In 2019, the animated film "White Snake: The Origin of " left a suspense at the end of the film - on the broken bridge five hundred years later, the White Snake dropped a pearl hairpin, which was picked up by Xu Xian, the reincarnation of A Xuan... It will be In the movie " White Snake: Floating Life " to be released tomorrow (August 10), Bai Snake and Xu Xian finally renew their fate and start a lifelong love affair.
The film’s directors Chen Jianxi and Li Jiakai recently said in an interview with a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily that "White Snake: The Floating Life" follows the main line of love in the folk "White Snake Legend", but also adds ancient and vivid elements of life-oriented comedy. Integrating White Snake and Xu Xian into the marketplace presents a "floating life" picture of Song Yun's marketplace. The two directors hope that the audience can walk into this ancient and modern story and experience the "floating life like a dream" that belongs to everyone. For the joy of geometry”.
Director Chen Jianxi
Director Li Jiaqi
Return to the origin of creation and present the story of White Snake from a modern perspective
The movie "White Snake: Origin" released in January 2019 made the "White Snake" series of Light Chasing Animation an instant success. The film tells the story of Xiao Bai's story in An unforgettable love story with Xu Xian's previous life, Ah Xuan, five hundred years ago has been unforgettable by countless viewers; in July 2021, " White Snake 2: Green Snake Robbed " was released. The film stars Xiaoqing as the protagonist and tells the story of Xiaoqing. Qing's adventures after being thrown into the illusion of Shura City by Fa Hai; as the third work of the light-chasing animation "White Snake" series, the story of "White Snake: The Floating Life" inherits the story of the first "White Snake: Origin", telling the story Xiaobai finally found Xu Xian, the reincarnation of Axuan, and the two met across a bridge and started a tragic love affair.
Director Li Jiakai said that before, light-chasing animation used a lot of creativity to tell the prequels and postquels of the main story. "But now, we have returned to the origin of creation and presented the story of White Snake from a modern perspective."
in Li Jiakai It seems that the three films in the "White Snake" series each have their own emphasis. "White Snake: The Origin" laid out a novel prequel and achieved 'new'. Subsequently, "White Snake 2: The Green Snake Rises" featured a 'strange' name, embarking on another extraordinary journey. The third film "White Snake: The Floating Life" takes 'love' as the core, deepens the connotation of emotion, depicts how love takes root and grows in the soil of life, and at the same time presents the feeling of love. The various tests that people encounter on the road of emotion. In this trilogy, the word "love" runs through it and becomes the link connecting each story."
In terms of narrative, "White Snake: The Floating Life" is closer to the plot of the traditional White Snake. , Li Jiakai bluntly said that this brings greater challenges, "The true story is well-known to every household, so the audience will have higher expectations for plot development. We need to examine each plot very carefully to see if it can allow the audience to immerse themselves in it. It’s not exciting enough. On the one hand, we want to tell the purest and most traditional folk tale, so that young audiences can see the charm of traditional stories and feel the tension and possibility; on the other hand, we are also exploring a new expression. For example, by telling life fragments and small but wonderful stories to attract the audience, and adjusting the characters based on the aesthetics and values of the contemporary audience. We hope to continue the story of White Snake and tell it to one generation. This is our sense of mission and the value that the 'White Snake' series hopes to realize. "
Feeling the warmth and strength in the fireworks of the world, "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is a living teaching material.
Li Jiakai said with a smile that he did not want Xiaobai and Xu Xian's love journey to be just a journey of love. Shrouded by heavy hardships, "We hope that their stories can bloom into beautiful moments. To this end, we carefully polished every corner of the market, so that the surrounding environment of Xiaobai and Xu Xian, as well as the interaction between neighbors, They all appear lifelike. Not only that, we also cleverly incorporated comedy elements, aiming to make the audience experience warmth and strength in this rich human fireworks."
