"Westward from the Jade Gate", adapted from Wei Yu's novel of the same name, is a rare fantasy adventure work this year. When he received the invitation for the project "Westward from Jade Gate", Lin Ziping was in the late stages of making a movie. "That movie told a sad story, so I was in a bad mood at that time, but after watching " I find the novel "West Exit from the Jade Gate" quite interesting, and I feel inspired."

Lin Ziping likes road movies, and the story of "Westward from Jade Gate" has some characteristics of road movies. "I think road movies themselves can carry a flowing aesthetic, and this work is also relatively large, so we can Putting in many different types of things to see if they can meet the audience's expectations for different types of elements will also be a new challenge for our creation, which is also an adventure in itself," Lin Ziping said, "Adventure is a journey that can stimulate energy. ." In addition, the drama will be filmed in Dunhuang, which also makes him look forward to it, "I feel like I can have an adventure journey of 'Going out of the Jade Gate in the West'."

Stills from "Jade Gate to the West"

Restore the unique atmosphere conveyed by the novel

The original work has a very good story foundation, and the script has been iterated for several versions. When it comes to execution, Lin Ziping feels that the difficulty lies not only in the details of the adaptation, but also in how to restore the unique atmosphere conveyed by the novel in film and television works. The art team has strengthened the Chinese imagery and oriental colors in the visual concept to present some of the unconstrained fantasy content in the original work. "This was a long process of trial and error. We kept overturning our own ideas and finally found a direction that could be implemented." Lin Ziping said bluntly.

In "Jade Gate to the West", there is a setting of "inside the pass" and "outside the pass", which is similar to the difference between the "outside world" and the "inner world" commonly seen in fantasy. How to present the difference between the two worlds is Lin Ziping's. Questions to consider carefully: "Our current audience has a very broad horizon. If one day we really travel to another time and space, maybe everyone will not be as panicked as the ignorant little white rabbit."

Therefore, when switching between the two worlds, the team did not make completely different art settings, but preferred to use audio-visual language to achieve subtle atmosphere changes, such as the most basic tones inside and outside the pass, outside the pass (reality) The world) is colder, and Guannai (fantasy world) is warmer. Therefore, the distinction between "inside the pass" and "outside the pass" in the play is not exaggerated, nor does it position the fantasy world "inside the pass" as gloomy and terrifying, but rather highlights its weirdness and colorfulness.

This was also a decision made by the team based on the development of the character relationships in the original story. "Because the protagonists starting from 'Outside the Pass' were actually at a low point in their lives, so relatively speaking we used cool colors to express it. Enter After 'Guan Nei', especially the relationship between the male and female protagonists gradually progressed, the world became colorful again, and there were many new and strong things to experience, so we made it a little warmer here."

“Many things are a little more difficult than imagined”

Stills from "Jade Gate to the West"

In terms of filming, the large number of scenes in the Gobi desert also brought difficulties. This is not the first time in Lin Ziping’s career that he has gone to the Gobi desert for on-site shooting. “But it is the first time that the shooting took such a long time.” Lin Ziping said, “Many things are a little more difficult than imagined.” For example, there was a heavy rainstorm. , the heavy rain in the desert was mixed with strong winds, and what came down was not rain, but mud, which hit the crew's tent. Later, the entire props and scene were blown away and disappeared.

At that time, the crew stayed in a hotel in downtown Dunhuang. It took more than two hours to travel to some shooting locations. The shooting locations changed every day according to the script. "In some places, it is easy to lose sight of the direction, so we need brothers on set." We need to clear the road ahead of time so that the crew's trucks carrying filming equipment can enter." It takes a long time to commute, and the daily shooting time is even more precious. "So we need to execute the daily plan very efficiently." There is no signal at the shooting location. Cell phones are often blocked, and during filming, the working teams in front and behind are often unable to contact each other. “Sometimes when I am on the road, I cannot learn about new situations happening on the scene in time, so I can only deal with them when everyone arrives at the scene. Some problems." This not only increased the workload of filming preparations, but also tested the team's adaptability.

