Why is Qi Qiyi and Zhou Xuming, who has filmed "The Golden Branch" and "Genesis", so hard to eat in the Mainland?

Hong Kong directors seem to be taking over the small screen for mainland audiences.

Among the popular dramas broadcast recently, Lin Yufen, the director of "Three Lives Three Worlds", Jiang Jiajun, the director of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", and Ju Jueliang, the director of "Lonely Love" are all from Hong Kong. Previous popular dramas such as "A Thousand Bones of Flowers", "Legend of Sword and Fairy" series, and "Step by Step" were also produced by Hong Kong directors.

However, the road to the north for Hong Kong directors is not as smooth as that of these popular drama directors. Qi Qiyi, who is regarded as TVB's "strongest producer" after Wei Jiahui, has far less career development in the mainland than The juniors back then were just as successful. The only new drama produced was even asked to leave the crew by the producer and starring Zhang Han.

In addition to the recognized advantages of high flexibility, strong professional capabilities, and industry foresight, there are more complex factors that determine the achievements of Hong Kong directors in the Mainland.

For the mainland TV industry, while Hong Kong directors bring commercial drama concepts and mature shooting experience, they also breed some new drawbacks in the interaction with the culture and capital constraints of the mainland film and television industry. and hidden dangers.

Why do domestic IP dramas prefer Hong Kong directors? Are Hong Kong directors an antidote or poison to the mainland TV drama industry? What is the reason for their different fates in "going north for re-employment"?

This is not a simple question.

The fate of Hong Kong directors who go north is different: some have constant hits, while others have no new plays for four years

Among Hong Kong directors who go north, Lin Yufen is certainly a successful representative; The experience of studying directing in the Mainland, practicing his skills in Hong Kong, and succeeding in the Chinese drama market has also become a special model for Hong Kong directors.

Lin Yufen is called the number one costume fantasy director in the industry, but few people know that the Hong Kong director actually graduated from the Directing Department of the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1989. After graduating from the Central Academy of Drama, she entered She worked at Hong Kong TVB. During this period, she filmed "900 Crimes" starring Wen Zhaolun and "Criminal Investigation Files" starring Tao Dayu and Guo Keying. She was also promoted from assistant director to director.

The days when she started working at TVB from the grassroots level were regarded by Lin Yufen as a rare experience after starting her career. “We were responsible for placing orders for costumes, finding special actors, arranging extras, and we had to wear whatever costumes we wanted. To put it one by one, we have to arrange even the location and the cars used for shooting outside. ”

Industry insiders believe that compared to many mainland directors, many of these Hong Kong directors are from low-income families. I started out as a director and gradually rose to the position of director, so I have a high degree of professionalism in lighting, photography, art and drama packaging. The reason is that I have developed solid basic skills.

After entering the mainland market, Lin Yunfen has had a popular drama broadcast almost every year, and has gradually become a ratings and quality guarantee in the industry.

Due to their many years of experience in the industry, Hong Kong directors such as Lin Yufen are also very good at mobilizing actors' emotions in their performances. Zhao Youting's "plastic surgery acting skills" in "Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom" were attributed to Lin Yufen's training. Zhao Youting said: "In this play, the director is a very important person to me." There is a scene in the play where Ye Hua, played by Zhao Youting, dies in Bai Qian's arms. This scene was filmed several times. Lin Yufen felt that Zhao Youting's performance was not in the right state. Later, Lin Yufen walked up to Zhao Youting and talked about the scene. Zhao Youting's eyes began to turn red when he spoke. Then the crew started filming again. Zhao Youting's tears fell all of a sudden, and Yang Mi was also brought out to give a better performance. state. Later, after this scene was broadcast, Zhao Youting's performance was praised by the audience, and the evaluation of "plastic surgery acting" began from this point.

However, not all Hong Kong directors can succeed in the mainland market. Compared with Lin Yufen, who was unknown during the TVB period, Qi Qiyi, who is known as the "big leader" and gold medal producer of Hong Kong TVB business war dramas, did not achieve rapid success after moving to the mainland.

At TVB, Qi Qiyi teamed up with gold medal screenwriter Zhou Xuming to create classic wireless commercial war dramas such as "The Man of Heaven and Earth", "Heaven and Earth", and "Genesis", and also produced palace dramas such as "The Golden Branch". classic.

However, after completing the last wireless drama "The Golden Branch 2" in 2013 and moving to the mainland, Qi Qiyi has not yet launched a new work. The former gold medal producer also has to face the embarrassment of acclimatization.

Hong Kong directors’ new battlefield in the Mainland: Why domestic IP dramas prefer Hong Kong directors

Some drama critics believe that Hong Kong directors flooded into the mainland market in large numbers in the 1990s, but It was in the past ten years that they really shined. In the process, the status of these directors in the Hong Kong TV drama market has also been restructured. The most popular Hong Kong directors in the mainland market are not the most senior and experienced ones in Hong Kong. The most successful director of the period, but the Hong Kong director who is most adaptable to mainland film and television culture.

Why can Hong Kong directors be reused by the mainland film and television industry?

Jiang Jiajun, the director of the new version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", is a successful example.

Although the new "The Condor" filmed by him is played by a newcomer, the newcomer's performance is natural. The drama has been recognized by the audience in terms of restoration of the original work, scene setting, action scenes, special effects, etc., and is known as a recent conscience drama.

