In the memory of most audiences, the last impressive domestic sitcom was ipartment. Recently, the urban workplace sitcom "Broken Elite" directed by Wei Zheng, director of "ipartment", was launched on iQiyi, which aroused widespread concern among netizens.
This comedy, which bears a strong brand of ipartment, revolves around the workplace and life experiences of the members of the Joint Rapid Response and Handling Department of Extraordinary Urgent Affairs (homophonic "Breaking Things Department") of Wanshou Group, and tells the stories of these "frustrated people in the workplace" and "rescuing" their own work and life. As of July 1st, Weibo’s topic # Breaker Elite # has been read 500 million times and discussed 394,000 times.
Although it is based on the workplace, Breaking Elite is not a traditional workplace drama. In an exclusive interview with Variety, Wei said, "The company is just a stage, and the topic of discussion is not limited to this." The creative team wants to show more dimensions of social ecology, integrate more realistic views and reflect the smiles and tears of ordinary people through "Breaking the Elite".
Fusion creation
For the post-90s and post-00s audiences, Wei Zheng’s works can be said to accompany their whole youth. Before entering the society, they watched ipartment, with the longing that "the best friend is around, and the favorite person is opposite"; After entering the workplace, they felt the experiences of the protagonists in "Breaking the Elite" and empathized with them.
"Social issues" and "element integration" are the key to the innovation of this work. In terms of content, as a department living at the bottom of the group, the "Broken Things Department" needs to help other departments handle all kinds of work-copywriting planning, picture design, shredding resumes, and even helping bosses brush posts, showing a multi-dimensional workplace ecology; Formally, the drama series incorporates many elements such as song and dance, interaction, science fiction, costume, games, etc., and strives to bring diverse viewing experiences to the audience.
Talking about creative difficulties, Wei Zheng said that combining comedy with social topics in depth, so that each episode has a clear theme, is a mode rarely used in comedies. This kind of innovation on the theme level is the most special feature of Breaking Elite, and it is also the biggest challenge to the creative team. "This model makes" Breaking Elite "not only beautiful, but also memorable."
For example, the fifth episode of "Broken Elite" is an interactive drama. The story revolves around the virtual companion generated by AI, and discusses the topic of modern people’s emotional emptiness and how to get rid of loneliness. The episode caused a warm response after it was broadcast. The audience said in succession, "It’s very real and very substitutive." "The technology has exploded, and it has been brushed for more than a dozen times, and there is still a branch line that has not been brushed." Wei Zheng compares the interactive creation of "Broken Elite" and "Love Apartment 5", and thinks that the audience feels novelty not only because of the interactive drama, but because of the combination of "resonant theme" and interactive form.
"Blended creation is a brand-new creative attempt for me. I don’t know what the result will be, so this creation is like opening a blind box." Wei Zheng said frankly that his heart was always uneasy until the editing was completed. After the series was broadcast, it gained the attention and recognition of many viewers. Some viewers commented, "Breaking Elite interprets reality in a comedy way, which is a must-see drama for ordinary people." This also makes Wei Zheng’s hanging heart settle slightly.
Sense of sight of life "landing"
Hu Qiang (Jackson Yee), an honest man who has worked at the grassroots level for ten years, suddenly got the opportunity of "promotion", but he repeatedly "backed the pot" for other departments; Programmer Ouyang Mofei (achievement decoration) is hard-spoken and soft-hearted, and has been helping colleagues solve problems; Sales Tang Haixing (Zhang Yiduo) keeps making mistakes and growing; Secretary Jin Ruoyu (Tu Hua ornaments) has a strong gossip ability; Designer Sukejie (Liu Zhongqiu) is anxious because of the pictures that can never be finished; The copywriter Pang Xiaobai (played by Li Wenfan) has suffered many setbacks, but he still firmly believes in his own ability; Intern Sha Lele (Sun Yiwen) has the momentum of a newborn calf, and is optimistic that the characters in "Breaking Elite" don’t have their own leading role aura, but the audience can find themselves and their colleagues in them more or less.
Wei Zheng introduced that in order to truly feel the workplace life, many main actors in the play came to the company where Rongrong, the actor of Lisa in the play, worked for a long time to experience the real workplace life; Actor Liu Zhongqiu even participated in the design and planning of several theme posters of the company. All these have laid a solid foundation for the actors’ performances, and enabled them to successfully become "workers in the workplace" in the audience’s mouth.
The story in "Breaking Elite" is partly from social hotspots, and more from the personal experience of Wei Zheng and the screenwriter team. Wei Zheng believes that comedy is the interpretation of normal events by "abnormal people" or the placement of normal people in abnormal events. The existence of "Breaking Department" and employees in the department are constantly switching among these elements, which constitutes a comedy conflict.
How to avoid the feeling of suspension? Wei Zheng said that this requires a lot of research and study. The target audience of "Breaking Elite" is office workers. Only by making the content solid and landing can the audience resonate.
Dialogue Director Wei Zheng: Facing the Challenge of Situation Comedy Industry
Variety Daily: What are the challenges facing domestic sitcom creation at present?
Wei Zheng:The creation threshold of sitcom is relatively high, and the cycle is long. The creation of comedy scripts is very time-consuming and needs repeated polishing. At the same time, good comedy directors and comedians are needed to ensure the completion of the work. These elements are currently lacking in China. In addition, the market test that sitcoms need to face is more stringent. Besides the story and logic, we should also consider the completion of comedy elements. Short videos also have a great impact on the comedy market, and a large number of creators are creating funny paragraphs every day, which are challenges for comedy feature films.
Variety Daily: What makes you insist on comedy creation?
Wei Zheng:I think I can still play (laughs). After filming for so long, I may have a relatively good understanding of the creative rules of some comedies, hoping to promote the development of the industry through "Breaking Elite".
I know that many predecessors are incubating comedy projects now, and I wish them success and add fresh blood to domestic comedies.
Variety Daily: How to Cultivate Comedy Creative Talents?
Wei Zheng:The most effective way to cultivate comedy creative talents is to have projects first, and practice by competition instead. We just accumulate experience while shooting. No matter whether it is a director or an actor, if they continue to study and polish, they will shoot better and perform better.
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