's " Snow Maze ", which is currently being broadcast on Youku, uses realistic creative techniques to restore the Northeast in the 1990s. Starting from the daily life of the little-known Northeast anti-drug police, it shows the Northeast's anti-drug past and presents a humorous Northeast. style. The Northeastern delicacies such as chicken racks and barbecue also left a deep impression on people. Recently, the director of the play, Lu Xing, said in an interview that he hopes "Snow Maze" can become a good "dinner drama". In Lu Xing's view, cooking and eating are a very important part of Chinese people's daily lives. Public security officers are just like ordinary people. This part of their lives is also a very important aspect of their criminal investigation work, and it is also a catalyst for the advancement of character relationships. .
"Snow Maze" is an important work of Youku White Night Theater.
It is difficult to attract audiences simply by spectacle
Beijing News: In addition to the anti-drug criminal investigation work, "Snow Maze" also shows a large amount of the daily life of criminal police officers. How can these two elements be integrated organically?
Lu Xing: "Snow Maze" is quite a criminal investigation life drama. Through the work of the anti-drug team, it shows the fiery anti-drug life of the public security officers in that era. "Criminal investigation" and "anti-drug" are the framework of the plot, and "daily life" is an adjustment. I hope that the audience can see a new type of Northeastern criminal investigation drama and a story that is relaxed, interesting, humorous, but also exciting. For example, the uncle who cooks in the play keeps cooking for everyone in the canteen. This part of the element is enlarged to show all kinds of delicious food in the canteen. I hope that while the audience is watching the show, they will hold up their mobile phones and prepare to order a takeaway of the same style.
Beijing News: Your previous works "Undocumented Crime" and "The Returned Daughter" were all hard-core suspense, with a relatively heavy style. Are you trying to make a breakthrough in the sense of comedy in "Snow Maze" this time?
Lu Xing: At least I have this (breakthrough) hope for myself. In addition to seeing the case being solved, the audience can also be moved by these characters. When I was working on "Undocumented Crime", I would particularly enjoy watching extreme suspense dramas. As work pressure increases, I now hope that some dramas that can adjust my inner feelings, the so-called "dinner dramas", can accompany me. As for "Snow Maze", I hope it can become a suspense drama that the audience can enjoy. This is not a common positioning for suspense dramas, because suspense dramas hope to keep the audience glued to the screen as much as possible and attract the audience to watch episode after episode. I hope that "Snow Maze" can be more integrated into the audience's daily life and become a work that they enjoy watching.
Beijing News: So from "Undocumented Crime" to now, suspense-themed works contain more and more elements?
Lu Xing: When we first made suspense dramas, we mainly showed various criminal spectacles to the audience. With the development of suspense dramas, the themes and types have gradually become more and more extensive. The display of pure spectacle, It might have been hard to attract an audience. On the other hand, some other genres will also be superimposed. "Snow Maze" is actually very typical, superimposing life drama elements into a suspense story.
Beijing News: There have been so many suspense dramas in recent years since "Undocumented Crime". Do you think the audience will also suffer from aesthetic fatigue?
Lu Xing: There will be . For suspense dramas, I am more concerned about how to make the audience empathize. I was once deeply impressed by a drama review, "The story itself is quite exciting, but why do we have to finish it?" In addition to wanting to know the answer to the story, the audience also followed the protagonist of the story to discover the truth step by step. In addition, I also hope to gain other experiences, such as emotional resonance. I hope the audience can feel the courage and sincerity of the six diverse people in the task force and the people around them in their daily lives, as well as the friendship between them. After empathy, even a small thing in life will make people care.
Life in the Northeast is delicious, delicious, relaxed, fun, and lively.
Beijing News: You yourself are from the Northeast. What do you understand by life in the Northeast?
Lu Xing: Life in the Northeast is delicious, delicious, relaxed, fun, and lively. This is the daily life in the Northeast that I can imagine. After I returned to my hometown, I met my friends around me. No matter what they said, I think they are all particularly suitable to be screenwriters, directors, or anchors. They have an innate advantage in language. When telling a story It’s going to be so much fun, it’s a gift. In the Northeast, when there are delicious food and good friends, it is difficult to cool down the atmosphere.
Beijing News: When shooting scenes, what techniques were used to restore the temperament of the Northeast in the 1990s?
Lu Xing: I am a Northeasterner, and we have not restored 100% of the Northeast of that era. I hope to refine and strengthen the visual symbols of the Northeast in my memory. The final presentation is not the same as that The Northeast is in conflict with the times. The clips in "Snow Maze" are filled with a lot of delicious food. Our crew eats all kinds of delicious snacks every day. In fact, the memory of eating and drinking is very close to my imagination or ideal life in Northeast China. No matter how the society in the Northeast develops, I believe that the delicious and warm life is the feeling of that era that we most want to restore.
