's broadcast, "'s Small Forest " became the first urban romance drama on Youku that has surpassed 10,000 people.
As of the end of membership, "A Small Forest for Two" has gained a total of 1025 hot searches on Weibo , with a total topic reading of over 24.8 billion. The unique details in the play, such as the door lock password "217054" with deep meaning, and the professional details such as "juniper" and "turtledove", have become a hot topic on the Internet.
has no big IP blessing and no high-concept hooks. An original urban romance drama can achieve a rise in popularity against the trend, which is enough to show its uniqueness.
Taking a closer look at the series, "The Little Forest for Two" (hereinafter referred to as "The Little Forest") has many innovations in characters and plots. On the surface, the male and female protagonists are the common combination of "iceberg" and "little sun" in love dramas, but the similarity in the spiritual world is the opportunity for the two hearts to get closer. The interaction between you and me between the two is not only a high-IQ game like a scholar, but also a humanistic romance full of soul resonance, which is easy to eat and heal.
In the opinion of producer Wu Yunshan, the birth of this original love drama is like a "dream-chasing journey of a shepherd boy". In the process of chasing dreams, there are hardships and more partners. Because
is original, all the plots and details in the story must be weaved from scratch; the production requires continuous trial and error, and crossing the river... As a gatekeeper who is deeply involved in every link, she knows that the team has been polishing the past four years. Every detail is difficult.
Fortunately, Huaze Keton can be regarded as the industry's top management center, providing a strong boost for the entire production process, providing guidance to the project team from script planning, casting, financial budgeting, and post-production. At the same time, thanks to the recognition and full support of excellent partners, every difficulty in the process of the "Little Forest" project was successfully resolved.
Recently, the film and television duo had a two-hour conversation with the producer Wu Yunshan. She has a lot of experience and experience that she wants to share about the production of "Little Forest".
found the new wind direction of the "Forest Decompression" genre. The project of
"Little Forest" dates back to the second half of 2018. At that time, we were planning a new drama. Based on the company's mature experience in genre dramas, we decided on the genre direction at the beginning of the project: urban love.
However, urban romance drama is a field with serious homogeneity, and IP adaptation is the mainstream, how to stand out in the homogenization competition? We made a bold decision: to make an original drama with an innovative cut. How does
break through and innovate? Half a year has passed, and the team has been thinking hard and trying many times, all to no avail.
The time comes to 2019. At that time, the culture of " inner volume " and "lying flat" became popular. We are keenly aware that the pastoral and rural entertainment content will trigger a good response in the young circle. Everyone seems to They are all pursuing a spiritual "return to nature", eager to decompress and relax in entertainment products.
It's just that the pastoral style content was mainly concentrated in short videos and other self-media, and this kind of subject matter in the field of long dramas was still blue ocean... We were moved all of a sudden, so in April 2019, the title of "Little Forest" was clarified. Project positioning: forest system decompression! After breaking through the big positioning bottleneck of
, everything started abruptly. Around the positioning of forest system decompression, we have defined three strategies.
First, through the scenery and atmosphere of the idyllic forest, let the audience experience the decompression of the scene and vision; secondly, through the sand sculptures and funny bridges and lines, let the audience get the decompression of light comedy; thirdly, through the release of sweet love, Let the audience decompress in the CP. The triple "decompression" strategy of
also constitutes the prototype of the style of "Little Forest". After the overall style is determined, it enters the most difficult and time-consuming stage of script polishing.
Three layers of innovation, the success of the script
For urban romance dramas, innovation is the lifeblood. In order to break out of the genre convention, "Little Forest" has made innovations in three aspects.
first, is the innovation of professional background. In the early stage of the script creation of
, the most thoughtful thing was the background of the male and female protagonists. Based on the decompression positioning of the forest department, we have set up careers in botany and ornithology , which are rarely seen in urban romance dramas, for the two leading actors. Since they are all scientific researchers, it is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the professional knowledge that appears in the play.
