novellhall Chapter 44 Idol Dramas Don't Talk About Art
Chapter 44 Idol Dramas Don't Talk About Art
Chapter 43 Idol Dramas Don't Talk About Art
Once filming officially begins, the crew must operate efficiently, with a very tight schedule every day.
At 6:30 a.m. the next morning, everyone gathered in the hotel lobby and took a bus to the school to begin filming.
The hotel provides a buffet breakfast, but most people miss it and have to eat outside during breaks in filming. If there are many scenes to film, they can only eat some snacks.
Of course, if you're a celebrity, you'll naturally have an assistant to help you with everyday matters, like Dong Xuan.
However, Lin Zixuan was not among those who did not eat breakfast.
Although he went to meet Miss Hu Yanyan last night, he did not stay out overnight.
After meeting last night, the two didn't engage in much foreplay and went straight to being honest with each other, entering "war mode."
After achieving a triple kill and garnering over 240,000 views, allowing the young lady to drift off to sleep contentedly, Lin Zixuan rushed back to the film set before 1 a.m.
After all, there was still filming the next day. As the male lead, screenwriter, and assistant director, he had to set a good example and not stay out all night.
He woke up from his meditation at 5:30 a.m., calmly washed up and got ready, and went to the restaurant to enjoy a good breakfast.
Although the crew has only been filming for two days, everyone is cooperating well, and director Liu Junjie is also very quick, with each shot moving forward rapidly.
The next scene is very important.
In 2019, Huang Yuxuan was a sunny and capable white-collar woman, well-liked by her superiors, colleagues, and clients. However, behind her cheerful and generous demeanor lay a sadness that could not be described in words.
She often misses her boyfriend Wang Quansheng, who died in a plane crash, and always feels that he has never left her, because she can often feel his presence.
Until one day she received an old Walkman and a cassette tape of singer Wu Bai.
She fell asleep listening to the song "Last Dance" on the cassette tape. In the song, she traveled through time and space, returning to the summer of 1998, to Chen Yunru during her high school years.
The next scene to be filmed is the one where Huang Yuxuan has just traveled back to Chen Yunru in 1998.
With everything ready, filming began as the script supervisor clapped the clapperboard.
Huang Yuxuan woke up from her coma in the hospital bed and slowly had her breathing tube removed.
Upon visiting him in the hospital, Li Ziwei stood by the bedside and asked with concern, "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"
Huang Yuxuan stared blankly at Li Ziwei, then suddenly sat up excitedly, hugged him, and choked out "Wang Quansheng".
Li Ziwei was a little at a loss, but he didn't dare to push her away, so he could only weakly say her name, "Chen Yunru".
Unexpectedly, Huang Yuxuan hugged him and burst into tears, "Wang Quansheng, why did you leave me all alone? Do you know how much I missed you when you weren't here? I really missed you so much..."
Just then, Mo Junjie, who had come to visit, entered the ward. Upon seeing this, Li Ziwei awkwardly pushed Huang Yuxuan away, saying, "Chen Yunru, don't cry, calm down."
At this moment, Huang Yuxuan heard Li Ziwei call out Yunru's name to her. With disbelief and tears streaming down her face, she asked, "What did you call me? Chen Yunru?"
Then a series of fragmented yet specific memories flashed through her mind.
Only then did she realize that she no longer seemed to be 27-year-old Huang Yuxuan, but had become 17-year-old Chen Yunru.
This is a tear-jerking scene, and also a minor climax in the drama.
To be honest, this scene was quite difficult to perform, especially when Huang Yuxuan first woke up, her expression had to go from confusion to excitement.
When you hug Li Ziwei and cry, you should express a feeling of surprise and intense emotion.
After receiving a series of memories, when she learns that she is Chen Yunru, her face will show shock, confusion, pain, and finally doubt.
Actually, Lin Zixuan, Dong Xuan, and Li Dongxue are not particularly skilled actors, so it would be quite difficult for them to perform this scene well.
