Have you ever imagined such a scenario?
After get off work, you go home as usual. Everything was still the same as before in the last second, but the next second I suddenly found that the house had actually "traveled" - half left in the present, half back four months ago, and an old tenant was also given away.
Such a brilliant mind is a full set of imagination even for senior fantasy fans.
in iQiyi 's popular fantasy romance drama " My Secret Roommate " turned this fantasy into reality.
Although the genre fusion formula of fantasy + love has been popular in the Chinese drama market, "My Secret Roommate" is still a unique fantasy romance drama.
It has a high concept, but it does not have the old "time travel" jokes that the audience is accustomed to, nor does it follow the trend to play the time loop. Instead, it uses scientific ideas of "unexpected and reasonable" to create a setting for "time and space integration".
It also tells love stories, but Chen Jialan (played by Xiang Hanzhi ) and He Zhengyu (played by Yang Xuwen ) have a 46-minute limited time every day, but it is an indescribable setting. For the remaining 23 hours and 14 minutes every day, the male and female protagonists must endure the pain of "untouchable lovers". This is probably one of the most interesting and difficult love obstacles that have been seen in urban dramas in recent years.
In addition, it also has a suspense line that cracks the changes in time and space, and a pleasant drama line interpreted by the exchange of information in dual time and space...
is similar to "eat more with one fish". "My Secret Roommate" cleverly matches elements such as fantasy, love, suspense, comedy, etc., allowing the audience to gain a rich experience of "watch more with one drama".
What is unexpected is that behind this lively and light web drama is a senior producer who is good at dramas of reality.
General producer Yu Jinwei
As a radio and television "veteran", Yu Jinwei has rich experience in producing large dramas. After she founded Hua Xitaihe in 2015, she once again proved her subject vision and project trading ability with an urban emotional drama " True Love Lies: Icebreaker " set in anti-drugs.
Faced with a "small and beautiful" drama like "My Secret Roommate", Yu Jinwei admitted that it was a path challenge to himself. "The smaller the size of the drama, the more it often tests the production level." But as a "nail-type" producer, she quickly touched the way of "making a dojo in a snail shell" by standing from beginning to end and adhering to high-standard production checking methods.
The following is a story by producer Yu Jinwei.
showed off its original spirit to do "propositional composition"
"Is "My Secret Roommate" a sweet pet drama?" Before
started broadcast, many colleagues often asked this question when talking to me about this project. The answer I gave is always decisively denying , but there is still a little more explanation for why it is not a "sweet pet".
Until the drama was officially broadcast and when I communicated with my peers, the word "sweet pet" was not mentioned very frequently. Because, everyone can see this is a solid fantasy romance drama.
018 iQiyi Taiwan Station has a "Householder ". iQiyi took a fancy to its "time and space fusion" elements and wanted to develop a drama that adapts to the aesthetic appeals of mainland audiences. In early 2019, the general manager and general producer of iQiyi Copyright Management Center, Yang Bei , came to me and wanted to cooperate with the model of customized dramas.
After I got the project, I thought the fantasy setting inside was very interesting, and the "sweet and brainy" positioning attracted me and my team. But at the same time, there are also doubts in my heart, worried that the conventional "sweet pet" positioning will limit the style of this fantasy story.
Why should “sweet pet” be stripped out of the love drama and become a track alone? I analyze whether this statement originates from the marketing process? "Sweet love, feeling of pampering" is just an expression of intimacy and should not be a pattern template in creation.
So, in my discussion with iQiyi partners, I raised the question of the creation and positioning of this drama: Do we want to make it a sweet pet drama in young children?
iQiyi's planner and producer denied this statement after hearing this. they hope to enhance the professional attributes of this drama, so that the three elements of workplace, fantasy and love can be equally divided and organically integrated in this drama. This happens to be my idea. Therefore, after confirming that it is consistent with the platform's creation "destination", we started the project promotion work.
Although this "propositional composition" has a story core, the script development process of "My Secret Roommate" is still full of difficulties.
First of all, it is the issue of the implementation of professional dramas.
In this drama, the male protagonist He Zhengyu is a lawyer, and the female protagonist Chen Jialan is a reporter. Taking into account the cultural differences between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the adaptation requirements for strengthening professional scenes, we chose to start from scratch interviews and research, and to bring back all the "business" dramas.
I led the screenwriter team to study in the law firm, understand the lawyer's real work and life status, and searched for materials in the file. Finally, I decided to set He Zhengyu's identity as a civil lawyer, select cases for him again, weave conflicts, and completely rewrite the career line.
