Sohu Entertainment Special Article (Lin Zhenxin/Text) Looking back at the drama market in 2023, the presence of idol drama directors is extremely strong.
As the most important track for traffic promotion, idol dramas have always attracted much attention. In the past year, with the broadcast of the work, many directors of domestic entertainment idol dramas have also come to the forefront.
Regardless of the ancient and occasional, the lighting, camera movement, transitions, and editing of these directors were all "judged", and related complaints broke out in a concentrated manner.
This is the first time that a domestic drama director has faced such a large-scale "exposure" in recent years, and it is also a counterattack by the audience to the industrial film and television production process of the assembly line.
So, have waves of dissatisfaction and doubts passed through the "high wall" of the film and television industry?
01
Producer selection director
The factions vary
In order to investigate the satisfaction of industry insiders with idol drama directors, at the end of 2023, Sohu Entertainment specially talked to 15 film and television producers to understand their views on idol drama directors and the list of directors they most want to work with.
According to the results, the idol drama directors that producers want to cooperate with the most are Yi Zheng (9 votes), Deng Ke (9 votes), Lin Yufen (8 votes), Fei Zhenxiang (8 votes), Qin Zhen (7 votes), and Yang Yang (6 votes).
Among the remaining directors, Guo Hu, Zhu Ruibin, and Mao's Tree got 5 votes, 4 votes, and 3 votes respectively, and they also became more popular choices.
Zhou Jingtao, Gu Xiaosheng (Guo Jingming), Ju Jueliang, Li Muge, Yin Tao all received 2 votes, and Jiang Jiajun, Zeng Qingjie, Tian Yu, Desert and other directors also received the support of producers.
The results of the small voting are not representative of the opinions of everyone in the industry. But from their choices, we can try to parse several real ideas within the current drama market.
First of all, holding popular models and masterpieces is the most important screening criterion.
It is not difficult to find that Yi Zheng, Deng Ke, Lin Yufen, Fei Zhenxiang, and Yang Yang, who have the highest satisfaction, all have explosive results.
Yi Zheng's "Canglan Jue", "The Chronicles of the Song Dynasty", Deng Ke's costume light comedy "Son-in-law", Fei Zhenxiang's "Splendid Stars, Moonrise in the Sea", and Yang Yang's "Menghualu" are all high-quality popular idol dramas in recent years, and Lin Yufen's "Flower Thousand Bone", "Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms", and "A Smile is Alluring" have also become popular out of the circle.
And according to the producers, their names are on the platform, which is also a safe "guarantee for passing the meeting".
It is worth mentioning that Qin Zhen, who is a rookie director in comparison, also became popular with last year's hit drama "Sauvignon Blanc". "I really hope to cooperate with a serious and professional female director. Gu Shen, the producer who chose Qin Zhen, said.
Of course, everyone's definition of "hit" and "masterpiece" is different.
Producer Chi Tsai said bluntly: "I like director Guo Hu's masterpiece. In addition to director Guo Hu, Chi Tsai also chose director Ju Jueliang, who directed "Long Moon Embers", and director Yin Tao, who filmed "Long Wind Crossing".
Hu Yu, another producer who chose Guo Hu like him, admitted frankly that it was more out of consideration of popularity, which was quite a bit of "black and red are also red". "Director Guo Hu has a topic, and he can start the film. And the costumes are really good. ”
In the case of the same explosive model, the more "cost-effective" will be slightly better.
Producer Wei Fan feels that the most important thing is to be able to "complete on time". Therefore, she prefers a group of veteran Hong Kong directors represented by Jiang Jiajun and Zhu Ruibin. They maintain a high density of output, and they also have past masterpieces that can be used to "create more perfection" within the specified budget.
Wei Fan described them as "not seeking breakthroughs, but never making mistakes". "They're not going to have a 'slap on the head'. I'm most afraid of the director slapping his head, because it involves overtime and budget. Once the filming is not finished, the problem is even greater. ”
Producer Lu Anyan agrees.
Some directors can't grasp the rhythm of filming well, and there will be a strong sense of separation in a play. Lu Anyan encountered a similar situation. "The director has very strict control in the early stage of filming, scheduling various scenes, guiding actors, and starting again at every turn, and can only shoot 2 or 3 pages of scenes a day. As a result, in the later stage, I had to rush to catch up with the schedule, and I couldn't wait to shoot ten pages every day, and the whole crew stayed up all night to shoot. ”
Therefore, Lu Anyan hopes to cooperate with a director like Zhu Ruibin, who has a good rhythm in drama, mature industrialization, and regular crew operation. "Just because I don't stay up late, I'm very willing to cooperate with Director Zhu. ”
02
The layman looks lively
Insiders look at the "doorway"
The level of public discussion does not affect the choice of directors by most producers. Producer Lu Xiang said: "After all, the producer is ultimately facing the platform. ”
In the eyes of the producers, director Li Muge can "satisfy the pursuit of the picture", and Gu Xiaosheng (Guo Jingming) is also very good "as a lighting engineer and cameraman".
"You can't grab any of these directors you listed. Producer Lu Xiang told Sohu Entertainment that the above-mentioned directors are all famous directors recognized by the platform. No matter what the final ranking is and how the audience talks, they don't worry about work, and even the schedule is very tight.
