After reading this interview, you will no longer mistake the name Zhao Qi, and even, "Life in Adventure" is just his first-level adjective, for example, he is the Zhao Qi who has a special adventure in life.
"He came to Shanghai to chat with me. I think he is very uncomfortable. He can't understand at all. He is going to chat with a comedian or a star."
Li Dan commented on the general director in the first season of "Life in Adventure" last year. Zhao Qi.
Zhao Qi, this name is unfamiliar when it comes out alone, and there is almost no association.
However, in the past two years, he has dealt with hot stars, between creative ideas and artist personalities.
Li Dan said he was proud, Angelababy said he was cold.
Then he may be really proud and cold.
Behind the scenes of "A Life of Adventure", it is likely to be "resistance" after another.
Who resisted Zhao Qi? It may be a kind of "declining trend" or social "urgency".
"Homecoming Train", "City of Death", "Ten Thousands of Temper", "Datong", from 2009 to the present for a full ten years, Zhao Qi in the contemporary Chinese history, directed or produced the hard-core Chinese top documentary on these topics.
bottom observation, political epiphany, pain in anatomy, and Douban score is never less than 8 points.
scored 8.9 points in "Life in Adventure" last year, and was voted by Douban netizens as the strongest online comprehensive in China in 2018.
However, as soon as the second season of "A Life of Adventure" went live, the ratings fell off a cliff, and the audience felt that the program had changed taste-some artists should not "destroy" this variety show.
Zhao Qi deliberately made breakthroughs for his creation, and refused to feed on the content of the word, but it caused the psychological gap of the audience.
He summed up the first season as beautiful scenery + beauty + golden sentences, familiar to the audience, but also a little fresh documentary concept, easy to accept. In the second season of
, he wants to go deeper, build a narrative, find an amateur who can "collide", and minimize the space the star is in. He hopes to get something more essential. The thing
has been discussed for more than 100 years, and it is called the reality of images.
He didn't just find artists such as Zhou Xun, Chunxia, and Pu Shu, but also traffic stars like Angelababy.
He is trying to expose the star's nerves directly to the air, and no more skin wraps.
Angelababy wanted to give up halfway. He asked, "Are you here for a ride or a ride?" When
rationalized Liu Wen's "work is a boyfriend", he bluntly said, "I don't believe it. It's not because you don't want to find it. Not suitable." In order to explore the controversy that the light of domestic variety shows did not illuminate, the first director (ID: diyidy) interviewed director Zhao Qi for nearly two hours. More often,
is actually discussing how to recognize a real person and how to understand more complex information. These are all philosophical matters. These low-level thinking of
are in the same line as his documentary, and they are exactly the same as the word "life".
I also found that Zhao Qi always pays attention to more ambitious things. He often raises the topic. I can’t help but ask, "Will you think of this thing from this perspective?"
For example, he will be different from the audience. The attitude of artists talked about the jury system; from refusing to provide the same content, talking about the domestication of people by algorithms, and even talking about apartheid.
He has just completed a seven-year documentary and returned to his previous creative system-the protagonist of the film suffered an accident in the middle, and the film was pushed to a more complex dimension.
Zhao Qi is an absolutely rational person, this species does not exist, but he is very close.
After reading this interview, you will no longer mistake the name Zhao Qi, and even "Life in Adventure" is just his first-level adjective, for example, he is the Zhao Qi who is in a special adventure in life.
01. The first season is shallow, and the audience likes it; the second season goes deep and the audience does not accept
As the show progresses, the score has risen
First Director: The score has fallen off a cliff, what do you think?
Zhao Qi: From the perspective of a documentary filmmaker, this is just an example to prove the state we are facing right now.
On the one hand, we accept this score more convincingly; on the other hand, any phenomenon is an indication of this era. This score isThe ones who called us on the show were also (the audience) who called themselves.
(Douban scoring) is an instant emotional expression of individuals. It can reflect not only the position of the program in the environment, but also the position of everyone in the discourse system.
If everyone is responsible for their actions, I hope you can give reasons. If it is worth listening to and discussing, it means that it is valuable and has a foundation. The first director
: Don't you worry about affecting word of mouth?
Zhao Qi: Word of mouth is an extension of interest from a certain perspective. For example, if the word of mouth is high, I can do the next season, but if the word of mouth is low, I can't do the next season.
From our point of view, Qiyu Studio is not a variety show production company. We are a group of documentary individuals who believe in certain viewpoints and values, and come together to operate a specific project under a common concept.
