Go crazy, "wild" new directors

“Young people don’t have to wait for the wave to come. They are on the cusp of the times. Everyone is a waver.” Although

, it is still too early to use the new wave of Chinese movies to describe the new directors and new works emerging in the current domestic film market. , But I have to admit that new directors with different characteristics have grown into a phenomenon that cannot be ignored in the film industry. Moreover, compared with the predecessors who still have generations that can be divided, some of these new directors have more "wild" temperament:

has not received systematic film class education, or dropped out of school early, or Curve to save the country, thinking of trying to learn about film-related education; before filming, he engaged in a wide range of occupations, and has the ability to interpret the wedding directors who "make weddings with film standards", and also work hard in the pan-art fields such as design, advertising, and photography; In addition, in order to make a movie, they are "unscrupulous", borrowing from relatives and friends, even taking loans, borrowing flowers, and taking turns. Based on the principle of "do not avoid relatives in acting", their parents and relatives go into battle. Most of their directorial debuts are not cost-effective. High, presents a fierce, rough texture, and has a vigorous impact.

These halfway young directors with slashes are directors for the "wild school" newcomers.

Remarks:

1, listed in the table are representative new directors who have met the above "wild" characteristics since 2015.

2. The cost of each film is based on publicly available information. It is the initial cost of the approximate range. After the later production company joins, the premium cost is not included in the calculation.

is not a good director who can’t shoot wedding photography.

“heroes are not afraid of being too thin”. In the traditional Chinese value system, people always have a simple desire to “become famous”.

In modern society, the ability to achieve class leaps regardless of background is still the definition and pursuit of success for most people. And with the development of society, there are more possibilities, and this is reflected in all walks of life, including the film industry.

Previously, we made a movie together (ID: yiqpaidianying) and counted the 60 most powerful directors in China at the moment, of which only 11 graduated from the director department. In other words, most of these directors are non-major graduates. This is especially true for new directors.

Among the ten "wild-style" new directors listed in the filming of sir, only Zhang Dalei graduated from the directing department with a bachelor's degree. However, his previous experience is sufficiently alternative and punk. As early as the first year of high school, I chose to drop out and formed a rock band. Later, I was admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatory on the advice of a friend. Passed the exam, but felt boring, so he went to the St. Petersburg State Film and Television University's Directing Department. After graduation, I did a long "wedding movie".

and Qiu Sheng graduated from the Department of Biomedical Engineering of Tsinghua University. Because of his obsession with film, he chose to attend the MFA of Hong Kong Baptist University after graduation and completed film-related education. In addition to

, everyone else is studying non-movies. For example, Bi Gan, undergraduate majored in TV director, Jiaozi graduated from medical department, Gu Xiaogang majored in fashion design and marketing, and Xu Lei majored in business administration. However, they all have one thing in common. In order to make a movie, they will consciously "charge up", either by self-study such as Lu Qingyi and dumplings, or by choosing to take advanced courses in related majors, such as Xin Yukun, Chai Xiaoyu, etc. Closer to the movie.

After graduating and before making a movie, they also did various businesses for their livelihood. Among them, the director of the "Wedding Department" is the largest wave. Bi Gan, Zhang Dalei, Xu Lei and others have all photographed weddings. Even Bi Gan once ridiculed his long shots related to shooting weddings. Like Zhang Dalei, he enjoys the process of making weddings, because the "wedding movies" he shoots are not simple follow-up shots, but are equivalent to original short stories. From the script to the storyboard, the service has strict requirements; and Xu Lei, in order to make a good wedding, he even went to earnestly pull the film.

​​also has directors who have done a lot of design and planning work, such as Li Fei, who was a graphic designer and a young writer at the same time; Gu Xiaogang, who has a background in painting, has also done related program planning, like Xin Yukun, who has a wealth of Column production experience. Of course, these directors have been more or less exposed to the work of shooting commercials, promos or MVs, and have accumulated a lot of experience for later shooting feature films.

And the reason why these slash youths can "change jobs" from their original positions and move towards the same film road, the indispensable are "love" and "hardness".Although it sounds clichéd, it is also a real truth. After all, only if you really want to do something will you have the courage to give up your previous life and start again.

pattern fundraising, workshop-style team, family mobilization

Of course, start again. The road is not easy. Especially for these directors who are not from a professional class, they do not have enough contacts and insufficient funds. They basically have to exhaust all their efforts to make a director’s debut. Therefore, they can often see To a little bit of recklessness.

First of all, it is reflected in the raising of start-up funds. Basically, out of pocket + sponsorship from relatives and friends is the most routine operation. For example, after the wedding company closed down, Bi Gan has already written " "Roadside Picnic" script, but I couldn’t find the investment. Seeing Bi Gan got the blasting certificate and was ready to go to work, the teacher Ding Jianguo couldn’t sit still and took out his hundreds of thousands of savings, plus His mother took out 20,000 yuan and "forced" Bi Gan to start filming.

and Zhang Dalei, who was hitting the wall with his eight-minute samples, also started shooting "August" with his father's investment.

xin When Yukun was filming "Heart Labyrinth", he was shooting while the producer was looking for money outside. "One hundred thousand two hundred thousand and two hundred thousand came back." Every day, he faced tremendous pressure.

dumplings are relatively special Some, in the three years after giving up going to the doctor, relying on his mother’s pension, he came out of the animated short film "Hit a Big Watermelon". After that, I continued my dream of animation by outsourcing. Arriving at the Light Color Strip House.

is a bit more tragic, like Gu Xiaogang, who shined at the FIRST Film Festival this year, in order to film the four seasons of "Spring River Plumbing", from friends crowdfunding to flower chanting, borrowing chanting, online lending and even usury. All the ways to find money are used.

is a little lucky. For example, when Qiu Sheng was preparing for the filming of "Birds in the Suburbs", in addition to the joint funding of himself and his friends, he later found a partner for cooperation; Li Fei made his debut film "Fate "Express", there are also company investment funds in the early stage. In the post-production part of the film, there is no money. Almost all the savings of him and the protagonist and friend Zhao Bingrui are spent. After paying the rent, he has less than 6,000 yuan. And Gu Xiaogang, who owed money, later also encountered life-saving money from venture capital.

