costume suspense drama, how to film it?
Based on our experience in watching dramas, there are three mature types.
The first type is detective work.
From the early "Young Bao Qingtian" and "Detective Di Renjie" to the current "Yu Ci Xiaowu Zuo", "The Youth of the Song Dynasty", and then to this year's "Under the Busty City".
Detective is the main method of costume suspense dramas, and it is also the main type of costume suspense dramas.
The second type is fantasy.
The most representative one is "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty" which became a hit last year.
Fantasy and oriental monsters are still popular genres that the public expects until now.
The third type is zombies.
Korean drama "Kingdom" is the most classic costume suspense zombie drama.
directly photographed this subject with a phenomenal quality.
However, a recently launched drama has subverted the genre of "costume suspense drama" - "Apocalypse".
Can you imagine that a costume suspense drama can also be made into a monster drama? Or Xiuchundao fighting monsters?
This subversive drama has a long history. Director
is Lu Yang, the director of "Xiu Chun Dao" and "The Wind Rises in Longxi". The original author of
is Ma Boyong.
stars Huang Xuan, Wu Yue, and young talents like Jiang Qiming and Wang Shengdi.
total, 12 episodes. The day after the
series premiered, it topped the platform’s soaring list.
Looking at word-of-mouth, many viewers in the Douban short comment area gave this drama good reviews. Some
praised Lu Yang's aesthetics, "Lu Yang's pursuit of production quality and subject matter imagination are much better than ordinary costume drama directors."
some praised the plot, which includes monster suspense, There are also interlocking officialdom conflicts in the late Ming Dynasty, which is very interesting.
Some praised the actors. Huang Xuan's acting skills are still stable, Wu Yue is pleasantly surprised, and Jiang Qiming's performance is also very good.
However, some viewers also questioned and tried to make things mysterious. What is
like? My answer is: It’s hard to describe in one word.
I thought it was a zombie drama at first, but I didn’t expect that there were Cthulhu and monsters from traditional oriental fantasy stories. As I continued watching, I found the shadow of "The Wind Rises in Longxi".
Behind the oriental fantasy, there is also the great explosion of the Apocalypse, the great victory of Ningyuan, and the struggle between the imperial guards, the eunuchs, and the civil servants in the late Ming Dynasty.
Does this suspenseful oriental fantasy adventure have the potential to compete as the "dark horse" of the year like "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty"?
has finished three episodes and has "two surprises" and "three regrets".
But it is certain that Lu Yang once again took a new path that has never been taken in domestic costume suspense dramas.
01. Let’s talk about the "two surprises" first
Surprise 1. The story is bizarre, interlocking, suspenseful, and the action is ruthless, making people want to stop.
As we all know, whether a suspense drama is good or not, the creation of a sense of suspense is crucial.
As for "The Record of Apocalypse", it gives two suspenseful historical backgrounds from the very beginning:
One is the Apocalypse Explosion.
"In the twenty-sixth year of Wanli, on the fifteenth day of the winter month. There was a loud sound like thunder in the sky. A meteor fell in the southeast of Wumu Island."
This is the famous Apocalypse Big Bang in history.
In the late Ming Dynasty, during the Tianqi Year, there was a long drought. May was like winter. Fireballs shot up in the Fire Temple, and meteorites fell. A historical mystery that remains unsolved.
The second is the great victory of Ningyuan.
At this time, the Ningyuan victory has not yet occurred, but Ningyuan Fort, which is crucial to this war, is being built.
After the meteorite fell from the sky, rumors of epidemic disease spread in Ningyuan City, and there were even rumors of strange beasts, and chaos broke out between the government and the people.
The attitude of the eunuch group headed by Wei Zhongxian was unclear. The civil servant group collectively submitted a letter to stop it, and the construction of the fort was in danger.
Those civil servants who wrote a letter saying that building the fort violated Tianwei did not know that without Ningyuan Fort, the Ming Dynasty might have fallen a few years earlier.
Those who took the lead in building the fort were the generals led by Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan who advocated sticking to the outside of the pass.
Sun Chengzong is the Governor Sun mentioned repeatedly in the play.
Chu Sijing, a member of the Jin Yiwei family played by Huang Xuan, came to Ningyuan Fort during this winter of internal and external difficulties in the Ming Dynasty and was ordered to investigate the case.
This investigation revealed three major anecdotes:
The major anecdote was the mystery of Ningyuan.
