Author 丨 Zhou Yuhe
Edit | Lone pigeon
In 1950, on the eve of the National Day, Wang Xin, then head of the Tianjin Music Work Troupe, set off for Beijing to buy musical instruments for the orchestra, and when he finished selecting old instruments in a pawnshop near the Xidan Arch, the idea of composing a good song was still in his mind.
A year ago, he witnessed the birth of a new China at the founding ceremony of the capital, witnessing the parade shouting impassioned slogans through the renovation of Tiananmen Square.
Wang Xin thought at that time, if there can be a march to express the voice of the masses, which is both simple and easy for people to accept, everyone sings through Tiananmen Square, and no matter how long the line is, this song can be continuous, and can also be sung back and forth, how good would it be?
He always believed that music has power, and that it is very powerful.
Wang Xingeng, formerly known as Wang Xingeng, was born on October 26, 1918 in a peasant family in Dangkou Town, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, and has been playing flutes and pulling erhu since childhood. At the age of 14, he worked as a clerk in a Shanghai department store and went to a cultural tuition school in his spare time. On the eve of the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Wang Xin joined the anti-Japanese salvation song movement and became the conductor of the choir.
Once, the choir participated in the "Boycott Japanese Goods" parade on Nanjing Road, the road was covered with barricades, more than 30,000 people and the military and police were deadlocked, Wang Xin climbed up the ladder and directed Xian Xinghai's "National Salvation Army Song", "The muzzle of the gun is outward, march forward in unison!" Gradually, the whole procession sang in unison with the choir, and a powerful song sounded, the military police and barricades were driven away, and the people continued to move forward.
A song can retreat from the enemy, and Wang Xin was amazed at how powerful the power of music could be. It was at this time that he made up his mind to become a musician with great works like Xian Xinghai. In 1938, he entered the Music Department of Lu Xun Literature and Art College in Yan'an, where he learned music from Xian Xinghai, Lü Ji, Xiang Yu and other teachers. In 1939, Wang Xin rushed to the front line, and when he was about to leave, Xian Xinghai gave him an automatic pencil and encouraged him to write good works like "The Yellow River Chorus" and "The Song of the National Salvation Army".
Ten years after receiving the pencil, at the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Wang Xin saw the vigorous new China and was particularly eager to write a masterpiece and present a gift to the motherland. For nearly a year, he wrote one every two or three days, writing more than 100 songs, but he never satisfied himself.
On September 14, 1950, on the eve of the first anniversary of the National Day, Wang Xin came to Beijing again, and on his way back, he passed Through Tiananmen Square, when the autumn was high and crisp, the flowers were blooming, under the blue sky, the five-star red flag was flying in the wind, and a group of primary school students lined up in a square, beating drums, singing the "Chinese Children's Team Song", and came to the front.
Seeing the children's happy smiles, the picture that had not yet been constructed after a year of hard thinking and meditation suddenly came to Wang Xin's mind, and the first six lyrics of "Singing the Motherland" came out:
"The five-star red flag flutters in the wind
How loud the victory song was
Sing our dear motherland
From now on, we will prosper and be strong
From now on to prosperity and prosperity"
Because he was in a hurry to take a ride back to Tianjin, in order to avoid forgetting the lyrics, Wang Xin kept humming along the way. After getting on the train, without paper in hand, I quickly opened the empty cigarette box and recorded the inspiration on the back.
The train started, the woods and fields outside the window kept receding in the field of vision, he thought of his life in the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region in 1943, the hope of the Chinese people for victory during the revolutionary period, and the rich and beautiful rivers and mountains of New China now, and unconsciously sang "Over the mountains, over the plains, across the rushing Yellow River Yangtze River..."
The prototype of "Singing the Motherland" was born in this way.
When he returned home, he finished the rest of the work overnight, and the next day sent the work to the newspaper, but was rejected on the grounds that the song was not nationalized enough. Wang Xin was not discouraged, personally went to the docks, stations, factories, universities to teach singing, and finally "Sing the Motherland" was sung from Tianjin to Beijing and Shanghai, and was liked by countless people.
On September 12, 1951, Premier Zhou Enlai issued an order of the Central People's Government: "Singing the Motherland" was widely sung throughout the country. On September 15, People's Daily issued the "Notice of the Ministry of Culture of the Central People's Government on Singing on National Day", which included "Singing the Motherland" as a basic song commonly sung by the people of the whole country.
Half a century later, in 2007, the Chang'e-1 satellite carried the song "Singing the Motherland" to the moon about 384,000 kilometers. At the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the children's version of "Singing the Motherland" sounded under the attention of billions of people. Now, "Singing the Motherland" has become a ceremonial song, opening song or closing song of China's major events, and has always been sung in the places where there are Chinese people living on the earth.
On May 10, "Sing! Motherland", telling the story of "Singing the Motherland" from birth to singing, director Han Keyi adopted a one-shot way to restore Wang Xin's creative process.
Han Keyi believes that "Singing the Motherland" was initially rejected because it was not too national (songs such as "Dongfang Hong", which was loved by the people at that time, were five-tone scales, and "Singing the Motherland" did not feel like Chinese songs), but later it withstood the test, indicating that the songs were really loved by the people.
