Source | Film and television outpost
Text | Li Zheng
A senior who made a documentary in the TV station said a sentence that has always been imprinted in Qin Bo's heart, "Every filming is a fate." ”
"There are 12 wards here, 16 beds here, and the most critically ill patients lie here..." In 2016, the documentary "The World on Earth" broadcast on the Shanghai News Comprehensive Channel appeared in the public eye with such an opening statement. Almost overnight, this documentary about the Chinese-style doctor-patient relationship "caught fire" without warning, and the Douban score soared to 9.7 points, which is a rare situation in the documentary field.
After two years, the second season of "Human World" created by the original team of people and horses returned again, and the touch and thinking were still present, and the miracle of "blockbusters" was continued. Standing at the high starting point of the first season, how can the second season be broken while maintaining the strength of the road? With such a question, Qin Bo, chief choreographer of the first season of "Human World" and general director of the second season, shared his feelings and insights.
▍ Good stories must be "squatted" out
Truth is the most direct feeling given to people in "The Human World". Behind this is the loneliness of a group of people who have not been understood.
When the first season of "The Human World" was created, there were four core choreographers, each with two film crews, each group was equipped with an executive choreographer, a recording engineer, two cameramen, plus two camera assistants. The second season is in much better shape, because of the influence of the previous season, the lineup configuration is much stronger - the core choreographer has become more than ten, and almost everyone leads a team to shoot independently. Filming the first season of "Human World", Qin Bo and his colleagues "squatted" in large and small hospitals in Shanghai for two years; filming the second season of "Human World", two years was not enough time for them to "squat".
"Squatting" vividly shows Qin Bo's creative style, without an outline, without a script, or even a slightly detailed theme; "squatting" is also a skill cultivated by investigative journalists in their long-term work. They believe that only by "squatting" can we discover the truth and capture a good story. But shooting a documentary in a crouching fashion is a costly and risky thing.
"A director's prejudgment directly determines whether the story presented is good or not." Qin Bo said that although their hearts were hanging at that time, they were still convinced, "After so many years of investigative journalists, we must believe in our own records no matter what." ”
Before the first season of "The World on Earth" aired, many other people in the industry sneered: "You guys who make documentaries are really good, it takes a year or two to hand over a film, unlike us who have to take something out every day." 」 But in Qin Bo's view, making a documentary is not a quick thing. Such documentary creations grow naturally, and to let the story take shape on its own, all the control is reflected in the choice and judgment of the choreographer, so they will not easily start the machine, and they need to think about it over and over again.
▍ "Every shot is a fight"
Sometimes, the film crew waited for a good story, but many patients or patients' families refused to face the request for filming. The filming of documentaries is often invasive, and using the lens to record the pain of others will inevitably make people feel a little cold and ruthless.
"At this time, in the face of the camera, we all know that it is an extremely cruel thing, and I especially want to say sorry, but we still have to do it to let more people know about it." Qin Bo half-crouched in front of the weeping filmmaker and explained that this was a scene in the first season of "Human World".
A senior who made a documentary in the TV station said a sentence that has always been imprinted in Qin Bo's heart, "Every filming is a fate." "Hand-in-hand, that is, the photographer exchanges the life of the filming time with the person being filmed."
"As an interloper in someone else's life, why did he reveal his life to you? Why should I shoot you? Qin Bo said, "Although we did accompany them through the most difficult times in their lives, in the end, it is also with the purpose of shooting to record their lives, so sometimes you must also hand over your life." ”
In the process of "squatting", they and the subject enter each other's world. After deepening the understanding, trust is built, which becomes the premise of all shooting. For Qin Bo, he regards the subject as a part of his destiny, and only by projecting all his emotions into it will the other party open his heart. In fact, at the same time as "handing over their lives", their "hearts" are also entrusted to each other.
During the filming of the second season of "Human World", there were some things that touched Qin Bo very much - his colleagues temporarily received news that they were going to Guangxi on a business trip to film the treatment of a cancer child. In a hurry, there were not enough people to bring enough, and there was a lack of a person who could listen live. The child's aunt took the initiative to ask for help throughout the process to help the film crew lift the sound collection equipment. Qin Bo sighed, "How much trust must this be to let the child's relatives help us!" ”
This is not an isolated case, Qin Bo also mentioned another subject who went to the United States for medical treatment. Before leaving, the patient's husband agreed that he would personally record his wife's treatment, so the couple eventually flew to the United States with the filming equipment provided by the film crew.
▍ "Impress yourself first"
The first season of "Human World" has 10 episodes, each episode is about 45 minutes, and the final shot is only 450 minutes, but behind this is the volume of 126T material. The second season of "Human Life" maintains the same content length, but it is the "highly purified" of more than 300 T high-definition materials.
How to select a story that moves the audience from a vast sea of material and weave it around the same theme in a logical way is an extremely painful process.
"The second season of 'The Human World' involves mentally ill people, terminally ill children, rare disease patients and medical disputes, etc., and I am responsible for the content control of the entire episode together with producer Fan Shiguang, which is not only large, but also faces a different situation in each episode. For example, when we squat in the mental health center to shoot, the episode director not only records the moving story, but also solves the ethical problems of the shooting one by one. Shooting requires the full consent of the patient and guardian to shoot, which takes a lot of time and effort. Of course, in order to correct society's prejudice against mental illness, many patients and family members choose to stand up. This episode features more than 20 stories before and after, covering all aspects of the lives of the people being filmed. ”
Which stories can be cut into the main film? Qin Bo said that there was only one principle he chose, that is, "impress yourself first." He believes that only the picture that he can touch can poke into the heart of the audience. It is with this principle that he made the second season of "The World on Earth" once again become an unguarded "tear gas".
However, the material was selected, and how to string them together became a headache for Qin Bo. "Sometimes I can't sleep for several nights, and my mind is always thinking about how to present the content better. Overthrow over and over again, build over and over again... It's really torturous. ”
▍"There is light shining into reality"
In the past two seasons, the huge social repercussions caused by "The World on Earth" are self-evident. Perhaps, it has also changed society a little. The actual effect cannot be outlined with quantitative data, but Qin Bo's personal experience makes him feel, "There is indeed a light shining into reality in this film." ”
Qin Bo said: "When filming the second season, we went to some foreign hospitals. At first, I was very nervous, because I didn't know that others would let me shoot, but when they knew that we were the film crew of "The Human World", things were very easy to handle, and they almost faced our shooting with an open and welcoming attitude. Later, I learned that many hospitals spontaneously organized to watch this film, and such a film is also a good thing for them. ”
"The World on Earth" has changed the attitude of many hospitals and patients towards medical documentaries, and Qin Bo and his team have also touched the camera to corners that were originally unreachable. "We're looking at some of the more realistic topics, like medical disputes. In fact, we tried to shoot in the first season, but we encountered more and more obstacles in the back, and finally we had no choice but to give up. But this time, there are more people cooperating, because the problem of doctor-patient disputes is too acute. Whether it is a hospital or a patient, there is a lack of such a third party that can promote mutual understanding. They want us to play that role. ”
"Moreover, with the good response of the first season, our entire Taiwan is very supportive of this project, and it can be said that the whole Taiwan is doing this thing." The good reputation of the first season of "Human World" did not become the pressure of Qin Bo, on the contrary, when he truly felt the changes brought about by this film, he became more powerful and more motivated.
At present, the broadcast of the second season of "Human Life" is nearing the end, and the shock of this season may not be described in three words. Asked about director Qin Bo's feelings along the way, he said: "There are more people paying attention, which is the most important meaning of us doing all this. ”
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