We first collected and read a lot of professional literature, and then went deep into ecological reserves and research institutes, and started a long-term visit and research. But the research on botany is vast, and we have deduced several editions of Southeast Sedum , Sedum , etc. for Zhuang Yu's research direction in botany.
The last popular science writer, Chinese Academy of Sciences doctor of botany teacher Shi Jun suggested that we study Artemisia annua . Because Artemisia annua is an important raw material for the extraction of artemisinin , after Tu Youyou discovered that artemisinin can treat malaria , it also brought some attention to Artemisia annua. Another reason is that some rare plants cannot be picked casually (such as orchid ), but Artemisia annua is a wild grass, and many scenes such as Zhuang Yu picking samples in the play will not be restricted. After
we invited Southwest University Professor Liao Zhihua as our botanical consultant. Professor Liao is a key figure in opening the scene for the professionalism and implementation of the script. We are also very proud of the deeds of researchers like him on the screen.
Secondly, it is the innovation of human design.
Poppy, in addition to the dramatic space brought by the dual career of beauty blogger + doctor of ornithology, we also endowed her with unique emotional values. In the face of love, she is more free and self-conscious, fully devoted when pursuing love, and calm and calm when her lover leaves. In the 23rd episode of
After Zhuang Yu went abroad, Poppy tells a love story of the migratory bird Malena. At the end of the story, Poppy mentioned: Not everyone is as lucky as Malena, but even if not, it will not prevent us from becoming a better version of ourselves. This kind of emotional value is in line with the current state of mind of young girls towards love, and it also gives the role of Yu Meiren a wider character arc.
In the role of Zhuang Yu, we have strengthened his belief, dedication and persistence.
We use the shepherd boy in the best-selling work " Shepherd Boy Fantasy Journey " by the famous Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho as the blueprint for his spiritual world. He has a mission that he has always shouldered, and is willing to give up some important things in worldly measurement, such as money and personal emotions, for such a mission.
It takes years of hard work and dedication for plants to go from sowing to harvesting. It can be said that only a personality like Zhuang Yu can withstand the loneliness in the eyes of ordinary people and choose botany.
In the key plots, we have strengthened the sense of fate that Yu Mei and Zhuang Yu are in harmony and born as a couple. This sense of fate is different from the setting of several reincarnations in traditional Xianxia dramas, but the fit of the values and souls of two people.
For example, in the tenth episode of the two people's conversation under the tree on "The Fantastic Journey of Shepherd Boys", they obviously made completely different choices about their dreams, but they can understand, appreciate and coexist with each other. This is exactly what modern man desires emotionally - someone who can understand me.
Third, it is based on the innovation of personality and background, and the innovation of heart-wrenching details.
217054, Juniper and Turtledove... These details that are loved by the audience are rooted in innovative characters and backgrounds. We know that in order to impress people, an emotional drama must be solid in emotional details, so from the psychological changes of the characters in different emotional stages, to the handling of the eyes and actions of the characters in a specific scene, we will repeatedly consider and discuss. , and finally implemented in the script.
The doorway of CP sense: actor matching degree and image atmosphere
In emotional dramas, the matching degree of actors and characters determines the first impression.
Before the script was finalized, the heroine decided Yu Shuxin, and then we adjusted the lines and plots of the script according to her personal characteristics. There is no doubt that Yu Shuxin is "Yu Meiren herself". She fits the character's temperament very well. She is highly confident in her own abilities, optimistic about life, and has a little girl's cuteness and liveliness in her gestures.
In order to play the role of Yu Meiren naturally and sensibly, Yu Shuxin put in a lot of effort. During the filming process, she often scrutinized the lines and discussed the plot and characters with us until late at night. In this play, the heroine has changed a lot from a revenge-style "drama chase after her husband" to a little shyness after she is really tempted. Yu Shuxin always takes into account many details and interprets them accurately.
Zhang Binbin, who plays Zhuang Yu, is an old friend we have worked with many times. His charm lies in both the boyishness of a boy and the abstinence of a mature man.
