Script Writing| Red Snow Orchid

 

Treatment for

Film

 “Red

Snow Orchid”

 

“ If I were to die, I would like to die by your hands. I wouldn't have any regrets.”

 

Research and Planning

The genre of my story is a chinese based genre called “ Xianxia”. Xianxia basically means immortal heroes and consists of cultivation based fantasy stories. It is a Chinese based fantasy genre that focuses on characters who undergo meditation and cultivation to become transcendental beings. Typically, xianxia protagonists start at the bottom of the social ladder in terms of strength and standing, and they eventually improve enough to achieve immortality.They don't have social influence, privilege or power, and they tend to follow a personal code of honor that drives them to fight injustices and talk down oppressive and corrupt figures. It can be said that xianxia is quite similar to ‘ wuxia’, many would consider xianxia as a ‘ fantasified’ version of wuxia, as it is usually based on history and not a lot of magical elements. We can say, in other words, that wuxia is ‘ low fantasy’ and xianxia is ‘ high fantasy’. As wuxia is only limited to Taoism and Buddhism, xianxia includes more fantastical elements other than those.

The world of xianxia is very diverse and vast, hence a lot can be done while experimenting with its world building, however there are some major terms that are required to follow up to. Some important terms to keep in mind while writing on this genre are as follows;

●      Jianghu: The Chinese word jianghu (江湖) literally translates to “rivers and lakes” but it means so much more.  Jianghu is the name of the brotherhood of outsiders that existed in old China.  It is the society of workers who made their living with the skill of their own two hands: craftsmen, beggars, thieves, street performers, fortune tellers, wandering healers, and many martial artists.  In ancient China, where education was valued over physical ability, this was the lowest rank of social order.   Mainstream society belonged to the Confucian scholar-officials. Its underbelly was the jianghu.  It is, in other words, also used to represent the ‘ common world,

●      Cultivation: Characters often practice martial or mystical arts to become stronger and extend their lives, and these people are called ‘ cultivators’. A common way to show cultivation is through meditative techniques and the building of “ Qi”. Qi is the vital energy that exists in all human beings. The ultimate goal in xianxia stories of cultivating is to become an immortal being called “ xian”. It can either mean sage, or celestial being. The advancement of cultivation is inspired by real life ‘ qigong’, a system of exercise, breathing and meditation methods that promote health and spirituality. People who practice cultivation are also said to have a ‘ golden core’ which is the essence of their being and stores their spiritual energy and power.

●      Magical Beings: Unlike wuxia that is based majorly on history, xianxia takes full advantage of fantastical elements from chinese mythology and folklore. Supernatural creatures like demons, spirits and magical beings are common in this world.

●      Magical Items: Xianxia stories have an abundance of magical items that can take any form. For example, magical elixirs that can also boost cultivation. The most famous magical weapon is a flying sword, a magical sword that can levitate and is used for long range attacks.

The worldbuilding for xianxia stories also consists of the concepts of buddhism and taoism. Buddhism originated 2500 years ago in India. Buddhists believe that human life is one suffering, and that meditation, spiritual and physical labor and good behavior are the ways to achieve enlightenment or nirvana. On the other hand, Taoism is a Chinese mythical philosophy based on the writings of Lao Tzu. It teaches about the various disciplines for achieving perfection through self cultivation, based on the three treasures compassion, frugality and humility.

As this genre is something I have been studying and watching a lot in recent years, there are a few works that I would like to list and my favorites and inspirations. These stories are originally novels that have been adapted as various animations, donghuas, anime, manhuas and audio dramas.

●      Mo Dao Zu Shi ( 墨香铜臭) also called Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation- by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

●   Tian Guan Ci Fu (墨香铜臭) also called Heaven Officials Blessings- by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

●   Chuan Shu Zijiu Zhinan ( 人渣反派自救系统) also called Scumbag Villain’s Self Saving System- by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

●   Cang Lan Jue also called Parting of Orchid and Demon King- by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang

●   The Legend of Fei (有翡)- original novel written by Priest

 I would say the main idea mainly focuses on friendships and betrayals, and the fluctuation of emotions that two people who fall in love would feel for each other. From a political objective, the story shows the conventional unease of between kingdoms who are at war with each other and the extreme dangers and trauma war inflicts upon people. However, from the characters point of view, the objective could, seeing the good in evil and evil in good.

 

Objective:

With the extreme fantasy world and mythical pace, this film aims to be at top notch animation to deliver the fantasy based scenes with the best expressions, dialogues and soundtrack, to make the viewer feel as if they themselves have transmigrated into the xianxia cultivation world.

 

Genre:

The genre of my animated film “ Red Snow Orchid” is “ historical, fantasy, xianxia and romance”. I have been an avid fan of historical asian storylines since the past few years so I decided to incorporate this genre in order to dedicate my fondness and knowledge of worldbuilding. And of course, any fantasy would be incomplete without a good chunk of it dedicated to the protagonists/ Characters' lovelife.

