For the first time, she put on a long robe with wide sleeves and transformed into a beauty from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The crew of "Love in the Pen" were all amazed by the ancient costume of Zhao Jing, an actress from the Shanghai Film Actors Troupe. Today, 40 years later, th

put on a long-sleeved gown for the first time and transformed into a beauty from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The crew of "中情" were all amazed by the ancient costume of actor Zhao Jing from the Shanghai Film Actors Troupe. Today, 40 years later, the ancient style, fresh and elegant costumes and styles in this old movie are still eye-catching to the audience. On Douban, "Love in the Pen" has a score of 8.5. Many people praised the character selection, costumes, and props in the film as being very Wei and Jin style, and also allowing people to appreciate the beauty of traditional culture.

In recent years, costume movies and TV dramas have often caused controversy due to their costume styles. In the world of Xianxia, ​​fairies and gods wear the same gauze clothes. In costume idol dramas, various dynasty elements are mixed and matched. The online drama " My name is Liu Jinfeng " was even removed from the shelves because the costumes were too Japanese. Recently, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television held a symposium on TV series creation, pointing out that the art of costume dramas must truly restore the basic styles such as architecture, clothing, costumes, makeup, etc. of the historical period involved, and should not use or imitate foreign styles at will. While many viewers were applauding, they couldn't help but wonder why the old movies and dramas in the past could be simple, elegant and restored to the times. How are they missing now? A reporter from Liberation Daily and Shangguan News called Zhuang Peiling, a costume designer at Shanghai Film Studio, and listened to her talk about the perseverance and hard work behind this line of work.

Styling should serve the characters

In addition to CCTV's "Dream of Red Mansions", the 1982 movie "Love in the Pen" produced by Shanghai Film Studio is also regarded as a representative of classic styling by many viewers. It was Zhuang Peiling who did the costume styling for this movie. She also did costume styling for the movies "Sunrise", "The Six-Fingered Piano Demon", the TV series "Love in the Rain", etc.

How do film and television drama costume designers work? "First, read the script." Zhuang Peiling said that after getting the script, she is used to listing the main characters one by one, looking at their era, age, and status, and designing costumes based on the characteristics of the characters. Usually, young people wear brighter colors, while older people wear darker clothes. Festive scenes and when characters are depressed should be reflected in the color matching of clothing. These all come from the script.

After having a preliminary idea, the costume designer will communicate with the director, "To make a play, you have to meet with the director many times."

"Love in the Pen" is directed by Yan Bili and tells the story of the calligrapher Zhao Xuzhi and the daughter of Qi Taiwei Wen Juan fell in love, and with her encouragement, she went on three trips to learn calligraphy, guarding against arrogance and impetuosity, and finally realized the true meaning of calligraphy. Zhao Xuzhi is based on the great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi, and the costumes and props in the film are also based on that era. In order to restore the ancient atmosphere, Zhuang Peiling and others did a lot of preliminary data collection work. At that time, Shanghai Film Studio had limited information on , so she went to the film bureau's information room to check. If she still couldn't find anything, she went to Xujiahui Library. search.

Many viewers feel that the costumes in "Love in the Pen" have the charm of "Luo Shen Fu Tu", and the characters wear clearly different costumes when talking, traveling and banquets. In the film's scene of drinking wine from a meandering stream, characters such as Zhao Xuzhi also wore wooden clogs, a style popular in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Nowadays, it is almost impossible to see it in costume dramas. Netizens praised it for its "attention to detail". This was also discovered by Zhuang Peiling while searching for information, and she drew it and gave it to the carpenters in the factory to make it.

In the movie, there is also a plot where Zhao Xuzhi and General Huan Shu "compared words" to find a bride. Interestingly, Wang Bozhao, who played Zhao Xuzhi, and Chi Chongrui, who played Huan Shu, later played Little White Dragon and Tang Monk in "Journey to the West" respectively. Qi Taiwei's actor Cheng Zhi also In "Journey to the West" he played the role of Elder Jinchi . It is said that Wang Bozhao and Chi Chongrui got the opportunity to star in "Journey to the West" precisely because of their outstanding performances and appearance in "Love in the Pen".

