Beijing Film Academy, a large office on the top floor of the teaching building.
The invigilator came in and out with the test papers, distributed them to the corresponding marking teachers, laughed for a while or two, and then left.
The examination papers of each department require cross-checking by teachers, and each examination paper is also name-sealed, which ensures fairness to a certain extent.
However, for art schools, cultural scores do not account for a large proportion of the final graduation score. Compared with cultural examination papers, teachers are more interested in graduation thesis, which accounts for the final score and is counted as a professional assessment category.
With the application and development of computers, in order to keep up with the times, graduation thesis submissions now need to be submitted in two forms at the same time, one is in paper form and the other is in word document form.
The paper form is used to seal into personal paper files, and the word document is used to seal into electronic files.
Graduation thesis also requires cross-grading by teachers in the assessment team. Teacher Tian Dazhuang, who was assigned to the graduation thesis review team, happened to see Liu Yifei's graduation thesis on the computer, which made him temporarily interested.
Tian Dazhuang is one of the top ten famous teachers in the acting department of Beijing Film Academy. He has been deeply involved in the academic field of acting since the 1970s. He played an important role in the Beijing Film Studio in the past. He is also a filmmaker of the same generation as Han Sanping, Chen Kaige, and Zhang Yimou.
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After the restructuring of Beijing Film Factory, part of the teaching resources created the current Beijing Film Academy, and the other part of the production resources created the current China Film Group. Tian Dazhuang did not choose to go on the road of becoming famous like Chen Kaige and others, nor did he choose to be like Chen Kaige and others.
Han Sanping embarked on an official career in the cultural field, but stayed in school to teach and educate people.
Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei are the most influential figures in Beijing Film Academy, or it can be said that they are the two students of Beijing Film Academy who are currently the most prosperous after the millennium. They have surpassed the top drama, overshadowed the Chinese drama, and crushed the talent and art, far surpassing
Martial arts.
Compared to Zhao Wei and Xu Jinglei, who were both seniors at Beijing Film Academy in the late 1990s, their combined momentum is now even greater.
However, this is just popularity.
As a teacher who has been teaching and educating people for decades, Tian Dazhuang knows one thing very well. If there is no knowledge and experience as a foundation, if there is no foundation as a support for performance progress, you may be able to become a hit with some luck, but you will either not be able to go far, or you will not be able to succeed.
Without a good script, its popularity will slowly fade away.
Therefore, for Liu Yifei, who became famous at a young age, her graduation thesis aroused Tian Dazhuang's interest.
Tian Dazhuang wanted to see what unique insights this little girl, who was admitted to Beijing Film Academy at the age of 15 and is now quite accomplished, has about actors and performances.
He looked at the computer, holding the mouse in his hand, ready to slide the scroll bar at any time.
[Title: A brief discussion on actors’ sense of belief and the art of acting.
With the development of the global cultural industry, film and television dramas have increasingly penetrated into our lives today. When we relish some classic scenes in film and television dramas, we often focus on the actors on the screen.
In the eyes of the audience, the emotions conveyed by the actors' performances may be deeply touching, exciting, sad, or calm.
Therefore, we can draw a conclusion that the tension of the actor's performance plays a decisive role in making the audience have strong or low emotions.
This is the audience’s perception of the actor’s performance, so what is the actor’s perception of the performance like?
The world-famous director Antonioni once said: "Without my environment, there would be no my characters."
It is true that many audiences only pay attention to the actors, but it is undeniable that the intense emotions caused by the progressive chemical reactions combined with the actors' performances and the environmental rendering in the picture are also what the audience can feel.
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It's just that many viewers subconsciously don't pay attention to things other than actors. This is also a manifestation of the lack of understanding of the elements that constitute film and television dramas.
But for us actors, the environment of each scene is a crucial factor in performance.
For example, in an aesthetic environment, a relationship scene should naturally be presented in an aesthetic direction.
For example, in a desolate environment, an emotional scene will naturally be expressed in a desolate direction.
