A member of the Flying Tigers went undercover in the school and actually teamed up with the police station to cheat on the exam; the rich second generation went to Beijing to take the martial arts exam and the top prize turned out to be a brothel girl.
and: Tang Bohu dipped a brush into dipping sauce to grill chicken wings, a super agent stepped on a suitcase and jumped over a wall, Sun Wukong was a bandit in his previous life, the God of Cookery descended to earth to be a profiteer, chocolate and plastic wrap can "catch ghosts", a copy of "Tathagata Palm" costs ten yuan After learning, you can fall from the sky and defeat bad guys...
Only you can't think of it, but he can't do it. Moreover, his movies have many reversal scenes and are often edited into short videos that are widely circulated on various platforms on mobile phones.
Therefore, when I heard that Stephen Chow was going to enter micro-short dramas and release "Golden Pig and Jade Leaf" in May, it seemed that this was a natural thing, and there was also a feeling of "Why did you come now?" Of course, this is probably not good news for viewers who have been waiting for "Mermaid 2" and "Kung Fu 2". However, following the saying "I owe Stephen Chow a movie ticket", let's top up Stephen Chow's money this year.
一
In the era of mini-series, Stephen Chow came
"9527" is the lifelong code name given to Tang Bohu by the top military scholar in Washington. Later, Tang Bohu took off his code name and embraced the beauty; but netizens could not forget it, and the words "Xiaoqiang", "Floating Cloud" and "Wangcai" in the film became hot words on the Internet for generations.
Today, this codename is the name of Stephen Chow's micro-short drama label. The theater poster looks very "Stephen Chow" at first glance.
The stage curtain opened. Wearing a hat, with white hair reaching his shoulders, the image looking at the monitor was naturally Stephen Chow himself. This is his state of being a director, which may imply that he will end up directing, rather than like Netflix last year. Like "The Monkey King", he is also a producer.
The three characters standing behind him, the woman in the spotted long skirt is "Lin Yun" in "The Mermaid", and the portrait of the mermaid on the table comes from the famous scene of "Deng Chao reporting the crime" in this film; watch "(The Actor's Self-cultivation)" " is Yin Tianchou in " King of Comedy "; the chef pretender points to Stephen in " God of Cookery "; the doll sitting on the ground is the alien "Yangtze River No. 7"; needless to say, the board beater, Directly name " Tang Bohu Dian Qiuxiang ".
The entire poster is a glimpse of Stephen Chow's movie universe, a glimpse full of memories, feelings, childlike fun and laughter. These representative works are his confidence, courage and popularity to break into the field of micro-short dramas.
But here comes the question, why is it a micro-short drama?
Because it is popular, new, audiences love to watch it, and you can still make money.
Three years ago, micro-short dramas were still an unfamiliar concept. In 2021, the number of micro-short plays registered was 398, more than six times the following year; by 2023, the number of registered micro-short plays will be nearly 3,000, and more than 1,400 short plays will be online, with an average of 3.8 plays per day, and the market size will exceed 37 billion yuan.
You must know that the total box office of Chinese movies last year was 54.915 billion yuan. Compared with this, the production cycle of micro-short dramas is short, the investment is cost-effective, and there are few restrictions on subject matter and content. Its market potential is evident.
Like "Oops!" "The Empress Comes to Work", the 24-hour user recharge exceeded 12 million; "After the flash wedding, Mr. Fu's waistcoat can no longer be hidden", the 24-hour recharge exceeded 20 million; "Wushuang", regarded as the "ceiling" by the industry, has been online for two months The recharge exceeded 300 million yuan.
Quietly, micro-short dramas have become a "profiteering" industry. Short video platforms, traditional film and television companies, online text platforms, long video platforms, etc. are swarming in, intending to take off in the mainstream. Since the main track of the short drama is vertical screen video, Hengdian also became a "vertical store" for a time. Later, long-form video platforms such as iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent joined the battlefield, launching horizontal-screen micro-short dramas and inviting celebrities to appear. Some micro-short dramas have even been sold overseas, or directly produced overseas.
As if overnight, a whirlwind of short dramas blew up in the world, and no one could ignore it.
Talking about the content, the logic of micro-short dramas is similar to that of online cool articles. Popular themes are mostly concentrated on domineering rich people, sadomasochistic sweet pets, time travel and rebirth, grassroots counterattacks, God of War tactics, etc. It’s fun to do whatever you want, even if it’s bloody and exaggerated. , artificiality and earthy taste are also ignored.
Among these content types that are highly homogenized and even flooded, there is an obvious gap - comedy.From cross talk to sketches, from talk shows to comedy variety shows, from sitcoms to comedy films, comedy has always been the salt of our lives. We need happiness in every possible way to cope with the burden of life.
