The domestic comic book "Under One Person" has been extremely popular since its birth. It is set in modern China, combines fantasy settings with traditional cultural elements, and attracts a large number of fans with its wonderful stories and unique characters. After being adapted into a live-action drama, how can the characteristics of this story be preserved or even amplified in the three-dimensional world? Director Xu Hongyu handed in an answer that was not "pleasing" but quite sincere.
In 2023, the first season of the TV series "Under the Aliens" came out, which brought surprises and expectations. The recent broadcast of "Under the Aliens: The Final Battle! Biyou Village" did not disappoint the expectations of fans and viewers. On the basis of the first season, it has made effective upgrades in creative concepts and production standards.
Poster of "The Final Battle Under the Alien! Biyou Village"
By the second season, Xu Hongyu's team had more experience. "This season, we concentrated the scenes in Biyou Village. Although the production was very difficult, we knew better how to optimize the process and where to spend the budget." Compared with the hot-blooded adventure tone of the first season, the narrative style of the second season is more suspenseful and thrilling. "In fact, when you read comics, you may not pay too much attention to the genre, but when it comes to film and television dramas, we have to consider the issue of typology." Xu Hongyu mentioned that this style adjustment not only makes the elements of the series more focused, but also further explores the structural charm of "cases within cases" in the original work.
What is particularly surprising is that in Xu Hongyu's opinion, the starting point of the creation of the "Under the Alien" series is not to imitate a certain international standard, but to try to build its own fantasy genre in the context of Chinese culture. Xu Hongyu is well aware that Chinese comic adaptations are still in their infancy in terms of fantasy themes.
"Why are there so few successful cases of fantasy comic adaptations in China? Actually, it is because it requires long-term experience accumulation." In order to explore this path, he established a creative alliance called "Hot-blooded Animals" to focus on the creation, production and exploration of fantasy themes. "Fantasy themes are like a tree that towers into the sky. Although it is a hundred feet above the ground, its roots must be deep and in our cultural soil."
Screenshot of "The Final Battle Under the Alien! Biyou Village"
Xu Hongyu admitted that in the past, many domestic fantasy themes inevitably imitated the mature Western model, but this path was doomed to fail. "If we keep learning how Marvel does it, we will definitely not do it well. Because our cultural core is completely different from theirs." Therefore, he chose to draw inspiration from Chinese culture and tried to find his own way of expression within the narrative framework of the fantasy genre. He believes that fantasy will become an important sector in the Chinese film and television market, and the creative experience of "Under the Alien" may provide some reference for this field. "We hope to eventually create a fantasy story that truly represents Chinese cultural ideas."
"Under the Alien" currently has a Douban score of 8.1, while "Under the Alien: The Final Battle! Biyou Village" has a Douban score of 8.2.
【dialogue】
“The more fantasy-like the subject matter, the more we should pursue its realism”
The Paper: I particularly agree that "a good adaptation is not noticeable to the audience" because a good adaptation is highly consistent with the overall temperament of the original story and the tone of the characters. So what do you think are good and bad adaptations in the first season? Do you have some examples?
Xu Hongyu: I think the first season was well changed. For example, we delayed the explanation of Feng Baobao's life story. In fact, the original novel gave it a long time ago, but we felt that she had not yet established a particularly deep relationship with Zhang Chulan at that stage, so the emotional strength of this life story at that time was not enough. It would be more appropriate to wait until the two of them have a deeper bond before giving it.
The last few episodes of "Under the Alien" were criticized by many fans of the original novel
The adaptations were not so good, for example, everyone complained about the last two episodes of the first season. Fans familiar with the comic "Under One Person" know that the previous story was told in sections, and after the Luotian Dajiao, it was Wang Ye's chapter. If we want to adapt it into a TV series, we have to think clearly about its narrative nodes. If the main narrative switches to Wang Ye's story, what is the story of Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao?
At that time, we had a core theme for the film, which was "protection". The point was: Feng Baobao had been protecting Zhang Chulan since he was a child. When Zhang Chulan understood the whole story, he also chose to protect Feng Baobao. With this core theme, we needed an original part to close the story of the hero and heroine in the end.
This was our idea at the time. At that time, both we and the platform were structuring the story according to the story of a drama, and we did not dare to jump out of the story line of the male and female protagonists, and we did not have the courage to make such an attempt. This resulted in the later episodes not being in the rhythm of the original comics, making its adaptation feel very obvious. In the second season, we were more confident and no longer worried about whether we had to unfold the story from the perspective of the male and female protagonists. In addition, the second season originally started from Chen Duo's story, and then the temporary workers gathered, which would itself unfold a group portrait.
The scene of "Chen Duo and Biyou Village" appeared in "Under the Alien"
The Paper: The special thing about "Under One Person" is that it is a fantasy theme that takes place in an environment that Chinese audiences are most familiar with, which requires it to find a balance between the real world and the fantasy story. For the actors, it may be necessary to find a performance that is consistent with the texture of the comic characters but also convincing to ordinary audiences. As a director, how do you guide several main actors to perform in a way that is different from their previous works?
Xu Hongyu: This is indeed the most difficult part for me in the first season. I like stories that feel real. The more fantasy-like the subject matter, the more realism it should pursue. Real people are very different from comics. When real people perform, every facial detail and every body movement will produce a sense of reality. If the actors do not understand the role well enough, if our directors and screenwriters do not understand the characters well enough and do not provide the actors with real support for their performance, the performance will easily become one-sided and lack a sense of immersion.
For example, in the first season, when Feng Baobao cut Zhang Chulan's clothes, it was not long after the filming started, and I was a little frustrated because I couldn't find the basis for the sense of reality. I was not sure whether this scene should be more realistic or exaggerated. Because our starting point is to hope that everyone can believe this story and believe that these aliens really exist in this world.
Stills from "Under the Alien"
During the on-site shooting, I was not able to resolve my own doubts, but we tried to shoot various performances. Because I used to be an editor and we also have a very good editing team, I shot all the possibilities first, and in the later stage, I could try and adjust the degree of the performance. It seems that after editing, we can probably find the relationship between the so-called virtual and the real. Then in the second season, our actors came back, and each of them was more clear about the character status they should have.
Wen Qi's infectiousness, Yan Yikuan's "tough guy"
The Paper: The new characters that appeared this season have been well received by the audience, such as Wen Qi and Yan Yikuan, who played Chen Duo and Xiao Zizai. I would also like to hear you talk about the casting and the collaboration with these two outstanding actors?
Xu Hongyu: I had the idea of "Chen Duo is Wen Qi" before we started working on the first season. Because Chen Duo has had very cruel experiences, she has a feeling and look that does not belong to our world. I paid attention to many actors of the same age as Chen Duo, and I think the only one who has this texture and temperament is Wen Qi. I believe she can play this role well. We talked for a long time when we first met, and then decided to cooperate.
Wen Qi as Chen Duo
In the last scene of the sixth episode, Chen Duo and Uncle Liao smiled at each other. When I first met Wen Qi, I thought her smile was cute, warm, and very contagious. Then I felt it was a pity because Chen Duo seemed to have no smiles from beginning to end. But it happened that in this scene, Chen Duo spent a long time trying and finally managed to control her toxicity, and then she told Uncle Liao the good news.
Chen Duo didn't react to this part of the script, but after we took one take, I asked Wen Qi, "Do you want to laugh for one take?" Wen Qi also asked me, "Director, why am I laughing?" Then I said, "Your laughter is actually just like a child's. Your parents are very happy to laugh at you, so you will also laugh at them. This laughter doesn't have much meaning, it's a kind of imitation. In fact, this kind of imitation of the characters in the social relationships around her is also a proof of her forming humanity."
Xiao Zizai: I think there is a force that helps us. Because it is very difficult for Xiao Zizai to play this role, and everyone has high expectations for him, we tried to find actors who have played many "tough characters" at first, but it is easier to imagine their performances, and they are all expected. But we hope that this actor can give us more "unexpected" things, so we changed our thinking.
When we first mentioned Mr. Yan Yikuan, everyone thought it was impossible, including the first time we met Mr. Yan Yikuan, he probably wanted to reject us in person. But we talked for a long time, and he was willing to try it after thinking about it for a long time. He is a very serious actor, and once he is sure to act, he will give it his all. He did a lot of homework in advance, and when he tried on the makeup, his state and expression were very comfortable, and he found the fulcrum for the performance of this character.
Yan Yikuan as Xiao Zizai
The audience may only see his results in the end, but the actors have to think over and over again during the preparation process. They have made great efforts, including on the set. I remember when we were shooting in Xiangshan, it was the coldest time in the area, and we mostly did night scenes, the temperature was almost below zero. Teacher Yan Yikuan's costume was a very thin sportswear. When we changed the lights or camera positions on the spot, he would not sit down or put on a warm coat. When waiting, he would jump around alone to stay in the excited state of Xiao Zizai. So when I see the efforts of these actors, as a director, I will be very moved, and I also feel that there is no reason to live up to everyone's hard work, and I must do this project well.
“The more fantasy themes are, the more we need to find the cultural soil of China.”
The Paper: The interesting thing about the series "Under the Aliens" you mentioned is that each season may be an exploration of a new genre, and what you are doing is an exploration and creation from scratch. Do you think the series "Under the Aliens" has some strategic significance for your team?
Xu Hongyu: Absolutely. Of course, this was not in our plan, but we have been crossing the river by feeling the stones along the way, and every member of our team has found the "root" of fantasy-themed creation. We will find that the reason why we have few successful cases in fantasy-themed works is that we are more or less imitating some successful cases in the West.
But if we keep imitating what Marvel does, we won’t succeed, because the core of our culture is different. I find that the more fantasy themes we work on, the more we need to find the cultural soil of China. Fantasy themes are like a tree that grows particularly tall in the forest. It looks different from other trees, towering into the clouds and a hundred feet above the ground. But in fact, the taller the tree grows, the deeper its roots must be.
We worked on "Under the Alien" for four years, and the output was very low because there was a lack of reference in the market. It is difficult to support an entire team with such output, but we think it is worth it, and we hope to bring new types of story experience to the market.
Stills from "The Final Battle Under the Alien! Biyou Village"
The Paper: You attach great importance to the "freshness" of the subject matter and story, but "freshness" is often not verified by the market, and there are no precedents in all aspects of creation, production, and production. How do you and your team cope with such challenges in creation, production, and production?
Xu Hongyu: We do want to create fresh stories, fantasies, fantasies, which still exist in our minds and can still be realized. Of course, "fresh" means that we cannot copy other people's experience completely, so we need to spend a lot of time in the early stage to discuss, unify and collide with everyone's ideas. Then we are also strengthening our own research on traditional culture, on the one hand, imagining "non-existence", on the other hand, we are going deep into our cultural texture to learn and absorb more nutrition.
The Paper: You started your career as an editor. How did this experience shape your narrative style and control of visual language as a director?
Xu Hongyu: It may not have shaped my style, but it should have helped me master the element of a film, which is "time". Many people think that the most important elements of a film are the picture and actors, etc. I personally agree that "time" is the most important element of a film. Because the time element of film narrative has a lot of room for play. We can start from the beginning, middle, or end of the story, or insert some other links to wander into another person's life story. So by mastering and using the element of time, many film narrative methods can be changed. This is what I care about and am good at.
