The recently concluded TV series "Big Exam" is a relatively unique work in the creation of domestic dramas in recent years. It focuses on two middle schools in a county, a group of teachers and students, and integrates the background of the epidemic and floods. Based on the college entrance examination in 2020, it tells the story of everyone working together to overcome difficulties.
The audience who liked this drama commented that "it's like experiencing the various states of life in person", "writing about the common people, writing about reality, writing about individuals in the group, this year's most exciting group portrait drama", "People's Daily" commented that the drama "reflects the current Chinese youth. High-spirited attitude and strength of struggle."
"Big Exam" stills
In an interview with The Paper, Feng Weiwei, vice president of iQIYI, head of the artisan studio, and chief producer of "Big Exam", said, "The 2020 college entrance examination is not only a big test for students, a big test for families, and a big test for teachers. It's a big test in the education system, a 'big test' in society, and a 'big test' in the country. It's also a 'big test' for the creative team of this drama."
After the college entrance examination in 2020, the TV drama department of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television found the iQiyi platform, hoping to make a TV drama project with the theme of this college entrance examination. Many of the children who took the college entrance examination in 2020 were born around 2003. It can be said that they were "born in SARS and tested in the new crown."
At the seminar on the creation of the original TV series "Big Exam", iQIYI believed that this is a very worthwhile topic to create, but how to solve the problem is the most difficult for the works with the theme first. "Our foothold is children or families? Where should we go to shoot? What kind of expression should we use? We didn't know what it should look like at the time." Feng Weiwei recalled that he was only the creative team who discussed the "Big Exam" in the early stage. It took more than 30 meetings, the team conducted preliminary research, went to a dozen schools to collect stories, and interviewed hundreds of parents, students, and teachers, and the stories and characters of "Big Exam" gradually took shape.
The "high wall" is not set up by others
In recent years, the national drama market has been full of popular educational themed dramas, such as "Youth School", "Little Joy", "Little Farewell", etc. However, most of these works set the story background in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, focusing on the urban middle class Educational anxiety and reflection in families. However, "Big Exam" is different. The background of the story is placed in She County, Anhui, a county that most audiences are not familiar with. It is reported that in 2020, Shexian County has suffered a flood that has not been seen in 50 years.
Such a major event is of course "worth writing", but the entire creative team is unfamiliar with Shexian, and shooting in unfamiliar places will face many uncontrollable risks on the production side. "I basically have a black eye on this place," Feng Weiwei said, "but it turned out that it was too right to go to Shexian to shoot."
"Big Exam" stills
In order to better understand the college entrance examination in Shexian County, Anhui Province in 2020, the main creative team went to Huangshan, Shexian County and other places in Anhui to conduct on-the-spot surveys and collections. In their story, the creative team also saw a set of photos recording the 2020 Shexian College Entrance Examination. The children were taking the exam. Outside the school gate, the armed police guarded the examination room. Some parents spontaneously sent umbrellas to the armed police who helped; The child spontaneously bowed to the armed police. The real story and details moved the creative team, and they were firm that this story should be included in the "Big Exam".
"Big Exam" stills
Feng Weiwei admits that in the process of planning and creative, it is a "painful" thing to constantly overthrow the previous ideas, but with the continuous deepening of the collection, these repetitions are worthwhile.
For example, at the beginning, the main creators did not think of the principal as one of the key points of shaping. Feng Weiwei introduced that she formed a preliminary planning team with screenwriters Song Muge and Yu Farun, interviewed the principals of many middle schools, and finally found: " A good school, its soul principal is very important."
"Many times our creators have a fixed mindset and take it for granted what a drama with a theme first should look like." Feng Wei pondered, "The process of creating this drama is a process of 'comprehension and growth' for me. Many times the 'high wall' is really not set up for you by others, but because we have a wall in our heart, which is caused by your cognition. In the process of creation, we must constantly broaden our cognition, and build a high wall in our heart. Punch a hole, take this step, and you might find yourself a frog in the bottom of a well."
Chen Baoguo as the principal Shi Aihua
Feng Weiwei bluntly said that in the face of suggestions from all sides, in addition to being firm, we must be tolerant and accepting, and try. "Our creation is a process of gradually finding answers, a process of broadening our previous creative vision. Suggestions from the outside world may help us break the rules of our inherent creative methods and some thinking."
Shen Jie, the screenwriter of classic Chinese dramas such as "Chicken Feather Flying to the Sky" and "White Deer Plain", serves as the art director of "Big Exam". He sorts out and breaks through a large amount of information researched and consulted by the main creative team, and builds a clear and clear story structure and diversity. , the screenwriting team will implement the script, the director Shen Yan will grasp the overall style of the play, and the three generations of outstanding actors, old, middle and young, will contribute accurate performances close to life. With the joint efforts of the main creators, "Da Kao" combines the family memory at the time of the college entrance examination with the epidemic resistance, and integrates social memory, family memory and national memory. It not only forms a macroscopic social panorama, but also depicts each individual Micro families and individuals.