Chu Sijing's real purpose here was not to investigate the case at all, but to find his missing brother who was on an errand for him. However, he stepped into Ningyuan Fort, a tinderbox where the conflict between the government and the opposition was about to break out.
On the one hand, the strange disease is real, and the deceased died in an extremely strange manner. After being buried and burned on the spot, local soldiers seemed to have venom flowing out of the body of the deceased. In other words, the deceased was just a host.
On the other hand, strange news and strange events on the isolated island have led to a confrontation between multiple forces.
As soon as Chu Sijing entered the fort, he competed successively with Eunuch Yang, who represented the power of the eunuchs, and with Xu Qianhu and Lei Baihu, who represented the power of the military. In just a few words of exchange, it was clear that people's hearts were unpredictable and their tactics were constant.
In addition to the confusion of internal strife, the truth of the incident is also a mystery. The military only said that it was typhoid fever, not an epidemic.
The male protagonist discovered something strange in the food the sergeant was eating.
As a Jinyiwei who the military did not want to offend, his first meal in Ningyuan was fishy wolf meat. The place was close to the sea, but there was not even a pickled fish in the granary. The sergeants were very tight-lipped about fishing, saying only that there was a sea ban.
Why is the sea banned? Who banned the sea?
If you want to find out the truth, you can only go to Wumu Island.
sounds familiar? Yes, "The meteor fell in the southeast of Wumu Island." Here is the beginning of the strange appearance.
The second biggest mystery is Kojima.
The military used the excuse that it would take time to repair the ship, and Boyan, who assisted the male protagonist in investigating the case, came up with an idea: take advantage of the tide and swim to the island.
From this moment on, the male protagonist discovered that someone was secretly helping him.
Fog arose in the sea, and the male protagonist lost Boyan. Fortunately, in the fog, a burst of incendiary bombs pointed the way for him. who is it?
After arriving on the island, He Zijiao, an official on the island, pretended to be a pig and eat the tiger.
The islanders live in secretive ways. They live close to the sea and cannot eat from the sea. If they are caught fishing, they will be whipped.
There are also islanders who are infected and hidden in caves by their families.
The ice and snow on the island cover up the illness of the villagers, and also provide a hiding place for the "monster" and the forces behind it.
What is the secret on Wumu Island?
The even more bizarre thing is that there really are man-eating monsters on the island. What is going on?
The third biggest strange news is that Jinyiwei is fighting monsters on an isolated island.
I originally thought that monster refers to the Cthulhu-style ancient evil god in the mutants infected with the disease.
I didn’t expect that the monster was a real monster.
At midnight, the male protagonist meets a nagging little girl played by Wang Shengdi.
was directed to a house. He stepped forward to investigate, but the next second - the monster rushed out of the door.
The next step is to fight the monster with Xiuchundao.
Snow is falling, and Boyan reminds the hero that the monster has no eyes, but it has amazing hearing.
The male protagonist moved his steps in the snow, but still caused the monster to attack.
After a few rounds, the male protagonist, who can fight the Fourth Sergeant alone in the snow, is simply unable to withstand it.
The embroidered spring knife cannot hurt the monster at all.
At the critical moment of life and death, a burst of rockets drove away the monster.
Someone else helped him?
But just as he escaped from danger, the male protagonist was directly arrested by Eunuch Yang. It turned out that he forged documents to expose his brother. What was waiting for him was originally the only death penalty.
But the arrival of a foreign ship gave him another chance of survival.
Foreign warships with powerful guns and firearms are going to the isolated island to find monsters. All that is missing is a guide.
After three episodes, Chu Sijing has escaped from an island version of a secret room, to fighting a mutated monster with cold weapons, and then transformed into a foreign ship guide. The atmosphere is full of tension and excitement.
An oriental monster adventure drama that lives up to its name.
After three episodes, the story is still shrouded in mystery.
What is the truth about the monster on Wumu Island?
What is the military covering up?
What is the purpose of Eunuch Yang leading the crowd here?
The foreign ships came here, obviously to capture the monsters, and they had even reached a deal with Eunuch Yang.
But it looks more like a deal with the Ming Dynasty: monsters in exchange for guns and cannons?
The answers to these questions will be revealed step by step as the plot progresses, which will also drive the audience's motivation to follow the show. At three points and one line, a puzzle emerges.
