cultural variety shows were once classified by the market as a niche category with "high reputation and low traffic". Although there are gems such as " See words like faces " and "Chinese Poetry Conference", how to balance the artistry and connotation of culture with the entertainment and popular aesthetic needs of the public has always been a question that hangs over the production of countless cultural variety shows. Sword of Damocles on a human head.
"In the past, in order to cater to the audience, many cultural variety shows were afraid of making the programs too bland and simple, and made them popular and superficial, losing their personality and meaning. In fact, most viewers have cultural and spiritual needs, and they are essentially watching cultural variety shows. Habits have not yet been formed, and the content of the program is not attractive enough," Guan Zhengwen, the director of "Seeing Words Like Faces" once said.
However, according to the annual reports released by many platforms in the past three years, "culture" has transformed from being high-minded and low-key into one of the strongest integrated elements in the current variety show market - on the one hand, " run " and " extreme challenge" ", "Flowers and Boys" and other leading outdoor reality shows all use "culture +" to inject cultural heritage and social value; on the other hand, "I Study on an Island" and "Come on! Pure cultural variety shows such as "Beijing Central Axis" and " Museum City " also continue to explore ways to have in-depth dialogue with young audiences with innovative and open concepts. Specific to creation, how do "culture +" variety shows continue to reshape their own aesthetics under the dual empowerment of cultural awakening and innovative model breakthroughs? Achieve social and emotional resonance at the same frequency? As a city with rich history and culture and a large number of young people, how can Beijing develop variety shows based on its own characteristics?
"The Most Beautiful Central Axis 3" was filmed in the Bell and Drum Towers of Beijing.
Close to life
Let the white snow in spring sink to the world of fireworks
How to make "culture" truly move from books to reality, and let the cultural elements derived from the life and civilization of the Chinese nation travel through thousands of years and integrate into the current society. This is based on the past successful "culture +" variety show attempts. In other words, the pyrotechnics that truly enter into the lives of ordinary people and allow culture to return and rise are the common denominators of cultural variety shows.
China’s excellent traditional culture is the starting point for telling Chinese stories, and can provide a steady stream of content ideas for current communication products focusing on the new era and new cultural mission.
Take the cultural interactive reality show "Museum City" launched by Beijing Satellite TV as an example. This program visits various museums in Beijing and explores the historical value, cultural value and contemporary value contained in the cultural relics in the museum. What the program team thought about most at the beginning of the planning was how to bring the museum into the homes of ordinary people, and how to present it so that the audience can feel that the city of museums is closely related to their lives. After several discussions by the program team, on the one hand, they grasped the cultural pivots behind the museum that are closely related to modern life and civilization. For example, the Beijing Art Museum is home to the "longevity culture", and the program uses incomplete historical relics to commemorate a touching family story from a hundred years ago; the Capital Museum carries the cultural relics and customs behind the ancient capital, so the program focuses on the cultural relics of the first museum The Yuan blue and white phoenix-head flat pot carefully guarded by the conservator shows the professionalism and emotion of the cultural museum people in protecting history; while the National Zoological Museum exhibits animals, it also conveys the world view of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature... Every museum is getting closer The theme of social life is no longer just a cultural symbol, but also a reflection and condensation of history and contemporary social spirit.
"City of Museums" visits major museums in Beijing.
On the other hand, "Museum City" also attempts to explore the unknown daily work of ordinary people in the museum, allowing Yangchun Baixue to "sink" into the ordinary life. Shan Jixiang, a guest on the show, said: “My previous job was mainly in museum management, but this show gave me the opportunity to participate in grassroots work in different departments of different museums.For example, I became an employee of the Engineering Department at the Beijing Art Museum and experienced gilding the Buddha and repairing ancient buildings; I became an employee of the Conservation Department at the Capital Museum and experienced the protection of textiles, calligraphy and paintings; I became an employee of the Collection Department at Xu Beihong Memorial Hall and experienced collections. Select the point to hand over the work..." The museum's grassroots departments such as science popularization, collections, security, and cleaning rely on the efforts of ordinary "workers" to operate, driving the museum to continue to provide tourists with high-quality experiences. "City of Museums" has done it right and is more It is a practice that the basis for telling Chinese stories well must be telling the stories of Chinese people.
