Original title: Application of digital technology helps the development of film and television industry
core reading
In recent years, people have clearly felt that the level of special effects of domestic film and television works has been greatly improved. The application of vivid and textured digital special effects provides more possibilities for enriching the visual effects of film and television works and improving the artistic level of film and television.
Digital effects are born for artistic expression. On the road of integration and development of technology and art, it is expected that more creators will return to art itself, and insert the wings of digital technology into artistic creativity and thought expression.
From the surface of the earth to an altitude of 90,000 kilometers, a space elevator goes straight to Xiaohan, with realistic details and a magnificent cosmic background. During the Spring Festival, this set of special effects shots in the movie “The Wandering Earth 2” brought visual shock to the audience and aroused heated discussions. Not only the space elevator, but also the large scientific installation on the snow-capped mountains in the TV series “Three-Body Problem”, the smart and lovely plush dolls in the movie “Mozart in Outer Space”…these vivid and textured digital special effects applications enrich the visual effects of film and television works. , Improving the artistic level of film and television provides more possibilities.
In recent years, with the acceleration of the digitalization process, the “useful field” of digital special effects technology has continued to expand. Whether it is showing grand scenes or depicting subtle details, digital special effects have enhanced the artistic appeal of the work. Its iterative upgrade and in-depth application are making film and television creations bloom in audiovisual splendor, and boosting the high-quality development of China’s film and television industry.
If you can imagine it, you can see it
Digital special effects are visual effects realized by using computer graphics and image technology (CG). For a period of time, film and television production has mainly relied on live-action shooting, which is true and credible, but to a certain extent limits the use of the creator’s imagination. The invention and application of computer graphics and image technology has provided more possibilities for film and television creation. Some people even said that with digital special effects, “as long as the director can think of it, the audience can see it.”
As large as the vast expanse of space, as small as the slight halo flashing on a teacup, whether it is a high-fidelity scene character or an abstract and exaggerated animation interpretation, it can all be realized through digital special effects. At present, digital special effects are not only used in post-editing, but also run through various links such as film and television project planning, script creation, scene layout, prop production, and on-site shooting. Most of the film and television works currently being created and broadcast use digital special effects technology to a greater or lesser extent.
Digital special effects is a demand-driven film and television production technology, and its technological breakthroughs always focus on “what kind of artistic effect the work should achieve”. Different genres of works have different requirements for digital special effects. The special effects of a sci-fi movie often last more than 90 minutes, with many scene changes and countless visual elements. Stable and efficient special effects technology is required to ensure the quality of the work and production efficiency. Similar to the production of exquisite handicrafts, digital special effects also need to be “polished” in a process. Those shocking special effects shots seen by the audience often need to go through three main steps: pre-planning, mid-stage production, and post-production synthesis. First of all, the director, special effects department, photography department and other main creative personnel jointly determine the special effects production plan, art setting plan, etc. Secondly, around the production of special effects, complete model construction, texture map drawing, material and lighting setting, effect setting and other work. This step will use a lot of advanced technologies, such as on-site scanning, motion capture and so on. Finally, the picture is synthesized, special visual effects are added, and the overall artistic style and picture quality of the work are optimized. Only when all these efforts are in place can the audience be given a true and credible visual perception.
Only with a deep understanding can we be true
Digital special effects software, motion capture equipment, etc. are powerful tools for special effects production. Making good use of these special effects tools to achieve ideal artistic effects requires creators to really go deep into life, study life, and achieve breakthroughs in cognition of things. It can be said that ” Only with a deep understanding can we be true.”
Each film and television work is unique, and the technical solutions used are different. Even if the same scene is shown, the special effects material of one work cannot be completely transplanted to another work. This requires customizing special effects solutions for specific works, so as to be tailored. Which kind of effect does the work need digital technology to achieve, the designer must devote himself to systematic research and study in related fields, break through each one, and produce special effects that conform to scientific principles, plot settings and artistic style of the work, which highlights the interdisciplinary and comprehensive nature of special effects production industry characteristics.
The process of making the red kangaroo “Gangzi” in the movie “Lonely Walking on the Moon” is a valuable exploration for us. “Lonely Walking on the Moon” is a fusion of comedy and science fiction. The kangaroo character must not only look real, but also be full of joy in his gestures, which puts forward high requirements for digital special effects. To this end, the production team searched kangaroo-related materials and papers, visited zoos closely, studied kangaroo bone specimens, and became familiar with kangaroo appearance characteristics, living habits and movement rules.