Guo Xiaodong, the actor who plays Wang Xin, offered to shave his head before shooting, so as to get close to the image temperament of the prototype character. In his opinion, the men who lived in that era had mostly green skin hairstyles. Costumes must also strictly follow history and must not be sloppy in the slightest.
In the end, Sing! "Motherland" presents Wang Xin as a composer who loves the motherland, loves music, is passionate and romantic, and sometimes somewhat childish. Guo Xiaodong described his own views on music in the scene where he bought an instrument, "There is a force in music, this force is invisible to us, it can inspire people and boost morale. "Impromptu improvisation, but very much in line with Wang Xin's musical philosophy."
In October 2007, Wang Xin died, and in his later years he was seriously ill, but he still insisted on listening to the news from his hospital bed and caring about major national affairs. He said, "Although I have written a lot of works, I think I have only written two songs in my life, one is "Singing the Motherland" written with musical notes, and the other is the 'Singing the Motherland' that I still compose with my heart."
Dialogue with Han Keyi:
Time and space are the charm of short films
"One Shot to the End" is "Sing! The more prominent features of "Motherland", the choice of technique comes from a 3D version of the world famous painting that director Han Keyi has seen, and the technology provider retains the brushstrokes of the painter Van Gogh, but the painting format is three-dimensional, layer by layer, so that people can see the three-dimensional fields and stone bridges, and experience the world in the eyes of the painter.
Han Keyi was deeply moved by this "immersive" aesthetic and prepared "Singing! When "Motherland" was filmed, he always thought about how to let the audience really enter the 50s: if the black-and-white old photos treasured in everyone's home suddenly "came alive", what kind of feeling would it be that people could follow the lens to the end of the lens back to the past when their elders had really lived?
He rewrote the story of composer Wang Xin and "Singing the Motherland" according to this layer of lens logic, the story has only four or five scenes, each scene has done a shot to the end, a change of scene is a shot, and the discussion of time and space is vividly reflected in the short film.
In Han Keyi's view, movies are the door of time, and opening the door of time, walking in or paralleling with it is the charm that a short film (movie) should have.
Blog World: "Singing! How is the "Motherland" project different from your previous shooting experience? Is there pressure when you receive a project? What are the main sources of stress?
Han Keyi: This time I basically went to work alone, and I brought a disciple of the Photography Department, Chen Chen (the opening film of the 2020 Hundred Flowers Awards, "How Are You", was also filmed by me with him). The rest of the team was working together for the first time, and there was a feeling of opening a blind box. The shooting cycle of the project is also relatively short, and the camera opened on March 11 was filmed in two days.
I am fine in terms of time pressure, I can adapt to this intensity, but people are always like this, when receiving the project, they will want to have higher requirements for content quality, what breakthrough can there be this time? Is there any pursuit in shooting? Including audiovisual language, etc., a lot of details need to be considered.
Blog World: How is the starring role determined? What do you think is the reason why Guo Xiaodong is suitable for this role?
Han Keyi: I am a classmate of Xiaodong (Nortel), he is a 96 acting department, I am 97 photography, there have been two previous cooperations have passed, There is WeChat usually do not chat much, after receiving this project I found him, he said yes. But after reading the script, he suddenly refused, saying that it was not suitable for him, because he did not understand music, and he could not understand the level of character performance for the time being, so he declined.
But first I think he's a great actor, not greasy at all, very polite. And it is a very persistent, very crazy performer in the play. I think he must be able to act well, and I especially appreciate him, so I especially hope that he will play Wang Xin.
I rubbed it with him several times, telling him that it is difficult for the film industry to know the voice now, and you should not miss this opportunity. In the end, he felt that I was also a particularly persistent person, and the two of us called several times later, and eventually he came.
Blog World: What specific requirements do you have for other creative members?
Han Keyi: I ask the photographer to think of himself as an actor, and I will talk to the photographer, "You are in this time and space, you are the person of this era, you are a spectator of the times, and you are also a participant, both representing the audience and being an actor at the same time, theoretically speaking, when he says a heavy word, you should all step back." "That's right, that's the state.
Blogging World: What was your most satisfying or memorable scene? Why?
Han Keyi: They are quite satisfied, and may have to talk about where there are regrets. In the shooting, in some group performances and supporting roles, there will be some requirements, especially the scene to the end, sometimes everyone thinks that everything is good, the rhythm is also comfortable, but group performances and other factors will lead to a small flaw on the screen. But if you do it again, the effect will be unattainable, there will be some small regrets, but this matter is not important, the most important thing is that we all work hard to do a good job and finish the project.
Everyone in the team works hard and tries their best to cooperate to achieve a good shooting effect, and in the huge crew, group performances are really easy to leak. So this time shooting, I spent a lot of time talking to the group. I would tell them that you are playing your parents, your grandparents, and if you want to know what their state is, you have to imitate them. We play people from another era, but everyone's parents are from that era, and if you think of him, you will be like him. I think this performance is dedicated to them.