If "City of Museums" still explores making museums "come alive" from the perspective of ordinary people, "Twelve Hours in Beijing" makes culture thorough. Integrating the fireworks of the world. This program shows the rapid development of economic and cultural activities in Beijing's business district in the form of a variety show. It invites guests from the literary and art circles to take to the streets of Beijing, eat Beijing roast duck, visit Guijie Street, walk on the Tuoling Ancient Road, and sit around Beijing courtyards to eat. Watermelon, chatting, singing... art, culture, and life have built a closer relationship in Beijing, re-presenting the fireworks and urban culture.
Take the location chosen in "Twelve Hours in Beijing" as an example, such as the crayfish restaurant. , Guochao Culture Experience Restaurant, with unique Chinese cultural characteristics; the historic photo studio on Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, the bookstore with a sense of the times, and Zhang Binggui’s grasp have continued the memories of old Beijingers for decades; and the black technology of Guomao Gyms represent the emerging consumption patterns of young people. “The stores we choose must not only be smoky, represent Beijing’s characteristics, and have a sense of culture, but also highlight some important factors related to an international consumer center city. "Shao Jing, the chief producer of the program, said that whether it is the real experience of celebrities in the business district or the show's presentation of the daily lives of passers-by and stores, they actually hope to reflect the spirit and spirit given to Beijing by the business district and cultural activities. Fireworks.
Street concert held by "Twelve Hours in Beijing"
When young people fall in love with fancy health care, Beijing Satellite TV launches "Food and Nutrition" to explore and understand the local people's favorite places. Food taste. For example, the program team went to Yimeng Mountain, the high-quality production area of peanuts, the folk "longevity fruit". They immersed themselves in picking peanuts, visited the mountain guardians, and gave a vivid farming lesson, which attracted many young people to learn about Chinese food and health culture. The location documentary program "I Read on an Island 2" captures the trend of the "most beautiful bookstore" and creates an immersive reading scene through the "island + bookstore" model, where you can savor books and life in the exchange...
"In fact, current audio-visual programs do not invest enough energy in subject research and creation, and the 'deep spirit' of typical cases and typical characters is not enough. Content creation pays attention to the spirit of rooting, and the core is people-centered. First of all, we must keep our eyes close to the ground and have a strong sense of national conditions research and field investigation. Being people-centered means reflecting the changes in people's lives, including life, aesthetics, culture, education, and psychology. These are all very good audio-visual program themes. "Leng Sang, secretary-general and researcher of the World Media Research Center of the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, once told a reporter from the Beijing News.
Creative packaging
uses music, entertainment, immersive scenes and young aesthetics to realize link
's bold and innovative "culture +" " model continues to open up new prospects for the dissemination of traditional cultural variety shows. The continuous innovation and integration of models such as "culture + scene interpretation", "culture + music", "culture + entertainment competition" and "culture + reality show" are all creating new opportunities for traditional culture and young groups Build bridges of in-depth communication.
When "preachy" variety shows are abandoned by the market, the single cultural output model no longer restricts the ideas of creators, and various "culture +" models have become new development paths for variety shows.
For example, "culture +". "Scene interpretation" means that variety shows use plot-performance stories and immersive scene stages within a certain time and space to show the action trajectory of history and culture, giving the audience an immersive virtual reality.The most classic among them is " National Treasure ", which has been popular for many seasons. Stars serve as "guardians of national treasures" and tell about the past lives of national treasures, while professionals tell about the current life of national treasures, using short stories to connect the past and the present. Learn about the past and present life of the national treasure. Whether it is A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains or the Sword of King Goujian of Yue, the biggest highlight is to make the mute culture "alive". Compared with straightforward explanations of cultural relic excavation, archaeological processes, and historical value, "culture + scene interpretation" is more engaging for young people. The audience becomes emotionally involved. It is reported that the program has an extremely shocking number of comments on Station B, showing the younger generation's heartfelt immersion in the charm of cultural relics. In the first season, the show's chief director Yu Lei told the Beijing News reporter that "National Treasure" tried to integrate the two creative techniques of documentary and variety show, hoping that the show would have a "cultural, intellectual nobility, and series". It has the aura of a well-known family, but it also has an appearance that is close to everyone." Only in this way can we achieve the goal of allowing more ordinary people to enter the high-end cultural field. "Explain the profound in simple terms, and appreciate both the refined and the popular."
also uses "culture + scene interpretation" and "China in classics", which uses a "drama + film and television" expression method to tell the story of the brilliance of classics in the five thousand years of history. Story; " A Good Book " uses stage drama, excerpt reading and other methods to match the 360-degree immersive stage, and is supplemented by wonderful comments from cultural celebrities to recommend classic books to the audience. With the purpose of "turning things with heritage value into communication value", "The Beautiful Years Study Club" invites actors to put on ancient costumes that replicate the descriptions in history books, recreating the charm and charm of famous historical figures. "梦红楼梦" Stages such as Er Jin Chai also triggered heated discussions among people inside and outside the industry that year.
