Text: Xiaoyu, Bai Tian.
2023 is the year of recovery for the film and television industry.
In the past year, the industry has increasingly returned to the essence of content, and a large number of word-of-mouth masterpieces and data hits have emerged. At the same time, genre creation has also burst out with new vitality, and many tracks such as hardcore sci-fi, life suspense, and costume comedy have reshaped the content benchmark.
For practitioners, opportunities and challenges still coexist, and major long-term platforms and film and television companies are also trying their best to enhance their competitiveness with the help of high-quality work accumulation, and always care about the emotional and value needs of audiences in all circles for film and television creation.
As the first professional online content research data institution in China, Guduo has witnessed the glorious moments of the development of many industries since its establishment, and has also experienced the ups and downs experienced by many industries. At the end of the year, the "Plenary Meeting of the Network Station Audiovisual Exchange Service Committee of the China National Film and Television Art Development Promotion Association and the 2023 Guduo Online Film and Television Summit" was successfully held today.
Wu Haining, Secretary-General of China National Film and Television Art Development Promotion Association, Wang Aihong, Deputy Secretary-General of China National Film and Television Art Development Promotion Association, Sun Zhen, Director of the Comprehensive Development Department of China National Film and Television Art Development Promotion Association, Li Tieqiang, Secretary-General of China Coal City Development Joint Promotion Association, Lv Ziyun, Director of the Famous Brand Building Committee of China Advertisers Association, Wang Beibei, Executive Vice President of the Network Audio-visual Exchange Service Committee of China National Film and Television Art Development Promotion Association, and CEO of Ami Whale Film and Television, Famous director Chen Jialin and others attended the plenary meeting.
The meeting announced that the committee will continue to unite film and television art workers of all nationalities, integrate high-quality film and television creation and production resources, and support and serve the cause of national culture and art, and carry out various tasks in an orderly manner in 2024 around the China Story Village screenwriter training program, Jinpeng wings series of activities, and Huigong Helping Farmers Film and Television Assistance Program. The plenary session also completed the latest round of general elections to the Committee.
The theme of this year's Guduo Network Film and Television Summit is "Facing the New Situation and Conquering the Future Together", and Na Renhua, President of the China National Film and Television Art Development Promotion Association, delivered a speech. At the seminar on "History in the New Era and the New Journey of New Forces of National Film and Television", as well as the two theme forums of "Frequent Explosions, Great Imagination of the Creative Direction of Film and Television Works" and "Respect for Creation, Self-cultivation and Joint Exploration of Screenwriters", directors, screenwriters, producers and other senior practitioners gathered together to review the past and look forward to the new life.
National History Film and Television Creation:
Typological path, international vision, community consciousness.
At a time when the film and television industry is becoming more and more mature, the concept of national film and television is also constantly improving. Whether it is a film that simply refers to the theme of ethnic minorities in the early days, or a film and television drama that generally refers to the characteristics of the Chinese nation and includes rich culture such as intangible cultural heritage, the Red Revolution and advanced innovation, this kind of work has always been an indispensable and important part of China's film and television creation.
How to create this kind of national film and television content with natural temporal and spatial particularities and cultural differences is a topic of great concern to creators who are deeply engaged in this field.
There are two periods of national film and television creation climax in history, and "Visitors on the Iceberg", "Five Golden Flowers", "Ashima", "Liu Sanjie" and other well-known classics have been born successively. At the seminar on "New Era History and New Journey of New Forces of National Film and Television", the guests first reviewed these benchmark works in the past.
The early national film and television works were basically presented in the form of song and dance films. Niu Song, Secretary of the Party Committee of the China National Film and Television Art Development Promotion Association, believes that among these classic works, the role of ** in character shaping and plot promotion is very great, and good ** can also help the influence of the film to further transcend the limitations of time and space. And how to better realize the value dissemination of the same type of works is the direction they are continuing to study.
Ode to the Ox. Zhang Jinzhan, director of the movie "Red Cliff", the TV series "Fairy Tale of the Ancient City" and "The Colonel's Daughter", mentioned, "What is national is global, and art is the same." "Our country is made up of fifty-six nationalities, and this is truly a great treasure. He believes that national film and television have a great future, and will resolutely do his best to support the development of this kind of theme.
Zhang Jinzhan. Xiang Dan, chairman of the Film Network Television and Drama Committee of the China National Film and Television Art Development Association, said on this basis that each era has the cry of each era, each era has the classics of each era, and each era has the glory of each era. The benchmark of the future is about to be born in our generation and the next generation, generation after generation, and it will continue to radiate to the whole world.
Chandan. Recalling the past classics, the classics are immortal, but based on the present, we have to face the fact that national film and television creation is at a low point.
In Niu Song's view, "national film and television should take the road of genre". When creating related works, do not divide them into ethnic and non-ethnic groups, but use general genres such as love, life, and suspense as the standard. Moreover, the combination of most ethnic film and television works with international vision is not deep enough, and Sino-foreign cooperation should be continued to tap high-quality talents.
