The Birth of the Best Director

Chapter 195: The stunning visual effects of Pacific Rim! It feels like a blockbuster, it's truly different!
……

We sat down in the theater.

Lu Zhiyuan took a look around the newly renovated theater and immediately felt that something was wrong.

"James, is this a Dolby Cinema? Where did you get it?"

In Lu Zhiyuan's memory, the complete Dolby Cinema concept was not officially implemented until 2015.

But it's 2011 now.

This thing should still exist in Dolby Laboratories, right?
"Boss, we're a big company. Also, you underestimate your influence."

"I didn't spend a single penny on the entire theater setup. I just told Dolby Laboratories that we had a movie that needed to achieve truly perfect audiovisual effects."

"Dolby Laboratories specially sent several experts to create a Dolby Cinema that is still in the laboratory, tailored to our needs."

"This includes a prototype of the Dolby Digital Cinema Processor DSS220, which is optimized for high frame rates in digital cinema."

"That's right, it's just a prototype, not yet in mass production."

"Besides the Dolby Laboratories, this private cinema in our company is one of the few private Dolby cinemas in the world."

James proudly showed off his connections in Hollywood to Lu Zhiyuan.

Without sufficient connections, even with Lu Zhiyuan's renowned reputation, it would be impossible to acquire a Dolby Cinema system, which was still in its experimental stage.

"James, you're really something."

Lu Zhiyuan gave James a thumbs up.

Dolby Cinema is indeed excellent, far surpassing ordinary 3D cinemas in both contrast and brightness.

In particular, Dolby Cinema's laser projection technology can achieve an ultra-high contrast ratio of 100:1.

Ordinary IMAX lasers can only achieve a ratio of 8000:1!

As for regular 3D cinemas, there's no need to even mention them; they're only 25% of IMAX's.

Dolby Cinema has a greater advantage in terms of brightness.

It's about three times the size of a regular 3D cinema.

For 3D movies, brightness is a very critical indicator.

In another time and space, when Lu Zhiyuan went to the cinema to watch 3D movies, he hated those 3D movies where all the main characters were black.

This means that if the brightness is insufficient, the entire screen will be completely dark.

Here, we must highlight the movie "Black Panther," which made Lu Zhiyuan understand a universal truth.

If you see a 3D movie with Black people, I absolutely will not buy a ticket!

Save 40 yuan instantly!
……

A complete Dolby setup.

This made Lu Zhiyuan very much looking forward to it.

Mainly, he expects the same reaction from others when watching Pacific Rim.

As a time traveler from another dimension, Lu Zhiyuan had certainly experienced the Dolby Cinema effect, and it was indeed quite enjoyable.

This is why he has always wanted to make blockbuster movies.

Having experienced this ultimate audiovisual effect, ordinary 2D movies, no matter how exciting the plot, always fall short in terms of visual appeal.

……

At this moment, the lights in the theater went out.

Everyone put on 3D glasses as if by unspoken agreement, waiting for the blockbuster to begin.

Pacific Rim is their money-making machine.

The quality of a movie directly impacts their year-end bonuses and the company's future performance.

At this moment, everyone sat up straight, watching the movie intently.

A moment later, the main feature began playing on the screen.

No nonsense.

Unlike most Hollywood directors who like to talk a lot of nonsense at the beginning to increase the sense of immersion, Lu Zhiyuan's movies are always fast-paced.

……

The first scene of the movie.

A giant mech hunter is crouching on a huge ship... It looks a bit like an aircraft carrier.

However, everyone present was well aware that no aircraft carriers were ever used during the filming of Pacific Rim.

This is a miniature model of an aircraft carrier!
However, it's very realistic.

"I love big events."

"Starting with such a grand scale, it feels like a world war is about to break out. It's full of epic grandeur, and I love this kind of epic opening!"

The film had barely begun when it filled many of the business tycoons in attendance with anticipation.

A sense of grand scale immediately washes over you.

At this moment, as the camera shifts, the 200-meter-tall Jaeger slowly begins to stand up.

The mechanical roar, the intense buzzing of the nuclear turbine, was enough to make your pores shrink and your blood boil.

In particular, the camera work in the film was masterful.

Lu Zhiyuan didn't film the entire mecha, but instead focused on the details, such as the joints of the mecha hunter and the rhythmic extension and retraction of the hydraulic power rods as the arms rotated.

