In Limbo

[marycrawford]

I have watched all but the four last episodes of Guardian. I HAVE MANY THOUGHTS.

The one that is uppermost in my mind right now, though: Zhu Yilong had better have gotten paid A FORTUNE for his work on this show. Fucking hell.

Comments

[marycrawford]

Man, I cannot BELIEVE that ADR thing, that is just mindblowing. I guess maybe if I could speak Chinese I might get a hint it wasn't live? But yeah, I did notice the way "Dixing" just thuds in there, although I didn't realize that was because of ADR either, I thought it was some weird emphasis.

I did see the livestream, thanks for the link! I have huge conflicted feelings about this kind of thing, because they are adorable and sweet and their interactions are great, and every cringy dumb question they have to answer or skit they have to perform makes me want to jump in front of a train. The second-hand embarrassment is too much. I thought US celebrity interviews were terrible, but this is worse? How even is that possible? They're fantastic actors who clearly put a ton of effort into their craft, can you not leave them a little dignity and maybe ask them something about their actual work??!

Er. Sorry for that outburst. I will also admit that Youtube pushed another clip at me that I have watched A LOT, that is just Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu trying out the weight machines on the SID set, which very nicely proves which of them has actual muscle instead of just swagger. :D

[umadoshi]

When I was first finding out about the ADR thing, someone was like "but don't worry, the dubbing in The Untamed is much better done [than Guardian]!" and I thought, "but the dubbing on Guardian is already so smooth that I never even noticed...?"

Someone was also saying that the dubbing practice is self-reinforcing, because if all of the actors know they're just gonna be dubbed over (whether by themselves or someone else), they're not so focused on little things like enunciation and volume, so of course then they have to dub.

The embarrassment parts of the Chinese promo work hit me hard too; I don't usually watch those bits. ^^;

I do like the much-discussion progression of Guardian promo stuff, in that Zhu Yilong is/was known for being kinda stiff and not great at/comfortable with interviews (he seems to genuinely think he's extremely boring, and also average-looking and not especially talented, and I'm sure [I hope] that at least some of it is conscious humbleness, but it has a tang of realness to it and makes me sad) and Bai Yu is so gregarious and engaged and apparently made a bit of a project of coaxing ZYL more out of his shell and helping him get more comfortable.

My one consolation about all the embarrassing parts of the promo stuff is that at least it's standard enough that no one's being singled out and picked on, AFAIK, but yeah. It's very uncomfortable. I hope at least some of the actors who go through that gauntlet find it amusing, since the fans evidently do. :/

My favorite thing is their Dixing song on Happy Camp; if you haven't seen it, I gather that they wrote the lyrics themselves, and it's delightful. The full Happy Camp appearance, OTOH, is another round of ridiculous games and cringe, so I haven't watched it all the way through. I also have to mentally tune out all of the backup dancers and stuff, TBH, but the actual song makes me happy.

(There's also a behind-the-scenes video of them rehearsing the song + some backstage + after-show stuff, much of which is charming, and an official video for the song that's extremely spoilery for the series, IIRC.)

The weight-machines thing is a delight. *^^* I haven't seen it subtitled, but IIRC what Bai Yu is saying afterwards is something like "You're so handsome and so strong! How am I supposed to live in this world now?"

[marycrawford]

Ooo, I feel accomplished, because I have barely delved into any show-peripheral material at all, but I do have a subtitled version of the "weight machine" clip (and some other moments): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkY5oxLL73M&feature=youtu.be&t=103 The subs say Bai Yu's line is "You're so handsome and you have more power than me, how can I live in this world?" <3

I'm so glad you understand about the embarrassment problem I have with the Chinese promos - I didn't want to be like "thanks for the link, I hate it" :D - and I will check out the Dixing song, I haven't seen it. Thanks for spoiler-checking too! Sounds like I should check out the official video and behind the scenes stuff later.

The idea that Zhu Yilong is not comfortable with interviews, yeah, I bet that's mostly real. The way he clutches pillows and waits for Bai Yu to prompt him looks very un-acted, as it were. (And I feel for him because OMG, if it were me I would hide in a dressing room and never come out.)

I am waiting for my friend to get back from a road trip to watch the last four episodes, and in the meantime I am WRITING FIC. \o/ Also I'm really enjoying this convo, thanks a lot!

[umadoshi]

*melts over all the behind-the-scenes interactions, as always*

I'm so glad you understand about the embarrassment problem I have with the Chinese promos - I didn't want to be like "thanks for the link, I hate it" :D

Understandable, but it'd also be totally fair--nothing works for everyone! If I ever rec something at you or relay something and it's not to your taste for whatever reason, I won't be wounded or offended or anything. ^_^

The way he clutches pillows and waits for Bai Yu to prompt him looks very un-acted, as it were.

People half-joke (fondly) about him needing his emotional-support Bai Yu.

(I'm not personally into RPF, but watching the two of them, I think I feel more strongly about a friendship between strangers than I ever have in my life. I just think about the weirdnesses and pressures of their industry and how genuinely comfortable and fond they seem together, and I hope that they really do have as strong a friendship as it appears. It'd be precious enough for anyone, but in that kind of work it seems like it'd be absolutely priceless. So I hope, knowing that I'll obviously never know one way or the other.)

Eeeee, fic-writing! That makes me so happy. *^^*

Also I'm really enjoying this convo, thanks a lot!

Aw, yay! ^_^ (I tend to get caught up very easily in excited geek-babble, so I'm always a little worried that I'm dragging conversations out longer than someone would necessarily like, especially when I don't know them well. [Hi, anxiety!] So I'm glad to hear that.)

[umadoshi]

I meant to ask this earlier: do you know about Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu's recording of "Flying Through Time"? (The title of which gets translated different ways.)

[marycrawford]

No, not yet, though I have come across a video where BY is in a hat or a hoodie or something, and they're singing together? I haven't watched it yet though :D
Still four eps to go, possibly that will happen next weekend, and then I can read all the fanfic and watch all the things!

[umadoshi]

possibly that will happen next weekend, and then I can read all the fanfic and watch all the things!

Fingers crossed!