The platform enters the market with a raise, and the main theme drama will become the focus of the network in the past two years?

Wen| Fu Qiongyin "Best China TV Series-" Big River ", congratulations!"

Cheers and applause began to surge. Hou Hongliang, the producer of "Big River", smiled and greeted the main creative team to get up and walk to the stage. This was the fifth time the creative team took the stage that night. The jury commented on "The Great River" as "accurately grasping the pulse of the times and demonstrating the spirit of the times."

"Big River" won the best theme of Magnolia in China TV series "Big River" The victory of Magnolia in this year seems to be a certain trend. Judging from the promotion meetings of the TV festival in which Poison Eye participated and the booths he walked through, the production company's film list has long been trying hard to "grasp the pulse of the times."

"We will use our works to pay tribute to the great motherland." Before the opening of a promotion meeting, the group representative said earnestly. "Our company has about 8 main theme drama projects this year, more than ever." A staff member at a certain booth introduced it to Poison Eye.

In the past, due to audience reasons, the distribution channel chosen for the main theme drama series was often TV stations. Judging from this year's TV festival, the platform's layout of the main theme drama project is also obvious. Among the films released at the Tencent Video "Long Journey" conference at the TV festival, there are "Special War Glory", which reflects the military life of contemporary young people, the second part of "In the Name of the People","People's Property", and the story of exploring overseas rescue."Desperate Rescue"... It is reported that Tencent Video has reserved nearly 100 excellent content around the theme of "Our 70 Years".

In the field of main theme dramas, the platform is also changing from a drama buyer to a deeply involved producer. This year's hot topic on Magnolia "Operation Icebreaker", which has attracted the attention of young people, is iQiyi's deep participation in the production project. Judging from the results, the user portraits held by the platform, viewing data, and aesthetic orientation closer to young people seem to be adding more "ornamental" to the main theme drama project.

As the platform participates more deeply in the main theme series, will more "Operation Icebreaker" be born?

Moving closer to the main theme Many production companies are moving closer to the main theme.

Huace Group, which has announced many main theme dramas such as "Forging Sword in Despair" and "Diplomatic Situation", currently has 30% reserve of main theme content; Yaoke Media, which has announced projects such as "Special War Glory" and "People's Property", and Ningmeng Pictures, which announced the drama involved in the case "Fox Hunt", also has a much higher reserve of main theme dramas than in previous years. However, the posters of dramas adapted from major IP such as costumes and fantasy that occupied the "C position" of the company's booth in previous years have either "disappeared" or retreated to a corner this year, and they have basically given way to the main theme dramas.

In addition to the increase in quantity, various companies are also expanding the themes and types of main theme dramas. In the Shanghai TV Festival trading market, main theme dramas with various themes have also appeared. For example, produced by Watzekton Group Syndicated Film and Television, China's first "Light Chaser", which China's first focuses on private public welfare relief and reflects the contemporary China volunteer community; produced by Perfect World Film and Television Jiang He Studio, and the first "Unswerving" focusing on China's overseas security industry, all reflect their concern for reality.

At the Huace promotion meeting, some dramas of "Light Chaser" that are not very "main theme" in public opinion are also moving closer to the "main theme" by changing their names.

Poison Eyes discovered at the TV festival that the drama produced by Perfect World Film and Television and starred by Huang Zitao and Yi Shou Qianxi, originally named "The New Youth of the Wild Fan", had been renamed "The Legend of Hot Blood". The new drama "In New York" produced by Mango Films and Huanrui Century and starred by Li Yifeng has also been renamed "I'm Waiting for You in Beijing".

In addition to the production company, the three major platforms are also moving closer to the main theme.

"Tencent Video has never forgotten the sense of responsibility it deserves as a content platform." At the launch conference of Tencent Video on June 11, Wang Juan, editor-in-chief of Tencent Video, said. At this press conference, the historical drama "The World of the Great Qin Empire" announced that it would be broadcast this year, and dramas such as "New World" and "Isolated City Closed" that review history and reflect on reality were also released one after another. It is reported that the tribute content of the series "Wind" and "Great Qin Empire" that Tencent Video participates in is also striving to be included in the second batch of excellent catalogs of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to become a good example of the main theme series.

Iqiyi and Youku, which did not hold a press conference at the TV festival, also reflected their main theme drama layout in their film lists as early as 2019-iQiyi set up a special department in 2018 to participate in the investment and production of major theme film and television projects, exclusively broadcasting a number of main theme dramas such as "Patriots" and "Oath". In the future, there will be "The Wolf of the Anti-Terrorism Special Forces" waiting to be aired; Youku released a tribute film list last year, and currently "The City, Those People" and "The Bell of the Bund" have been broadcast. In the future, there will be" Ordinary Glory" and" Age of Awakening" waiting to be aired.

