Yangcheng Evening News reporter Hu Guangxin
Recently, two successive crews have been caught in the "horse abuse" storm: the scenes of horses running and falling in the costume drama "Let's Try the World", and the scenes of horses falling from the bridge in another costume drama "Long Song Xing" are all on the Internet. There was a heated discussion on the website, and some netizens questioned that the two shots caused harm to the horses involved in the shooting.
On April 30, the crews of "Let's Try the World" and "Long Song Xing" responded one after another, posting videos to prove that there was no horse abuse during the shooting.
In recent years, the protection of animals in film and television shooting has received more and more attention from public opinion.
This is not only an issue of animal protection, but also an ethical issue of artistic creation. It has become a consensus that animals should not be harmed in artistic creation.
The two crews have successively presented evidence to deny "horse abuse"
The costume drama "Let's Try the World" is currently on air.
In the controversial footage, a horse fell forward while running, its head and neck landed first, and its body folded forward due to inertia, folded almost 90 degrees to its neck.
Some netizens worry that the horse will die from a broken neck.
In response, the stunt horse team "Zhejiang Jiuhu Film and Television Media Co., Ltd." of "Let's Try the World" issued a statement on April 30 in response: This horse is a specially trained stunt film and television horse, and safety was also done during the shooting process. Precautionary measures, such as laying down a sufficiently thick layer of sand, will ensure the safety of the animals.
The statement stated that the team received the filming request in March 2021. The stunt horses prepared for the filming have undergone special training for more than half a year, and have special skills such as lifting, lying down, and overcoming obstacles.
The horse involved in the controversial shot is named "Ferrari". After the shooting, it has maintained a very healthy state. Since then, it has participated in the shooting of several film and television projects, and is currently participating in the shooting of another crew.
The team also posted a video shot on April 30.
In the video, the trainer shouts "Ferrari" and a horse runs towards him.
However, some netizens questioned that this is not the horse in the controversial shot of "Let's Try the World": although this horse also has the iconic white spots on its forehead, its head shape, tail color and horse's leg color are all the same as "Let's Try the World". The horses in the world are different.
Some netizens asked the crew to release the filming footage, but as of press time, the crew of "Let's Try the World" has not yet responded.
Another crew member "Long Song Xing", which was caught in the "horse abuse" storm, posted the shooting footage and successfully cleared the suspicion.
There is a scene in the play "Long Song Xing" where the horse falls off the bridge while crossing the suspension bridge. Fan Yining, the action director, released a video on Weibo on April 30. It is obvious that the one who fell off the suspension bridge was not a real horse, but a real horse. A prop horse made of sponge.
Fan Yizhu also said in the comments: "Our horses are jumping up and down, watching our sponge pony fall off the cliff."
Public attention forced the crew to face up to the protection of animal actors
Animal casualties in film and television works were once seen as a positive example of "creative teams striving for excellence and truth".
For example, in the movie "King of Dogs" released in 1993, in order to pursue real effects, the crew did not hesitate to tie a retired military dog to a real bomb.
When the 2010 version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was completed, director Gao Xixi also took the initiative to describe to the media the tragic situation of the horses during the shooting process, "six horses were sacrificed, and the remaining eight horses were almost crazy", to prove that the show tried its best to restore brutal scenes of war.
In December last year, the "Cat Abuse Rashomon" in Yu Zheng's drama "The Mistress of the House" brought the issue of animal protection in film and television works to the forefront.
In the 32nd episode of the play, the "cat poisoned death" plot appeared. The white cat in the picture fell off the table, landed on its back, vomited blood, and stiffened its limbs.
Because it is too realistic, many netizens questioned the fact that the crew was fake and killed the white cat.
The crew of "Master of the House" issued a statement saying that the episode was filmed under the guidance of professionals to ensure the safety of the kitten, and posted a video of the cat owner holding the kitten.
However, some netizens questioned that this cat is not another cat, and some people who claimed to be "The Mistress of the House" spoke out, pointing out that there was cat abuse in the crew.
In addition, the 2018 hit drama "Strategy of Yanxi Palace", also a work by Yu Zheng, was also turned over by netizens. There was a scene of the death of a parrot in the play, and some animal bloggers pointed out that the parrot in the picture was suspected of drowning.
Affected by this incident, the Douban score of "Master of the House" once dropped to 2.7 points.
In January of this year, Zhejiang Dongyang Public Security announced that after investigation, the fact that the crew of "The Mistress of the House" caused the death of a cat due to filming was not established, and the incident came to an end for the time being.
But it can be seen from this incident that "animals should not be hurt during filming" has become a public consensus, and the public's attention to animal actors is forcing the crew to face up to the welfare and rights of animal actors.
The two associations clearly do not harm animals cruelty
How to avoid animal cruelty during filming?
At present, there is no clear legal responsibility for animal cruelty in China.
As early as ten years ago, animal protection scholars and legal scholars drafted an expert recommendation draft of the "Anti-Cruelty to Animals Law", which included a special section focusing on the welfare of performing animals, but it has not yet been formally legislated.
However, the issue of animal protection in film and television shooting has attracted the attention of the industry.
On April 26, the China Federation of Radio and Television Social Organizations and the China Internet Audio-Visual Program Service Association released the "Production and Operation Specifications for TV Dramas and Web Drama Production Teams (Trial)", which put forward clear requirements for animal shooting.
The norm pointed out: "The protection of animals participating in the filming should be strengthened. According to the shooting situation, the corresponding animal shooting time and safety protection measures should be set, and animals provided by professional animal training companies and personnel should be used as much as possible. No harm or abuse is allowed. animal."
With the advancement of technology, dangerous scenes in film and television works can already be completed through CG special effects or physical props.
For example, the crew of the "Long Song Xing" mentioned above used sponge horse props instead of real horses to shoot the scene of the bridge falling, and then through lens switching and post-production special effects, as much as possible to avoid "crossing".
In fact, between authenticity and animal protection, most viewers will choose the latter.
For example, in the classic TV series "The Legend of Zhen Huan", a scene in which a cat overwhelmed a rich man and caused his miscarriage, because the cat involved in the filming was too timid, he finally switched to CG instead of a real cat to shoot.
Although the cats in the finished film can clearly see the traces of special effects, this has not become a shortcoming of "The Legend of Zhen Huan", but has been well received by the audience for loving cats.