The number of Chinese online literature users reaches 460 million

How the adaptation of online literature is "applauded and popular" (Online China)

　　In recent years, networked literature IP (intellectual property) film and television adaptations have become increasingly mature, with popular and popular film and television dramas such as "Twelve Hours in Chang'an", "Celebrating More Than Years", and "Great Rivers".

Experts believe that network literature has gradually become an important source of content for film and television creation, and the film adaptation of network literature IP is moving towards a stage of high-quality development, with continuous innovation in value guidance, production standards, and communication methods.

　　High popularity: Internet literature moves towards "IP"

　　During the Spring Festival this year, a TV series adapted from a well-known online novel was broadcast on CCTV.

As an "original fan", Xiaoyi, a young man from Fujian, kept complaining when he first watched it, but after watching nearly 10 episodes, he has changed a lot.

"Slowly I feel good about it. There are many people around me who have watched this online novel, and the adaptation into a TV series is very popular. Everyone usually discusses it."

　　After years of development, the Chinese online literature market has gradually matured.

Statistics from the China Audiovisual and Digital Publishing Association show that the cumulative scale of Chinese online literature works exceeds 25.9 million.

Massive works, rich genres, open-minded stories, and continuous online "follow-up" reading experience have enabled online literature to have more and more readers.

According to the 47th "Statistical Report on China's Internet Development Status" released by the China Internet Network Information Center, as of December 2020, the number of Chinese online literature users has reached 460 million.

　　In recent years, many online literature has been adapted into film and television dramas.

The "2019-2020 Network Literature IP Film and TV Series Adaptation Potential Evaluation Report" recently released by the Screenwriting Education Work Committee of the Chinese Film Association and the Beijing Film Academy's China Film Screenwriting Research Institute shows that among the 309 hits in 2018 and 2019, There are 65 adaptations from online literature, accounting for about 21%; among the 100 most popular film and television dramas, adaptations from online literature account for 42%.

　　"The film and television adaptation of Internet literature IP has a long history, and it has reached a high degree of popularity in recent years. This shows that the current IP industry chain on the market is maturing." Professor Wang Yanlong of the School of Literature and Journalism of Sichuan University said in an interview. There has always been a "mutual feeding" relationship with film and television. Good online literary works are put on the screen, which not only enriches the audiovisual industry, but also promotes the literary works themselves.

The upsurge of online literature gave birth to a large number of excellent online literary writers and different types of online literary works, bringing more materials for adaptation to the development of film and television.

In addition, many online novels condensed "original fans" in the early stage, and their works have their own enthusiasm, which will greatly reduce the marketing difficulty of film and television dramas. The core audience of many online literature adaptations is transformed from the original "iron fans". .

　　Promoting the industrialized operation of IP can inject new impetus into the development of the online literature market.

According to Zhou Zhiqiang, a professor at Nankai University's School of Liberal Arts, the trend of network literature towards "IP" is a trend worthy of recognition. Network literature is in a critical period of transformation and needs to join forces with film and television to open up new markets and radiate new vitality.

"The charm of excellent online literature is its originality. This originality constitutes the core value of IP. The Internet literature IP with good reputation is easier to be adapted, because word of mouth is traffic, and traffic has IP." Zhou Zhiqiang said.

　　"Qiao" adaptation: the spiritual core of the original book cannot be lost

　　How to further explore the network literature IP with both social and artistic value to achieve high-quality film and television adaptations?

This has become a topic widely discussed in the industry.

　　Ouyang Youquan, deputy director of the Network Literature Committee of the Chinese Writers Association, believes that the adaptation of network literature to film and television requires "strong storytelling, strong character creation, and strong sense of camera."

"The'hard core' of online novels is to tell a good story. An online literary story must not only have waves, ups and downs, thrilling conflicts and open-minded segments, but also require a certain degree of scarcity and strong Recognition; in addition, the shell of the storyline must be able to connect with the current social reality and public psychology, and empathize with more audiences, before it can become the head IP."

