On the night of the 15th, how many people chased "The Three-Body Problem" like us?
I don't remember how long I haven't seen such a grand national drama, open the circle of friends, basically the screen is full of "three-body three-body three-body", all kinds of stills, screenshots, small compositions have come.
But it's normal.
After all, this is "The Three-Body Problem".
I still remember watching the trailer of the Tencent version of "The Three-Body Problem" before, there was a very interesting picture, the subtitles on the screen were saying "don't answer", and the barrage also scrambled to appear "Don't change the magic!" Don't change it! Don't change it! ”
From "don't adapt" to "don't change magically", the public is really suffering from the film and television adaptation of "The Three-Body Problem" for a long time.
However, if you look at this drama with a "judgment" mentality, it may also be really fragrant.
After watching the first four episodes of the premiere, our biggest feeling is that this drama has withstood it, and the goose wave has also withstood it.
It's actually a little exciting to write here. We all know that "The Three-Body Problem" is difficult to shoot, and I am afraid that "The Three-Body Problem" will be smashed, but someone always has to take the first step.
Since the first announcement of "The Three-Body Problem" in 2015, we have waited too long and too long to finally wait for "The Three-Body Problem" on the screen.
Although it cannot be said to be perfect, it can definitely be said that the answer sheet handed over by Tencent is a work above the passing line. You can feel the creator's respect for the original work and the audience.
This group of people also proved that the biggest obstacle to wanting to make "The Three-Body Problem" is not technology, but "arrogance", with the sincerity to treat a work sincerely, where will the result be bad?
What is good about Tencent's version of "The Three-Body Problem"?
First of all, there must be no magic change.
If you compare the content of the original book and the TV series, you will find that the Tencent version of "The Three-Body Problem" is basically filmed according to the original book.
Like the original, the story begins in Beijing in 2007.
Scientist Yang Dong committed suicide, leaving behind the last words that "physics does not exist".
Then nanoscientist Wang Miao was invited by the military to the Joint Operations Center, which led to the investigation of a series of bizarre suicides of scientists, a mysterious organization called "Scientific Frontier", and the larger secret behind it.
There is no special bloody, or action, or showy part, and there is no drastic deletion of a certain part of the plot in order to speed up the pace.
The plot is quite restored to the original work, including the lines in the book are very original, and a considerable part of them are retained; The changes made based on the original work are mainly based on the principle of film and television and lowering the threshold for viewing movies.
For example, the part involving physics knowledge and the nanomaterials studied by Wang Miao has been explained more clearly through the rivalry between Wang Miao and Shi Qiang to help the audience understand.
One detail that I particularly like is after Ding Yi explains a large paragraph about the "boundaries of science" that is rather obscure.
Shi Qiang suddenly said:
This sentence is not in the original book, but it is indeed what I thought in my heart as a liberal arts student when I read the original book.
Thanks for my mouth!
There are actually quite a few details like this in the play. Just the right gag neutralizes the overall overly cold atmosphere, but without being overwhelmed.
I remember watching the behind-the-scenes documentary of "The Three-Body Problem" before, and director Yang Lei mentioned that he was a fan of the original work, and many actors and staff were inseparable from the original work everywhere on the set.
Including inviting Da Liu himself as a consultant, changing several versions of the script to determine the final creative ideas, trying to respect the original and fit the original work, so the look and feel presented is indeed very comfortable and smooth.
Of course, in the adaptation of film and television dramas, respecting the original work is the most basic thing, but at least here, we see a professional and sincere creative attitude that film and television creators should have.
In the overall adaptation idea, one point that I especially want to affirm is the "realistic style" of the whole play.
The year 2007, where the opening chapter, is basically a restoration of Beijing on the eve of the Olympics. Residential buildings, streets, and the news broadcast on TV all give people a very clear sense of the times.
Despite being in a fictional time and space, all the details still give a sense of life that strives to be realistic and close to reality.
For example, Shi Qiang's old-fashioned Nokia mobile phone and snake games.
Ye Wenjie's home is exactly what the old house looks like in our memories.
Turn on the TV and you're playing cartoons that you're very familiar with.
Ingenuity and "Easter eggs" such as these are everywhere. There is also a very interesting point, which is buried in the opening credits of each episode.
The introduction at the beginning of each episode is different, like a small teaser for the highlights of each episode. For example, the first episode goes from the macroscopic universe to microscopic matter, and the plot of this episode revolves around unknown civilizations and basic physics.