Other than that, the audience and the artists have a slightly different focus.
Producer Wei Fan told Sohu Entertainment that after working with a certain director, a top female felt that the director had filmed herself very well, so when talking about the next drama, she appointed the director to shoot it, and asked the filmmaker that it must be the director.
To sum up, there are huge differences in the views of the industry and outside the circle on idol drama directors.
And to a certain extent, the producers play a decisive role, and they have their own judgment standards.
"We understand directors mainly by connections, and what we understand is the reputation of the industry. Of course, it will not be accurate to rely on others to paraphrase it alone, so it will be better to understand it if you have worked with it yourself. Seeing is believing, empathizing, and being able to balance the 'colored glasses' and the 'public opinion filter' a little. Producer Lu Anyan said.
In the circle of the industry, there are many stories of directors "famous". "Some directors are in charge of filming on the spot, and the director himself does not work directly on the set, but only sits. Producer Hu Yu revealed.
Projects that have major problems after the broadcast can basically see the "clues" during the preparation period. "If you follow the shooting on the spot, you can feel whether it is the director's thinking or the photography thinking, the picture or the story. Producer Lu Xiang said.
The audience questioned why this director played well in the last drama, and when this drama pulled his hips, he could go to see if he had other directors working together in the last drama to see what the difference was between the other main creative teams. Producer Chi Tsai believes that many idol drama directors have a "comfort zone".
Some directors are suitable for filming heavy court scenes from a male perspective, while others are good at "light" emotional line shaping. If it is "misplaced", it is likely to be unadaptable.
So the producers will consider the "match" between the director and the story. "More often than not, for the sake of insurance, a certain director shoots a certain type of film and television work, this work is not bad, there is no big problem, there will be many works of the same type to invite. Producer Lu Xiang revealed.
What the audience sees is still only the finished product packaged by the assembly line of the film and television industry, and it is impossible to deeply explore the internal situation.
The producers believe that through personal contact and cooperation and word of mouth, they know more about the director's real working mode and working status.
03
Idol drama director
Trapped in ?
"I think the public pays special attention to idol drama directors, and they pay more attention to them year by year. Producer Gu Shen feels that the audience is now paying more attention to film and television works, more rational, and more demanding.
At the same time, it is also more professional. "In the past, the audience would only say, 'This drama is not good-looking, I don't want to watch it', but now they can classify and confirm which film and television works are good and which are not good. Gu Shen said.
"It's good, some directors who are very watery can change it. Producer Lu Anyan said with a smile.
Idol dramas have always enjoyed the "tolerance" of the audience. But the decline in quality visible to the naked eye, coupled with the bursting of the traffic bubble, the overstretched acting skills of idol dramas are no longer able to talk about tricks.
For these idol drama directors who are trapped in "work", the improvement of the mass audience is not a kind of supervision.
But in addition, idol drama directors are also facing many different situations.
For example, directors whose works have a distinct personal style generally have their own unique working patterns. Producer Li Li broke the news that a certain director will "retouch the picture frame by frame" for his male and female protagonists, so as to ensure that every frame is good-looking.
It is conceivable that the type and volume of such directors' works will also be limited, and they will not be able to manage some projects with a huge structure, and they will be trapped in "personal style".
There are also many professional directors who are trapped in the "battle for the right to speak".
Producer Li Li revealed that the director of a big hit ancient puppet drama did not communicate well with the producer during the filming on the set, and it has reached the point where "once the film is filmed, it is a war", but it is precisely because of his persistence that the final broadcast effect of the drama far exceeded expectations.
When a professional director has the right to speak, he can polish a good work, but it is inevitable that there will be some friction in communication. And when a director with ideas loses the right to speak, it means that many aspects have "collapsed".
"A certain popular ancient puppet is because the director has no right to speak. The producer has too much right to speak, which has affected the director's normal performance, and later the director became depressed and needed psychological intervention. In the memory of producer Wei Fan, the director was high-level and thoughtful, but the performance of that drama made him feel "unfamiliar".
It is worth noting that among the independent producers and platform producers of film and television companies that Sohu Entertainment talked to, it is obvious that producers belonging to different platforms will make more consistent choices.
Behind this is also the "binding" relationship between the director and the platform. Like the actors, some directors have also formed in-depth cooperation with the platform.
When producer Gu Shen wanted to work with one of the directors last year, he learned that the director had been "rounded" by another video platform. And since the ancient puppet works directed by him have become popular, the platform has been particularly important.
Therefore, idol drama directors are trapped in "work", "right to speak", and also trapped in "circles".
It is said that more than a dozen big IPs are at his disposal, and he doesn't think about other platforms at all. Gu Shen revealed.
Finally, there are some high-reputation niche directors who are facing the dilemma of "few people": they have works and abilities, but they have no filming.
"I don't think it's a bad thing for idol drama directors to have personal characteristics, but they can't be too much. Producer Hu Yu told Sohu Entertainment that after seeing the evaluation of the director on the Internet, he felt that it was "a good thing" to some extent. "For more thoughtful producers, it's also a good thing for the director to bring his own topic, which has attracted a group of curious and rebellious audiences to the series. ”
"In the past, only actors needed marketing, but now the main creator must also be marketed, and no one knows you without a label on your body. Producer Hu Yu concluded.