In order to make the male and female protagonists evenly match their identities and minds, we have also transformed the female protagonist's identity from an intern reporter to a news investigation reporter. The core members of the team and I have certain media experience. In addition, I visited many senior journalists and friends around me, and the enrichment of the heroine's career line has been quickly promoted.
Professional drama implementation is the core problem solved in the first draft script. Because of the full preparation and detailed materials, after a year of accumulation of materials and the change and running-in of the screenwriter team, the team completed the first draft of the script in April 2021.
Secondly, it is the deduction of love lines under the fantasy framework.
Although "My Secret Roommate" has a fantasy setting, its core main line is still love. The difficulty is that the male and female protagonists can only meet for 46 minutes a day. This greatly limits their interaction and affects the advancement of the emotional line. After the first script of
was released, we felt that this problem was not well solved, so we learned from the famous screenwriter and planner Mr. Li Xiaoming.
The advice he gave me was to try every means to twist the two time lines together. Although the story presets that the male and female protagonists can only get along within 46 minutes of time and space fusion every day, there are still other cross-spaces. For example, Chen Jialan, the heroine in 2021, can have a story with He Zhengyu in 2022, so why can't she also contact He Zhengyu in 2021?
After listening to Teacher Li’s advice, I suddenly realized.
will be further deduced. Since the heroine in 2021 can come to 2022, why can't the hero in 2022 go back to 2021? The idea was opened, and we immediately decided to re-write the script.
I invited Teacher Li Xiaoming to be a script consultant, and I found three groups of screenwriters with their own strengths to create. In June 2021, I started the second draft of the script creation and re-deduced the emotional scenes of the two protagonists.
Finally, it is the issue of plot freshness and lines becoming younger.
Although "1006 Tenant" is first, it is too boring to just follow the original story "replicas" of the original story. After the two scripts, we not only completed the downward and re-opened career lines, but also tried to expand and extend the emotional lines.
In order to improve work efficiency, I referred to the creation model of American dramas in the second draft of the script and found three groups of screenwriters. Jiang Dan and Liu Xiang's team are responsible for writing episodes and segments, Zhang Yujie's team is responsible for writing characters, and I also found Shi Yi, a screenwriter who has experience in writing talk shows, and was responsible for polishing the lines and making the style of the script "young and funny". Finally, script consultant Li Xiaoming is responsible for checking and ensuring the correct direction of the story and the pace of progress.
I saw a viewer leaving a message saying, "There are so many screenwriters in this drama, are you serious?" My answer is, very serious. Every screenwriter of "My Secret Roommate" uses his strengths and works hard. Careful audiences can see that our story has smooth rhythm, logical rules, and must be filled in with pitfalls.
"My Secret Roommate" ultimately only retains the concept of "time and space fusion" and the professional identity of the male and female protagonists, and the remaining characters and stories are remade. So in my heart, "My Secret Roommate" is a highly original customized drama.
small dramas must also have ambitions
We always say that actors’ performances cannot be flattened or stereotyped, and the same is true for film and television creation. As the person in charge of the project, I cannot let the works be framed by the types, and I cannot set limits for the creation.
Compared with epic and historical legends, "My Secret Roommate" is a small incisive drama, but this does not mean that it has no room for innovation and expansion.
In "My Secret Roommate", we try to break through the genre limitations of fantasy romance dramas from three levels.
first, the settings can be fantasy, but the characters must be implemented.
I have always believed that truth is the premise for to empathize with . Specifically speaking, both the protagonist and the supporting role must be complex living people, and cannot be just functional characters that promote the development of the plot.
Take the male protagonist He Zhengyu as an example. He is like a book, and when you turn to different chapters, you will show different sides.
He is a big business man at work, but he is not a lawyer who is so sophisticated and sleek in his traditional impression. When facing a scumbag client, he would scold him and leave; when facing a partner with a bad mind, he was not afraid of tearing his face. In today's society, there are many elites like He Zhengyu who are capable and have personality. They would rather fight alone than begging for the sake of "being right to things but not the people".
He Zhengyu in life is quite contrasting. Although she is obsessed with turtle hair and a cleanliness, she is a cute big boy in her bones. He would put a mask on himself after taking a shower, play games with friends in the Internet cafe for pressure, and occasionally play pranks, even repairing a light and pretending to be electrocuted and teasing people. Although such a male protagonist is excellent, he is not arrogant. Although he seems to be at a certain distance from the audience, he is actually right next to everyone.
Second, forget the "portrait" of age and gender, let go of the hands of the drama.
When "My Secret Roommate" was broadcast, I accidentally received feedback from a middle-aged male friend watching the show. He told me very directly that the drama was filmed very well and had the texture of an American drama, and he couldn't stop catching it. At the beginning, I didn't dare to believe it, so I talked to him about the specific plot and characters, but I didn't expect that he would answer the questions smoothly.
