Chapter 211 Special Effects Giant Torchbearer, "Gravity"

Chapter 211 Special Effects Giant Torchbearer, "Gravity" Actors Enter the Group for Training

Zhang Yimou's Olympic creative proposal has indeed been polished.

During his narration, Wu Yuan learned about the design of the first version of the Olympic opening ceremony.

It is basically the same as what he remembered, but there are some differences in details. After all, it is still a year and a half away from being completely formed.

Performance links such as singing while beating drums, scrolls, dreamy five rings, text, Silk Road, and nature are basically determined.

But Zhang Yimou feels that although these designs can express the charm of Chinese traditional culture, they still lack the use of science and technology, and cannot show the new face of China as a technological power.

Of course, he also thought about incorporating astronauts' spacewalks into the performance of the opening ceremony, creating a high-tech "multimedia earth" and other stages to highlight science and technology.

Zhang Yimou, who had experienced the Eight Minutes of Darkness in Athens, was somewhat unconfident and nervous. He always felt that he was not good enough and lacked some essence. That's why he wanted to ask Wu Yuan, a famous director in the mainland who knew the most about computer special effects technology, to give him some advice.

Although he didn't say it, Zhang Yimou knew in his heart that he was old and his understanding of new technologies was not as good as that of young people at the forefront.

"Director Zhang, your idea of ​​147 meters of ground LED is very cool. This is the first time I've seen it at the opening ceremony of the Olympics."

"The idea of ​​the LCD globe is also very good. The actors imitated astronauts walking in space on the LCD globe, which is also promoting our country's manned space program."

Compared to Zhang Yimou's nervousness, Wu Yuan praised it.

He knew how excellent the opening ceremony of the Olympics created by Zhang Yimou was. Even 12 years later, it was still praised at the opening of the Tokyo Olympics.

However, Zhang Yimou didn't think so. He shook his head and said, "Not enough."

"I hope to use computer special effects technology at the opening ceremony."

"Now Hollywood's movie special effects are very powerful. In the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" you shot, the crew members and monsters on the Flying Dutchman were made to look like real people."

"I'm wondering if we can make a special effects short film about the Olympics at the opening ceremony."

"Or incorporate computer special effects into the stage performance at the opening ceremony."

"But I don't know how to do it specifically. I don't know what special effects can be realized and what can't be realized."

"Director Wu, you are an expert in this area. Do you have any good ideas? ”

Although "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" will not be shown on the mainland screen, Zhang Yimou has plenty of channels to watch this movie.

He was very amazed by the various movie special effects and CG effects shown in this movie.

Wu Yuan frowned and looked around the conference room. He saw that all the members of Zhang Yimou's team who attended the meeting were looking at him with expectant eyes.

He thought seriously.

How to apply computer special effects technology to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games?

If you just make a special effects short film and show it at the opening ceremony, or make some special effects pictures on the LED big screen on the opening ceremony stage to interact with the live actors, it will look very ordinary and will not bring that kind of shock to the audience.

But naked Technology that can bring a sense of shock, such as 3D eye and virtual idols, has not yet appeared.

The most difficult thing is that the opening ceremony of the Olympics is still live.

Thinking about it, Wu Yuan thought of the countdown made of fireworks at the opening of the Beijing Olympics.

I remember that when I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics, this picture left a very deep impression on him.

Watching the footsteps made of fireworks approaching the Bird's Nest step by step, the shocking feeling of the picture is indeed difficult to describe in words.

Can we make a more shocking picture effect on this basis?

Thinking about it, Wu Yuan suddenly had an idea.

"Director Zhang, how about we use computer special effects technology to make a special effects giant torchbearer?"

"When the torch is passed at the end of the opening ceremony, a golden giant made of computer special effects technology, holding a torch, runs from a distance."

"His running steps are the same as the steps of the foot fireworks at the beginning of the opening ceremony, approaching the Bird's Nest step by step, and finally stepping into the Bird's Nest, and then the picture switches to the torchbearer entering the venue. "

"Use special effects to create a giant torchbearer?" Zhang Yimou also frowned, "Then how will the picture be presented at that time?"

"Use a pseudo-live broadcast method. Wu Yuan slapped his thigh, "The audience watching the movie in the Bird's Nest will watch the projection screen on the big screen."

"And the audience in front of the TV will directly watch the special effects short film that has been prepared in advance."

"It's just that the background of this special effects short film is completely shot in reality, and the prepared special effects giant is just synthesized into the picture."

"When the normal live broadcast reaches here, the live broadcast source will be directly converted to play the special effects short film prepared in advance, and the audience in front of the TV will not find that this is not a live broadcast."

The so-called pseudo-live broadcast is that it looks like a live broadcast, but it is actually playing a short film prepared in advance.

It is also very simple to do this. Record a video of the exterior of the Bird's Nest at night a few months in advance, including aerial shots, aerial shots, and aerial shots.

Then, in these aerial shots, synthesize the running images of the prepared golden giant torchbearer.

When the live broadcast started, the camera in the Bird's Nest switched from the inside to the outside. To the audience, it was just a normal switch between the inside and outside shots.

But in fact, the outside footage had been quietly replaced with the pre-made video.