Li Jiakai revealed that when creating "White Snake: The Floating Life", the team After an in-depth study of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", he praised: "This painting is our living teaching material.We unfolded the long scroll and carefully observed every move of the characters in the painting - whether they were hawking in the market or working hard. We incorporated these vivid life details into the film, but this also increased the difficulty of animation production, because each stall needs to be carefully designed to ensure that they are logical and vital in the story. The steamed buns sold must be steamy, and every character, from the literati who sells calligraphy and painting, to the gentleman who writes letters, to the vendors who trade poultry, must also be active and participate in the lively market. They are either bargaining or busy doing transactions. These action details require our careful layout to make the whole scene appear on the screen. "
Through such efforts, the team successfully presented the prosperity and vitality of the Song Dynasty marketplace to modern audiences. Li Jiakai believes that this is a breakthrough made by "White Snake: The Floating Life", "We made the crowds on the streets come to life. ation, they are no longer in the background, but part of the world, with their own business to do, rather than just walking around on the street. "
In addition, the team also visited Hefang Street, Jiuxi Eighteen Streams, and Qiantang River in Hangzhou to collect photos. "We saw most of the scenes involved in the film in Hangzhou, and the one that impressed us the most was the West Lake. Whether it is its cultural landscape or natural landscape, it can inspire creators. "
In order to make the story of "White Snake: The Floating Life" more exciting, the film added comedy elements. Li Jiakai said: "Life is not boring, it must be full of all kinds of fun things, and comedy is a very good carrier. In order to present the fun, joy and happy moments in life, we chose to amplify the comedy experience. In the film, Xu Xian's brother-in-law Li Gongfu is the key to joy. He is a lovely character. Through him, the joy of other characters is also mobilized.
director Chen Jianxi said that the film was not deliberately funny, but was driven by the plot and the character's personality. "For example, when Xu Xian and Li Gongfu entered Fengle Building, they were trembling and full of jokes because they were hiding from debts. These behaviors were through Li Gongfu. The characters of Xu Xian are very interesting and energetic. They give everyone a feeling of being very motivated. ”
Breaking Xu Xian’s stereotyped scholar image and embodying the equal and profound concept of love
In the work “White Snake: Floating Life”, the images of the protagonists Xiaobai and Xiaoqing have moved from the legends of the past into the modern vision. Li Jiakai believes that they "Xiaobai not only has a brave heart, but also has extraordinary wisdom; and Xiaoqing, although sometimes acting impulsively, also sticks to the bottom line of justice." These qualities undoubtedly coincide with the values of the current audience. "
Regarding the controversial character of Xu Xian, the creative team has also weighed it for a long time, hoping to give him some changes to give the classic character new vitality. Li Jiakai said: "Many people feel that Xu Xian in 'The Legend of White Snake' lacks responsibility. But we show the richness of his emotions in this movie. Although he is a scholar, as a mortal, he has courage and love that transcend the world. He is the reincarnation of Axuan, carrying the character traits and strength of his previous life. His love is selfless dedication and desperate protection. This feeling is two-way and forms a deep emotional resonance with Xiaobai. No one pays more or less, which embodies an equal and profound feeling. concept of love. "
Xu Xian's appearance has also changed as a result. Li Jiakai told reporters: "We hope that the role of Xu Xian will progress from shallow to deep. We want him to look similar to Ah Xuan at first glance, but the identities of the two characters are different. , Ah Xuan is a knight, and Xu Xian is a scholar, so the design for Xu Xian will be cleaner, but in terms of the choice of clothes color, if he is dressed in white, his bookishness will be too real, so we give him I chose some brown to be more stable."
Xu Xian has a "highlight" in the film, which is Xu Xian's emotional reaction when Fahai steps into Xiaobai's house and forces Xiaobai to reveal his true form. Li Jiakai said: "This is undoubtedly an emotional moment for Xu Xian. A major test. As a mortal, he would inevitably feel fear when facing the giant snake. However, he cannot be an indifferent bystander. He must survive 20 seconds, overcome his inner panic, show his love and courage for Xiaobai, and go to rescue her without hesitation. At this time, Xu Xian's emotional transformation was successful, and Xu Xian was able to stand up as a character. Chasing Light Animation carefully polished this scene for a quarter and made repeated adjustments within three months. In the end, we handed over an answer that satisfied us, breaking Xu Xian's stereotyped scholar image and making people appreciate him. Got a whole new understanding. "
The "villain" Fahai in folklore is also more humane in this film. Chen Jianxi said: "Previously, for Fahai in "White Snake 2: The Green Snake", we only showed him catching monsters. At that time, he was a very ruthless and capable person. Fahai in "White Snake: The Floating Life" is more full-bodied, not only has his demon-catching side, but also has his worldly side. He is gentler to the people around him and no longer so harsh, which is different from the way he treats monsters. In addition, we made Fahai look very handsome, which is also his "plus point". We hope that Fahai can be liked by more audiences. The more he understands human nature, the more he can resonate with the audience. The audience will feel that this mess is no one's fault, but is just a collision of different values. "
The film also uses action design to highlight the character's personality. Li Jiakai commented: "Xiaobai is a heroine who has an edge but hides it, has strong magic but is very restrained, so her action style will be more calm; Xiaoqing She will be more lively and naughty, and she will make a lot of small movements; Fahai will be in a more upright state, and her body will always be straight and will not bend down. "With the blessing of new technologies,
's hair is thinner than before.
