April 9, 2023 | Issue 3200
On March 31, the thriller comedy film "Great Night" produced by Matt Pictures and written and directed by Ma Kai landed in theaters nationwide. The film is produced by Yi Xiaoxing, who has directed the blockbuster online series "Never Expected" and the hit comedy "The King of Bath".
The cast is quite luxurious, with high-quality idol Fan Chengcheng, popular contestants of "Annual Comedy Competition" Jiang Long, Jiang Yi, Jiang Shimeng, and "Rock Godmother" Liang Long, and Kong Lianshun, who is revered as a "goddess" because of the anti-string deeply rooted in the hearts of the people...
For young people who only paid attention to movies after 2018, there may be such a question: Who is Ma Kai? The debut film can have such a star-studded lineup to escort it. For those fans who followed movies before 2018, the name Ma Kai is not unfamiliar, and "The Great Night" is not his true debut.
At the 10th FIRST Youth Film Festival in 2016, Ma Kai and his "Zhong Evil" were born, not only winning the "Best Art Exploration Award", but also subverting people's perception of domestic thrillers and low-cost shooting. In 2018, "Zhongxie", which was originally scheduled to be released in the Qingming file, was withdrawn due to "technical reasons", which became a major regret in the hearts of countless fans.
Recently, the film and television monologue talked to director Ma Kai. He made it clear, "The filming of "Great Night" is not to make up for the regret of "Zhong Evil". "This is a work that embodies more memories, more effort, and more dreams.
As a screenwriter, write a genre film first
Ma Kai is particularly clear about his current positioning - mainly focusing on genre films, and it is based on learning, borrowing and innovation. Unlike most film directors in the mainland, Ma Kai started from grassroots work on the set and became self-taught.
His favorite method of learning is to watch the film first, then go to the Internet to find the electronic version of the script to study, and then pull the film, and carefully compare the image and the treatment in the script where it is the same and where it is different. After learning a certain level, I started writing by myself, first writing short films, and then writing long films.
Mr ma
When researching some Old Hong Kong films, Ma Kai found that they often combine horror and comedy, and the entertainment effect is fantastic. So I also tried to write a genre fusion book. The script for "Great Night" was written from the end of 2012 to the beginning of 2013, before 2015 of "Zhong Evil", and was Ma Kai's "dream work" before he became famous.
Before entering the film and television industry, Ma Kai was fascinated by the ecology of the set. In 2011, he came to Hengdian with a crew and began a five-year wandering career - as a mass, special contractor, and group actor, as an executive director assistant, actor assistant director assistant, etc. After crawling on the set, he wrote what he saw, heard, thought and realized into the script.
Comedy and thriller were not separated during the creation of the script for "The Great Night". Makay defined it as "a new comedy genre film embellished with thriller elements."
In the preparation of the plot, the common reversal, dislocation, drama within a play and other techniques commonly used in thrillers are used to create an atmosphere of suspense and horror. Different character lines are intertwined, and a large number of accidents and coincidences make the story line more funny and funny details.
"I don't really like the kind of jokes that are particularly 'funny', and I still tend to use realistic logic to produce some humor."
In terms of themes, Ma Kai set two - friendship and dreams. At the beginning, the theme of friendship carried by the self-media trio was heavier, and the dream theme carried by the crew of "The Legend of Concubine Li" was heavier. As the plot progresses, the audience will find that the self-media trio also has a dream of working hard for it, and there is also a deep friendship between the people in the crew.
So, when the last two groups of people come together to complete the filming together, the theme of friendship and the theme of dreams are intertwined. "Whether the result is good or bad, I still have to do my best to get it done, that's what I want to express."
As a director, find a good partner first
"I love being with my friends, it gives me a sense of happiness." Ma Kai, who is heavy in feelings, specially let the friends who helped him shoot "Zhong Evil" play the crew in the film in "Great Night".
However, "Great Night" is a rigorous commercial operation project after all, and Ma Kai dealt with this time, from a grassroots team to a professional team. "Before filming "Zhong Evil", I often filmed what was on the spot, and I didn't have a choice. This time, I have to think clearly in the early stage, what kind of scenery, what kind of clothing, what kind of shape, need to communicate with the relevant departments in detail. These are completely two creative states. ”
Director Ma Kai communicates with art director Wang Zichao
The reason why "Zhongxie" adopted a pseudo-documentary form like "Ghost Shadow Record" was to save lighting and makeup costs. With funding and personnel guarantees, Ma Kai was able to relax in photography, lighting, and art.
"Visually, I like to be more realistic and not too pompous. We put a lot of giant props in specific scenes, and when the characters walk in, the audience will have a strong sense of oppression. The whole thriller atmosphere is much better. Ma Kai also added camera movement techniques such as main perspective lenses and candid shots in a timely manner to enrich the form of expression.
The cast of "Great Night" is the most surprising to the audience. On the one hand, they are very popular, and they have all proven their charm and strength on off-screen stages; On the other hand, they dared to break through in the film, allowing the audience to see a completely new state.
The self-media trio in the film leopard, dog and monkey, Ma Kai's premise is to be friends of the same age, not called brothers and brothers by age, but by personality to distinguish the style of acting. Therefore, when Ma Kai met Fan Chengcheng for the first time, he didn't feel the same as the leopard who "took big ideas" in his mind - he was born in 2000, too young and handsome. The other two actors, Jiang Yi, were born in 1990 and Gan Yunchen in 1988. Ten years old age difference, how to perform the same age sense?
During the exchange, Ma Kai found that Fan Chengcheng was very interested in the role of the leopard and had already prepared. After Ma Kai described the image of the leopard in his heart, Fan Chengcheng proposed that he could fit the character through weight gain and makeup.
"He doesn't care much about his inherent image, and he dares to sacrifice his appearance for the role, which is quite impressive. When he set his makeup, he had gained nearly 30 pounds and stuck his beard, and he could no longer see that he was a post-00s. The relationship between him and the other two actors also developed faster than I expected, and his sensitivity to the role and performance was very suitable for me. ”
Jiang Long, Jiang Yi, and Jiang Shimeng are all popular contestants in the "Annual Comedy Competition", but they did not come in a "group". "We are not cooperating with 'Yixi', or want to rub the popularity of 'Yixi'. The three actors were connected and finalized separately. I also learned when I arrived on the set that they not only knew each other, but also knew each other very well. ”
"The first time I met Jiang Long, he was not in Beijing, and we could only video chat. He said a lot of his thoughts about the role of Oyama, and I thought it was very good, so I decided to play it. Since many of Xiaoshan's scenes are play-within-a-play, he will give me a lot of different 'the performance is fake' scheme for me to choose when shooting, and the grasp of the proportion is particularly accurate, which surprised me. ”
"Jiang Yi was found by the casting team, and the first feeling after meeting was that his personality was very lively. I told him that monkeys need to wear female ghost makeup for a long time, and he immediately replied that I was fine. Later, his face was swollen because of allergies, and he still insisted on shooting. In and out of the play, it is very distressing. ”
"Originally, the executive director played by Jiang Shimeng was set to be male, but after I saw Shimeng, I felt that she was very aura, and her big grin personality was very open-minded, so I thought: If you use a female executive to match the role of a male director, or an uncle-nephew relationship, it will become more humorous. This combination also turns out to be more comfortable for the senses. ”
In order to faithfully restore the texture of the night, the entire crew of "Great Night" filmed 40 consecutive nights, every day at five or six o'clock in the morning of the next day, and the work ended at dawn. "I also thought about filming some indoor scenes during the day, but I found that it would only be more painful to tune around, simply 'one road to the dark', and all the staff reversed the biological clock."
At first, some actors' agents worried that the 40-day reversal of day and night would make the artist overwhelmed, but later found that after about a week, everyone adapted to this rhythm. There is only one exception, and that is Kong Lianshun, who plays Dou.
"Teacher Kong usually has the most regular schedule, so he will get sleepy when he arrives. Although he never adjusted, he never delayed the shooting. He interprets the naughty cuteness of the bean very well, and he is very good at this kind of joyful thing. ”
Wang Zixuan's own experience of fear of heights "coincides" with Concubine Li in the film. Ma Kai said frankly that when Yi Xiaoxing's producer recommended Wang Zixuan to play Concubine Li, his first focus was her big and bright eyes.
"These eyes can make Concubine Li look poignant and cute, and can also work wonders in scary passages." However, Wang Zixuan didn't seem to expect that the film would use Weiya to hang her to a height of twenty or thirty meters. The first time she was filmed, she was scared to cry.
Like Concubine Li in the film, in order not to affect the shooting progress. Wang Zixuan gritted his teeth and insisted on fighting against his fear of heights, slowly moving from fear to habit, from habit to ease. The fit in the mood of the actors and characters is really wonderful.
Be yourself and lay a good foundation first
Although a producer who was designed to be a difficult director in "The Great Night" is a testament to Ma Kai's own experience, which proves the mainland film industry's tolerance for new directors.
"I knew when I was in junior high school that he was called Beast Yi Xiaoxing, and I thought he was very imaginative and had a big brain. This cooperation is also thanks to the film side, who was invited to be the producer. He gave me a lot of ideas in the script, and he loved the new director and respected my ideas. ”
In Ma Kai's view, now is the best time for young people with movie dreams.
"It's the digital age, and it doesn't cost a lot to shoot something. If you have your own ideas, you can show them at a very low cost, and then actively participate in film festivals or film festivals like FIRST, so that everyone can see your ideas. ”
When Ma Kai participated in the FIRST Youth Film Festival for the first time, he originally planned to do a screening and then return to Hengdian to continue his group performance. After participating, he learned that there are many industry insiders and production companies looking for projects and recruiting new people.
Looking back on his experience, Ma Kai admits that not being admitted to a professional college means that you have to put in more effort. With teachers to study, you can definitely avoid detours. To learn on your own, you have to read more movies, more scripts, and more novels. Absorb these nutrients purely on your own and allow yourself to grow. Ma Kai's reading volume is nearly 7,000, even compared with students in professional colleges.
"An inevitable path is to shoot. Make at least one short film per year. The theory is there, and the practice must keep up. Moreover, how you want to show your talent to others cannot be just said. You can only tell people 'this is what I want.'" Please believe that the talent in your works will definitely be seen by the industry. ”
Ma Kai said that the idea of a new, thriller with the same personal characteristics as "Zhong Evil" is close to taking shape. When my ability is better and my experience is richer, I will try to create again to completely make up for regrets.
【Text/Full Hoard】