Feb 23, 2022
The feature film "Illustrations of the Mirror Sea - Mirror Sea Returning Sails" concludes with an introduction to the Macao Handover Celebration
From left: Feng Wenwei, Lu Xi, Fu Zhiping, Zhang Gang sharing the production of the feature film.
Education Sneak Peek Before Premiere
The production team recorded the Cantonese narrator
The picture shows the beauty of Jinghai
Text and pictures: Zifan (part of the pictures provided by the interviewee)
In the same vein as the large-scale TV documentary "Jinghai Returning Sails" and the 100-meter-long scroll "Mirroring Sea Returning Sails", the feature film "Illustration of the Mirror Sea - Mirror Sea Returning Sails" has recently been shown at the MGM Theater, which has caused a lot of confusion in the society. Great repercussions, endless praise. This 28-minute feature film uses innovative techniques, with incisive, concise and artistically appealing narration, plus the background music specially created for the original TV documentary "Mirror Sea Returning Sail", in a first-class theater. Present a different image of Macau, tell the history with pictures, and tell the story of Macau.
Profound historical and cultural accumulation
The production of this feature film with the theme of history and humanities is not accidental. It can be said that it is a product of the times, and it is also a new breakthrough and new attempt for the integrated development of culture and tourism in Macao. The copyright owners and producers include Tianyi Media Culture Co., Ltd. and the Macau Cultural Development Promotion Association. It is guided by the Publicity Department and the Ministry of Education and Youth of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government, fully supported by MGM, and exclusively sponsored by Bank of China Macau Branch. The Youth Affairs Bureau, MGTO and Macau Mercy Hall, etc. At the premiere of the feature film held earlier, Ho Hau Wah, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attended the ceremony and attached great importance to it. The Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, also sent a congratulatory letter to express his warm congratulations on the premiere of the film. He praised the feature film's artistic and aesthetic approach to telling the vicissitudes and historical stories of Macau over the centuries, which will help people at home and abroad to deepen their understanding of Macau. Awareness is of great significance in promoting the charm of Macao as a city and promoting education for loving the country and Macao.
Fu Zhiping, chief director of the feature film and commentary writer, reviewed the film from its inception to its successful release. She said that the documentary "Jinghai Returning Sail" has rich cultural heritage and historical resources, and has good conditions to be developed into a feature film. One day in July 2020, the film's planner, producer and painting chief Lu Xi, planner and executive director Feng Wenwei, chief director Fu Zhiping, chief planner and producer, and literary and historical writer Zhang Gang met for the first time, and they hit it off. Discuss about the production of feature films, and basically finalize the content, format and related production issues.
All the genes of the feature film "Illustration of the Mirror Sea" come from the documentary "Mirror Sea Returning Sail". The 100-meter-long scroll with the same name is at the request of the documentary director's creativity. Artists are invited to join and make it according to the requirements of the documentary. "Mirroring the Sea Returning Sail" is a Macao cultural brand jointly produced and created by Tianyi Media Culture Co., Ltd., Macao Cultural Development Promotion Association and ABC. On this basis, the feature film "Photos Telling Macau" has a profound historical and cultural accumulation, and the visual presentation of the 100-meter painting scroll "The Mirror Returning to the Sail" has become a major feature of this feature film.
Travel through history in different time and space
Taking the writing of commentary as an example, the language must be vivid, incisive and concise, so that the audience can easily immerse themselves in it while watching the pictures and listening to the music, and actively understand the history and stories of Macao, which is better to move people’s hearts. Judging from the overall situation on the day of the premiere, many viewers were full of praise after watching it, thinking that the introduction of different time and space and the passage of history showed that the team was successful.
The music mentioned in the film comes from the background music specially created for the original TV documentary. There are more than 2,000 characters and different scenes in the 100-meter-long scroll. Fu Zhiping, as the director, has the responsibility and skill to intercept the sections and play them with the screen. The story is over. It is not easy to complete the production of the film. She thanked Feng Wenwei and his team for their active cooperation in the process, breaking through difficulties again and again, and turning corruption into magic.
