Sohu Entertainment Special Article (Hutu Tu / Text)
When Zhao Lusi, Hou Minghao, and Guan Xiaotong appeared in a period drama, the audience was slightly surprised, "The current period dramas are so 'young'?" ”
Period dramas, the general understanding of them by industry insiders refers to works that occurred from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the reform and opening up period, containing elements such as spy wars, revolutionary wars, great changes of the times, and the Republic of China.
In the past, such works were often labeled by netizens as "obscure", "boring", "aging" and other heavy labels due to the background of the times, the cast, the creation of themes and other issues.
Nowadays, with more and more young actors entering the game and the creative perspective is younger, the audience of this type of theme is no longer only middle-aged and elderly, but more and more young people are pouring in.
Fox Factory Entertainment Observation chatted with several peers in the industry about this phenomenon and found that their feelings were generally the same, that is, the current period drama is so "young".
The constant influx of "young artists"
Zhao Lusi, Guan Xiaotong, Hou Minghao in "Hutong", Lin Yi and Tan Songyun were invited in "Our Decade"... In terms of cast, period dramas have accelerated the trend of "youthfulness", which is obvious to the public.
Director Liu Chang told Sohu Entertainment Observation that this is determined by market supply and demand and is the trend of the times. He admits that not only that, but most of the themes in the market are now going for the "younger" trend.
Artist coordinator Rigy gave a similar answer. He said that his current agency Maritime Agency has already submitted information on its young artists to the period drama crew on a large scale.
"Some group news circulating in the market now, in addition to sweet pet short dramas, is that period dramas will see more. It can be said that it occupies at least half of all the subject matter. ”
Artist agent Xiaohai also affirmed this statement. "In the past, our young artists (18-25 years old), especially idol-type artists, were not very interested in serious works such as period dramas. But now, many young artists have begun to take the initiative to inquire about the dynamics in this regard. ”
"The track of period dramas is currently relatively important for young artists." Xiaohai said.
And its importance is mainly reflected in two levels. One is to ensure that some waist and tail artists who can't receive drama and don't have much attention have dramas to film; The other is the transformation of head artists visible to the public eye.
At present, the top stream who are actively pouring into this track, from Wang Yibo and Li Xian, to post-00s actors Yi Yangqianxi , Hu Xianxu and others, period dramas are relatively important to their "professional resume".
Ryky explained the importance of period dramas to them from another dimension.
"When many head artists join this track, they often choose to reduce their salary. Of course, this premise depends on the creative team and the volume of the work. ”
And this kind of theme is relatively strict for the casting requirements of young artists.
Xiaohai said that when selecting young artists for this kind of theme, in addition to selecting actors in past works, paying attention to the personal image, commercial value and role matching of actors, whether the actors have excellent cultural literacy and whether they are willing to spend time to understand the historical background are all key objects of assessment.
When Zhao Liying was filming "Happiness to Ten Thousand Homes", she went to the countryside early to experience life before the crew started; When Li Qin was filming "White Deer Plain", he also followed the crew to Lantian in Shaanxi for 8 months.
Not to mention the period drama "professional household" Yin Tao, who has grown up with period dramas in recent years and is gradually recognized by young audiences...
("White Deer Plain" Li Qin)
The importance of period dramas for young artists is perceived by the market; Young artists are more like "accelerators" for period dramas.
Regardless of the final presentation effect, it is certain that their arrival has accelerated the pace of "youthfulness" of period dramas and established the important position of this genre in the market.
Creating "Rejuvenation"
If young artists have accelerated the development trend of "youthfulness" of period dramas, it is explicit; Then the "youthfulness" of this kind of subject matter at the creative level is euphemistic and even differentiated.
The broadcast of a number of period tribute dramas such as "Hutong" and "Our Decade" let the public see the youthful performance of such themes in the market. Fang Fang, the distribution manager of TV series, said that their youthful expression is relatively vague, mainly reflected in the narrative perspective, material selection, and even value transmission.
For example, "Hutong" tells the story of three women in three different eras, who became the director of the neighborhood committee from a flat-headed ordinary person. Women, civilian perspectives, small character shaping, and the core values of "letting people live a happy life" conveyed in the series are common throughout the ages.
The same is true of Our Decade. Through 11 unit stories, the play creates a group of people in the new era, which is also fundamentally different from traditional period dramas.
In the market, another type of period drama with a clear trend of youthfulness starts with a batch of new themes that have gradually poured into the track in the past two years. "Set Sail: When the Wind Rises" directed by Liu Chang is one, and "Light" starring Zhang Xincheng and Cai Wenjing is one.
Looking ahead, "Blood Together" starring Yi Yangqianxi and Huang Zitao, and another work "Blood Youth" starring Huang Zitao all belong to the category of such works.