Behind these public film lists, the three major platforms have realized changes from purchasing dramas to participating in production. One of the most popular dramas in the second quarter,"Operation Icebreaker", is one of the manifestations. According to relevant media reports, since Iqiyi joined in 2017, it has put forward many revisions to the characters 'plot line and the editing style of the series."Highlight Huang Jingyu's character line" is one of Iqiyi's revision opinions.

As the platform and producers of "Operation Icebreaker" have begun to layout, the originally not hot market for the main theme drama series has also become lively.

"In the past two years, the quality and number of main theme drama projects have improved, the types have become richer, and the market recognition has increased." Zhao Dongling, screenwriter of "Red Sorghum", said to Poison Eyes during the Magnolia TV Forum. Dai Ying, vice president of iQiyi and head of the homemade drama center, previously told the media that judging from the current trend,"Operation Icebreaker" should achieve a good return on investment ratio. "Because whether it is at the membership level or investment promotion level, including issuance, the overall market feedback is relatively ideal."

The creation of the main theme drama series will continue on a larger scale. In Zhao Dongling's view, how to express the main theme in realistic works in the future is a question that all practitioners must think about. "We have seen many main theme works that have problems in modeling, conceptualization, and facialization. Even the main theme works must respect the laws of history, the laws of art, and the intelligence of the audience. This may be a technique that all our screenwriters and directors will have to cultivate in the future." Zhao Dongling said to Poison Eyes.

How does the Internet platform collide with the main theme?

Under this trend, what impact will the deep participation of platforms and Internet film and television companies have on the main theme series?

As the first main melody drama with deep participation by the platform and high popularity,"Operation Ice-Breaking" is praised for its "ice-breaking" in the field of main melody drama and is a hot topic at the Magnolia TV Forum. However, the reputation of "Operation Icebreaker" gradually declined in the later stages of its broadcast. One of the reasons was the several controversial plots. Screenwriter Chen Yuxin once revealed in an interview,"According to iQiyi's opinion, the two screenwriters added some plays, especially emotional plays." However, the emotional drama of the play has become one of the most criticized places.

As iQiyi's first "major national drama", the crew photos of "Operation Icebreaker" rely on the platform's more sensitive sense of touch to young people and add a more "web-sensitive" expression to it.

However,"empiricism" is a problem that both producers and platforms cannot avoid. "Content producers are easily influenced by platforms.I always say that our industry will die of empiricism. "Hou Hongliang said. Zhao Dongling told Poison Eye that many platform parties and producers still believe that love dramas are the only need of young people from the perspective of experience. In fact, the young people she has come into contact with have already developed resistance to love dramas in some main theme dramas.

However, it is undeniable that even though "Operation Icebreaker"'s reputation dropped sharply after the finale was broadcast, its brain-burning plot in the early stage and the rare audience portraits with a high proportion of female users were already an excellent example of "breaking the circle" of the main theme series. "In terms of the main theme drama, this drama is already very enjoyable. It is a national drama above the passing line. It would be good if all the dramas with deep participation of the platform could have such effects." A person in charge of the main theme drama project told Poison Eyes.

The platform's marketing capabilities have also added popularity to Operation Icebreaker. At the beginning of its launch, more than 15 apps were launched. The show also collaborated with the Chengdu Strawberry Music Festival online and offline, and created a national ice-breaking season in multi-city offline flash stores. In Poison Eyes's past article "Review of Operation Icebreaker: One Step Away from the King of Drama", it was also mentioned that in order to attract the attention of female users, iQiyi also made some female-oriented attempts in early marketing.

The participation of the platform has driven the popularity of the main theme drama market, and has also given more directors and screenwriters with experience in operating the opportunity to show their talents. Fu Dongyu, director of "Ice-Breaking Action", admitted in an exclusive interview before the Magnolia Forum that he had never been able to receive projects around 2014. When he once thought he was about to announce his retirement, he came into contact with the "Ice-Breaking Action" project. "Operation Icebreaker is an explosion accumulated over such a long period of time in the past." Fu Dongyu said. At the promotion meeting of Huace Group, Qian Linsen, the screenwriter of "The Sword of Despair", also said in his speech: "It is the popularity of the main theme drama market that allows me, an old screenwriter who is on the verge of elimination, to get on Huace's train."

"Forging the Sword of Despair" has become a trend when the platform is deeply involved, and the changes it will bring to the main theme series are also various.

However, for the current market environment, if the participation of the platform can bring a few more "Operation Icebreaker" films, it may not be something worth looking forward to.