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The interviewee of this article is director @乌尔善. The content of the article is compiled based on interview materials.

Following the mythological epic "The Investiture of the Gods Trilogy", director Wuershan returns to the summer season this year with another Chinese-style superpower movie "Under the Alien".

Rare domestic comic adaptations, Chinese-style superpowers presented on the big screen, new-generation actors with new faces, and all the behind-the-scenes stories from the origin to the filming of the film...

This period【Experts tell】, just listen@WulshanThe director talks about the production process of this domestic fantasy film, about the story and emotions, actor training, style control, and the industrialization of Chinese films in his mind. Let's take a look.

Q1: The emotional relationships in the comics touched me

Xiao Wan: What attracted you to the comic story of "Under One Person" and how did you start this creation?

Wuershan: During the years when we were working on the Investiture of the Gods Trilogy, we were also thinking about doing another fantasy project, wanting to turn the original fantasy setting in Investiture of the Gods into a contemporary story about young people. A producer friend recommended Under One Person, and I watched the animation first, then read the comics right away, and became a fan of Under One Person.

My philosophy is that the surreal settings in all fantasy movies are ultimately about the universal spiritual growth and emotional truth. All the gorgeous visual effects of martial arts and action scenes are the external presentation of the movie, and ultimately we have to focus on the inner emotions. The comic "Under One Person" particularly touched me in this regard. I found an emotional relationship that people particularly resonate with, and I was motivated to make this movie.

In this story, the story of Feng Baobao and Xu Xiang's family is particularly powerful. The other is the story of Zhang Chulan and his grandfather, which is also very moving. I strengthened these two parts in the movie.

After finding these two clues, the different aspects of other characters, families, and relationships with parents can also be expanded and discussed under this theme. This structure and theme presentation will form a variation of the angle, making the whole story thematic. Different family relationships will also allow the audience to reflect on all aspects of themselves, find family relationships similar to their own, and achieve resonance.

Q2: It is my wish to make a Chinese supernatural movie

Xiao Wan: The style of Chinese-style superpowers is relatively rare in domestic films. What kind of creative obsession is this?

Wuershan: What I have always been interested in and what I hope to do is to expand the types of Chinese films and try to fill the gaps in different types as much as I can. For example, I am also interested in the form of comic book adaptation movies.

The Investiture of the Gods Trilogy is a mythological epic film, which is relatively rare in the history of Chinese films. Similarly, there are relatively few films adapted from comics, especially those like The Outsiders that involve supernatural powers, fantasy settings, and stories that happen around young people. This genre is particularly necessary for the entire Chinese film industry. How to integrate traditional culture with innovative expression, The Outsiders is an attempt to do just that.

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The Investiture of the Gods trilogy is a new expression of the most traditional mythological stories using the most advanced film technology, and the preview of The Outsiders is a brand new expression of traditional culture integrated into fashionable contemporary life. Another continuation of The Investiture of the Gods trilogy is the introduction of young actors to the audience. The Outsiders can introduce several excellent young actors to the audience this time, who have spent a very long time training and filming seriously.

My plan for my film creation is to continue to explore how to express China's classic traditional culture in an innovative way using modern film technology and contemporary concepts. The movie "Under the Alien" is a combination of traditional culture and fashionable life, and at the same time it explores the possibility of new types of Chinese films, which is what I want to do most.

This type of movie is in line with the style of youth culture. I also wanted to watch such a movie when I was 20 years old, but it didn’t appear when I was 20 years old, so it is also a way to make up for it. It is my wish to give the 20-year-old me such a Chinese supernatural comic adaptation movie full of youthful colors and imagination.

Q3: Traditional Chinese martial arts has a huge fantasy world

Xiao Wan: How was the visualization of the style of Chinese style superpowers conceived and implemented?

Wuershan：The way and principle of the generation of Chinese supernatural powers come from Qi, meridian operation, and the theory of the five elements. There is a setting in the original work that I particularly like, the twelve labor emotion formation of "Thunder Smoke Cannon Gao Ning", which controls your twelve meridians and your foot Jueyin liver meridian, making you angry and out of control and going crazy. This setting is too genius. Based on these principles, we found the concepts from the Chinese meridian theory in all the exercises and visualized them.

Traditional Chinese martial arts is a very huge resource and a cultural system that we are proud of. I have been particularly fond of martial arts since I was a child. I once practiced martial arts and tried to learn martial arts at Shaolin Temple. I think everyone has fantasized about having superpowers. Martial arts brings us a very powerful fantasy world. In a world like "Under the Aliens", the worldview of Qi is very oriental, so the superpowers and action systems possessed by each alien must also have a very rigorous inheritance and a very Chinese logic.

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Different from Western superheroes, Chinese aliens should also find a connection with their own traditional martial arts. So when I discussed the martial arts training of actors with the action director and the martial arts instructor of the training camp, I hoped that they could master some classic Chinese martial arts routines and at the same time give each character a different martial arts style.

