8.3 points, this is the latest Douban score of the TV series "Three-Body Problem".
The twists and turns of "Three-Body" film and television, finally harvested a satisfactory result.
It is indeed difficult to adapt the IP of "Three-Body Problem".
On January 15 this year, under the spotlight of all eyes, "The Three-Body Problem" directed by Yang Lei and starring Zhang Luyi, Yu Hewei, Chen Jin, Wang Ziwen, Lin Yongjian, Li Xiaoyu and others finally aired.
The play was filed as early as 2016, and it was not launched until 2019. It has been nearly 3 years since it was completed, which is long overdue.
The IP of "Three-Body Problem" is indeed powerful.
An hour after Tencent Video went live, the popularity on the site broke through 25,000, making it the fastest drama series on the platform to break through 20,000.
Since then, topics such as #三身迹麻了#, #三身第15集封神#, #三身古霞行动好惊想#, etc., have rushed to Weibo hot searches after the episode aired.
The restoration of the original work is an important reason why "Three-Body Problem" has received a high evaluation.
On the Internet, there are many praises such as "fans of the original book saw scalp numbness" and "highly restored".
Now that the drama version of "The Three-Body Problem" is coming to an end, seeing most of the positive comments, Yang Lei, a director and senior sci-fi fan, is grateful and relieved, "We have done our best in the past four years. With the persistence and love for this matter, I hope that more audiences will see the power of this book."
(The following self-narration is organized according to the interview)
as a fan
Defending Our Three-Body Problem
I've been filming recently, and sometimes when I get back after finishing it, it's almost 11 o'clock in the evening, and I still look through everyone's comments on the Internet, including the barrage of Tencent Video.
It is very gratifying that, at least until now, most of the evaluations are still very positive.
Everyone's praise makes me feel that the past 4 years have not been in vain.
The first time I came into contact with "Three-Body" was in 2006, when I saw it on "Science Fiction World".
I am a veteran sci-fi fan, and I have been watching "Science Fiction World" since the 1990s.
I still remember the first time I saw "The Three-Body Problem". I was very shocked and excited. The large number of world views and values in the book can be said to have a profound impact on me.
Like most readers, I read the story when I first read it, and I was also thinking about why Liu wanted to write it in such a way.
Later, I read it over and over again, and I also read some interpretations to re-understand.
When Liu wrote "Three-Body Problem", he actually used 15 thought experiments, which he established from the beginning.
In fact, it is a bit like a scientist who puts forward a thought experiment before conducting an experiment, and first conceives: what would happen if this is the case?
Then use the method to demonstrate.
For example, the first book of "The Three-Body Problem" we shot involved four thought experiments.
First of all, in the information age, can one individual destroy the entire system?
In other words, can one person destroy the world?
The answer is yes, that is Ye Wenjie and No. 1379. What they did finally caused the people on the two planets to be on the verge of extinction.
This actually has practical significance, that is to say, in our world today, after one person does something, some kind of black swan event may occur, and everyone will be affected.
The world described in the book "Three-Body Problem" is not just some dramatic conflicts, it will bring more philosophical thinking, and more collisions of this kind of worldview, so that you can have some new gains and face it again This world, I think this is a very powerful book.
But I really never thought that one day I would be able to shoot "Three-Body Problem".
Around 2019, I attended a meeting with Bai Yicong (the chief producer of the drama version of "Three-Body Problem"), and he invited me to film "Three-Body Problem".
At that time, I was very surprised, I can make "Three-Body Problem"?
I never thought I would have the opportunity to make The Three-Body Problem.
So I said that after I think about it, I will discuss it with Lu Beike (the visual effects director of "Three-Body Problem") when I go back.
When Lao Bei heard the news, he went crazy!
He is usually very rational, but (after hearing the news) he was in a state of madness. He said you must pick it up!
I said don't worry, I'll go back and read the book and think about it.
Then I went back to read the book, and re-watched it from the director's perspective. I watched it for two or three days in a row, locked in my room, and asked my family not to disturb me.
As a result, Lao Bei sent me messages every day, one after a while, asking me where I saw it.
Later he sent me another letter, more than 20,000 words, explaining "Three-Body" from various angles, what is the content?
What's on his mind?
As a "Three-Body Problem" fan, how should he convey...
What I remember more deeply is that he said that if our lives can overlap with "Three-Body Problem" once, we will have no regrets in this life!
After reading the book, I probably had a structure from the director's point of view, so I replied to Bai Yicong, saying that this job can be done!
I hope to do such a thing. As a fan of "Three-Body Problem", I must defend my "Three-Body Problem".
Shoot sci-fi scenes with a realistic attitude
I joined the crew in August 2019. The crew has actually been established for a while, and the staff in each link have worked for more than a year or even longer.
I also learned later that as early as when writing the script, the main creative team had two directions of thinking: to focus on more original works, or to base them on the original.
In the end, I decided to use the original work as the basis. When I joined the group, I had already set such a direction.
After "The Three-Body Problem" was broadcast, I saw everyone's comments, and the most talked about was "faithful to the original".
I am a fan of the original, and it is difficult to surpass the original, so I think it must be based on the original and make a small amount of supplements, such as making some adjustments and supplements where the audience may not understand.
I remember when I joined the group, everyone asked me: Director, how do we make sci-fi movies?
The first thing I said to them was, let’s forget about science fiction first, and base it on realism first. We are shooting a realistic scene, so keep this thing in your heart first.
