The TV series "South to North" was broadcast around the Spring Festival this year and received quite high ratings and clicks. The story that happened on the train spanned across the country and decades, arousing the collective resonance of the audience.
"South to North" poster
For director Liu Zhangmu, the biggest attraction of this project is that he can collaborate with screenwriter Gao Mantang and director Zheng Xiaolong, but the difficulty is correspondingly high. The time span is large and there are many characters, so the presentation is very complicated: "The biggest difficulty is the characters, how to make these characters come alive, how to make the actors' emotional expressions delicate and accurate, and how can the play be matched with so many actors?" ? This is my first consideration." In order to understand the characters clearly, Liu Zhangmu wrote a director's biography for each character, "several notebooks were filled."
"South to North" director Liu Zhangmu (first from left) on the set
Behind the comedy, thinking about suffering
"South to North" is a typical period drama, and in Liu Zhangmu's view, many period dramas recall the sufferings of the past years. "Because the economic level in that era was not high and materials were scarce, it was really not easy for us ordinary people." But. He felt that since there were already so many positive works depicting suffering, he wanted to do something different this time. “The first tone we set was comedy.”
He gave an example of a series of comedy passages caused by Yao Yuling's hypoglycemia in the play, "The reason for Yao Yuling's hypoglycemia is that she replaced her only food stamps with cloth stamps. In order to love her beauty, she would rather starve herself. She loves beauty." character, but the background fact is that there is a lack of supplies and not enough to eat. This is suffering, but what we let the audience see is comedy." He said, "We do not let the audience see the suffering directly, but when the audience thinks about it, , you will find the difficulty in this.”
Liu Zhangmu, Bai Jingting and Jin Chen on the set
The tone of comedy is set, and the most important comedy task is placed on the two leading actors-Ding Yongdai and Bai Jingting. "The two of them carry the core of the story. They are masters and apprentices, but they were unwilling to be masters and apprentices at the beginning. From mutual reluctance to later understanding and becoming a family, there was a lot of 'struggle' in this process. And I want to let' The process of struggle becomes 'funny' and makes the audience find it interesting."
He also admitted that comedy has very high requirements for actors, "Comedy is the most difficult of all dramas. If you pass it, the audience will think you are deliberately 'tickling'; if you fail, the audience will not be able to laugh. So. Both of us actors have to be very talented."
Liu Zhangmu and Ding Yongdai on the set
Ding Yongdai has a rich acting career with decades of acting career, but he has acted in many dramas, and he often has the demeanor of a great man. But as long as the characters are clearly defined and the needs are clearly explained, the tacit understanding between Ding Yongdai and Liu Zhangmu is quickly established. "Between directors and actors, because they are strangers and have different creative styles, they usually have to gradually build trust. I will show the actors my cut films to increase their confidence and let them understand what I want. Trust is established. , there will be a very good tacit understanding." And Bai Jingting is diligent and clever enough, "He is very smart and diligent in his homework. He has made a lot of designs for this character, which adds a sense of joy."
He also mentioned that almost all the actors in "South to North" have provided a lot of creativity in comedy. For example, in the play, Cai Xiaonian struggled to push the passengers who were about to get off the bus back, and even said silly "This This is what I should do". "Many of these interesting comedy passages are based on the collective wisdom of everyone. When one person comes up with an idea, the comedy of the whole play will be enhanced. Having such a creative atmosphere and a team of actors is very happy for the director." But he He also said, "I have never dared to say that what we filmed is a comedy. We just filmed a life drama with a relatively sense of humor. Because pure comedy is too difficult and not something ordinary people can do."
"Reality, is it immoral?"
The role of Yao Yuling is a very outstanding female image in "South to North". Her several emotional choices have aroused discussions and questions from many viewers. Liu Zhangmu understood the views of some viewers, but he asked: Is reality immoral?
Yao Yuling rejected Niu Dali's pursuit in the early stage and stayed with Wang Xin. Wang Xin had no job. She broke up without hesitation and accepted Niu Dali. However, when Jia Jinlong appeared, she left Niu Dali again. Liu Zhangmu admitted: "Emotionally, she is more realistic. Her reality may make the audience hate it, but we hope that the audience will not hate it."
Stills from "South to North"
"Reality, it shouldn't be immoral, right? She also has love, but she loves the person she loves, and she loves herself more. This is actually normal in our current society, right? We can't use the moral high ground to judge a person The characters are good and bad. Does morality mean that I have to accept people I don’t love? Can’t I choose whether the conditions of the person are good or not? Then if there is someone with better conditions to pursue, I can’t choose him. I choose him. Is her morality low? From her logic, her choices are reasonable. What's more, she doesn't know Jia Jinlong's identity."