In terms of national characteristics and customs, he pointed out that creators should reduce the curiosity and compassion and give real humanistic care. He also hopes that the industry can give birth to more possibilities for film and television creation from national literary works, and at the same time emphasized that creation should be guided by the sense of building a strong community of the Chinese nation, not only writing about a single closed environment of ethnic minorities, but more to elaborate on the unity relationship inside and outside the nation.
Wang Beibei. In addition, the guests also had in-depth exchanges on topics such as how to "avoid lightning" in the early stage of creation of historical and national film and television themes, how to help creators of historical and national film and television themes, and what themes and fields will explode in historical and national film and television, and shared a lot of practical experience.
The direction of film and television creation is imaginative:
The subject matter is not informal, the routine is not old, and the standard is not low.
The phenomenal hit drama "Hurricane" at the beginning of the year made a good start for the film and television industry in 2023, and since then, many works with both popularity and reputation have poured out one after another, and the theme coverage has become more and more comprehensive. In addition to the evergreen tracks such as realism, suspense, ancient puppets, and modern puppets, niche themes such as science fiction and new martial arts have also emerged one after another, bringing more surprises to the market and the audience.
Referring to this year's market environment, several guests at the theme forum of "Frequent Explosions, Great Imagination of the Creation Direction of Film and Television Works" all had a positive attitude and affirmed the general trend of the entire industry, subject matter, creative freedom, production level and other aspects. Obviously, the frequent emergence of excellent works has a very prominent effect on the confidence and enthusiasm of practitioners in creating.
On this basis, the creation has a new direction. Yu Xiaoqian, writer, screenwriter of "The Long Season" and "Sweeping the Black Storm", and director of the TV Drama Screenwriting Committee of the China Broadcasting Federation, believes that the current trend and intention of the market to pursue high-quality products and head dramas are becoming more and more obvious, and the living space of waist works has been squeezed. The industry generally hopes that there will be more works that are deeply cultivated in multiple dimensions such as production level, content level, and overall quality.
Yu Xiaoqian. Chen Jialin, director of Shen Yin", "Chen Qingling" and "The Wind Rises", pointed out that his works in recent years, from the selection of the creative team to the audience group, have shown a trend of youth, and the new thinking and new vision brought by these young people can not only bring traffic, but also feed back creation.
Chen Jialin. I miss you very much", "Fly with You in the Wind" and "Upstream" director Sha Weiqi said that this year's recognition and support for original stories have generally increased, and the situation is gratifying for creators who insist on originality. Xu Su, the screenwriter of "I Heard You Like Me", "Meritorious" and "Crossing Fire Money", pointed out that the audience's aesthetic interest in non-fiction realistic works has increased significantly in recent years.
Shaviqi. 
Xu Su. The "applause or not" of realistic themes is also one of the stubborn diseases faced by the industry. In response to this problem, Xu Su said that creators should step out of their comfort zone and strengthen their thinking about how the subject matter should be closer to the real audience. At the same time, it is also possible to use some creative methods of mixing and matching genres to enhance the narrative charm of the play.
Yu Xiaoqian believes that there is no need to deliberately predict and cater too much to the audience in the creation of dramas. It is possible to actively face the public and move closer to the aesthetic tastes of young people, but blindly following the audience may put the cart before the horse. At a time when the market is becoming more and more segmented, finding the right audience for your work, rather than deliberately adapting it to the audience, may be a feasible way to create high-quality content. "The Long Season" has also proved to a considerable extent that the tolerance of the audience and the market is actually very high.
Regarding the distinction between popular models in the circle and popular models in the whole country, Sha Weiqi's point of view is that the medium of broadcasting film and television dramas has changed dramatically, and the audience has more independent choices. Blockbuster works such as "Hurricane", "The World" and "The Long Season" have an obvious effect on the new members of the ** platform. However, creators should not take "making a hit" as their creative goal, respecting the rules of creation and polishing their works in a down-to-earth manner is the original intention that should be adhered to.
Facing the two strong genre dramas of Xianxia and Xianyu, Chen Jialin and Sha Weiqi, who happen to have works on the air, invariably expressed their pursuit of "anti-routines". Xianxia and modern puppet dramas have their own fixed narrative modes, but these routines are not all bad, and on the basis of the routines, innovations in character design, character relationships, etc., can also create excellent works that jump out of the homogeneous trap.
In 2023, the trend of all members on the table and supporting roles is also particularly obvious. As screenwriters, Yu Xiaoqian and Xu Su both agreed that the imbalance between the protagonists and supporting roles may be a creative imbalance. When the screenwriter creates the character, he should find the real emotional grasp and foothold of the character, and present more of a real and three-dimensional protagonist, rather than letting the front become the weakness of the protagonist. And director Sha Weiqi said that it is necessary for the actors to establish a sense of belief that "in fact, you are all the protagonists", which has a great bonus to the vivid portrayal of group dramas.