From the first "White Snake: Origin" to the third "White Snake: The Floating Life", it took five years. During these five years, China's animation technology The progress has brought a qualitative leap to the film. Li Jiakai joked: "The most intuitive thing is that the hair is thinner than before. "
Li Jiakai said that with the support of new technologies, from the delicacy of the character's skin to the realistic expression of the hair, to the natural presentation of elasticity, it can help the team better shape the characters, "The audience will find that we have given the characters The vivid and elastic qualities, Li Gongfu's belly rises and falls with his breathing, the two cranes are full of playful vitality, and the golden retriever with a round body. If it were five years ago, we would not have dared to try the exaggerated movements and expressions of these characters. Nowadays, technological leaps have allowed our creativity to be fully unleashed. "
Li Jiakai also revealed that Xiaobai is more beautiful in this movie, "Five years ago, Xiaobai was very beautiful. This time, we integrated her image with current technology and updated it. We used all technologies, including expression binding, and fine-tuned some models to make this character exactly the same as it was five years ago at first glance, but more detailed and beautiful upon closer inspection. "
Talking about the most challenging scene in the film for special effects, Chen Jianxi recalled: "It should be the decisive battle. In this scene, we have to use a lot of special effects and interaction. At the same time, this scene is also The film is the most emotionally difficult, and may be able to express heavy emotions with just one look, which tests the animator's skills. "
The main story of "White Snake" has ended, but the sequel stories of the characters in the film will be considered.
In recent years, in order to spread traditional culture, Light Chasing Animation has launched the "New Legend", "New Culture" and "New God List" creation series," The first work of "New Culture" is the popular " Chang'an Thirty Thousand Miles ", and the "White Snake" trilogy is the representative work of the "New Legend" series. In Chen Jianxi's view, "New Legend" is about using new methods , a new way of telling the traditional story from a new angle.The creation of "White Snake: The Floating Life" draws nutrients from traditional Chinese culture. It not only vividly presents the thousand-year elegance of Song Dynasty, but also uses festivals as the time nodes of the story, perfectly integrating the quintessence of Chinese opera elements into the film.
The theme song of "White Snake: Floating Life" is sung by Chen Haoyu and Chen Lijun. Li Jiakai said that the inspiration for this song came from the opera performance of Master Baoqing in the movie, "Chen Lijun happens to be an excellent Shaoxing opera actor, and the two The duet between the two teachers perfectly presented the emotions and effects we wanted. It was a very pleasant collaboration." The MV for the film's ending song "A Thousand Years of Waiting" invited Bai from "The Legend of the White Snake". The actors Zhao Yazhi and Ye Tong who played the lady and Xu Xian performed the performances. Li Jiakai said: "When filming the MV, they not only showed extremely high professionalism, but also expressed their deep emotions for the story of White Snake. This emotional resonance also It makes the mv even more touching. "
"White Snake: The Floating Life" is also a perfect ending to the light-chasing animation "The True Story of White Snake", presenting a complete and touching legend of White Snake to the audience. Regarding whether he will continue to create the White Snake series in the future, Li Jiakai said: ""White Snake: The Floating Life" is the last part of the White Snake True Story. However, some of the extended characters, such as the owner of Baoqingbo, her story has infinite possibilities. We We will consider creating sequels about these characters, and the audience is asked to continue to look forward to it."
Article / Beijing Youth Daily Intern Reporter Liu Lu
Article / Beijing Youth Daily Reporter Xiao Yang
Editor / Qiao Ying