From satin to georgette

In order to make clothes, Zhuang Peiling often goes to various fabric stores in Shanghai to buy materials, and she is also a regular customer of Dongjiadu Wholesale Market. When filming "Love in the Rain", because we needed a lot of fabric, we drove a van to purchase it.

In costume dramas, fabrics play a role in distinguishing the identities of characters.For example, the three ladies of the Qi family in "Love in the Pen" mostly use silk and satin fabrics, while the common people use ordinary cotton fabrics, and they must not be mixed. At that time, the price of silk and satin was not expensive, and the costume designers would try to save as much as possible according to the cost budget. "Sometimes ordinary fabrics can also produce good visual effects." Zhuang Peiling felt that it was a pity that today's fabric stores in Shanghai It is becoming increasingly difficult to find, and the crew is more accustomed to buying ready-made clothes.

In the 1990s, the Hong Kong film industry ushered in new opportunities in the mainland market. Shanghai Film Studio and Hong Kong film companies created a number of co-productions, including "The Six-Fingered Piano Demon", "Green Snake", "新天龙八部" "Tianshan Tongma ", " Jiupin Zhimaguan " and so on, Shanghai Film's costume and props team also participated in the production of these films.

Zhuang Peiling worked as a costume designer on the crew of "Six Finger Piano Demon". The film's art and styling design were handled by Hong Kong costume designer Zhang Shuping.

"The Six-Fingered Piano Demon" is adapted from Ni Kuang's novel of the same name, directed by Wu Mianqin, and co-produced by Shanghai Film Studio and Hong Kong Ace Production Co., Ltd., starring Brigitte Lin , Yuen Biao , Carina Lau . Among them, Huang Dong, the "Six-fingered Piano Demon" played by Brigitte Lin, wore exaggerated hairpins and heavy gauze clothes that flowed in the wind. Her sinister and domineering appearance captured the hearts of many movie fans, but some viewers complained that such costumes were inconsistent with history.

"The costumes of the main actors in "The Six-Fingered Piano Demon" were all shipped from Hong Kong, and the costumes of the extras were selected from the Shanghai Film Clothing Warehouse." On the set, Zhuang Peiling arranged the costumes according to the director's requirements and helped the main actors dress neatly. "Brigitte Lin is very easy-going. When she left, she gave me a few sets of clothes from her husband's brand. We kept talking and laughing on the set."

There will be several sets of costumes of one style, some are for stand-ins, and some are to prevent hanging. The wire is damaged. When preparing costumes for martial arts films, Zhuang Peiling usually prepares more than three sets of one style, and the style and quality of the stand-in and spare clothes must also be consistent. "Experienced costumers have read the script and can estimate how many sets are needed for each scene." When

dressed Brigitte Lin as the "Six-fingered Piano Demon", Zhuang Peiling noticed that the fabric used in these costumes was very thin gauze. Georgette, polyester , etc., layer upon layer. "Georgette is much cheaper than satin. It is beautiful, but it is out of touch with the times."

The dramatic style of costumes has also been criticized by many viewers. Zhuang Peiling once did costume modeling for the opera film "The Legend of White Snake" released in 1980, starring Lee Byung-sook . In her opinion, feature films and opera films are completely different, and the styles must not be confused. "When we make movies, we focus on life. The styling should follow the path of life. If we use opera styling, it will be divorced from life."

"Hong Kong designers don't have so many concepts of historical eras. If I were to do it, I would still be based on the era. Come design clothes." Zhuang Peiling said.

It’s very tiring to do this job

“It’s very tiring to do this job.” Zhuang Peiling said.

has been retired for more than 20 years. She likes to travel to various places and play games on her mobile phone, as if she wants to make up for the leisure and entertainment she lost while working. "Costumes, props, and makeup are all very hard work. We get up earlier to do makeup, especially costumes, which are more time-consuming and require more physical effort on our part. We have to move the costumes to the site, change, adjust, and take care of them. After finishing work in the evening, we still need to It is necessary to sort out the costumes for the main actors and extras needed for the next day. "

When filming a movie, I often travel for half a year. "Love in the Pen" was shot on Mount Tai, and Zhuang Peiling also followed her to the mountain. The crew waited for several mornings to shoot the sunrise. It was summer during the filming of "Love in the Rain", and the actors were sweating heavily. Zhuang Peiling sprayed alcohol on the actors to remove the smell of sweat. There are about ten people in the clothing department, and two people are responsible for washing clothes.

