Recently, in the 2021 "See China Foreign Youth Image Project • Shanghai Tour" activity, a short film introducing the birth and end of the new Chinese national anthem has attracted widespread attention. This short film is composed by the turkmenistan young Chrissy", since its screening, it has aroused great repercussions in the whole society, and many audiences have praised it.
Founded in 2011 by the Institute of International Communication of Chinese Culture at Beijing Normal University, the "Look at China Foreign Youth Video Project" has entered its 11th year. "Looking at China" has also been extended at the Zhuhai Campus of Beijing Normal University, and the "Looking at China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Youth Video Project" has been created.
Why did a foreign youth choose to explore the story behind the new Chinese national anthem? Recently, Chrissy shared the creative process of "Song of New China" with other creators of the short film.
origin
"It's a perfect story"
The "Song of New China", which has received widespread attention this time, is one of the outstanding films of the 2021 "See China• Foreign Youth Film Project • Shanghai Tour" activity. Sponsored by the Institute of Chinese Culture and International Communication of Beijing Normal University and the Huilin Cultural Foundation, and jointly organized by the Shanghai Vancouver Film Academy of Shanghai University and the School of Journalism and Communication of Shanghai University, eight young foreign directors from different countries finally completed eight short documentary films in 17 days with the theme of "Family, Homeland, Home country" and with the one-on-one assistance of Chinese volunteers.
The theme of the national anthem was originally proposed by Odet Abadia, the foreign instructor of the "Look at China Shanghai Trip", which is also her second participation in the "See China" activity. During last year's lockdown, Audrey, who was busy at work, realized that her favorite thing was to study interesting stories about China that were less well known. So outside of work, she began writing columns on Sinoledge, a foreign social media channel, telling China's history in a variety of ways, including videos, articles and pictures.
Audrey spoke at the screening ceremony
Audrey came across the story of the national anthem while visiting the Shanghai Film Museum. Although it was only a very small exhibition at the time, when she learned that the national anthem of new China was actually from the soundtrack of a movie, her interest was immediately aroused, and she immediately began to conduct in-depth research.
She found the creation of the new Chinese national anthem more fascinating than she had originally predicted. In 1934, in response to the people's anti-Japanese call, Shanghai Dentsu produced the film "Children of the Storm". The film ends with the protagonists' passionate singing on the battlefield, which is the "March of the Volunteer Army" composed by Tian Han and Nie Er, and later selected as the national anthem of New China.
Audrey said: "I always thought it was a perfect story. But at the same time, she also found that many Chinese friends around her did not know much about this history, so when discussing the topic of "looking at China" this year, she did not hesitate to recommend this topic.
choose
Never learned how to be familiar with it
Kristina Grigoryan, the director of Song of New China, is from Turkmenistan and is currently a second year at the School of Journalism and Communication at Shanghai University, where she enjoys filming, traveling, and exploring the cultural character of all parts of China. Her Chinese partner, Tian Hongmin, the film's producer, is also from the School of Journalism and Communication of Shanghai University, and they are not only partners, but also sisters and sisters of the same department. Chrissy's skillful Chinese expression allowed the two to cooperate without any communication barriers, and they quickly became close.
Faced with the theme of "National Anthem", Chrissy and Tian Hongmin were both nervous and excited. The reason for this is that the topic is too grand, they did not know how to present it at first, and the excitement is that in 2021, the centenary of the founding of the party, it is a great honor to be able to make a documentary with the title of "National Anthem". Therefore, even if their ability is limited, they want to be able to work hard to complete the work.
Chrissy and Tian Hongmin filmed
In order to better shoot the film, they made a lot of efforts and walked through various related historical places such as the National Anthem Museum, Nie Er's Former Residence, Nie Er Music Square, Baidai Xiaolou, Tianhan Square and so on. "During the filming process, I had a lot of information and a fuller understanding of Chinese history. Every day, the producer and I collated a vast sea of materials, looking for the footprints of the national anthem on the streets of Shanghai. Chrissy said.
Although she is a foreign youth, after solid data collection, Chrissy has become more and more familiar with the filming topic, and she jokingly said: "I can now say with certainty that I am a 'half' historian." Tian Hongmin also said in an interview: "Every time I hear the "March of the Volunteer Army", I will have a heroic feeling in my heart, as if I have returned to the 30s China in the war-torn 1930s when the "National Anthem" was born. ”
make
Stop-motion animation is fun
Due to the special nature of the film, the director and producer did not have access to more video materials, so they chose to explain the historical facts. At Audrey's suggestion, they shifted the narrative perspective from Nie Er and Tian Han to Liu Liangmo, Paul Robertson, and others who played a key role in the worldwide dissemination of the Volunteer March, thus highlighting the international influence of the Volunteer March.
However, for young audiences, such documentaries full of historical details and ancient images are always a little boring, and how to make the film interesting is the first problem that needs to be solved in the creation of the film. After consulting with Teacher Audrey, they decided to organize, crop, focus, shoot, and check the data in the form of stop-motion animation, using a large number of photos and animation patterns to make the historical data move frame by frame, making the film more vivid.
Video clip of "Song of New China"
It is also because most of the film's material is photographic, Chrissy needs to repair more than a thousand photos in detail, and the hands in the film are also shot by Chrissy's many adjustments. Stop-motion animation is several times more difficult to shoot than ordinary documentaries, and Audrey gave a lot of support during the film production process, including providing a shooting location, carefully checking historical information, and personally assisting in the shooting.
Screening
Nervous and nervous, relieved and delighted
At the screening, "The Song of New China" was arranged to appear in the finale, and Chrissy and Tian Hongmin were very nervous. Tian Hongmin said that although stop-motion animation can bring a rich visual experience, it also adds too much uncertainty: "Seeing our film from the screen is actually very nervous, because our film is stop-motion animation, if there is a problem with the player, the picture may get stuck." ”
Chrissy and Tian Hongmin spoke at the screening ceremony
Fortunately, the screening ceremony was carried out smoothly, and "Song of New China" finally received a lot of praise. Some viewers said the film was one of the best she'd seen in recent times. "The film deals with the history of the national anthem, it is difficult to shoot on the spot, and even the video materials are very small, more images and words. But stop-motion animation instantly visualizes this very grand theme, very unworldly and clever. Some viewers also said: "Many of the historical events in the film are not well known, and many details Chinese do not understand." It was very impressive that the film mentioned that the song was sung by a famous black singer in the United States, so the song was widely disseminated around the world, and these are things we do not know. ”
On the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the founding of New China, the Institute of Chinese Culture and International Communication of Beijing Normal University, the China Foreign Book Publishing and Distribution Center (International Communication Development Center), the Shanghai Vancouver Film Academy of Shanghai University, the School of Journalism and Communication of Shanghai University, and shenzhen Yawen Education Culture Media Co., Ltd. jointly launched the short film "Song of New China", hoping to let more people understand the spiritual power behind the national anthem of New China, and stimulate people's deep feelings of home and country and their pride in the motherland.
Written by: Nandu reporter Wang Jinghao
Intern: Zhang Jingsong