Sharing the judging process, who can win the Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award? The judges detailed the criteria
"As long as it is an excellent work created by an excellent director, excellent screenwriter, excellent actors, and excellent team, I value it." On June 26, at the 29th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award Jury Meeting, the selection criteria of the TV series category jury chairman and director Yan Jiangang were the voice of all the judges. The chairman of the documentary category jury, Indian director and producer Wei Keran summarized it as "the theme can trigger thinking and move the audience." The animation category jury, Japanese screenwriter and director Mari Okada said that truly good works can move everyone's heart.
"I almost see double when watching movies. With so many excellent dramas, we have so few awards. This is a difficult problem for all judges." Yan Jiangang was pleasantly surprised to see a large number of excellent TV dramas at home and abroad in the past year. Nearly 1,000 works from 57 countries and regions around the world registered for the Magnolia Awards, and finally 10 dramas from 7 countries entered the three major categories of the Magnolia Awards.
"The competition among the nominated works is very fierce, and we have a headache because we can only choose the best one." Judge You Yongzhi said frankly, "We abide by the principle of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend, and strive to present rich and colorful works of different types to the audience. The judges focus on the overall quality of the works, rather than just one of them." In You Yongzhi's view, "The success of a TV series must be comprehensive, requiring the director, photographer, art, screenwriter, and actors to work together."
"An excellent work requires profound ideas, exquisite art, and excellent production, and the basis of all these is artistic appeal." Judge Li Yuesen emphasized the artistic appeal of TV series, "Any work that does not have artistic appeal and cannot be recognized by the people cannot be considered a good work."
When asked what kind of works are more popular, the judges spoke out. Director Yang Lei emphasized "casting", "The choice before filming is very important. Each character has its own attributes. If the choice is not correct at the beginning, it will actually affect the series. Before and after filming, we will have a lot of communication, including script reading and on-site catalysis, which will generate some new ideas."
Yang Lei humorously compared the crew's running-in process to a blind date, "This is a process from meeting, falling in love to finally living together." He said, "The so-called innovation is not about what we imagine we have never seen before, but about finding content that can move people from life experience, expressing it, and letting the audience feel it."
"The nominated films have different styles and each has its own merits. Regardless of the type, subject matter, domestic or foreign, the audience generally has a mentality of getting tired of the old and liking the new, and hopes to see new and different stories. The problem that every screenwriter has to solve is how to make his or her work unique and irreplaceable in the competition of the same type and subject matter. Every screenwriter racks his brains and works hard on narrative. Only by defeating yourself can you defeat the works of other competitors." Judge Wang Xiaoqiang sighed based on his own screenwriting experience, "Any screenwriter has spent a long time from the first word of his or her first work to being nominated for the Magnolia Award, which may be as long as more than ten years or even decades."
Judge and art director Han Zhong commented on the artistic visual performance of the shortlisted works, "There is increasing progress, and there are many aspects of aesthetic display, some of which have reached a certain height of oriental aesthetics."
During the Magnolia Awards, if the judges have different opinions, who will they listen to in the end? "We will reach a consensus after full discussion. If there is a disagreement, there is a voting mechanism determined by the organizing committee, and the final result will be determined by the number of votes." Yan Jiangang said that the members of the jury are experts in various professional fields and are excellent practitioners with rich experience. "We have a common position and common views. More importantly, we are highly consistent in values and aesthetics, which ensures that we have a basic consensus on the judgment of each work. Of course, different people have different opinions. It is normal that everyone may examine and evaluate a certain work or each individual award from different perspectives."
Judge and British producer Elwen Davis shared her review process, "First, I look at the overall content. I also put myself in the audience's perspective to see why they like this work and why they care about this story." Judge and French actor Andy emphasized originality, "The most important thing is originality. Whether it can really capture me, I will also consider the perspective of Chinese audiences."
"Chinese TV dramas are becoming more diverse, healthier, more professional and making great progress." Judge Hai Qing looks forward to more exciting creations. "They have something to express and something to feel. They are truly works that are produced from the inner motivation."