If everyone thinks this kind of thing is valuable, likes or recognizes, we can continue to do it. If you feel that it is not valuable, it may indicate that the content may not be suitable for this era, or that you may not be ready to accept more complicated things. Well, let's do the documentary and it's over. There is room for expansion and contraction for us.
I have been doing content for more than 20 years. Isn't this just a year or two of variety shows? In the first season, everyone liked it, indicating that our documentary ability can be combined with the variety show system, so let's combine it. The first season of
is relatively shallow, and everyone likes it better. Of course, in the second season, we must go a little deeper, and it may be a little more complicated. We will show some of people's compromise, struggle, helplessness, and anxiety. We think this is human nature. But from the audience's point of view, it is difficult to endure all at once.
I myself will not score 9 points for the first season, nor 6 points for the second season. The first director of
: In your opinion, what is the problem with the first season?
Zhao Qi: First of all, the first season lacks a specific event and an opponent to dominate the event, that is, using amateurs as a real restriction.
Therefore, the first season is very much like a variety show, it is still trying to explore the artist's stress response in an environment. But this kind of reaction is actually quite divorced from this environment. For example, some of the golden sentences that Chun Xia said may not necessarily be said in this environment. It can also be realized in other environments.
On the other hand, artists are actually easier to make self-grooming. Because there is no more tense external event or more squeezing environment forcing him to react, which results in still a lot of room to deduce a certain state. And our program itself hopes to discover the most essential things in life.
So the first season is beauty + beautiful scenery + golden sentence.
In fact, everyone has always accepted such content, but our shooting method has some documentary characteristics, and the audience saw it as a different thing.
is, there are some differences, but it is not what we want. In the first season, we only took a half step. The first director of
: Did you know it was just a half-step?
Zhao Qi: We realized that it was a problem during the filming process.
Because if there is no event to lead, no people are involved in it and react, more we need to do some excavation through off-site interviews, and then turn it into a voice-over and post it.
When interviewing, people will be more alert and organized. Of course, the expression is more accurate, and the golden sentences are repeated, but in turn, it actually has a stronger sense of modification. We were aware of this problem at the time.
In addition, it is more like travel from a narrative point of view. The so-called little S looking for an elephant is actually a chance encounter. She did not participate in the search. She just saw the results. Her story is still cooking, dancing and other variety content, which has no organic connection with the events that happened on the spot. .
Therefore, what is more important to the audience is whether the artist has the ability to provide golden sentences and whether he can output his opinions. After watching the first season, many netizens will feel that "Life in Adventure" is only for a certain type of artist.
This is different from our perception of people. We don't want to be a certain kind of labeling. You are not a literary (artist), so you can't come, because I only provide literary things here. Why
is a life of adventure, it’s because you have encountered a unique experience that opens up those grudges in your heart, thatThese cognitive limitations can make you richer. This is the original intention of my show.
I hope it breaks the wall rather than builds the wall, but in fact, the first season gives people the feeling that a wall is built, and niche and individual people seem to be suitable for this show. This is our reflection. The first director of
: What is your own definition of "A Life of Adventure"?
Zhao Qi: I think in the second season, "Life in Adventure" is no longer a reality show. It is a documentary observation of a reality show. I made the whole process of making a reality show into a documentary. I think the first season of
is a common word, and the audience loves us. But we think the second season is more valuable. The first director
: But if you continue to copy, it may still be successful.
Zhao Qi: The possibility of success is relatively high. Like Liu Wen's issue (updated last week), everyone's overall feedback is relatively good.
Many people said after reading it, they are back to the original "Life in Adventure"! Everyone likes to be constantly fed the same things. This has something to do with the entire information interaction in the digital age. We are fed by algorithms in a data-based system. If you like this, I will keep pushing you. Push, this will actually make the estrangement between people worse.
For example, if there is a different opinion from mine in the circle of friends, I will delete it, so there is no more uncomfortable voice, and you think I am the truth. Because you see, it is said in my circle of friends, we have reached a small community through the identification of opinions. We are ourselves, who are they? They are them.
We are not here to do variety shows. We want to transplant some of the perspectives and value systems of documentary into variety shows, and share the world I know with everyone through its wider audience, but it may not be suitable for everyone to recognize now A demand for knowledge. You are challenging it. The first director of
: What adjustments were made from the director level in the second season?