Laughter is a buffer against stress; especially laughter that comes from memories. This is why there are always people doing "archaeology", watching "Wulin Gaiden", "I Love My Family", and watching Zhao Lirong and Zhao Benshan's sketches, because we need this medicine, which may not be very effective, but at least it is sweet.
Stephen Chow is the character who laughs loudest and happiest in the memory of generations. He's more than capable of delivering the micro-comedy and what we've come to expect from a certain type of comedy.
micro-short drama is a hit, how can comedy be absent? When it comes to Chinese comedies, Stephen Chow is indispensable. His entry is a call from the micro-short drama market, and it comes at the right time.
二
The creation of micro-short dramas, Stephen Chow understands very well the
5g era is almost an era of competition for human attention. Our patience is limited and our tolerance for a video may not exceed 10 seconds. Micro-short dramas must retain the audience immediately. This requires that its creation must be "short, fast, and refreshing", and all of them are indispensable.
Stephen Chow's works have exactly these three characteristics.
"short" refers to paragraphs with suspense.
For micro-short dramas, the duration of an episode is basically no more than 10 minutes, and most of them are in the range of 2-5 minutes. If a movie is an article, an episode of a short drama is a paragraph; the connection between paragraphs is entirely supported by suspense.
Stephen Chow's movie sequences are quite obvious. Just like "Journey to the West: Conquering Demons", subdue fish demons, pig demons, and monkey demons, and then go on the road to learn the scriptures. Three paragraphs, with a clear structure; if further subdivided, the large paragraph can be broken down into small paragraphs of "the monster does evil--Xuan Zang surrenders--the master assists--the two sides fight--Xuan Zang wins".
Each short paragraph is a mini-drama.
Let's take " Kung Fu " as an example again. If it is split into micro-shorts:
In the first paragraph, "Feng Xiaogang" makes a big fuss at the police station and is killed by the Ax Gang. The background of the story is a troubled world where gangs are rampant.
In the second paragraph, the gangster Ah Xing appears and goes to the Zhulongzhai community to rob, but is "slapped in the face". The "Cloud Arrow" accidentally attracts the Ax Gang;
In the third paragraph, the Ax Gang and the Zhulongzhai fight, and the Ax Gang begins. Dominated, and later the master appeared and defeated the Ax Gang;
In paragraph 4, Ah Xing was the cause of the Ax Gang's war and defeat. The Ax Gang wanted to kill him to vent their anger, but he saved himself with his lockpicking skills.
...
can be sorted out and broken down into about 15 paragraphs.
Each paragraph is too long, so it is subdivided into short paragraphs of 1-2 minutes. For example, paragraph 1 can be divided into:
The police fell from the building, the chief trembled, who is so rampant - "Feng Xiaogang" appeared and caused a scene in the police Bureau, suddenly there is a sudden change - the Ax Gang appears, "Feng Xiaogang" escapes and is caught, what is his fate - his fate is death, and what will happen to his woman - he says he will let the woman go, but in the end he pulls the trigger - the Ax Gang dances Carnival, who can be the savior of the world?
If "Kung Fu" is edited into a micro-short drama, with Stephen Chow's sense of rhythm and suspense design, it can be very "silky" and turned into a 100-episode micro-short drama. I believe that many people will pay to watch it.
Let's talk about "fast", which refers to efficiently providing information and creating emotions or transitions within a unit paragraph.
Let's use a clip from "The King of Comedy" to illustrate how Stephen Chow uses several positions (shots) to make emotions rise and fall, and to make the plot change a thousand times.
After a night of spring supper, Yin Tianchou took out all his belongings and "paid" Liu Piaopiao. He knew that such behavior was an insult to emotion. Liu Piaopian said "Thank you, boss", announcing that the relationship has completely reduced to a transaction, and the relationship between the two parties has dropped to a freezing point.
Liu Piaopiao went out and looked back behind the bars, still feeling nostalgic. The camera flashed back, and Yin Tianchou, who had been huddled on the bed, suddenly changed his position and stood by the window hiding, feeling guilty and not daring to face it, but also unwilling to do so. Relationships heat up amid struggles.
Liu Piaopiao walked on the street, and Yin Tianqiu's position switched again and appeared in the window. The two looked at each other from a distance and spoke. In the pulling of lines, they expressed that they would return to their respective lives. Until the camera cuts back to the perspective of looking at each other:
"Can you not go to work?" This is Yin Tianqiu's love invitation. The relationship is heating up, but has not yet reached a boiling point.
"Will you support me if you don't go to work?" This was Liu Piaopiao's polite refusal, cooling down her temper while leaving some room for her.
The camera is shot front and back, waving goodbye. Yin Tianqiu watched her go, looked at the sea, and saw people disappearing. The relationship plummeted to freezing point.
The suspense returned to Liu Piaopiao, and she continued to walk hopelessly. Yin Tianchou switched positions for the third time, came to the street, and faced Liu Piaopiao directly without leaving any room for error.
"What's wrong?" "I'll support you."