The role of Zhuang Yu is cold and talkative, so it is difficult to play well. Because the "iceberg" and Gao Leng are only separated by a thin line, if the size is not properly adjusted, it will become a facial paralysis and a show. Zhang Binbin spent a lot of thought on how to convey emotions with micro-expressions and eyes. Especially after Zhuang Yu began to have emotional changes towards Yu Meiren, he would try his best to figure out how much he laughed in every scene, whether he laughed or not, and discussed with the main creator on the spot. Judging from the feedback, Zhuang Yu's sense of suspense and protective power can be obtained by most audiences.
I was also impressed by the dedication of the two actors during the filming process.
Our shooting cycle covers the whole summer, from June to October. In order to show the rural pastoral style, there is a lot of drama in the small forest. Under the scorching sun, the actors played seriously and figured out the state of the characters; in the dense jungle, the actors traveled through mountains and rivers, never shouting tired; facing the snakes, insects, rats and ants in the mountains and forests, they didn't care.
Yu Mei and Zhuang Yu as doctors, there are many long and obscure professional lines in the script. Yu Shuxin and Zhang Binbin can not only memorize and recite it naturally, but also earnestly "know why" and diligently ask experts and consultants for advice. This is not only the greatest respect for the characters, but also reflects their sense of responsibility as actors to give back to fans and audiences.
We also specially invited a lot of veteran actors to cast. For example, Li Ye, and Mr. Cui Yi who played Yu's father and Yu's mother. The two of them are also husband and wife outside the play, and they have incorporated many natural and life-like performances into the play, making the interaction between Yu's father and Yu's mother sweet and real. During the filming of
, the atmosphere at the scene was always very good, and Yu Shuxin and Zhang Binbin still had a lot of improvisations in the opposite scenes.
For example, when two people watched the rainbow scene together, it was written in the script that Yu Meiren carried a wooden barrel and walked under the pavilion, but Yu Shuxin put the wooden barrel on her head on the spot, and her cuteness was doubled all of a sudden. A classic scene. The success of
CP sense contributed to the romance of the "Sen-style". However, the "forest system" of "Little Forest" is not only in the plot, but also in the visual.
In order to find the original rural countryside, we spent a long time in scene selection and scouting. Lishui, Zhejiang is the place where I went to collect winds during the writing period of the script. There are beautiful mountains and rivers, and the villages and tea hills retain their original features and have not been eroded by commercialization. Later, during the scene scouting, we were pleasantly surprised to discover the richness and variety of Lishui scenes, such as dense forests, tea gardens, bamboo forests, riversides, wetlands, ancient trees, etc., which can basically meet our shooting requirements for pastoral scenes, so selected quickly. In the presentation of the
lens, we seek to restore the true beauty of nature. All the art settings are based on the original ecological natural landscape, which is in line with the design of the scene and atmosphere. In the later stage, we did not use gorgeous filter effects to beautify, and try to be as real and natural as possible.
has many scenes in the wild, and it is also destined that the shooting cycle of "Little Forest" is longer than that of ordinary romantic dramas, because changes in the weather will inevitably affect the shooting progress. For example, in the part of going up the mountain to pick samples, when we climbed to the mountainside, we encountered extreme winds, and the tent that the crew built was almost blown away. In addition, restore natureThe landscape has strict requirements for shooting light, but Zhejiang is rainy in summer, and the sun often disappears when shooting. At this time, we can only wait patiently, or temporarily deploy other indoor scenes.
In addition to the countryside, there are also many urban landscapes in the play. In order to stick to our core positioning and to match the background of the characters, we also put a lot of thought into building interior scenes. For example, in Zhuang Yu's home, a semi-open sun room connected to the living room was designed. There are not only the plants he carefully cultivated for research and ornamental purposes, but also a plant wall with stunning visual effects.
All in all, most scenes will reserve the green tone, so that even when the drama is not an idyllic scene, it can give everyone a fresh feeling of forest. The value logic behind
's "sweetness" escorts
's "Little Forest". When polishing the script, we incorporated a lot of realistic value expressions, because a good romantic drama will never have only love. The value expression is mainly reflected in three points:
The first is the discussion of "self" and "growth" by the male and female protagonists through the "Fantasy Journey of Shepherd Boys".