Zhao Qi: In order to implement it, the narrative must be improved, and the amateur must be used, because only the amateur and the artist can do one thing together, so that all participants can enter a certain state more directly, forcing him to make a decision , And choices made in this environment are also organically related to events. On the one hand, the artist is more sincere. On the other hand, whether it is based on his own understanding or the organic nature of this choice, it will make us have a newer understanding of the relationship between people.
In the first season, you did not see which artist and which amateur has established a relationship and emotion, but there is a second season. What is our society? It is the sum of human relationships. We establish how they interact, which can reflect our own state in life.
Of course what is this thing, is it cycling or gold panning? What is its point? Does it have meaning for our real life? How close is it to the artist? This is our next step to consider and select.
02. Give Angelababy an awakening moment: The past ten years have been a ride, but the next ten years can only be riding
. Director: Artists, amateurs, and events. What is your criterion?
Zhao Qi: This degree of relevance is not the same as what the audience understands now. We consider more from our internal needs.
I read the comments on Douban, why did the first period and Lao Xu (Xu Yukun, who started cycling around the world at the age of 61, have been cycling for 12 years), the director chose Angelababy but not Zhang Junning? Why is
? Because we are not a movie about sports. Then I will choose Peng Yuyan and Wang Luodan. They can ride themselves. They ride on the first day and finish; ride on the second day and finish very well; ride on the third day and finish very well. On the fourth day, also Very well done; the fifth day of riding is over. What are you looking at?
First Director: Where are Angelababy and Lao Xu Qixing fit together?
Zhao Qi: It is not a regular variety show to accomplish the goal of riding behavior. It is not a task, it is a period of time.
Who is Lao Xu? Lao Xu is a Henan farmer who has been farming all his life. When I was in my 60s, I didn't know where the courage came from, so I suddenly wanted to ride the world. For more than ten years, such a clumsy but powerful way has been used to achieve such a goal. We think this is his awakening, he is awake. He suddenly realized that this generationThe son cannot just pass by. Who is
Angelababy? Beautiful girl, she debuted at the age of 15. She used to be able to make money by relying on traffic, but now she is in a certain state, she is ignorantly aware that the next ten years will definitely not be the same as before, although she still does not know what to do Yes, she is in a transition period, a transition period. How long this time depends on her talent, it may be a year or two, or even longer. She is trekking.
We think there is a possibility of her awakening in her mentality at this stage, and Lao Xu's riding can bring her some thoughts and force her to think about what to do. This is our previous judgment.
Next, who is Angelababy? The girl who lives on the Internet and has everything. Who is Lao Xu? Lao Xu was a rough farmer among the lowest class in China. These two people will never overlap in life. But they can build relationships during the ride. The first season of
is right and right. In the second season, we hope to show real society and real people. Of course, we hope that there will be collision. Collision is drama. Which TV is not? People generally like to watch movies, and the ending of TV collision is positive. But is "Joker" positive? Is "Batman Dark Knight" positive?
People’s society is not necessarily like this. Of course, we need to understand more complex things. Isn’t the process of our lives just constantly understanding the world and understanding ourselves?
First Director: What is the fit between Feng Shaofeng and the crop circle?
Zhao Qi: In our opinion, Feng Shaofeng is more disciplined and a good boy. On the other hand, he is also warmer, not going to Lei Chi for half a step. But in turn, we felt that there was a little bit of wildness deep in his heart, hoping to break through. This is how I feel after talking to him.
Feng Shaofeng said that he envied Piao Shu, which shows that he wants to dare to act, but he may not have the courage or the ability to do it. So he has been cooperating with the program group. I said my son's name in the program, and I am cooperating.
But later he realized that he didn't need to do it for his son, but wanted to do it for Monique. He also specially came to discuss with this program group. I think this is precisely the breakthrough of his personality. This breakthrough is in such an environment. Next, because of Monique's influence.
But neither he nor Yang Ying (the changes) are so obvious. We can only hear the huge sound of the glacier falling into the sea, and we cannot hear the faint sound of the butterfly flapping its wings.
If Yang Ying realized that the previous 15 years were like a ride, the next 15 years will be like riding. This is a kind of awakening, but we can't push her. You have to respect her natural growth state. Some people may be fast, some may be slow, or some people have accumulated to a certain point and then break through. This is everyone's own opportunity.
First Director: Why did you put Yang Ying in the first issue? Maybe the audience needs a process of acceptance.
Zhao Qi: There are many practical problems, such as shooting relatively early, which is the first.
Second, I do content. We shoot documentaries, sometimes it's a little bloody, and don't want to hide it. Since I think this way, why don't I tell you clearly. Of course, I did not expect
the other way round (controversy after the show was broadcast). I think her reaction is normal.