In 1964, in response to the shortage of film technical talents in Shanghai, Shanghai Film Bureau opened a film vocational school, including six majors: makeup, costumes, props, lighting, projection, and printing.

Zhuang Peiling remembers that there were 108 students in that batch, and there were 10 students in the makeup, costume, and props classes.The school is located on Damuqiao Road, and the Shanghai Film Studio stunt workshop is also nearby. After enrollment, everyone first takes basic courses, including chemistry, Chinese, etc., and is divided into majors after one year. Zhuang Peiling was assigned to the costume group, "I am interested in costumes myself, and I won an award for drawing when I was in middle school." Later, all of this group of students stayed in Shanghai, and most of them entered the Shanghai Film Studio and later became directors of Shanghai Film. The backbone of the show.

After entering the Shanghai Film Studio, Zhuang Peiling's first film as a costume designer was "Our Little Cat " directed by the famous Shanghai Film Director Wu Yigong in 1980. Because it is a modern play, the costumes are relatively simple. We mainly match the characters according to the characters' requirements and age, buy the materials, and then hand them over to the tailor workshop for production. "Our Little Cat" is also the first work independently directed by Wu Yigong.

In Shanghai Film Studio, there is a clear division of labor among makeup, costumes and props. "Hatties, clothes, gloves, socks, shoes, etc. that are worn on the body are all under our control; what is worn on the head, including jewelry, belongs to the makeup management; what is held in the hand, such as bags, belongs to the props management." "Six Fingers" When playing "Piano Demon", Zhuang Peiling discovered that the division of labor among the Hong Kong and Taiwan crews was different, and the character styles included jewelry, bags, etc. She believes that this approach helps to coordinate the design, but the tradition of Shanghai Film Studio also has advantages, leaving professional matters to professional people, each performing their own duties.

Shanghai Film Studio also has costume design jobs, but most of them are done by the costumers themselves, while the specific costume production is completed by the tailoring workshop. Zhuang Peiling has never learned to sew, but sometimes she can complete some minor clothing changes when unexpected situations arise. Once on the set, the waist bag of performing artist Qin Yi's costume was a little too big, so Zhuang Peiling took it upon herself to tighten the belt a little.

The 2001 TV series "Love in the Rain" was adapted from Qiong Yao's original novel " in the rain". It was a cross-strait co-production, with Zhuang Peiling as the costume model. Most of the crew came from the Shanghai Film Studio, and several rooms in the factory were used. to store clothing.

The Shanghai costume styles of the 1930s and 1940s are used in the drama, and Zhuang Peiling is very good at this. "There are also clothes brought from Taiwan, but most of them are prepared by me. Some dresses are ready-made in the warehouse, and cheongsams are made of carefully selected materials and are made by retired tailors who specialize in cheongsams from outside." The design of cheongsams must also be based on the script and Character adjustments, for example, Aunt Xue’s clothes will be made of more sophisticated materials and the colors will be more vibrant to reflect her character.

Zhuang Peiling also considered the details of the length of the cheongsam. "Clothes follow financial resources. When you have money, the cheongsam will naturally be longer, with bigger and more beautiful buttons."

When making the costumes for "Love in the Rain", Zhuang Peiling had clearly felt that the filming of film and television dramas was becoming more and more popular. More and more anxious. "When we used to make movies, the actors had to leave their lives to make the shots more realistic. Later, as soon as the film crew was established, filming started immediately. Some TV series even shot 10 episodes a month."

We must respect history and it takes time to check information. , you need to calm down to complete your work. Zhuang Peiling hopes that current TV dramas can give more time to costume designers.

column editor: Shi Chenlu text editor: Shi Chenlu

 picture source: film and television screenshots 

source: author: Zhong Han