Fighting for power in the court and fighting monsters on an isolated island, all forces gather here, those who investigate cases, those who catch monsters, those who wield power, and those who trade. The building of the Ming Dynasty will collapse, each with their own agenda.
But the word "Apocalypse Strange News" gives "Apocalypse Strange News" a kind of temperament that other dramas do not have.
has super-heated fighting, a power struggle in which all forces are fighting, and there is also wisdom that can navigate it with ease.
Chu Sijing's progress seems to be close to the truth, but he falls into deeper dangers and mysteries.
Looking deeper, you can see the portraits of all living beings under the great curtain of the dynasty, mixed with strange news, and slowly picture them.
Surprise 2, Wu Yue is relaxed, Huang Xuan is cast, Jiang Qiming is an amazing actor!
For a costume suspense drama, in addition to the exciting plot, the actors' performances are also a highlight.
Lu Yang has always had great skills in filming actors. Zhang Zhen's ascetic male god, Yi Yiwei's Jia Qian Yi Ge, Wang Xiao and Nie Yuan's costumed spy master, all of them are wonderful.
"Apocalypse" stars Huang Xuan and Wu Yue, and the main supporting roles include Zhang Rongrong, Lu Fangsheng, Wang Shengdi, Jiang Qiming, etc.
has gathered many acting talents. Judging from the plots currently aired, there are already 3 The actors showed off their outstanding acting skills.
One, Huang Xuan
Huang Xuan is one of the actors with the most stable acting skills in Chinese dramas. In "Operation Moscow", his evil nature is amazing.
Generally, the creation of a character like Jin Yiwei can easily become a stereotype, but under Huang Xuan's interpretation, the character of Chu Sijing is given a sense of chaos in a troubled world.
This character is alert, thoughtful, and good at disguise. No matter what the situation, there is always a calmness on his face that is inconsistent with the reality.
On the surface, the character is like a robot, with no joy, anger, sorrow, or emotions. It just moves forward regardless of life and death for a goal.
But if you think about it carefully, shouldn't it be like this for people who are used to seeing life and death?
's role is to investigate the case on the surface, but in fact it is to find his twin brother who disappeared while doing errands for him.
In the first three episodes, I only saw the emotional changes on Huang Xuan's face twice.
The first time was when the character asked the military about the flaw in the seafood. The change in his eyes in an instant was better than dozens of lines of dialogue.
The second time, he finally found his brother's letter after going through many hardships. The character's feelings at this moment were extremely complicated.
On the one hand, I was moved by my brother and had a glimmer of hope, but more importantly, I was even more worried about his disappearance.
Huang Xuan acted out this emotion with just his eyes and without a single line. His acting ability never disappoints.
For Huang Xuan, the first three episodes are trivial, and the real breakthrough in acting is definitely yet to come.
Secondly, Wu Yue
Wu Yue is regarded by the audience as a martial arts star with real kung fu. As a martial arts-level athlete, when he shoots action scenes, he does not just use gestures, but has real kung fu.
Especially, Jet Li and Jackie Chan are getting old, and many martial arts stars are almost unable to fight. There are very few who can really fight, and Wu Yue is even more precious.
But few people know that his acting skills are definitely not weak.
It is a pity that Wu Yue's acting ability has not been fully demonstrated except for "The Prodigal Son Yan Qing" and "Liancheng Jue".
In this drama, he plays the role of Tartar official Boyan, who seems to be a funny comedy character for gags, but is actually thoughtful and often has clever ideas.
In order to perform the role, Wu Yue also designed a lot of body movements.
For example, he likes to eat while walking. He always carries dried fruits in his pocket. From time to time, he will throw one into his mouth, eat the fruits, and things will be done.
The only pity is that there are currently not many opportunities for Wu Yue to show off his skills, which is really a waste.
Third, Jiang Qiming
As a young actor, Jiang Qiming's role as the mute military brother in "The Long Season" left a deep impression on the audience.
I didn’t expect him to play the role of Nagako Kojima in the small island this time. I didn’t recognize him until the end.
His acting skills are very deep, and he interprets a character who is mysterious and difficult to distinguish between good and evil in a calm and respectful manner, but in fact he has a deep mind and hidden secrets.
I think this role is not that simple, and it must be reversed in the end.
In addition, there is Zhang Rongrong who played Yang Guifei in "The Legend of the Demon Cat" and looked back with a charming smile. This time she plays the heroic role of the female captain Angelica.
