[Literary Trend]
Author: Xu Hailong (Professor of the School of Liberal Arts, Capital Normal University)
In recent years, the communication channels of dramas have gradually expanded from television to the Internet. Video websites have launched theatrical operations, launching "Mist Theater" and "Pamper" Theater", "x theater", etc. These theaters create specific time slots for the broadcast and distribution of drama series. Works of the same type, similar size, and similar audience profile are scheduled to be broadcast in the "theater" one after another, thereby establishing a brand image and strengthening user stickiness. "Theatre + Long Video Series" uses self-produced exclusive broadcasts to change the situation in the past where video websites rush to buy popular dramas and engage in price wars to cope with the diversion of audiences from short videos and micro-short dramas.
From dramas gathered by time to dramas gathered by kind
Before the emergence of video websites, the concept of "theater" in the film and television field already existed. In the late 1990s, local satellite TV stations started broadcasting one after another, and "theater" appeared on traditional TV channels. Tianjin Satellite TV's "old studio" can be regarded as the prototype of theater. Later, each major TV station established "morning theater", "weekend theater" and other "theatres" divided according to broadcasting time. Since the new century, competition among local satellite TV has intensified, and they have begun to pay attention to the relationship between "theatre" and the channel. For example, Hunan Satellite TV's "Golden Eagle Private Theater", Dragon TV's "Dream Theater", etc. Create channel brand image in aspects such as broadcasting and self-production.
Since 2013, the video website has classified and packaged a large number of dramas, and set up themed areas such as "Youth Idol Theater" and "Family Fun Theater" on the homepage. These "theaters" are still the post-supply model of the broadcast platform, but the operation idea has changed from rescheduling broadcast time to focusing on focused content. As the competition among video websites becomes increasingly fierce and the ability to produce dramas becomes stronger, in 2015 Youku launched the "Play Theater" series for the audience, which focuses on men's "daring", family's "relaxation", and women's "unbridled love"; in 2018, iQiyi launched "Love Youth Theater" and "Qi Suspense Theater" specialize in romance, mystery and other genres respectively, launching solo and self-produced dramas such as "The Strong City"; in 2020, with the launch of iQiyi's "Mist Theater" and "The Hidden" With the popularity of "The Corner", "theatre" has appeared more clearly in front of the audience, and has changed from a collection of plays based on time to a collection of plays based on categories. The vertical and serialized characteristics of the content have become increasingly prominent.
The theatrical track has also exposed some problems during the large-scale rollout of video websites. Some "theatre" works are of mixed quality. A certain work becomes a hit, and the quality of subsequent works cannot be sustained. There are also "theater" dramas with mixed themes and different sizes, which are arranged in a "one-pot stew" and lack differentiated features. What optimizations can be made in “Theatre”? This involves a discussion of what "theatre" is and the spirit of theater, that is, why this drama communication model is named "theatre", and what forms and implementation methods "theatre" has in the new media communication of drama series.
Constructing a time and space of collective presence, communication and interaction
The name of the video website "XX Theater" borrows the concept of drama. Drama has changed from a "desk music" to a "field music", relying on actors and audiences to jointly form a specific time and space environment - theater. Whether it is the Goulanwashe of traditional Chinese opera, or the closed theater or open square of Western drama, the performance is an "on-the-spot communication" between the actors and the audience. When the curtain slowly opens and the stage lights up, the theater is like a pool of emotional living water. The stage is the source, causing emotional fluctuations that expand from the inside to the outside, forming greater emotional power in the audience, and then feedback Giving the stage arouse stronger emotions in the actors. This viewing and performance relationship formed by "work-actor-audience" is the unique charm of drama - the theater spirit.
In the 20th century, faced with competition from film and television, dramatists declared that "there is only one element that film and television cannot take away: the intimate contact with living organisms in the theater"; more than half a century later, drama series (long videos) have to compete with short videos , also trying to use some advantages of "theater" to attract the audience.Although the "theater" of the video website cannot allow the audience to personally experience the sweat and tears, breath holding and trembling in the theater, it reflects the new media's attempt to simulate and restore a traditional drama viewing relationship with the audience, and uses diverse audience feedback The interactive method makes up for the lack of experience brought by non-physical "theater" and constructs the idea of the spirit of film and television theater.
