From "Lurking" and "Cliff" to "Before Dawn" and "Kite", there have been many successful works in the field of spy war dramas, but as soon as "Infernal" was broadcast on Oriental Satellite TV, it made the audience feel different from the spy war dramas they had seen before: a little uncomfortable at the beginning, but soon immersed in it, unable to extricate themselves, the ratings remained high and steadily climbed, and it was called by the industry as "a successful breakthrough in the spy war drama genre". Qidao, who tried to write, direct and act for the first time, said that the reason why he spent seven years grinding the script was to make a spy war drama that allowed the audience to brush two and three times.
Set goals when you create,
It is necessary to shoot spy war dramas that let the audience watch more than twice
Graduated from the Chinese opera acting department, Qi Dao is an actor himself, and "Infernal" is his first time to write, direct and act in three roles. In 2012, when he saw some reports that the dramas filmed in our mainland were thrown out of N streets by screenwriters from a certain country, he was young and vigorous and wanted to create a drama well, "I think there are many good screenwriters, good directors, good actors, and good teams in China, who can do good dramas, and everyone works together." Because he usually likes to watch spy war movies and television dramas, he chose to write spy war dramas, "I have relatively some accumulation in narrative, characters and other aspects, and I am not a professional screenwriter, if you write something else, it will take longer to learn and accumulate." Just do it, he wrote this for seven years, "because I want to do it well." A script that takes one or two years is not the same as five or eight years to do it. When we used to film, there were five episodes of the script that started, of course it was not good."
Since you want to deeply cultivate spy war dramas, the first thing to do is how to distinguish it from previous spy war dramas. Qi Dao first sorted out the previous classic spy war dramas, and he found: "Their creative direction is basically the real identity of the characters has told the audience from the beginning that he is a Communist Party and he is Japanese... The audience watched that the Red Agent would not be caught. I also think this is a good creative angle, but this has been made very classic by many predecessors, and it is difficult to break through. Therefore, in the spy war drama, he hopes to cut in from other angles and explore deeply, "I want the audience to see something different, with a new perspective to say, it took two years to find a new exit, and we changed the perspective to the audience and the characters walking together." ”
As a result, now we see that in "Infernal", everyone's identity seems to be shrouded in fog, and it is impossible to quickly identify who they are and who they are working for... The audience often just establishes an identity awareness of a character, and is caught off guard and overturned... Everyone seems to be the same as the male protagonist Lu Feng, who is in a state of confusion and has to slowly explore, which opens a fresh immersive spy war viewing experience.
Jin Dong has a lot of action scenes in the play
Q&A
Q: In the first four episodes of "Infernal", the audience was confused and confused about the identities of these people, who was our side and who was the enemy. This is also quite bold, because some viewers may not be able to burn their brains and give up, but looking back, there will be a feeling of getting better.
A: Indeed, many people have told me that you don't have to spend so long to make such a big breakthrough, if the audience doesn't like it, the previous achievements will be lost. Why not follow the conventional traditional way? Everyone can't fault much, and there won't be so many people scolding you. But I don't want to repeat it, I think it can really open up a new angle, let everyone discuss it after the broadcast, and there may be more different angles in the future, which is a good thing. Always break through slowly, in a certain type, you can't always go back and forth from one angle.
Q: The audience already feels that their brains are not enough to watch the drama, and it must be more difficult for screenwriters to create these brain-burning plots, right?
A: Yes, it is necessary to repeatedly deliberate, but also pay attention to its rationality, and withstand the scrutiny of the audience. So many audiences, they have their own strengths, when watching the drama, some parts may eat more thoroughly than the screenwriter, dig deeper, if the screenwriter is not rigorous enough, a lot of hard injuries and bugs will be found. So I can only polish it hundreds of times and think of various angles to scrutinize.
In addition to not having bugs, when creating, we also set a goal - to make a spy war drama that the audience will watch more than twice. A lot of information may not know what it means when you read it for the first time, and you will ignore it. "Infernal" is like a puzzle, there are always a few pieces missing until the end, you can't put it together, you must read it, go back and sort it out, in order to discover the truth that was not discovered before. Some dramas have 40 episodes, and there may be no more new things in more than 30 episodes, and the audience is already clear about the ending of the characters and the direction of the story, but in "Infernal", new information will continue to be given until the last episode.
