"Sifangguan", which is currently being broadcast on iQiyi, is based on the special institution "Sifangguan" established by Changle in Dayongdu City as the background. It depicts Yuan Mo ( Tan Jianci ), A Shu ( Zhou still ) , Yu Chihua (played by Kan Qingzi ) and Yu Deshui (played by Wei Zixin ) and other various people inside and outside the museum work and live daily life, showing a picture of survival in the modern workplace. The director of the play, Zhao Qichen, has previously directed excellent works integrating light comedy style such as "Everyday Life". A few days ago, Zhao Qichen accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Beijing News and said that what attracts him to the story "Sifangguan" is that it is a very diverse and rich story, with the righteousness of family and country as the foundation, "diplomacy is used, comedy is the form."
yuan There are many interesting stories between Mo and Ashu.
The story that takes place in the Sifang Pavilion is particularly rich in elements.
Beijing News: The "Sifang Pavilion" organization has rarely appeared in costume dramas before. Have you done any homework on the work functions of the Sifang Pavilion recorded in history?
Zhao Qichen: has done a lot of homework and made reasonable imagination and imagining based on the functions of the historical Sifang Pavilion. It has broadened the original functions and enriched the plots that the protagonist can participate in.
Beijing News: In your opinion, what is special about the story that takes place in the "Sifang Pavilion"?
Zhao Qichen: The story that takes place here is particularly rich in elements. The museum is an ancient workplace, but it is inextricably linked to diplomatic relations. If you are not careful, everything will be lost. Dayong relies on the protagonist and this group of people to gradually establish mutual benefit and common prosperity with foreign countries, and work together to realize world peace step by step. The biggest highlight is the relationship and growth of the characters. How Yuan Mo and his friends grew up rapidly in the current situation of multi-state diplomacy. The sons inherited their father's legacy and became envoys from all over the world to shoulder the mission. Yuan Mo and Ah Shu both have some sad pasts. These traumas wrap up the two of them like inner demons. At the same time, the changes in fate they bring also coerce the growth of the two. They gradually become active in their passive growth and take on the responsibility of the family. The great righteousness of the country and the mission to travel far and wide. This process of transformation is what attracts me the most. In Sifangguan, everyone is brothers, friends, and even lovers, but when you leave Sifangguan, you have to take on the important task of diplomatic relations, which will make the story more layered and the characters' emotions richer.
I hope everyone can see themselves in the characters in the play
Beijing News: Sifangguan brings together a group of characters with distinctive personalities, such as Yuan Mo, who is extremely intelligent and seems cynical, but is actually passionate and responsible; A Shu, who was born in a foreign country, has a unique personality Tough and agile; Yu Deshui, the owner of the Sifang Pavilion, appears to be an "old fritter" seeking stability in retirement, but he also has his own principles and beliefs. When it comes to group portraits, how can we make them more vivid and avoid the “tool man” setting?
Yuan Mo is extremely smart.
Zhao Qichen: The essence of group portrait drama is not to give up any of the characters. As creators, when we construct a character, it is best to let him play an irreplaceable role in the network of relationships between characters. In addition, if we can It would be better to write some layers of characters. If you achieve the above two points, the character will not be a simple tool. I want to shoot some ordinary people who don’t have golden fingers as soon as they appear. They also have flaws and weaknesses. What I want to shoot is how they break through these flaws and inner demons, and then take the initiative, so that they realize what kind of person they should be. This process is very charming. Try to add more layers to the characters to make the group portrait more three-dimensional. For example, Yu Deshui has always been tough in diplomatic situations, but in the Sifang Pavilion, he did a good job in both upward management and downward maintenance, mobilizing the enthusiasm of the East and West courtyards, and also completed the process of letting Yuan Mo enter the Sifang Pavilion. This shows the many sides of the character.
Beijing News: Some netizens saw the interpretation of "ancient workplace" from the drama, such as "Let's see Yuan Mo rectify the workplace" and "How Yuan Mo fought against PUA (brainwashing) in the workplace". How do you understand it? What is the relationship between the characters in the play and the plot and reality?
Zhao Qichen : I am really a director who has been working for seven years. I worked in a documentary company before, so I still have a certain understanding of working. In the workplace, everyone is under a lot of pressure, so they are looking for some ways to relieve stress. As creators, we can only try our best to make everyone feel happy in our works. If we can add some guidance and courage to the reality of the audience, That's even better. I hope everyone can see themselves in the characters in the play.
Comedy is always a way for characters to enjoy themselves in hardship.
Beijing News: The play has both the suspenseful part of the investigation and the style of light comedy. The two elements are integrated together. What is the difficulty? How to make trade-offs and balance?
Zhao Qichen: The interspersed combination of comedy and drama has always been an attempt and exploration of my creation. From "Everyday Life" to "Sifang Pavilion", I have always been looking for this balance. I am better at comedy, and the script is drama as its body and comedy as its purpose, which is equivalent to wrapping the grand and heavy core with a comedy shell. I think comedy is always a way for characters to have fun in their misery. They face serious and high-pressure diplomatic affairs every day, and need these relaxed ways to relieve stress, which also makes their daily work more vivid, instead of just mechanically presenting the process of foreign affairs inspection, approval and sealing. Sometimes the "degree" of comedy is adjusted during filming, in order to adjust the overall narrative rhythm and comedy level during post-editing. When the main plot is very strong, the insertion of comedy elements sometimes weakens the intensity of the main plot, and even makes the audience feel that the main plot is a bit of a joke. However, only in the later stages of editing can you truly understand what the "degree" is. , it is necessary to constantly make trade-offs and balances to make drama and comedy complement each other.
Tan Jianci is very relaxed and natural
Beijing News: The leading actors in the play, Tan Jianci, Zhou Yiran, Du Chun, and Kan Qingzi, what temperament do they have that fits the characters in the play? Do you bring any of your own characteristics to the character?
Zhao Qichen: Tan Kenci's performance is very relaxed and natural. He is a natural actor who can completely immerse himself in a certain role, and this role is shaped differently from other roles he has portrayed in the past. Ours is a group drama. No matter whether he is in the center of the shot or in the background, he always reacts as the character Yuan Mo should on the scene, and he will think of many temporary "scenes" based on the script of this scene. The idea of "hanging up" is very funny, and filming with him is a very enjoyable creative process.
Zhou is still a talented actor. She can completely transform the performance intention I described about the character into a performance in front of the camera, and the degree of accuracy surprises me every time.
Du Chun is the actor with the most rich acting experience and the most stable acting skills among all the actors. This is also very consistent with his character image in the play. Everyone will feel at ease when he is in the show.
Yu Chihua played by Kan Qingzi may be very different from her own personality, but her excellent acting skills and sense of substitution still give Yuchihua rich layers, making this character unique both in the main events and in the emotional presentation. There is a lot of growth and layering.
Beijing News reporter Liu Wei
editor Tong Na
proofreader Wang Xin