The second episode talks about the chaos of physical laws, and at the beginning shows water droplets in different states.
The way to cut from the title to the feature film is very clever, the water drops drip into Ding Yi's cup, and the plot begins.
The third episode is a cold-colored ghost countdown, which also indicates the increased tension of the plot.
Later, I checked on the Internet, and under the guidance of many Leeuwenhoek netizens, I found more details.
For example, in the third episode, when Wang Miao was on the verge of collapse, "Zhizi Road" appeared on the street sign.
And this point, it's really a detail. Although it is only an empty shot that passes by, there is also a serious design.
In order to restore "The Three-Body Problem", the crew built more than 200 scenes. However, when it comes to some important scientific scenes, the scenes are too large and complex, and it is difficult to restore them by building.
In fact, they can choose a simpler way, fool around and set up a simple scene, or just use special effects to do it.
But in the end, I chose the most stupid method, to ask, to explain, to find ways to impress scientific research institutions, and get their support.
In the end, all we see in the play are real science scenes.
There are some places that really can't be filmed, such as the scene of the high-energy particle accelerator room, which involves sensitive sites, so I found Tencent's server room in the Tianjin data center as an alternative.
In addition to the embodied space, in the span of time and space, the series has also made a clear division.
There are not many parts related to the seventies in the first four episodes, but in just a few flashback shots, you can also feel the intention of the setting.
Every scene, every detail, will make people feel immersed. Everything can quickly pull you back to that particular era, to that particular situation.
These visible places are used with heart, and where they are not visible, they can also feel the sincerity of the main creator.
For example, the bark of Yang Dong's last words before his death, the printing paper distributed at the combat meeting, etc., are actually details that are difficult to notice, but the crew has also implemented them.
In film and television dramas, in fact, the environment itself is the "rival actor" of the character. The interaction between the characters and the environment also carries the amount of information of the play itself to a large extent.
The environment creates a kind of field.
With a real environment, you can see real people and let the audience have a sense of substitution.
Only when shooting in a real scientific venue can you feel the science in the story, understand the professional and rigorous spirit of scientists, and thus understand that this is a group of people who can end their lives for the sake of the destruction of scientific ideals. It is also through this sense of substance laid out at the beginning of "The Three-Body Problem" that the story is permeated with a permeable sense of oppression: it is obviously the Beijing we remember, but everything seems to be different. The clouds of war lurk in the invisible and silent place, and the "accident" of human destiny is coming to an end. The countdown begins.
You may also feel strange, why should a science fiction drama emphasize the style of realism?
This goes back to The Three-Body Problem itself.
As a science fiction work, "The Three-Body Problem" is closely related to reality.
There is a line in the original book, "Any detached thought will fall to the ground, and the gravitational pull of reality is too heavy." ”
"The Three-Body Problem" is a combination of the two.
You can read about the pinnacle of imagination, detached thoughts, great ideas about the universe; At the same time, the gravitational pull of reality is everywhere. Everything comes from meticulous logical deduction, reasonable scientific associations and structures, and also relies on the author's care for society and deep understanding of reality.
In particular, "Three-Body 1: Once Upon a Time on Earth", in the trilogy, this one is recognized as the most realistic.
In this story, the development of history and the construction of the three-body civilization are interconnected and mirror images of each other. The world of the three-body problem and the civilization of the three-body body it tells also allows us to re-understand the world today from another sci-fi perspective.
"The Three-Body Problem" is a work that shines into reality.
Reality is its root, so it must have a landed, believable feeling.
Next, let's talk about casting, which is also the part that everyone cares about.
I remember that before the series aired, many people's concern was that these actors were familiar faces on the screen, and it seemed that it was difficult to have any surprises.
But after watching the play, I found that the professional performance of these actors is enough to make the audience forget their existing image and feel their temperament fit with "The Three-Body Problem".
Zhang Luyi himself is a very bookish actor, no matter the appearance and temperament are very in line with the introverted physicist Wang Miao.
There is a temperament of alienation in him, a sense of loneliness and meaninglessness akin to existentialism.
When he holds the camera at Yang Dong, you can see at a glance that he is the same kind of person as Yang Dong in the camera, and they are likely to go to the same fate.
