Sound from the Future

February 19, 2020 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

This year’s Coachella music festival takes place in April in California – and it has been all the rage since organisers announced Rage Against the Machine will headline the event, along with Frank Ocean and Travis Scott; K-pop’s Big Bang are also along for the ride. But there’s an added incentive on this year’s line-up, which shows 2020 vision on the part of the festival. Coachella will present a pop star so iconic, so elusive, that she’s actually virtual: Hatsune Miku. 

Meaning “the first sound from the future”, Miku is a perpetually 16-year-old blue-haired, computer-generated entity known as a “vocaloid”, and was created by Japanese media company Crypton Future Media in 2007. People can buy the software, use it to create songs in Miku’s voice and upload it to a digital platform. Her creators thus get to choose the cream of the musical crop for her to perform. 

But lest you think Miku just emerged out of the musical ether, she has both provenance and performing smarts. There was the 2009 video game Project Diva, she had a number-one album in Japan ten years ago; she’s opened for Lady Gaga; she’s collaborated with Pharrell Williams; she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman; and she performs world tours as a hologram in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. And she could tour endlessly; according to Crypton, there are more than 100,000 songs in her catalogue. 

Not being the “big-ego” pop star comes with benefits, too. As a virtual performer, she changes costume in a split second, doesn’t take breaks, and flits from one song to another in an instant. And her songs are the result of music her fans have made on the software. For one, Japanese band Supercell made Miku vocaloid tracks before being signed by Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 2009. 

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Technicolor Tinsel

December 11, 2019 / by Howard Elias

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

If your cable company offered the Fox network in 1987, you would have already been familiar with Johnny Depp from his TV show 21 Jump Street. But Edward Scissorhands is the film that made him a bona fide movie star. As the title suggests, Edward has a pair (a few pairs, really) of scissors for hands. He is left “unfinished” when his creator (played to perfection by the wonderful Vincent Price) dies before he can fit Edward with a pair of human hands. Many years later, Edward is found by a local townswoman (Dianne Wiest), who looks past his “disability” and only sees his abilities and good heart. The rest of the town takes Edward in, and his life starts to have purpose and meaning. His fortunes change, however, when he falls in love with Kim (Winona Ryder), who is already dating a very jealous guy. Through a series of mishaps and misunderstandings, Edward becomes a pariah, running away, never to be seen again. But Kim, who is now an old woman, has never forgotten him. Edward Scissorhands is guaranteed to put a lump in your throat when you watch Kim become enraptured by the ice crystals floating down around her.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Remade several times across a variety of media, the original Miracle is still the best. When New York department store Macy’s is forced to find a last-minute Santa Claus for its famous Thanksgiving Day Parade, they didn’t expect they’d be hiring the real Saint Nick. But neither company supervisor Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) nor her daughter Susan (an eight-year-old Natalie Wood) is convinced he is who he says he is – they think he’s crazy. Veteran actor Edmund Gwenn won an Oscar for his portrayal of the jolly old man from the North Pole. Watch this and you may just start believing in miracles!

Home Alone (1990)

Here’s another one that launched a movie career. This time it’s the then-10-year-old Macaulay Culkin, who stars as the cute and highly resourceful Kevin McCallister. After being accidentally left at home when his family takes off for a Christmas vacation overseas, Kevin relishes his new-found, unfettered freedom. But he gets more than he bargains for when a pair of half-wit thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) try to break into the house… or perhaps they get more than they bargained for. Critics may not have liked Home Alone as much as audiences did, but there’s no disputing that Kevin’s face slap has become one of Hollywood’s most memorable and imitated images.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

James Stewart said that of all the films he made, this was his favourite. It’s one of my all-time favourites, too. Stewart plays George Bailey of the fictional town of Bedford Falls, set somewhere in upstate New York. George is the richest man in the town, though he barely has two nickels to rub together. Instead of having money, he has the undying devotion of his family, his friends and his town – the lines separating the three being very blurry. The only person who is working against him is the town’s wealthiest man, the miserly Mr Potter (Lionel Barrymore), who is jealous of George. When a clerical error puts George’s business on the verge of bankruptcy, he decides that his life isn’t worth living. That’s when Clarence shows up. Clarence is an angel who must save George’s life in order to earn his wings. Clarence decides to turn back time to show George how life would be in Bedford Falls if he had never existed. With Clarence’s help, George sees that he truly has a wonderful life. You’d have to be a heartless person not to break into tears during the final scene. I get misty just thinking about it… and I’ve seen it dozens of times. If there is one film that shows the true meaning of the holiday season, this is it.

Trading Places (1983)

Here’s yet another movie that launched its star to new heights. Fans of the TV show Saturday Night Live already knew and loved Eddie Murphy, a comedian and actor who electrified every skit he was a part of. Murphy was still basking in the rave reviews for his debut film 48 Hours (with Nick Nolte) when Trading Places hit movie screens. In this one, he and fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd play two guys who are unwittingly caught up in a “nature versus nurture” experiment perpetrated by a pair of wealthy, immoral commodity brokers, played by veteran actors Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy. The two codgers make a $1 bet with each other to see if they can take a scammer off the street and turn him into a successful broker, while at the same time turn one of their star employees into a bum. Their plan succeeds until the younger men figure out the game, at which time they turn the tables on the old men. It’s madcap zaniness, with fine performances throughout.

