Start with "Goblin" and compare the production of Chinese and Korean TV series
A Korean drama called "The Lonely and Splendid God: Goblin" (hereinafter referred to as "Goblin") is taking the Chinese Internet by storm. The show was broadcast by tvN, a South Korean limited TV station that has sprung up in recent years. The first broadcast broke tvN's TV premiere record, and the ratings have also risen steadily since then. Every update of its episode will be on Sina Weibo's hot search. The last TV series that showed such popularity has to be traced back to "Descendants of the Sun". This is indeed a somewhat embarrassing situation. A TV series filmed in South Korea and broadcast in South Korea has surpassed many Chinese TV series broadcast at the same time. Where does "Goblin" attract audiences? From "Goblin", can we see some fundamental characteristics of the Korean TV drama industry, and what enlightenment does it have for the production of domestic TV dramas?
screenwriter-centered system
At the beginning of its production, "Goblin" attracted widespread attention from the Chinese and Korean media because the screenwriter was Kim Eun-sook. Who is Kim Eun Sook? "Descendants of the Sun", which was popular in China at the beginning of this year, is her work. In addition, she has also written popular works such as "Lovers in Paris", "on air", "Secret Garden" and "Gentleman's Dignity", which is an important reason for her new work to attract attention. In fact, there are also many first-line screenwriters in China, whose level and status are comparable to that of Kim Eun-sook. However, if they are going to release any new works, it is basically impossible for them to make news, because the public is not interested in who the screenwriters are. Pay attention to whether their idols (idols) are participating. This touches on the essential difference between Korean screenwriters and Chinese screenwriters: in the Korean film and television industry, screenwriters have a very high status, and can even be said to be supreme. Investors look at screenwriter investment, and screenwriters have the right to decide on directors and actors; when screenwriters appear on the set, everyone will bow their heads respectfully and call them "writers"; even first-line actors are respectful to screenwriters, and will give gifts, Expressing greetings; neither the director nor the actor can modify the script of the screenwriter without authorization; the income of top screenwriters per episode is even higher than that of first-line actors... These are not exaggerations. In many Korean dramas, such as "on air" and "fantastic" , this has been reflected. The Korean film and television industry pursues a "screenwriter-centered system" because they understand that only creativity is unique and irreplaceable. On the other hand, in domestic film and television production, except for a very small number of first-line screenwriters, most screenwriters are "code-word migrant workers". They are placed at the end of the film and television production chain. initiative. Screenwriters are often the voice of the producer and the vassal of Xiao Xianrou. Their main function is to tell a story centered on Xiao Xianrou, as long as they can make Xiao Xianrou play handsome. As a result, other people's idol dramas are constantly being updated, and our idol dramas seem to be still at the kindergarten level.
Introducing new scripts
Among the first-line screenwriters in South Korea, in addition to Kim Eun-sook, there are also Park Ji-eun ("You who follow the vine", "You who came from the stars"), Kim Soo-hyun ("The Men in the Bathhouse", "Life is Beautiful") and so on. The fundamental reason why screenwriters are always on the front line and are recognized by actors, TV stations, investors and audiences is that they continue to release works that are well-received and well-received. This is actually a virtuous circle of screenwriter-centered system. Excellent screenwriters will be highly respected, but the reason why screenwriters are respected is not because of their status as screenwriters. All her authority comes from the script. To win respect, she must come up with a good script. Under such a mechanism, screenwriters have to keep innovating and dare to innovate. Therefore, the good scripts of Korean dramas continue to have a strong self-renewal ability, leading new trends time and time again. Take Kim Eun-sook's works as an example. Among the so many works she has written, there are almost no similar characters. In 2004, Kim Eun-sook became popular with "Lovers in Paris". The show's highest ratings in South Korea reached an astonishing 56.3%. "Lovers in Paris" is actually the character of the old-fashioned Prince Charming Cinderella. exquisite. "On Air" written in 2008 is a professional love drama, focusing on TV stations, telling the stories between agents, popular entertainers, TV drama directors and famous screenwriters, and it was the first of its kind. In 2010, Kim Eun-sook's "Secret Garden" subverted the common characters of Korean TV dramas at that time. The identities of the male and female protagonists were exchanged, and their brains were opened, bringing a very fresh experience of watching dramas. Then there is "Descendants of the Sun", which is still a romance story of handsome guys and beauties, but Kim Eun-sook set the identities of the hero and heroine as special forces soldiers and doctors, integrating battlefield, medical care, love, and the main theme. Then there is the current hot "Goblin". The character of the male lead is an immortal ghost, and the heroine is the ghost bride. Only she can draw the sword that pierces the ghost's body, but once the sword is drawn, the ghost will rest forever. This setting has a strong sense of conflict and tragedy, and is full of suspense. Kim Eun-sook also set the male No. 2 as the messenger of hell, which is different from the previous Korean dramas where a male and a female live together. In "Goblin", a male and a male and two live together. Killing each other and loving each other, bickering and acting like a spoiled child, sparked a lot of sparks. A successful screenwriter is still constantly subverting himself and constantly developing new story modes. How can there be no good stories in Korean dramas?