Therefore, the type and direction of emotions conveyed by actors in their performances are actually determined by the environment in which the scene takes place.
Therefore, in the eyes of the audience, if an actor performs a scene well, the prerequisite is that the actor's performance matches the environment well.】
Tian Dazhuang narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded.
When many actors in China are acting, they only care about their own interpretation and their own emotions. They don't care about anything else, and they don't care whether the emotions they convey are suitable for the environment they are in.
For example, on a miserable battlefield, it should be tragic, but it conveys love.
For example, in the beautiful scenery, it should be tender, but it conveys tragedy.
This may have something to do with the director's level, but it also has something to do with the actors' incorrect understanding of the performance.
Liu Yifei can have this kind of understanding. No matter how high her opinion is, she can be said to be a qualified actor. She is fundamentally different from some celebrities in their approach to acting.
Tian Dazhuang continued to look down.
[However, in the eyes of the audience, the environment may be desolate, beautiful, grand, or dark...it can always arouse the audience's emotions before the actors start performing.
But for us actors, the environment in every scene is not always real.
Sometimes it is just a painting, and post-production is used to make it more beautiful.
Sometimes it's just a green cloth, which is replaced by post-cutting and special effects.
Under such circumstances, we actors can only look at the composition of the scene, understand the text description on the composition, combine it with the effect to be presented by the script and plot, and perform completely by imagination.
Whether the imagined scene is three-dimensional, complete, and colorful can directly affect whether the emotions expressed by our actors in this scene are correct and in place.
This is something that the screenwriter cannot control, and it is also something that the director cannot control. It all depends on our actors’ own imagination and ability to express our imagination.
This is the embodiment of acting skills.]
"That's a good summary." Tian Dazhuang agreed in his heart.
Some actors can act, but they don't have a set of things in mind.
And those celebrities who are not very good at acting have no ink in their brains.
After reading this article, he clearly felt that Liu Yifei already had her own set of artistic thoughts and theories. This was Liu Yifei's systematic summary of performance thoughts.
This is pretty good.
[When it comes to imagination, we have to mention a word that all of us actors know—a sense of belief.]
"That's the question." Tian Dazhuang nodded slightly and said silently in his heart.
[Sense of belief, this is a macro term. There is no truth to describe what these three words are, and there is no systematic method to teach us actors how to 100% improve this ability.
But it is undeniable that a sense of belief is essential for an actor and is the core of performance.
The strength of the sense of belief determines whether the character played by an actor is lifelike or ordinary.
The strength of the sense of belief is also one of the important criteria for judging an actor's performance level.
Art comes from life and is higher than life.
Many times when actors lack a sense of belief, they will experience the life of the character to increase their own experience in order to shape the character better.
But what about those characters whose lives cannot be experienced in real life, such as disaster movies, science fiction movies, and fantasy movies?
You can only rely on your imagination and your sense of belief.
But what exactly is belief?
There is no standard answer, every actor has his or her own opinion, and my concept of this term was at a loss and vague at first.
Until February 15, 2006, under the guidance of classmate Chu Xuan, he took me to a mental hospital.
He pointed at the mentally ill patients and said to me: "Treat the world as a scene, the flowers and plants as props, the eyes as lenses, and them as actors. You see, their every move is so natural, and they act more
good."
At that time, I understood what a sense of belief is, which is nothing more than creating an imaginary world in my mind.
One has mountains and water, one has heaven and earth, one has people and animals, one has crying and laughing, a custom world with rules!
And what kind of life should the characters played by us actors have in this world?
When we can imagine the complete movement of the character we play in such a world, this is a sense of belief!
Classmate Chu Xuan said to me again: "When our actors' performance can reach their state of sending and receiving freely, then this is the art of performance!"
...]
Tian Dazhuang's eyes lit up. He put his hands on his hands and smiled. He looked around at the teachers and said, "Come on, come on, come and take a look at Liu Yifei's graduation thesis. There is a surprise."