I think that since "The Three-Body Problem" is a science fiction novel, its spiritual core is science fiction, and it will naturally have science fiction elements.
But when we are filming, we have to take it seriously so that the audience can believe it.
In that way, the tone of the entire shoot was set, grounded in the real world, so most of the work revolved around realism.
For example, the scenes involved in the middle, the roads in Beijing, the cars used, and mobile phones.
What did a mobile phone look like in 2007?
What clothes should I wear?
In particular, the scenes of the collision center, the nanocenter, and the radio astronomy station involved here have all been restored to the best of their ability.
The first part of the "Three-Body Problem" novel is actually based on reality. For example, it described a lot of Beijing in 2007. Wang Miao and Da Shi launched an investigation into the death of scientists in Beijing. Northeast, and then involved Ye Wenjie and Hong'an Base.
Whether it is the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s or 2007 in the book, there is a very clear time basis and location basis in the book.
This story is actually told step by step to science fiction elements.
At first glance, it may be more like a criminal investigation drama. Many scientists committed suicide bizarrely, and then played the game "Three-Body Problem" in the process, and discovered that there were aliens step by step.
The design of the whole process is conveyed step by step through the basis of reality.
On the other hand, "The Three-Body Problem" has to talk about some scientific things, which are very important, but it will be very long, so it may make people feel that the pace is slow.
But this is a foundation of hardcore sci-fi, no way.
We have done a lot of scientific research and studied with dozens of scientists for up to 3 months.
We also have to judge what is science and what is science fiction.
For example, how should we launch the radio astronomy station we photographed?
Including nano, collision, what kind of workflow should it be?
For the operation of the radio astronomy observatory, we specifically consulted scientists, only to know that there must be a translation and a solar calendar. After having the solar calendar, we need to input the longitude and latitude coordinates.
After the scientists finished speaking, our set of shots will be realized.
I took notes frantically, from the solar calendar formed with the sun as coordinates, to what is cosmic scintillation, the principle of 3K telescopes, and a large number of formulas that appear in the film and television screens, etc., which can be regarded as a re-learning process.
We also added some more intuitive physics knowledge, such as the experiment Wang Miao did for the children in the fifth episode, where the iron ball and tennis ball landed at the same time.
Another example is the flickering of the universe. We use this relationship between a light bulb and an object to explain it.
Wei Cheng, played by Zhao Jian in the play, is a mathematician who needs to use a lot of formulas and do calculations.
Zhao Jian had to memorize all the formulas, but sometimes he didn't even know the symbols and numbers of those formulas.
At this time, scientists need to record it for us, and he will recite it accordingly, and then write it after he has recited it.
Actors have to do a lot of homework, and the conveyance of these contents must not only be accurate, but also natural.
make a movie
But it's like filming seven or eight movies
The shooting of "Three-Body Problem" was the most difficult one since I started my career. The most difficult one was "Operation Guzheng". 7 months.
Most of the shots in this episode are special effects shots. The longest shot was three and a half years. There are a lot of shots of this kind. Four hundred times.
This scene has its particularity, and the atmosphere and lighting need to be designed. In the first two or three months, I have been making light bitmaps and light effect designs for each scene to help the story move forward. Design through dynamic preview.
When filming, all the staff members have a complete set of animation previews and sub-shots.
We used Wang Miao as the main perspective on how to assemble the coalition forces, how to cut off the ship, and how to enter the hull. Wherever he went, the camera would go there, dragging the audience wherever he went... The whole process was still very difficult to shoot.
Thinking about it now, the filming of this drama was quite interesting, because there are many genres. Although I only filmed one film, it seems that I filmed seven or eight films, just like a director exam.
For example, the first 5 episodes may be suspense and psychological horror, but in the sixth episode it becomes criminal investigation and case investigation.
The "Three-Body Problem" game is included in the play, and it is also an ancient Chinese traditional culture. There are some stage-rendered performance methods, which are different.
After 10 episodes, the period drama came out again, telling the story of Ye Wenjie in the 1960s and 1970s.
"Operation Guzheng" has the feel of a disaster movie.
Correspondingly, the scheduling of actors is also different.
For example, in the game "Three-Body Problem", I asked the actors to have a strong stage sense, as if they were watching a drama performed by one person.
But what we require in life is different. We must have a sense of reality, a feeling close to life, and the more we live, the better.
future
Be Chinese's own science fiction
Today, when we look at "Three-Body Problem", it actually has a deeper meaning.
It seems that when we talk about science fiction, everyone's first thought is special effects—how about your special effects?
As a masterpiece of Chinese science fiction, The Three-Body Problem has a great philosophical and ideological core. We should not think about it purely based on science fiction and special effects, but rather treat it as a A philosophical book to recommend to everyone.
When we were filming, we also had this kind of concern for reality, and put forward some thoughts on the future of Chinese science fiction.
Of course, we use special effects where special effects should be used.
Now when people talk about science fiction, there are various nouns: cyberpunk, wasteland steampunk, space opera, etc. A lot of nouns are from abroad.
So when we face these types, how should we make choices based on national conditions?
Every literary work has its own spiritual core.
Then what we should think about is how to make our science fiction and express the Chinese people's own science fiction instead of simply copying other people's stuff.
To enhance our national self-confidence through science fiction, we can also produce world-renowned science fiction works!
Chengdu Commercial Daily - Red Star News reporter Qiu Junfeng