Actors speak with acting skills
Although "Goblin" tends to be an idol drama, whether it is Kong Liu, Li Dongxu, or Kim Go Eun and Lu Xingcai, their acting skills are all online. When a Korean drama is produced, what are the criteria for selecting actors, and how is it different from ours? At present, there are almost no first-line fresh meat in the country, and most of them are from a certain idol team or talent show. Li Yifeng, Yang Yang, Wu Yifan, Lu Han, Chen Weiting are not like this, and then they became popular due to coincidence. Non-stop, the pay is ridiculously high. And every time they perform a new work, fans are sent out collectively, running around to tell each other, and the comments under Weibo are all about the new works of Amway idols, or praise the idols for their outstanding acting skills. Many new-generation actors in South Korea also "sing and perform well", such as IU, Lin Yoona, Nam Joo Hyuk, Suzy and so on. But unlike the domestic atmosphere, every time these new actors receive a work, there are often bad reviews on the Korean website. The author selects a few recent cases as follows: Girls' Generation's Yuri partnered with Chi Cheng in "The Defendant", and the popular comment was: With such poor acting skills, why can you be the heroine? When Suzy and Lee Jong-suk were about to appear in the new play "When You Are Sleeping" by the screenwriters of "I Hear Your Voice", the hot comments from netizens mentioned: Suzy, this is really what I say as a fan. I will study more acting skills and practice pronunciation before coming out... Wonder Girls An Zhaoxi starred in "Star Companion", and the following hot comments: When An Zhaoxi came out, she didn't watch it at all... If you don't study acting, don't always act. These comments clearly show that Korean audiences have very high requirements for actors' acting skills. If you are an actor, you must have acting skills. If you are an idol - no matter how handsome and beautiful you are and how well you sing, your acting skills are not enough. , I'm sorry, you are not a qualified actor, please stop acting. Moreover, once the lead actor is identified as jerky by the audience, the work is basically the fate of the street, and the ratings are very bleak. It is this atmosphere of strict requirements for acting that forces idols to improve their acting skills, calm their minds, and lower their bodies. Many first-line idols in South Korea have to participate in TV dramas, and even have to clear the relationship with the brokerage company to win the opportunity to audition, and the remuneration is also pitiful. On the other hand, in China, the little fresh meat is simply too easy and moisturizing. It doesn't matter if the acting is poor, anyway, as long as there are more brain-dead fans, the producer is willing to invest money, and the director is willing to shoot. The supply of small fresh meat is in short supply, either the price is sky-high - tens of millions of dollars for a drama is a small case, or the time given for filming is very small, and it is often asked for leave. , it is not unexpected. In short, our little fresh meat does not rely on acting skills to speak, they rely on the face - the face of plastic surgery, the face of facial paralysis, too "spicy eyes".
Made with professional care
Many people like to watch Korean dramas. An important reason is that Korean dramas have beautiful pictures, dreamy lighting, exquisite lenses, and good OST. Even clothing and makeup have set off fashion trends. "Ghosts" has blockbuster scenes, beautiful pictures, and exquisite scenes. It seems that as long as you take a screenshot, you can use it as a desktop. On the other hand, domestic TV dramas often give people a feeling that the production is too cheap, the pictures are gray, the lighting has animosity with the actors, the props often pass through, and the special effects are only fifty cents... As long as "Ghost" and "Beauty's Private Room" are combined. "Dish" put a comparison, the difference is clear at a glance. Why is our shooting team always so unreliable? This reflects that the industrialization level of our film and television industry is still very low, and we do not pay enough attention to lighting, makeup, costumes, sets, props and other aspects. In South Korea, the production team—whether it is a screenwriter, director, or sound engineer, photographer, lighting engineer, is very important, every link is valued, every link is handled by professionals, and every link will be Keep improving. But many domestic crews and props artists may not understand the difference between Tang Dynasty chairs and Qing Dynasty chairs. The makeup artist is only an amateur, and the lighting engineer can give you a set of bright lights, but can't play a set of "ambiguous" lights. We regard the late-stage team as a miscellaneous team, and the budget given is very low. No matter whether you are professional or not, whether you do well or badly, you will be given the same amount of money. If the value of a professional lighting engineer is the same as the value of a person who knows nothing about lighting, how many people are willing to sit on the bench to study it? So how can you expect the illuminator to make the actor look good and make the picture look good? Another reason we don't pay attention to the production team is that we basically put all our money and energy on the stars, because in the deformed market, the faces of the stars are often more attractive than the quality of the episode itself. And our little fresh meat is not good at acting, and we dare to ask for a price. The price of a TV series may cost as little as tens of millions. In this way, the cost of a few main actors may occupy half or more of the entire production cost. . The direct consequence is that the costs of screenwriting, photography, editing, scenes, etc. have been severely squeezed, and film and television production has fallen into the dilemma of "upside down the brain" and "seeing the faces of stars and working for them". There are many reasons for this, and the combined result is that other people have filmed "Ghosts", which are highly sought after, but what we are shooting are all "what ghosts". Even though there have been many criticisms of small fresh meat, celebrity IP, and sky-high remuneration, the trend of improvement is not very clear. It is impossible to pin all hope on the "conscience discovery" of profit-seeking producers. The key is to rely on the power of the masses. like If we were more rational, we could use the remote control and mouse to vote, give more applause to those well-made domestic movies and TV series, ignore and pay no attention to those little fresh meat who have poor acting skills, use casts, are not dedicated, love to hype, and love to tear. Xiaohuadans, let the showbiz survive the fittest and make a good cycle. With the mainland's strong capital and a large number of excellent talents, it is actually a matter of minutes to shoot "Ghosts". It is a pity that it is impossible, and it is not possible. - starterNan Zhou knew , signed a pseudonym——
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