Hearing this, Huang Lei took the test paper from the invigilator and walked over with Xu Jinglei, who was just pouring tea. Wang Jinsong and other teachers sat in their original positions, looking at Tian Dazhuang and correcting the test paper while waiting for their explanations.
Tian Dazhuang rewinded the document to the beginning and slid the scroll bar again to let Huang Lei, Xu Jinglei and others see clearly.
"First from the audience to the actors, and then from Antonioni's words, the relationship between the scene environment and the actors is derived. Then the theme of the sense of faith is thrown out from the scene environment, and then the sense of faith is explained from one's own experience, and finally the artistic point of performance is used
After understanding the second theme, this paper is qualified from a structural point of view, and the connection of the theme is very clear and natural." Xu Jinglei commented.
"It's mainly about self-explanation, but it's also a bit academic, so the mental hospital's theory of finding a sense of belief is a bit interesting," she added.
"Not only is it interesting, I think it's also experimental." A teacher had a different view.
"Treat the world as a scene, flowers and plants as props, eyes as lenses, and patients as actors..." Huang Lei crossed his arms and grinned: "This is Chu Xuan's language style."
"Liu Yifei said she was guided by Chu Xuan, which is an extension of Chu Xuan's words." A teacher felt interesting.
Tian Dazhuang turned to look at them and said: "What Lao Li said is the same as what I thought. I think going to a mental hospital to learn about belief is really experimental."
Huang Lei and Xu Jinglei looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
Tian Dazhuang continued: "Normal people in our lives more or less have masks and disguises, but every move of those patients is 100% real. Just like what Liu Yifei said in her paper, all the moves are
Being immersed in your own world happens naturally, which is very different from real life."
He added: "The sense of belief we are talking about must first exist as real as possible, and then add various disguises to allow the character's tonality and multi-facetedness to appear and make it fuller, but the most important thing is authenticity.
Where? How should I imagine it? I think it’s not a bad idea to try.”
Teachers such as Huang Lei and Xu Jinglei were thoughtful. They all knew that in the eyes of the audience, a character is basically a general but complete image.
But for actors, when shaping a character, they must first find the most real side of the character, and then use this most real side to shape it layer by layer multiple times to make the character more full and three-dimensional.
Often the most real side is the hardest to imagine. For example, what does an aunt who sells steamed buns look like on a regular basis? What does an uncle who pulls a truck look like on a regular basis? You must be able to imagine and express their truest side, and then perform such as
The aunt is a murderer, the uncle is a wanted criminal, etc., so the character can be amazing.
But if you want to perform the first level of reality of the character, you need the actor to have a strong sense of belief as the basic support.
Only with a sense of belief can we have a real sense of character.
But how to cultivate a sense of belief? There is no specific way except to experience it personally.
However, the method in Liu Yifei's paper, as Tian Dazhuang said, is somewhat experimental. After all, mentally ill patients whose words and deeds are natural and real are indeed good subjects for observation and reference.
Tian Dazhuang closed Liu Yifei's paper and said, "I will take my students to try it next semester to see if it has any effect."
"Definitely." Huang Lei said with some certainty, "I have watched Liu Yifei's acting skills improve. If there was no effect, Chu Xuan would not take her there."
Xu Jinglei agreed in theory, nodded and said: "Teacher Tian, take a look at Chu Xuan's paper."
"Look at Chu Xuan." A teacher moved a bench over to sit on.
In their minds, the teachers at Beijing Film Academy highly recognized Chu Xuan's acting skills, otherwise Chu Xuan would not have become a famous figure in the school due to his acting skills during his freshman year.
The standard of Liu Yifei's paper is relatively high. After all, it is rare for fresh graduates to have a complete theory of their own papers. Moreover, Chu Xuan's influence on Liu Yifei's performance can be seen in every word in the paper.
Very big.
Under such circumstances, they became even more curious about Chu Xuan's paper.
Tian Dazhuang searched in the folder and clicked on Chu Xuan's thesis document.
As the document opened, everyone looked at it.
