The key of ＂Fengshen Part I＂ will be postponed again. Don’t miss these details when you brush it!

Special feature of 1905 film network The box office exceeded 2.6 billion, the overseas release was praised, and the score was rising. The online video platform … The new dynamic of "Hot Search" has been screened one after another.

Few movies can still maintain the "top flow" heat after being released for 2 months, and the first part of "Feng Shen" has done it!

Behind such a powerful "stamina" is the excellent quality assurance of the film, and it is also the ingenuity of 8000 people for 10 years. No wonder some netizens commented: "Feng Shen" is really a treasure crew. The deeper you dig, the more surprises you get!

How to turn the 3,000-year-old mythical imagination into shocking video works, visual effects are undoubtedly an indispensable part.

To this end, the trilogy of deities boldly launched an international visual effects team. The visual effects director once won the Oscar for best visual effects, and had a tacit cooperation with him in the school.

This time, this "veteran" figure in the visual effect circle has also made the international advanced visual effect technology collide with the traditional culture of China with a brand-new spark.

In this issue of Behind the Scene, let’s follow Douglas and the host to reveal the "visual magic" of "Feng Shen I": how to create a magnificent grand scene, and how "magical creatures" such as Lei Zhenzi, Mo Qilin and the nine-tailed fox were born?

The visual effects director of "Feng Shen I" reveals the production of "digital characters"

Cluster animation

How to create a grand scene?

As a mythical epic, Feng Shen Part I contains a lot of shocking grand scenes, and thousands of people are in the same box at every turn. The production of this kind of cluster animation puts high demands on Douglas and the team.

"Cluster animation", also known as "cluster animation", refers to the animation technology that simulates large-scale character movement, and is often used to make a sea of people in film and television works.

Take the construction of the "altar" as an example. There are not only towering scaffolding in the picture, but also hundreds of slaves in hard labor and elephants carrying materials, which makes people lament the grandeur of the building and feel the tyranny of Yin Shou.

How to create this amazing grand scene? Douglas revealed that the crew adopted a combination of real shooting and CG technology.

There are only foreground figures and buildings in the real shot.

The real scene is mainly the foreground part of the building and two or three hundred actors playing slaves.

Among them, 12 actors will be selected for "scanning" to design "templates". "These actors will enter a shooting system one by one, and hundreds of static cameras will capture from all directions, and at the same time, they will cooperate with the flash to ensure that there is no shadow from any angle, thus obtaining the material for CG production."

Then, based on these "real people" templates, through copying and some details adjustment, hundreds of slave images in labor are generated. At the same time, we must constantly adjust the intensity and angle of light to make the light and shadow effect more natural and integrated with the background.

Douglas revealed that although the scene of "Sacrifice to Heaven Platform" lasted less than a few minutes, the longest shot took the team four months to build. The difficulty lies in that both the figure form, architectural details and light and shadow effects should be infinitely close to reality.

If you zoom in, you will find that thousands of workers are in different States, some are walking, some are carrying straw or sand; Dozens of scaffolds are connected by passages, and there are complicated devices such as pulleys and ladders.

Even if it’s just a flash shot, every detail must stand scrutiny. Behind this is the result of constant debugging and carving by special effects artists.

If the altar shows "the grandeur of architecture", the picture of Yin Shou leading the proton brigade to return to Korea in triumph highlights "the grandeur of the ceremony".

When creating a sea of people to celebrate the scene, the visual effects team used a similar technique to the altar, first shooting a part of cheering citizens and victorious cavalry, and then using this as a template to create a huge grand scene.

Douglas admits that with the rapid development of CG technology, all scenes can be simulated by technology in theory, but real shooting is still indispensable. "Real shooting has an irreplaceable sense of reality. The behavior and performance of horses, riders and people are real. They can get action feedback from each other. This is irreplaceable by technology. "

Digital biology

Mo Qilin and Lei Zhenzi were born like this.

Master Wen rode back to the DPRK in triumph on Mo Qilin, Lei Zhenzi returned to Xiqiao with Ji Chang, and the nine-tailed fox flew over the eaves and walked gracefully … There are too many "magical animals" in "Feng Shen" that are amazing and amazing. How are these digital creatures created from scratch? How to make them look authentic?

Douglas explained that, taking Mo Qilin, the mount of Master Wen, as an example, the team spent a lot of time in the early stage to consult the expressions about Kirin in various historical materials, and finally the director determined the image of Kirin as "one-horned dragon with a bull’s hoof".

In order to make Mo Qilin move vividly, the visual effects team also referred to the movement states of heavy horses, bulls and other animals. During the filming, the actor will also ride a mechanical device imitating Mo Qilin’s motion to observe the influence of riding position and saddle on the dynamics.

After testing various dynamics and scenes, Mo Qilin, whose gait is authentic, well-documented and grumpy, is finally presented.

If Mo Qilin, who is full of flames, is domineering, the characteristics of the nine-tailed fox are smart and elegant. Douglas said that director Wu Ershan has always stressed to them that the nine-tailed fox is a character composed of aura, not a real animal, and its weight and quality are different from other creatures.

The appearance of the nine-tailed fox in different periods is also different. "When it first appeared, it was almost a spiritual body, and it became more and more real as it gained more energy." Douglas said, "When the nine-tailed fox runs, it will leave traces of steam behind it, which will be more ethereal with light."

At the same time, the visual effects team will also refer to the performance of the actress who plays da ji, and integrate it into the design of the nine-tailed fox, so that they have a subtle connection.

It is more complicated than Mo Qilin and the nine-tailed fox. The birth of the digital character "Lei Zhenzi" is the product of the actor’s action capture and CG technology.

In order to restore the description of Lei Zhenzi in the original work: "The nose is high, the face is like indigo, the hair is like cinnabar, the eyes are violent, the teeth are born, and the body is two feet long." The special effects team started with bones and muscles to build a model of Lei Zhenzi.

The difficulty is that all internal structures and relationships should be very reasonable. "When Lei Zhenzi turns his face, the skin should move with the bones, and the position relationship between eyes, teeth, tongue and skull should be made clear. When he walks around, muscles and fat should also respond accordingly," Douglas said.

In addition to strong muscles, Lei Zhenzi’s broad and powerful wings are also a highlight. The team did not choose the wings of birds when designing, but referred to the appearance of fins. "It is this design that makes it look like it comes from different worlds."

Different from Mo Qilin and the nine-tailed fox, Lei Zhenzi has complex emotional expressions, especially the father-son relationship with Ji Chang, which is the significance of motion capture.

For example, when filming the scene of Lei Zhenzi saving his father, the actor who plays Ji Chang will directly play against Pengyi Han who is wearing a motion capture suit and hanging in mid-air. Pengyi Han’s rich expressions and body movements will be captured, which will become an important reference for CG production in the later period.

Douglas explained the difference between motion capture and pure CG production. "Actors’ performances will make digital characters unique individuals and have emotional communication with the audience, especially in action details and facial emotions. The role of motion capture is irreplaceable."

Behind the 2.6 billion box office of "Feng Shen I", in addition to directors and actors, there are also thousands of behind-the-scenes teams worthy of "Feng Shen". They come from more than 20 different countries, and at the same time, they are pushing China’s mythical epic to a broad world stage.

Looking back on the film creation process, Douglas said with emotion, "I am very lucky to work with such an outstanding team. Every day is learning and every day is full of challenges."