Who is the voice of Wei Luo? Uncovering the sound story behind 'Yanxi Raiders'

You may not believe it, when the "Yanxi Raiders" was on the air, I chased the drama to catch up with the dark, and did not hear the voice of Wei Luo is not Wu Zhanyan himself. Until one day to brush the behind-the-scenes footage, to see an unfamiliar figure in the recording studio to the screen full commitment, only to realize - that the celluloid of Wei Luo's resourcefulness, that strand of unconvincing ruthlessness, and even dislike of the sky and the earth when the slightly upward end of the voice are interpreted in the voice, from the voice actor Qiu Qiu.

Who is Qiu Qiu? Maybe you are a bit unfamiliar with this name, but her voice is definitely not unfamiliar to you. The intelligent and patient Gong Yu in "Luangya List", the loyal Xiaodao beside Minglan in "Knowing Whether or Not Should Be Green, Fat, Red and Thin", and even the agile and elegant Gongsun Li in the game "King of Glory" are all her voice kingdoms. When the industry talks about her, they all recognize that she is a good voice with an "extremely wide range". But what really makes her enter the public's field of vision and be firmly remembered by the audience is still the Wei Luo who is in the Forbidden City step by step.

Swords in sound.

Qiu Qiu worked hard to dub Wei Luo's voice. The first thing she did when she got the script was to label all the lines of Wei Luo, according to the mood, according to the scene, and even according to the different roles of the opponents in the drama, and did a dense labeling. Wu Zhanyan's performance gave her a solid base, but the secondary creation of the voice needs to be injected into the soul.

I remember a particularly classic scene where Wei Luo knocks three steps at a time in the snow to atone for the Empress Mother's sins. Wu Zhanyan's performance in the scene was impactful enough, but when Qiu Qiu's voice came out, that kind of stoicism through clenched teeth, gasping for breath squeezed from the depths of her throat, and that almost mournful stubbornness instantly forced tears out of my eyes off-screen. It wasn't simply a sobbing voice; you could clearly hear the heaviness of the snowy trek, the dull thud of knees hitting the ground, and the sting of cold air sucked into her lungs, all in the control of her breath and the subtle pauses.

What's even better is Wei Luo's state when she dislikes people. Qiu Qiu handled it particularly well, not just raising the pitch to make it look sharp and mean, but making an effort on the speed, rhythm and accent. For example, in the sentence "I, Wei Luo, am born with a violent temper and not to be messed with", Qiu Qiu drags the word "born with" a little bit, and bites the word "violent" short and strong, and the three words "not to be messed with" are provocative with a little bit of upward movement, which makes the image of a vivid and not to be bullied Wei sister, no need to use the picture, just listen to the sound and it will be established.

The Invisible Man in the Shed.

Many people think that voice actors just read from a script and have it easy. But that's not true. Qiu Qiu later talked about in an interview, dubbing "Yanxi Raiders" that time, it is simply \ "dark day\". The drama was in a hurry, and the dubbing had to follow suit. In the hot recording studio in summer, the air conditioning does not dare to turn on too much for fear of noise, she often recorded for seven or eight hours, do not dare to drink too much water, for fear of frequent toilet interruptions.

The most difficult part is not the physical strength, but to accurately "stick" to the actor's mouth and performance rhythm. Wei Luo's lines were many and fast, and her mood changes were especially frequent. Qiu Qiu had to stare at the screen, she had to inhale synchronously, and she had to react immediately to the slightest movement of the actor's mouth. Sometimes, in order to match up with a particularly subtle expression or breath, it was common to record a sentence more than ten times over and over again. She laughed and said that after a day of recording, she felt that her face muscles were all stiff and more tired than the actors themselves.

One detail that impressed me deeply is that Qiu Qiu said that in order to find Wei Luo's voice state in a specific situation, she even secretly imitated the force that Wu Zhanyan might have used at that time in the studio. For example, in the kneeling scene, she would really bend her knees slightly in front of the microphone to feel that kind of force; in the scene where she was beaten, she would subconsciously tense her body to bring out that real pain and muffled grunts in her voice. These small actions, invisible to outsiders, are her secret weapon to make her voice "come alive".

