Actor "Sound" Supports Chinese Fans in Wuhan
Wuhan little fan movie
Laurent Ban (left) in the studio
On March 19, while sitting on a flight back to Paris from Moscow, French musical actor Laurent Ban was a little bit upset. Not only because of the musical "Don Juan" originally scheduled to premiere in Russia on March 17, due to the new crown outbreak, but also because his good brother was diagnosed with mild new crown pneumonia a few days ago. The bad news came too suddenly. Last month, they were in the recording studio together, recording the public service song "Along with You" to bless China. Now the only thing that makes Laurent Ban happy is that they finished recording early, otherwise it would be impossible for more than 20 lead singers to gather in a Paris recording studio. These French musicals have played well-known works such as "Rock Red and Black" and "Notre Dame", and have also performed in China many times, accumulating a group of hardcore fans. Among them, the lead Laurent Ban is also the designated French voice actor in "Phantom of the Opera", which is affectionately called "old flight" by netizens. After 14 days and nights of polishing, "Along with You" was launched on various platforms on February 26. The response from netizens was particularly enthusiastic. Not only did they "dig the pit" to find the ingenuity of Laurent Ban's design, but also a small fan from Wuhan , Recording a Chinese netizen version of the cover song, and giving back to the French drama actors who fight the epidemic in Europe.
Rehearsal "Tang Yan" crew
7 starring in the studio
Laurent Ban took the other six stars of the crew of the musical "Don Juan" and rushed out of the recording studio for the charity song "Along with You" (English "Together"). The van driver was already anxious at the door. Waiting for them. Laurent Ban greeted everyone to get in the car, and his look looked the same as usual. The map shows that the driving distance from the recording studio to the rehearsal field of "Dangyu" is 4.2 kilometers. You only need to make a turn and then drive straight along a main road. However, there are constant “public transportation stops” and “black” in the news. The "Monday" reminder is still confusing.
The public welfare song "Along with You" was originally planned to start recording at 10 am on February 17th. The sudden situation of the strike parade made Laurent Ban feel that all the plans were ruined. The actors warmed up their voices and prepared for music debugging. It was impossible to complete everything within an hour. What's more, they really want to convey the sincere emotions and express their blessings to the epidemic area through the moving vocals of the actors, but these all need time to get through.
The announcement issued by the government said that a strike march on pension reform will be staged on the streets of Paris starting at noon on February 17. The rehearsal for "Tang Yue" was originally scheduled to start at 1 pm on the same day. At 11 o'clock the night before, the director sent an emergency notice to let the actors enter the scene two hours in advance because they were worried that they would be blocked by the parade on the road. Seeing the time passing by on the road, Lauren Ban's "inner drama" was enriched. He pulled out the entire cast's main actors to record public welfare songs. Once late, the rehearsal field of "Tang Yao" will be empty. For the crew who is preparing for the world tour, this is a lot of trouble.
All day long on February 16th, Laurent Ban just held the mobile phone to send messages and talked with the director, actor, recording studio, and driver to adjust the time. Everything was for the smooth recording of this public welfare song he led. In fact, Laurent Ban has always been concerned about the development of the epidemic. As early as February 9, he began to take the first step-asking the musical actor who can start around him. Some emailed and some texted, and it was finally confirmed that on February 17, 22 people could gather in a recording studio in Paris to sing together.
Originally, he entered the tent at 10 o'clock, and Laurent Ban told others that it would be changed to 8 o'clock, and he himself got up at 6 o'clock in the morning to prepare. In February in Paris, the average temperature was only about 6 degrees Celsius, and the air was a bit humid. The intense rehearsal period of the new drama, going out so early to work is a challenge for the actor, but Laurent Ban was very spirited that day, "with a record and a cold voice", and set off.
The actors all understood the change of time, and they rushed to the scene to warm their voices as soon as possible to polish the part of the group singing. "They all did a good job in the end, and everyone can see it by watching the video," Laurent Ban said. At 10 o'clock, the 7 members of the "Tang Yao" crew successfully completed their responsible singing and were ready to rush to the rehearsal field. And this short 4.2 kilometers, the car drove for an entire hour. When they arrived at the gate of the rehearsal hall on time at 11 o'clock, everyone was finally relieved.
Laurent Ban sent a message to his Chinese agent, Rae, who said he wanted to spend more time in the recording studio and complete the recording with the actors behind him, but as soon as the rehearsal of "Don Juan" was advanced, he missed it. It was a great regret for spending two precious hours. However, while rehearsing, he would still find his mobile phone and understand the working conditions in the recording studio.