Think about it, if it's just a variety show, I can instruct her, Yang Ying, you must complete it. This is a good opportunity for you to "whitewash". You have a period, right? Come well, be sure to speak out, and then keep falling down, you'd better cry or be very tired with a disheveled hair, to complete such a performance, the audience is satisfied, Yang Ying is not bad, but it is fake. For us, we are responsible for the truth. Is there no compromise in human life? Didn't you struggle? Didn't you give up? Did not hesitate? It all reflected that she was a normal person, and then she was scolded. First director
: After the show is broadcast, is there any feedback from Yang Ying?
Zhao Qi: She didn't say too much. In fact, riding is really hard. I think everyone's reaction may be a backlash against her in the previous ten years. She can use this opportunity to think about it.
03, I came out to show the bigger real
firstDirector: Why did you say in the show that you can't always retreat?
Zhao Qi: I'm not talking about "you can't", what I'm talking about is, why do you take a ride every day? Are you here for a ride or a ride? This is my kind of questioning and my incomprehension.
We originally thought that when the physical pressure reaches a certain limit, if she adopts a breakthrough state, she can enter a spiritual level to understand it.
But she always stopped there when she reached the physical limit. In fact, we did not violate it and showed that she stopped there. For those who are on variety shows these days, she must have felt that this is just a show at first.
Any variety show has a plan. But we really don't. Once you land, everything starts to be dominated by you. She needs to adjust quickly. I think the adjustment process can see a lot of truth.
In such a situation, she can only experience it by herself, maybe she is slower to experience it, she doesn't experience it in a day, and it is almost the fourth day that she slowly understands it. So on the last day, she felt as if she wanted to ride, but it was too late.
Sometimes life is not like this, it is too late when we realize it. The first director of
: But did you influence her decision? From a documentary perspective, it also changed the story line.
Zhao Qi: There must be a certain relationship between the artist and the show crew. It is undeniable that the people in the documentary must have a certain relationship outside the camera.
In other words, what the lens shows you is only a part of the reality, and there is a greater reality outside the lens, which includes us. So we did not deliberately avoid not appearing in the lens.
And when there are some places on the scene that we find difficult to understand, we think that the audience may also have questions, so I will naturally go in and ask. It was the same in Liu Wen's issue-Liu Wen said, job is my boyfriend. I heard her say this, I don’t think I believe it, and I don’t think many people believe it either.
If I don't ask, Liu Wen won't cry, and it's over.
First director: You want a response to the next.
Zhao Qi: I want to know what's going on in your heart. You can think of this as an on-site interview. The difference is just here and here. Your reaction will be more direct.
Objectively, we (the program group) must have an influence on them. Why do I have to worry about me here if it affects her. I affected her. I forced her to think about it and gave her a stimulus, but the final decision and behavior were still her own. The first director of
: Are you entangled whether to edit it in the later stage?
Zhao Qi: No, I talked to her on the last day. She had a certain understanding and became positive on the last day. If I don’t put in our conversation, it will be strange from your point of view. It’s not like a Human normal reaction. I have a responsibility to present any changes that led to the incident to the audience. The first director of
: What if Yang Ying did not ride on the last day?
Zhao Qi: If you don't ride, there is no way. When Dou Xiao climbed the mountain in the first season, if he couldn't get there because of the weather, there would be nothing in this episode. Others asked me what to do, and I said nothing to do, so there was nothing.
There are a lot of high expectations in life, you can't meet them in the end, is there no such situation in our lives? Yes. The audience thought this was true, but they couldn't accept Yang Ying's change when they saw the slight changes.
04, I just have no chance to do something like "Datong"
First Director: Will you follow the hot searches on your show?
Zhao Qi: I will not pay attention. I don't even have Weibo.
First Director: Do you watch variety shows by yourself?
Zhao Qi: Basically not. First director
: How did Aya convince you to do a variety show?
Zhao Qi: She asked if it is possible to make a variety show? We have been doing documentaries and we know that many people watch variety shows, than documentaries. We think that if some concepts of documentary are put into variety shows, it may have more influence, and we will follow this concept.
We are really ignorant of variety shows. It may also cause us to feel a little fearless.
first guideActing: What you did before were documentaries such as "Datong", "The Return Train" and "Shangcheng", focusing on social reality and public issues. Are there any of these people in your current creation?
Zhao Qi: People like Lao Xu may be the subject of my documentary. Isn’t this also the case for left-behind children in Guizhou? It's all. Zhou Xun is coming. This issue is about old age.
