"Movies should maintain a certain sense of mystery and interest, and they don't have to be so clear about everything. This sentence from the film master Alfonso Cuarón is just like the accurate interpretation of director Wong Kar-wai. In his first TV series "Flowers", Wong Kar-wai once again interpreted his unique pursuit of film aesthetics with practical actions.
According to the 2022 annual report of the China TV Drama Producers Association, multi-camera shooting has become the mainstream mode of current TV drama production, accounting for about 85% of the total number of cameras used in filming. In contrast, single-camera shooting is rare in the TV industry, and the difficulty lies in the fact that the director needs to carefully design each shot in advance, which requires extremely high performance and position changes of the actors, and also poses challenges to the cooperation of the photography, lighting, recording and other teams.
Even so, in the filming of "Flowers", director Wong Kar-wai still insisted on using a single-camera shooting mode. This mode allows him to control every shot language more freely, and to speak in more detail with the actors, so as to present the perfect picture effect in his mind. "It's like we're climbing a mountain alone, be careful. Ma Yili figuratively said, "But the director's prior design is very precise, so that the process can be smooth." It can be seen that at the request of Wong Kar-wai, all team members have given a high degree of cooperation to make "Flowers"."Shoot with a single camera"The TV series was successfully presented.
Statistics show that in recent years, the proportion of domestic dramas using film language shooting techniques has continued to rise, from 8% in 2015 to 32% in 2022. However, most TV dramas mostly stay at the level of camera movement and color when using film language. The biggest breakthrough of "Flowers" is that it has done enough in terms of rhythm. The repeated use of voiceover, flashback, span conversion and other techniques in the play greatly strengthens the narrative charm and tension of the film in the audio-visual experience. "This is the first time I've felt the blurring of time in a TV series, like watching a movie. Ms. Li, an audience member, said.
This incisive pursuit of cinematic aesthetics is closely related to the single-camera shooting mode. Wong Kar-wai controls every lens language through a single camera, realizes the use of movie-level sound, and dedicates a TV work with a very high cinematic texture to the audience. "Being able to transcend the limitations of time and space and hit people's hearts is the magic of cinema. Director Wong Kar-wai once said this, "Flowers" can be said to have accurately achieved his original intention.
According to Yien's data, compared with other dramas, the acting skills of historical biographical actors are the most rigorous. Because it requires the actor to accurately restore the language and details of that historical era while maintaining the personality charm of the character. At this point, "Flowers" can be said to have gathered the first-line actors with the acting power of the max in today's Chinese film and television industry.
Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan and other powerful actors have successfully created three-dimensional and plump drama characters through their delicate and restrained acting skills. These seemingly ordinary little people are vividly portrayed by the actors, which makes the audience shine. "I was completely impressed by Ma Yili's sassy mall kung fu. Mr. Li, an audience, said. This impressive breakthrough in acting is also based on director Wong Kar-wai's single-camera control - he can capture the subtle changes in the actor's expression through a single camera, so as to direct the actor's inner acting skills layer by layer.
Director Wong Kar-wai has always been known for his unique pursuit of cinematic aesthetics. "Flowers", a TV series "shot with a single camera", can be said to give full play to the king-style aesthetics. Through the rigorous use of cinematic language and the careful directing of actors' performances, Wong Kar-wai once again brought an intriguing masterpiece. Let's continue to wait and see more movie surprises brought by Hong Kong film masters.