Q: It's true, at first, I saw Shen Xiao (played by Qi Dao), and I thought this was a villain; As a result, it took more than twenty episodes to learn that he was a member of the Communist Party. Looking back again, I found that many of his actions in front of him had actually given information.
A: Yes, actually, it's quite a lot. This is also what makes this drama different from previous dramas in style. Shen Xiao is in such a demon cave as No. 76, as an underground party, if the audience can see it at once, I think it is particularly boring. When he appeared, we didn't use subtitles to type the CCP undercover, but only said that he was the leader of the No. 76 secret group. But in such a demon cave, I am not very willing to play him as a very kind person. Because what he represents is not a certain character, but the epitome of a certain type of character. In terms of characters, Shen Xiao is a person who dances with demons and sacrifices his life to forget death. So many of my friends said, oh, you Shen Xiao is waiting to be scolded, I said, scold. In the early stage, what the audience sees is such a part, and scolding is normal. The audience scolded the epitome represented by Shen Xiao, and if it involves actors, then I can only recognize it. But seeing a certain stage, the audience will understand. Therefore, I think these sleepers are really amazing, and their lives are legendary. This is not a fabrication, I have read a lot of historical materials in the creation, and I have really been moved to tears by those revolutionary martyrs countless times. For example, the character of Shen Xiao, I also used the image of Xiong Xianghui, a revolutionary predecessor. He went undercover with Hu Zongnan for 12 years, and until he returned to the team after completing the task, he was not discovered, and even revealed his identity, and the other party could not believe it. So I am very resolute and do not tell the audience in advance the identity of the character, whether it is a good person or a bad person, and I hope that the audience will judge for themselves.
There are a lot of hidden details,
Personal names, clothing, and makeup are all exquisite
The novelty of "Infernal" is not only reflected in the narrative method. Some netizens found that the names of the characters in the play are very different from other spy war dramas, Hua Xiangyu, Lu Feng, Flash Official, Muxi Crane, Impermanence... Some felt like the people in Jin Yong's martial arts, and some felt like the names in the ancient dragon martial arts, expressing "serious suspicions that the director's name was influenced by the Jin Yong ancient dragon martial arts". In fact, these names were all thought out by Qidao with a lot of heart. For example, flash official, the surname "flash" is rare, if there is no accumulation of knowledge in normal times, you can't think of it by hard thinking, "I have a small surname 'flash', so I use the surname 'flash', the name needs to be in line with his temperament, and finally achieve the word 'flash official'." The names of the male and female No. 1 flower to the rain and the land wind are derived from the combination of wind and rain, "There is wind and rain, in fact, it also represents a kind of difficulty, representing the direction of the fate of these two people." It's called Hua Xiangyu because I have a friend called Hua Xianghong, I think it's very good, so I used it. The "killer" "Impermanence" is from the drama "Impermanence" in which he starred.
In the play, the flash official was dressed from beginning to end, which also made netizens wonder: "Is this crew too poor?" Qi Dao smiled and replied: "We are not rich, but we don't even have clothes." Out of respect for Brother Zhijian, it is impossible to say that he is only given one set of clothes, this logic does not make sense. "It's also a matter of creative philosophy." According to the character design, we didn't want him to change. Because sometimes changing clothes will invisibly expose a person's state of mind. And this person hides deeply, does not move, what he usually wears, and sees who wears what he wears. To change clothes, I think we must find a basis, such as performing tasks and attending banquets, which should be changed. Some of the previous scenes were about to be made into costume shows, and the starring actors had a lot of clothes, which seemed to cost a lot of money, but it had nothing to do with creation. Our costumes still have to be expressed dramatically. ”
The name and costume need to be designed in combination with the experience and personality of the characters, and so on "homework" that is not easy for the audience to find for the first time, "Infernal" has also done a lot.
The costumes in the play are considered too modern, but they are actually in line with that era
Q: When "Infernal" was first broadcast, the audience's most dissatisfaction was that there were a lot of emotional dramas, and they felt that the emotional dramas of the male and female protagonists were progressing too fast.