The above lines came out and went straight to the boiling point. At this moment, the world stopped, and the emotions were extremely intense.
"Take care of yourself first, fool."
The lines are ordinary, but they describe the hesitation, emotion, cowardice and reluctance of a promiscuous woman who was deeply hurt by love when she meets love again. she left. The panoramic view of Yin Tianqiu stopped on the street, helpless and confused.
There are only four positions of Yin Tianqiu: on the bed, inside the window, outside the window, and on the street. Without any stagnation, they can be cut away with a quick knife to realize the intersection of sorrow and joy, and the ups and downs. Emotions flow, up and down, like the electrocardiogram of a first responder.
Can you imagine that all the above information, transitions, and changes took less than 2 minutes?
This is Stephen Chow's directorial skills. The only martial arts in the world that is "fast" is unbeatable. Not only is he "fast", he is also "fast" with extremely high efficiency.
As for "cool", it means to arouse the audience's emotions and satisfy them in the unit paragraph. In layman's terms, the bad guys get slapped in the face, the good guys counterattack, the bad guys are punished, and the good guys are rewarded, achieving a direct and happy victory.
In this regard, Stephen Chow can be described as a master.
Tang Bohu defeated King Ning in a literary and martial arts battle; Su Can made the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms from a useless person; the butcher knife on the pork stall was the indestructible Tianshan cold iron; the secret weapon of the trick expert was drops of cream and blood Zi, electric bananas and honest bean paste buns; Bao Longxing's talk, Ouchi's magical invention, the God of Cookery's "ecstasy" barbecued pork rice, Sun Wukong transforming into a lava giant...
These cool designs do not avoid the commonplace and are full of content. It is childlike and full of ups and downs, joys and sorrows. It is far more advanced than the "cool points" brought by popular bosses, sweet pets, revenge and time travel. Short dramas should really be taught by Stephen Chow.
Nowadays, the tutor has come to an end, and he can easily control "short, fast and refreshing". Of course, he can play micro skits.
三
Micro-short comedy, Stephen Chow's
comedy is a funny mirror of life, a magic mirror of reality, and a microscope of the times. The grammar that governs comedy is the present, in other words, the punchline is timely.
In the past, "selling abductors" was a joke, but now you have to sell Internet products; in the past, it was an "awkward" trip, and now it is a "big fuss" at the annual meeting; in the past, it was a big family gathered around the TV, "having fun alone is not as good as everyone." , now everyone has a mobile phone and "I get drunk alone".
The medium of comedy has changed from temple streets, flyovers and stages, to television and screens, to the Internet and social media, and now, short videos are king. The content carrier has also evolved from cross talk sketches, to movies and television, to Internet short dramas represented by Yi Xiaoxing's "Unexpectedly" and Dapeng's "Diaosi Man", and then "talk shows" that are easy to cut into short videos. Convention", "Annual Comedy Competition", etc. To this day, many netizens have no patience to wait for the laughter and climax of a film and television drama. Please directly deliver the climax in the most direct and swift way.
The "Annual Comedy Contest" set off the Internet's work "Evolution"
The micro-short play came into being, and it was inevitable. Comedy still has a way to go before it can adapt to this set of rules. After all, for a "baggage" to sound, it takes time to set up the scene, bury the plot, and then detonate it.Just like Ah Xing in "Kung Fu" goes to find the God of Fire. If this scene were moved into a mini-series, and then Stephen Chow's name was taken off, and someone else played the role, I'm afraid netizens would not wait until the protagonist breaks into the mental hospital. This video will be deleted.
No matter how fast you get rid of "baggage," it can't be faster than the exciting plot of slap in the face, counterattack, time travel, seeking a bride, and comparing your wealth. Perhaps this is also the reason why comedy themes have been lagging behind in the era of micro-short dramas.
Stephen Chow's entry is not only an advancement of his personal comedy works with the times, but more importantly, perhaps he can rely on his personal influence, fan appeal and comedy creativity to raise the audience's patience threshold and make them more calm. Enter the comedy context rather than settle for fast food.
In 2019, Stephen Chow, according to the visual China
Someone needs to create a rule: the "baggage" that only sounds in 1 minute, and the "pleasure" that pops up in 10 seconds. In terms of emotional satisfaction, it is difficult to distinguish the good from the bad. , the value is difficult to determine, thus affirming the existence significance of comedy, so that comedy, an art that is close to life itself, can be integrated with micro-short plays, a form that refines the pleasure of life.
For this question of adaptability, who else is better than Stephen Chow!
Of course, we hope that he can resume his status as an actor and at least play a cameo role in a mini-series. This is the best publicity for the "9527" theater; it is just a pity that Ng Man-tat is no longer there. Otherwise, if the two reunite in a micro-short drama, it will really be the golden age of micro-short dramas and a carnival for movie fans.
Text/Li Ruifeng Editor Wang Liqiang
