If you want to talk about the hottest domestic drama this summer, "Menghualu" will definitely be on the list. Director Yang Yang is a national first-class director. He has directed many popular TV dramas and won many domestic TV drama industry awards. In the summer of 2020, Yang Yang received the script of "Meng Hualu". It is reported that the screenwriter Zhang Wei consulted a large number of historical books when writing the script, and had in-depth research on the basic necessities of life in the Song Dynasty. "She knows all the names of dishes, drinks, streets, the names of people from all walks of life, and how they dress in the play."
And Yang Yang was moved by the "struggle, friendship and love of several women" shown in the script. "I've always wanted to make a female drama, but I don't really like stories about quarrels or struggles," Yang Yang said, "and this story, when I read it for the first time, I liked it very much. The girls interact with each other. The relationship of helping each other and supporting each other is very touching.” She believes that this story that happened to women in the Song Dynasty reminded her of today, many people from all over the world go to Beijing, Shanghai and other big cities to work hard, struggle, and find the value of life women. "I want to make a play for these girls".

"Menghualu" stills, three sisters who came to Tokyo to work hard

"Find an actor who wants to break through"
Yang Yang cooperated with several leading actors in "Meng Hualu" for the first time. "I hope the actors in "Meng Hualu" can bring new feelings to the audience, and I hope to find actors who want to break through themselves."
And this time in "Meng Hua Lu", the audience did see Liu Yifei's "down to earth" side, pretending to seduce Zhou She in order to save a friend, winking like silk, changing her past film and television image. Yang Yang said that after watching "Mulan", she felt Liu Yifei's "inner strength and strength", and also felt her motivation to break through her inherent image. "Challenges and breakthroughs are exactly what I want from myself."

"Menghualu" stills, Zhao Paner pretended to seduce Zhou She

Yang Yang recalled that the first time he saw Liu Yifei was in a hotel, and they chatted for several hours. She believes that to a certain extent, Liu Yifei's desire for this role may be higher than many people's perception of the profession of an actor, "Many people may think that actors are here to 'act', but Yifei is not, she She hopes to live another 'life' during this period of time in the project. This is what she told me. She not only wants to 'play' Zhao Paner, but more importantly, she wants to express and understand the heart of the character. I think it needs to be cherished.”
"I can feel the heat in her heart, and I believe that she will not act according to the routine, because we both want to break the routine and not do the work. She is also looking for a role that is different from the past and has breakthroughs. We are here. It was a hit on the spot. When we left, we both had a hug at the same time, and at that moment, I seemed to have a belief that this actress was right, there was a transmission, and there was another transmission in that transmission. The feeling is that I have to love her, protect her, and respect her well." Yang Yang said, "Our cooperation is based on a trust, I can understand her thoughts, and she can understand mine. , everyone has the same goal, we have to work together to complete this work and break through the previous self."
For the other leading actors, Yang Yang also gave great recognition. Chen Xiao is particularly able to endure hardships, and can deal with it calmly no matter how tired or difficult the filming is; Liu Yan is "eyes can talk", "Sanniang is a person who speaks a little bit. She is reckless, but she is very subtle, and there are thick and thin people. Liu Yan can show Sanniang's ancient ways and chivalry." Lin Yun was young and was very serious in filming. "If I think it is not good enough, I will ask for it again and again ".
In "Menghualu", as Yang Yang said, the presentation of the emotional performance of the characters did not stay in the "big feature + large lines" routine of domestic costume dramas in recent years. To capture emotions, we don’t have to take a lot of close-up shots to depict the changes in her facial expressions. I hope that through the integration of people and scenes, the audience can feel the flow of the actors’ emotions under this space. When the actors enter this space After that, it will be easier for her to integrate into the character, and then bring it into the character's state of mind, and also give the audience a certain room for imagination."
After a tea fight in the play, Zhao Paner, played by Liu Yifei, stayed in the backyard of the tea house after the show and danced alone. In the past, Zhao Paner tried to hide his musical background, but now, he uses his superb dancing skills to add luster to the tea fight scene. This is a scene where she faces the past and begins to get rid of her inferiority complex. Yang Yang mentioned on Weibo that she proposed this scene on the spot, "I want her to perform a dance, to overcome the narrow secular world and her own weakness, she presents a dance for herself." Liu Yifei did not rehearse beforehand. case, complete the performance.