As for the audience in the inside, they could just watch the video on the big screen. Anyway, they couldn't see the situation outside, and they didn't know that the short film was broadcast on the screen. They thought it was the live broadcast of the outside.

Of course, there was no way to hide this kind of thing. After the opening ceremony, they would naturally know that there was not really a golden giant torchbearer running step by step in the air into the Bird's Nest.

But when they watched it on the spot, they didn't know it, and the audience in front of the TV didn't know it either. They would only be shocked by the big scene.

To be honest, a golden giant torchbearer comparable to "Ultraman" ran step by step towards the Bird's Nest from a distance, and finally turned into starlight and entered the Bird's Nest from the hole in the middle of the Bird's Nest. This scene was quite shocking.

At least in 2008, it was really enough to bluff people.

Zhang Yimou also thought this idea was good. He imagined it in his mind and felt that the effect was quite shocking.

However, he still asked cautiously: "Is this technically feasible?"

"It's not difficult." Wu Yuan said easily: "It's just like making a movie. We first shoot a piece of material without the golden giant torchbearer, and then use computer special effects technology to make a synthesis."

"This kind of golden giant torchbearer is not difficult to make."

"You don't need to depict details. Just have a body outline, glowing with gold, and holding a torch."

If you make a digital torchbearer, the kind that requires real-time rendering and dynamic, it is indeed impossible to do it with current technology.

But just making a special effects short film in advance and then presenting it in a pseudo-live broadcast way is still no problem with the current technical level.

"The Mummy" was released in 1999, and the special effects of the mummy in it were so realistic that they could be mistaken for the real thing, let alone now?

Zhang Yimou nodded thoughtfully: "Director Wu, I heard that you poached a group of special effects artists from Hollywood for the movie "Gravity" and want to set up your own special effects company?"

"Can your company do this kind of special effects?"

At this stage, there are really no reliable movie special effects companies in China, and even the commercialization of the film market has only been three or four years.

Without considering looking for foreign special effects companies, Zhang Yimou first thought of the special effects team in Wu Yuan's hands.

Although they are all blond and blue-eyed foreigners, at least the company is a company with pure Chinese holdings, and it is also Chinese technology when it is said to be.

Faced with Zhang Yimou's inquiry, Wu Yuan hesitated.

His team can indeed do this kind of special effects, but his team is prepared for the busy special effects work of "Gravity".

If this is lent to Zhang Yimou to do the special effects of the opening ceremony, can his "Gravity" be completed on time?

It's just that this is related to the Olympics, and he really can't shirk responsibility.

Wu Yuan still said truthfully: "Technically there should be no problem."

"If Director Zhang needs it, I can let the company's special effects team cooperate with you."

It's not a long special effects short film. It takes only a dozen or twenty steps to run from a distance to the Bird's Nest. It is estimated that the whole special effects short film will take at most one minute.

With fifteen people working together, including the time for design and modeling, it should be done in one or two months, and it shouldn't delay much.

Zhang Yimou nodded with a happy face: "Okay, thank you Director Wu for your help."

Next, Wu Yuan talked with Zhang Yimou's team for a long time about the opening ceremony plan.

From them, Wu Yuan also learned a lot about Zhang Yimou's efforts and attempts behind the scenes in preparing for the opening ceremony.

It is worth mentioning that his visit to the creative team of the Olympic opening ceremony today was recorded by a photographer on the scene.

This person specializes in recording the preparations for the opening ceremony. After the Olympics, it will be compiled into a documentary about Zhang Yimou's team preparing for the opening ceremony and sold publicly.

Wu Yuan was also quite interesting to be recorded in it.

In this way, after two or three days of hard work, Wu Yuan met with Zhang Yimou's team every day, and the plan for the special effects giant torchbearer to pass the torch was preliminarily determined.

He would not be able to continue to participate in other matters, and he had no time to participate.

Since "Curse of the Golden Flower" has been completed, "Gravity" will enter the actor preparation stage.

Gong Li, the heroine, and Wang Xueqi, the hero who Wu Yuan found to play with him, should join the crew to receive astronaut training.

Yes, in the end Wu Yuan did not choose Hu Jun, but asked Wang Xueqi to play the hero.

In "Gravity", although the hero's role is not as much as the heroine, he can only be regarded as a supporting role in the early stage, but his role is very important and requires a lot of acting skills.

The role of the hero in this movie is to enlighten, enlighten, and warm the heroine's heart. The interpretation of this role is not Hu Jun's strong point.

After confirming that Wang Xueqi's physical fitness was still good and he still worked out regularly to keep his muscles active, Wu Yuan still invited him to play this role.

Wang Xueqi's acting skills were still very good, and he was also good at literary dramas.

After leaving the Beiyuan Conference Center, Wu Yuan found Gong Li and Wang Xueqi who were waiting to join the group, and sent them to the astronaut training base of the National Space Administration.

Here, they have to receive 2 to 3 months of astronaut training to learn how to be a qualified astronaut.

Of course, most of them learn some theoretical things and use centrifuges to feel what a low-gravity environment is like, and then they can act out the feeling of astronauts in a gravity-free environment in space.

After all, Wu Yuan couldn't really take them to space to shoot this movie.

I'm really sorry, I fell asleep in the early morning and slept until dawn.

I feel very sleepy after Eryang.