Who are you calling powerful?

With the arrival of 2018, all the children were born, and Wei Yang's long-awaited "Chi Le Chuan" officially started to restart.

In fact, although the filming of this drama was temporarily suspended in the past year, many preparations have been ongoing.

Because of this delay of one year, the foundation of "Chi Le Chuan" has become deeper.

The script has been better polished, the costumes and props have been prepared more carefully and meticulously, and even the casting of actors can be slowly selected. Some of them have also received a certain degree of training, and other aspects have also had sufficient time to carve.

Only slow work can produce fine work!

Although this statement is not absolute in the film and television industry, it is not without reason. Many classic works take several years from creation to finished products, or even longer.

For example, the reason why the "Celebrating Yu Nian" series is successful is more or less due to this factor.

It was okay in the first part, Wei Yang had a hang.

The second and third parts are semi-original, but they can still be successful, relying on the abundant funds and relatively sufficient time brought by the success of the first part.

It looks like a three-year trilogy, but in fact, a top team has focused most of their attention on the entire project of "Celebrating Yu Nian" in those years.

Shooting two or three parts in a row, on the surface, saves the actors and crew time for shooting, but the saved time is given to pre-production and post-production.

Blue Whale has produced many excellent works in the years since its establishment, but the project of "Celebrating Yu Nian" has always been of extraordinary significance.

Not to mention the achievements and contributions to the company, behind the scenes, it is precisely because of the training of the "Celebrating Yu Nian" trilogy that the production team of Blue Whale has completely matured and reached its peak. It can also be said that it is the project that Blue Whale has invested the most energy and emotion in so far.

Even because the time period of "Celebrating Yu Nian" is long enough and the project scale is large, almost all Blue Whale employees have dealt with this project more or less.

This is incomparable to most projects. After Wei Yang took over, Blue Whale only had this treatment for the early entrepreneurial project "My Love from the Star".

When filming "Eastern Palace", Blue Whale had already developed and had more than one project on hand, which was not considered a full company mobilization.

Nowadays, with the increasing scale and staff of Blue Whale, I am afraid that the grand occasions of the two projects "My Love from the Star" and "Joy of Life" cannot be replicated.

"Chi Le Chuan" has a large investment and many people, but it will only involve about 20%~35% of Blue Whale.

Don't think it's too little, it's just Boss Wei, and it would be great if others can have 10%.

There is no way. Now Blue Whale participates in dozens of projects of all sizes throughout the year. There are so many people and resources involved. They are all gathered in one project. Even if Boss Wei is in charge, it will be crowded.

Boss Wei did not intend for everyone to flatter him. The existing staff and resources are enough, and there is even some waste.

However, slow work produces fine work + strength in numbers

"Chi Le Chuan" has an exaggerated configuration in all aspects, especially behind the scenes, which is the first in history, but at this stage, even if you go back ten or twenty years, there are few rivals.

Of course, the cost is also rising. The budget of "Chi Le Chuan" has changed three times directly.

The initial investment of 300 million yuan was later changed to 400 million yuan, and now it is 500-550 million yuan.

This investment is absolutely the top in the field of small screens, and it is very likely to be the first in recent years.

As for the rumors that Penguin invested 400 million yuan to shoot "Ever Night", 450 million yuan to shoot "Fighting in the Sky", and 400 million yuan to shoot "The Qin Empire", just listen to it.

As for publicity, those who understand will understand!

450 million yuan can make a battle of qi into a horse? Could it be that the crew spent 200 million yuan on fodder?

The investment of about 500 million yuan+ in "Chi Le Chuan" is real, and it may be aimed at 600 million or even 800 million yuan when it is promoted.

Under such a cost, Boss Wei is still taking the lead in reducing his salary, and he only took 50 million yuan in salary + symbolic dividends.

You know, it is rumored that Mr. Zhou took 90 million yuan for "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace", and Huo Jianhua's salary also exceeded 50 million yuan.

Putting aside Boss Wei's status and wealth, even if it is his influence on the small screen and his box office appeal, 50 million is not too much.

There is no way, it has to be reduced!

There are too many people invited, and if they really want to pay them, adding a few hundred million is not enough. In order to control the filming funds, Boss Wei can only take the lead in reducing.

Even so, he is the biggest investor, and it actually feels a bit like taking off his pants to fart, but at least there is an excuse.

Other actors came to participate in "Chi Le Chuan" more for gilding their resumes + becoming famous + selling Boss Wei's face, so the salary is also negotiable.

Even so, the scattered salary and related budgets add up to nearly 200 million, which makes Boss Wei's teeth ache.

