Wang Hanxuan, chief producer of "Daydream Me": The healing of two-way redemption is dedicated to the youth of Generation Z
August 21, 2023 | Issue 3334
"The world is chaotic, I see your pain, you bear witness to my suffering."
With Lin Yujiao (played by Zhuang Duffy) and Shen Wei (played by Zhou Yiran) reunited at Pucheng University, the two lonely souls finally found each other, and the "tired bird returned to the forest" CP went one step further, opening a new chapter in the university's free pursuit of dreams.
The post-80s and 90s generations are the main force in watching dramas, and the youth themes on the market are more keen to tell about the sorrows and joys of their growth. "Daydream Me" is broadcast exclusively on Mango TV, produced by Straw Bear and produced by Straw Bear, is the first youth drama to focus the camera on Generation Z, not only the male and female protagonists are post-00s, the insistence of "dragging sister schoolmaster" and "cool brother school bully" and chasing dreams side by side, but also accurately hit the inner desire of young audiences to "not be defined".
Nowadays, youth school dramas are moving in the direction of fireworks life and romantic pure love. Although "Daydream Me" tells the story of a double strong student from high school to college, the story is not only the sweetness of pure love, the pain of parting, the difficulty of transformation, and the warmth of companionship... Every taste of youth can be found in the play.
Recently, we spoke with Wang Hanxuan, the chief producer of "Daydream Me", who shared with us her observations and feelings about the youth of Generation Z, and how to integrate young people's life themes and love views into the stories they love to watch.
Wang Hanxuan, founder and chief producer of Shanghai Mulai Culture
The proximity of two isolated islands
For many years, Wang Hanyu has served as a platform producer, and also worked as an IP consultant in a film and television studio, handling projects such as "Si Ten" and a new benchmark for fantasy dramas with unique characters, as well as realistic suspense such as "Obsessed Like a Shadow".
The first work Wang Hanyu was responsible for was a youth theme, and "Daydream Me", as her first drama after starting a business, still tells a campus story, but this time the protagonist is more "young".
In Wang Hanyu's eyes, the image of Generation Z and youth is very close, "Generation Z, as the generation of netizens, their consumption habits and self-pursuit are more open and personalized, and we can feel a vitality and enthusiasm running towards the light from this group, which is the sense of youth." ”
The male and female protagonists of "Daydream Me", Shen Wei and Lin Yujiao, are typical of Generation Z. One was abandoned by his relatives, one his parents were divorced, and both suffered the pain of their original families, "both of them are very stubborn, trying to manage their lives in reality, and each has a rich inner world." ”
When he saw the original novel, Wang Hanyu was first moved by the name of the novel, and then attracted by the concept of love in the story. "The love of 'tired birds returning to the forest' in the novel is evenly matched, two-way healing, two people meet each other and fall in love with each other on the way together, but they will not be attached to each other."
Shen Wei and Lin Yuwei are both top students, and they each have new goals after going to college, and they are both independent and wonderful enough in their own world.
"This is very in line with the current young people's concept of love, the self is always before love, before becoming the light of the other party, 'I' must first become 'me' myself."
Adapting a popular novel is a lot of pressure. On the basis of retaining the essence of the original work, the main creative team reconstructed "Daydream", and also adjusted some bridges that could not appear in campus dramas.
Although there are many family conflicts and growing pains of self-reconciliation in the original story, the overall style is light, full of adolescent directness and playfulness. The series maintains the light and lively tone of the original work, and also retains the character essence of the male and female protagonists.
"Shen Wei has enough focus and endurance to dream of his dreams, and we changed his living environment from a tattoo parlor to a silver jewelry shop, a craft that requires study, which can also reflect his inner craftsmanship."
Wang Hanyu felt that the process of Shen Wei and Lin Yu getting to know each other was like two isolated islands slowly approaching. "Shen Wei was brought up by his uncle, and after his uncle became a vegetative person, he inherited this silver jewelry store, and he would not tell anyone about the pressure of life and the longing for his uncle, and this small shop became an island where he trusted himself."
Lin Yujiao, who temporarily moved to Pucheng, is also a lonely outlier. Abandoned by her mother to a strange city, her father also lacked care for her, and Lin Yujie, who transferred to a new school, was as easy to approach as Shen Yu. "Although the two of them seem to have a sense of distance, they are very righteous in their hearts, becoming at the same table to warm each other, solving rent problems for silver jewelry stores together, making up lessons for each other, going to the farm to relax... Their mutual support in life is also a process of illuminating each other and healing together. ”
A group portrait of youth half a foot off the ground
Novel adaptation, the first thing many viewers pay attention to is casting. The stubbornness and tenacity of Zhuang Duffy are very similar to Lin Yuwei, who likes to see the road unevenly, pull out the knife to help.