Rooted in reality, in order to expand the depth and breadth
After finishing "The Big Exam", Feng Weiwei realized more deeply that reality dramas must be rooted in reality. Feng Weiwei said that whether or not the theme comes first, in the final analysis, the creator still wants to make works that people love to see. "So from the very beginning, we were very clear that the story should not be suspended, it should be grounded, the theme should be grand, or it should be entered through a small incision, and the real experience of the characters should be used to show our theme."
In the early stage of creation, under the leadership of the General Administration, the main creative team had a discussion with the relevant departments of the Ministry of Education, and went to the Education Examination Institute to conduct research. The main creative team checked a lot of information, visited more than 10 high schools including Anhui Shexian Middle School, Ningbo Zhenhai Middle School, Lishui Middle School, Hangzhou No. 2 Middle School, Hangzhou Xuejun Middle School, Hangzhou Senior Middle School, and interviewed Peking University, Zhejiang University, Fudan University, etc. Students from nearly 10 universities, including Sichuan University, Sichuan University, and Communication University of China, have interviewed hundreds of parents, students, and teachers. In the process of collecting stories, the creators gradually realized that this story must not be taken for granted.
"Big Exam" stills
For example, Feng Weiwei said that the college entrance examination for high school seniors in 2020 was postponed for a month due to the epidemic. "We originally thought that the children should be happy if the college entrance examination was postponed for a month. A reflection of educational equity." However, the survey also found that children from different regions and different family situations, including different parents, have different attitudes towards postponing the college entrance examination.
In the previous interview, several children said something to the creators: "Early death and early birth." Some families with poor living conditions have a smartphone, or even no smartphone, or the network signal at home is not good. "Then how do you say these children's online classes?" How to solve the problems faced by these children and families? In response to this situation, the state has also implemented a series of measures, including the plot of building a telecommunications base station for a child in the play, which is also adapted from real events.
"For a long time, domestic dramas have easily made the theme of youth growth into an ivory tower-like world. Children in a closed small world (school) independent of society, they think about growth and amplify the emotions of youth. But the reality Life is not like this. The campus is a part of society. In the face of the issues and dilemmas that society and families are facing, children cannot stay out of it. The campus is not a utopia that shelters them from foreign things. The attempt made by "Big Exam" is to improve It expands the pattern of youth themes in the relatively vertical content field, expands the depth and breadth of youth themes, and makes it possible to become a work for the whole people."
"And what should be used to expand the breadth and depth of the theme? One is to include topics that are concerned by a wider audience, and the other is to make the audience resonate with the authenticity of the characters." Feng Weiwei said bluntly, in the initial creation , Director Shen Yan, art director Shen Jie, chief screenwriter Nie Chengshuai and the iQiyi team reached an agreement, "We must avoid the so-called 'weiguangzheng' and 'tall' characters."
In "Big Exam", there are two high schools in a county, two high school principals, one is Shi Aihua who insists on quality education, and the other is Wang Benzhong who pays more attention to how to improve students' performance. All simple and true.
Feng Weiwei mentioned that the prototype of Principal Shi came from Principal Wu Guoping of Ningbo Zhenhai Middle School. "President Wu advocates quality education and cares about the psychological problems of students. He visits the campus every night. At first we thought he was doing a show, but after squatting for several days, we found that people's daily life is like this."
Wang Benzhong is the image of the high school principal more familiar to the audience. He organized the swearing-in meeting for the college entrance examination, and gave the college entrance examination "chicken blood", requiring students to start studying early in the morning. The principal said in the play, "Our questions are made by teachers and then asked by children to do." This is also the details obtained by the main creative team: in order to prevent students from ineffectively writing questions, the teachers of Zhenhai Middle School will do all the questions by themselves. If the teacher cannot do it, they will not do it for the students; It is also necessary to find the optimal solution first and then give it to the students.
Wang Qianyuan as Principal Wang Benzhong
Like one of the protagonists, "left-behind girl" Tian Wenwen, there are also prototype characters. The creators learned during the collection process that a child who is about to take the college entrance examination has lived alone for a month during the epidemic. In the play, a child like Gao Mingyu is difficult to be written in similar works with the background of first-tier cities. He comes from a poor rural family, has to take care of his sick grandfather, and has to face the most important exam in life. The prototype is a poor student with excellent grades in Lishui Middle School.
Li Gengxi as Tian Wenwen
There are also some storylines that impress the audience, as well as prototype stories, such as the bridge section of Principal Shi raising the national flag. This is what the creators discovered in Zhejiang’s collection. A teacher from Lishui Middle School presided over the flag-raising ceremony alone during the epidemic. Teachers and students Watch online. After the broadcast, netizens praised the plot one after another, and the comments were moved. There is also the last lesson before the college entrance examination, the paragraph of the letter written by the student to the teacher. The prototype of the story is Principal Chen Ping of Hangzhou Xuejun Middle School. The student wrote to her before graduation, saying that Principal Chen Ping is "the principal who can remember the student's name. ". After the main creators presented this plot into the play, it was also well received by many young audiences.