This is how the entertainment boom is, making money hard and spending money even harder!

If it goes on like this, it is hard to say whether the fourth budget will be made. After all, there are many war scenes in the later period of "Chi Le Chuan", and it is very expensive to make this thing well, and it is difficult to control the cost.

Fortunately, with Boss Wei in charge and PPTV backing us up, we will definitely not lose money, and how much we earn depends on our luck.

Although Wei Yang has been very busy recently, he still attaches great importance to "Chi Le Chuan" and even took time out to listen to the crew's seminar.

…

Blue Whale, conference room

The executive producer skillfully opened the PPT and began to introduce the relevant information of "Chi Le Chuan". Some of the people present knew it before, and some were new information. Everyone listened very seriously.

“The filming of “Chi Le Chuan” is expected to be 60 episodes, divided into three stages, and the ideal state is one stage every 20 episodes.”

“In the first stage, Gao Huan rises, and after struggling from a small soldier at the gate, he joins Erzhu Rong’s group and becomes an important core member, guarding one side.”

“In the second stage, it reaches its peak. Erzhu Rong dies, Gao Huan is ambitious, and begins to be independent. He defeats all opponents and eventually becomes the prime minister of the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the overlord of the north, looking at the world with a tiger’s eye.”

“In the third stage, the two heroes compete with each other. Gao Huan goes west and fights with Yuwen Tai many times. Both sides win and lose. In the end, he is defeated under Yubi City. The hero dies in his twilight years. It is a pity that he dies.”

The classic three-stage structure is very common in dramas, and many TV series and movies are also shot in this way.

For example, Wang Pangzi’s “Chasing the Dragon” mentioned earlier, and the later popular “Kuang Bi”.

Rise-peak-end

Looking closely at the direction of their characters, they are similar to the current “Chi Le Chuan”, which can be regarded as a routine of biography.

But the same old saying, routines are not afraid of being old, as long as they are useful. Gao Huan's story just fits the three-stage structure. If you change to another routine, it will not be good.

Wei Yang himself is the chief screenwriter of this project, and the three-stage structure is also set by him.

From the perspective of the screenwriter, it is perfect, but from the perspective of the actor, the three-stage structure also means that the actor has to play from a teenager/youth to middle-aged, and then from middle-aged to old age. The time span is large, and the character changes are also large, which is a test of the actor's skills.

Wei Yang still had these concerns in the early years, but now it is much better. This is the confidence brought by the improvement of acting skills.

In the past, I was worried about the temperament of middle-aged and elderly people, but now Wei Yang is worried that he is full of vicissitudes. Can he still perform the vigor and vigor of a young man?

However, Gao Huan himself is a hero, and he should have a calm temperament when he is young, and he can be more mature when he is young.

The plot is roughly understood, and the executive producer did not say much, and began to introduce the costumes and props.

The play "Chi Le Chuan" belongs to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and it is at the node of the change of dynasties, so a lot of information is relatively mixed.

Under the guidance of the historical consultant, the crew took into account art and current aesthetics and did not blindly pursue historical restoration.

Instead, they stuffed the costumes and accessories of the late Northern Wei Dynasty, the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty, and the early and middle Northern Zhou Dynasty into the drama, and then picked the good-looking ones. Anyway, there are only a few decades of history, so it is normal to have some connection.

The characteristics of clothing and items from the early Northern Zhou Dynasty appeared in the plot in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, which may also be the embryo of this popular style.

The costumes and items of the late Northern Wei Dynasty appeared in the plot in the late Eastern Wei Dynasty, which can also be said to be retro.

This is not illogical. Many clothes in the Republic of China have the prototype of modern clothing characteristics, and modern people like Hanfu more.

Wei Yang's filming works have always been practical. Under his influence, the costumes and props of Blue Whale will fit the history instead of rigidly restoring history.

Not all historical objects and costumes conform to modern aesthetics.

Marketing accounts all praise the vision and craftsmanship of our ancestors, because no one cares about the things that our ancestors "blindly saw and blindly hand" did. If you look more, you will find that there are many ugly things.

For example, many clothing items of the Northern and Southern Dynasties do not conform to modern aesthetics, and some of them look "Japanese style".

This is not surprising, as many things in Japan were passed on during the Jin Dynasty, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the Tang Dynasty.

It's just that everyone is more familiar with the Tang Dynasty, so they can tell them apart, but in fact, the Northern and Southern Dynasties were copied more by Japan. Japan's tall hats, long robes, and many strange buns are popular clothing in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

So much so that Wei Yang has been worrying about whether to use some clothing that looks easier to confuse.

