Special Effects

The actors' selection in charge of Clark and the funds in charge of Alexander were quite successful, giving Levi a lot of psychological comfort. 

At the same time, Bob also gave Levi good news. The part of the script he was responsible for had been completed. The rest was just the scenes and special effects that Levi was responsible for.

This part is also the most troublesome. Special effects work is of extremely important significance in film shooting. Whether the special effects of a science fiction film are very good basically determines whether the film is good enough. 

In the future that Levi knows, blockbusters without special effects will become increasingly difficult to satisfy the audience. This part is the top priority of science fiction films.

For this movie, the most crucial thing is naturally the simulation of a large number of visual shots. This was the best Levi could have hoped for.

In the novel, Wang Miao, one of the protagonists, experienced various eras in the development of the Trisolaran civilization while playing games. These eras are also a process of progress in astronomy and explaining the Trisolaran civilization. For this part, Levi's script has also been changed.

In the original novel, the several eras that the characters experienced were basically all Chinese eras. 

Although there are some in the Middle Ages and the last United Nations period, in comparison, the proportion of Western civilization is somewhat small. 

Since they are going to make a movie that faces the whole world, they cannot only consider the stories of Chinese people. Naturally, it would not be good to do so.

Therefore, Levi wanted to change the period of King Wen of Zhou in the first paragraph to ancient Egypt. When it comes to the earliest astronomy, the ancient Egyptians were also quite accomplished. 

Moreover, in the story, this period is also an era when science, witchcraft, and theology are combined. The background of ancient Egypt is actually more acceptable than the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

Then, after spending time in ancient Egypt, Levi chose the ancient Greek period for the second period. Astronomy also made some achievements during this period, and in the movie, this story tells that science began to get rid of the shackles of theology. The era began to understand how to make astronomical models, and the astronomers of ancient Greece made geometric models.

As for the following paragraphs, he was not going to make any changes. Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, the Industrial Revolution from China's perspective, and the United Nations — this order was what he needed.

After all, the Middle Ages represented the beginning of the first proposal of celestial models, while the Industrial Revolution was talking about cyborgs but entered into hypotheses. And the final United Nations is a sign of the demise of the Three-Body Problem in these aspects. It cannot be changed.

Of course, strictly speaking, there are still some minor errors here: the era of Qin Shi Huang and the period of the Industrial Revolution of the Fourth Civilization are thousands of miles apart. However, Levi decided not to care about this issue. 

If it were made strictly according to the powerful countries during the Industrial Revolution, you would have to go to the UK, where labor is not cheap.

There are not enough manpower and material resources to support Levi's cyborg simulation.

So, for this issue, it's better to let it go.

Once these sequences are arranged, the rest is left to the special effects department to create special effects. The scenes of the three-day volley that destroyed the world, the era of three flying stars in extreme cold, and the three-day streak that created anti-gravity all needed to be simulated.

From lighting to clothing to character modeling and scene settings, these things all have to be simulated bit by bit before special effects can be produced.

These things also need to be started early.

In terms of special effects production, when Levi was preparing to start shooting the movie, a lot of preparation for the storyboard began. All the materials he needs are initially prepared before the filming of the film starts. 

The materials, hair, textures, backgrounds, clothing, and styles of the characters required for filming must first be drawn on the pictures. After it comes out, the miniature model needs to be produced and handed over to the special effects staff.

When a movie is presented to people, it is often a scene that has been basically completed. Even if it is a relatively poor movie, the special effects look very fake, but what is presented to people is still a mature work. 

It is difficult for people to know how much thought was spent on these special effects. However, in fact, there are many steps in the production of a special effect. 

These steps require materials. These materials must be prepared early because only with these materials can the special effects staff produce the shots of the movie. 

If you don't prepare these in advance, you will be blind when the time comes to shoot the movie.

Generally speaking, shots under special effects require a detailed division of labor. 

A shot needs to be modeled according to the character first and then handed over to the animation. 

The animation adds animation to each character so that those things that cannot be completed by acting can be visualized. The animation shots were added to create a preliminary ending. 

Then, the lighting and material department adds the necessary lights and materials to create a more suitable scene. 