Die Hard (1988)

Many actors and actresses have tried to make the leap from TV to the big screen, and many have failed, but Die Hard is yet another film that launched the movie career of not one but two of its stars. Bruce Willis was already a household name in North America from his then-four-year stint co-starring alongside Cybill Shepherd on TV’s Moonlighting, but his movie career was going nowhere fast until the character of New York City cop John McClane came along. In Die Hard, McClane decides to surprise his estranged wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), at her company’s Christmas party in Los Angeles when German terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman, in his feature film debut) takes everyone hostage. McClane manages to slip away unseen and proceeds to take on Gruber’s group singlehandedly. While the weather outside might be frightful, it isn’t much better inside. McClane’s “yippee-ki-yay” phrase also entered mainstream culture and was used in each of the four sequels that were spawned from this movie.

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Ten Reasons to Watch Last Year at Marienbad

November 13, 2019 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

Image above: still from the film

1. Best/worst. A triumph of so-called “Nouvelle Vague” (new wave) French cinema, some call the film cinema’s most divisive picture, with others saying it’s moviemaking at the most exaggerated edges of the avant-garde. British filmmaker Peter Greenaway calls Marienbad “the most successful film of all time”.

2. Non-linear storytelling. Director Alain Resnais hired novelist Alain Robbe-Grillet, one of the masters of “Nouveau Roman”, who wrote an inimitable script rejecting all chronological constraints and classical narrative formats.

3. Cinematic style. The film was revolutionary in introducing a whole new psychological dimension by constantly mixing reality and imagination, along with the camera’s fluidity and the obsession with detail. The same scenes are sometimes restaged with the actor in separate outifts, at different angles, and with less or more furniture.

4. Delphine Seyrig. The film was the breakthrough for the leading actress. Her character is never addressed by name in the film, but is simply referred to as “A”. Similarly her leading man, Giorgio Albertazzi, is “X”. The film’s premise revolves around X saying the two had a romantic encounter the previous year, while A denies any knowledge or recollection of it.

5. Interior dream. The entire film is an interior designer’s nirvana. Three Bavarian castles were used to shoot an ancient baroque castle and gardens, turned into a luxurious hotel. Nothing was shot in Marienbad; it was actually Nymphenburg.

6. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Although uncredited, the iconic French designer created Seyrig’s ultra-chic dresses. The film features pieces from Chanel’s haute couture collection and one look on Seyrig made a big impression: a black chiffon dress was immediately given the moniker of the “dress à la Marienbad”, a reinvention of Chanel’s famed little black dress from 1926. The French luxury house helped restore the film for last year’s Venice Film Festival.

7. Retail envy. Renowned French actress Brigitte Bardot, after having seen the film, told Coco Chanel she wanted “to have the same dress as Delphine Seyrig”. 

8. Dress code. Resnais and Chanel’s creation instigated more than just a trend. It was an entirely new philosophy of costume design. In their wake, many Nouvelle Vague directors encouraged their actresses to wear not costumes but everyday clothes, sometimes picked from their own wardrobes.

9. Cultural legacy. Among legions of references, famed director Stanley Kubrick acknowledged a huge debt to the film when he made 1980’s The Shining, acclaimed photographers Helmut Newton and Irving Penn took inspiration from Marienbad for their fashion shoots, and indie rock  group Blur’s To the End video pays homage to it.

10. Karl Lagerfeld. The late designer’s spring/summer 2011 ready-to-wear collection for Chanel was an explicit reference to Coco Chanel’s designs for Last Year at Marienbad, and the film’s décor and music inspired his runway show, staged under the glass dome of the Grand Palais. Lagerfeld loved the feathers Seyrig wore with one of the film’s looks, saying: “There were feathers and I admit it inspired me, as before I had never thought to do something using that inspiration.” 

Over the Top

April 3, 2019 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

So how many series do you usually dub in a year and how long does it take for each?

It really depends on the market. In my case, I usually dub about ten series a year and I also dub animation, games and advertisements. The dubbing industry has been booming over the past few years. It usually takes a month to dub a TV drama of 30 to 40 episodes. As for animation, we basically need two days to dub three episodes.

Describe what the dubbing industry is like today.

Beijing is the centre of this industry. I joined in 2004, and there were only 200 or 300 people during the ten years from 2004 to 2014. More and more people want to become dubbing actors, and I think there are more than 1,000 now. As for job opportunities, some companies just reach out to me. After they are happy with the collaboration, they contact me again for more work. 

Can you describe a typical work day and the overall environment for someone who works in the industry?

We used to start at noon and end at midnight – or even later. Many dubbing actors had health problems after staying up late for a long time. But it has changed now. We start so late because of the terrible traffic in the morning. Another reason is that the throat isn’t in very good condition in the morning. As for our workplace, there’s a recording room with a TV, an operation platform, a microphone and a chair. We can only enjoy cool air during break time, as the air conditioner must be turned off when recording. In the summer, it’s pretty common that we sometimes can’t breathe and have to rest for a while. We have our own studio, but we sometimes need to work in other studios. Actually, the job isn’t very stable.

What training is necessary to become a qualified voice actor? Do you have to do anything special to protect your throat?

When I was in university, I took acting and dubbing lessons. About 80% of the time was about acting and lines. It was after graduation that I truly learned professional dubbing skills. 

Actually, for those of us who took acting lessons, we could understand them faster than dubbing actors who had a different major. I always tell my younger workmates that they aren’t dubbing; they are acting. I never do anything special to protect my throat, but some people in the industry indeed do this. I think my throat is pretty tough, as three days is all it takes for me to recover if I’m in bad condition.

The Sound brought a lot of attention to the industry in 2018. Has your life changed a lot since the show?

I wouldn’t say my life has changed a lot – but it’s true that more people know me now. Some people recognise me at airports and train stations. Also, more people like the industry and I have earned respect.

How do you get yourself into character, especially when you’re trying to express complicated emotions?

We can’t make any sudden moves when recording, as the microphone is very sensitive. When emotion is needed, sometimes I pinch myself or grab a table, trying to get immersed into the character. When I had just started my career, there was a time that I recorded one scene with a long monologue for four hours – I lost count how many times I tried to get it right!

It seems that one characteristic of a great voice actor is if the audience doesn’t notice your existence… 

All I can do is put myself into the characters with all my heart. 

Some audience members notice that the same voices appear across a variety of different series, which makes them feel a bit weird.

In fact, there isn’t a good solution to this problem. When I dub monsters and animation, I change my voice a little bit. However, when it comes to real people, I always use my real voice. I usually pay a lot of attention to the actors’ emotions and styles to match. It’s true that audience members who know me well will recognise my voice instantly. We don’t have a superpower to show off our voice in various ways.

Foreign series and movies are dubbed in Putonghua for local audiences. What’s your opinion about these shows?

I used to dub a lot of foreign shows, but now I don’t do that as often. The process and the emotional expression, as I see it, are the same as dubbing Chinese shows.

The Japanese dubbing industry is very mature and professional. Is it the future of the Chinese industry? 

The Japanese industry is pretty mature, but the Chinese one has just started. As the industry chain is different, I think we will have a different one with our own characteristics. But we can learn from our Japanese counterparts, for sure.

What moments make you feel most fulfilled and most upset as a dubbing actor?

When I am performing, the fans’ cheers and their warm welcome make me feel the most fulfilled. At that moment, I feel all my effort is paying off and I also gain the motivation of working harder. On the flipside, for the past ten-plus years, I have been working in the same way, without any change – and it’s pretty boring. When I’m in the studio, I can’t feel the sunshine. I can only get excited by different characters.

The Great Outdoors

November 21, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

As the traditional record industry has seemingly been in decline in recent times, many music companies have shifted their focus to the profitability of outdoor music festivals – and over the past few years, these gatherings have become a fashionable statement for the younger generation in China. Unlike some countries that have a long tradition of outdoor festivals, China is relatively new to the game, with a boom in the late 2000s coming in the form of a few standout events. Last year, the country hosted 269 such festivals.

Held in the spring, the Strawberry Music Festival has been staged since 2009 and hits multiple cities every year. For the 2018 incarnation, musicians from China and around the globe – with headliners including the UK’s Alt-J, Taiwan’s Tsai Chin and Japan’s Wednesday Campanella – joined the party, representing more than 100 bands across several themed stages. 

Founded by the Beijing Midi School of Music, the unofficial birthplace of China’s underground rock movement, the Midi Music Festival has developed from humble roots as a student band showcase in 2000 into a powerful brand with dozens of famous acts performing every year. Midi enjoys a reputation as the Chinese version of Woodstock – this year’s camping-based festival was held across four days in Suzhou, featuring a slew of top bands, DJs and electronic music artists. For a long time, Midi has also promoted a healthy, positive and sustainable lifestyle; in 2016, its theme was Away from Drugs, Close to Music, while 2018 was Say No to Plastic Meal Boxes. 

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On My Honour

September 26, 2018 / by China Daily Lifestyle Premium

In China, Tencent has been one of the most dominant internet-based companies, particularly for its QQ and WeChat, the latter of which is the country’s most popular communication application. Another superstar product created by Tencent Games is Honour of Kings. Launched in November 2015 for iOS and Android, this online game has been hugely successful, especially among young people. Users can play dozens of hero roles such as warriors, assassins and archers, fighting with or against each other in the game. One major reason for its massive success is that users can play it on their phones rather than on a computer or console, thus making it more readily accessible.

As the official professional league of Honour of Kings, King Pro League (KPL) is held biannually, including a spring season that starts around March and an autumn season around September. The spring season final was held on July 8 in Shanghai, with about 18,000 people packed into the Mercedes-Benz Arena as they cheered on their favourite contestants. The audience was divided into blue and red factions, each supporting one of the two competing teams, with the winner taking home a purse of RMB 5 million.

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