Subsequently, the team spent 8 months to complete the design of the special effects scheme in combination with the character settings in the script, and another 11 months to complete the digital production. Among them, the hair effect is a difficult point. A kangaroo has about 50 million hairs all over its body. The production team tries to restore the hair effect of real kangaroos to the greatest extent from various dimensions such as hair direction, luster, density distribution, softness and hardness. Similar to the skeletal system, muscular system, fat distribution, etc., a seemingly inconspicuous parameter, if there is no solid scientific cognition support, the visual presentation will be distorted, which will affect the artistic effect of the work. Only by fully absorbing and transforming these interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge can we create high-level digital special effects.
Technological progress relies on practice accumulation. In recent years, people have clearly felt that the level of special effects of domestic film and television works has been greatly improved, and a number of visual effects masterpieces such as “Wukong Biography”, “The Wandering Earth”, “Mozart in Outer Space” and “Lonely Walking on the Moon” have emerged to make audiences “beautiful”. The domestic digital special effects production team has made significant progress from creativity to details, from plan formulation to implementation, and is relatively mature in the production of special effects such as scenes and atmospheres, and is constantly exploring new fields. For example, in the highly difficult field of character special effects, domestic practitioners have set their sights on realistic digital characters. It is believed that with the overall development of the film and television industry and the iterative upgrade of digital technology, my country’s digital special effects are expected to match the world‘s leading level.
Only when used well can it be considered a real skill
The application of digital technology not only improves the efficiency of special effects production, but also changes the process of film and television industry. Through a large number of digital special effects production practices, creators realized that the exploration and innovation of production process management is very important. Virtual shooting is the product of the integration and innovation of digital special effects technology and film and television production process.
Through continuous exploration, film and television creators have found that if the post-production process is put forward in the pre-shooting, it can not only help solve the problem of special effects, but also reduce production costs, improve production efficiency, and improve the level of visual effects. Before the official shooting, the virtual shooting digitally generates the props, scenes, and visual elements required for the work in computer software. Although the actors perform in a space without physical objects, the director can render them in real time through the computer and see them on the monitor in real time. Scenes with props and backgrounds. In this way, the creative team has many opportunities for preview and trial and error. The movie “The Wandering Earth 2” uses virtual shooting technology for almost the entire film. Among the more than 3,000 visual effects shots, there are more than 2,000 virtual shooting shots. In the studio located in Qingdao, the virtual production platform integrates production equipment such as motion capture, face capture, virtual shooting, and 3D scanning. Through this platform, the crew conducted a comprehensive and detailed virtual preview of the film shooting plan, which not only guaranteed the performance and special effects quality, but also inspired new inspiration for the main creative team.
The exploration of virtual shooting is the epitome of digital special effects technology helping the rapid development of China’s film and television industrialization and digitalization. “Only if it is used well can it be considered a real skill.” Taking the special effects production model as an example, we did not copy the foreign film and television industry model, but paid more attention to solving problems in practice, and summed up the experience through “review” after the work was completed. The breakthrough of difficult problems will help to improve the technical level, and will also promote artistic innovation. For example, the audience will find that the planetary engine in “The Wandering Earth 2” is more refined and more beautiful than the previous work. This is the result of our digital special effects practice. Through the “actual combat” and “hard struggle” of these digital special effects, Chinese film and television creators are using digital technology to create brand-new works with Chinese style, and are embarking on a digital development path for film and television that suits China’s national conditions.
Focusing on the future, cutting-edge technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence will be deeply applied to the field of special effects production, bringing more development opportunities to the industrialization of film and television. Many tedious and repetitive special effects work may be done through intelligent equipment. At the same time, film and television creators must continue to master new skills in controlling digital technology to improve the artistic expression and ideological penetration of their works. Digital effects are born for artistic expression. On the road of the integration and development of technology and art, we look forward to more creators returning to art itself, inserting the wings of digital technology into artistic creativity and thought expression, and helping Chinese film and television to climb the peak of art.
(Wei Ming, the author is the deputy director of the CG Art Professional Committee of the China Academy of Film Arts, and the visual effects director of the film “The Wandering Earth 2”)