Fu Zhiping said that "The Return of the Sea in the Mirror" has a certain particularity, and it was arranged to be broadcast on many mainstream TV stations in the Mainland, and received rave reviews. In recent years, stamps and photo albums have also been derived from the "Mirror of Returning from the Sea", and the photo album has also been used as a special gift from the SAR government to foreign guests, thereby greatly enhancing the cultural image of the SAR. At the end of 2019, at the invitation of Bank of China Macau Branch, the Macao Youth Symphony Orchestra, in cooperation with Lu Xi and others, commissioned Lin Pinjing to write a symphonic poem for the 100-meter scroll of the same name, and the response exceeded expectations. Obviously, this 100-meter-long scroll is indeed a treasure, and the resources can be continuously excavated and put to good use. With the full support of MGM, the film was successfully screened at the MGM Theater, which is a blessing to the public, and the gaming company has fully fulfilled its social responsibilities.
Check-in point for food, accommodation and tourists
Zhang Gang added that the film is not only succinct in the narration, but also the soundtrack. He is very grateful to Cai Chongli, an internationally renowned pianist born in Macau, for the music he created for "The Return of the Mirror". The pictures are matched with each other to better illustrate how Macau developed from a small fishing village more than 500 years ago to the handover in 1999. Everything must be just right.
In addition to being broadcast in Macao, the film will be screened in different places around the world in the future. To this end, the writing of literature and history books must be rigorous, and the textual explanations in each category must be in place, with a good sense of proportion and correct history. Today's feature films are the result of many efforts and re-running. Achieving this effect is related to Zhang Gang's past filming and recording of many TV series "Macau People", and he has a basic grasp of people and things in Macau. And on this good basis, writing commentary for the film is twice the result with half the effort. He is grateful for the guidance of "superior people" along the way, and the road ahead can suddenly be enlightened.
Lu Xi, the chief editor of the 100-meter long scroll, said that by watching the feature film, one can learn more about the history of Macau, make people living in this land more confident, understand the past, and have more confidence in operating this hot land. Before the premiere, he specially organized a sneak peek in the education sector, which was full of praise and enlightenment. The MGM Theater is equipped with advanced equipment, and the feature films with the historical content of Macau are shown here. It is not only qualified to become a "check-in" point for tourists to watch movies in Macau, but also a "food, accommodation and travel" program led by the tourism authorities. Provide the best programming to help boost the economy of your community.
The world's largest dynamic theater
There is no shortage of stories about the people and things of the Macanese in the film. In order to present it in a better way, we specially invited Fei Anda, the chairman of the Office of Mercy in Macau, along with his wife and friends, to test it out. He made suggestions on the spot, and the optimization was not enough. According to Fei Anda, many Macanese people do not understand Mandarin, and hope to launch a Cantonese version. After adjusting and refining the opinions, the team released two versions as appropriate, one is the original Mandarin narrated version with Chinese and English subtitles, and the other is Cantonese narrated version with Chinese and Portuguese subtitles, catering to different audiences.
The feature film will be screened at the MGM Theater from time to time in the coming year, and the theater will try to vacate the space as much as possible to allow Macau residents, especially young students, to watch it for free, and then encourage tourists to enter the theater at a discounted price. Lu Xi is very confident in the brand of this feature film. It is expected that in the future, many local associations will organize to watch it one after another, and it will become the most popular project of the "Australian Food, Accommodation and Travel" plan.
When sharing the production situation, Feng Wenwei said that the success of the feature film is the result of various efforts. He and his team consist of seven members, who come from various professional fields in Macao, each with their own creativity and experience. For a long time, the team has participated in some new media events or exhibitions in the Mainland, Macao and even internationally, such as the Macao Light Festival, and was invited to Dubai to set up light and shadow installations, which were widely praised. In the production process of the feature film, the biggest advantage is that it is arranged on a 900-square-meter ultra-high-definition LED display screen, which gives people a great shocking visual effect. The display area is as large as three tennis courts and has a high resolution. The largest dynamic theater. In order to keep improving, the team still needs to add some new equipment to play a better effect. In particular, I would like to thank the theater team for their high cooperation and good luck.
All in all, it was an unprecedented challenge to control the rhythm of the screen, soundtrack and narration within the limited 28 minutes, but the team overcame various difficulties and achieved great satisfaction. Next, we will make some fine-tuning of some details. The team is convinced that the smooth production of the feature film, and after strengthening the promotion, will generate more local cultural and creative products, and there is a lot of room for development.
Pui Ching Middle School students in Macau enter to watch the video
Interviewed by a publication of the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau
