February 19, 2023 | Total Issue 3152
On February 18, the fourth phase of Bó Lè Film and Television Salon was held in Beijing, with the theme of "This Sports National Comic, Why Can It Pry Yao Ming and Jay Chou", with Zhang Wenbo, founder of Bó Lè Marketing, as the host, and invited Li Jintian, founder of Left Hand Layup Culture, Xie Zhongli, general director of "Left Hand Layup", and NBA commentator Wang Meng to attend.
From left: Zhang Wenbo, Xie Zhongli, Li Jintian, Wang Meng
At the event, the main creators and guests discussed the choice of themes and behind-the-scenes stories, outlining the birth process of the domestic original animated series "Left Hand Layup".
How to pry Yao Ming and Jay Chou?
The animated series "Left Hand Layup" was launched on Tencent on February 2, integrating elements such as youth campus and sports competition, telling the story of a group of young people who love basketball on the campus of Beijing High School, discovering themselves and surpassing themselves through basketball competition.
On the day that "Left Hand Layup" was launched, Yao Ming, chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, called the animation work through a video. He said: "I hope that this animation can make more teenagers fall in love with basketball." "Yao Ming, as a former NBA superstar, has an influence all over the world. Because of his support, "Left Hand Layup" quickly attracted the attention of basketball fans.
The audience found that the ending song of "Left Hand Layup" is "Sunny Day" sung by Jay Chou. This song was included in the 2003 album "Ye Huimei", which is a good memory for post-80s and post-90s music fans. Jay Chou's songs rarely appear in film and television works, how did "Left Hand Layup" complete the docking work?
Li Jintian, the producer of "Left Hand Layup", recalled that he had worked with Chairman Yao Ming for a while and were familiar with each other. "Left Hand Layup" is a domestic animation focusing on campus basketball culture, Yao Ming has been committed to promoting the development of campus sports for many years, and the two sides have the same goal. During the preparation process of the work, an official cooperation was reached with the basketball association. Yao Ming voiced support, but also hoped that the audience would pay attention to basketball through his works.
For the choice of the ending song, chief director Xie Zhongli believes that "Sunny Day" is a love song, and after 20 years of spreading and precipitation, it has become the youth memories of countless music fans. As long as the post-80s and post-90s audiences hear the prelude to this song, they will feel like they are back in the youth campus.
Li Jintian reviewed the beginning and end of getting the license for the song "Sunny Day". He said, "Thank you Jewell Music for your trust and support in Left Hand Layup. "After Jewell's senior leaders saw the film of "Left Hand Layup", they affirmed the work, and the negotiation after that was relatively smooth, but it took more than a year before and after.
Li Jintian believes that although the process of obtaining authorization is not easy, the effort is worth it. After they were licensed, they did not use it to promote the series before it went live, hoping that the first round of viewers would be surprised when they saw the end of the film.
Why Left Hand Layup?
Li Jintian has worked in the NBA and CBA, responsible for copyright distribution, business development and other businesses, and has struggled for basketball for 10 years. Three years ago, he noticed that domestic anime lacked basketball themes, so he decided to start a business and make animation.
At first, he said, his friends advised him not to do basketball anime, "It must be very difficult." But he thought that Japan's "Slam Dunk" has been popular for more than two decades, why is there no such work in China? He felt that he should do this, so he plunged headlong into domestic anime.
Li Jintian said frankly when talking about the original intention of creation, he is one of thousands of basketball fans in China, and he especially likes basketball. The basketball past he misses the most happened on campus, basketball is his dream, and he believes that many audiences who love basketball can resonate with the work.
Chief director Xie Zhongli is a post-90s generation who has participated in the production of animations such as "Full-time Master" and "The Sea King". "Left Hand Layup" is a two-dimensional animated series, why wasn't it made into a three-dimensional animation? Tse explains that 3D animation requires the incorporation of motion capture technology, but it is difficult for a mo-cap actor to complete a standard, beautiful dunk action. Two-dimensional animation can achieve the ultimate detail of the dunk action and make the picture achieve the desired effect.
Xie Zhongli also interpreted the meaning of the title of "Left Hand Layup". The protagonist Xu Xingze accepted the advice of his friend Cheng Feng when he was a child to strengthen his left hand layup. Xu Xingze, who has "two heavy hammers", makes his opponent defenseless.
Commentator Wang Meng said that fans know that it is very difficult to achieve left-right balance in basketball. If a person wants to flexibly use his left hand for layups, he must practice deliberately from an early age. "Left Hand Layup" is to hope that everyone will be strong in both hands and become a person who has "two heavy hammers" in reality.
【Text/Cui Ting】