Another masterpiece of Chongqing documentary - members of the production team of "Lu Zuofu": Guided by Lu's spirit
2024-08-27
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
Ma Jiahao, trainee reporter of Cover News
On August 25, the Chongqing documentary "Lu Zuofu" was officially launched on CCTV Documentary Channel, Chongqing Satellite TV and iQiyi. The film focuses on the three major social practices of the patriotic industrialist Lu Zuofu during his lifetime: "saving the country through education", "saving the country through industry" and "rural construction movement", and tells his legendary life in a visual way.
Statue of Lu Zuofu.
Directed by Xu Bei, a national first-class director, the documentary took four years to shoot and revise. It is a brand-new work about Lu Zuofu. The documentary revolves around Lu Zuofu's patriotism and entrepreneurial spirit, as well as the practice of rural construction, including Lu Zuofu's early revolutionary and educational practices, the establishment and development of Minsheng Company, and his outstanding contributions in the War of Resistance Against Japan. It also records the transformation of Beibei from a place full of bandits to a modern town and a cradle of culture and education in the rear area during the War of Resistance Against Japan.
Composer Zhang Shuzhi: Mr. Lu is a hero standing at the forefront of the Sichuan River
"On September 23, 2020, Director Xu Bei sent me a message with just five words, 'Run, Shuzhi.'" When Zhang Shuzhi first received the news of joining the documentary creation team of "Lu Zuofu", he described the feeling as "indescribable" and "felt that I was suddenly connected to something great, warm and powerful."
The documentary took four years to shoot and produce, and Zhang Shuzhi's composing work also took four years. He completed the creation of a total of 27 songs for the entire documentary.
The documentary "Lu Zuofu" was composed by Zhang Shuzhi. Photo provided by the interviewee
"This is a story that happened on the Sichuan River. I have always said that Mr. Lu was a hero standing at the forefront of the Sichuan River. He attached great importance to education and established industries. He was a famous industrialist and a patriot." When Zhang Shuzhi was creating, a picture often emerged in his mind, "I often saw a man in a long gown from a distance, walking towards me and brushing shoulders with me on a pier. I couldn't see clearly, but it should be him (Lu Zuofu)."
The eastward-flowing Sichuan River and the surging waves are the inspiration for Zhang Shuzhi's creation. "I hope to call him across the river, watch over him, and miss him through music. I hope to express and get close to the great figure of that era and tell his story."
"I hope my music can make the audience forget my music and remember Lu Zuofu after watching the documentary." At the end of the interview, Zhang Shuzhi hoped that more people would know Lu Zuofu and understand and become familiar with his legendary story.
Documentary creation: A new creation guided by Lu Zuofu's innovative spirit
As director Xu Bei said, "When we follow Lu Zuofu's footsteps, we often feel two words: innovation and modernity." Facing the decline of national power and the desolation of people's livelihood in modern times, Lu Zuofu insisted on transforming practical education and scientific research into a source of power to promote social development and national progress.
Guided by Lu Zuofu's innovative spirit, the documentary team continued to innovate in production. In terms of narrative structure, the production team broke the single timeline structure commonly seen in historical documentaries, and formed the basic narrative logic with "early exploration", "people's livelihood" and "construction", connecting Lu Zuofu's life story.
At the premiere of the documentary "Lu Zuofu", chief director Xu Bei introduced the production team and shared her creative experience. Photo by Xiong Hui
In terms of visual presentation, the production team pursued freer and more diverse expressions. They collaborated with top domestic animation teams to produce a large number of animations, striving to discover characters from new perspectives, thereby creating images of rich types, giving the heavy historical documentary a younger and more trendy expression.
In music creation, Zhang Shuzhi also made a breakthrough with his efforts. The 27 pieces of music combined multiple elements including rap, Sichuan River songs, rock and roll, and Sichuan opera, which Lu Zuofu liked, making the whole documentary full of dramatic tension in background music and sound effects.
The exhibition hall of the former site of the "China Western Academy of Sciences" founded by Lu Zuofu.
In terms of dubbing, the documentary has created character-based "narration" and "quotation", inviting film and television actors to do the dubbing respectively. At the same time, it has also increased the proportion of dubbing in Chongqing dialect and Chengdu dialect to highlight the fun of the work.
After the first episode was aired on August 25, the documentary "Lu Zuofu" received wide acclaim on major platforms and topped the documentary rising list. Netizens said that "the production team is excellent and the patriotic feelings of Lu Zuofu, a generation of shipping magnate, are fully displayed."
Some of the content is compiled from Chongqing Release, Chongqing Outlook, and Beibei Release
