Author | Wait a minute
"Recently, I was doing an adaptation project of modern romance IP, as soon as we discussed the professional identity and family experience of the male and female protagonists, I felt that the realist radar of leadership was immediately erected, and the emotional part was reduced again and again, but isn't what we are doing is a romance drama?"
Mona, the literary planner of a certain platform, "complained" to Xiaoyu, and many current projects were forced to "turn around", and under the decision of middle and high-level producers, no matter whether it was appropriate or how much energy was needed, they all rushed to the road of realistic themes, which made many people at the content execution level very distressed and confused.
At the end of the heat transit of "Crazy", the major platforms did not raise the big drama to refute the heat, and the lighter A-grade romance dramas flocked to the scene. "I Heard You Like Me" and "Summer Flower" will also be regarded as romance dramas because they have good-looking actors, but producers and screenwriters and directors have jumped out to "clarify": not idol dramas. Just like the earlier hit "Go to a Windy Place", it will also emphasize many times that it is a warm and simple pastoral healing drama that abandons the routine of idol dramas.
It seems that no matter how affectionately netizens call it a "live puppet drama", in the official communication channels of the film party and the platform, "idol drama" is still a gradually weakened statement.
In fact, in the early stage of the project that many netizens cannot see, "idol dramas", "current puppet dramas" and even "current dramas" are all being "killed", replaced by the concept of "realistic texture emotional dramas".
Such as Mona's confusion, in the domestic film and television industry in the past year and a half, is actually not uncommon. Entertainment Capital (ID: Yulezibenlun) once in the past article (Gu Man Mobao Feibao, where is the next "light of now"? ) has been discussed about the "great shrinkage of the current soil", but why is the romance drama (idol drama) so voldemortically "sensitive"? Or even become an "incorrect"?
(Note: Mona, Hu Jia, Xiao Ai, Sansan, and Jiuyue mentioned in the text are pseudonyms)
A live puppet drama that was "rejected" by actors
"I Heard You Like Me" should not have thought that it would cause discussion on the genre before it was broadcast, this drama is adapted from the novel of the same name by the writer Ji Xiang, a signed writer of Ji Xiang, a female literary website under Reading, the original is a standard romance novel, and it is rightfully considered a modern romance drama after adaptation.
Producer Zhang Meng indicated in a long Weibo post that this is an urban emotional drama, in fact, there is not much difference from the concept of the current drama, the key is that Zhang Meng emphasized that "this is not an idol drama".
It involves three concepts: urban emotional drama, current drama (now puppet drama), and idol drama.
From the audience's point of view, the latter two concepts are still inseparable from the visual youth and handsomeness, the so-called idol, that is, the concept of the continuation of the era of Taiwanese idol dramas. Among them, the term "current puppet drama" is more characteristic of the online drama period, including more for the young actors and actresses of the post-90s generation who emerged during the online drama period.
Just look at the actors and actresses of recent hit dramas, Wang Churan, Yan Chengxu, Li Xian, Jiang Yiyi ("You Are My Eternal Star"), it is easy to be put in this category by the audience.
Xiaowen, the editor in charge who has rich experience in novels and project evaluation, said that in terms of story classification, "I Heard You Like Me" by IP from Red Sleeve Tian Xiang and "Even If the Wind Rises" by IP from Mars Female Frequency are both workplace romance novels, and the direct adaptation direction of this kind of current novel should be the current puppet drama, but because the male and female protagonists of the latter are Jin Dong and Song Jia, it greatly enhances the overall sense of age, and will not be linked to "idol drama", it will naturally be assigned to the feeling of urban emotional drama.
"The head actors of the post-85s and post-90s, even the actors in the waist and tail of the first line, have begun to refuse to act in puppet dramas, especially male actors, who will always say that they don't want to talk about love in the play, and they want to engage in career." Hu Jia, a producer of a film and television company, revealed.
Hu Jia has ancient puppets and current puppet projects in his hands, and the first choice is the first-line actors of the 90s, but the communication process is not very smooth, especially the current puppet drama, if it is not Gu Man and Mo Bao Feibao's novel, the actors will basically be very hesitant, even if Twentine is such an author who has just adapted a hit within a year, it will take a long conversation process to impress them.
Two Mo Bao non-treasure novels adapted to be broadcast puppet dramas
Ancient puppet dramas will also be slightly better than live puppet dramas because they cost more than the projects of the same level, the makeup is more gorgeous, the strong plot is more, and it is easier to get out of the circle at home and abroad. Puppet dramas are often considered to be trapped in a small space, either on campus or in the workplace, and it is difficult to play flowers, so the chances of rejection are higher.
"On the contrary, the age is a little older, there are some big actors after the 80s and even the 75s, acting in some serious dramas, main theme dramas, family dramas, criminal investigation suspense dramas, these are more, and the national popularity is also very high, they want to try the routine of current puppet dramas, some mature actors used to love to watch Taiwanese idol dramas, but at that time we didn't have so many idol dramas with such a relaxed and sweet style as online dramas, and now I want to make up for it, and even if the actors simply want to try something new."