For example, there is a scene in the play where Ye Liuxi takes Changdong to the poplar tree where she was hung. The location was in a desert. On the day of filming, all three generator cars in the group had problems. The overheating one overheated, and the transportation one had problems. If a car gets a flat tire on the road, you can’t even come to the scene. Lin Ziping remembered that when the first generator car broke down, the staff asked him, "Can the director shoot today?" Lin Ziping said confidently: "Yes, we will wait for the other two." Unexpectedly, after saying this, , the two generators at the back were also broken. At that time, everyone was thinking, should we call it a day?

"But it's too difficult for us to go to the desert." Lin Ziping discussed with the actors and temporarily changed the shooting strategy, repositioned the scene, and used some handheld lighting to assist in shooting under natural light. The actors and the behind-the-scenes team cooperated tacitly, and the four machines were turned on at the same time. A scene of more than ten minutes was almost completed in one step. "Although we encountered many difficulties that day, everyone was very excited when they saw the results of the shooting."

Dealing with unknowns and emergencies at any time is really like a roller coaster experience, and it is very necessary for the director to maintain emotional stability during creation. "If it is an accident caused by the current environment, it will test our adaptability and experience. I will not lose my temper. But if we fail to prepare in advance and something goes wrong at the scene, I may be angry." Lin Zi Ping said, "All the early preparations are to cope with the changes on the shooting scene. In fact, the same is true in life."

They were selected by "Going West from Jade Gate"

Stills from "Jade Gate to the West"

Stills from "Jade Gate to the West"

In "Jade Gate to the West", "Ye Liuxi" played by Ni Ni is a uniquely charming female character in domestic dramas in recent years. She is strong, capable, and domineering, while "Changdong" played by Bai Yu is calm and steady. Reliable, calm and rational, the "double strong" combination of the two is full of a sense of destiny. Working with these two actors, Lin Ziping attributed it to fate, "I think every project has this feeling to some extent: it is fate that brings everyone together to work."

Lin Ziping said, "In the production process of film and television works, the ability of actors is very important. Their performances have great energy, making the characters more three-dimensional and complete, and more convincing to the audience. Therefore, our cooperation is also based on mutual respect." ." Therefore, as a director, he believes that what he does is to master the actors' performance styles and performance needs, and to bring different actors together to share and participate in the creation of a work. "Especially Ni Ni and Bai Yu. They are both professional, hard-working and talented actors. In my opinion, their appearance is in line with the description in the book. If we say that they were selected by us, it is better to say that they are 'from the Jade Gate in the West' I 'choose' myself, and it's fate that brings me to this team."

Stills from "Jade Gate to the West"

In specific single scenes, Lin Ziping will also make adjustments according to the characteristics of the actors. "In addition to the character relationships and emotions described in the script, we should also look at the aura between the rival actors and the characteristics of the actors to adjust the way of emotional expression." For example, the way of expression of love in the book must be It is more intense and has more physical expressions, but Lin Ziping believes that when it comes to specific actors, their temperament and performance methods may not be suitable for such a performance. "The actors and I have reached a consensus on the emotions conveyed in the play. How their emotions progress and what state they should be at which stages. After the actors understand it, they can use their own performance style and personal characteristics to convey this emotion. , it is also very affectionate. Our main restoration is not necessarily the dramatic actions in the novel, but the emotional feeling that the novel brings to the audience."

The creation of "Westward from Jade Gate" also brought Lin Ziping personal growth. "A senior once told me that you have to accumulate 100 points when doing things. If you prepare 100 points, don't spend 100 points. You have to accumulate something. I think this sentence has a great influence on me." In the past, Lin Zi I mostly shoot emotional works, "but actually I like to do different types of work, and I'm also waiting for an opportunity to use up all the accumulated energy."

He admitted that in the past, he felt that filming commercial dramas was about serving customers and serving Party A. "But now I feel that it is about 'serving the work' and making the work what it can be," he said. From "serving Party A" to "serving works", it seems to be a very long journey. Lin Ziping has just reached this point at this moment.