Jiu Lu Feixiang screenwriter caused controversy, is the author of the novel suitable to be a screenwriter?

Why is screenwriting so difficult, and many authors have to rise to the challenge?

"Protecting the Heart", written by the original author Jiu Lu Feixiang, caused controversy in adaptation.

From episodes 16 to 22 or so, the adapted plot that was not in the original work was compared by netizens to a "sudden change in painting style". For example, the male protagonist Tianyao, who had a stable relationship with the female protagonist Yanhui in the early stage, suddenly stabbed the female protagonist in order to protect Xinlin; The CP fan Bai Xiaosheng of the male and female protagonists in the early stage also turned into the only fan of the female protagonist, and the relationship between the three evolved into a love triangle. After twenty-two episodes, the plot gradually returned to normal, and some episodes 16-22 were jokingly called "Ganlu Temple Copy" by netizens.

The plot controversy immediately led to a screenwriting war. Weibo user @Far Away posted that screenwriter Liu Baochen delivered the first draft, complete outline episodes and the first fifteen episodes of the script, but only signed the fourth place, thus triggering the controversy that he was not a screenwriter # before and after #Heart Protection Fifteen episodes. Some netizens mentioned that the last time Jiu Lu Feixiang was the screenwriter of "Swagger", there was also a precedent of a big change in style in the later period.

Subsequently, the "Heart Protection" party issued a lawyer's letter saying that there was a significant difference between the actual script and the first draft provided by Liu Baochen, which was almost equivalent to re-creation. Jiu Lu Feixiang also posted that after he took over the script of "Heart Protection", he started writing from the script of the first episode, re-sorted the outline, and wrote the plot of the episodes. "Protecting the Heart" planner Peng Yunrui, responsible editor Gan Hongzhu, and the third screenwriter Wen Yan have spoken out in support of Jiu Lu Feixiang.

The "screenwriter war" has come to an end. However, in the Weibo Square of Jiu Lu Feixiang, the topic of whether the original author is suitable for screenwriting has once again sparked discussion.

In recent years, in order to ensure that the plot is not changed by magic, the drama party often invites the original author to serve as the screenwriter, Mo Bao Feibao, Gu Man, Pray Jun, Zheng Zhi, and Ma Boyong have all worked on the filmization of their own works. But in this process, the adaptation of some "mother" authors such as Jiu Lu Feixiang and Xu Lei is still difficult to please the fans who have sucked in the original work.

Why is it easy for the original author to "overturn" as a screenwriter? Is writing a script and writing a novel really "interlaced like a mountain"?

How exactly do you change the screenplay?

Under the storm of the screenwriter of "Heart Protection", some netizens who spoke passionately did not know the screenwriting workflow of this type of adaptation.

According to the understanding of Entertainment Studio, generally speaking, after determining the adaptation IP, the film party will first communicate with the screenwriter about the style and volume of the drama he wants to do, such as orthodox style or light joy? What is the approximate number of episodes? Which work is probably already benchmarked?

After the communication is completed, the screenwriter needs to read the novel completely, sort out the plot line, character relationship diagram, advantages and disadvantages of film and television adaptation of the novel, and propose the overall adaptation direction on this basis, including from which angle? How to lead out the main line after cutting? What are the main plot points? How to advance the relationship between male and female protagonists? Do you want to add or remove plots or characters?

Jiu Lu Feixiang participated in the screenwriting of "Heart Protection" stills, Hou Minghao, Zhou Ye

Wang Jing, a screenwriter who has many novel adaptation experiences, told Entertainment Studio that there are also many novels that are not suitable for film and television adaptation. For example, some overlord novels touch the bottom line of morality, or do not respect women, which is not in line with current values. Secondly, there are some particularly "water" novels, such as large paragraphs of psychological and emotional descriptions, and more than a dozen chapters over and over again about only one thing.