There are big actors who are interested, Hu Jia is definitely very welcome from the perspective of project operation, the probability of big actors representing the platform passing the meeting rate and high rating will be relatively more certain, but there are also headaches, that is, the age of the actors is obviously not suitable for the young girls or young mature roles in the puppet drama, it is necessary to readjust the script according to the characteristics of the actors, and after the change, it may lose the youthful and dreamy characteristics of the puppet drama, and even become a "Chinese puppet drama", from the perspective of the content essence, this is what Hu Jia does not want to see.
In addition to age, the adjustment of male and female actors is another headache for Hu Jia, "The romance logic of current puppet dramas is very female perspective, female characters are easy to have more than male characters in terms of scenes and arcs, but now the casting logic in the domestic market is mostly 'fixed men and women', want to determine the cooperation intention of male actors first, and the probability of adjusting the script to meet their ideas is also very high." ”
The big actor refused the next step of the idol drama, and there was no lack of moving closer to the realistic theme and the main theme theme, Di Li Gerba starred in "Public Prosecution Elite", "The World" with the fire of serious literary adaptation, Chen Xiao, Li Qin starring in "The Road to Life", and indeed let many people see the transformation of actors' demands on the theme of the drama.
Why push idol dramas to the "wrong road" of realism?
"When marketing CP, I want to fix love, and when I do the script, I look down on love again." Literary planner Xiao Ai smiled bitterly, according to her communication experience with producers, many peers in the industry are not much more advanced in positioning current puppet dramas than sweet pet dramas, mainly thinking that how difficult it is to write love? This is why the platform has a "polarized" treatment of romance dramas: either do high-rated A+ and S-level large projects, or do electronic vegetable sub-accounting dramas and micro-short dramas in the industrialization process.
As for how to distinguish the difference in content between these two dramas, Xiao Ai said with a smile, "Small projects are called modern idol dramas, and large projects are called realistic idol dramas. The realistic theme is just popular, and making idol dramas into a realistic texture is the sense of seniority that big producers need. ”
Once literary planner Xiao Ai could only see the name of a water Korean drama on the "benchmarking project" page of the current puppet drama project book, since the summer vacation of 2021, "You Are My Glory" has become a rare domestic drama that frequently appears on the benchmarking project page in the project book, which was originally a good thing, indicating that the domestic puppet drama has a new benchmark.
"Since the hit of "You Are My Glory", every producer of the current IP wants to reproduce a patriotic theme idol drama that can make netizens brush the screen with a barrage of 'I have no regrets in this life, and I am willing to grow flowers in the next life'."
Many plots like the male protagonist Yu Tu using aerospace knowledge skills and the heroine Qiao Jingjing showing affection, appearing lightly in the play, is the ingenuity of the creative team, but unfortunately, many people only see the level of "adding the promotion of aerospace to the current puppet drama can make a big drama".
The picture on the left is "You Are My Glory", and the right is "Walking to the Wind"
"You Are My Glory" entered the online drama library of the State and local State Administration of Radio, Film and Television by joining the aerospace industry line, "Walking to the Wind" about civil aviation pilots became a national radio and television boutique online drama, and the adaptation of "The Cutest You" serialized in Jinjiang Literature City was supported by Shanghai... The point is obvious, as long as the elements of realism and the main theme are pasted, there is a chance to get various support or honorary praise from the state to the locality.
The intention is very good, so that the puppet drama has more realistic care; Practice is not easy, and the creation often puts the cart before the horse.
"The essential main line of the current puppet drama is still romance, the relationship between the characters should be good-looking, the CP sense of the male and female protagonists must be done well from the beginning, the feelings can catch people, and the career line of serious work can be joined, but it is also based on the basic character relationship and structure of the romance drama is done well, and then integrated accordingly, it is sincere. Now the relationship between the male and female protagonists has not yet been set up, and the first five episodes of the script first write four and a half episodes of the daily life of professionals, otherwise it seems that the pattern of this drama is not big enough. ”
The screenwriter Sansan encountered doubts when adapting the current IP, and in the early stage of script creation, from the outline to the first five episodes of the script, she was required to start with the protagonist's career crisis and constantly add her workplace work status description, even if the communication between the male and female protagonists is discussing work, even she herself feels that there is no sense of CP at all.
