Orchestra scores big in film about porcelain history

During preparations, the creative team reviewed more than 30 potential filming locations before selecting 10 representative sites. The locations cover key elements of Jingdezhen's porcelain-making history, from sources of porcelain clay and raw-material processing to water transport, trade, imperial and private kilns, merchant guilds, and the continuing transmission of traditional craftsmanship.

Yang Fan, director of the China National Symphony Orchestra's creative center, said the selection of locations and musical arrangements followed a principle of "subtraction", focusing on the central theme while avoiding unnecessary visual and musical complexity.

The final musical structure mirrors the film's historical narrative. Solo instruments and chamber ensembles accompany the earlier and more intimate scenes, gradually expanding into full orchestral and choral passages as the story develops.