If the novel is okay, the screenwriting team will provide a plot outline for the film party, that is, use about 10,000 words to tell the whole plot, and constantly revise it according to the feedback of the platform and the film party. "For example, if the film side feels that the relationship between the male and female protagonists is not clear, or the growth line of the male protagonist is not visible, the screenwriter needs to modify it according to the corresponding feedback." Wang Jing said.

After the plot outline is passed, the screenwriting team will polish the episode outline and character biography. Among them, the episode outline is similar to the episode plot that netizens see on the Internet, there are no details all the plot, and the number of words in each episode will be about 800-1500 words.

After the episode outline comes out, the screenwriter will continue to write the episode outline. Different from the episode outline, the sub-scene outline is to facilitate the director to coordinate the service in advance, bring out the scenes needed for each plot, and supplement some line details. Sometimes in order to speed up the progress, the screenwriting team will also do internal divisions, let some people write the sub-scene outline, and the other part fills the episode outline into a single-episode script of about 15,000 words.

Ma Boyong participated in the screenplay of "The Silk Case of Daming under the Microscope", Zhang Ruoyun

Since there will be a lot of force majeure in the crew, such as temporarily adding or subtracting roles, changing scenes, etc., the screenwriter's work usually lasts from the beginning of taking over the project to the end of filming. In this process, unless it is an independent screenwriter or a unit drama, the screenwriter will not fight personally, and must discuss with the team, the responsible editor, the original author and even the director throughout the process.

Cheng Youbai is the editor-in-charge of a leading domestic film and television company, and her job is to propose revisions to the synopsis, outline and script written by the screenwriter one version by one. Sometimes time is pressed and the screenwriter can't hand over a satisfactory script, and she will directly rewrite it with the company team.

"Every scene has its own goals, such as two people in this scene to go from a very good relationship to a break, but the screenwriter writes very far-fetched, the audience can't empathize, will you think what is there to quarrel between these two? I can only rewrite a rupture scene. ”

Sometimes, Cheng Youbai even has to write the synopsis and lines of each scene. Speaking of this, Cheng Youbai was a little aggrieved. "Many film and television companies often have to do screenwriting work, such as rewriting many scenes, and joining the group as a screenwriter after starting, but often can't get the signature and money. I've heard of companies giving a portion of the bonus, but I've also heard of situations where there is neither a signature nor money. ”

There has been a screenwriter controversy "Long Moon Ember Ming", Luo Yunxi

Due to the large number of drama collectives, the screenwriting team will also divide labor according to their expertise. For example, someone who is good at building frames and logic is responsible for writing sub-fields; If someone has many ideas, he is responsible for controlling the plot synopsis; If you have a good humanistic pen, you are responsible for expanding the script. All documents, the overall draft and the chief screenwriter also have to do the overall control and final revision. Therefore, many people often appear in the column of screenwriters at the end of the film.

Under such a workflow, Wang Jing believes that the so-called "who wrote the xx episode" in the screenwriting turmoil of "Heart Protection" is not accurate in the script creation of non-unit dramas and non-independent screenwriters.

"For the screenwriter who took over the screenplay, the heart is very apprehensive. If you are lucky, meet an extremely excellent team and main creator, can fully present the content in the script, the time and place are favorable and this drama is popular, and the reputation is good, it is the luck of the screenwriter. If you are unlucky and do not cooperate with all parties, you must be the first to be scolded. ”

"Protecting the Heart", Hou Minghao, Zhou Ye

Is writing a novel the same as writing a screenplay?

Although they are all written work, the author and screenwriter of the novel are "interlaced like a mountain".

Pray Jun, the original author of "The Beginning" and one of the screenwriters of film and television, once accurately summarized the difference between writing a novel and writing a script on Weibo: "In the year of writing the script of "The Beginning", I learned many new writing methods, such as the multi-threading of the script, such as the burial and detonation of foreshadowing, such as the skills of turning scenes. When I wrote the script, I was a complete newcomer, which was equivalent to cutting the trumpet again. The lens language and the novel language are two completely different systems, and the inner activities and emotional expressions I am good at must all be cut, and all the verbose lines I write online articles must be abandoned. ”

As a screenwriter of an adapted screenplay, the core ability is to transform written language into audiovisual language.

