Chapter 247: Cleverly Grabbing Characteristics and Forcing Techniques

Chapter 247: Capturing Nuance and Forcing Technique

Perhaps it was because he had spent so much time in recording studios lately, but Meng Fan had developed a habitual need for an enclosed space whenever he practiced.

There were plenty of recording facilities here, including a large studio, but it was a bustling place; the idea of clearing everyone out so he could practice in solitude was entirely out of the question.

After consulting a staff member, he retreated into a vacant lounge nearby and locked the door behind him.

Though he lacked professional dubbing equipment, Meng Fan possessed his livestreaming assistant and high-tech headphones, which allowed him to monitor the state of his voice at any moment.

For this ensemble piece from The Message, Meng Fan had to voice no fewer than seven characters: two female and five male.

He played the clip through his assistant. He had seen the film, but it had been a long time; he needed to re-familiarize himself with the content to help him grasp the essence of each role.

Of the seven characters, six were not voiced by the original actors; only Bai Xiaonian, played by Alec Su, featured the actor’s own voice. The six original voice actors were all top-tier professionals who had masterfully captured the traits of the characters and the actors themselves, clearly having gone to great lengths to mimic their vocal timbres. Meng Fan, naturally, could not simply mimic the voice actors mimicking the stars; he had to bypass them and go straight to the core of the characters, controlling his timbre to lean toward the actors' original voices without resorting to deliberate imitation.

For Gu Xiaomeng, played by Zhou Xun, Meng Fan seized upon her radiance, layering it with wit and a touch of acrimony. For Li Ningyu, played by Li Bingbing, he captured a frigid detachment, infusing it with hidden endurance and intellect. For Wu Zhiguo, played by Zhang Hanyu, he focused on the iron-blooded coldness on the surface and the stubbornness deep within.

Bai Xiaonian, played by Alec Su, was the most distinctive and the most difficult to pin down. Capturing his effeminacy, innocence, rashness, and a hint of foolishness was a genuine challenge. Truth be told, when Meng Fan first watched the film, he had been stunned by the performance; the actor had perfectly brought the fragile Bai Xiaonian to life.

Takeda, played by Huang Xiaoming, was the easiest to grasp; one only needed to nail the Japanese-accented Mandarin. As for the lines Takeda spoke in Japanese, that posed no problem for Meng Fan.

As for the characters played by Wang Zhiwen and Ying Da, Meng Fan pondered and decided to stick to the original interpretations.

After one viewing, he isolated each of the seven characters to practice. With his +8 dubbing technique and +8 vocal charisma, outputting the necessary emotional density was effortless. Once that was resolved, using his vocal range to align with the actors' natural timbres became remarkably simple.

In dubbing, imitation is merely the starting point; shaping the character is the true goal.

He mastered all seven roles after only a few repetitions, then began practicing the transitions between them. Once that was done, dubbing along with the film clip felt like water flowing into a channel—natural and smooth.

After two passes, he technically adjusted the moments where multiple characters spoke simultaneously, and the task was essentially complete.

Did he remember the lines, or were they already familiar?

Meng Fan’s memory was decent, but more importantly, he had his high-tech gear; even if he didn't memorize them, it wouldn't matter. Besides, there were teleprompters on set, and one could even hold a script while recording.

He ran through it once more, resolved a few difficult spots, and decided he was done practicing.

He moved on to the clip from The Grand Mansion Gate. It featured many speakers, but most had only a line or two of scattered dialogue. Meng Fan focused on four: Bai Jingqi, played by Chen Baoguo; Bai Yingyu, played by Liu Peiqi; Wang Xiguang, played by Lei Kesheng; and Uncle Yu, played by Li Xuejian—all seasoned veterans with explosive acting prowess.

He felt immense pressure with this segment—truly immense.

He had finished The Message in no time, but after an hour of practicing The Grand Mansion Gate, he remained dissatisfied.

For The Message, he could confidently boast that his dubbing wouldn't be inferior to the original. But in The Grand Mansion Gate, aside from Bai Jingqi, the other three were the actors' original voices. Especially the scene’s protagonist, Bai Yingyu, whose performance was etched into his very bones, and the other two were equally formidable. Meng Fan felt a bit intimidated, or perhaps, filled with a sense of reverence.

Chen Xin, the voice actor for Bai Jingqi, was a titan in the industry, having voiced countless legendary roles including Zhang Wuji, Ma Yongzhen, and the Eighth Prince, while also serving as the regular voice for stars like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun-fat, and Ekin Cheng.

He no longer cared about "shaping the character" or adding luster to the role; he only hoped his dubbing would be worthy of these masters' performances. In other words, his work was simply a tribute.

He practiced for another hour.

Knock, knock.

After the knock, the door pushed open and a head poked in.

"How’s the practice going?" It was Su Qingcen. "Sister Bai is about to pull her hair out, and here you are locking yourself away again. Is this program really that terrifying?"

"Me? I'm alright, I suppose."

Meng Fan was just about to take a break, so he stepped out and asked, "You're done already?"

"Done?" Su Qingcen laughed. "It's nearly nine o'clock."

Meng Fan checked the time—it really was. Counting the initial script reading and the promotional shoot, over five hours had passed. The moment he realized this, his stomach let out a loud growl.

Su Qingcen nearly burst out laughing. Knowing Meng Fan couldn't possibly leave, she teased him further: "I'm just about to head out for a late-night snack. Are you coming?"

"I am! Of course I am!"

Meng Fan had been planning to eat anyway, and at the mention of the list of delicacies Su Qingcen had recited earlier, his stomach protested even more vigorously.

Su Qingcen paused, surprised. "Wait, really? Can you actually go?"

"Why wouldn't I be able to? I'm just about finished. Hold on." Meng Fan went over to Bai Zhi and asked, "Sister, how are things on your end? When can we practice the collaborative show? If it's late, I'm going to go grab a bite with Brother Shan Jin. Oh, and I'm pretty much done with my practice."

"I'm not there yet. You're really done? Go ahead, then. Come back early. I expect Director Xu and Teacher Di, our dubbing coach, will be arriving a bit late..." Bai Zhi paused, gesturing toward the door. "Speak of the devil."

The two men greeted Bai Zhi, Su Qingcen, and Meng Fan with smiles, asking how the practice was going. They looked at Meng Fan with a mix of surprise and skepticism. "We heard you chose the ensemble clips from The Grand Mansion Gate and The Message? These are incredibly difficult; we selected them last season, and no group dared to attempt them. And you're doing them all by yourself? What stage are you at now?"

The two had watched Meng Fan’s dubbing videos when Bai Zhi first suggested him as a guest performer; otherwise, even with her strong insistence, they wouldn't have agreed—unless Meng Fan possessed the same level of popularity as the traffic star who had assisted Teacher Wang Jinsong last season.

Meng Fan was anxious to go eat, but he didn't want them to misunderstand Bai Zhi and think she had chosen an unreliable guest. "The practice is going... reasonably well. Let me try a take, and you two can help me critique it."