Raising the flag
According to Feng Weiwei, in the story of "Big Exam", in addition to students and parents, principals and teachers, and group portraits from all aspects of society, there are also many prototype characters and details collected by the screenwriting team. Community workers, medical workers, people's police... Practitioners from all walks of life help children to go for exams during floods and epidemics, and send children to cross a very important river in life. Because of these The characters are vivid and specific, and this kind of plot can burst out the warm power.
No matter what happens
Formed in February 2022, started in April, and started broadcasting in September, "The Big Exam" has gone through an extremely intense creative cycle. Feng Weiwei and Director Shen Yan are working together for the first time. She admires Director Shen Yan very much and thinks he is an excellent director in both content understanding and image style. He said that he should have established a "revolutionary friendship" with the director.
The biggest test during the shooting period comes from the uncertainty under the epidemic. The crew of "The Big Exam" encountered epidemics in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Jinhua, Nanjing, Beijing, and Huizhou, Anhui. Due to the epidemic, some of the actors who have already been appointed cannot join the group for filming, and can only temporarily change roles; almost every scene of the more than 70 on-site scenes in the play has to face the possible variables brought about by the epidemic. Determine the factors to adjust. "I'm going to shoot tomorrow, let me tell you today that it can't be filmed due to epidemic prevention and control."
Even though the local municipal party committee and government, education units, medical units, and railway departments have fully supported the filming needs, the crew still has to face the practical difficulties brought about by the epidemic and the possible concerns of the local people. For the crew, the overrun loss caused by the one-day suspension of filming is incalculable, and it is also a torment for the whole crew. The filming of "The Big Test" was stopped for 5 days.
"Some of the vehicle license plates of the crew are from other places, and some local residents will complain because of the nervous epidemic. When filming in schools, some parents are afraid of the risk of crowds gathering and affecting their children's classes. We can understand this concern."
The most difficult one was during the epidemic in Shanghai. "The Big Test" was filmed at the high-speed rail Huangshan North Station, which is under the jurisdiction of the Wuhu Depot and under the China Railway Shanghai Bureau. During the epidemic, railway management was strict. Under the coordination of the company's chief content officer Wang Xiaohui, China Railway Shanghai Bureau overcame various difficulties and gave strong support to the filming crew. "During the epidemic, the staff of the high-speed railway station need to consider the safety of passengers, driving safety and disinfection. Therefore, we must be absolutely safe before filming."
It was sad but passed, Feng Wei laughed at herself. During the filming of "The Big Exam", she closed the door and secretly cried several times. "But it's difficult for everyone, and it's not easy. We are filming "The Big Test", and the whole society is going through this 'big test'. We must understand."
"It's hard to have such a production experience in my life. I hope that such an experience will be enough once." Feng Weiwei said, "From beginning to end, I don't think we have a word or a scene to teach. Because we have experienced it ourselves, we are moved, and sad. After finishing the "Big Exam", I probably won't say the words 'empathy' easily. I don't know how difficult it is. I now more respect and admire my colleagues who insist on creating realistic themes. For example, my colleagues at Noon Sunshine who filmed "County Party Courtyard" in Anhui during the same period, they are also very difficult."
Producers must be "cost-conscious"
Feng Weiwei said that iQIYI has been cultivating realism themes in recent years, focusing on high-quality head content. From "Shan Hai Qing" and "Age of Awakening", which caused strong social repercussions in the past few years, to this year's "The World", "Police Honor" and "Dear Child", there are both macro narratives in the context of the times and social issues that focus on current issues. , but all seek innovative expressions in traditional topics. "iQIYI has been encouraging innovation, and hopes to make realistic works that are not out of the norm." Feng Weiwei believes that this is a "platform gene": "Last year, iQIYI reduced costs and increased efficiency. This year, it has grown calmly, but love Qiyi adheres to the principle of 'create good content at all costs' in the entire process of upgrading its strategy."
As a producer, we often face a set of contradictions: artistic quality and cost control. "A competent producer must be cost-conscious." Feng Weiwei said, "But there is one more important thing for producers: to become a producer."
"Producers are of course very important, but they need to understand when they should be strong, and when they should weaken or even ignore their existence."
During the entire shooting of "The Big Exam", Feng Weiwei was on the crew, but he was usually in a "stealth state", that is, "staying in a corner, trying to keep everyone from noticing me". In her opinion, filming is the director's home. "If there is a slight inconsistency in our shooting opinions, the director's opinion must prevail." But when the crew faced some practical problems in production, such as a scene problem, The producer has to get on, to solve the problem, to give everyone a sense of security: no problem, we will be able to shoot tomorrow. "The producer is not a director, not a screenwriter, so what is a producer to do? It is necessary to inspire all creative staff in various departments and twist them together."
"Producers need to be clear about their position, when you are the person who supports the foundation and when you are the person who lets go." She believes that only in this way can the team's creative passion be stimulated to the greatest extent, and the creative efficiency can be improved. The theme expressed in the "big test" is the same, only by forming a joint force and uniting as one, can dilemmas and problems be solved."