Under the current situation of financial distress, these "wild" directors can only change their expenses to reduce expenses. So, you can see "small workshops" The "style" team has become the choice of most people. On the one hand, it is reflected in the crew of the crew, mostly acquaintances around the director. On the other hand, in the selection of actors, most of them are non-professional actors. On the principle of “do not avoid relatives in acting”, relatives and friends join the battle.

is like Bi Gan, who has promoted his sister-in-law Chen Yongzhong as a professional actor. Now he has guest appearances in films such as "Under the Sun" and "The Party at Southern Station". ; Like "August", the producer is Zhang Dalei’s high school classmate, the photographer is his college classmate, acting His mother's Guo Yanyun is his client for wedding shooting; the upcoming "Sherlock on the Plain" can be described as director Xu Lei's "Family Mobilization". You can see his father, mother, uncle and other true characters starring in the film.

is similar to Lu Qingyi's "Four Springs", which directly puts his family's life on the big screen in the form of a documentary. As a result, it became the film with the lowest initial cost among them. It only cost 1,500 yuan to buy a tripod. “Of course, it’s tens of thousands of yuan including the computer for editing.”

has limited funds and limited personnel. Under the circumstances, most of the feature-length debuts of these wild directors show a certain "wild" temperament. Non-professional actors collide with a slightly clumsy but natural life style, the rough texture of lighting, photography and other pictures, coupled with the directors’ respective talents, or break through with narrative structure or aesthetically The breakthrough constitutes a unique big screen scene.

Benefited from the development of private capital, new wild directors still need to work hard.

In fact, in the current domestic film market, the reason why some similar "wild" new directors can emerge is in the final analysis and the macro-level economic development of the entire society. And related to the adjustment of the system structure related to movies.

Ning Hao mentioned in an interview with a movie together (ID: yiqipaidianying) that in the early 1990s, there were not too many film directors who graduated from pure science classes.It is the era of state-owned studios, which means that it is difficult for new directors to have the opportunity to make a film by themselves. To some extent, the rise of "underground movies" is also related to the background of the times.

Later, with the rise of private capital and the gradual decline of state-owned studios, the authoritative "guide tube in power" and "director's voice" can be dispersed to more ordinary people, making many non-scientific backgrounds People can also embark on the path of director. In short, as long as you want to make a movie, in this era, you can always think of ways to achieve it.

Of course, what follows is that the market competition faced by this generation of young directors is even more cruel. For example, even though there are many young director support programs and various venture capital conferences of various names, there will still be many new directors who are at a loss.

Fanying Consulting conducted a survey of 60 young directors, and the results showed that only 41% of the interviewees raised funds for their debut work within one year. From the directors listed in the article, we can also see that from 2015 to now, "no funds" has always been a problem. Chai Xiaoyu, who just became famous for his "Fish Paradise" at the Pingyao International Film Festival, had to spend the same effort to find money when preparing this film.

filming sir at this year's FIRST Youth Film Festival and the venture capital unit of Pingyao International Film Festival, I also met many prospective directors with "director dreams". Those who have years of medical experience, some who work in TV stations, and some who have been small bosses before, the youthful breath that greets them, the same wild line. Of course, the venture capital debut is only the first stage. The filming sir also asked several directors about the latest progress of their respective film projects, which are basically in the stage of repeatedly revising the script.

For them, this type of platform is a good channel and medium, allowing them to quickly enter the movie circle. It's just that the so-called "cultivation rests on the individual", the subsequent advancement of the project, the implementation of funds, and the code of the actors still depend on their own abilities and opportunities.

Some new directors who already have works will still encounter obstacles in the preparation of their second works. For example, director Qiu Sheng, who is preparing his new film "Father of Dogs", said frankly, "On the one hand, it may be due to the higher production quality required by the new film, so the cost has increased compared with that of "Suburban Birds". On the other hand, it is also due to the film industry. People will be relatively conservative and cautious due to the general environment of China. In addition, "Birds in the Suburbs" has not yet been released, and the response in the market is unknown." These are all factors that affect its financing.

However, after all, it is the second work. Qiu Sheng revealed that the two capitals that had previously cooperated will continue to cooperate, and at the same time, they will be able to raise funds through other channels such as venture capital. Overall, the project is still progressing steadily. Just like the new batch of eager new directors who have briefly appeared on the venture capital platform, there are also more unknown and still under the water. I believe that as long as they really want to make a movie, they will definitely be like the new directors. , Each has its own unique tricks, each of which is vigorous.

Come to think of it, when more and more new directors, either wildly or with the blessing of Coban, shoot video works with distinctive personal styles with their own abilities, that will be the real new wave of Chinese movies. time.