Q4: The Inhuman Training Camp is not “closed”

Xiao Wan: A training camp for extraordinary people was also organized this time. What are the similarities and differences with the Fengshen Performing Arts Training Camp?

Wuershan: The Fengshen Trilogy is a very serious drama, and the performance training system is completely a stage play and drama training system. This time I want to explore how comic-style comedy performances should be presented. So I have been discussing the design of these courses with the teachers of Yamashita School, which courses should be set up to help actors find the comedy color in each of them, and how everyone should cooperate.

Movies are a complete worldview, and there must be a unified performance style to present an overall sense of comedy. So they must work together and try to find a comedy style that suits them, and perform in a unified way, so that the whole movie will be unified and coherent. This is the most fundamental part of acting training. It does not mean that you can directly transfer it after attending the Fengshen Acting Training Camp. This does not work in the performance of "Under the Alien".

Also, when everyone enters the Fengshen Acting Training Camp, they don’t know what role they will play. Girls may be more clear about what role they are competing for, such as Daji or Deng Chanyu, while boys have no idea. However, in the Yiren Training Camp, everyone knows what role they are competing for, and there are multiple quotas for each role. Another difference is that the Yiren Training Camp is not closed.

In the "Fengshen Trilogy", I hope that these proton actors can get along with each other to a great extent, from training to living together, because they have to play an army and a group of young people who have lived together for eight years. Therefore, the Fengshen Acting Training Camp is completely closed from the curriculum to accommodation, so that they can spend as much time together as possible. But in "Under the Alien", each alien has his own personality and lifestyle, and I don't want them to be homogenized.

So this training camp is just for classes, but we don’t live together or stay together. We have 3 hours of acting class in the morning and 4 hours of martial arts class in the afternoon, and then we disband, so that they can keep their individuality.

Q5: Xiao Hu has a natural sense of humor, and Wanda has a talent for martial arts

Xiao Wan: Then tell us more about the male and female leading actors, Hu Xianxu and Li Wanda. They are both new generations, and my feelings and evaluation of your first collaboration with them.

Wuershan: When Xiao Hu played Zhang Chulan, he was exactly 21 years old, which was very consistent with the setting of Zhang Chulan being a sophomore in our story. He also looked very friendly, like a kid next door, and his personality was lively and cute. Especially when watching some videos of him when he was a child, he was a kid who liked to make people happy, was willing to express himself, and had a good sense of humor.

I think this quality cannot be formed through performance training or acquired education. A sense of humor is innate. Hu Xianxu is actually a very strong-willed child. He has a sense of humor and his own attitude. He is very different from Zhang Chulan, but as an actor, he can shape the two sides of Zhang Chulan. After entering the training camp, martial arts training not only improves physical skills, but also regulates diet and body shaping to achieve overall coordination and strength. Therefore, his courses include physical fitness classes, martial arts routine training, and body shaping. He must perform all of them to finally meet our requirements. ‍

Before this, I didn't know he was afraid of heights. He said he was afraid of heights when he was hanging on the wires, but he had a lot of wire scenes, and he had to complete some difficult moves on the wires, which required him to overcome and get used to it by hanging on the wires. The scene where Zhang Chulan fights Zhang Lingyu, the shot where Zhang Chulan flips after being elbowed by Zhang Lingyu, is a very difficult wire shot, and he finally completed it himself.

I have known Wanda for a long time. When she was 14 years old, my assistant casting director invited her and her sister from Xishuangbanna to Beijing to audition for "Investiture of the Gods". At that time, she was still a young student who had just graduated. I was deeply impressed by her.

I think the character Feng Baobao comes from a purer world, a background that is hard for us to describe and imagine. Wanda has this feeling, a sense of mystery and purity. She lived in nature when she was a child, and has rich perception, but she doesn't express it with words. She doesn't have the habits of people living in the city, and has a natural, relaxed, simple and clear feeling.

I really like her unique temperament, and her eyes are very pure. When she focuses on a person or something, there is light in them, and that light is very precious. Therefore, I think Feng Baobao, who was created by Wanda, is closer to the feeling of the character in the comics that I imagined.

Feng Baobao's movements are actually very practical and have no routines. Wanda practiced all the martial arts that everyone practices, such as Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, Taijiquan, and Bajiquan. She wanted to master them all. Wanda is a very talented girl in martial arts. She later continued to practice Bajiquan and participated in the Beijing Traditional Martial Arts Championship, and won the first prize in the youth group of women's Bajiquan.

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She works very hard and is very talented in this area. She has many tumbles in the air and many complicated wirework moves, so she practiced wirework moves for a very long time. Many of the difficult wirework moves seen in the movie were completed by her.

Q6：Naran and Nanasi remain humble and hardworking

Xiao Wan: Naran and Nanasi are collaborating for the second time. How do you evaluate their different performances?

Wuershan: The Fengshen Acting Training Camp is very hard and long. It is a very difficult process for actors. They once again participated in the same hard and long training. They are very sincere and professional actors. They still started from scratch to learn martial arts and drama performances, and worked hard to win their roles. They also maintained the same humility and hard work. I think it is very worthy of praise and encouragement.