In the age of television, classic TV series such as "Shanghai on the Beach" and "Huo Yuanjia " played in "theaters" can attract audiences to gather at regular intervals. For example, waiting in front of the TV with your family, talking about dramas with neighbors, the audience builds a collective presence relationship around the drama works. But most of this agglomeration effect should be attributed to the charm of the series, and the theater plays a small role. However, in the era of video websites, "theater" began to play a dominant role in many aspects. For example, in terms of overall packaging, the brand logo and background skin of "Theatre" are more in line with the characteristics of the drama type. "Mist Theater" is a question mark flipped left and right, "Love Theater" is a love transformed from "l", and the background of "Hong Kong Theater" is a skyscraper exuding a modern atmosphere. The audience will feel the theme atmosphere when they click to enter. Although the show can be watched back, there is only one chance for many people to watch it at the same time when a new episode is released online. Therefore, the number of people "watching at the same time" will be displayed in the upper corner of the "Theater" playback interface. At the beginning of each episode, there are always people "checking in" in the barrage, such as "Reporting from Tianjin", and some viewers report the time or instant status they are watching, looking for netizens in the same status, such as "Watching on 2023-11-23" "Watch while eating spicy strips", and many people expressed their views simultaneously through barrages. The "theater" also enhances the atmosphere of the scene through fancy barrage designs. For example, when playing the flame scene of " long season ", the audience's barrages also have the effect of burning smoke. In addition to the barrage, the theater's play page also has a synchronous comment area and a "drama chasing room" chat room where the audience can discuss. Actors from some dramas appear in the comment area during the broadcast, and even have offline physical "drama rooms" to become "drama partners" and communicate with the audience through text or "Lianmai" as themselves or their characters. chat. All of these, the group perception, interaction methods and the amount of information obtained by the audience of the video website "theater" obviously surpass the audience of the TV "theater", and they are on-site and timely.
It can be seen that although the collective presence relationship between the TV "theater" and the video website "theater" has a certain virtuality, it can also create a fixed and ritualistic time and space for watching the drama, allowing the audience to interact with each other and interact with each other. Go to a film and television "theater". "Theatre" operators, "theatre" audiences, producers, actors and other subjects communicate and interact on various interfaces of the "theater", thereby obtaining a viewing experience of "we are together in this world" and "heart-to-heart".
Return to the continuous and uninterrupted way of viewing
The theater spirit advocates the collective presence of both viewers and performers, which is not static. The performance of the theater actors on the stage is an ongoing action picture that gradually unfolds to the audience. The audience cannot request the stage performance to disrupt the sequence of plot development, jump in time or change the scene arbitrarily. Therefore, "theater" presents an irreversible linear time, in which both the audience and the performer go hand in hand, experiencing a continuous and uninterrupted process. The multi-screen, mobile digital media allows the audience's attention to flow and switch at any time, forming a disengaged, disconnected and fragmented viewing habit. In addition to setting up quick functions such as "double-speed viewing", "one-click jump" and "watch only him", the video website "Theater" as a disseminator also actively guides and cultivates the audience to return to the "theater" viewing method of continuous and uninterrupted viewing.
Many "theatres" strictly control quality, constantly launch high-quality works, and improve the audience's appreciation level with higher artistic standards. They reverse some people's unhealthy viewing needs such as blind pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of the sublime, and gradually increase the audience's appreciation of "theatre" Reputation and confidence in quality. Many people have established "admission standards" for the video website "theater" in their own minds: "This play should not be admitted to the 'theater of so-and-so', it is not at the same level as other plays."After establishing high standards for watching dramas, the audience's viewing behavior will become more and more ritualistic. One obvious manifestation is that "theatre" drama reviews have become more and more professional. For example, the "X Theater" comment area wrote: "The biggest contribution of "The Long Season" is that the short video of "Three Minutes to Watch a Drama" cannot be dismantled and must be watched continuously without missing a minute. The composition, lighting and color are exquisite. , the transitions are cleverly designed, the plot is meticulous, and many inconspicuous details contain hidden mysteries and profound meanings.” There are many such examples. Ridicule, jokes, and star-chasing words are gradually replaced by professional work interpretations including the relaxation of rhythm, the creation of atmosphere, the delicacy of performance, and the details of the scene. This type of evaluation must be based on regular double-speed, calm and focused viewing.