In the play, Yao Yuling's husband Jia Jinlong is a drug dealer. After her property was confiscated, she chose to be self-reliant and sell barbecue. One time we met Niu Dali, who is now prosperous, but he is no longer what he used to be, which is disappointing. Some viewers felt that this ending was too cruel and had the male perspective of "I ignored you back then, but you can't afford it now". But in Liu Zhangmu's view, this may be the best ending for Yao Yuling. "In that era, selling 50 grams of drugs meant being shot. As a family member of a drug dealer, shouldn't she have to pay a price in life after getting all the material enjoyment brought by drug trafficking? In fact, in order to prevent her from being implicated legally, We have emphasized at the script level: She did not know that Jia Jinlong was selling drugs. If she knew, she would be involved in drug trafficking, and that would not just be a matter of going to jail."
At the end of the drama "South to North", the fate of Yao Yuling and Niu Dali caused controversy among the audience.
"Now in this ending, although the property has been confiscated, he is a good person, has a sensible child, runs a small business to support himself, and is more than better than the worst." Liu Zhangmu emphasized, "As for everyone's opinion, 'Can I get along with you today? Reason, you can't reach a higher level tomorrow', I need to explain, this is an over-interpretation. I don't mean this, and neither does Teacher Gao Mantang. What do we want to express? Niu Dali has always loved Yao Yuling. What is the name of his company? , called 'Shake, shake,' and the moment he saw Yao Yuling, the look in his eyes wasn't pride or showing off, right?"
He believes that the main expression of this scene is not Niu Dali, but Yao Yuling. "Yao Yuling couldn't face Niu Dali at the moment, so she turned around and left, and even tidied her hair stubbornly. This was her self-esteem. She shed tears while walking, not to show that she regretted not being with Niu Dali, but to touch the scene and express her feelings about her life. The ups and downs. She saw a burning firework on the ground, picked it up and smiled again. This was her hope for the future and her nature to love beauty. So Niu Dali watched her pick up the firework and leave, and he was relieved. She He felt good that the child was so old, had his own small business, and still had hope for the future. He put the ring that he had always wanted to give to Yao Yuling but had not given away, and put it on the stove, which meant that all this was over. , he won’t disturb her life anymore.”
"Is it because the current incumbent Niu Dali is standing next to you, so everyone has the misunderstanding of 'showing off'? But we really don't mean this, nor do we deliberately make Yao Yuling 'miserable', but from all aspects of law, law and human relations, as a family member of a drug dealer , it is inappropriate for her to continue living the life of a rich wife. Now the ending of being self-reliant is the best ending for her."
Liu Zhangmu sighed, recalling Yao Yuling's life, she had many ups and downs, great ups and downs, and was also very wonderful, but she was able to die well. "I want to say that there are many things in life that we cannot control. This is called fate. We are just floating dust in the wind of fate. It is impossible for everyone to have a perfect ending."
Stills from "South to North"
He said that Yao Yuling is one of the characters Gao Mantang created very brilliantly in the script, so he also hopes to interpret this character in a real, interesting and cute way. He said that actor Jiang Yan put in a lot of effort on this character. "When discussing characters, I will do character analysis based on the biographies I wrote, and then I found that Jiang Yan can think more than me, design better than me, and do homework more carefully than me." He mentioned that Jiang Yan will Among the many actors he has worked with, he is the only one who prepares his own props.
In one scene, Yao Yuling came back from Harbin. She prepared small gifts for all the neighbors, two soap boxes for Lao Wu's wife, a pen for Lao Cai's wife, and a big column for Niu Dali. , then chewed a chocolate by herself, "She prepared all those props herself."
When the crew was arranging the lyrics, Jiang Yan proposed: There are all good friends and neighbors in the compound. It is rare to come back after so many years, and I want to bring them some gifts. Liu Zhangmu thought this was feasible, so he quickly asked the prop team to prepare it. Unexpectedly, Jiang Yan had already prepared it. "When I saw the props she had prepared, I felt that this actor was really attentive." He also mentioned , now in the drama, the life scenes such as Jia Jinlong, who is relatively out of the circle, gives three gifts to Yao Yuling, Jia Jinlong gets drunk and Yao Yuling drags him into the room, Yao Yuling has nightmares, etc., were all discussed and designed with Jiang Yan. "Jiang Yan is a creative actor with very strong creative ability."