After such a script arrived on the platform, she was killed as she expected, but the producer's reaction was that the protagonist's career was not well chosen, and the focus of rework was to find new industries supported by the state. This incident made Sansan feel a little frustrated, "From Beidou navigation to domestic new energy vehicles, a lot of interview materials were done, but in the end they were all useless, and the project was stopped." ”
Literary planner Xiao Ai empathized, "The general direction is really important, if it is "Ideal City", then the first five episodes of the script are all used to push the protagonist's career line is OK, but now it is clearly changed to the current IP, the adaptation direction is also a couple, just to want to rub with realism, don't go the old road of 'falling in love in XX coat'. The opening of "You Are My Glory" only has some pictures to explain the work background of the male protagonist, and soon enters the reunion of the male and female protagonists, the introduction of the previous history and the plot of the female chasing the man, which is the real excitement of the current puppet drama. ”
The next step in the puppet drama, respect and diversity
"IP copyright can usually be retained in the hands of the film party for 5 years, and the realistic theme has only been popular for 2 years, neither want to waste the existing IP in hand, nor do you want to spend money to buy new IP, direct modern romance adaptation realism is the most cost-effective method that many producers think, especially through the guise of realism to the big actors, the probability of the project success is greater." Producer Hu Jia said that most producers will calculate this deal this way.
Yang Kang, a producer and deputy director of the production department of Shandong Film and Television, told Xiaoyu that the producer should have a clear judgment on the direction of the project, and if it is found to be wrong several times as mentioned by the screenwriter in the previous article, it is likely to indicate that the adaptation direction is not feasible, and it should be stopped in time to zero as soon as possible to find a more feasible road.
First of all, determine whether the IP adaptation is to consume the stock IP, or if you really think the IP is good and want to buy it.
Secondly, if it is to consume the existing IP and avoid the waste of copyright expiration, try to choose the fastest adaptation method to complete the text, now it is said that the IP direct transformation into a puppet drama is the fastest, even if it is made into an electronic squeeze, it is more valuable than spending a lot of manpower; If you buy because the IP is good, you should know which part of it you like at the beginning, and amplify the charm of this part.
Then, if you really want to do realistic themes, it is recommended to aim at the target from the source of IP, such as workplace dramas, you can find the corresponding workplace novel to adapt, and even invite the author to create a script, the author has professional experience, the screenwriter has theater experience, the two may work better.
Yang Kang believes that script creation must be for the content to be solid from the beginning, and only when it is solid can he think about whether to take the track of reality or realism. Although it is now popular to do superimposed themes, it is still necessary to distinguish the main and secondary to avoid stepping on two boats and not docking at both ends.
"If you all use the puppet as an electronic squeeze and artificial saccharin, of course, you will feel that the routine is similar and not difficult, such as once the platform locates the current puppet to the sinking crowd or the girl crowd to watch, their so-called theme innovation is just to want different brands of electronic squeezed vegetables, not really can go a few steps to the audience's heart, the so-called more advanced love story."
As a native of Yunnan, literary planner Xiao Ai not long ago from "To a Windy Place" although she only said that she was a pastoral healing drama, but did see a very different romance drama feeling, before she also watched another puppet drama created by the same team "I May Meet a Savior", are both small fun, but also in the lines to make some discussion of life stories, not only to watch the moment happy, but after the reminiscence, in addition to wanting to fall in love, but also more courageous to face life.
"Idol dramas are originally dreams and fantasies, you raise realistic questions in the lines, and shoot positive, positive, happy directions and results, this feeling of half a step off the ground is the best, after all, if it is completely made realistic, everything will not be as satisfactory as in idol dramas."
Xiao Ai is very envious of this team, as a studio under Huace Film and Television, with the endorsement of a large group, the opportunity to try, and also feel the respect for love from their works. Of course, it is the norm in this industry to repeatedly fail when proposing because there is no "backer":
"Our team once made a love story about otaku women, adding realistic elements that focused on older unmarried otaku women to start a business at home through new media, but it was rejected by the platform producer, and the married middle-aged female producer said that she couldn't understand this setting, and felt very suspended..."
A similar situation screenwriter Jiuyue also had, "A producer of a traditional film and television company said that he hoped to have a young man's love story, which is a live puppet drama, and the producer herself is a married woman who likes to watch the main theme and realistic themes, hoping that the new project can integrate into the new market trend, but when we really give each other some different programs about young social animals, high-concept love, etc., the other party only said that he couldn't understand, which was too fake." ”
Screenshot of the online drama "Summer Flower"
Mona told Xiaoyu that it is indeed not easy to find the most universal approach between realism and live puppet dramas, but since you want to do live puppet dramas, can you also try to understand the diversity in them? For example, in the recent broadcast of "Summer Flower", the love mode of "rough man × girl" is quite innovative, and after watching it, there is a love fantasy, even if it plays a very good function, you can tell everyone that romance dramas can also have Xiao Han, played by Yan Chengxu, a middle-aged man who can still awaken people's desire for love at the age of 45.
Literary planner Xiao Ai sighed, "There are still many possibilities in the love mode of current puppet dramas, before I can't look at this genre and think it's inferior, can I also consider whether domestic dramas really make this genre thorough?" If not, don't rush to deny it, it still has room to grow. ”
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