中国电影人向迪士尼学习讲故事

文/高山 译/孙晔

中国电影人向迪士尼学习讲故事

Disney-China Animation Exchange Program

文/高山 译/孙晔

近日，首轮中美社会和人文对话在华盛顿举行，华特迪士尼工作室也主持召开了自己的一场跨文化对话。由中国国家新闻出版广电总局电影局支持的为期五天的迪士尼中国动画交流培训项目，是为培养中国动画电影制作精英人才而量身打造的。今年是项目开展的第三年,项目旨在为华特迪士尼动画工作室的电影制作人和中国动画电影制作领导者搭建一个交流创意和经验的高层次平台。

华特迪士尼动画工作室总裁安德鲁·米尔斯坦表示：“华特迪士尼动画工作室非常荣幸地敞开大门，与中国本土创意行业的同行们分享我们的经验和最佳案例。这些交流对于每位参与者来说都是颇具启发意义的。”

米尔斯坦表示：“这是一个交流想法的机会，我们分享制作、营销和发行电影的方式以及交流创建健康而富有活力的工作室这一基本理念。”

李姝洁是成都艾尔平方文化传播有限公司创始人，同时也是中国的14名项目参与者之一。她认为：“对中美动画电影制作人来说，面对面交流可以加深彼此的了解和友谊，这是大有裨益的。得益于此，我们今后可以进行更多的交流与合作。”

这一交流项目是由约翰·拉塞特发起的。拉塞特是华特迪士尼和皮克斯动画工作室的首席创意官，可以说他是迪士尼全球连胜的创意引擎。

《超能陆战队》在中国巡回宣传期间，拉塞特屡屡被问及，迪士尼是否会在中国开设项目，促进中国动画进入新阶段。

拉塞特决定与中国合作开展交流计划，与中国动画人分享迪士尼成功的秘诀，从而帮助他们创建自己的工作室。

迪士尼对这个交流项目的重视程度，从迪士尼方面的参与者就可见一斑。研讨会的发言人包括顶尖的创意官和执行人约翰·拉塞特，皮克斯联合创始人兼华特迪士尼和皮克斯动画工作室总裁艾德·卡特姆，华特迪士尼动画工作室总裁安德鲁·米尔斯坦，制作主管安勒·卡姆，奥斯卡奖得主、制片人罗伊康利以及其他顶级制片人、编剧和导演。

安德鲁·米尔斯坦和安勒·卡姆在工作室领导力论坛上发表演讲，对中国参与者表示欢迎。安德鲁·米尔斯坦表示：“很荣幸能招待来自中国的朋友。这次交流有助于我们加强关系，促进整个动画行业的发展。”

安勒·卡姆表示：“我们成功的秘诀非常简单，就是让所有人共处一室，坦诚沟通，自由创新。”

米尔斯坦对此表示认同，他说：“我们投入了大量的时间、精力和金钱来促使那些极具天赋的动画工作者在荧幕上倾尽潜能。你需要支持这些艺术创作者，为他们提供所需的工具来创作好的故事。”

传奇人物拉塞特开设了关于承担风险和创新的大师课，他深度阐述了自己和工作室的创新过程，给出了职业建议并分享了一些趣闻逸事，牢牢地抓住了参与者们的注意力。

他建议，“在作出创造性的决定时，相信你的直觉、品味和经验” 。

拉塞特概述了他制作成功电影的秘诀——“一个好的项目，需要有这三样东西：一个引人入胜、无法预测的故事，一众富有魅力、令人难忘的角色以及独特的世界或设定。”

他鼓励参观者们在技术和艺术创造中保持良好的平衡，“艺术挑战技术，技术启发艺术。这就是阴阳调和” 。

奥斯卡奖得主、制片人罗伊·康利首次展示了他的团队的最新成果——短片《雪宝的冰雪大冒险》,这部片子是在迪士尼大受欢迎的《冰雪奇缘》及其角色的基础上创作而成的。

他说：“当你创作出了像《冰雪奇缘》这样成功的电影，通过新瓶装旧酒来保持电影的活力是非常好的。这部短片就是给观众的一个礼物。”

这部20分钟的短片着实出彩。这部迷人的音乐电影告诉我们,家庭、友谊和传统的真正意义。片中，幽默、情感和配乐水乳交融。

罗伊·康利表示：“我为迪士尼能创作出这么多原创故事而感到骄傲。我们也有主题公园和购物店的特许经营权，但创作出原创的故事才是我们的主要任务。”

康利参与制作了获奖的野生动物纪录片《我们诞生在中国》。当被问到是否想再次在中国工作时，他说：“我爱上了中国——上海是一个神奇的城市，成都也是如此美丽。我想再到那里工作，特别是与陆川导演一起工作。”

艾德·卡特姆在加入迪士尼之前与拉塞特共同创办了皮克斯。当谈及迪士尼的国际化倾向时，他说：“在迪士尼，我们认为我们有责任讲述普通世界的故事。这意味着我们需要与来自全球各地的人们建立强有力的关系。”

当谈到迪士尼对项目的偏好时，他说：“我们鼓励创意团队在其他文化中创作自己的故事，像基于南太平洋岛民的传说创作的《海洋奇缘》和即将上映的以墨西哥为背景的影片《寻梦环游记》。”

他表示：“我们做了广泛的研究，与当地的长者和人类学家共同记录没有偏见或成见的、真实的文化。我们都有故事想分享。而如果我们能帮助别人讲出更好的故事，我们也会倍感光荣。”

华强方特（深圳）动漫有限公司总经理尚琳琳表示：“我们应当向迪士尼学习如何讲故事。对于中国动画电影制作人来说，学会讲好中国故事是非常必要的。只有这样，我们才能与世界分享中国故事。”

上海美术电影制片厂副总经理陈波表示，他从这个项目中获益良多，尤其是在迪士尼创作优质影片的理念以及创新精神上。“我迫不及待与中国同行们分享我的经历。我确信，中美动画电影制作人之间的合作将使中美人民之间的关系更紧密。”

皮克斯联合创始人兼华特迪士尼和皮克斯动画工作室总裁艾德·卡特姆说：“当我们互相学习时，我们就会创造出了不起的东西。”

As the first US-China social and people-to-people dialogue kicks off recently in Washington D.C., Walt Disney Studios did its own bit by hosting a cross-cultural dialogue of its own.

