The TV series "Looking for the Lost World" broadcast in 1985 was adapted from Ke Yan's novel of the same name. The play tells the story of a work-study school in a northern city around the 1980s, and creates classic images of teachers and students of the work-study school represented by Xu Wen, Director Huang and Yu Qianqian. It won the first prize of the 6th "Flying Apsaras Award" TV series, outstanding director, outstanding music, outstanding supporting actress and many other awards.

"Looking for the Lost World" will be broadcast for the second time on the "Revisiting Classics" channel starting from May 7. We have also republished the creative explanation of the play's director Xu Lei published in the "China Television" magazine in 1985, providing a path for the audience to understand and find the "lost world".

Leading the audience to pursue a better future

Comrade Ke Yan lived in the work-study school for more than 20 years. With all his passion and efforts, he wrote a 300,000-word novel "Looking for the Lost World". Once the novel was published and broadcast, it caused a strong response in society, especially among young people. The broad life reflected in the novel and Comrade Ke Yan's writing passion as a poet are the basis and basis for our filming.

Comrade Ke Yan said when talking about why he wrote this book that juvenile delinquency is a global problem. China has created a unique model of work-study schools to deal with this problem, which has distinct Chinese characteristics. I think we reproduce this aspect of life on the screen and present it to TV viewers, so that they can have a better understanding of the teachers who are dedicated to work-study education, and make the whole society care about and deal with the social problem of juvenile delinquency.

Some comrades have suggested to me that the TV series should be renamed with a more resounding name. I said that it cannot be changed. "Searching for the Lost World" is so poetic and philosophical! It can give the audience more imagination. I hope that in the future, after watching our TV series, the audience can go beyond the content we have shown, think about what they have lost, how to find the "lost world", and how to pursue a better future.

Combining documentary and lyrical elements

Discovering beauty and poetry

First of all, it is lyricism. I think we should pay attention to and cherish the artistic characteristics of the original work. Many chapters in the novel are full of poetry, which gives people a beautiful enjoyment. Therefore, our TV series should first be a TV series full of lyricism and poetry. It is undoubtedly a difficult problem for us to emphasize poetry in a TV series reflecting a work-study school. But I think Comrade Ke Yan did it, and we can definitely do it too. Yu Qianqian has a line: "Every student is a poem of mine." Directors, actors, cameramen, artists, composers, lighting, etc. should also cultivate themselves to have such abilities and dig out the inner beauty and poetry in the ordinary.

Secondly, it is documentary. The author's writing touches on a wide range of social life and has a strong sense of the times. Whether it is the turmoil of the great times or the private affairs of young children, they are all written in a credible, intimate and touching way. When I read this novel, it seemed as if I walked into the gate of the work-study school with Yu Qianqian. I hope that the TV series can also allow the audience to unconsciously walk into that period of life. But all of this is based on the premise of truth, and any falsehood will have a destructive effect.

Third, it is dramatic. I think the structure of a TV series is somewhat similar to that of an excellent chapter novel. Each episode should have one or two good scenes that impress the audience, and there should be suspense at the end, otherwise the audience will not be able to continue watching.

Lyricism, documentary and drama may be mutually contradictory, but I think they can be integrated in this series. Through the efforts of all the comrades in the team, we will shoot a work that is both poetic and credible and fascinating.

Performances refuse to be labeled or stereotyped

Give the audience room for imagination

How to perform a play well? First of all, we must unify our understanding of performance and pursue lifelikeness and realism. On this basis, we should give full play to the creativity of actors, and each actor should play to his or her strengths and avoid weaknesses according to his or her own conditions. Each actor should grasp the tone of his or her role, find the reasonable development process of his or her thoughts and personality, and find the complex and detailed psychological and emotional changes in each prescribed scene. It should be accurate, natural, delicate, and implicit. We should focus on revealing the inner world of the characters, and not use expressions that exceed the life itself to enhance the performance effect.

Don't overdo the play, leave some blanks to let the audience imagine, this will make it richer and more profound. Don't be too general in your performance, it should be more multifaceted. When playing a part-time student, be careful about the degree, when playing a secretary, principal, or teacher, get rid of the common airs and tone, give people a sense of intimacy. When playing a "negative" character, don't be stereotyped or conceptual.

The beauty of photography and recording should have a consistent artistic standard

The overall requirements of the camera should be consistent with the pursuit of the style of the entire series, which should be real, simple and implicit. The processing of the lens should unify the artistic conception and the reality of life, and reflect the beauty and poetry of life itself. The choice of scenery by the artist should be consistent with the identity and personality of the characters in the play, and the artistic processing should not exceed the scale of real life. The lighting should be conceived, and the view similar to "two hand lamps, just light it up" should be discarded. On the basis of the reality of life, the atmosphere and artistic conception should be pursued. Music will play a special role in this TV series. It should avoid general atmosphere rendering and environmental description, and focus on the inner emotions and psychological portrayal of the characters. The theme melody must be simple, implicit and fluent, and the lyrics of the theme song should be friendly and philosophical.