How does "The Past by the Waterside" construct reality in fiction?
2024-08-25
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Original title: So far, it has received the highest rating for this year's domestic suspense drama (lead title)
How does "The Past by the Waterside" construct reality in fiction (theme)
Youku White Night Theater's new work "Border Water Past" scored 8.1 on Douban yesterday, the highest score for domestic suspense dramas so far in 2024. "Border Water Past" is undoubtedly a dark horse in the summer season: realistic creative techniques, typified narratives, and the construction of a bizarre world of images... Zhang Yuanhuan, general manager of Alibaba Entertainment Yitian Studio and producer of "Border Water Past", revealed in an interview with a Beijing Youth Daily reporter that the most important "secret" of the play to open up the "Ren and Du Meridians" is actually to construct reality in fiction.
Build a fictitious "Sanbianpo" and ask language experts to create "Bomo language"
Some netizens commented that the small step forward of "Border Water Past" is a big step in the innovation of the suspense drama category. Producer Zhang Yuanhuan believes that the current suspense track is more focused on the scope of public security, procuratorial and judicial affairs, and there are very few adventure-type dramas. "Even if there are, they are basically in the style of Nanpai Sanshu and Tianxia Bachang. In fact, the audience has watched them for many years. When it comes to adventure, they are probably in that style. There is nothing new. So when we see "Border Water Past", we will cherish this project and be willing to take risks and responsibilities."
"Border Water Past" tells the story of a young man named Shen Xing who accidentally drifted to a small border town. In the process of looking for his uncle, he met the mysterious boss Cai Shu, and started the dangerous road of "Border Water". He still sticks to his kind nature in the face of thousands of temptations. The drama has a volume of 21 episodes, carrying unit stories such as "Hang Disaster", "Border Water", "Opening Stone" and "Puppet Show". Almost every episode opens a new map. The narrative of the series does not take the perspective of God, but leads the audience to follow the protagonist Shen Xing and embark on an exotic adventure.
Although "Bianshui Past" has only 21 episodes, its investment exceeds that of ordinary web dramas. In the art and props departments alone, there are hundreds of people working at the same time to ensure that the reality foundation of the fictional world is consolidated from the production. It has built real scenes such as Jiandong construction site and Haishan mine, which are key scenes that determine the development of the story; from the special design of the opening subtitles to the three ending songs that switch with the plot, even language experts were specially invited to create the "Bomo language", build a new language system, and create a set of social rules, customs, etc. The "three slopes" built from the inside out are what Zhang Yuanhuan said "to create a new world with extreme realism", and the audience's sense of immersion and empathy have finally been collectively "awakened" again.
Zhang Yuanhuan defines "Border Water Past" as a suspense drama with adventure elements, and emphasizes that although it is still a suspense drama in the overall category, it covers a wide range of elements. "Many people feel that it has a sense of game and interaction after watching it... I think this is what young people want to do, with sharpness, values, and expression. If you are always mediocre, why should we do it? "Border Water" is subtitled, and the world view, language, and scenes must be carefully considered, so that the audience can feel your intentions." Zhang Yuanhuan hopes that the bold innovation and expression of "Border Water Past" can give some inspiration to the new generation of filmmakers. "When making suspense, there will be many unexpected difficulties and pressures, and you will encounter many problems that you don’t know how to solve. I remember the director said, 'I have never been afraid, I just hope to express this project.' This is the spiritual power that supports our team to keep working hard, and it is also the reason why Youku can cooperate with young Chinese directors."
Guo Qilin performed Shen Xing's "Live towards death and act towards goodness"
Not only did the production direction accurately grasp the audience's "pulse", the reason why "Border Water Past" was recognized was that the core expression was consistent with the psychological needs of the audience. Its true "drama soul" transcends the simple "sense of pleasure" and is the experience of "living towards death and doing good" in extreme environments.
Zhang Yuanhuan said that the crew went all out to create such a complex environment as "Sanbianpo", which was actually to build a good dramatic space for contrast, and ultimately set off the brilliance of human nature from the perspective of dramatic logic. "Many of Shen Xing's choices throughout the play, whether it was Uncle Cai putting a gun to his head, or such a large pigeon blood stone, anyone who was a little greedy might have left and not given it to Uncle Cai... Many times Shen Xing withstood the test and challenge, and the word righteousness came first! I think this is what the younger generation of users particularly like. The preferences of young users today are very diverse, but what we value most is definitely interests and values. Only when these things are established can the entire project be established."
In terms of actor selection, "The Past by the Water" also took an unconventional approach for the sake of the overall completeness of expression. For example, Guo Qilin was chosen to play the leading male role, Shen Xing. Initially, the outside world believed that the combination of "Guo Qilin + Wu Zhenyu" was an attempt to use Guo Qilin's relaxation and humor to reconcile some of the rough texture and cruelty. But in fact, the crew did not use Guo Qilin in this "smooth" way of thinking. "The reason for choosing Guo Qilin to play is, first of all, we hope to have a grassroots perspective, through him to see the real and unfamiliar Sanbianpo. In addition, the play shows more of Guo Qilin's manly energy. The brotherly friendship between Shen Xing and Dan Tuo, the multifaceted relationship between him and Uncle Cai, and so on, Guo Qilin has done a good job in portraying a small person who still sticks to the bottom line of kindness in an extreme environment."
Support new forces in the industry to achieve healthy development of the industry
As the producer of the drama, the famous director Cao Baoping commented on "Border Water Past" as follows: "The spectacle of this drama and its touch and exploration of human nature make it more profound and more complex." Producer Zhang Yuanhuan is pleased that such a work with a new world view, strong recognition and typified expression has received positive feedback from the audience. He added, "The director is also the screenwriter of this project and is a very talented new force in the industry. As a platform, giving help and support to works and talents and pushing them to the forefront is also an important consideration for our content innovation, and ultimately we will jointly achieve the healthy development of the industry."
Text/Beijing Youth Daily reporter Yang Wenjie Coordination/Li Yang
Source: Beijing Youth Daily
