CATDOLL: "My Vampire Boyfriend" Xiaomeng Xiaoyu campus tour interview

Recently, Tencent Video and the best cosplay group in China, Heitian, created a two-dimensional cosplayer to star in the live-action online drama "My Vampire Boyfriend" to launch a campus tour! The first stop was Nankai University in Tianjin. Popular cosplayers Xiaomeng and Xiaoyu came to the scene to interact closely with college students and drama fans. Fans and classmates who heard the news lined up to welcome the male god! Have you come to see the male god in Tianjin?

The reporter at the campus tour conducted an exclusive interview with Xiaomeng and Xiaoyu, revealing the mysterious veil of Xiaomeng and Xiaoyu's "cool" side! In response to the reporter's questions, the two recalled their unforgettable memories when they first entered the circle, and gave advice to newcomers in the cosplay circle.

Xiaoyu and Xiaomeng mentioned their past cosplay experiences. They said that newcomers now live in a happy era. More and more stores are making costumes, wigs, props and other items for unpopular characters. They encouraged newcomers to restore their favorite characters through their own efforts and find a lot of fun in the process. However, they also suggested that newcomers in the circle should only regard cosplay as a hobby and not let it affect their studies and work, and should not take things like "giant" too seriously.

Nowadays, cosplay performances have begun to slowly extend from flat to dynamic. As one of the first to try, Heitian Studio has made many attempts to make up for the lack of experience. Xiao Meng answered frankly that flat shooting is not very helpful for shooting video dynamics. When shooting a web drama and getting the script, the first thing to do is to figure out the role and think about how to perform the role; for cos, it is to use one's own understanding and knowledge to play a familiar role. Facing a brand new field is undoubtedly a challenge for Heitian Studio. In order to overcome the solidified mode caused by flat shooting, Heitian Studio specially hired professional teachers to teach performance skills. I believe that we will definitely see a more mature Heitian Studio, and we also look forward to Xiaoyu and Xiaomeng bringing us more and better roles.

When the reporter asked whether "My Vampire Boyfriend" would have a second season, Xiao Meng and Xiao Yu said that if everyone was looking forward to it, they would consider filming the second season. They also said that the filming of the second season of "Dark Sky Cafe" had already started in mid-May, so fans are welcome to look forward to it.

Finally, here is the complete text version of the interview. The Tencent Video reporter is referred to as Q, Xiao Meng is referred to as E, and Xiao Yu is referred to as Y.

Q: Both of you are former cosplayers and are very good at posing. Does this help you in any way with the roles you play in the drama?

E: Since I have experience in 2D shooting, it will be of some help to me in terms of action. But since it is a video, it is still different from 2D shooting. So I still need to strengthen my practice, right?

Y: Actually, I think posing and shooting dynamic videos are not very useful. If you are used to taking photos, you will be more fixed in front of the camera. If you see our previous works, you will find that they are quite jumpy...

E: Dynamic performances require ups and downs of emotions, while flat shooting only requires fixed movements.

Q: From a newbie in the cosplay circle to an expert, do you have any difficult experiences that you can share with everyone?

E: Actually, I have had many unforgettable experiences along the way, such as participating in competitions with everyone when I was young and meeting many friends across the country...

Y: Not when I was a child, maybe five years ago?

E: 2007… around 2007…

Y: I got into it in 2008... It was really unforgettable. I still remember that I participated in the cosplay competition of China Joy in Shanghai. It was really unforgettable. Do you know why? Because we were still young and innocent at that time. We took hard seats from Chengdu to Shanghai to participate in the competition. We had dreams and feelings. We talked and laughed on the train and had a lot of fun.

E: Like a big family...many of my current friends were met at that time.

Y: I miss those 8 or 9 years very much.

Q: Have you ever won any awards?

E: I have won awards, I have won awards, I have won...

Y: Actually, we joined the team because we worked hard together. We won the award because of everyone, not just ourselves. For example, I participated in the China Joy cover contest and won two awards before...

E: Wow...that's amazing...

Y: Don’t you know? Don’t you know?

E: Wow! So cool! You are such an experienced driver, this is...

Q: Can you share with us some advice for newcomers in cosplay?

Y: For newcomers, when we first started cosplaying… I started around 2003, and at that time, we had to make a lot of things ourselves. In recent years, more and more shops have been making costumes and wigs for unpopular characters… I think newcomers are also quite lucky now…

E: I’m so happy!

Y: But I think that to a limited extent, we should still do our best to complete the roles we like.

E: Yes, this is what I require of myself.

Y: Although this is just a hobby, because you like the character, of course you want to restore him as much as possible, right? In this process, you will also meet many friends who have the same interests and hobbies, and make progress together! For example, Uncle Wang...

Y: Actually, my advice to everyone is that this thing is just a game, a form of entertainment, don’t let it get you into a trance and don’t take it too seriously.

E: Never let it affect your studies and work, make it just a hobby.

Y: Don’t be too discouraged!

E: For example, Uncle Wang liked to play LOL a while ago. He played it almost every day. I have talked to him about it many times.