　　With a good story and a good text, there are two thresholds that need to be crossed: one is adaptation, and the other is production.

To realize the efficient linkage between online literature and film and television, high-quality online literary works are the foundation, and film and television adaptation is the key to the success of a work.

How to deal with the relationship between original IP and adapted screenplay?

Some people in the industry pointed out that how to make changes is very particular. It is necessary to fully respect the original, and not to be very different from the original in terms of storyline and character creation, destroying the image of the "original fans"; and to adapt to the development and changes of the times, and the new Popular elements are added to enrich the story and characters.

For example, the success of the adaptation of the play "Celebrating More Than Years" is inseparable from the screenwriter’s deep understanding of the original work. It not only retains the spiritual core of the original work, but also elaborates it in a light comedy way, making the play more enjoyable and successfully sketched Group portraits of the main characters.

　　There are many links involved in film and television production. The most fundamental thing is to have a sense of quality and the spirit of craftsmanship, so that it is possible to present outstanding works with excellent scripts, excellent productions, wonderful interpretations and positive values.

Wang Yanlong believes that in the process of shooting, it is necessary to pay attention to the selection of actors and the "being of service" (costumes, makeup, props), and also to pay attention to the compatibility of the values ​​behind Internet literature with reality, such as "Da Jiang Da He" "The spirit of hard work" and so on, all these can reflect the heavy feeling of a work.

"Grasping the value core of the original work can arouse the audience's inner sympathy for truth, goodness and beauty.

　　In the tide of network literature IP film and television drama adaptations, many high-quality works that are recognized by the market and word of mouth have emerged, but there are also phenomena such as plagiarism and imitation, shoddy work, and catching up with the trend.

In this regard, Wang Yanlong believes that, first of all, the crackdown on piracy and infringement cannot be relaxed. Legislation and other measures must be adopted to identify, punish and compensate for infringement; secondly, it is also necessary for all parties in the IP industry chain to "cherish their own "Feather", with the original intention of creating high-quality content, coordinate the interests of creators, platforms, investors, producers and other parties, gradually improve the management and supervision system, and create a healthy environment for the sustainable development of the industrial chain.

　　"Going out": Adapted dramas are popular overseas

　　In recent years, as China’s excellent online literature works go overseas, online literature has become an important carrier for China to export its cultural influence to the world.

　　Nowadays, reading Chinese online literature has become a daily "check-in item" for many overseas readers.

According to the "Research Report on Chinese Online Literature Going to the Sea in 2020" released by iResearch, the number of overseas users of Chinese online literature has reached 31.935 million; in terms of reading frequency, 91% of overseas readers follow Chinese online literature almost every day, with an average reading The duration is 117 minutes; the proportion of overseas users who are willing to pay for Chinese online literature is as high as 87.1%.

　　Relying on the trend of globalization and digitization, some film and television works adapted around the Internet literature IP have become popular overseas, making the influence of Chinese Internet literature IP cover a wider group.

According to the "Research Report on Chinese Online Literature Going to the Sea in 2020", in terms of the IP derivative adaptation of Internet literature, the proportion of users expecting their favorite Chinese online novels to be adapted into TV dramas ranks first.

It is reported that a group of network literature IP adaptations express the story content in a more three-dimensional and rich manner through film and television and other forms, showing the profound foundation of Chinese culture and spreading widely.

For example, the overseas distribution of "Celebrating the New Year" covers a variety of new media platforms and TV stations on the five continents of the world; "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an" presents a magnificent scene of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty to many overseas audiences.

　　Meng Zhong, deputy dean of the Chinese Academy of Screenwriting, Beijing Film Academy, pointed out that he hopes that practitioners will pay attention to the creative source of online literature IP, attach more importance to more new themes and new possibilities, and combine the creativity and innovation of online literature with the vivid expression of film and television dramas. , Let high-quality IP continue to increase in value, launch more works that unify social and artistic values, and further create Chinese cultural symbols with world influence.

　　Li Xueqin