At this moment, I think this drama is very worthwhile. It was the right choice to take fantasy love with an equal care mentality when it was separated from the user's age and gender "portraits".
"My Secret Roommate" can capture both female and male audiences at the same time, but there are three reasons. One is the fantasy and brainy story shell, the second is the high-intensity plot rhythm, and the third is the equal care of the gender perspective. Among them, this third point is the most difficult to do well.
When filming "My Secret Roommate", the creative position we chose was to make friends with the audience, not to endorse any party from a gender standpoint, but to objectively display it on the basis of ensuring dramaticity.
Chen Jialan and He Zhengyu made a lot of jokes during the emotional ambiguous period. For example, He Zhengyu thought that kissing was a confirmation of the relationship, while Chen Jialan felt that He Zhengyu owed her a confession.
When male audiences see He Zhengyu's slow reaction, they will feel immersive, while female audiences can smile when they see Chen Jialan's little thoughts. This is making friends with the audience. The audience has their own choice, and we just need to respect it.
Third, open the perspective and integrate into social issues.
For example, the brother-sister line between Wu Anwen (played by Cao Zheng) and Wu Jirong (played by Wang Mengli) in the play is a reflection on the relationship between China's family.
The Wu brother and sister who died young have depended on each other since childhood. Wu Anwen dropped out of school to work early just to raise his sister. He loves his sister very much but also has a strong desire for control, putting many invisible shackles on his sister, causing harm in the name of love. Similar overprotection is also the crux of many family problems in China today.
We show this emotional pattern in a fantasy love story, and we also want the audience to have a more personal feeling and some little inspiration.
Be a good "nail" producer
I am not a high-yield producer. "My Secret Roommate" has been broadcasting four years since the last drama "The Icebreaker of True Love". Because of my way of doing things, I keep an eye on every project we do from beginning to end, from script to production. In order to ensure quality, I like to sink to every link, and work with the director and other main creators to earnestly complete every creation...
Director Zhao Jintao and general producer Yu Jinwei discuss work
"My Secret Roommate" starts filming in September 2021. When choosing a shooting location, you must consider both the temperament and size of the entire drama, and the epidemic prevention and control factors. After watching the four cities of Nanjing, Ningbo , Shanghai, and Suzhou , we took into account the needs of all parties and set the location of the outdoor shooting in Suzhou and the studio shooting in Wuxi .
Every scene and every prop in the play is carefully screened and designed by the director and the art team. Because of the fusion of time and space, He Zhengyu and Chen Jialan's daily necessities will be mixed together, so when we prepare props, we decide to make a distinction between the quality of life of the two people.
A viewer noticed that the ivy outside Chen Jialan and He Zhengyu’s apartment building looked very beautiful, which was specially transplanted when we set up the scenery. It is a romantic drama, so we must strive to create a beautiful atmosphere in the environment.
Since we already have the atmosphere of ivy decorating, we later used this prop to distinguish the two time and space using its color changes. In the special effects stage, we adapt to the seasonal changes and turn the creepers in 2021 into green, while the creepers in 2022 are made red, which is beautiful and effective.
The special effect processing of time and space fusion is a relatively expensive place. In order to make the two time and space merge beautifully and dreamy, we have tried multiple versions.
For example, whether the color of the light effect is pink or blue, whether the effect of the item appears flash or gradient, etc., it took three months to finalize, which also doubled our special effects cost compared to the budget.
I am a person who is very competitive in quality and never accepts the idea of "almost". I have always felt that since the goal effect can be achieved, we cannot compromise to save trouble, money and time.
I also watched the post-production of "My Secret Roommate", from editing, music, special effects, to color adjustment and mixing, and meticulously polished every link. When
was used to mix sound, the sound team spent three weeks to make a sample, and later called back several versions, and I felt that the effect was not in place. Later, they asked the voice teacher to help me make several versions for me to choose, and as soon as they selected, they picked the version made by Liu Xu, a mix-in-chief of "The Wandering Earth". I can only say that the effect cannot deceive people.
Film and television creation should have a little bit of the spirit of "dare to be the first in the world" and should also have an attitude of not giving up until the goal is achieved. Small and beautiful projects need to win more by details, and you must not compromise where you should stick to them.
In my creative philosophy, I must come up with the finished product that I have done 100% of my efforts to have the confidence to hand it over to the platform and present it to the audience.
"My Secret Roommate" is a small and beautiful fantasy romance drama. Its production process is long and meticulous, and we spend a lot of thoughts and delicate. The so-called good things get harder, and I believe that the same is true for good works.
【Text/Yichen】
