The 30 episodes idol drama <> that is co-financed by Shanghai Chuang Yi Culture Co. Ltd, Hunan ETV and Hangzhou Hua Ce is currently filming in Hangzhou. This drama is adapted from the novel <> written by the queen of tragedy, author Fei Wo Si Cun. The novel focuses on the love relationships between the female lead You Jia Qi and Meng He Ping as well as Ruan Zheng Dong; telling the love story of how to love a person by letting her live better. Popular Taiwanese idol drama queen Chen Qiao En takes on the role of You Jia Qi. Ruan Zheng Dong and Meng He Ping are portrayed by Roy Qiu Ze and William Feng Shao Feng respectively. The director is Shen Yi who excels in directing romantic pieces.
Chen Qiao En waited for eight months to be "Miss Jia Qi"
The production team had Chen Qiao En in mind when they were writing the script for <> and found a opportunity to describe the story to her. Chen Qiao En loved the story when she heard it and agreed to act in the drama. However the script writing and pre-production process took eight months and Chen Qiao En did not negotiate any new dramas within this period; choosing to wait for the script to be completed while she was filming a Taiwanese idol drama.
There are several times when she was worried that she will miss the role due to the jobs on her schedule. She even turned down the chance to act in a Chinese movie in order to wait for the role of Jia Qi. Before this, actors that had acted with Chen Qiao En in her previous dramas like Ming Dao and Blue Lan had already ventured into the Chinese market with numerous dramas to their credit but Chen Qiao En did not match their pace. <> is her first foray into the Chinese market.
The production crew revealed that due to the cold temperature in Hangzhou, Chen Qiao En fell sick to flu not long after she joined the drama team. However she still carried on working and was full of energy despite a nasal voice. In private, Chen Qiao En is an easy-going and fun-loving person but very serious when it comes to work. Because Chen Qiao En calls herself Miss Jia Qi on set, now the staff all start calling her Miss Jia Qi too. Veteran television producer and artistic director He Xiu Qiong said that she has watched Chen Qiao's performances and is very satisfied with her portrayal of her character.
There was a scene where Jia Qi met her first love Meng He Ping. Chen Qiao En's unique and delicate acting successfully portrayed the character's inner feelings of heartbreak while having to maintain a calm exterior. Chen Qiao En is called idol drama called rating queen but her acting career wasn't smooth. Firstly she does not have natural talents and was once ridiculed at for her awkward dancing. Once she was even frozen by her company. Chen Qiao En once wrote "The days of waiting are long. In order to live optimistically, we have to learn to live and let live." He Xiu Qiong said that she is thankful to Chen Qiao En for waiting eight months and said that this stage is Chen Qiao En's "Jia Qi" (translation: Happy days) in both her life and career. The days of waiting are nutrient to her, allowing Chen Qiao En to portray the role of Jia Qi with depth.
The basic tone of blue is romantic and sad, props and scenery are of finest quality
Fei Wo Si Cun is a popular internet novelist. Her novels are often sad and touching tragedies. The drama <> took note of the romantic and beautiful form found in her writings and chose to use blue as basic color.
In addition, Hangzhou is a classical water town in Jiangnan. Therefore the style of the drama is like an idol drama. Director Shen Yi said: He is very confident about <>. Even though the structure of the drama sounds like a typical idol drama, <> has a solid storyline. The drama pace will be faster and tighter compared to other idol dramas.
The characters of Jia Qi, Meng He Ping and Ruan Zhen Dong and even the supporting characters are well written. As a director, he is also concerned about the reactions of viewers when he is directing the drama and therefore uses a more youthful and joyous tone while directing the first half of the drama. The ending is a tragedy and from a certain standpoint, this gives it a greater sense of sadness. The reporter visited <> filming location and observed the realistic props on set. For example, the decoration of the home of the female lead Jia Qi has soft colors and is simple but fashionable. The match used in the meeting between the male and female leads is also very exquisite.
Highly anticipated, Hunan TV has a high chance of airing the drama
Shanghai Chuang Yi Culture Co. Ltd is a subsidiary company of Hunan TV and Hunan ETV is also a major channel under Hunan Broadcasting. But <> does not follow Hunan ETV's standard method of production and instead was produced according to market operations. He Xiu Qiong said that <> already attracted a lot of interest from investors during the initial stage of script writing.
In the end, they chose Hunan ETV and Hangzhou Hua Ce because they share the same views on the artistic direction. She also said that Hunan ETV has read the script and liked it very much. Hunan ETV have expressed interest in buying this drama and so they will consider giving Hunan ETV priority when selling the drama. However, she does not rule out the possibility of selling it to other stations as this is a drama that is jointly financed by many parties and therefore need to follow market rules.