Especially for Dong Xuan, it was indeed very difficult to portray so many subtle emotions in such a short time and to develop them layer by layer.
Lin Zixuan originally thought that this scene would need to be filmed several times before it was acceptable.
To everyone's surprise, the director called it a wrap after only two takes.
Lin Zixuan was taken aback, thinking that Dong Xuan had just unleashed her full potential and delivered an outstanding performance.
He specifically went to the monitor next to the director and replayed the performance.
The result was that there was no outstanding performance at all; at best, it could only be considered barely acceptable.
He was very confused and quietly asked the director, "Director, this performance didn't seem very good. Dong Xuan didn't portray the subtle emotions and rich layers. Is it too disrespectful to let it pass like this?"
Director Liu Junjie didn't blame him. Instead, he took advantage of the transition time to explain to him, "Xiao Lin, I understand your pursuit of art, but this is just an idol drama. Remember, idol dramas don't need art."
Lin Zixuan could hardly believe her ears. Wasn't it only short dramas that lacked any ambition? "Ah, idol dramas don't need art?"
"Yes, art is too expensive. We can't afford to do idol dramas. That's the pursuit of movies. And we only consider serious dramas for television."
"Will the audience accept such a perfunctory approach? Aren't you afraid of being criticized by them?"
"No, idol drama viewers don't have such high expectations. As long as our performance is above average, no one will nitpick. Of course, if it's too bad, it won't work either, as it will pull the audience out of the story. At least your performance just now met the basic requirements."
"What about word-of-mouth and ratings? Aren't you worried about the impact?"
"Let me give you a few examples. Some of the most popular idol dramas across Asia in recent years, like the Korean drama 'Winter Sonata'..."
Have you seen "Full House," the Taiwanese drama "Meteor Garden," and "The Prince Who Turns into a Frog"?
"I've seen them." Of these four dramas, only "The Prince Who Turns into a Frog" was Liu Junjie's personal project and performed poorly in the market. The other three dramas were truly wildly popular throughout Asia.
Do you think the actors' performances in these four dramas were perfect, and their acting skills were superb?
Lin Zixuan thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "It doesn't seem to be very good."
"To be honest, they're all pretty average, but does that stop them from becoming incredibly popular throughout Asia? Not at all. Are their reputations really that low? Actually, they're not that low. Do you know why?"
Lin Zixuan knew he was right. The actors' performances in these four TV series were really mediocre, and some scenes were even quite ridiculous, but the audience still loved watching them, and the Douban ratings were very high. Even the lowest-rated one, "The Prince Who Turns into a Frog," had an 8. He followed Liu Junjie's tone and asked, "Why?"
"Because what the audience expects from idol dramas is that the male and female leads are handsome and beautiful, the plot is touching, and the visuals are beautiful, but they don't have high requirements for acting skills."
To put it simply, what kind of acting skills do those actors in "Meteor Garden" have? Audiences don't necessarily enjoy watching them.
Relatively speaking, the overall performance of you all in our drama "Someday or One Day" was already very good. While your acting might not have been exceptionally brilliant, it was definitely above average.
"Oh, we understand."
"What do you know? I haven't finished speaking yet!"
"Please speak."
"Actually, if we had the means, who wouldn't want to make the film as perfect as possible? But we couldn't. We were limited by the circumstances. You see, the total investment for our film was only 600 million yuan at the beginning, and then we added 220 million yuan, which brought it to 820 million yuan. The filming period was only 45 days."
With such a small investment and such a short filming time, it's impossible to pursue perfection too much. Otherwise, if the money runs out and the film isn't finished, that would be the biggest tragedy.
I see you've been studying directing all along. Remember, the most important thing for a director isn't perfection, but making the best film possible within the given conditions, so the investors' money doesn't go down the drain.
"Thank you, I've learned a lot."
Lin Zixuan sincerely expressed his gratitude to Liu Junjie. Although this viewpoint was completely contrary to that of the professors at Beijing Film Academy, he knew that it was indeed invaluable advice.