As Wang Shengdi grows up, her little eyes are too smart. The little girl she plays who can summon monsters is also a key figure in solving the mystery.
Liu Tingzuo's performance in "The Wind Rises in Longxi" is very amazing. This time he plays Yang Zan, with a masked face, which is hidden, and he interprets the character's ruthless and shrewd temperament so vividly that people can't help but feel embarrassed. tingling.
The acting skills of these actors are remarkable, and their performances can be expressed freely, which ensures the quality of the series.
02. Next, let’s talk about the “three regrets”
. Regret 1. Too many elements make the story slightly suspended.
Looking at it so far, the biggest problem with the series is that it requires too much.
Strange thing or a monster? Machiavellian strategy or adventure? When the audience saw the first snow battle scene, they thought it was an extra episode of Xiuchundao.
It looks like the Ming Dynasty version of "The Wind Rises in Longxi".
Villagers getting sick look like Kingdom. The
monster appeared and became "Tang Wei" again.
Looking down is the detective Di Renjie.
But if you add a little of everything, it becomes peppery noodles.
Regret 2. The plot pace is too slow.
Compared with most domestic dramas, the pace of "Apocalypse" is not slow at all.
The problem is, the series only has 12 episodes.
This kind of fantasy suspense story should have a fast pace and repeated suspense. The protagonist should be constantly pushed to the edge every step of the way. Only by amplifying the move in the first episode and a strong twist in the second episode can it attract the audience.
Now the audience feels that it is a bit secretive. When the plot pace is slow, it seems to be pretentious. This audience is so smart.
Any routine will cause trouble.
’s last regret is that the core suspense tension is not enough.
There is no nonsense in this drama, and the beginning is a mystery. However, no matter how the form is repaired, the flaws in the content cannot be completely concealed.
What is the most important "content" of a costume suspense drama?
reversal, paradox, and puzzle solving.
No matter how grand and immersive your scene is, without the core, it is just an empty shell.
The shortcoming of "Record of Apocalypse" is that the plot seems complicated but is actually simple. Behind the
monster is obviously a meteorite.
The person who repeatedly saves the hero is obviously his missing brother.
The puzzle is complicated and the answer is too simple, which will make the audience lose the fun of reasoning.
Conclusion: There are highlights and regrets, but the costume suspense drama still has a dark horse.
If I want to use one word to describe the domestic costume suspense dramas in recent years, I think it has no stamina.
In the past two years, "The Legend of the Emperor" and "The Strange Stories of the Tang Dynasty" have made ancient costume suspense dramas popular on the screen.
But this year, although there is "Under the City", it has directly raised the level of domestic costume suspense dramas to a new level.
But most of the costume suspense dramas on the market are actually ancient puppets disguised as suspense dramas.
Neither the plot nor the production is satisfactory.
"Apocalypse" is by no means perfect. Three episodes later, it still has the same old problems of domestic costume suspense dramas, more or less.
But it still makes me see new hope in costume suspense dramas.
The first point is the exploration of Eastern fantasy suspense drama.
Not to mention anything else, just the combination of meteors falling from the sky + Jin Yiwei fighting monsters is novel enough. The
drama series combines multiple elements of mysticism, fantasy, martial arts, disaster and costume espionage.
also combines oriental monsters such as Black Ibis, Heng Gong, Xuan Ming, etc. who have appeared in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "The Classic of Gods" with the island adventure story. It has a cast of talented actors with wonderful acting skills, and Lu Yang's production aesthetic is still unique among Chinese dramas. .
The second point is the style of a Machiavellian drama in which you sing and I appear.
When the series opens, Ningyuan Fort is like a big stage, full of drama and conflict.
Several forces tested each other with their own motives, and the sense of history suddenly emerged.
After a fierce conflict, the fantasy puzzle remains to be solved, but history has concluded: Ningyuan was victorious, but it could not save the Ming Dynasty, which was about to collapse.
And "Apocalypse Strange Stories" tells the fate of these little people and the dynasty behind the constraints of several forces in the Year of Apocalypse through the shell of fantasy and suspense.
I have watched too many stereotyped costume suspense idol dramas, but I am happy to see that a drama like "Apocalypse" can gain everyone's love.
This is not only a change of taste, but also a rare innovation.
The fate of drama series has its own successes and failures, but daring to break the ice for national dramas is already the greatest luck for the audience.
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