The mech hunter's feet lightly touched the aircraft carrier deck, yet countless sparks flew, perfectly mimicking the realistic feeling of mechanical friction.

So shocking.

This is the kind of 3D sci-fi blockbuster I'm looking for.

Handsome men and beautiful women hold absolutely no appeal in the face of these super mecha hunters.

"Arrived at the designated location."

"Swarm, begin your descent."

"[Judgment Number], stand by."

The so-called "swarm" is a high-tech amphibious drone used as a probe. At this moment, it is constantly diving into the water like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.

At the same time, the camera focused on the interior of the Jaeger's cockpit.

He was a weathered, middle-aged man.

This face looked somewhat familiar to most people.

However, most foreigners see Chinese people in basically the same way.

They had no recollection of this person being Duan Yihong, the driver for the Great Wall Guardians in "Real Steel".

Because Duan Yihong kept posting photos of himself with the mecha hunter on Weibo, he helped Lu Zhiyuan gain a lot of attention.

In return for the favor, Lu Zhiyuan had a change of heart and ultimately allowed Duan Yihong to pilot the Mech Hunter.

Of course, before the film was officially released, Duan Yihong had no idea how Lu Zhiyuan edited it.

Because all of these shots were created using special effects.

For Duan Yihong, he only filmed a few shots with a resolute expression inside the hydraulically powered cockpit, without uttering a single line of dialogue.

Hearing the orders transmitted from the command center, Duan Yihong remained expressionless, only slightly pursing his lips, revealing a hint of nervousness within him.

"Shishi, look at Duan Yihong's eyes, look at his micro-expressions. You should learn from him."

Xin Yukun sat near Liu Shishi and whispered something.

Liu Shishi is beautiful and quite dedicated when filming, rarely taking on multiple projects at once, making her a decent actress.

But it's just missing that feeling.

She'll never learn the details.

Sometimes, the details she herself throws out even have the opposite effect.

As good friends who had known each other since they were young, Xin Yukun naturally hoped that Liu Shishi was doing well.

"There is an electromagnetic barrier underwater, and the entire bee swarm has lost contact!"

"【Judgment】, launch!"

[Post-Trial] is a brand new mech that has never appeared before. It was specially added by Lu Zhiyuan in the movie "Pacific Rim".

As for the inspiration, it naturally came from the world-famous painting "The Last Judgment".

As a being who is both god and demon, Reba should pilot the [Judgment Ship].

"That mech is so cool!"

"Purple paint, silver lines, and patterns on the back like butterfly wings... I can't quite describe the feeling, but it's full of religious atmosphere."

"That's it, it's the feeling of God!"

To humans, isn't a Jaeger hunter practically a god?
Most religions are based on myths and legends created by humankind.

From a certain perspective, it's equivalent to humans creating gods.

Jaeger Hunters are magnificent creations of humankind, and are essentially another kind of deity!
Lu Zhiyuan drew inspiration from another time and space, from a well-known animated film called "Love, Death & Robots".

In this animated series, the robot's underlying message is always religion.

Lu Zhiyuan thought this kind of extension was simple and easy to use, so he adopted it directly.

Sure enough, seeing the thoughtful expressions on the faces of the foreigners present, Lu Zhiyuan knew that he had made the right decision.

Foreigners like this kind of style.

……

"Pfft!"

Although those foreigners all wanted to interpret the hidden meanings in Lu Zhiyuan's film scenes.

However, the movie's storyline made them stop thinking.

I just want to watch quietly.

With a loud splash, the [Judgment] mech hunter jumped into the sea from the aircraft carrier's deck.

At the same time, the turbine engine on the back of the Jaeger started working, slowly propelling him toward the depths of the sea.

"what!"

"My God, what is this?"

"I have never seen anything like this before. It's so stunning."

Deep in the ocean, it was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

However, deep in the ocean, a bizarre, spherical object suddenly appeared.

Inside the sphere, there are various projections of the starry sky, flashing and dimming, as well as some strange, colorful vortexes.

Upon closer inspection, it's a barred spiral nebula!

At that moment, everyone was so shocked that their scalp tingled.

Under the 3D effects of Dolby Cinema, this bizarre spherical object slowly twists and rotates, and the barred spiral galaxy that appears inside looks incredibly realistic.

It makes you feel like this is a real sci-fi blockbuster.

It even looks a bit like a cosmic battlefield filmed in collaboration with NASA.

"A spatial wormhole!"

"A wormhole that can be actively sealed off. Extremely rare."

