On the hottest days in Hong Kong this summer, a training room in Tseung Kwan O Television and Broadcasting City was cool and quiet.

In the middle of the two mirror walls, there are three or four rows of boys and girls who are in the Mood for Love. One girl is sharing her interpretation of the characters in the script, while the others are listening intently.

There are also two screens in front of the training room, which visually connect the training sites in Malaysia and Guangzhou.

　　This is the 2022 TVB (Wireless Television) artist training class, with Chen Desen, who won the best director of the Hong Kong Film Awards for directing "October Besieged", as the principal.

This training class will start on July 18 and will last for 6 months. After that, students will get internship opportunities provided by TVB such as performing and hosting, and have the opportunity to sign contracts to become their artists, thus starting their acting careers.

　　TVB Assistant General Manager (Artist Management and Development) Le Yiling revealed in an exclusive interview with a reporter from China News Agency recently that TVB is recruiting students in the mainland for the first time this year.

Malaysia, on the other hand, stood out with 16.

For the first time, students from the three places took classes simultaneously through physical and online forms.

2022 TVB artist training class.

Provided by TVB

The artists who came out here hold up half the sky of Hong Kong movies

　　Most viewers familiar with Hong Kong-produced films have heard of this long-established training class.

In 1971, the first artist training class was officially launched, which was co-organized by TVB and Shaw Brothers Production Company in the early days.

Until 1978, TVB transferred the training course to its own independent TV production professional training center.

　　It has been more than half a century since the training class was opened. Many characters who now seem to be shining like stars in the sky, such as Chow Yun-fat, Wu Mengda, Stephen Chow, Carina Lau, Tony Leung, etc., all came out from here, and later propped up half of the Hong Kong film and television industry.

These actors, no matter the protagonist or Luye, have always dutifully stayed in their respective positions, with solid skills, they will interpret a character vividly and three-dimensionally.

On them, more or less, you can see the deep imprints etched by the training in the early years of training classes and the TVB model.

　　In the first few years, the principal of the training class was King Sir, a well-known director and drama educator in Hong Kong. Several generations of Hong Kong film and television and stage actors came from his disciples. From the perspective of origin, Wu Mengda can also be regarded as his disciple.

Some people believe that Zhong Jinghui's greatest contribution was the introduction of the "method acting" that he learned when he was studying at Yale in Hong Kong at that time. character and life.

This performance system was boldly transferred from the theatre stage to TV. The actors cultivated familiarity with the camera and a tacit understanding with the director team through repeated training, and gradually established a set of performance methods suitable for both theatre and TV. On the movie screen also seems handy.

　　Most of Wu Mengda's generation of Hong Kong film actors were trained by this system, and they also benefited from this. They freely roamed the three worlds of stage play, TV series and film.

Chen Desen, principal of the 2022 TVB artist training class.

Provided by TVB

Embrace the tide of Beishang and recruit mainland students

　　As one of the most important TV stations in Hong Kong, TVB needs to produce a large number of TV dramas, variety shows and news reports every year. In terms of episodes alone, it shoots more than 600 hours a year, so it needs a huge number of artists, "We have been using different Ways and platforms to recruit.”

　　As for recruiting mainland artists, Le Yiling remembers that TVB tried more than ten years ago to set up a "Mainland Artist Training Class" with South China University of Technology in Guangzhou to train artists and TV producers from the Mainland. After training, students can work in TVB for two years. year.

However, the plan had little effect. "At that time, we trained mainland actors to come to Hong Kong for internships, but because we had to help them apply for work visas, language and other issues, not many people were able to stay in the end."

TVB Assistant General Manager (Artist Management and Development) Le Yiling and 2022 TVB Artist Training Course Principal Chen Desen.

Provided by TVB

　　In the past ten years, the development and integration of the film and television industries of the two places has accelerated, and a large number of industry talents have gone north to develop. This trend has also affected the development of TVB.

"The times have changed, and the acting career is no longer limited to Hong Kong. We need to face the mainland, Southeast Asia and overseas Chinese markets." More and more episodes are filmed and filmed in the mainland, and the episodes have begun to accommodate more non-local elements. Therefore, the previous limitation has become an advantage at this moment. For example, in the past, it was required to be fluent in Cantonese, but now it is required to be fluent in Mandarin.

