Recently, “The Truth”, the first domestic online drama focusing on procuratorial technical work, has come to an end on Youku, which also opened a new window for suspense genre dramas. This suspenseful criminal investigation drama directed by Li Yifan and starring Chen Xingxu, Ge Yuexi, Xu Yajun, Liu Chang, and Wen Zhengrong unfolds a thrilling picture of human nature for the audience. The confusing wild corpse case, the theft of national treasures, the misty interest group… The show has been broadcast since mid-October and ended, and won the cat’s eye popularity for 21 consecutive days. #真相大结局##真相凶力量娃# #陈星旭堂里室气## Before Zhang Dongsheng and later there is Song Baiyu# and other drama topics dominate the screen hot search, and South Korea has also confirmed that it has bought the broadcasting copyright of “The Truth”. Such a gratifying work, the production behind it must be full of highlights. Through a dialogue with Li Yifan, the director of “The Truth”, we uncovered the mystery behind the production of the drama.
Accurate and rigorous casts “The Truth”
Regarding “The Truth” with the procuratorial industry as its theme, director Li Yifan explained the reasons for the selection. On the one hand, the general public has a relatively low awareness of the scope of functions of the procuratorial department, and there have been no procuratorial technical works on the market; on the other hand, due to the lack of rhythm in the first scene, the evidence provided by the police will also bring With a sense of time and space lag, the professional characteristics of the prosecutors will more clearly restore the situation on the spot. Therefore, this suspense + industry drama cut from the perspective of procuratorial technicians has undoubtedly opened up a new genre drama model.
The protagonists of “The Truth” are a group of prosecutors and technicians represented by Lin Yuanhao and Lin Lan, who use advanced professional techniques to assist prosecutors in solving difficult cases. Li Yifan said frankly that the play was adapted from the novel “The Iron Evidence of Silence” by senior prosecutor Mi Zhuguang. The cases in the play were all real cases, and the leaders of the Supreme Procuratorate also provided many ideas. Many real cases are integrated into the main line of the plot, and the Supreme Procuratorate will check it at all levels. The production of “The Truth” strives to be conclusive and rigorous in the process of case detection.
It is worth mentioning that the scenes and props in the play are also authentic and elegant. The creators set the shooting location in Qingdao, which can not only deepen the texture of the blockbuster through the colder tones, but also highlight the delicate psychology of the characters through the multi-faceted city image. In addition, director Li Yifan also mentioned that the trace inspection center in the play refers to the architecture of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate’s Procuratorial Technology Information Research Center, and uses 3D printing technology to achieve one-to-one restoration on the equipment, so the trace detection is truly reproduced in the play. , Electronic data technology, judicial psychology, audio-visual technology and other procuratorial categories. “Opening the evidence is opening life.” Just like this line, “The Truth” relies on its precise capture, strict layout, and technical presentation to give the audience a window to watch the daily work and life of frontline prosecutors.
Interpreting “The Truth” earnestly and dedicatedly
“The Truth” not only has dynamic new-generation actors such as Chen Xingxu, Ge Yuexi, and Liu Chang, but also powerful old actors such as Xu Yajun and Wen Zhengrong. Regarding the casting, Director Li Yifan said that Chen Xingxu and Ge Yuexi have accomplished the roles of hero and heroine very well. The protagonist Lin Yuanhao is smart and savvy, and is a prosecutor who insists on taking evidence as the core, while the sunny and upright Chen Xingxu maintains a high degree of fit with the role. The heroine Lin Lan is bold and courageous, and she is good at reasoning in her work. The cheerful character Ge Yuexi vividly interprets this sassy female role.
Speaking of the impressive footage in the filming, Li Yifan recalled the scene in which Song Baiyu killed Malaysia. After instructing Liu Chang to keep his breath fast and his eyes congested during the process of passionate killing, Liu Chang would go for a run after each shot, squat holding his breath, and try to make his body and breath more in line with the character. In order to achieve the best effect of a lens, Chen Xingxu stood in the cold wind for more than forty minutes while shooting at the seaside at minus ten degrees.
During the filming process, Director Li Yifan will help each actor gradually integrate into the role. When directing the performance, he will pay special attention to two points when the director gives a speech. On the one hand, he helps the actors believe in the role they play in the processing of lines. On the other hand, It is to deal with the relationship between the machine and the actor, and try to keep the actor’s emotions from being distracted by the continuous shooting of the handheld camera. Since the establishment of meteorological observations, Qingdao has completed the drama in the coldest winter. Director Li said that although it was hard, it was very touching.
Multi-dimensional discussion and construction of “The Truth”
Nowadays, the “suspense” in the film and television market is serious. When “The Truth” is compared with other similar works, it embodies its uniqueness because of the “evidence”. Director Li Yifan pointed out that the storytelling method in “The Truth” is not the same as the strong rhythm of criminal investigation dramas. Instead, the time and space of each case is pierced and then integrated into the main line. The internal pressure of prosecutors and criminal characters in pursuit of the truth is like Fighting in the air, and the chaotic time and space editing methods have been used many times in the stylized editing. This adventurous counter-type attempt, that is, the time and space of the character fragments at the beginning and the end eventually become the evidence of the main line of time and space, which also confirms the director’s attitude of “evidence is the point of view”.
The subject of criminal investigation suspense will inevitably involve many social issues, and it is also a big problem to grasp the appropriate scale between the two. Li Yifan closely followed the sensitive emotions of multi-faceted human nature, took care of the damaged family behind the case, and tried his best to let the audience follow the prosecution technicians to think together. The audience will see the criminals at the first time in each case, and it is also convenient to start from the time and space of evidence and think about the motives of people’s crimes instead of simply distinguishing good from bad and good from evil.
Good works move people’s hearts through emotions. Each character in “The Truth” runs his own logic of life, both righteous and evil, and enemy and friend. This is precisely because the whole play establishes a social time and space, and the audience can experience the life of a chicken feather behind each case, and can learn to regret the criminals rather than simply hate them. From an emotional point of view, everyone is responsible for their life choices, no matter what role you are. The values that the director wants to convey are not complicated, but it is dialectical: no matter how cunning criminals are, they cannot escape legal sanctions; conversely, the law is equally fair to the strong and the weak, and even criminals need to clarify crimes. Will not be wronged.
At the end of the interview, Director Li said that it is precisely because of the procuratorial technicians shown in “The Truth” that they maintain the bottom line of fairness and justice in a society under the rule of law with a rigorous attitude, pragmatic spirit, and superb technology. We also look forward to director Li Yifan’s bringing more masterpieces in the future.