Wang Hanyu believes that Lin Yuwei is a 'thorny' whale girl, with both helpful cheerfulness and a bit of loneliness and "don't get close to people" brought by the native family, "She is the kind of girl who walks on the road and turns the ice cream cone into a telescope to see, Zhuang Duffy's sweet temperament with some edge, and Lin Yujian is very close." ”
Compared with Duffy Zhuang's fit, Zhou Yiran, who plays Shen Wei, is calm and restrained, making it difficult to think of the "crazy drag" of the school bully at first glance.
In Wang Hanxuan's view, premature maturity is more than just "dragging". "Shen Wei seems to be an all-powerful 'tired master' with a group of loyal partners, but his maturity and strength are because he silently endured a lot of pressure that should not be at this age, he was contaminated with some of his uncle's escape ideas, and almost gave up his dream for the silver jewelry store, his inner world is very complicated. Zhou Yiran's profound temperament is very close to Shen Wei's complex maturity. ”
In Wang Hanxuan's view, the emotional expression of youth pure love dramas is more heart-to-heart than that of ordinary sweet pet dramas, and the characters are closer to reality. Although many school dramas now incorporate fantasy, suspense and other elements to add to the creation, "Daydream Me" is about youth in the new era, and the display of love and friendship pays more attention to the reality of life.
"Daydream of Me" not only has double strong pure love, but also a youth ode about the growth of teenagers. If the growth and parting of "Tired Birds Return to the Forest" contracted most of the tears, then the daily life of the Liying squad is the biggest source of laughter in the series.
The down-to-earth and diligent He Songnan (played by Wang Chuan), the serious and funny Wang Yiyang (played by Bian Tianyang), the arrogant but sincere Gu Xia (played by Fan Shiran), and the sensible but somewhat cowardly Xu Ruyi (played by Liao Yinyue)... Each character in the play has his own heart, and he gains his love and touches in helping each other.
"In terms of story, we try to get as close as possible to the thoughts and feelings of current adolescent students, showing the absurdity, persistence and warmth of pursuing dreams in adolescence." Wang Hanyu described it as youth "half a foot off the ground", "with realistic scenes and characters, but also from the real reveals a romantic, mysterious sense of dreams, and keeps some distance from the absolute reality." ”
The boutique direction and the new women's theatrical route
In addition to the story, the visual style of the youth drama also determines the final texture of the series. The picture of "Daydream Me" is blue-green, fresh and translucent, full of summer green onions and vigor, which perfectly matches the artistic conception of "Daydream".
Wang Hanyu said that the filming of the entire drama was completed in Sanya, Hainan, but Sanya was not the original selected filming location. "We originally chose to shoot in Xiamen, but for some special reasons, we eventually had to move to Sanya."
When he saw the finished film, Wang Hanyu found that Sanya had chosen the right one. Few coastal cities are as diverse as Sanya, with the sea and sky, green plants and a strong summer atmosphere. "Teal is the main color of Sanya, which complements the scene of daydream youth in my heart."
Stylized visuals blend with stories of flying close to the ground, culminating in daylight dreamlike youth. "Daydream Me", with a unique temperament, is undoubtedly a dark horse in this summer's file, and at the same time, it has also made many people pay attention to the producer behind the series - Jiulai Culture.
As the founder of Mulai Culture, she said that the company adheres to the new female route of combining IP adaptation and originality.
"Daydream Me" is the first assignment handed over to the audience by Mulai Culture, and its unique pure love aesthetics and story innovation confirm the company's exquisite and ingenious drama concept, as well as profound film and television resources and production strength.
"We are a young label dedicated to new women's dramas," Wang Hanyu shared, "Today, when women's consciousness is generally awakened, there are too many women of different ages and occupations who are worth telling, and in the future, we will continue to make efforts on this track to show women's issues in multiple dimensions and show more women's colorful lives." ”
Wang Hanxuan
In the project library of the culture, there are pure love of youth, adult fairy tales, large-scale long dramas, and boutique short dramas that take the texture route. This start-up company that is sensitive to young people is gaining momentum and is looking forward to feedback and testing from the audience.
【Text/Kwai Chung】