Don't use it, I think it's a waste of money for the little Japanese, and their own culture should be promoted more.

Use it, I'm afraid some viewers will not be able to accept it, after all, it goes against many people's perception of ancient costumes, and some people are messing with the rhythm.

Moreover, the restoration of clothing is subjective, and it is difficult to guarantee that it is exactly the same. Not only do you have to study yourself, but you also have to be careful to avoid the "original" of the Japanese side. If there are any mistakes, you will be labeled as a "Japanophile", which is a thankless task.

So it's not so easy to make a good drama.

For costumes and props alone, it is not good to restore history, and it is not good not to restore history, and there are also some other risks.

So Wei Yang personally prefers to shoot fiction, not without reason.

As long as it is fiction, I can brag about the costumes and props at will. Some people who want to find faults will not stand firm, after all, it is a fictional dynasty, you can make it up as you want.

This time, Wei Yang did not plan to market too much about costumes and props in "Chi Le Chuan", just to the point, so as to avoid a bunch of history fans nitpicking with a magnifying glass.

Not only the costumes and props, in fact, the plot of "Chi Le Chuan" is not completely consistent with history.

The general direction is the same, but many details of the plot and characters have been handled accordingly.

After all, decades of history are condensed into a 60-episode TV series, and it is impossible to be meticulous.

Many unnecessary plot branches can be cut, and some characters are the same, and even one or two characters are mixed together.

For example, Wang Sizheng, who is actually very awesome. He built the Yubi City that made Gao Huan extremely happy. He was also the first garrison commander. Later, he guarded Hongnong and played the "empty city plan". Later, he guarded Henan and was captured during the siege.

However, this character has many highlights, but it has little to do with the main plot, so this character does not need to appear.

Although Wei Xiaokuan, who is related to Wang Sizheng, appeared later, as the final boss of "Chi Le Chuan", he naturally had to be shaped.

But Wei Xiaokuan's early career was not very colorful, or had little connection with the main plot.

What should we do? We can't let Wei Xiaokuan, who had no sense of existence before, jump out directly in the last few episodes and beat Gao Huan, the protagonist, all at once.

Although this is indeed the case in history, you can't shoot a TV series like this, you have to lay the groundwork.

So, "Chi Le Chuan" cut off the character of Wang Sizheng and put some of his early highlights on Wei Xiaokuan.

Although Wei Xiaokuan still didn't appear much, some plots were used to shape this person's characteristics such as resourcefulness, tenacity, strict military discipline, and good at defending the city.

Let the audience understand that this person is very awesome, but he didn't wait for a good opportunity to show his abilities, and he was a hidden dragon in the abyss.

So, when he finally appeared and madly beat the protagonist Gao Huan, everyone felt uncomfortable, but it was understandable.

Another reason is that there are too many characters in TV dramas, and the audience can't remember them.

Therefore, many historical dramas do this, and try to focus the plot on the core and important supporting roles as much as possible.

It is not only Wang Sizheng who was cut from "Chi Le Chuan". Only five or six of the Eight Pillars of the Northern Zhou Dynasty appeared, and only three or four often appeared.

Gao Huan's eight friends in Huaishuo in history also mainly revolve around four people with plots.

Wei Jing: brother-in-law + confidant

Sima Ziru: trusted counselor, also half a black glove

Liu Gui: the key to Gao Huan's surrender to Erzhu Rong

Hou Jing: the great general of the universe, the great general

As for the others, they either appeared twice to join in the fun, or lived in the lines of others.

In addition, Hulu Jin, who surrendered to Gao Huan after Erzhu Rong's death, also appeared in advance. He was regarded as Gao Huan's good brother in his hometown, so that he felt more when singing "Chi Le Chuan" at the end.

This is not a fabrication. The Huaishuo Town where Gao Huan was born is in Shuozhou, and Hulu Jin is a native of Shuozhou.

In history, the two may have known each other, and they may have been able to get together because they were from the same hometown.

In short, many details and historical changes are still not small, and they are more for the plot of the TV series and the audience's perception.

After all, the real history is often not as romantic and legendary as everyone thinks.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei never swore brotherhood. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were just Liu Bei's followers in history. They were gradually discovered and reused as the war progressed. Moreover, they were only treated as brothers, but in fact they were still monarchs and ministers.

But what everyone likes and talks about more is the brotherhood of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in Taoyuan.

TV series should be more artistic, making the characters in history books vivid and the deeds interesting, so that they will be liked by everyone and gain commercial benefits...