in love and cannot stay together, Zhuo Bufan and Huo Qin are trapped in ethics, and Wang Jialuo and the Japanese female spy Lin Jingjing are entangled and entangled. They are all flesh and blood.Ordinary people with desires.Each person's story is independent and in line with the conception and style of all living beings.

This kind of treatment is relatively rare, especially in period dramas in recent years. The story context is mostly a single city or three or four cities, and the core protagonists are mostly a group of characters.And - Tian Xingjian - has broadened the relevant dimensions several times, and the large format also seems a bit heavy. Compared with other dramas, each has its own style and advantages.

The rich scenes and characters obviously place high demands on the production. Bai Yicong said that he and his team consulted a large amount of information and adopted realistic creative techniques, hoping to restore the times in every detail as much as possible.

On the scene, according to the real characteristic buildings of various places, Beijing's courtyard houses, Tianjin and Shanghai's bungalows, Shanxi's cave dwellings and Fujian's earth buildings are presented.Landmark buildings were restored with surviving cultural relics or with reference to surviving photos, calligraphy and painting materials. For example, the plaque of the Capital University Hall was reproduced 1:1.

In terms of character modeling, the style follows the style of the times, supplemented by adjustments to the character's personality, identity and image texture.Men's clothing mainly includes banner mandarin jackets, while women's clothing includes Western-style dresses, Chinese-style jackets, school uniforms, etc., showing that women pay more attention to appearance, while men pay more attention to status.In the play, the Rongtian Sword Sect is a declining Jianghu sect in a remote area, formed by refugee orphans.Their clothes are more exotic and shabby.

The make-up and hair are also based on the standard of being realistic and suitable for the character. When Wu Lanshan wears Manchu formal clothes, she will wear a distinctive flower-petal lip. The official class will add knitted fabric to the braid to make it thicker and uniform.Designed according to historical records.There are other sects of the Rongtian Sword Sect, and the crew specially purchased black-colored foundation to deepen the character's skin color and create a sun-kissed look.

In addition to striving to restore the hardware as much as possible, Tian Xingjian also put a lot of effort into the software.In order to show the cultural scene at that time, the main creator designed the intangible cultural heritage shadow puppet show, invited professionals to use traditional techniques to produce it, and also incorporated the ancient traditional opera - string puppet show.

“We really invited the inheritors of Quanzhou Puppetry Troupe to present intangible cultural heritage shadow puppetry and hanging silk puppets in the play, which was really exciting.”Bai Yicong said.

Complete a novel with attitude - a unique work -

The story is basically settled, production is proceeding in an orderly manner, and the next actual shooting is the most critical highlight.Only if this link is of high quality can the concept of the series be truly accepted and perceived by the audience.

According to Wei Lizhou's recollection, he saw the script - Tian Xingjian - in September 2021, and was immediately deeply attracted by the characters and plot tension.In October of the same year, the main creators held a preliminary meeting to put project development on the agenda.

Then, under the leadership of Bai Yicong, the entire project team conducted four script readings. Wei Lizhou admitted frankly that this was the most serious and meticulous reading process he had ever participated in.After careful discussion, the two directors determined the image style of Tian Xingjian, which is a serious epic feeling and a fast-paced impact, with a sense of contrast between one heavy and one light, which is consistent with Bai Yicong's strategy of character creation.And together.

In order to present an epic feel, the main creator used oil painting effects in the use of light and shadow to render the texture of the picture, which is one of the aesthetic features of the series.In addition, in terms of actor invitations, the wonderful performances of veteran actors such as Li Liqun, Liu Peiqi, and Liu Yajin further solidified the epic feel in terms of the temperament and interaction of the characters.

In order to highlight the impact, the two people performed special treatment in the fighting scene.In terms of action, the actions are designed according to the identity of the characters. Mu Qing is in the imperial court, and his moves are orthodox, similar to military boxing; Zhuo Bufan is in the Jianghu, and is a bit fancy; Wong Jialuo became a monk halfway, and his moves are messy; in terms of filming, the series did not use the usual martial arts techniques in the past.Instead of slow-motion, the time is shortened to make the action as crisp and clear as possible.

Talking about the creation of specific plot segments, Wei Lizhou also said that filming Tian Xingjian was like a process of learning history. Bai Yicong would share with them the background story of many details of the script to help the director find ideas.Even a small prop may have a deep meaning behind it.The main creator also held a special transportation seminar. Since there are many driving scenes in the play, the main creator systematically studied the speed of trains, cars, carriages and other means of transportation at that time, and then designed the lighting according to the speed of the vehicles.

In addition, the OP of each episode of "Tian Xingjian" also uses documentary-like black and white images to explain the current social situation at that time.Bai Yicong revealed that the main creator has produced about 7 or 8 sets of OPs. These OPs are composed of 10% real image data and 90% new content shot according to documentary techniques, striving to maximize the display of real history, different from the more gorgeous ones in the past.The context of romantic Qing palace drama.

Era and group portraits. In fact, even if they are separated, the two words are very big themes on their own, not to mention that when added together, it is even more difficult.Judging from the broadcast situation, "Tian Xingjian" has been completed well, but from the perspective of input-output ratio, the production of "Tian Xingjian" may be a bit thankless.

“Tian Xingjian-- is an orphan work. As an original script, it has no IP popularity foundation, and the subject matter is also very popular and rare. It is not easy to generate topicality and market stickiness quickly. Our original expectations were not high., now that it can be produced and broadcast smoothly, I am very grateful to the partners.”Bai Yicong said.

But - orphan products - also have the value of - orphan products, and the market needs such attempts.After all, with more diverse works, the overall upper limit of the market will increase.

《Tian Xingjian》 is well-made, has a compact storyline, and the pictures are exquisite and delicate, bringing us all an excellent movie-watching experience. I believe that through the editor's detailed explanation, everyone will be satisfied with what《Tian Xingjian》 createdI have a deeper understanding of this author's "orphan work". If you want to know more about it, just follow the line class.