The biggest difference between them and period tribute dramas is that they add more popular elements to the dimension of work creation. For example, the emotional expression of the male and female protagonists in "Light" is more idolized, the suspense elements and lily CP loved by the audience in "Double Mirror", including the setting of the two male protagonists in "Blood Together", and inspirational, business warfare, blood and other elements in "Set Sail: When the Wind Rises".
"The quality of these genre dramas is often mixed, but a common trend is that younger audiences are relatively fond of it. Because they have a very great particularity compared to traditional period dramas. Fang Fang said.
And this "particularity" has also been recognized by Liu Chang. He confessed that when he was filming "Set Sail: When the Wind Rises", others asked him what subject he was shooting? He replied that it is a 90s theme that contains many elements such as business war, inspiration, blood, and youth.
In Liu Chang's eyes, period dramas are a genre that is not easy to define.
However, for the performance of such themes in the current market, we can call it "period drama +", that is, superimposing new elements within the scope of period drama creation.
"Any subject matter should have the right to develop in the direction of diversification, otherwise the market will be a stagnant pool." Fang Fang said.
The trend that is not fluid and innovative in the genre will eventually be closely related to loneliness and regression - this is what traditional period dramas have taught us in those years.
Can period dramas still "grow" again?
After experiencing high-speed and involutional development, everything must not escape the "troubles of growth". This is the case with period dramas.
At present, it is facing two "troubles".
First, it is mainly the problem of "whether young artists are a plus" faced by such themes after the crazy influx of young artists into this track.
In "Alley", Zhao Lusi's Korean-style acting skills, line level and other issues were questioned by some netizens; And not long ago, her performance in "Brilliant Star" was also praised by fans as "95 Flowers Acting Responsibility".
And this problem, Zhou Ye and Zhou Dongyu also appeared when they starred in "Ah Cradle" and "Sparrow" respectively.
Is it a good phenomenon for young artists, especially the top streamers, to join the period drama track? Vary. After all, there are also actors who have won a wave of favor with this kind of theme.
The new generation of actor Zhang Wanyi is to obtain more resources with his superb performance in this genre. At present, his "Sauvignon Blanc" with Yang Zi has attracted much attention from the market.
The second problem faced by this type of subject matter is the "lack of sense of age" encountered by the "youthfulness" of some works.
Liu Chang said that the atmosphere of period dramas is indeed difficult to make. He recalled that when he was filming the drama "Set Sail: When the Wind Rises", the use of special effects shots alone in the play exceeded that of costume dramas. The reason is that part of the sense of age can no longer be restored by relying on "scenery", and can only rely on special effects.
As for the makeup of some overly clean and neat actors in other dramas, the use of filters that soften and idolize is actually a minus in the creative techniques of period dramas.
Fang Fang said that a necessary condition for the creation of period dramas is authenticity. This is mainly influenced by the background of his era and the plot of the story. Therefore, to some extent, this type of subject matter is also a realistic theme.
There are derogatory connotations, and naturally there are awards. One of the most significant trends is that this type of theme has begun to receive continuous attention from brands and major platforms.
"Now period dramas, especially head works, are already a relatively sellable category among major genres."
Fang Fang explained that in the past, because the theme of the drama was too serious, and they were all Mesozoic actors, they did not have the upper hand in advertising investment and distribution, and even many works were repeatedly backlogged.
For example, he said that "Braveheart 2", which was completed in 2018, will not be broadcast on video websites until 2021; "Xuanwumen", which was completed in 2017, is still rotating in the hands of major platforms.
"Now is the era when video sites dominate the discourse. Video websites are under pressure to make profits, so in the type of subject matter purchased, they also give preference to works with traffic artists or young themes. ”
A small surprise is that during the broadcast of "Hutong", some netizens have calculated that the advertisement has attracted 54 investors.
This data is not to mention that it is the leader in the period drama genre, even if it is placed in a number of TV series broadcast at the same time this year, the show's investment performance is not inferior.
Fang Fang said that when any subject matter has "easy to sell" and "difficult to sell", the root of the problem of course depends on the quality of the work.
But it is undeniable that with the continuous influx of head artists and top production teams on the track, the importance of such themes to the market is obvious.
According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 10 period dramas to be broadcast in the market. There are not only "old-school" directors such as Liu Jiacheng and Liu Jiang who continue to cultivate on the track, but there is also an influx of young, victorious generals from other tracks.
For example, Xiao Zhan's "The Sea in the Dream", the behind-the-scenes operator is Yang Xiaopei, the maker of "ancient puppet dramas", and Yang Xia, the producer of "Chen Qingling".
The track of period dramas is making great strides in a more youthful and diversified direction. We are looking forward to the outbreak of the next "Age of Awakening", and at the same time, we can't wait to see the next "fresh theme".
(The Chinese side is a pseudonym.)