Na Ran had never filmed this kind of martial arts action scene before. During the "Fengshen Trilogy", she had been practicing dance, practicing Chinese classical dance and various opera movements. These things allowed her to complete the creation of a classical beauty, but this time, she was actually expected to mobilize her fashionable temperament, practice martial arts from scratch, and perform some difficult martial arts moves, which required core abilities and very strong arm strength.

In addition, Na Ran used to be a model, so she has a certain fashion sense. Designing some leg techniques for her may be more distinctive and expressive, which will be a strong contrast with Feng Baobao's knife techniques. She tried to split the rocks and cars that flew over with Xu San's control technique, so we designed a three-kick in the air for her, which is kicking, flipping, and smashing, with leg techniques as the signature movements, and let Na Ran practice them. She completed all these movements by herself.

The First Part of the Investiture of the Gods is the first work of Narnasi after she returned to the acting profession. After returning from abroad, she became an acting teacher and had been planning to give up her career plan as an actor. At that time, I invited her back to the Investiture of the Gods Acting Training Camp to ask if she was interested in being an acting assistant.

Later, because of her image and temperament, I asked her if she wanted to try Deng Chanyu, but the prerequisite was that she had to participate in the audition. If she entered the Fengshen Acting Training Camp through the audition, she would have to go through the training camp and finally win the role. In the end, she carefully considered it and still participated in the audition and Fengshen Acting Training Camp, returning to the career of an actor.

Narnas is an actor with great talent in martial arts. When filming "Investiture of the Gods Trilogy", she played an ancient general and showed her full professional ability in horse riding and archery. "Investiture of the Gods Trilogy" uses a lot of close combat movements because the action style chosen is more realistic, without so many beautiful moves.

In the movie "Under the Alien", because the whole style is pursued in comics, I hope that all her boxing moves will be very beautiful, with the beauty of Chinese martial arts. So in terms of martial arts movements, "Under the Alien" should fully demonstrate Na Qian's talent in martial arts. Our training camp martial arts instructor Zhou Xiaofei admires Na Qian very much.

At the same time, this performance is more exaggerated and comic-style. You have to amplify all the emotions and make them exaggerated to produce some comedic effects. This performance is also a new field for actors. Narnasi must bravely break through the performance methods that she is already good at, and then find her own comic-style performance and the feeling of comedy.

Feng Shayan is not only cool and sassy, ​​but also acts like a spoiled brat with her father. She also has to perform some comedic performances with Zhang Chulan. She has to pretend to be gentle and date Zhang Chulan, which is something I haven't seen in Narnasi's previous performances.

Q7: "Under the Alien" was shot on a single machine, pursuing a sense of graphics

Xiao Wan: "Under the Alien" also involves a lot of industrial processes. How is the shooting different?

Wuershan： The creation of film genres is a starting point for industrialization. First of all, we need to know what type of film we want to shoot. "Under the Aliens" has some traditional Chinese style and supernatural settings. How to complete such a story in the script, how to find suitable actors at the level of actor selection, and then how to train them - comedy performances, martial arts training.

In the subsequent work process, for example, after the script is completed, we have to do a very complete storyboard design, and then turn it into an animation preview. Then our action director will shoot an action DEMO, and the martial artists of the action group will perform. All the action scenes in our movie will be rehearsed, and then filmed, and visual effects will be added. The actors will rehearse one by one according to the action DEMO. We will spend about two months before the start of filming to rehearse basically every scene, just like shooting a stage play, rehearsing one by one to find the rhythm of the performance and the coordination between the actors.

In terms of photography, "The Investiture of the Gods Trilogy" is a mythological epic and a serious drama, so it is shot with multiple cameras. We usually shoot with 4 to 5 cameras at the same time. Because it has many rival scenes and many war scenes, every time we organize a shoot, there will be certain risks, such as cavalry charges. So as long as the actors perform once, we will try to shoot as many shots as possible.

What is very different about "Under the Alien" is that we pursued a comic book feel, because the visual angle of comics is very wide, with a lot of perspective tension, and there are many weird angles, so we can only shoot with a single camera. All the shots of the entire "Under the Alien" were shot with a single camera. It does not have a second camera position, so we have to shoot one shot at a time, and the perspective of each shot is very wide. In terms of special effects, the entire movie has 2,200 shots, of which more than 1,600 are visual effects shots, and the workload of visual effects is very large.

In "Under the Alien", I pursued a high sense of graphics, a sense of creativity and aesthetics, which requires a strong sense of form and imagination. In terms of visual effects, we also hope that it has a comic beauty. For example, Zhang Chulan's golden light technique uses the visual effect of the sun's corona to show the sense of energy and light, which is a highly stylized and aesthetic visual effect. And Xia He's Prajna Palm is similar to the pink particles that emit and turn into a lotus.

This is not an absolute technical difficulty, but it particularly requires the artists in the visual effects department to have this kind of aesthetic sense, creativity and ideas.

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Note: Some of the pictures in this article are from Douban and the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us.

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