Keep in line with the times and make a difference
"I've also watched a lot of period dramas. How can I differentiate myself from others, but also conform to the characteristics of that era?" This is what Liu Zhangmu often thinks about when he is creating. For the project "South to North", he found a lot of relevant information and albums. For example, the changes in the carriages shown in the play reflect the changes of the times.
Stills from "South to North"
"We used steam locomotives from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. At that time, the carriage model was called 22B. We found this in the information of the Railway Museum." We also checked a lot of information, including the uniform changes of conductors and police officers. . Liu Zhangmu recalled that when he went to the Railway Museum to look up information, there was a retired old flight attendant who had been collecting various reports and photos about the railway during his decades of career. “Over the decades, he made a thick book. The newspaper clippings provide particularly valuable information for our creation.”
Stills from "South to North"
"For example, between 1978 and 1979, the buttons of our railway uniforms were changed from plastic to copper, and there were two more pleats on the pockets to represent the railway tracks. Then the four pockets represented the four directions, so this kind of clothing was Internally, the railway system is called the 'all-in-all' costume, which is what we saw in the materials." This detail was later used in the play, and became several scenes in which Yao Yuling changed her costume. The beauty-loving Yao Yuling secretly modified her uniform. , causing a small storm, this comedic clip spread widely on Douyin.
Stills from "South to North"
For in-car shooting, Liu Zhangmu and his team also thought of many ways to make the audience feel as real as possible. “Including trains traveling in the Northeast in winter, due to the large temperature difference between inside and outside and changes in humidity, ice flowers will form on the windows, and the seams in the carriage aisles will change. There will be air conditioning coming in, ice and frost will form, and we have taken all these details into consideration.”
There are also two children playing games under the seats of a crowded carriage at the beginning of the series. This is Liu Zhangmu’s personal experience: “When I was a child, my parents took me on a train and literally threw me in through the window. They climbed up again. The carriage was so crowded that there was no room to sit. The adults could stand together, but what about the children? Two newspapers were laid under the seats and I was stuffed under the seats."
The story of "South and North" spans 40 years. It needs to show seasonal changes and changes in the times. It also needs to consider the work and schedule coordination of various departments of the performance. In terms of seasonal performance in studio shooting, one is the regular lighting changes. Simulate seasonal changes. The second is through changes in some plants. For example, Liu Zhangmu designed a tree in the courtyard in the play. "That tree was also criticized by the audience for being fake and the color was wrong. I want to explain here that this kind of tree is called purple-leaf plum." , blooms small white flowers from April to May, and grows leaves after the flowers. The leaves are light green at first, and when they grow up, the leaves turn purple. In winter, the leaves fall off. Purple-leaf plums are cold-resistant, so they are also found in the north. I I’ve seen them all in Shenyang.”
“I never think short videos are low”
This time "South to North" was broadcast on TV stations and online platforms, and achieved very good results, which is inseparable from the publicity on the short video platform and the audience's spontaneous creation. Although he is the creator of long series, Liu Zhangmu has a very objective attitude towards short videos: "I never think short videos are low, it is just that the media form is different and the way of communication is different. Short videos have their own great advantages, whether they are Whether it’s sensory stimulation or its audio-visual rhythm, it can attract the audience in a short period of time.”
He admitted that he sometimes thinks about why short videos can be liked by audiences. “I will learn how to attract the audience’s attention in a short time.” He said, “Of course, long-form series have our own advantages. It’s the depth of character creation and emotional expression, which short videos cannot yet achieve. Short videos can make people happy and laugh, but one of the main advantages of long videos is emotional resonance.”
Stills from "South to North"
"Times are advancing, and we should indeed learn more. But it also has its drawbacks. It is too easy for people to become addicted, including me." He said with a smile that he had clicked on it before, originally just to see what everyone thought of "South to North" I received some feedback from "Go", and as a result, five or six hours passed while I was scrolling through the short videos. "If I brush too much, my brain becomes muddy and I can't think about problems. I have to empty myself again and calm down to regain my state. Different forms of media will tame our brains."
In such an era of flat content and vertical content classification, how to create mass-oriented content that is suitable for all ages and loved by everyone? "First of all, I have to treat myself as an audience. I can't represent the public, but at least I am a member of the public." He replied.
"Putting aside my identity in this industry, I have to be moved by the scene. Did I laugh when I was filming a comedy? I didn't even laugh, that's not okay. Was I nervous when I was filming an action scene? I wasn't even nervous, that's for sure. No." He said, "Seeing how much the audience loves "South and North" this time gives me a lot of confidence. I will also be firm on this in the future: first of all, if I can move myself, then I can move the audience."