The five-day, intensive Disney-China Animation Exchange Program, supported by China Film Bureau, was tailored to suit the needs of an elite cadre of Chinese animation fi lmmakers.

Celebrating its third year, the program was a high-level exchange of ideas and practices between filmmakers of Walt Disney Animation Studios and the leading animation filmmakers from China.

“Walt Disney Animation Studios is deeply honored to open our doors and share our learnings and best practices with China’s local creative industry. These exchanges have been inspiring to all of us involved,” said Andrew Millstein, president of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

“It’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and share our approaches to filmmaking, production, marketing, distribution and our underlying concept of how to create a healthy and vibrant studio,” Millstein said.

Shujie Li, founder of Chengdu L Square Culture Communication Co and one of the 14 program participants from China, said, “It’s great for Chinese and American filmmakers to exchange ideas face-to-face and to deepen our understanding and friendship with each other so we can carry out more exchanges and cooperation in the future.”

The exchange program was the brainchild of John Lasseter,chief creative of ficer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and the creative force behind Disney’s global winning streak.

During a publicity tour through China for “Big Hero 6,” Lasseter was repeatedly asked whether Disney would open a facility in China to help take Chinese animation to the next level.

Lasseter decided to institute the Exchange Program in cooperation with China’s Film Bureau in order to share Disney’s secrets of success with Chinese animators so they could create their own successful studios.

An indication of the level of respect Disney accorded this unique Chinese exchange program is that the seminar speakers included such top-ranking creative and executive powerhouses as John Lasseter, Pixar co-founder and president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, Ed Catmull, president of Walt Disney Animation Studios, Andrew Millstein, head of Production, Ann Le Cam, and Academy Award-winning producer, Roy Conli, as well as other top producers, writers and directors.

Andrew Millstein and Ann Le Cam, speaking on Studio Leadership, welcomed the Chinese participants. “It’s an honor to host our friends from China. This exchange helps us strengthen relationships and share in a way that elevates the animation industry as a whole.”

Ann Le Cam said, “Our winning formula is simple: everyone under one roof, open communication, and freedom to innovate.”

Millstein agreed, “We invest a lot of time, effort and money into our talented people to enable them to put their highest potential on the screen. You have to support the artists’ visions and give them the tools they need to create great stories.”

The legendary Lasseter conducted a masterclass on Risk Taking and Innovation and riveted the participants with an indepth overview of his and the studio’s creative process, with a sprinkling of career advice and personal anecdotes.

“Trust your instincts, your taste, and experience when making creative decisions,” he advised.

Lasseter outlined his simple recipe for making successful films, “I look for three things in a great project, a compelling,unpredictable story; appealing and memorable characters; and a unique world or setting.”

He encouraged his visitors to keep technology and artistic creativity in balance. “Art challenges tech and tech inspires art.

It’s a collaborative Yin and Yang.”

Academy Award-winning producer Roy Conli premiered his team’s latest effort, “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure,” a short film based on Disney’s runaway hit “Frozen” and its characters.

“When you have a success like ’Frozen’, keeping it alive with new material is a good thing. This short is meant to be a gift to the audience,” he said.

The 20-minute film is indeed “a good thing” - a charming,musical tale about the true meaning of family, friendship and tradition, delivered with Disney’s incomparable mixture of humor, heart and a hit soundtrack.

“I’m proud of Disney for making original content. There are a few franchises that feed our theme parks and merchandizing outlets, but original content is our primary mission.”

Conli also produced the award-winning “Born In China”wildlife documentary. When askedifhe would like to work again in China, he said, “I fell in love with China - Shanghai is an amazing city and Chengdu is so beautiful. I would love to work there again - especially with director Lu Chuan.”

Ed Catmull, who co-founded Pixar with Lasseter before joining Disney, discussed Disney’s international bent. “At Disney, we feel we have a responsibility to tell stories that work around the world. That means we need strong relationships with people from different parts of the world.”

Regarding Disney’s project preferences, he said, “We encourage our creative teams to set stories in other cultures,” like their South Paci fi c Islander tale “Moana,” or their soon-to-be-released Mexico-based story “Coco.”

He cautioned, “We use extensive research, local elders,anthropologists to capture the real culture without prejudice or stereotyping. We all have stories to tell. And if we can help others tell better stories, we’re all better off.”

Linlin Shang, general manager of Fantawild Animation Inc,responded, “We should learn from Disney how to tell a story. It’s essential for Chinese filmmakers to learn how to tell the China story well, so we can share it with the world.”

Bo Chen, vice president of Shanghai Animation Film Studio, said that he gained greatly from this program, especially Disney’s ideas on how to make excellent movies and their spirit of innovation.

“I’m eager to share my experience with my colleagues in China. I’m sure the cooperation between Sino-US animation filmmakers will contribute to closer bonds between Chinese and American people,” he said.

“When we learn from each other, great things happen,” Catmull said.

迪士尼动画工作室总裁安德鲁·米尔斯坦(左侧居中）与中国动画电影人交流