Since the documentary series "A Bite of China" became popular and gained good reputation, food documentaries in similar imitative formats have emerged one after another. China has a vast territory and rich resources, and its food culture has a long history. However, most food documentaries often only see "food" and focus on the exquisite framing and the exquisiteness of the shots, which inevitably makes the audience feel aesthetic fatigue. "A String of Life" is different from traditional food documentaries that include delicacies and mountain and wild flavors. Instead, it focuses on "barbecue", a subject that is closely related to people's lives, and produces an extremely "down-to-earth" and full of "jianghu flavor" A high-quality documentary with a taste of the market.

1. The beauty of fireworks in the world of mortals

? "A String of Life" is based on barbecue, and the intention is to capture the sense of life and story of barbecue. Therefore, the main theme of the film is the old barbecue restaurants that can be seen everywhere in the city. The film crew did not deliberately frame the scene, but pursued the realism of the shot. Barbecues are usually held at night, so many shots of the documentary are completed with natural light at night. There are no deliberate color palettes and spectacular long views, but the barbecue restaurant is still bustling late at night, the neon signboards lit up in the dark alleys, the warm yellow lights of the barbecue restaurant at night, the diners chatting and drinking in the restaurant, and the people shouting loudly to grill the skewers. The shop owner... These shots full of life can bring the audience closer to each other and make people want to explore further.

Although the tone of the documentary is "commercial", the shots of the food are not unattractive. "A String of Life", like other food documentaries, uses a lot of close-ups and high-speed shots. Especially in the process of seasoning, food processing, and barbecue, high-speed lenses are used with the sound effects to fully express the alluring feeling of barbecue. In the second episode "Darker than the Night", some ingredients that ordinary people generally would not choose to try, such as silkworm chrysalis, silkworms, pig eyes, etc., are also used to increase visual stimulation with close-ups and high-speed lenses. The theme of "darkness" is vividly expressed, adding a touch of martial arts to the barbecue.

In addition to the exquisiteness of the food, the film also uses a lot of warm tones, the red and brown colors of the ingredients, and the warm yellow lighting in the store. These also increase the viewing value of the documentary and bring out the "warmth" of barbecue late at night. ” conveyed to the audience.

However, the use of these lenses is not enough to highlight the atmosphere of barbecue. The editing and soundtrack of "A String of Life" enhances the meaning that the director wants to express. In the section of the documentary that introduces Guangzhou barbecue, the drum beats are intensive and the screen changes quickly. The screen is switched by stepping on the drum beat until there is a "bang" sound, and the scallops stretch out on the grill. The change of rhythm makes the documentary extremely beautiful in form. The soundtrack is even more of a highlight. When Harbin Barbecue is about to appear, the documentary plays Harbin's classic soundtrack. The camera looks down from above, with high and low buildings flying past. The soundtrack gradually intensifies until the camera passes through the white smoke in front of the barbecue grill and captures the clear face of the shop owner. The music As a result, the protagonist who has been teased for a long time officially appears.

2. The sense of story in the world of rivers and lakes

The biggest contributors to creating the unique style of "A String of Life" are the commentary and dubbing. In China, the dubbing of long-form documentaries that audiences generally have access to are those with broadcasting skills, and their voices are loud and clear. But in order to better fit the theme of "A String of Life", director Chen Yingjie personally went into action.

Chen Yingjie’s hoarse cigarette voice dubbing has a strong sense of story, like a barbecue restaurant owner who has experienced the ups and downs of the world telling the audience the stories of barbecue in various places. Although this kind of dubbing attempt, which is different from the mainstream, was initially opposed, it has established a distinct "market-style" style for "A String of Life", giving people more room for imagination in addition to text and pictures. .

The highlight of the film is the commentary. The commentary of "A String of Life" abandons the traditional "popular science" type of commentary style. It uses the first person more often, using friendly and nagging names, such as "Sister Ping", "Old Wang" and "Brother Lively" to bring out each independent barbecue story. This treatment is more like the opening of the story, as if the "he" in the commentary is beside you, holding a bottle of wine and chatting about life with the "you" who is listening.

In addition to the use of the first person, the commentary also personifies the ingredients and gives them life. In the explanation of roasted silkworm chrysalis, "If time is turned back and the silkworm chrysalis returns to its childhood, can it survive the childhood away from barbecue after turning into a green silkworm?"; in the explanation of roasted pig's eyes, it captures the "eyes" "Only by personal experience can you understand the mystery, just like being shocked by it when you have close contact for the first time." "The heat of pig eyes cannot escape Sister Ping's eyes. Countless times of looking at each other, this belongs to the dark night." The Queen's Perseverance."

The commentary of "A String of Life" is not only full of fireworks, but also extremely humorous. Commentaries often grasp a feature to associate or exaggerate, and use trivial colloquialism to express the effect of black humor. For example, in the episode "Darker than the Night", the documentary will show all kinds of weird barbecues. The opening commentary states that "the best food is Xiasanlu, and the excitement requires heavy taste", which sets the tone for the entire episode. In the explanation of Naohua BBQ, Lenovo exaggeration is used to the extreme.