[Title: A brief analysis of the "multiple spaces" of performance.
What is a performance?
In my opinion, getting up in the morning and stretching, getting out of bed to brush your teeth and wash your face, going downstairs to have breakfast... can all be performances.】
This simple sentence at the beginning made Tian Dazhuang and Huang Lei's eyes light up, and they were inexplicably reminded of the four words "life is like a play". This simple sentence gave this paper an artistic value at the beginning.
[1.1-Look at performance from the screenwriter’s space.]
This subtitle made Tian Dazhuang and Huang Lei raise their eyebrows. As an actor, Chu Xuan did not tell the story from the conventional perspective of an actor, but from the perspective of a screenwriter?
This idea was a bit novel, which heightened their interest.
[There seems to be no stratification of actors in the market, only the difference between academics and non-academics.
No matter what faction they are actors in, most of them start as a supporting actor, and then go through the process of prospect, special contract, minor supporting role, major supporting role, and male and female lead.
Different people may take different paths due to different opportunities, but most actors follow this process.
No matter which process the actor is in, deep down in his heart, every actor must have the idea of performing every scene well and interpreting every role well.
In today's actor industry, not to mention the majority of non-academic actors who have not experienced systematic learning, even the so-called academic actors who have experienced systematic learning have not been able to find a job since their debut in the first play, or even for several years.
Due to my own acting method, I could only stay in the comfort zone of the same type of role for many years, standing still.
Maybe it's due to talent, or maybe it's external factors. I won't explain it here.
Students privately believe that when an actor is confused about his performance method, he can use a set of general "basic methods."
Universal basic law?...Tian Dazhuang, Huang Lei and Xu Jinglei became interested.
[The three-act structure is the basic composition method of a script, and it is also the script composition logic commonly used in most film and television dramas in the current market.
From the beginning, through the process, to the end. The so-called three-act structure is such a simple structure.
So if we look at an actor's performance with this structure, what would happen if an actor used this structure to form his own set of performance theories?
Let’s use a simple play as an example.
Beginning: Xiao Zhang met the girl he had a crush on. He was secretly happy, but stopped and did not dare to come forward to communicate.
Process: The girl and another boy hugged each other. Xiao Zhang was stunned on the spot and could not help but clench his hands.
Ending: The girl and the boy walked away hand in hand. Xiao Zhang was so lost that he turned around and left quickly to hide the pain in his heart.
In this three-act plot, Xiao Zhang, as an actor, also has a three-act performance: chuckling and stopping are the matching emotions and actions at the beginning; being dull and clenching fists are matching the emotions and actions in the process; being lost and turning around to leave
It is the matching of ending emotions and actions.
With three simple matching combinations of emotions and actions in a scene, the image and personality of a character can be basically established.
Taking this as an example, students believe that all film and television drama scenes on the market can be performed according to the three-act structure.
If an actor has not found his own acting method, then such a "three-act basic acting method" may be able to help similar actors.
This is a student’s brief view of performance from the screenwriter’s perspective.]
Tian Dazhuang hissed and said, "What do you think?"
Chu Xuan's theory made him feel a little shocked.
Basic three-act acting method?
Is this Chu Xuan’s own creation?
Anyway, he had never heard of it, but what he said seemed to be very reasonable and very practical.
"My dear, this is amazing." A teacher looked at Huang Lei and Xu Jinglei and said, "I think this theory can be added to the teaching curriculum. It is very useful."
"What's wrong?" When Wang Jinsong and other teachers heard this, they stood up and came closer.
"Your student has created a set of performance theories, which are supported by the basic professional knowledge of screenwriting." Huang Leicheng said to Wang Jinsong.
Wang Jinsong and others were a little surprised and looked at the paper.
After reading this theory, it was like a stone that stirred up a thousand waves, and teachers started to discuss it heatedly.
"Okay, this Chu Xuan is amazing, this is completely practical." One of the teachers said.