The Power of Sound

After the broadcast of The Raiders of Yanxi, the voice of \"Wei Luo Luo\" completely caught fire. However, Qiu Qiu's life has not changed much, she is still active in the recording studio, but more roles are coming to her. Occasionally, she is happy when someone recognizes her voice, but more often than not, she enjoys the sense of accomplishment that comes from being a "voice shaper".

A good voice actress is like this, like the most brilliant make-up artist, carefully touching up, but letting you be unaware of it. Qiu Qiu used her voice to inject a fuller vitality and a more complex sense of hierarchy into the celluloid necklace. We remember the sharpness of Wei Luo, remember her tears, remember her fastidiousness and hatred, and Qiu Qiu is the one who hides behind these memories and tells stories with her voice.

The next time you revisit "Yanxi Raiders", you may want to close your eyes and purely use your ears to feel Wei Luo's voice. What's hidden in there is definitely not just a character's lines, but also a sound artist, in a square inch recording studio, with breath, pause, weight and urgency, weaving another dimension of the Forbidden City's wind and clouds for us. The charm of sound is sometimes more direct to the heart than the picture.

You may also want to know about the Wei Luo dub:

Q1: Besides Wei Luo, what other familiar characters has Qiu Qiu been paired with?
There are too many! Gong Yu from "Luangya List", Xiao Tao from "Knowing Whether or Not Should Be Green, Fat, Red and Thin", Cheng Yu Yuanjun from "The Book of Three Lives on a Pillow", and Lu Wenxie from "Crane Falling in the Chinese Pavilion". She is also Gongsun Li in the game "Honor of Kings" and Beidou in "Original God". Her voice is so malleable that she often can't recognize the same person when she hears it.

Q2: Why don't you use the original voices of the actors in "Yan Xi Raiders"? Can't Wu Zhanyan dub her own voice?
A few reasons: First, the shooting site environment is noisy, it is difficult to guarantee the clarity of the same period of the radio effect required by the TV series; Second, the actor himself may have a little accent or tone is not quite in line with the director's imagination of the role of the ultimate; Third, the shooting cycle is long and intense, and then the actor to specialize in a lot of time to go into the studio to dubbing, the coordination of the schedule is a problem. Using professional voice actors is more efficient and the effect is more guaranteed.

Q3: Is there a high bar for voice actors? Is it just a matter of having a good voice?
A good voice is the foundation, but it's not enough! This line of work requires strong line skills (spitting and homing, breath control), acting ability (understanding the role, conveying emotions), reaction speed (accurate to the rhythm of the mouth), but also to be able to bear hardships and stand hard work (long hours locked in the studio). Qiu Qiu is also from the class, studied acting in the Chinese Theater, and after years of practice before grinding out. Just a good voice? Probably not even the first pass.

Q4: When dubbing, do you look at the screen with no sound and dub it, or is there a reference to the actors' original voices?
The professional process is called \"dubbing to picture\". The voice actor is in the studio, facing the edited,Wiped out the original voices of the live actorsof the TV show footage (only the screen and subtitles). They need to reinterpret their own lines according to the actors' mouths, acting movements, and emotional ups and downs, and then combine them with the script. When Qiu Qiu was casting Wei Luo, she had to "paste" her lines word by word from Wu Zhuyan's performance.

Q5: Is Qiu Qiu still dubbing now? What are your new works?
Of course it is! She has been active all along. In recent years, works such as Xiao Yuan Yi, Cheng Shao Shang's mother in Starry Night - Moonrise of the Canghai Sea (yes, the stern A-Mother!) ), Princess Zojia in Scorching Wind and Flow, Ming Misty Ji in Cloud's Feather, and also contributed her voice in the animated movie Deep Sea. If you follow her, you'll always find that familiar and versatile voice in hit dramas.