Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 382 Degraded Version of Industrial Light and Magic

In August, the summer vacation ended, and Gu Ming stayed with the crew to continue shooting the third part, while he returned to Tokyo.

I have found a worker who can use computers well.

Assistant Tanaka screened many options and finally found this engineer named Tao Dazhi.

When I first heard Gu Ming, I was shocked and thought to myself, I didn’t expect he was Chinese.

But after asking further, I found out that the person's surname was Tao, which means Japanese.

"Yes, Tao Qingxian, there is indeed someone with the surname Tao."

Gu Ming came back to his senses and looked at Tao Dazhi in front of him.

Tao Dazhi looks old despite being young. At first glance, he looks like a man in his forties, but he already has some signs of premature graying.

When Gu Ming saw the dress, he felt a sense of déjà vu.

You can tell at first glance that he is a computer expert!
The technical engineers from IBM only provided installation and maintenance services. They did not teach us how to use the computers.

At first, Gu Ming was also thinking, since he was a modern person who had used computers before, how could he not understand how to use today's computers?
He only knew it after seeing it.

I really don't understand how to play...

For example.

Today's computers don't have mice.

Another example.

Today's computer keyboards look different from those in the past!
As for those external devices, they were ancient technologies that Gu Ming could not understand at all.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if I don't understand it. As long as Mr. Tao can understand it, it's fine!" Gu Ming took the initiative to step forward and shake hands, but Tao Dazhi just had a nonchalant expression and just shook hands with Gu Ming.

"Well, it seems that technical engineers like Tao Gong are more interested in computers."

Gu Ming laughed at himself, but Tao Dazhi in front of him remained unmoved.

Gu Ming couldn't help but look at Assistant Tanaka.

"What's going on here?"

Tanaka leaned closer.

"Mr. Tao is deaf."

Gu Ming: ...?
"Tao Jun originally worked for an American company, but something happened and he became deaf, so he was fired by the American company. Now he can't find a suitable job in Japan. After much effort, I finally found a pottery worker through a friend."

Gu Ming couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Damn America!

I never expected that Tao Dazhi was deaf. No wonder he was so cold. It turned out he couldn't hear.

Gu Ming felt a bit of sympathy, and his hands moved quickly. He wrote a note and handed it to Tao Dazhi in front of him.

Through computer control, mechanical equipment can move within a specific range.

Gu Ming did not require the same precision as Industrial Light & Magic, after all, he only had a computer.

But even if it's only one-tenth of that, it's still a pretty subtle effect.

Tao Dazhi turned the note over and over several times and found that it only contained a simple line of words.

Gu Ming met Tao Dazhi's eyes and could clearly see an emotion in his expression.

"That's it?"

Gu Ming saw Tao Dazhi quickly write a line of words. He took it and looked at it. There were only a few simple kana letters on it.

"no problem."

"That's good. I'll leave this matter to Mr. Tao. It's really important to me."

Gu Ming was about to pass the note to Tao Dazhi, but Tao Dazhi turned around and went inside to tinker with his computer.

Gu Ming couldn't help but slap his thigh.

It’s easier to get along with technical engineers! They don’t talk much at all!
Assistant Tanaka looked horrified.

President, why are you patting my thigh!

Gu Ming looked at Tanaka and asked, "How much did you spend on this Mr. Tao?"

"Not much, just 120,000 yen a month!"

"That's not a lot, really...but it's definitely a far cry from what he makes in the US, right?"

Tanaka nodded at first, but then shook his head: "Although it's a lot worse, he can't find a suitable job in Japan, and he's deaf, so decent companies won't hire him, so the price is not low."

Gu Ming responded, "Let's see how good he is first. If he's good enough, keep him. As you've said, 120,000 is still too little. Talk to him and say 200,000 a month is fine, with bonuses for completing the required work." Tanaka was slightly surprised, but Gu Ming added, "But you have to assign him an assistant."

On the one hand, of course, it’s because this person is deaf and his life is not very convenient.