"Unlike the experimental nature of Liu Yifei's paper about going to a mental hospital to find a sense of faith, Chu Xuan's basic method is very practical and can be used directly, and the effect can be seen immediately." A teacher commented.
Xu Jinglei nodded and said: "Many actors just have the same expression most of the time and act dryly. They don't know what they want to do, or they don't have a performance framework in their minds."
Huang Lei rushed to say: "Chu Xuan's theory can help all actors who don't know how to act to form a basic performance framework. As Chu Xuan said in his paper, this is the basic acting method."
"Yes." Xu Jinglei looked at Huang Lei and continued: "The framework of this performance can remind the actors what they have to do at the beginning, what they have to do in the process, and what they have to do at the end. Moreover, Chu Xuan also mentioned
Now, one emotion corresponds to one action, and I think lines can be added to this theory for practice."
"Yes, we need to add lines." Wang Jinsong agreed, and then said: "During regular meetings, we can put forward this theory and study it together."
The teachers nodded, obviously accepting the theory in Chu Xuan's paper.
Huang Lei shook his head and said: "This kid Chu Xuan, if this paper is published, those schools will compete for him to go to graduate school."
"Yes, let Chu Xuan stay at Beijing Film Academy for graduate school." Tian Dazhuang turned to look at Wang Jinsong and said, "At this level, he is more than enough to be a lecturer now."
"If he was willing to go to graduate school, he would have gone to graduate school long ago." Wang Jinsong shook his head.
"After all, I have a big company and can make a lot of contributions to the industry. Being a teacher is not as fun as being a boss." Huang Lei talked to Chu Xuan from the air conditioner.
After being reminded by Huang Lei, Tian Dazhuang also thought of Chu Xuan's background and looked regretful.
The theory of belief in Liu Yi Fei was obviously proposed by Chu Xuan, and this theory of basic acting methods was also proposed by Chu Xuan.
There were two sets of theoretical methods that he had never heard of before, and one was experimental and the other was highly practical.
In his opinion, Chu Xuan was so professional and pioneering as a student. If Chu Xuan continued to grow slowly, his future would be endless. It would be a pity not to study these theories in depth as a teacher.
But having said that, as the boss of Brilliant Era, Chu Xuan can also contribute to the industry as Huang Lei said.
"Keep watching." Huang Lei said.
Tian Dazhuang held the mouse and slid the scroll bar.
[1.2-Look at the performance from the space of the director’s lens.
As we all know, many scenes in film and television dramas are fake. Although the advancement of special effects and the strict requirements of setting make the final presentation look more real, we all know that such scenes are impossible to have in real life.
Students call such scenes "impossible camera scenes."
With the development and progress of the film and television industry, lens matte technology is often used in this type of lens scenes.
In short, the original painter or art screenwriter of the special effects team is asked to draw the scene according to the requirements of the scene.
Draw a painting as the background of the scene, and use camera techniques and post-production special effects processing to make the painting look real.
And how should actors perform under such a lens?
This not only requires actors to have a sense of belief, but also requires actors to have a sense of space.
Because with the development of the market and the advancement of film and television drama genres, the lens matte is no longer satisfied with the normal matte in normal space.
Let’s look at the short film "Hope" by students and Liu Yifei. One of the clips is: the ground is a wall, the wall is the ground, the actor is standing on the ground, but in fact he is standing on the wall. This requires the actor to have a sense of space and spatial imagination.
force to achieve the spatial staggered interpretation effect.
The same spatial split-level effect also appeared in the classic film "Taking Tiger Mountain by Wisdom".
There is a shot of an actor climbing a snow-capped mountain full of dangers. In fact, the snow-capped mountain is a painting, and the painting is on the ground. The camera was shot vertically from the ground. The actors only need to crawl on the ground to achieve the effect of climbing the snow-capped mountains full of dangers.
With the development of the film and television industry, such performance methods will gradually increase, and this is also different from the conventional performance methods of actors.
To create scenes through the lens, and for shots that need to achieve a spatial staggered effect, the actors often need to train and simulate in advance, and they will be constantly NG during the performance, which often seriously delays the shooting process.