We want our guests to enter into the various problems faced by the society and the world, and into the various problems faced by people in their lives. This is what I call the so-called documentary concept.
Documentary is not about taking a camera to film their reaction. This is not called documentary. Documentary has a big value system. What is your entry point? We are still concerned about the issue of environmental pollution, the issue of single mothers, and the issue of gender equality between men and women.
I just don't have the opportunity to let artists do things like "Datong" together. The first director of
: Compared with the past works, is there any difference in your value in "Adventure Life"?
Zhao Qi: The value direction is not superior or inferior, but from the perspective of the author’s expression, one is more unrestricted, and the other is relatively balanced, because there are more stakeholders in "Adventure Life" and more consideration must be given.
From my perspective, there is no conflict with my documentary in terms of value orientation. Essentially, people are concerned. First director
: Do you have a preference for these content formats? How to allocate time?
Zhao Qi: I like doing independent documentaries the most. Because this thing allows me to speak freely. The
documentary itself is not a rush job. It takes three or four years for a topic to be selected from the beginning to the completion. In this process, we also have to live and earn income.
What I want to do in the end is what I can say.
"Life in Adventure" also speaks my own words to a certain extent, and I have acquired a wider audience at the expense of not saying too much. This is a matter of mass multiplied by speed, and what you want is the final kinetic energy.
05. The new documentary is about Guo Chuan’s loss of contact at sea. This time there is no extra money. The first director of
: When did you build awareness of the documentary?
Zhao Qi: During the period of CCTV, he was 23 or 24 years old.
My family is from a TV background. I had concepts when I was young but didn't have that strong interest. The most influential
is "The Last Mountain God" directed by Sun Zengtian, and "Telling the Stories of Common People" by Teacher Chen Feng (famous TV personality and teacher of Chai Jing). The film directed by Sun Zengtian inspired me to use video to narrate, and Chen Feng’s respect and care for the public helped me acquire this ability.
The starting point of my entire skills and ideas comes from here. The first director of
: What was the progress of the documentary you talked about during the first season of Li's birthday?
Zhao Qi: It's done, and it's done later.
First Director: How long did it take?
Zhao Qi: 7 years.
First Director: Are you satisfied with it?
Zhao Qi: I am quite satisfied, it is a very good film. However, there is a high probability that it will not be successful in the market, and such authorized works may not be unanimously praised by the audience, and sometimes even go against it.
Some more in-depth films may have to convey a more complex description of the world, but in the process, the audience is easy to lose his goal, or it is difficult for him to form a clear understanding, and it is difficult to reach emotions and opinions. Resonance and consensus. Even if we do variety shows, we will encounter this situation.
But this is the value of our existence. The first director of
: What attracts you to Guo Chuan?
Zhao Qi: The understanding of this topic is from the shallower to the deeper.
When we started shooting, he was preparing for a single-sail global record challenge. At first, you thought this was a sports adventure film, a film about how to become a hero.
But as you slowly intervene and understand, you discover some of his inner entanglements, fears, helplessness and choices, and also understand all aspects of his family, especially after losing contact at sea. Reality forces you to think more complicated issue.
This is not a simple sports adventure, it is about human nature, the self's pursuit of ideals and the cost of sacrifice, the contradiction between social responsibility and personal realization.
First director: What were you doing when Guo Chuan lost contact?
Zhao Qi: There was a period of stagnation in the middle of this film, because I didn't know exactly what to shoot.
He had been engaged in repetitive adventures before, and we felt that it would be difficult to escape the paradigm of sports films, so we stopped.
Guo Chuan’s loss of contact forces us to enter the next level, which is how much people’s understanding of their lives are willing to spend to achieve them personally, and the impact this price has on individuals, society, and their families What is it, it suddenly becomes complicated. So we went to film his family in turn, what it was like without him, and after comparing with his previous behavior, we might be able to realize more.
First Director: Is there financial pressure?
Zhao Qi: I don’t ask others for money anymore when I make an independent documentary. We kept the cost to a minimum and tried our best to find a way to cover.
Before you did this kind of film, you still hope to find some funds. If China finds less funds, then go abroad to find it. But in fact, any kind of funds will have various effects on you. The so-called independence of
is to be independent of others. You have to build on your own independent observation. Therefore, we increasingly hope that we don't overlap with anyone too much financially. If someone donates. I will consider.
This time Guo Chuan didn't have any extra money.
*Interview, article / Kandy