A: In terms of dramatic expression, I always feel that it is a lack to throw away his feelings, whether they are love or family affection, to reflect the harm caused by people in that era. Lovers can't be together, brothers can't be together, all aspects of feelings, are to reflect the harm caused by the war, can not just say things, a person needs to have emotional expression, with emotions, the characters can be richer. Some people say that feelings enter too quickly, I believe in love at first sight, but not everyone believes in love at first sight, and not everyone can experience love at first sight, in short, I believe, I want to express the power of love, love a person can really be sacrificed for this person. In addition, the emotional progress is fast, but also because the entire drama advances, I can't give them more time and space to lay the emotion in the back, I can use a slow way, but it doesn't match the narrative rhythm.
Q: The costume styling in the play has also caused many netizens to question, do they think it is too modern?
A: From the beginning of the desk work, we required that it must be the style of clothing of that era, and even dug up which factory the garment was made from, where the fabric came from... It's all considered. Not only the costumes are in line with that era, but the character styling of our show is also in line with that era, all without makeup.
Q: None of the actors wear makeup?
A: The only possibility of wearing makeup is when you need to wear makeup. For example, Hua Xiangyu, when she was the secretary of the president of Chase Bank, she could wear makeup, and it was also how to wear makeup in that era, how we wore makeup. Sometimes to perform tasks, makeup is also required.
We have done a lot of homework in this drama, all of which the audience will not notice, and I think that if I don't notice it, I won't jump the scene, so I will only pay attention to the fate of the characters and watch the performance. There are also many things that are not easy to find after watching this drama, so you can brush it twice or three times.
The crew has a good creative atmosphere,
Wang Zhiwen was reluctant to leave in the early morning
Because it broke the audience's cognition and viewing habits of spy war dramas, when "Infernal" first started, some netizens suspected that because the screenwriter and director were not big enough, they had to throw money to invite actors such as Jin Dong, Wang Zhiwen, Zhang Zhijian and others to support this drama. But as long as you look at it, you will find that not only the actors are superb in acting, but the opponents are sparkling, but each actor is close to the character. For example, Jin Dong is a spy war drama seven years after "The Pretender", and his appearance will make the audience feel similar to "The Pretender", and many netizens think that he took over this drama because of his college classmate Qidao as a screenwriter and director. But after that, in addition to rare action scenes, this time Lu Feng will be tortured, confused, will feel very hurt, and sometimes even look cute because of playing stupid, which is not only different from the strategizing Ming Lou in "The Pretender", but also obviously different from the elite characters who opened and hung in previous urban dramas.
For netizens who initially thought that Jin Dong, Wang Zhiwen, Zhang Zhijian, etc. may have been thrown money or participated in "Infernal" because of human favors, Qi Dao laughed: "People who say this are too underestimating their criteria for choosing plays." Ask them, don't come up with a script that passes, don't even think about it. There are too many people looking for them, and too many people are connected. "For example, when he asked Jin Dong to star, Jin Dong had 16 scripts on his table." Knowing that I have been working on this drama for so many years, emotionally, he also hopes to help me fulfill such a wish, but he can't lower his standard for receiving the show. ”
Wang Zhiwen's pickiness of the script is notorious, so many years has been a year or two to make a drama, but less than a year after the completion of "Rebel" took over "Infernal", such a short time to accept a new drama, and a similar theme, is definitely a new thing in Wang Zhiwen, and he dedicated a performance in "Infernal" that netizens called "divine" and "reached a new height".
"Infernal" has an ending Easter egg where Jin Dong tells other actors, in which Jin Dong said that the design of the script is written like this. It can be seen that the script of "Infernal" is so fine that even the narrative order and performance order are clearly written, and when you get such a script, the actors do not need to change more, and can focus more on secondary creation.
Wang Zhiwen's performance is brilliant and is considered by netizens to reach new heights
Q: Did you personally talk to these excellent actors?
A: Yes. Including Jin Dong. Although we are classmates, we have not seen each other for a long time after graduation. Brother Zhijian and I had never met, so I went to find him, communicate with him, and slowly knocked down. Brother Zhiwen was invited by the producer, and I didn't know it before, so I held the script to talk.