There is also a small detail here, the camera in Wang Miao's hand is indeed the Leica M2 in the original work, and the focusing method is also correct
Perhaps it is this subtle and ineffable temperament that makes Zhang Luyi and other actors' rivalry scenes seem quite sparkling. For example, in the famous scene at the beginning, the line about "accident" between him and General Chang Weisi, played by Lin Yongjian. When I read the original book many years ago, I was shocked by this line, and I have always been curious about what kind of way it would be if I wanted to act? The treatment of the drama version is very restrained and decent. The scene itself has a simple and solemn sense of technology, and the two stand in the empty corridor, always with only one side of the light shining on half of their faces. The camera is like flowing water, advancing little by little towards the face. It seems to be quiet, but in fact, there is an undercurrent, silent tension, hidden under the actor's calm interpretation.
It was not until the end, when General Chang's words came to an abrupt end, that the camera suddenly became a distant scene, which also created a sense of distance like a rest.
What is even more surprising is the chemical reaction between Zhang Luyi and Yu Hewei.
Yu Hewei's Shi Qiang has a very positive taste, and he has a sense of existence in the first scene.
Shrewd, bold, at first glance mixed, in fact, there is a sense of coarse and fine.
He is the most relaxed person in the whole drama, which neutralizes the tension on Wang Miao's body well.
At the beginning of the story, suppose Shi Qiang is a hidden "hunter". Wang Miao is the prey targeted by the boundaries of science. There is a strong contradiction and symbiosis buried in these two people. They need each other and are destined to be companions.
Wang Miao needs the fire on Shi Qiang's body, that strong sense of strength and vitality.
This drama also needs a person like Shi Qiang to dissolve the overly metaphysical philosophical atmosphere, so that you can still laugh and catch your breath from time to time.
Ye Wenjie did not have many scenes in the first four episodes, mainly in the elderly version played by Chen Jin. But in the limited space, that sense of contradiction has been filled.
She is an ordinary and cordial grandmother next door, an elegant aging intellectual, and at the same time, seems to be an emotionless observer and judge.
Her attitude towards the children next door and towards her junior Wang Miao is kind-hearted and can't fault her.
But when talking about the death of his daughter, the quiet indifference, numbness, sadness and rationality, all kinds of gloomy and strong emotions, are enough to highlight the complex background of this character. This is also the power of Chen Jin: obviously he looks very quiet, very calm, and seems that every look has a play, and every line hides the thickness and hidden pain of time.
In some flashback shots, the young Ye Wenjie played by Wang Ziwen will cut to the old Ye Wenjie in the next second. Including the same frame shot of the first episode, it is also very catchy.
You will find that the two actors do have a lot of similarities.
They are all the kind of actors who look gentle but are actually very powerful inside, and they all have that ruthlessness in their bones.
Although only four episodes have been broadcast so far, I still have a lot of expectations for how to shoot the follow-up plot. For example, the young version of Ye Wenjie played by Wang Ziwen, and, there may also be parts of the "Three-Body Problem" game that many people care about. This will undoubtedly be one of the most challenging aspects of The Three-Body 1 in terms of special effects. At least judging from the trailer released so far, the CG effect of the game is still relatively beyond expectations. The scene of the dehydrated man in the original book is immersed, which has a texture that is both grand and creepy.
Of course, although it is a lot of exaggeration, the Tencent version of "The Three-Body Problem" is certainly not perfect.
But at this stage, it is difficult for us to expect a 100-point adaptation of "The Three-Body Problem".
After all, China's science fiction film and television dramas were still in their infancy. Looking at the world, the science fiction theme is one of the most difficult genres to overcome. To adapt a science fiction work, there are always more questions than answers: how to explain a logical and rigorous scientific idea with images; How to shoot unlimited imagination with a limited cost; how to visualize the invisible imagination into tangible audio-visual; How to project the creator's vision of the future to the past and present... Beyond that, "The Three-Body Problem" has more problems. Unlike regular sci-fi alien elements, this is a conceptual work. Its science fiction is, on more of a level, a "scientific idea" and a "scientific theory." This requires creators to fly higher in their imagination and deeper in reality. It is necessary to make abstract concepts concrete, without losing the pattern and artistic conception of the original work. The good news is that domestic sci-fi dramas have taken the first step. As many people say, at least Tencent's version of "The Three-Body Problem" tastes right and the texture is right. If you find the right way and continue to walk, there will definitely be more space and more possibilities. In any case, we are still lucky to be able to wait for such a "Three-Body Problem" in 2023.