"The Fantastic Journey of the Shepherd Boy" is the book of my life. Zhuang Yu's character is actually from the shepherd boy in the book.
In the original book, what the shepherd boy is looking for is not so much destiny, but a better self, because the treasure is actually in the place where the shepherd boy herds the sheep. The ultimate life goal is not important, what is really precious is the process of our pursuit of who we are. It doesn't matter if you don't follow your dreams because of difficulties, just like Zhuang Yu's words to encourage Yu Meiren, "In fact, you don't need to have a starry sky, it's not bad to be able to see fireflies ."
Another point, we also hope to borrow this The play arouses everyone's attention to ecology. The plot of Yu Mei and Zhuang Yu fighting against bird thieves in the
drama is a real case learned from previous research. We were so moved at the time that we decided we had to move it into the script.
We have also implanted a lot of knowledge about bird protection in the play, such as "the danger of alien creatures Fushou snail ", "glass stickers window grilles to prevent birds", etc. We did not convey this knowledge in a purely didactic way, but It is subtly woven into the plot, and it is related to the mood changes and growth of the characters.
has one more detail. In the first episode, Yu Meiren picked up expired milk tea and threw it directly into the trash. But at the end of the plot, she will pick up the discarded milk tea, sort it dry and wet, and then discard it. This before-and-after contrast reflects the growth of the characters, as well as the transformation of ideas.
In addition, the ornithological research Yu Meiren has studied is a relatively niche field, and it is difficult to make money. It is not easy for staff who can persist in this field. If you have watched "Little Forest" and have a little interest in bird protection and wetland construction, it will be a great relief for us and researchers.
The last point is about "beauty".
At present, women's attention to appearance has evolved from "women to please their own appearance" to "women to please their own appearance", which is also the starting point of Yu Meiren's recognition of appearance in the play. Poppy has a line in the play: "Thank you for being a professor of botany, don't you know how much nature looks at appearance?" We did not deliberately avoid the importance of appearance. However, "Who defines beauty?" This question was raised by Zhuang Yuzhi, and in fact, it has always been in Yu Meiren's heart.
In the end, she got the answer when she chatted with Zhuang Yuye, makeup and filters are the way to become beautiful, but whether to embark on this path should depend on inner freedom, not kidnapped by these beauty tools. In fact, this is also a kind of self-reconciliation on the way to growth and pursuit of dreams. Just like the sentence I wrote at the end of the film, "I hope everyone can become a better version of themselves." When the
episode aired, we saw many, many impressive barrages and comments. One of the viewers mentioned that "Small Forest really expresses the process of falling in love with a person very concretely, like a seed breaking through the ground, like a chick emerging from its shell." "Zhuang Yu is the grass on the mountain, and Poppy is the Birds in the forest, romantic love is flourishing in Qingshui Village , a wonderful place with outstanding people. KomoriLin made me believe that there really is such a good place in the world, that such love really exists. "These comments will instantly make us feel that all our efforts are worth it. We are grateful to the audience for their love and support for us, and we will keep them in our hearts.
There are also many drama fans who will write long text analysis of the characters and keep digging. Details that are not easy to detect in the play. Although CP fans are watching the details of the "Meizhuangdan" couple with an eight-fold mirror, there are actually many details that you haven't discovered.
For example, in episode 7, the two pretended to be lovers In the stage, Yu Meiren jokingly praised her line "Professor Zhuang has entered the room of Zhilan, and he has not smelled its fragrance for a long time." In episode 28, Zhuang Yu used this joke to express his sincerity to Yu Meiren when he was chasing his wife. There are still many such little candies, and you should be able to discover them one after another.
Of course, we have also received everyone's opinions on "Little Forest". We will all regret things such as editing techniques and a slightly shorter love period in "Little Forest" 2", "Little Forest 2" is currently under preparation, and the second part will definitely make up for all the "sugar" owed to you.
Thanks to all the friends who support and love "Little Forest for Two", I hope We can all be better versions of ourselves.
【Text/Kwai Chung】
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