At present, there are no teaching courses in this way in major colleges and universities.
Students believe that rock climbing, crawling and even tree climbing courses can be added to the list of physical training subjects.
This is a student’s brief view of performance from the space of the director’s lens.]
"Hey, I also gave my opinion on the school." Huang Lei said with a grin.
"But don't talk about it, I brought up the idea." A teacher felt interesting.
Xu Jinglei clinked glasses with her hands and took a sip of tea, then said: "In terms of movies, matte painting is also called movie matte painting. When the setting is too complicated or the setting cannot satisfy the scene shooting, in recent years, due to the addition of special effects technology,
, the matte painting method is often used as the background requirement for shooting.”
Huang Lei nodded and said: "This method was used in "Zhu Xian", and also in "Hope" by Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei, in order to meet various needs. Like "Hope" by Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei, in the scene
Several walls and floors were painted and pasted on in order to present a three-dimensional and spatial sense of space."
Tian Dazhuang frowned and said: "I would like to watch "Hope". Are Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei the producers? Based on the quality of their two papers, this movie should not be bad."
Huang Lei smiled and said, "You will be pleasantly surprised."
Huang Lei has a good relationship with Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei, and all the teachers also know that they have been together for most of last year. Huang Lei knows some things about "Hope", and all the teachers also know it.
But after Huang Lei said this, the teachers became more curious about "Hope". However, the graduation performance was still a few days away, so they could only temporarily suppress their curiosity.
[1.3-Look at the performance from the producer’s space.
In the eyes of the producer, the script is a separate and complete world, and the movements of each character affect each other's behavior.
The protagonist is an extension of the core of the world, and the supporting role is a continuation of the core of the world. They complement each other and carry out multi-threaded behaviors, ultimately forming a world view that is as complete as possible...]
"This is a bit complicated." Xu Jinglei said.
"It has reached a higher level. It talks about the relationship between an actor's performance and the world view. This is a set of theories that are difficult to apply. Not many actors will pay attention to this thing." Tian Dazhuang shook his head.
"Chu Xuan just understands it himself." Huang Lei said: "He and Liu Yifei have only been producers for less than a year. This kind of theory is not yet established and needs to be studied more."
"Even so, the standard of Chu Xuan's paper is not ordinary." A teacher commented.
"Not many students can write it," a teacher commented.
"More than that." Xu Jinglei slowly shook her head and said while tightening the lid of the thermos cup: "Not to mention students, not many teachers can write it. This idea is so clear and strange, and it is a summary of Chu Xuan's own experience.
To be able to write a paper of this caliber is far beyond what he should be able to do at his age."
All the teachers nodded in approval. The two papers by Liu Yifei and Chu Xuan really surprised them, and Chu Xuan's paper made them feel even more amazing.
"As discussed earlier, the outstanding graduates Chu Xuan and Liu Yifei will definitely not be able to escape. According to the previous discussion, the graduation star will be given to Chu Xuan." Tian Dazhuang turned to look at the teachers.
"I have no objection." Wang Jinsong said.
"Of course you have no objection, we are all your students." Xu Jinglei joked.
Wang Jinsong raised his lips but did not answer.
The teachers didn't say anything, obviously they didn't have any opinions.
In addition to the outstanding graduates who graduate every year, one of the best among the outstanding graduates must be selected as the graduation star, who can also be regarded as the representative of this graduating class.
Even without this thesis, Chu Xuan was still their proposed graduation star, and the school leaders had no objections. After all, Chu Xuan's achievements in the past few years are here.
And with this high-level thesis, the teachers were speechless, and Chu Xuan’s graduation star was gone.
"That's it." Huang Lei said: "The graduating star is going to give a speech, and I happen to be going to the Bright Times Film and Television Company. Chu Xuan is also there, so I will go and tell him so that he can prepare in advance.
"
With that said, Huang Lei cleaned up the test papers on his desk and immediately walked out of the office.