The theater spirit of continuous and uninterrupted viewing is not only reflected in the "present tense" of normal viewing, but also in a "future tense". There is a saying in the theater world: "Theatre performance is always a self-destructive art." Every performance is a new performance, a new audience, with various live performances and accidental factors, always full of suspense. So theater is a present that contains its own future. Although compared with theatrical performances, the broadcast content of the series has been encapsulated unchanged, the video website "theater" allows the audience to encounter the work, the audience and the audience, and embark on a unique journey of exploration. The discussion area in the theater is the most representative, because opening the comment area at different times will produce different viewing experiences - when a new work is launched, the audience in the comment area will explore the unknown plot together. For example, viewers of "Suspense Theater" and "Who is He" posted screenshots of the plot in the comment area to deduce who the murderer is, and other viewers also shared their opinions. After being online for a period of time, the "class representatives" in the comment area, that is, active netizens, will initiate plot Q&A and topic discussions. For example, the "News Queen" comment area initiated a debate on "Which do you think is more important, career or love?" and made "pk" The interface attracts netizens to participate. The comment area of "Meow, Please Make a Wish" solicits suggestions from the audience to help the characters in the play supplement the "Make a Wish" story line. The video website "theater" creates an atmosphere of collective exploration of the unknown, inspiring the audience to join in the film and television space.
In order to explore with the audience, the "theater" operators and producers also tried "plot after-sales" and "customization by netizens". For example, comments in the comment area such as "the screen filter is white and distorted", "the heroine's dubbing does not match her age" and "the subtitles are too small" were quickly revised one by one in subsequent episodes. The theater also "eat more than one fish" by developing spin-off variety shows for the series. During the broadcast of "Snow Pear Stewed with Rock Sugar", "Pamper Theater" launched the spin-off variety show "Idol Team", which introduced background knowledge of the ice sports involved in the show through various game methods. This kind of "extra theater" allows the audience to explore and unlock secrets, providing more "secondary" materials. In addition, the theater also releases "mixed" albums and "pre-broadcast playlists" at the end of the season or on specific dates to build collective memory and look forward to the future. For example, "X Theater" released mixed-cut videos of Shen Mo and Fu Weijun of "The Long Season" and Zhang Jiayi of "Happy Face" at the end of the first season, which has both summary and preview functions. At 13:14 on May 13, "Love Theater" released a video with the theme "Love is never forgotten, there must be repercussions", showing classic shots of the love dramas that have been broadcast in the theater in sequence, and sending a "Welcome back! More" to the audience. What a great show is on the way."
In short, the establishment of these rules for watching dramas, such as not using the double-speed mode, respecting the creator's fine and dense creation, and advocating the experience of continuous exploration, allows the audience to form a theater aesthetic ethics between the audience and the work, and between the audience and the audience, making the theater Spirit has become a kind of individual consciousness and collective identity, allowing "long video series + theater platform" to gradually win back audiences. When the various interfaces in the "theater" allow each active practicing subject to generate force induction like a magnet, the drama will be expanded into a new "story world", and a new medium will be born every time a group watch the drama. Events and resonance fields. From dramas clustered by time to dramas clustered by genre, to dramas clustered by places, and dramas clustered by people, the changes in the meaning of "theater" reflect the evolution of my country's supply methods of film and television dramas and the evolution of audience viewing needs.For creators and communication platforms, theatricalization means more accurately responding to the audience's viewing needs, which helps to further improve quality awareness and social responsibility; for the audience, watching dramas in "theatre" is not only aesthetic and entertainment, but also It is an action to resist alienation, superficiality, fragmentation, and immerse yourself in the experience of life and time and the collective historical process of society.
The posters in this edition are all information pictures
"Guangming Daily" (page 15, August 07, 2024)
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