A cold, icy voice came through Duan Yihong's earpiece.

Although the voice didn't show her face, viewers who have seen "Upgrade" and "Real Steel" can recognize it as Dilraba's original voice.

The Perseus Cluster, also known as Abell 426, is 3.2 million light-years from Earth. It is a barred spiral galaxy called MCG+07-07-072.

"On the other side of the wormhole is the constellation Perseus."

Aside from AI robots, it's impossible for anyone to determine the origin of this barred spiral galaxy in a single second.

"Cease the exploration!"

"Spatial wormholes are extremely unstable. To maintain a spatial wormhole, it is necessary to continuously input [negative energy matter]."

"Once the negative energy matter becomes disordered, the space wormhole may collapse instantly, like a shoddy construction project. The energy released in this process would be enough to blow the Earth to pieces."

……

Duan Yihong heard Dilraba's extremely calm yet questioning voice coming through his earpiece.

But at this time.

"boom!"

An invisible monster suddenly attacked the "Judgment" mech hunter in the pitch-black underwater environment.

On the screen, the entire image was shaking.

At this moment, Lu Zhiyuan gave Duan Yihong a close-up of his face.

If we were to film actual battle scenes, the dark underwater environment would make it impossible to capture any realistic effects.

The only way to convey a sense of fear, like encountering a ghost, is through the tremors in Duan Yihong's eyes.

After all, many people suffer from thalassophobia.

This shot shouldn't last too long, lest it make the audience uncomfortable.

"Warning! Warning! Unidentified object is approaching!"

"Warning lifted, unidentified object disappeared."

The warning system inside the Jaeger kept alerting the audience, keeping them on the edge of their seats.

It turned out to be a false alarm.

Many people gasped for breath as cold sweat dripped down Duan Yihong's forehead.

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, the sense of immersion and pressure was incredibly strong.

……

"So nervous!"

"This feeling is so exciting!"

"Space wormholes, unknown cosmic monsters, mysterious high-dimensional enemies, and an Earth that could be destroyed at any moment... This opening is so exciting, it truly deserves to be called a blockbuster."

"I love this feeling."

……

The tense and exciting scene made many people hold their breath and watch quietly.

But once the tense atmosphere passes and everyone breathes a sigh of relief, they start whispering among themselves, expressing their excitement.

"It's even more impactful than 'Real Steel'."

"The special effects are even more realistic. No, I can't even see any trace of special effects. It looks completely real." "Especially this spatial wormhole, it's absolutely stunning."

"Although it's not much in terms of visual effects, I've never seen this kind of scene in a movie before."

"And this barred spiral galaxy, what's it called again? Perseus!"

"Damn, that sounds like a really cool zodiac sign!"

"I've heard about Director Lu's concept for Pacific Rim... We humans should launch a counterattack on Perseus, turn the tables, and start interstellar migration, right?"

Americans are very relatable to the idea of ​​interstellar migration.

After all, their ancestors came from all over the world and all immigrated to the United States.

If Earth is destroyed, they can migrate to other stars.

This idea is very popular, at least in the United States.

……

Next.

【Judgment】Dragging its damaged mech, it quickly returned to the aircraft carrier deck, preparing to return for repairs.

However, in the next moment, suddenly, a huge monster covered in armor, resembling a dragon, with a long tail and fleshy wings hidden under its forelimbs appeared on the screen.

"boom!"

That long tail, that lightning-fast attack.

The Judgment Ship shook violently.

Next, after receiving authorization from headquarters, the [Judgment] mech hunters began a great battle against the Apostle monsters.

The battle between the mech hunters and the monsters, designed by Lu Zhiyuan, was deliberately slowed down to show the clumsiness of the giant monsters and their immense power.

This style of combat is unprecedented.

But it's also full of realism.

At this moment, all the viewers stared intently, completely absorbed.

In this great battle, the Jaeger stood on the aircraft carrier, while the monsters floated half-hidden in the seawater, launching attacks from time to time.

Although the number of attacks was not many.

But every time, it makes people nervous.

In this work, Lu Zhiyuan made extensive use of the techniques employed in creating a sense of terror from the movie "Jaws".

Especially that dangerous, oppressive force, filled with the calm before the storm.

In fact, the audience is less nervous when the fighting is intense and chaotic. It is the psychological pressure that creates the most intense fear.

Special effects can save money and provide a better sense of immersion for the audience.