"Menghualu" stills, Zhao Paner dances alone

"Love is a progressive process"
In the early stage of the broadcast, in "Meng Hua Lu", a scene in which Zhao Pan'er watched Gu Qianfan leave by boat was hotly discussed by drama fans. In this scene, the proportion of lines and specific plots is compressed, and it is more of an implicit romantic expression. Such expressions are rare in the creation of domestic costume dramas in recent years. It is reported that the shooting of this scene was already in the middle of the night, and the whole team was very tired, and even Yang Yang's assistant "didn't know what the director was shooting". It wasn't until I saw the film that I understood what it meant. Yang Yang once defined this scene as follows: "It was a kind of restrained affection and quiet waves. Under the moon, slightly drunk, one person in the water, one person leaning on the railing, tears in the eyes, things in the heart, the person you like, the sound of waves, the sound of insects, the voices of others Neither of them are in the ears, sometimes clear, sometimes blurred, only each other in our hearts..."
This delicate and subtle emotional expression, on the one hand, Yang Yang admits, partly comes from the emotional acuity of being a woman, but it is more consistent with the aesthetic direction of the whole drama, "I always feel that ancient Chinese culture is very profound, and costume dramas need a This kind of classical beauty is subtle, just like Chinese painting pays attention to blank space. There were many lines in the scene of looking at each other across the water. I put the lines in a secondary position. The two of them were speechless. Gradually moving away, the ripples in my heart flow in silence. This restrained treatment is probably the blank space in ancient paintings. I believe this kind of subtlety is a kind of classical beauty, and the audience can feel it.”

Zhao Paner and Gu Qianfan face each other across the water

For the emotional presentation of the hero and heroine, Yang Yang has her very clear character cognition. "These two people, before they met each other, had experienced the lowest point in their lives. They both encountered hardships and had a very mature mentality. When two such people meet, they must first be restrained. Zhao Pan'er At first, I was afraid that Gu Qianfan would look down on him, but in fact, when Gu Qianfan saw Zhao Paner's first face, he knew that she was not an ordinary woman, and only in the scene of washing hands, Zhao Paner would feel that she was respected." Yang Yang said , "The emotion of restraint between adults has existed between the two for a long time."
In the play, when Zhao Paner realized her feelings for Gu Qianfan, she told Sanniang with tears in her eyes that people who were caught in the emotions were worried about gain and loss and their sentimentality was fully revealed in this play. "She is afraid of a lot of things, and she doesn't know how her feelings will develop. This is a shaping of their previous feelings." Yang Yang believes that love is a progressive process, "it may be a mutual test at the beginning, and it does not need to be too straightforward. It is shown that after the two people have experienced more things together, the natural emotions will heat up."

"I might like him a little bit"

In addition to the delicate emotional scenes, some viewers also noticed that the fighting scenes of "Meng Hualu" are also quite brilliant. A few years ago, in the TV series "Jiang Ye" also directed by Yang Yang, a fight scene of "Spring Breeze Pavilion Rainy Night" has been regarded by many fans as a famous martial arts drama fight scene in recent years. Regarding the shooting of action scenes, Yang Yang has her clear creative attitude, "There are people before there are dramas. Dramas are created by people, and the same is true for action dramas, which must be set according to different characters and different tonality of episodes. She said, "Some characters have a free and easy character, and his fighting scenes should be more open and smooth; but some characters are more restrained and firm, and his fighting movements should be more solid. These also depend on the specific analysis of the drama and the characters.”
"Inspired by 'Water'"
As soon as "Menghualu" was launched, the more unique and aesthetic aesthetic style aroused discussion. Yang Yang said that "beautiful" is not an ultimate pursuit, otherwise it will become a deliberate feeling. Yang Yang believes that aesthetically, it is very important to control the overall direction of the drama. "Different film and television dramas actually have different feelings of beauty." "Menghualu" is a creation based on the aesthetic system of the Song Dynasty. Yang Yang believes that the Song Dynasty was a dynasty that "integrated elegance and elegance". "The aesthetics of the Song Dynasty were exquisite, simple, and high-end. Chinese painting emphasized white space, and the people of the Song Dynasty liked subtle beauty, not complicated and unassuming. Four Yas—burning incense, ordering tea, arranging flowers, and hanging paintings are also my favorites. Song poetry and Song porcelain are also very beautiful. I tried my best to integrate the romance, artistic conception and beauty of these Song Dynasty into "Menghualu"."

