Film and television props have low thresholds and earn more money.

Film and television props have low thresholds and earn more money.

Tens of thousands of employees generally have low academic qualifications, skilled workers are in short supply, and their monthly income is easily over 10,000.

Film and television props have low thresholds and earn more money.

? At present, there are no film and television dramas in China, so to speak, there are none. ? A prop artist who asked not to be named admitted to the reporter.

Props in film and television dramas have always been a hot topic among netizens. Recently, all the film and television dramas, such as 3DNA on May Day, Walking on thin ice, Water Margin, Princess Zhu Huan and before dawn, have all survived.

The reporter learned that in the film and television industry, props are a job without a complete professional training mechanism. Basically, they are introduced by acquaintances and slowly honed in practice. Prop artists are mixed, and the overall quality is not high. It is inevitable that film and television dramas are frequently employed.

But it doesn't affect the props to make big money silently. According to the reporter's investigation and interview, there are tens of thousands of prop artists in China's film and television industry. They usually work in blue-collar jobs, and their income is high-level white-collar. The monthly income of over 10,000 yuan is almost the minimum standard.

In the current film and television industry in China, good prop artists are more scarce than good actors.

Jianghu status

The least valued by the outside world

When it comes to a movie or TV series, whether it is the ordinary audience or the media, the first thing that comes to mind is the director, screenwriter and starring, followed by photography, art, music, costume modeling and post-editing. Few people think of props.

No one has ever given awards to prop artists at film awards ceremonies around the world. Even at the end of the film, the names of all the members of the prop group are rarely typed.

Being ignored by the outside world is the current situation faced by props practitioners, but for a film and television crew, it is almost impossible to start work without props.

Industry scale

A movie needs 50 people.

An important reason why we can't start work without props is that props (including scenery) are the biggest type of work in a crew (not counting extras, because they don't follow a play from beginning to end).

Some time ago, while watching Jing Wong's "God of Wealth Inn", the reporter found that the staff list at the end of the film listed the names of various prop groups in detail.

Specifically: group leader of props, 1 person; Deputy foreman of props, 1 person; Special props, 3 people; Decoration foreman,1; Show props, 5 people; Team leader, 1 person; Props as a whole, 1 person; Prop paint, 3 people; On-site props, 8 people; Prop carpenter, 2 people; Sculptor, 2 people; Landscape painting, 3 people; Set the scene, 15 people; Prop paint, 1 person; Show props, 1 person; Props, three people.

The total staff of the props group of "God of Wealth Inn" is 5 1, which is much higher than that of actors, photographers, art, music and costume modeling, and ranks the highest in the whole crew.

According to the reporter's understanding, there are only about 50 medium-sized prop groups in a movie, such as Red Cliff, Assembly and Flower of War, and the total number of prop groups can reach 100 or even more. Even if it is a small movie, there must be 10 people in the prop group.

There are tens of thousands of employees.

As long as it is slightly increased on the basis of 20 10, China will produce 600 films and15,000 TV series (calculated by 40 episodes each, close to 400) in 2010, which adds up to nearly 1000.

If the prop group of each film and television drama is all calculated by a medium-sized 50 people, a * * * is 50 thousand people. However, it is impossible for a prop artist to join only one crew in a year (the shooting cycle of film and television dramas is generally 3 to 5 months). If each prop artist enters four crews a year, the number of employees in China is 1.25 million.

Of course, this is only a rough estimate, and the specific figure may be even larger, because most ordinary props are casual workers, who can come and go at once, and the personnel change quickly and have strong mobility.

Professional quality

How many years? Apprentice? Successful prop maker

In the interview, the reporter learned that low academic qualifications are basically a common situation in the prop industry, mainly inherited from this industry? Apprentice? Type with the personnel system.

Su Hang, a film and television producer, told reporters that because most of the props work in film and television is mainly manual labor, Fu, a young prop artist, is naturally more competitive. Therefore, 80% of the current props masters entered the industry by relatives and friends when they were teenagers, and they followed the master for many years before getting ahead. I know some prop artists who are doing well now. Most of them joined the league with their masters at the age of 15 or 16, and they had no chance to go to school at all. ?

It is understood that the starting point of props apprentices is low and the starting situation is very difficult. Some prop artists will bring many apprentices into the group after taking over the project of a play. These apprentices basically run errands on the spot. The ingenious apprentice got along well with the master, and slowly he had the opportunity to take over the project independently and become a prop teacher.

When talking about the need for systematic professional training, many props interviewed by the reporter said, Follow the trend? It is the best training. Because of the miscellaneous work, many furniture designers are experts like panacea, and carpenters and bricklayers have to be familiar with it. Because the furniture they often encounter is old wood carvings, most of them also have certain artistic expertise.

In the past two years, due to the vigorous development of the film and television industry, the number of film and television shooting has increased year by year, and the demand for props has become more and more urgent. Because it is not easy to find jobs now, some college students and undergraduates who graduated from professional colleges began to appear in the prop industry, but the proportion was less than 10%.

Income situation

? Blue collar? What kind of job? White collar? income

The proprietor's job is usually to prepare the scenes or instruments needed for film and television dramas and do a good job at hand according to the requirements of directors or artists. In other words, what do their jobs basically belong to? Blue collar? Range.