Q: At that time, after writing the script, I felt that they were suitable for these roles, so I invited them?
A: Yes, because it's appropriate, even because it's him. For example, the combination of Brother Zhijian and Brother Zhiwen. Brother Zhijian plays the flash official, so who will play Muxihe? I think that actors of this age, I can't think of anyone else who can play the role of Mr. Wang, and few can suppress it.
Q: After watching Wang Zhiwen's play, many netizens feel that without looking at the screen, just listening to the lines is very oppressive. As we all know, he is an actor with a great aura, as a director, is it quite stressful to guide such an actor to act?
A: When I was studying in Chinese opera, Brother Zhiwen was my acting idol, and we all learned his acting and lines. I was really lucky to be able to work closely and learn from this time. In the field, there is no guidance, he does not need guidance at all, more I learn from him, especially enjoy learning, in the process, I have also established higher standards for myself, and I hope to do better in the future.
Q: Whether it is with Zhang Zhijian or Jin Dong in the play, Wang Zhiwen's play, everyone thinks it is too exciting.
A: Actually, we were also looking at the monitor at the scene and sighing: Great, really great. He is really a national treasure actor, and we should really love him. Such an actor is a top treasure in the world.
Q: After watching the live tidbits, I didn't expect Wang Zhiwen to be so lively. I also saw the very serious Zhang Zhijian, who would teach the actor who played Huo Fei how to mobilize emotions. The atmosphere of the crew was so good.
A: Right. They really came to lift us and help us. The creative atmosphere of this drama is particularly good, I remember that on the day Brother Zhiwen finished, his play was filmed at three o'clock in the morning, and after filming, he chatted with everyone on the spot, and he could see that there was some reluctance, and everyone was quite reluctant for him to leave the crew, so he stayed until after four o'clock before he left the scene.
Less filming for writing scripts,
But the grasp of the characters is deeper
Qidao's starting point in performance is actually very high. After graduating from Chinese opera in 2001, he entered Beijing Renyi, known as the "temple of culture and art", and won the National Small Theater Drama Art Festival Performance Award with "Impermanence, Female Hanging" that year.
In 2004, he played the mountain patrolman "Liu Dong" in the movie "Coco Xili" directed by Lu Chuan, so he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 5th Chinese Film Media Awards. After that, he switched to film and television dramas, and until 2012, he played the male lead in TV series, and occasionally played the male second. But after starting to create "Infernal" in 2012, in order to ensure that the creation did not stagnate, he decided to only take on lighter roles. Because of the profession of an actor, the song does not leave the mouth and fists, "I don't act for many years, and I am afraid that I will be rusty in the future." Sometimes it is also for learning, such as taking on the plays directed by Liu Jiang and Zheng Xiaolong, "I just want to learn their creative methods and accumulate experience for myself as a director in the future."
Later, the drama became less and less, and many friends asked Qi Dao, did he change his career? When the creation reaches a very critical stage, "the play can not be accepted". For a few years, I could only devote myself fully to screenwriting. In the last 5 episodes of the script, he overturned countless times and polished it for 8 months. In 8 months, for many screenwriters, it is already possible to write 40 episodes of scripts. "My friend said that I worked on this script from my thirties to forties, and I seemed to have put down my job. I myself sometimes feel like I'm losing my career. ”
Shen Xiao, played by Qi Dao, will be considered a villain at first
Q: Have you ever worried about losing your job?
A: There is no turning back, only moving forward, and I still have a certain confidence in this script, and I feel that when I get to the market, I will get some audience encouragement and recognition.
Q: "Infernal" has been broadcast so far, and the ratings are also very good. After this self-writing, directing and acting, is it really like my friends say, about to change careers?
A: No. Actually, what I love most is my job. This time from choreographer to director, the biggest gain is to do a lot of accumulation for the profession of actor, to act in the future, the character is more deep, more understand the director's thinking, know what the director needs, what the function of the character is, help to act in the future. I have been thinking about this problem recently, and I think that actors need to understand directorial thinking, light, image, and editing, so that they can enrich themselves and make their expressions better.