 

Logline and Premise

“ The story of a girl who transmigrates into the kingdom of Hong as the crown princess. Soon she is tied in an inevitable heart curse with a strange boy, and sets off on a mystical journey to learn more of the curse and encounters some untold truths.”

 

Synopsis

A 21st century college student named Wen, with a broken dream of becoming a writer finds herself transmigrated into the story she had abandoned writing when she was younger. The incomplete story had been missing a lot of the characters and plot line, including the main hero himself. On the 15th day of the Lunar Year, at the Shangyuan Festival, she’s transmigrated into the storyline as Hong Xue Lan, the Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Hong. On the same day, she encounters a fateful meeting with a young boy named MingYue, whom she tries to save from getting beaten by a crowd because of stealing food. But to her surprise, she’s met with his rather hateful eyes. As the two cross paths again, they come across an unfortunate event where they fall victim to a soul curse, which connects their pain, happiness, life and even death with each other. Forced to work together, both of them set off on a magical journey as cultivators to find a cure for the heart curse, but amidst everything, fall in the hands of a political rivalry and betrayal that sparks  a war between the two kingdoms of Hong and Tao. As she overcomes one obstacle, Xue Lan realizes that her biggest battle is with Mingyue himself, whom she has to save for him to not live the dark future that awaits him. 

 

Central Idea

The story revolves around a young college student who magically transmigrates into a novel she had abandoned writing at a very young age, so she is unaware of a lot of plot and characters that place in the story. She becomes the main protagonist of the novel, a beautiful and capable young crown princess named XueLan, who is known to be the darling of the kingdom and heaven. She believes that the male protagonist to the story has always been her imperial bodyguard, a handsome and charismatic boy named FengGuang, but she is proven wrong as she crosses paths with a strange boy named MingYue, whom she accidentally forms a heart curse with. The story proceeds with the three of them setting off on a journey to find cure of the heart curse, but they encounter many untold truths and betrayals along the way. The story takes a turn when Xue Lan realizes that her biggest fight is with MingYue himself, whom she had started falling in love with amidst their journey together.

 

Characters

 

Hong Xue Lan  (red snow orchid)

 

Protagonist. 17 years old beloved royal highness the crown princess of the kingdom of Hong. Originally a 21st century college student with an abandoned dream of becoming a writer. Much like her original character, post transmigration Xue Lan has a rather calm temperament, with flawless mannerism and a scholarly aura. However, in contrast to the calm and refined aura she seems to show, most of her thoughts during the story consist of her freaking out at various plot developments and storylines, and sometimes sarcastically commenting on the situation. Her title is “ Scarlet Orchid Amidst Frost”

 

Jie Ming Yue (pure bright jade)

 

Protagonist. 19 years old. Although previously belonging to a noble family, he loses his parents tragically at a very young age. As the blame of his parents’ deaths falls on him, ruining his reputation, he is forced to live a very pathetic and pitiful life in the slums. Mingyue has a very ‘ tsundere’ like personality, where he doesn't easily show the emotions he is feeling on the surface. Even though he appears to be charismatic, he has a hard time expressing himself and opening up to people, thus causing him to have a rather quiet and silent aura. Despite his silent nature, he is very loyal and tries his best to seek Xue lan’s affection and approval later on in the story, and dotes on her a lot.

 

Character sketches

 

.                             Hong Xue Lan ( illustrated by me )

.                    Jie MingYue ( illustrated by me )

 

Market Analysis

Xianxia stories draw from a deep well of myths and legends, specifically from Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian traditions. This results in a set of morals and cultural assumptions that are completely foreign to the literature that most of us are probably familiar with. Traditional audiences are drawn to classic costume dramas in the Xianxia fantasy genre, a Taoism-influenced martial arts style, as a means of escaping back to cherished values and dreams.

 The Magnolia TV Forum of the 2016 Shanghai International Film and TV Festival hosted a discussion on June 8 about TV dramas entering the "Chinese fantasy" era and the collision between Xianxia fantasy and reality themes.

"The Chinese Xianxia fantasy can be popular globally," said Tang Lijun, founder of New iPicture Media which produced the hit drama series "The Journey of Flower." "Xianxia drama is to Chinese people like science fiction drama is to Westerners, and much of Western science fiction stories are also influenced by Taoism culture," she said.

Chinese actor Yan Yikuan pointed out that audience tastes are always changing. He said during the past 20 years as an actor he had experienced many "eras" in TV series, from war-themed dramas to costume dramas and now to Xianxia fantasy. "The market has a demand and we have the technology to produce high-quality special effects, so I think now is a good time," Yan said."For actors, this is a phenomenon. After the break out of Xianxia fantasy dramas, the market will be more selective and producers will start targeting the next new field."

The Screenplay

Link to read the screenplay is as follows:

Screenplay Link