Get the best of both worlds, why not?
The story of a film is important, but the language of the camera is even more important.

"Depend on!"

"It's over!"

"[Judgment Number] Power unit failure, now at the mercy of others."

During the ongoing battles, the Apostle Monster also sustained some injuries, but the [Judgment] mech hunter suffered even more severe damage.

The power unit was damaged, and the transmission system suffered a power loss of more than 60%.

How is this played?
They were already no match for the Apostle Monsters, and their power was reduced by more than 60%?

Just when the audience thought that the Judgment Ship was about to be destroyed by the monster and crash into the sea... air support arrived.

No nonsense.

They aimed directly at the monster and dropped a tactical nuclear bomb!
A moment later, a huge flash of light appeared on the sea surface.

On the screen, there was intense heat, so bright it was blinding... Then, the scene returned to normal, and a huge mushroom cloud exploded on the sea.

The monster has vanished without a trace.

However, the [Judgment] mech was also seriously injured and almost lost its combat capability.

Here, Lu Zhiyuan presents a shot of surging seawater, yet empty of everything, leaving the audience with a lingering impression.

……

"Oh my god!"

"That was amazing! That was incredible!"

"I've never seen a fight movie where it's fought like this?"

The audience members present were all amazed.

Five minutes into the game, we see: a swarm of drones, a wormhole, a barred spiral galaxy, an apostle monster, and a tactical nuclear bomb.

Even a typical sci-fi movie, with its non-stop action, might not have this many elements.

Pacific Rim delivered a visual feast in just 5 minutes!

"Please forgive my lack of imagination, but I can't think of any film in the same genre that can compare to it."

"My God... So this is what a monster invasion of Earth looks like?"

"If this kind of battle happened in a city, how unlucky would the city's residents be? They would be reduced to dust in no time!"

These business tycoons may not understand how movies are made, but they still have basic aesthetic sense.

Let's set aside all sorts of messy art styles and narrative language.

They instinctively judged that this was an exceptionally entertaining popcorn movie.

It's even more explosive than Transformers 3.

……

The ensuing battle scenes are full of climaxes.

Basically, it's 5 minutes of setup, 10 minutes of action.

The battle had just ended, and the audience wanted to catch their breath, but the next second, a crucial piece of information appeared, making them gasp for breath again.

There wasn't a single dull moment.

Even if someone wants to urinate, seeing a crucial piece of information appear in the next second will make them hold it back.

I have to keep watching.

Otherwise, there's always a feeling that you'll miss out on something big.

"Boss, you are a true genius."

At that moment, James wanted nothing more than to hug Lu Zhiyuan and give him a big kiss.

Pacific Rim is awesome.

He absolutely loves this Jaeger movie!

He originally thought that "Real Steel" was Lu Zhiyuan's peak.

As long as Pacific Rim maintains its style and doesn't go too far, it can consistently rake in box office revenue, sell merchandise rights, and earn hundreds of millions of dollars.

He was wrong.

Too conservative!

He had very little confidence in Lu Zhiyuan.

This is a genius among geniuses.

At least at this moment, in his mind, Lu Zhiyuan had surpassed James Cameron!

Avatar doesn't have this kind of battle scene.

Aside from the audiovisual effects, the pacing of Pacific Rim is absolutely fantastic.

Most importantly, it's not as boring as Transformers 3, where you don't know why these people are fighting, what the consequences are of winning or losing.
Anyway, all the viewers know that Transformers don't die.

However, the Jaeger in the movie Pacific Rim is not as invincible as the Transformers; they can actually die.

[Judgment Number] was seriously injured right from the start.

The Onimusha was directly destroyed by the Angel Monster.

The Qin Palace Guards were completely destroyed in the battle on Hong Kong Island.

Every major battle was fraught with peril.

Human cities are being continuously destroyed by the apostle monsters.

The Battle of Tokyo ended in failure.

The battle to defend Hong Kong Island ended in failure.

The Battle of Los Angeles also ended in failure.

Humanity has amassed a massive army, preparing for a decisive battle against the apostle monsters in Australia... This do-or-die situation has everyone on the edge of their seats.

Who knew that the apostle monsters were just as intelligent as humans? After a feint, they charged straight toward the Antarctic continent!
It wants to destroy the Earth's magnetic field.

After the Earth's magnetic field becomes disordered, the electromagnetic barrier of the Earth's atmosphere will fail. High-energy particle streams will penetrate the atmosphere, significantly increasing the probability of DNA breakage in organisms on the Earth's surface.