Paris, Taipei, Beijing
Music is the warm current across the sea
Since late January, Laurent Ban, who is in France, has been paying attention to the news of the epidemic in China. Gradually, he felt that things were getting serious and he wanted to do something. "I'm not a politician or a medical worker. I can only do what I can do. Music has an unparalleled weight in my life." So he thought, maybe a song could be made to tell the people in Wuhan that although In the distance, they also remember them. With this in mind, Laurent Ban asked Rae, a Chinese agent in Taipei, if it was polite to do so? Will it help people trapped by the epidemic? After receiving a positive answer, he first contacted his old partner Christopher Usan to write lyrics.
Recalling the scene at the time, Usan said that if I said there was no pressure at all, it must be a lie. In fact, he only had three or four days to write songs, and then about ten days to arrange and record instrumental accompaniments, including drums, bass instruments, and string music. In fact, when he first started to compose, Wusang didn't know what he would write at the end. Time was urgent, but emotion and tension still had to be in place.
The only thing he knew was that he didn't want to write a song about sadness and crying. "Because I think people need more hope," Usan said. "Along with You", a folk music style that favors popular music, relies on clear melody and strong notes to express emotions without looking sad. Usan mixes pop, rock, classical, and avant-garde styles, and plays them into one through string playing. To Usan, the whole song is more like a hymn. He also revealed: "If you have to say that it has the greatest influence on the style of this song, it must be the Beatles!"
The list of participants was determined by Laurent Ban. He divided the actors who would like to be divided into two groups, and the actors who could come to Paris took the time to enter the recording studio together, and scattered the world to use the equipment at hand to record the blessing film. "We are together, come on Wuhan, come on China!" Almost immediately he decided to use such a Chinese and English blessing. Actors in the recording studio, because of the different plays they have performed in, have their own familiar "players" when singing, Laurent Ban divided them into "Rock Red and Black" group, "Rock Mozart" group according to the play. , "Notre Dame de Paris" group, "Little Prince" group, etc., sing different passages by group.
Due to the large number of participants, a large number of choruses are the main presentation of the song. Wu Sang also took this into account in the composition of his music. He considered the vocal range of most people in the tune, and added more echoes to the chorus to create a choir-like effect. "Together is for everyone to sing together," Usan said.
Taipei's "Kamimi Chuang" bears the up-front cost of producing songs in France, and provides manpower for mixing, graphic design and other tasks. The two main creators, Xie Yifang and Rae, have cooperated with the mainland. They only hoped that the epidemic would end soon. They did not calculate the gains and losses of the money, and felt that it would be good to use their expertise to contribute to public welfare.
The production was handed over to Taipei, but the distribution on the mainland also required a professional publicity team. The agent first thought of the "Nine-dimensional Culture" that had been cooperated. This company in Beijing has introduced French musicals to China many times. Theaters around. The broker remembers that after the planning case passed, the other party quickly responded and promised to participate in the project. Jiuwei people feel that in the face of the warmth sent by so many French opera stars, they are also responsible for passing this warmth to the Chinese in the winter.
"I hope after the epidemic is over
I can go to Wuhan for a public welfare concert immediately "
Laurent Ban's anti-epidemic song was carefully arranged in every link. His goal is to make a classic song that is as warm and powerful as We Are the World. He hoped that more people would join in and form a public welfare campaign against the epidemic beyond the song itself. When the song was released, 40 actors joined. For a while, Laurent Ban continued to communicate with everyone, and another 10 actors recorded blessings and added them to the video material.
When the song was first written, the title agreed by the creators was "New Day". Xie Yifang, the sound mixer who got the music, felt that a short and powerful name seemed to better reflect the atmosphere of the whole song. Usan accepted the suggestion and finally finalized Together.
When "Jiuwei Culture" joined the program, the songs were not accompanied by a Chinese translation. Mr. Zhang Li just came out and translated the song title as "Being with you". After listening to the agent in Taipei, he felt that the flashing name was wonderful. Subsequently, the employees of "Jiuwei Culture" rushed to work and translated the Chinese lyrics. "We will finally find a meaning for the tiny life, and the world is always turning." The Chinese lyrics accurately express Wu Sang's philosophical thinking on the global village and the beautiful expectation that everyone should unite against disaster.
"Being With You" is not the first public welfare show of Laurent Ban. He has been passionate about charity for many years. Public welfare has long been an important part of his life. Recently, he is participating in a website public benefit program, recording exclusive videos for paying viewers, and donating all the proceeds to the children's hospital. In addition, he has become the godfather of 3 children from Asia, Africa and South America through a charity program, interacting with them regularly and providing financial assistance. In the field of music, he has also participated in the creation of public welfare songs for combating diseases and caring for children.
This "Being With You" has extraordinary significance to Laurent Ban. He feels that the spirit of "we are together" runs through the song's creation and surrounds the communication, recording, production, and distribution of this song. As well as the enthusiastic feedback from fans, Laurent Ban felt that everyone in the behind-the-scenes team, actors and overseas audiences were more closely linked because of this song.