Blogosphere: What's new about the people involved in this episode, the field in which it is located, and even the broader history? What do you think "ideal" means in this day and age?
Han Keyi: By looking at history, we will know that the original mud has crossed so much from the mud before to the current neatness. In fact, you will feel that human beings are always moving forward, sometimes regardless of whether the wheel is slow, it is really moving forward, to firmly believe in this, and will also feel that human mission is like this.
I used to study painting, and after I went to film school, I did photography, but I didn't think about changing careers after I became a director. I remember that before Dumas died, he was still reading "The Three Musketeers" that he had written, and his son asked him how he felt, and Dumas said, "It's really well written." For the creators, this is very happy, they will feel that what they want to do has been done, and the audience will like it. For me, my work makes the audience feel valuable, but also reflects the technology that I should embody, so I am very happy.
Dialogue with Liu Qianwen:
Go forward with what you believe
In the first act, after the host played by Liu Qianwen announced the opening of the global collection of Songs for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the picture began to flash, and the story of wang Xin, the songwriter of "Singing the Motherland", created music in front of the audience.
"The 2008 Beijing Olympics are too important for Chinese", in Liu Qianwen's view, the female host she played was like an outlet for the collective pride of the Chinese at that time, always maintaining "the excitement that came out of the blood".
Therefore, before shooting, she carefully considered the grasp of the scale, and when broadcasting the news, she should be both positive and upward, but also maintain the rigor of the profession, and could not show too much excitement. After delving into the very distinctive profession of "Olympic hosting", she gradually immersed herself in the role and found a suitable sense of language and style.
Previously, she also experienced different careers in order to play the role. In the first professional medical drama in China to expose "brain diseases" launched in April this year, "Deep in the Mind", Liu Qianwen played the agile female doctor Ou Qiaoyi. In order to get close to the role, before filming began, she learned at the hospital at close range the state of the emergency department doctor's treatment, as well as the mode and way of getting along between doctors and patients, and avoided out-of-the-ordinary impromptu play when performing, because "what is in the hands of the doctor is life".
Hosts and doctors are very professional professions, and the actors who play these roles must use their own understanding to design more details for the roles and impress the audience with the truth. In the future, Liu Qianwen wants to try more roles that contrast with the image she once created, and the experience of growing up in a military family has made her always keep her career motivated - for the things she believes, she is brave enough to move forward.
Blog World: Your "Singing! The motherland played a host, before filming, what did you do to prepare for this role, such as in what ways to understand the characters and history?
Liu Qianwen: I specifically studied the state of the host when broadcasting the news in 2008, and it was usually calm and revealing excitement and joy. The temperament is generally positive, but it is necessary to restrain the excitement of the heart and not to show too much excitement, which is quite difficult to grasp.
I also practiced news broadcasting with the video of "News Network", and the longest record was four hours of continuous practice, and my voice was dumb, but fortunately I found a suitable sense of language and style.
Blog World: In Singing! In this chapter of "Motherland", although the role of the host is not very heavy, it is also an indispensable part, how do you understand the significance of this character in the play?
Liu Qianwen: 2008 was too important for Chinese, and the host at that time was really happy when she said that the relevant things in this regard were so excited that everyone else could see the excitement that came out of her blood, and her state represented the overall collective pride of the Chinese at that time. Her identity is a host, in fact, she is also a representative and expression of public emotions.
Blog World: During the filming process, when you cooperated with Guo Xiaodong, Wang Ou and other senior actors, what were the things that impressed you?
Liu Qianwen: Teacher Wang Ou is very gentle and quiet, very friendly to people, and everyone is very willing to communicate with her. Although Teacher Guo Xiaodong did not talk much at the scene, his attitude towards the play was very strict, and he would demand himself in every small detail. The dedication of the two seniors and the pursuit of professional excellence have set an example for all our young actors and are worth learning.
Blog World: I learned before that you said that your grandparents were soldiers and revolutionaries of the older generation, and your grandfather even cut off his finger in order to go to Yan'an. Does this family atmosphere have any effect on your personality and behavior?
Liu Qianwen: I think the biggest influence on me may be the ambition for my career and the recklessness when pursuing my ideals. For the sake of what you have identified, go forward.
Grandparents don't talk about the past very often, but they often say not to always think about their own benefits, but to think more about others, and the most impressive thing is their frugal life.
Blog World: You have played "Spicy Female Soldier" before, and then played a doctor in "Deep in the Mind", and recently interpreted the role of female policemen in the "Backlighter", all of which are more special characters, I would like to ask you whether you deliberately did it in the choice of role or coincidence? Are there any other character types you'd like to challenge?
Liu Qianwen: It's not intentional, it's basically a coincidence, maybe it's related to my personal image. People say that I am more upright, more capable, and may be more suitable for this type of role, which may be the reason why I have the honor to participate in these excellent works.
I want to challenge all the roles that I have not challenged, and I am willing to challenge them, and if I want to say that the roles I want to challenge, it may be a role that has a certain sense of contrast with the roles I have played so far. For example, gentle women, or strategists, deeper characters in the city government, or villains... I still want to challenge it.