Screenwriting Challenges Analyzed during Magnolia Forum

Screenwriters from China and Korea discussed current and future trends and problems in TV drama production during the Magnolia Forum seminar "The Core of a Script", All about Stories and Characters at Shanghai  TV Festival yesterday.

Kim Yonghyun, a Korean screenwriter best known for her work Dae Jang Geum, said that all screenwriters worked under the pressure of TV ratings.

"But more important is whether our stories are loved by the audience, because as screenwriters we have to have our own ideas," Kim said. "It is not a good thing if you just write what the TV stations want."

Chinese screenwriter Shu Huan writes for both TV dramas and films and his recent work Lost in Thailand was a box office miracle, pulling in over RMB 1.2 billion in one month.

He said the best screenwriters are writing TV dramas which are harder than movies because they require tremendous patience and the ability to work consistently on one project.

"I think the problem with the Chinese market is that screenwriters don\'t have good stories," he said, "and if the industry wants to develop, the screenwriters should be respected."

Producer and screenwriter Peng Sanyuan said that screenwriters as storytellers have social and cultural responsibilities and there should be no limit to the kinds of story, style or characters they include in their creations.

For the younger generation, watching a TV drama is no longer about sticking to the television every day at prime time, she added. With easy access to web streaming or mobile applications, they are consuming TV series in a different way.

Guan Ling, vice dean of the School of Theatre, Film & TV at Communication University of China agreed. "Watching shows on the internet is a new lifestyle, it is a modern and urban way," he said."They (young viewers) choose what is related to their real life. They see familiar things happening to others so subjects like these are top choices,"Guan said. "They are also interested in subjects they don\'t know much about."

But a good story wins the hearts of the audience, because characters with unforgettable personalities will always be remembered, he added.