In China, "Nine-dimensional Culture" and Tencent Music jointly released songs. As soon as the song was released, the response from fans was particularly enthusiastic. Everyone went to Laurent Ban's personal Weibo, wrote "Thank you" in French, praised the wonderful singing, and expressed the love and hope of the song, making everyone feel full of power.
The audio and MV related to "With You" is free to listen to and download in China. Although some copyright gains will still be obtained on some platforms, these benefits will still be returned to the community. Laurent Ban and Usan have visited China many times, but neither has been to Wuhan. "I hope to go to Wuhan immediately after the epidemic is over, to do a large-scale public welfare concert, let the citizens enter for free, and I will share more music with them." Laurent Ban feels that we cannot let everyone pay the tickets, After the disaster, citizens need money to rebuild their lives. For him, giving is more important than asking.
"Buried Terriers" and "Dug Terriers"
Wuhan Little Fan Group Cover
Laurent Ban and his actor friends want to go to Wuhan, not only because it is the place where the epidemic is most serious, but also because of a young fan of a French musical drama, she is still in full support of the epidemic vortex. The singing of French opera stars. Today, the epidemic in Europe is getting worse. Little fans and more than 40 netizens' cover of "Being With You" also sent warmth and strength to the main singers of this song.
The 15-year-old girl in Wuhan discovered the song "Being With You" among the fans of French musicals: just 5 minutes after the official release, the group news was "exploded", and everyone was particularly excited to discuss it. . When designing and distributing lyrics, Laurent Ban added his own ingenuity to add fun to the "buried stalks" of fans, and the "digging of stalks" in the fan group also went viral. In addition to the obvious stubbornness, everyone began to discuss the possible connection between the actor's lyrics and the plot of the musical. Every little discovery will excite the group of friends. Laurent Ban is good at using social media, and he often responds to netizens personally on Weibo and B. He was particularly pleased to see that the small foreshadowing he designed was quickly guessed, and felt that netizens were extremely intelligent.
This year's high school seniors started watching a lot of dramas from last year. She has watched the dramas mentioned in the public welfare song "With You" on the Internet. But she felt very regrettable that these French plays have not yet performed in Wuhan. Ying Ying's family was in Wuhan. During the epidemic, a family member was also unfortunately sick, and her mood was a bit heavy. When I learned that my favorite musical actors were cheering for their hometown, this warmth moved the filmmaker even more.
The response from the fans in the group was very enthusiastic, Ying Ying hoped to pass everyone's favorite to the actors far away in Europe. She immediately acted, recruited chorus actors in the fan base, and made a recording tutorial for herself. Please ask everyone to record and submit contributions at home as required. Audio came from all corners of the world, and Ying Yan began a difficult selection and repair work. If the sound quality is good for solo, limited by the equipment can not be presented separately, they are stacked together by software for chorus presentation. Fans are very interested, some people find a small room to record to avoid reverberation, and some people simply hide in the quilt to sing for the sound quality.
With the spread of the epidemic, the number of cases in European countries has risen, and cities have gradually begun to fight against the epidemic. Don Juan's premiere in Russia on March 17 was forced to cancel, and Laurent Ban had to return to Paris. What makes him even more frustrated is that his good brother Merwan, one of the lead singers of "With You", was diagnosed with mild neo-coronary pneumonia. Thinking back a month ago, everyone gathered in the recording studio to sing together to cheer for Wuhan, but now they have to split up at home to isolate the virus, Laurent Ban is a bit sad. However, he and the musical actors were still optimistic, and they broadcast live together to report to the fans that they were safe. They also greeted the fans in five languages: English, Italian, Chinese, and Russian. The epidemic in Europe is so severe now that it is almost impossible to record French or Italian songs again. Agent Rae thought that it might be possible to add subtitles in different languages and expand the collection of blessings to cheer Europeans fighting the epidemic.
Laurent Ban learned that fans were preparing a "Don Juan" tour in Moscow while they were doing a cover. He told the agent that the film must be sent to him immediately, and he was looking forward to it. Speaking of it, on March 12th, the agent just posted the cover video, and Lauren Ban was downloaded in 15 minutes. He is also posting a comment on the small fan Weibo of the cover video: "This gift has moved me so much! Thank you on behalf of all our founding members! We are united and always here!"
Former French opera musicians used music to convey blessings on the other side of the distant Asia-Europe continent. Today, Chinese fans are also mobilizing their own power to bring hope and warmth to European actors caught in the epidemic. As Wu Sang hopes to express by song, "We are a community of human destiny, and we will dispel the haze with love."
◎ The main creator Laurent Ban:
"Natural disasters are just like diseases. When they arrive, they don't care about your race, country, and whether you are willing. All we can do is help each other and stand together. This is the most important thing I think."
◎ Songwriter Christopher Usan:
"We live on the same beautiful planet. We are just tenants of the earth. Sometimes, the power of nature is stronger than us. No matter what we do, the earth will turn as usual. There is only one way to have a good life: Work together to overcome natural disasters. "