But in terms of income, prop artists are comparable to senior white-collar workers. Huizi, a well-known domestic furniture producer, said in an interview that a good furniture producer can earn tens of thousands a month, and experienced carpenters, sculptors and glassworkers can get 1 to 20,000 or more. Even ordinary props are temporary workers, and now the salary can reach 200 yuan every day. It used to be 100, but now the price has increased? .

In other words, ordinary prop workers can get five or six thousand yuan a month, while it is common for prop artists who know a skill to earn hundreds of thousands a month. Huizi also said that, as far as he knows, many prop artists in Hengdian Film and Television Base in Zhejiang have made a fortune from this industry.

Lao Heng, a prop master at Hengdian Film and Television Base in Zhejiang Province, told reporters that he earned 50,000 yuan at most a month, which was many years ago when the film "The Promise" directed by Chen Kaige was filmed. ? At that time, Mr. and Mrs. Chen Kaige asked me to set up a scene for them. Cecilia Cheung stood on the podium and undressed. At that time, Chen Kaige told me? As long as things are ready, the price is up to you? . ? Lao Heng said.

Expose behind the scenes

Good props are harder to find than good actors.

Although there are tens of thousands of employees and high incomes, there are few good props artists in China, which are even scarcer than big-name actors like Ge You and Jiang Wen.

Gao, director of films such as Close Call, Wind and West Wind, told reporters? When filming Wind two years ago, I felt that the low level of props was too frustrating. ? For example, Gao said that the film needed an old car. I hope this is an old car that we have never seen before. An old car appeared in Mei Lanfang four times. I don't want this to happen in my movies. We found the model of the car in the 1940s from America, and spent1.2000, but we finally made something similar to a tricycle. That's ridiculous! ?

Master Peng, who worked in John Woo's "Red Cliff" crew, also said: Good props are definitely scarcer than actors. Actors can't play the role, they can find someone to replace them. If the performance stops halfway, you can let the screenwriter write him to death; There are only a few good props, and the crew are scrambling for them, and they have to follow a play from beginning to end, and the schedule is tighter than that of the actors. ? Wu Dawei, the director of "Golden Mountain" and "Show Everywhere", also thinks it is difficult to find a suitable prop artist. For example, I want a table. In fact, the table in the play should not be so strong, as long as it looks good and conforms to the plot. But if you don't know how to do it, you will make the table very strong, which will not only take time and effort, but also cost more money and the effect is not good. ?

Dealing with all kinds of situations is full of hardships.

The work of prop artists is full of hardships, because they have to constantly meet the requirements of directors, actors and others, and also deal with various emergencies on the set.

For example, Zi Ling, a prop artist who worked in "snow flower and the secret fan", said that when filming the scene where Wujiang played a butcher sitting in front of his house with a pig in his arms after losing his beloved son, Wujiang suggested to director Wang Ying that the pig must be very small. ? We made great efforts to get two smaller pigs, but Wujiang thought they were not small enough. Where can I find pigs in the middle of nowhere? But I can't. This is your job. ? Zi Ling said.

Lao Heng, the prop master of The Promise, also said that during the on-site construction, Chen Kaige and his wife often went to the site to supervise the work. ? At first, they were very dissatisfied with what the prop maker had worked so hard to make, and kept urging us to rework it, and even asked me to do it myself by name. At that time, the crew gave us only one month, so we had to work day and night, from 6 am to 12 every day. ?

The greater hardship comes from the production and transportation of props, which are basically manual labor. Many movies are shot in very difficult places, such as Ballad of Water Clouds, Iron Man, Lingling and so on. Shooting in Tibet, Northeast China with tens of degrees below zero, hot desert and other places. Ordinary people are uncomfortable when they are idle, but prop artists have to do manual work back and forth. But after the film is finished, it has nothing to do with the prop artist. Just on other girls' wedding dresses. ? Zi Ling said.

fathom the cause (of)

Lack of training mechanism, high-quality talents are scarce

Engaged in? Art works? With a high salary, hanging out with big names every day? Why is there a shortage of talents in such a tempting occupation?

Huizi, a mentor of Confucius, said that this was mainly due to the lack of a complete training mechanism. At present, many colleges and universities in China have set up film and television majors, but none of them have set up props majors. ? Usually it depends on acquaintances to enter this industry, and the growth of a prop producer can only depend on it? Actual combat? ,? Maybe you were an ordinary field worker in the crew at first, but you shot more plays, watched more plays and knew more people, and gradually became a prop artist or did other jobs. ?

This situation directly leads to the low overall quality of the prop group, but does a good prop teacher have to have a high quality? For example, I have a good knowledge of history, can read design drawings, can quickly understand the director's intention, can be innovative and so on. , is a contradiction that cannot be solved for the time being.

Over time, the props group presents a mixed situation, and the wear and tear of props in film and television dramas is inevitable.

A person in charge of the "Red Cliff" crew, who asked not to be named, even told reporters that at that time, many prop artists were farmers near the studio, and the crew came to the crew when they needed it, and went home to do farm work when they didn't need it. Can't ask them to have too high artistic accomplishment? .

Of course, there are ordinary prop artists. Finally? Get ahead? For example, Chen Jiashang, the director of "The Painted Skin" and "The Painted Wall", and Fui-On Shing, a famous Hong Kong actor who died, were all props artists.

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