Finally, it is handed over to the rendering department for further rendering. 

After these few steps, the special effects shots of a movie can be considered done.

It may seem simple, but it requires multiple departments' concerted efforts.

This job may be simple, but it is not easy to do. The character model and animation production are relatively easy, but it is very difficult to make it realistic when it comes to lighting and rendering. 

After all, special effects are fake. If there are even a few mistakes, they will not be real enough. Therefore, the amount of engineering required in this process is also large.

The model must be delicate. The character shape will be fake if the model is not delicate or strong. 

The animation must be realistic; otherwise, people will definitely criticize it as a fifty-cent special effect. 

The lighting perspective must also match, which requires preparing metal reflective balls at the shooting scene to detect the on-site light and restore them in the animation scene. The material must match the item's condition - in some low-end martial arts dramas, the weapons are made of plastic, which is not allowed in blockbusters.

With so much work, a special effects director naturally needs to manage it. In theory, a special effects supervisor would have to review each step.

Levi also appointed Liu Lulu to be responsible for these. Let her take people to create special effects.

"I can be responsible for the special effects production, but I have to say it first. If you speed up and urge us to do it quickly or always deny our results, I can't guarantee that we will be able to do a good job." Liu Lulu also directly expressed her views on Levi's appointment. 

In this regard, Levi just nodded in agreement. "I understand these principles. I will support you."

In fact, these principles are understood by everyone. 

Wouldn't those in Hollywood who make movies all year round know that special effects production takes longer, and if allowed more freedom, the special effects would be made better? 

It's just that, for the sake of saving money or because they want to meet deadlines, these directors are very accustomed to squeezing the special effects personnel. 

After all, the special effects personnel do not have a union of their own, and they have no place to reason when bullied.

But Levi is not willing to do this. 

He wants better movies, and doing so is not conducive to the birth of good movies. Therefore, not only does he not intend to squeeze the special effects personnel, but he is also willing to take the initiative to reduce the burden on the special effects personnel.

For example, he chose ancient Egypt and ancient Greece in the movie because these two backgrounds are already used in Hollywood, and ready-made clothes and other required utensils can be used directly.

As for New York, home of the United Nations headquarters... a place that is destroyed so many times a year by Hollywood, there really is no shortage of background groups.

And more than that, when Levi was filming the movie, he also told his crew that in some places where special effects can be avoided, try not to use special effects.

For example, although with green screen technology, many pictures can be combined through post-production fusion, Levi still chose to use real props and scenery in many places. 

Although it is possible to change the appearance of the characters by capturing images, Levi still chose to make real costumes.

"Technological means are indeed beneficial to filmmaking, but sometimes, it is better not to use them even if they can be used." Levi also expressed his opinion on this, "No matter how close the special effects work is to reality, it is not real after all... Moreover, leaving too much work to the special effects artists will also put too much pressure on them."

What Levi said is actually a future trend of film development that he is very clear about.

In future protests by Hollywood special effects artists, one of the most powerful topics they object to is the misuse of special effects. 

Many times, some things do not have to be shown with special effects, but directors must require this for the convenience of shooting, which causes some unnecessary trouble.

Even the characters' tattoos were made using special effects in the movie Black Swan. This kind of work should originally be the work of the makeup artist, or it can be solved with some props. It was all placed on the special effects staff, which undoubtedly increased their work.

It is obviously a set of tattoo stickers or a job that a makeup artist can do in two hours, but the special effects staff must spend two weeks doing it. This is simply not treating the special effects staff as humans.

Levi didn't want his special effects to be used in unnecessary places. Therefore, he still chose to use props to simulate some scenes that could be simulated with props. Where special effects are really needed, use special effects to simulate them. This can also make the special effects work better.

There is definitely a big difference between working on a scene for a week and working for a month. By reducing the burden on special effects artists, they can produce better special effects.

The more you value it, the more stress you need to reduce.

Fortunately, the three-body movie in the first film did not require many special effects. The alien world is one place, the later ship-cutting part is one place, and the rest of the movie doesn't need them.

With enough time, they can definitely complete the movie's special effects.

*****

Thanks and kudos for my patreons 

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