"China in Classics" makes history come alive through story interpretation.
For example, the " most beautiful central axis " series uses pop music as the carrier of traditional culture to achieve cross-era dialogue and collision with ancient history. Guo Chang, the chief director of the program, said frankly that when culture collides with elegant art, it is easy to put it on the shelf. One of the most important conditions for the application of the Central Axis as a World Heritage Site is to increase the awareness of the common people. Therefore, compared with "Central Axis + Calligraphy and Painting" and "Central Axis + "Dance", music is the most borderless communication art, "just like the 2008 song "Beijing Welcomes You" ignited the enthusiasm of the whole people to welcome the Beijing Olympics. The more songs we create about the central axis culture, the more people's The higher the popularity, the more helpful it is to increase the popularity of the central axis culture. We have also invited singers of various pop music styles, such as Zhang Zining, Xilinnayi, Gao , including rock, pop, rap, etc. Music style, such as Bai Jugang, Fu Longfei, Dong Baoshi. "For example, in the second season, after the singer Nai Wan learned the connotation of the five-color blueprint, he came up with the idea of personifying the central axis of the building and wanted to express the true color of the central axis. , singing the true nature of China to the audience. For example, the theme of the third season is "The Sound of Science and Technology on the Central Axis". The pickup group first came to Huangshichen and learned about arch-type beamless architecture, masonry fire protection and insulation and other archival technologies, and then went to the ancient observatory to learn how to confirm the north and south in ancient times. Meridian, and finally Xilinnayi Gao composed and sang the rock-style "Time Ray" for it, which received a good number of listens.
Coincidentally, "City of Museums" also organically combines museum culture with mass communication through music - each episode will invite a well-known singer, such as Zhang Bichen, Ma Boqian, and Liu Yu, to sing a song unique to this museum. theme song. The theme song is not a pop song in the traditional sense, but is closely related to the museum, current themes, and cultural expressions. "But we hope to let more people know about "Museum City" and drive visits to the museum through the traffic of these good songs. Almost all of the artists we invited volunteered to help us sing." Jing Si, director of the program Si revealed.
However, among the creative packaging of "culture +", the most typical one is the enthusiastic embrace of culture by outdoor variety shows such as "Run" and "Extreme Challenge".Take "Run" as an example. As an overseas introduction model, while continuing its popular entertainment and competitiveness, in recent years it has also continued to explore deep integration with culture, focusing on intangible cultural heritage, cultural tourism, and traditional culture. The theme is to bring variety show games and brand-name tearing to the beautiful mountains, waters and scenery of China. For example, the men's running team once came to Jinhua, Zhejiang, to explore Song culture and food with the theme of "Food in the Song Dynasty". In the "Protecting National Treasures" special, the national treasure itself has a mysterious color, so the program team chose to use "brain-burning" and "treasure" elements throughout to enhance the audience's memory and understanding of the national treasure through a dual ultimate visual and psychological experience. The program team also asked the running team to collectively transform into "rare animals", including golden-spotted swallowtail butterflies, manta rays, and bumblebees. They need to collect a certain amount of "carbon emissions" before they can migrate to their destination "the other side"... …
"Run" chief director Yao Yitian said that although these topics may sound a bit boring, they are in line with social concerns and are closely related to daily life. After the variety show gives it personality and visual experience, the audience will subtly accept science popularization in the entertainment and intentionally pay attention to this aspect. This is the original intention of "Run". "We will package it with a story or complex to spread a point of view or express an attitude. We don't need to build some kind of barrier with the audience. What we say or do is blunt or didactic. , In fact, it is not in line with what everyone accepts."
Yao Yitian said that often when they are sublimating the "culture +" theme, they must first consider whether the packaging format can convince the program team. Only if it fits the theme well and the young people in the team are willing to receive the information will they consider trying it. "Telling a theme can't just scratch the surface and forcibly sublimate it in the end. When constructing the story from the beginning, it must be designed according to the temperament of the theme itself, how to better combine it, and at the same time, it cannot be too serious or too entertaining. The mastery of this sense of proportion Very important." Yao Yitian said.
Beijing News reporter Zhang He
editor Tong Na
proofreader Zhai Yongjun