Novels often appear in the description of the psychological state of large characters, and in the process of film and television, the most trouble-saving way is narration. But in today's high-level creations, screenwriters usually use details and action to present.

"For example, there is a plot in "Heart Protection" where Yan Hui is very scared when he sees Tianyao. If in the novel, Yan Hui's fear may have a large inner monologue description, but in terms of visual presentation, it may be that Tianyao tries to touch Yan Hui, but Yan Hui inserts a flashback shot, remembering Tianyao's memories of hurting himself, and then cutting another shot, Yan Hui imagines that he is going to be hurt by Tianyao again under the influence of black flowers, so he trembles and pushes him away, subconsciously retreating. Screenwriter Wang Jing said.

"Protecting the Heart", Zhou Ye

Transitions are also another major task faced by film and television screenwriters. In the novel, the transition only needs to start another paragraph or replace the next chapter, but in the film and television drama, it cannot be directly black or "born".

Wang Jing introduced that the simpler way is that if A and B were arguing in the previous scene and wanted to transition to C, the screenwriter would end the first scene and let A ask B "What about C?" ”。 But how to connect naturally depends on the skill of the screenwriter.

Secondly, the pace of film and television dramas is faster. When changing the original work into a script, it is also necessary to greatly refine the text and refine the novel into pure dry goods. A foreshadowing in a novel can be used for ten chapters, but it may only take a few seconds to put it in a film and television drama. This is also a huge test for screenwriters.

"Like everyone said in "Protecting the Heart", Tianyao's return to the wild goose is too sudden, in fact, the foreshadowing has been weakened in the film and television display. In the original work, the setting of Tianyao is a black-bellied spirit dragon, which is also mentioned in the preview of the episode and in the interview footage of the actors. There is a foreshadowing in the play, it is Tianyao who tells Yan Hui that the reason why he is so miserable but still alive is to meet her. After speaking, Tianyao lowered his head and smiled meaningfully, indicating that he had other intentions. This foreshadowing in the novel can be shown in large paragraphs, but it may only be a few seconds in the play, and it is easy to ignore. And the subsequent plot emphasizes the sweetness of the male and female protagonists, resulting in the appearance of the stabbing plot, the audience who is accustomed to snorting sugar ignores the foreshadowing ahead, and it is difficult to accept the plot for a while. Wang Jing said.

"Protecting the Heart", Hou Minghao

What makes many novel authors difficult to accept is the screenwriter's multi-threading, strong collaboration, and strong node working mode in a high-pressure environment.

A crew usually has hundreds or even thousands of people, actors, directors and other main creators have schedules, and the rest of the staff, equipment and venues are also billed according to time. As the beginning of all work, the screenwriter needs to strictly agree on the progress of the work with the film party, and cannot delay the script for a long time, otherwise it will waste a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources.

After serving as the screenwriter of the film and television work "Coward", Zheng Zhi, the author of "Raw Swallow", couldn't help but sigh: "If you use a simple metaphor, in the novel you are the king of the kingdom, you have the final say on everything, and you only need to be responsible for yourself." Screenwriting is a job that requires cooperation, so everything must be premised on cooperation. That is to say, in the end, your script must go through shooting, actors' performances, and post-production to see if the initial effect can be achieved in the end. ”

These complex processes have also made many well-known writers feel the difficulty of screenwriting. Even the highly acclaimed Ma Boyong said bluntly in an interview after writing the script of "The Silk Case of Daming under the Microscope" that he still has a long way to go from the story to the script. The remaining five cases of "Daming under the Microscope" still plan to be written by professional screenwriters.

"Coward", Wang Yuwen, Zhou Still

Is the original author suitable for screenwriting?

So, why is screenwriting so difficult, and many authors have to rise to the challenge?