Therefore, Le Yiling believes that it is time to train a group of artists who stay in the mainland and can participate in TVB's filming in the mainland at any time.

　　Le Yiling said frankly that "beautiful" has never been the only indicator for TVB to select artists. "We must select young people who are talented, talented, and have a heart to develop into the entertainment industry." She gave an example of some people's martial arts skills. Yes, they are suitable for action movies; some people are humorous and suitable for comedy; some people are talented, and they can develop into the direction of show hosts in the future.

The courses of the training class will also be adapted to the "people", focusing on exploring the advantages of the students.

　　After the millennium, Hong Kong's film and television industry declined from its heyday. Le Yiling does not view it pessimistically. She believes that this is actually related to the reduction of the proportion of Hong Kong's performing arts industry after the opening of the market, and the decline of its influence.

"We used to face a local market with more than 7 million people, and the proportion of artists was very high, but this proportion is insignificant in the mainland and overseas Chinese markets. Therefore, we must make more efforts and do a better job, so that Both mainland and overseas audiences can accept and love our Hong Kong artists."

2022 TVB artist training class.

Provided by TVB

Learn art first

　　During the teaching, Chen Desen paid special attention to cultivating teamwork among the students, "It's not like making a film as a painter, you can paint green today, and then paint blue when you think about it tomorrow. TV movies are never the work of one person. Movies have opponents, camera angles, The director's instructions, and someone in charge of makeup and hair combing is indispensable." The experience of the students varies, some have acted in dramas and participated in singing competitions, and some have a blank sheet of paper, "Then you need to have experience and bring inexperienced. Do."

　　This is exactly in line with Le Yiling's requirement of "learning art first, learning heart", first learning "artistic morality", "We hope that students understand that if they choose this profession as their lifelong career, they must do their part as an actor first. , because entertainers will become role models for young people in the future." Le Yiling's duties include being punctual, reading scripts and "managing their roles", respecting seniors, and not relying on assistants.

"We'll also teach them how to deal with the stress and lows of work."

　　The next step is professional skills and tricks such as acting, martial arts, and body use.

"We don't want to teach them to be like martial arts superstars, but learn to use your body language, even if you have a stand-in, you have to show solid skills when switching shots."

　　This is also the professionalism and advantages presented by Hong Kong artists, "I heard many producers and directors say that the actors from TVB are very good, as long as they are in place (in place), the filming is completed, and there is no need to slowly enter the film. ." This also benefits from the high production of TVB, which gives actors more opportunities to exercise.

According to Le Yiling's calculations, some TVB actors participate in at least 4 to 5 TV dramas every year, a number that most outside actors can't imagine.

TVB Assistant General Manager (Artist Management and Development) Le Yiling and 2022 TVB Artist Training Course Principal Chen Desen.

　　What Le Yiling said is true. When actress Myolie Wu from TVB participated in the acting program "Actors Please S2" and won the championship in the Mainland earlier, many comments in the market praised her for having a "TVB spirit", that is, being humble and low-key. The actor is regarded as a common occupation, and the filming is completed efficiently.

　　Myolie Wu herself also agreed with this point in the show. She felt choked up after the performance: "Actually, these days, the high-intensity rehearsal has touched me very much, and it reminded me of my mother's TVB. I was in TVB for 16 years and used to film. In the environment where you don't have to sleep, the script may be filmed for you tonight and tomorrow. But you also have to act well. Because you can't act well, when it's broadcast, people won't scold others, just say you've acted badly. So, I was trained in TVB, the Shaolin Temple."

　　"Of course I hope that every student can shine, win good roles, and let more audiences know them." Le Yiling smiled and mentioned the names that are now shining, Zhang Zhenlang, Huang Zongze, Ma Guoming... ... They have all been on TVB for more than ten years. "It's just over ten years in the blink of an eye, and ten years is really short in life." What she most wants to see is a batch of new performers, all Being able to find their respective positions in the best moments of my life, and to shine in this position for a long time, will contribute to the Hong Kong film and television industry.

　　Text reporter: Han Xingtong

　　Video reporter: Liang Yuan Luo Qianqian