Similar to Lin Yufen, he also began to develop in the mainland in the late 1990s. His previous films "The Invincible" and "The Myth" both created high ratings. From idol dramas, mythological dramas to martial arts dramas, Jiang Jiajun, who has undergone intensive training in the Hong Kong television industry, has obviously learned to freely turn around in multiple types of dramas. This good industry sensitivity, adaptability and flexibility are exactly what Hong Kong directors are used to. The rapidly changing mainland TV drama market is an important reason why it is favored by investors.

When talking about Hong Kong directors going to the mainland to develop, Jiang Jiajun said that the mainland market needs entertainment and commercial operations. Hong Kong directors have more experience in this area, so they come to the mainland to film movies. This is also what the market needs.

Hong Kong director Cai Jingsheng, who has filmed the classic time-travel drama "Qin Qin Ji" for TVB and filmed "Song in the Clouds" and other works after entering the mainland, believes that Hong Kong directors are faster than mainland directors, and mainland directors rarely can It takes two months to shoot 40 episodes of a TV series, but for Hong Kong directors, this is simply routine.

If investors give priority to Hong Kong directors due to cost considerations and shooting efficiency, then why are the most classic mainland works of Hong Kong directors all costume dramas, and why are they more popular among IP dramas?

Some insiders pointed out that Hong Kong directors are not without their shortcomings. Their biggest flaw is their lack of mainland life experience. Therefore, when it comes to modern themes, it is often not easy to be grounded. This is also the reason why many Hong Kong directors shoot The reason why mainland idol dramas are far less successful than costume dramas.

However, the IP dramas produced by Hong Kong directors, which already have original works and are mostly fantasy-themed, can bring their expertise honed on the set of TVB costume dramas to the fullest. In the final analysis, this is the result of the interaction between creation and production, and the two-way choice between the producer and the Hong Kong director.

Poison or antidote: TVB experience succeeds and fails TVB experience

What exactly have Hong Kong directors brought to the mainland film and television industry?

An industry insider pointed out that to sum up what Hong Kong directors bring to the table in one word, it is - fast. The now common AB group model originated from the introduction of Hong Kong directors, and the AB group is the most classic TVB studio model.

In addition, Hong Kong directors have also promoted the development of mainland genre dramas. Compared with many mainland directors with theoretical backgrounds, Hong Kong directors have experienced many years of experience and are better at shooting multiple types of dramas. For example, Lin Yufen filmed the idol drama "A Smile of Love".

The martial arts drama "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

Fairy dramas "Legend of Sword and Fairy 3" and "A Thousand Bones of Flowers".

Fantasy drama "Wuxin Master".

And almost every one of them has become a topic of discussion. While every Hong Kong director works hard to "do his job well", Hong Kong directors as a whole have also promoted the overall mainland TV drama industry. development, especially improving the entertainment quality of Chinese dramas.

But not all Hong Kong directors bring to the mainland TV drama industry are advantages. Some people in the industry pointed out with concern that the industrialized short-term, fast-paced production model adopted by Hong Kong directors has also brought the characteristics of the Hong Kong TV drama industry, such as impetuousness and excessive accommodation of capital, into the mainland film and television industry.

The famous Hong Kong director Ju Jue-liang was named the "Godfather of Martial Arts" in Hong Kong and Taiwan martial arts dramas. In the mainland TV drama market, he has directed high-rated works such as "The Cold War", "Huo Yuanjia" and "Water Margin". He can be said to be one of the Hong Kong directors most trusted by mainland investors.

However, he directed the fantasy TV series "Fantasy City" based on Guo Jingming's novel of the same name in 2015, and the costume strategy palace TV series "Lonely Beauty Does Not Admire Yourself" based on Feng Nongzhu's novel of the same name in 2016. Encountered the controversy of cosmetic contact drama and cutout drama.

Some people in the industry quietly told the author that it is precisely because directors like Director Ju know the needs of employers so well and are so good at meeting them that they use their experience to forcibly turn the series into a series when the production conditions are insufficient. The filming was completed, so although the series still achieved good online broadcasts or TV ratings, the quality of the series was criticized.

Along with Hong Kong directors and IP dramas, the phenomenon of substitutes is increasingly common in domestic dramas. The most proficient in the use of substitutes is the TVB studio. In many famous Hong Kong dramas , due to shooting schedule and other reasons, the main actors used stand-ins for many scenes. When these Hong Kong directors who were proficient in stunt shooting came to the mainland, they also brought their experience and excellent experience into the mainland film and television industry.

Who is responsible for the prosperity and chaos of Hong Kong directors and domestic IP dramas? Many Hong Kong directors believe that it is the prosperity of the mainland market that attracts them. In recent years, in addition to directors, other creative staff, including costumers, photographers and even stills and actors, have moved north. "This is actually also the case in mainland China." As a result of the growing cultural market in the past two years, compared to the shrinking market in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the vast cultural space in the mainland has attracted a large number of relevant staff engaged in this industry to join The problem is that the market is developing too fast. When Hong Kong directors strive to integrate into the mainland's film and television culture and adapt to the needs of investors, they have introduced the good experience of Hong Kong's mature TV drama industry. The integration with the mainland's film and television industry has also given rise to some new problems. Behind the production of small fresh meat molds and cut-out dramas, these "skilled workers" may not be the driving force.

A drama critic’s comment is meaningful: “Oranges grown in Huainan are tangerines, and those born in Huaibei are tangerines.” Hong Kong directors still have to learn from the mainland whether the mainland film and television industry is a poison or an antidote. Find answers in the development of the film and television industry itself.