In recent years, many film and television companies like to find original authors to be screenwriters, one of the reasons is that the novel itself is too complex and difficult for external screenwriters to operate. The second is also to ensure the restoration of IP, which can attract more fans when promoting it.

The advantage of the original author as a screenwriter is that they know what the core expression of the novel is, and even if they make a film and television adaptation, they can retain the essence of the original work and give the original work extra points for adaptation.

For example, when Mo Bao Feibao was the screenwriter of "Homecoming", he was praised by book fans for "book-picking restoration", and the classic scenes and lines in the original work were presented in the play one by one. When "The Silk Case of Daming under the Microscope" was filmed and television, a large number of mathematical debates and meeting minutes in the original work were difficult to adapt, and the author Ma Boyong had to personally go into battle, focusing on the human entanglement behind the numbers, and finally made the words in the novel "move".

"The Way Home", Jing Boran, Tan Songyun

However, the original author will also have deficiencies that are visible to the naked eye as a screenwriter.

"Novels and screenplays are two completely different ways of writing. If the novel is converted into a plot point, it is actually very small, maybe 10 chapters of the plot in the script has two or three scenes, but the number of episodes is fixed, in this case can only rely on the screenwriter to constantly fill in the side lines and copies. However, if the author of the novel is a screenwriter, it may be difficult to make the drama smoothly connect with the original work. Screenwriter Wang Jing said.

Secondly, the appeal of the original fan and the drama fan is different, the original fan should look at the classic bridge, and the drama fan should look at the plot direction. However, many novel authors are often prone to immersion in the original work, and cut into the script by writing novels, which can easily lead to slow pace and chaotic logic.

More importantly, the author of the novel must also turn the previous linear working mode into a screenwriter's point work mode. Once separated from the simple creative environment, it is easy to have problems of maladaptation.

Jiu Lu Feixiang's last screenwriting work "Swagger" caused controversy due to the addition of supporting roles and the collapse of the protagonist's character, and the ending HE changed to BE. Jiu Lu Feixiang said in her response: "Under the rush and high pressure, the entire creative team seems to be perverted. Thinking about it now, I don't understand why when we wrote the script, why we were so murderous, as if we were roaring between the lines - everyone die with us! I even heard that some actors quietly discussed after reading the script, what kind of injury did the screenwriter suffer? Probably the sadness of staying up until you go bald. ”

"Swagger", Xu Kai, Bai Lu

Responsible programming and Bai told Entertainment Studio that the normal operation of the industry is to find professional screenwriters to do adaptation, because writing novels and being screenwriters are originally two professions. But nowadays, there are many fiction authors who also master screenwriting thinking, and even write novels according to the script mode. On the other hand, film and television companies also regard screenwriters as a "job", thinking that training and training are enough, rather than treating screenwriters as an artistic creator.

A large number of original authors do screenwriting, which also exposes the film's lack of attention to the original script to a certain extent.

Wang Jing said frankly that she once had an original script, and the feedback from the platform film party was very good, but she felt that the original script was risky, and suggested buying an IP that could be put into it. Some friends also persuaded her to write her original script into a novel first, and then incubate it into a film and television IP. But she feels that the author of the novel and the screenwriter are two majors, and she does not have such a strong transformation ability, nor does she want to compromise with the "IP-only theory" of the film side.

In 2023, original scripts such as "Crazy" and "Long Season" have also received the attention of not losing to big IPs. On May 26, the shortlist announced by Magnolia of the 28th Shanghai TV Festival also divided the best screenwriters into adaptations and originals, and the original screenwriter names of the five works of "I'm Very Good in Another Country", "County Party Committee Compound", "The Long River of the World", "Menghualu" and "Police Honor" were prominently listed.

"In fact, every screenwriter wants to be original, but very few original authors and book fans are willing to let you be original on their work. Therefore, I hope that the film side can pay more attention to the screenwriter and give the original script more opportunities. Wang Jing said.

The 28th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award shortlist screenwriter part

(Wang Jing, Cheng Youbai is a pseudonym)