The big python in "Journey to the West" was thought to be a special effect. Did you find it difficult to be an actor when you saw the real thing?

"Journey to the West" is a familiar work. It is the childhood memory of a generation. It has accompanied the childhood and growth of a generation. It will come as promised every holiday and never tire of it.

I believe that everyone’s hero when they were young was the Monkey King, the Monkey King. Many people still regard the Monkey King as their idol. When I was a child, I had endless curiosity about the world. Watching the gods flying around on TV, watching the Monkey King’s golden cudgel change in size, and watching the three-legged cat magic of various monsters, I felt it was very magical!

As a drama with the theme of gods and demons, "Journey to the West" naturally requires a lot of special effects if it wants to present the content in the work.

"Journey to the West" was filmed in the 1980s. At that time, the filming technology and filming tools were not developed, and many instruments were still imported. We may have been immersed in "Journey to the West" when we watched it at the time, but when we watch it again now, the picture quality is very blurry, especially the special effects, which are like fifty-cent special effects, and even a bit funny.

Among them, there is a scene in which a python is subdued. The scene was not shot with a prop snake, but with the actor carrying a real live snake, and then the special effects were synthesized in post. This makes people lament the actor's Dedicated and not easy. (1) "Journey to the West" was not easy to shoot, so real snakes were used to create the special effects for realism

There are many strange elves in "Journey to the West". It can be found that they are all disguised by wearing headgear, including Monkey King, Zhu Bajie and others. The Golden Horn King, Running Man, etc. all wear headgear. I don’t think today’s fantasy dramas have very advanced makeup technology and special effects.

The special effects in "Journey to the West" are used throughout. From the birth of the stone monkey to the return of the Buddhist scriptures, various spells are used to fly. Many of the special effects in Journey to the West were based on real objects and then added special effects. Therefore, the actors also spent a lot of thought and effort in order to prepare the special effects foundation.

For example, there are many small details in "Journey to the West" where Sun Wukong exhales immortal energy. These "immortal energy" look extremely realistic, but they are not added out of thin air by special effects. The actors inhale them before performing. Just one puff of cigarette creates a feeling of fairy spirit.

There are many similar initiatives, such as the episode of "Journey to the West" in which the python spirit is defeated. The python in this episode may be the childhood shadow of many people. The young and beautiful python in the memory suddenly trembled, and then the camera turned and she turned into an old lady with gray hair and wrinkled skin, drinking a bowl of human blood. Then she turned back to her original young and beautiful self.

When she saw that she had turned into an old lady, she was really scared to death. There is a very exciting part in this scene where Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie went to catch the python spirit together. The two of them also tortured the big python. What we saw on TV was the python after special effects synthesis, but the filming The crew used real pythons.

There is a still about this scene. Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie are carrying a very thick python, and they have to hold on to its head. The python has been treated, and its head The big fangs have been removed, but it still looks shocking. Moreover, this python is quite heavy and it is very difficult to carry it. The actors in "Journey to the West" are indeed dedicated. Liu Xiaolingtong and Ma Dehua were able to act calmly and well in front of a big python, which deserves praise. (2) The filming conditions of "Journey to the West" were difficult, and the entire crew worked together

"Journey to the West" was not like the current TV drama crew. The actors were just waiting to film, and the set managers did the work of the set. There are a lot of extras, and the conditions during the filming of "Journey to the West" were quite difficult. A very common phenomenon is that the crew's work is not divided into leading actors and extras, actors and set managers. As long as there is work, everyone works together. Dry.

In the behind-the-scenes footage of "Journey to the West", Zhu Bajie shovels soil with a big shovel, Monk Sha rides a motorcycle to transport props, and the actor under the Golden Horn King's hood changes his hood and becomes an elephant spirit. This is very popular among the crew. These are all very common phenomena. The leading actors also often go to recruit extras.

There are many flying scenes in "Journey to the West". We will find that whether it is Monkey King or other gods and monsters, when they fly in the sky, their height is either above the clouds or low trees, because the crew does not have very high altitude. High-end wires and cranes cannot make actors "fly" very high;

Many of the flying scenes of Liu Xiaolingtong, the actor who plays Monkey King, are suspended by cable cars, and the small noodles still need a few people Dragging him.

This is very laborious, requires the actor's own physical strength, and also poses safety risks. In short, it is very laborious.

Of course, actors are dedicated and hard-working. There is no way, the equipment cannot keep up, so people can only do it. "Journey to the West" was shot in real locations, and the actors had to stay in the wild all day long, in large woods, grasslands, up mountains, down rivers, no matter how difficult it was. Although they did not actually walk the journey to the West to learn Buddhist scriptures, they were still close. That's why such a good work can be presented, and the actors have devoted their main efforts. (3) The crew's spirit of overcoming difficulties made "Journey to the West" possible

Whether it was the real python used for the special effects or the cable car used to shoot the flying scene, the customer service of the crew of "Journey to the West" was reflected The spirit of hard work and hard work. The success of "Journey to the West" is inevitable. Although it does not have very developed props and special effects, I can still be attracted to "Journey to the West" when I look back at it today, because it has done a good job of learning from its strengths and compensating for its weaknesses.

First of all, the actors’ acting skills are superb. Every actor in "Journey to the West" is a well-deserved actor. Whether it is the four masters and apprentices who have many roles or the extras who only appear in a few scenes, their acting skills are excellent, and there is no sense of drama at all. fascinating.

And their eyes seem to be able to speak. To quote Wang Yibo in "Tian Tian Shang Shang", "the eyes of old artists are pure and reveal infinite love."

It is true that the eyes of these old artists are particularly pure, with concentration that is not affected by the outside world, and they are completely integrated into the play, even their eyes exude heat. For example, there is a scene in which Tang Monk, a white-bone demon, misunderstands Sun Wukong and drives him away. In this scene, Sun Wukong is misunderstood and then driven away by his master. The aggrieved, angry and painful look in his eyes is still fresh in my memory.

The second is to serve the Tao exquisitely. There are many characters in "Journey to the West". Regarding serving the Tao, female characters are taken as an example. The female characters in "Journey to the West" are a bright spot in the entire drama. Every actress in the drama is particularly beautiful. Many netizens couldn't help but joke: I just looked at the monkeys back then!

The daughter king, sister Chang'e, the apricot fairy, the spider spirit, the mouse spirit, the peacock princess, etc., each of them is extremely beautiful. Moreover, their costumes and makeup are also very exquisite. Each girl has her own costume style, unlike today's costume dramas where the costumes are all the same.

Many props in the play, such as Tang Monk's cassock, Buddhist beads, golden bowls, ancient utensils, imperial palace furnishings, and Buddhist scriptures, were made by the crew with reference to original works and historical materials, and are not fabricated at will. These strengths make up for the shortcomings in equipment and special effects.

All in all, the filming of "Journey to the West" was very hard, the actors were also very hard-working, and the filming period was also very long. Although the finished TV series we see now only has about twenty episodes, the crew put in much more than that.

That’s why they are called old artists. They can endure loneliness and polish the script, they can put themselves into the characters’ shoes, they can work without counting their efforts. In order to polish a work well and present it to the audience, they have to pay a lot. It’s more than just one drama. The creators are very happy and touched that "Journey to the West" has received a lot of praise, and it is indeed worth it.