At the end of the forum, we also talked about the future direction of creation, and several guests gave completely different answers to industry dramas and realistic themes, and Sha Weiqi also said that she intends to create "small town youth idol dramas". Not being limited by the subject matter and not setting limits for yourself is the commonality of several guests in this forum, which will also bring more imagination to the development of the industry.
The screenwriter's long creation:
Innovation, cooperation, and no levitation.
Compared to the previous two forums, this forum is 100% screenplayed. They are Liu Hua, the screenwriter of "National Child", "Pearl River People" and "Small Station Police";Chen Shu, the screenwriter of the movie "Embroidered Spring Knife", "Assassination of ** Family", and the TV series "Minglong Boy";"Imperfect Victim", "The Ferryman Together", "Our Ten Years of Tang Palace Night Banquet" screenwriter Ren Baoru;"Longling Grotto", "Dangerous Her", "Forensic Qin Ming 1" screenwriter Yang Zhe;Famous screenwriter and producer Li Jiewen. Several screenwriters spoke freely, opened the conversation, and contributed industry views from a pure screenwriter's perspective.
The first thing the screenwriters talked about was their personal favorite episodes. There are both popular dramas such as "The Long Season", as well as relatively niche films such as "Moses on the Plains". Screenwriter Liu Hua recognizes the innovative sense in "The Long Season" and thinks that the three timeline narratives in the series are amazing. Ren Baoru also believes that even for screenwriters who have read countless films, "The Long Season" has a strong sense of freshness.
Willow birch. Ren Baoru. In recent years, the problem of the survival status of screenwriters has been paid attention to repeatedly, and how to build an ideal working model is a topic of great concern to screenwriters. Chen Shu was a film screenwriter before, and created works such as "Embroidered Spring Knife" and "Assassination of ** Family", and "Minglong Boy" with director Ding Hei was her first TV series work. She believes that on a creative level, writing TV series, although it usually takes longer than movies, is also very enjoyable. And because the timeline is lengthened, the partner is even more critical. A good book is inseparable from the partner's trust in the screenwriter, and the freedom given to the screenwriter by the management and the completeness of the director's presentation of the script are extremely important.
Chen Shu. The production of film and television dramas is a highly complex group work, and cooperation is a compulsory course for every screenwriter, not only the cooperation between screenwriters and directors, producers, actors, etc., but also the cooperation between screenwriters and screenwriters.
But screenwriter Yang Zhe regards creation as a very personal matter, he prefers to bury his head in creation alone, and he is not particularly interested in the "** apprentice" in the screenwriting industry. However, he believes that having a creative confidant is also a valuable experience that can be met but not sought. Ren Baoru and screenwriter Gao Xuan, who have worked with her for several years, are a pair of ** partners, and they have run in extremely well from personality to creative concepts. However, Ren Baoru also said in the forum that the conflict of creative concepts is not entirely a bad thing, and two people who are too "obedient" will also reduce the possibility of seeking common ground while reserving differences.
Yang Zhe. Although the themes and fields they are good at are different, several screenwriters have the same pursuit of solid plays. Although Xianxia ancient puppets and urban puppets do not belong to the category of realistic themes, most viewers still want to see more content that is logical and can arouse emotional resonance. Therefore, in the creation of non-realistic themes, screenwriters actually need to avoid being too suspended, and one of the tricks may be to find suitable materials from life.
Li Jiewen believes that the key is to see human nature. She is very interested in people, for example, in "The Legend of Chu Qiao" in which she participated, the relationship between Chu Qiao and her brothers and sisters, the relationship between the man who oppressed her but was interested, and the relationship between the man she didn't love so much but had a deep friendship, all of which made the shaping of this character three-dimensional, complex, and touchable.
Li Jiewen. She was very interested in Imperfect Victim because these characters and phenomena were possible around her, but she didn't notice them. In this regard, Ren Baoru responded that there is a characteristic of female themes, that is, "there are many hidden pains". These injuries may be a topic that many women don't want to talk about, but if they do show it, they will definitely find tangible experiences in themselves or those around them.
Li Jiewen agrees with this point of view, she feels that writing is a kind of power of discovery, and the power of discovery can make screenwriters feel happy, not restrictive. This allows the screenwriter to discover the dark turbulence beneath the calm surface in real life, rather than something that everyone can feel, but has little creative value or has been presented a thousand times.
Creation is a long practice, and the power of the pen and the help of the pen are the original intention of all screenwriters, and a solid play is the foundation of high-quality works. Only by respecting screenwriters and creations can there be more high-quality works with different themes to be presented to the market and the audience.
Overall, in 2023, the trend of film and television drama production returning to the content standard will be clearer, the categories and themes will be renewed, and more attention will be paid to creative talents, and everything will be developing steadily and well. Winter will eventually pass, and new machines will eventually come.