Y: These things are just entertainment, just for fun~

E: He hasn’t figured it out yet…

Q: Next question…Which is harder, playing a character from a drama or cosplaying an anime character?

Y: Everyone has their own difficulties...

E: In fact, when we get the script for some web dramas now, we first try to figure out the role and think about how to perform and express the role. There is no comparison. If it is cosplay, you have to play a classic role that everyone knows, because everyone has their own understanding and knowledge of this role, and it is also a challenge for you to play it. I think both have their own difficulties.

Y: When you are cosplaying, you have to prepare the costumes, props, makeup and post-production by yourself. You may not know everything. If you are acting, you don’t have to prepare these by yourself. But acting, acting in front of the camera is a learning, you have to figure it out by yourself, so each has its own difficulties.

Q: Our netizens want to know what will be Situ Muyan’s ending?

E: I can’t spoil the ending yet, but I can tell you that Situ Muyan will be alive in the end.

Y: You can’t ask me this question. I’m the villain and I have very few scenes!

E: I don’t know whether the villain will survive…

Q: Will the villain survive?

Y: I am sure he will stay! (They both like each other...)

Y: Actually, I don’t know anything either.

Q: How did Xiaomeng and Xiaoyu get to know each other and become gay?

Y: That summer...

E: Actually, we are also participating in an event, it seems to be a competition?

Y: What kind of competition? At that time, it was called a business competition...

E: I didn’t know him at all at that time. I was sitting by the window of the train when Master Wang came over and sat down opposite me. He said to me, “You look like a friend I know.” At that time, I thought this uncle was so strange.

Y: Uncle... yeah, his original words at that time were "What the hell is this gay guy who keeps pestering me..."

E: Then he asked me to leave my contact information. I had no choice but to give it to him. Later I found out that he really had a friend who looked very similar to me, and he also sent me a photo.

Y: He was a very quiet person at that time. He could stay silent for a whole night on the train. I was the only one who was chatting happily...

E: Yes, I am very talkative...

Q: Which character do you both like and think is the most successful in cosplaying?

E: I think our most successful collaboration is "Grave Robbers' Chronicles", about Xiao Ge and Wu Xie in "Grave Robbers' Chronicles", because this work made everyone know more about our studio.

Y: I really like this role!

Q: You are now gradually filming some web dramas, such as "My Vampire Boyfriend" and "Dark Sky Cafe", etc. Are you planning to enter the film and television industry in the future?

E: Actually, I think I used to shoot flat pictures, but now I’m gradually moving towards video…

Y: Transformation.

E: It is an inevitable trend, and also more challenges... well... it is a training for us (see Xiao Yuzhong).

Y: Why am I doing this when you look at me so affectionately? Oh, I'm so embarrassed...

E: Film and television are too broad... I hope I can make works that everyone will like more in the future, we will talk about it later.

Y: Yes, because pictures are static. Although we are working on dynamic ones now, we are still working on static ones. We are working on photos and videos at the same time. We just want to bring more works to the audience and fans, and I hope everyone will like them.

Q: Do you provide any specialized film and television training?

Y: I am learning. You see, our previous works are actually quite backward, including what I just said about taking too many photos and always thinking about how to pose and look in the photos. As a result, when acting, I would start posing as soon as I said a line, which is very embarrassing.

E: Actually, there has been some progress.

Y: Actually, Xiao Meng has made great progress. He has made a breakthrough. Look at the way he speaks now. Actually, he used to be a very reserved person, but now he is very coquettish... He used to be very talkative, and he didn't show his emotions on his face. He had no expression on anything he did. Now, after attending classes and studying...

E: We have a teacher who teaches us some acting skills, and we go there regularly to learn and observe. Recently, we are learning martial arts, because the next theme has something to do with martial arts. There is still some progress, and I hope everyone can see it.

Y: Be modest, be modest... His progress is huge, a qualitative leap.

Q: In fact, what fans like most in "My Vampire Boyfriend" is pairing up with each other. Who do Xiaomeng and Xiaoyu most want to pair up with?

E: My official CP is… it should be the vampire hunter Torvi… his CP is…

Y: I don’t have a CP… I’m a lone ranger! When did you see me have a CP in there? My CP is a ball, okay?

E: You are like a weird uncle who always tries to induce someone...

Y: Then who is my CP?

E: Xun ah, Chu Yuxuan (Let’s watch the vampire rain together?)…

Q: Who do you want to be with the most?

E: I have nothing special to say... Privately, I am a good friend of Master Wang...

Y: Well, nothing special...

Q: Well, you two are a perfect couple...

Y: What do you want to say?

E: I don’t want to explain anything.

Q: What are the CP like in private?

E: Normally I am quite a homebody. I don’t like going out and I prefer to watch videos and do some post-production at home.

Y: I'm the exact opposite. If I don't have work, I'll go to the gym, run, or play ball.

Q: Will there be a second season of Vampire Diaries?

E: We don’t actually know. I think it depends on everyone’s reaction. If everyone likes it and is looking forward to it, we will consider a second season.

Q: Is there any subsequent filming work?

E: We will start filming the second season of "Dark Sky Cafe" in mid-May, so stay tuned.