fighting tea

In the specific implementation, the establishment and control of the aesthetic tone of the Song Dynasty must be implemented in countless details, and the difficulty can be imagined. Yang Yang revealed that when art and photography heard that she was going to use "water" as the aesthetic basis for the series and put forward the concept of "Water Venice", they all jumped up. The art team has done a lot of work and visited many real water villages in the south to restore the sense of reality. Modeling director Huang Wei also referred to many Song paintings, such as "Along the River During Qingming Festival", "Listening to the Qin", "Burning Incense and Listening to Ruan", "Brick Carving Chef" and so on, "These ancient paintings all depict the way of life of the Song Dynasty. It provides us with valuable information." Combined with modern techniques, the costumes and costumes of "Menghualu" are both pyrotechnic and in line with the characters. For the presentation of the folk life of the Song Dynasty involved in the play, the team also invited several experts in different fields, including tea culture consultants, historical consultants, Song banquet experts and so on. For example, in the part of tea culture, the team asked Mr. Zhang Zhifeng, the representative inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage tea babe in Fujian Province, to give teaching guidance.
The "fighting tea" between Zhao Paner and other teahouse bosses mentioned above is quite exciting, but there are many characters and the tea art procedure is cumbersome. Yang Yang mentioned that the smooth shooting also benefited from the guidance of Mr. Zhang and his disciples. "After the broadcast, we also asked teachers to help record related videos, hoping to use this kind of publicity and promotion to make traditional culture known and loved by more people."

fighting tea

In recent years, in order to save cost and time, a large number of costume dramas have adopted studio shooting and special effects, while real shooting is a time-consuming and labor-intensive option that increases risks. Yang Yang hopes to establish a real atmosphere through real shooting. "Meng Hualu" started shooting in February 2021, and went through three seasons of winter, spring and summer, and took four and a half months to shoot. From Hengdian to Wuxi, Xiangshan, and finally to Xiangyang, there are quite a lot of transition projects in Chinese dramas, which increases the difficulty and cost of shooting. In many cases, the team needs to use some ingenuity to solve the venue needs in a new way. For example, for the shooting in Hengdian, there are hundreds of dramas in Hengdian Film and Television City every year, and costume dramas are a must-see. Some scenes have to be registered and preempted months in advance. Even if they are obtained, the shooting time is limited. So, Yang Yang and his team went to look for the scenery that no one was going to grab. "It turned out that there was a street with water and bridges, but it was a scenery in the Republic of China, and it was almost deserted. We repaired the roof and doors and windows to the Song Dynasty. The style, the arrangement of plants, and the potted plants make this scene that no one is robbing 'live'."

"Menghualu" stills, the male and female protagonists take a boat

Yang Yang emphasized, "Following the Chinese classical beauty of white space, let the elegance be integrated, not a layer of 'paste' on the outside, not just through artificial light, it is the beauty of the light, but it has no vitality." Yang Yang For example, the reflection of the water is sparkling, and the two people on the bridge at dusk chasing with umbrellas, "all make people feel a picture like ancient poetry, which is based on Chinese classical culture." For actors The same is true for capturing beauty. You don’t have to take a lot of close-up shots to depict the beauty of your face. “I hope that under the background of nature, people can be integrated into the scene, as natural, real and harmonious as water. For example, for Pan’er’s appearance, we will shoot first. The reflection in the water and the flowers on the little raft, and then the camera slowly pans to the actor's face, it's a very harmonious image."

"Menghualu" stills, Zhao Paner rowing

"Culture is like water. It needs to be soaked in details and looking back. This is the expression of vitality." Yang Yang said. At the same time, she explained on Weibo: "Women are as deep as water, as deep as the ocean, and as omnipresent as air. The light refracted by water is extremely gorgeous, with love and friendliness. Love."