Heart’s Direction 心之所向
Mercedes-Benz seriously geared up for the Chinese New Year campaign. The brand released a mini-film, which is all about love and connection, so it kind of doubled as Valentine’s Day material as well. And they’ve treated the commercial with all the attributes of a film: a trailer creating anticipation a week before the release, credits at the end, and most importantly— a big-name director.
梅赛德斯奔驰为春节的宣传活动做好了充分的准备。该品牌新鲜出炉的微电影，以爱与关系为主题，既符合春节的氛围，也适合紧随其后的情人节。此外，虽然是广告，但这部影片完全符合电影的标准：上映前一周发布预告片，创造了期待，片尾有演职人员表，最重要的是 —— 幕后有一位大牌导演。
The 6-minutes mini-film “Heart’s Direction” is not directed, but “curated” by Wong Kar-wai, as the opening title announces. In the commercial, the iconic elements of Wong’s style—warm, soft colors, slow pace, rain-soaked windows, romantic longing—intertwine with upbeat music, unequivocal happy endings, fast cuts and zooms. In the words of Wong Kar-wai: “The challenges of the past year have made us understand what is so close. The distance between people is magnified, where is the ‘heart’s direction’? These three sets of stories, overcoming the distance, provide different answers. These stories are Way Home, Each Other, The Distance. The heart is persistent, the world is a small place after all and love is restless like the wind.”
正如片头所示，这部6分钟的微电影《心之所向》是由王家卫“监制”而非“执导”。在这部广告片中，王氏风格明显，标志性的元素包括：温暖，柔和的色彩，缓慢的节奏，雨水浸湿的窗户，浪漫的渴望与明快的音乐，让人安心皆大欢喜的结局，交织在一起的快剪与时而推进，时而拉远的镜头。王家卫告诉大家：“过去一年的挑战，让我们明白了是咫尺天涯。人和人的距离被放大，到底哪里才是“心之所向”？这三组故事，跨国距离，提供了不同的答案。是归途，是彼此，是远方，心是执着的，天涯咫尺，爱如风不息。”
Aside from a glossy “Behind the scenes” video, the basic details about the production of the mini-film are quite obscure. It’s brought to life by a mysterious production company 象山我们有戏影视文化有限公司, established in 2018 by a Deng Zhu Qing. Interestingly, the spot doesn’t have a creative agency listed in the closing titles. Ogilvy Beijing, however, reported it’s their work. According to the agency’s article, the brief started from the insight that “after experiencing the very special 2020, people’s need for affection and love will be stronger than ever during this year’s Spring Festival”. As to enlisting the help of Wong Kar-wai, the agency stated that “his delicate handling of emotions, unique presentation of aesthetic style, and harsh requirements on quality all add beautifully to this Mercedes campaign”. Although it’s promoted as a Wong Kar-wai film, the spot’s three stories were directed by Xu Zijun, Cheng Liang, and Li Shuang.
除了一个赏心悦目的幕后视频，这部迷你电影的基本制作细节仍然是个迷。幕后的制片公司是象山我们有戏影视文化有限公司，这家在2018年由邓竹青成立的公司非常神秘。有趣的是，虽然该片的片尾并没有列出任何一家代理商，但奥美北京表示这是他们负责的项目。根据代理商奥美北京的文章，项目简报以疫情下的洞察开篇，认为“经历了2020这特别的一年，今年春节人们对于亲请与爱情的渴求将会比以往任何时候都更为强烈”。对于王家卫的帮助，该机构表示，王家卫细腻的情感处理、独特的审美风格呈现、以及对品质的苛刻要求，都为此次奔驰的宣传活动锦上添花。虽然宣传上称这部电影是王家卫作品，但这三个故事其实是由徐梓竣，程亮和李爽分别导演完成。
Behind the scenes 幕后花絮
As one research points out: Wong Kar-wai’s modus operandi is often described as “grinding a sword for ten years” (十年磨一剑), which involves (1) a long gestation process, (2) tormenting, repetitive, and barely differentiated multiple retakes, and (3) a long postproduction and editing phase. Making a commercial, especially in China, is nothing of the above. Perhaps, that’s an additional reason, why when brands want to use Wong’s talents, the collaboration takes form of “curation”. Such is the case, for example, with a commercial film for YSL, released in 2019. The fifth mini-film in the brand’s series SELF titled “A Night in Shanghai” feels less than advertising, and more distinctly Wong’s style. Which is not surprising, seeing that the aim of the project was to capture the fashion house through the eyes of world-renowned creatives. The other commercial film projects that the director participates in, sometimes have unpredictable results, but give the fans a welcome distraction while they wait for the master’s return with a new feature film.
正如一项研究指出的那样:王家卫的工作方式经常被描述为“十年磨一剑”，因此需要（1）漫长的孕育过程，（2）折磨，重复，几乎没有区别的多次重拍，以及（3）较长的后期制作和编辑过程。而广告拍摄，尤其是在中国，很难满足以上三点。或许，这也是为什么当品牌想要利用王家卫的才能时，会采取监制的形式进行合作的另一个原因。2019年YSL圣罗兰的一部商业电影也是如此。这部圣罗兰「SELF」系列的第 5 支片短片《上海之夜》并不像一部广告，该片王家卫的个人风格更为明显。当然这也不奇怪，因为这个项目的目的就是通过世界知名创意人士的眼睛来捕捉这家时装公司的灵魂。虽然王导参与的其他商业电影项目，有时会产生意想不到的结果，但对于粉丝们来说，在他们等待大师的大银幕新作期间，这些项目却是缓解“剧荒”的一味良药。
A Night in Shanghai
CREDITS 制片团队
Client 客户: 奔驰 Mercedes-Benz
Creative 创意: 奥美 Ogilvy
Production House 制作公司: 象山我们有戏影视文化有限公司
Executive Producer 监制：王家卫
Producer 制片人：彭绮华，陈惠中
Director 导演：徐梓竣，程亮，李爽
DoP 摄影指导：梁忠强，金晨煜
Art Director 美术指导：屠楠， 柳冬阳，樱子Zorana 昔舍设计
Editor 剪辑：王小川，徐梓竣，林敬轩
Colorist 调色：Craft Creations
SoundEffects 声音特效：Kantana Sound Studio
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