It's equivalent to being constantly exposed to nuclear radiation.

In addition, without the protection of a magnetic field, the solar wind will strip away the atmosphere at an extremely rapid pace. In about 1000 years, Earth's atmosphere will have dropped to the level of Mars.

Finally, it will also affect the reorganization of the Earth's crustal stress field, and the Circum-Pacific seismic belt will release energy accumulated over 300 years.

……

At first, the audience was in the mood to discuss the movie's plot and joke about what world-famous paintings Lu Zhiyuan used in the movie.
However, after watching half of the movie, they were completely immersed in the movie world.

What is an immersive experience?
This is!
"Oh!"

"A world-famous painting has appeared!"

"I recognize it...it's Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'!"

The final battle.

Lu Zhiyuan filmed this in Iceland.

A volcano erupts beneath the aurora borealis at night.

Reba pilots the "Judgment" and works together with Hanikezi in the "Qin Palace Guard" to fight against the Apostle Monster.

With the background music of "Believer" being so passionate and uplifting, it's enough to make your blood boil and your scalp tingle with excitement.

This is the moment that will decide your fate.

It was filled with a sense of destiny.

……

Although the scene in Lu Zhiyuan's mind appeared in the movie's ending.

After the battle ended, Reba sat in the cockpit, while the crippled [Judgment] mech hunter knelt on one knee on the ground.

In the distance, a volcano erupted, engulfing Hanikz's mech.

Inside Reba's combat uniform pocket was a yellowed photograph, half of which was visible. It was a photo of Reba and Hanikezi when they first met in the small town of Kashgar.

At the same time, a pearl-like tear slowly fell from Dilraba's cold face, symbolizing that Dilraba, this AI robot, had regained her humanity at this moment.

The gods descended to the mortal realm.

However, the audience present couldn't discern Lu Zhiyuan's true intentions regarding this scene at all.

What "divine kneel"? The audience couldn't even tell it!

They only felt a deep sadness.

Hanikezi, such a lovely little girl, was about to be swallowed by a volcano.

Although Hanikezi has become a human hero, this is not something to be happy about.

"Ha ha!"

"Well done, Keanu!"

"Finally, he acted like a man, even better than his daughter Alita."

But at the last moment, Keanu Reeves' character, piloting a plane, rescued Hanikz, who was doomed.

At that moment, the entire stadium erupted in cheers.

Heroes should not die; heroes should enjoy applause and flowers.

"Boss, you've overcome your biggest flaw. You didn't do what most artsy young people do—deliberately disgust the audience."

James just took a deep breath.

If Hanikezi's character had died at the last moment, he could imagine that the box office would have been at least $2 million less.

North American audiences are psychologically very sensitive.

Not only in North America, but also in the UK, France, and Germany, most viewers are psychologically vulnerable.

They couldn't bear to see such scenes of life and death.

A happy ending is good for everyone.

“James, I know what I’m doing.”

Deep down, Lu Zhiyuan really wanted the character Hanikezi to die, just like the hero Oedipus.

After all, the character Hanikezi's name is Ophelia, which carries sadness and despair from the moment she was born.

Lu Zhiyuan even designed several ways for the character Hanikezi to die.

He felt that the character Hanikezi had to die in a particularly beautiful way.

After all, it is the aesthetics of tragedy that can truly move people and leave a lasting impression.

He was almost ready to carry out his plan.

Fortunately, Lu Zhiyuan's intelligence is mostly high, and he is always able to suppress the restlessness of his inner artistic youth.

At the last moment, he resisted the urge.

The character Hanikezi was not killed off.

This made Hanikezi happy for days. Every time she saw him, she would say the magic spell: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most handsome man in the world? Of course, it's my teacher, Mr. Lu!"

……

The movie was excellent.

Under normal circumstances, everyone would applaud and cheer.

However, most of the audience members present were not attending Lu Zhiyuan's preview screening for the first time.

They knew there was an Easter egg.

The Easter egg might be even more exciting!
"Oh, here's an Easter egg!"

"It's that human scientist, what's her name? Raven? Our Raven Messenger! Her intelligence is so extraordinary, it's on par with the strongest AI cybernetic humans!"

"Besides, the way she bites her hairband and ties her hair is so charming. It's full of intellect and elegance. I feel like I've fallen deeply in love with her!"

(End of this chapter)