The second thing is, of course, to learn some technology from him!
……

……

Gu Ming had no idea what Tao Dazhi had done. He just saw that he had connected an external device to the computer and was outputting some information. As for the principle behind it, Gu Ming was completely clueless.

This busy work lasted for a month. During this period, Gu Ming also went back to Nara to shoot some shots. It was not until a month later that he learned from Assistant Tanaka that Tao Dazhi's work was completed.

Gu Ming rushed back to the office, exhausted, and the first thing he did was to hand over the backup of the videotape to Tao Dazhi.

"These are two different videotapes. One is a blank shot, with only scenery and no content. The other is a filmed mask, with only the mask and no scenery. Mr. Tao, give it a try and see if you can produce what I want!"

Tao Dazhi took the videotape and the note and looked at them for a while before bowing and starting to operate the computer.

Gu Mingze crossed his arms and watched him operate.

The venue, green screen, camera, and hanging cable equipment had already been prepared in the office.

Among them is a woven dragon shape, which is sprinkled with combustible materials. Once it is ignited, it can produce the effect of a fire dragon.

Gu Ming also felt sorry for the film, so he decided not to shoot and let Tao Dazhi show it first.

Seeing Gu Ming make a start gesture, Tao Dazhi began to operate on the computer.

However, the fire dragon, which had not yet been ignited, dragged a distance in front of the green screen, drew a short arc, and finally stopped.

On the other side, Tao Dazhi started to operate again, and the fire dragon traveled a short distance again.

It took nearly an hour to make the fire dragon draw a few irregular arcs in front of the green screen and finally return to its original position.

Gu Ming looked at Tao Dazhi.

"The effect seems to be similar, but the speed is a bit too slow."

Tao Dazhi quickly wrote, "I was just programming the movement path. Now I can execute the movement relatively perfectly. How fast it can run depends on the speed that the electric equipment can support."

Gu Ming saw him press a big button, and the fire dragon in front of him began to move at a much faster speed than before. In two minutes, it drew the irregular shape.

Gu Ming grinned with a satisfied smile.

Become!

A degraded and beggar version of the Industrial Light & Magic special effects production synthesizer.

"Can it be faster?"

"No, the equipment can't support faster operation. In fact, it's already severely worn out at this speed."

"Can you improve the accuracy? Make the dragon's trajectory more closely match the mask?"

"I can't do that. This computer's computing power is limited to this level. On the other hand, my skills can only support this level. I'm really ashamed. If there were more technically skilled engineers, they would definitely be able to write a more perfect program. If there were more and larger computers, the computing power would be further improved. But I'm afraid it's impossible to achieve the level of subtlety you envision."

Gu Ming nodded, not surprised.

It's already good enough to achieve this level with just a computer. After all, he doesn't have the luxurious conditions like Industrial Light & Magic.

Although this method still cannot achieve the effect that Gu Ming envisioned, considering the current conditions, Gu Ming acquiesced.

"That's it, Tanaka. When we send the tape to the editor, have them blur the edges of the mask... It's best to create an opaque effect. That way, we can cover up the lack of precision of our equipment to the greatest extent possible!"

Just like many photos that have been photoshopped, a layer of outline is added on the outside.

The reason for adding outlines is that the technology is not good enough. There are many rough edges on the outside of the deducted portrait. In order to cover up the rough edges, a thick layer of outlines is used to cover it.

Gu Ming wants to do the same thing now.

Due to insufficient equipment and technology, we cannot achieve the same seamless effect as Industrial Light & Magic. That’s okay, just use a blurry mask to cover it up.

In this way, another level of special effects can be achieved through real scenes.

Gu Ming can speak responsibly.

It certainly cannot be compared with the United States, but at least in Japan, this approach is definitely a historical first.

Historically, it was not until 84 that Toho first introduced the technology and began to use it in films.

"This way, I can create the special effects I want in this fantasy kung fu film, and I can also try to introduce the aerial combat effects in the Armored Warriors!"

The effect may not be very good, but it is better than nothing.

At least, real-life shooting will be better than model shooting.

(End of this chapter)