"Snow Maze" contains the director's emotional imprint on the Northeast.
Beijing News: "Northeast" has been a narrative element in Chinese suspense dramas for ten years. How can it bring freshness to the audience?
Lu Xing: suspense is not a subject in my opinion. Suspense is a way of telling stories. It describes the thrilling and exciting movie-watching experience. This kind of movie-watching experience can appear in any subject, such as writing stories about the Northeast, whether it is folk tales, or the changes experienced in the 1980s and 1990s, and today the Northeast has become an important position for live broadcasts. There are many interesting themes in it and characters can be written. I feel that this part is far from reaching the level of saturation in telling the story, and there is a lot of room for exploration.
Beijing News: The "Undocumented Crime" you previously directed was also shot in the Northeast. What are the different elements of the Northeast in the filming of "Snow Maze" this time?
Lu Xing: Regarding the theme of "Northeast Suspense", I first hope that it can be a little unfamiliar with the visual symbols that the audience is familiar with. For example, when we think of "Northeast Suspense", the most important keywords that come to mind are: white snow, ice and snow, Glacier, a large factory of heavy industry, a dilapidated city or town. In this filming, we deliberately avoided some "Northeastern elements" that everyone is familiar with. It's not because these elements are bad, but I don't think our drama can do anything in this part of the world of ice and snow, dilapidation and depression. Completely different or to the extent that it makes the audience very unfamiliar. It just so happens that the relaxed and interesting part of "Snow Maze" allows me to abandon this part of my usual imagination of the Northeast. We set the plot in summer, in a city that didn’t look so dilapidated, and restored more of the smoky scenes of daily life, including chicken stands, barbecues, and various small restaurants. , I hope this part of the space scene will make the audience feel a different Northeast.
Take them to integrate into life as much as possible
Beijing News: The main characters in the play all have strong regional personality traits. How to help the actors become locals?
Lu Xing: What I can do is to help them integrate into life as much as possible. On the one hand, they integrate into daily life in the Northeast, at least in some scenes, they will not feel strange during the filming; on the other hand, they integrate into each other's lives, so that they can get along with each other more tacitly in the play. When I started to prepare, I would take everyone to eat small barbecue in Northeast China and eat iron pot stew.Because food is a very clear memory for Chinese people. After eating food in one place for a long time, they will unconsciously integrate into the environment. The crew also provided the actors with guidance in Northeastern dialect. During the preparation stage, they communicated in Northeastern dialect together every day to learn and change their language habits. Although Northeastern dialect doesn't sound that far away from Mandarin, it has some language habits that are still very different. Once the imitation is not good, it will look ridiculous.
Beijing News: How do actors unify their performance styles?
Lu Xing: I have emphasized to all the actors that "Snow Maze" should not be acted as a suspense drama, although it has a suspenseful part. Suspense is not something that can be staged. If a suspense drama is staged based on the imagination of a suspense drama, it would be very scary. I wanted them to be as relaxed as possible and as familiar with each other as possible, so that they could really live together, which would be great for a show.
Beijing News: How did you consider the choice of the two leading actors Huang Jingyu and Zhang Yu ?
Lu Xing: The first thing about is adaptation. Lao Huang (Huang Jingyu) is basically a walking expert in the category of playing "policeman". Because he is also an actor from the Northeast, both the dialect and daily life in the Northeast are very familiar to him. I think he's a good candidate.
"Snow Maze" stars Huang Jingyu and Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu has acted in many literary films before, and I have paid attention to him. Later he acted in " I am not the god of medicine " and also performed very well in commercial films. He has never filmed a TV series before "Snow Maze". I think he is an unfamiliar option to the audience, but he has good business ability to support it, which will bring a different look and feel.
Beijing News: The female detective played by Xie Keyin is also a relatively new image. Is it different from the more muscular female detective in everyone’s impression?
Lu Xing: "Zhang Xueyao" played by Xie Keyin, if this character looks very burly, I think it is more of a stereotype. During the interview process, we came into contact with the female police officers who are actually engaged in front-line arrests. They don’t look much different from the girls we meet on the subway or shopping in daily life. It just so happened that Xie Keyin came to the crew during the formation process, and I was observing her. She was a little nervous, but she also had that sense of relaxation, and there was perseverance and courage in her eyes. Zhang Xueyao is a courageous person at heart, and Xie Keyin happens to be the same person.
Beijing News reporter Liu Wei
editor Tong Na
proofreader Lu Qian
