This director lacks vision.

Chapter 374 Film and television special effects are a high-level condensation of cultural aesthetics
At 5:2 pm on February 23, Liu Tong, vice president of Guangxian Media, got into a business van and headed to Xiangshan Film and Television City to visit the set of "Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal".

Other employees from the department were also with them.

Even in the car, Liu Tong would hold meetings to discuss work; he was a workaholic who was completely on fire.

This is one of the reasons why he was able to rise from program planner to vice president in just 8 years after joining Guangxian.

Liu Tong asked, "How's the investigation going on the 'Monkey King: Hero Is Back' project? Is it worth investing in?"

The Monkey King: Hero Is Back has been in preparation for many years and began production last year. However, the project is facing a severe shortage of funds. Director Tian Xiaopeng has been seeking investment from all sides and has also contacted Guangxian Media twice.

Upon hearing Liu Tong's question, one employee replied: "This project has two major problems:

First, according to the project plan, the investment of 3000 million yuan is far from enough to cover the production costs. Once we invest, overspending is inevitable and we may have to invest more.

But Tian Xiaopeng himself has no idea how much additional investment is needed; it's a bottomless pit.

Secondly, Tian Xiaopeng's team lacked 3D animation production skills, and many parts required repeated attempts and refinements to barely achieve the desired effect.

This increases capital costs, extends production time, and further prolongs the investment payment period.

Considering the two issues above, our recommendation is not to invest.

Guangxian Media started investing in animated films a long time ago.

However, last year's "Seer Movie 3" performed only so-so, and the performance of this year's "Qin's Moon: Dragon Soaring Ten Thousand Miles" is still uncertain.

Even now, investment in animated films is beginning to slow down appropriately.

The animated project "Monkey King: Hero Is Back" does indeed have many problems. Guangxian doesn't have the ability to see the future, so it's normal that they don't want to invest.

Liu Tong nodded and was about to speak when an employee in the back row said, "I received some news that it seems that Youyaoqi Dream House, a subsidiary of Fengxing Media, has invested in The Monkey King: Hero Is Back."

Tian Xiaopeng hasn't contacted us recently, and judging from his behavior, this news should be quite reliable.

After Fengxing Media acquired Shanda Literature, Youyaoqi Comics also became one of Fengxing Media's subsidiaries.

Jiang Yifeng reorganized the company's animation department and established "U17 Dream House," which is specifically responsible for the development and production of animation and comics.

U17 Dream House has successively launched many domestic animations, winning a lot of praise.

Upon hearing what the employee in the back row said, Liu Tong's expression changed, and she had a bad feeling.

The fact that Fengxing Media invested in "Monkey King: Hero Is Back" shows that it must have been a good project, but they missed out on it.

This is the reputation of Jiang Yifeng and Fengxing Media, and their competitors know it best.

In terms of business model, Guangxian Media and Fengxing Media are the most similar, both of which are involved in film and television production, variety show production, and artist management, and have also made significant moves in the animation field.

However, the channels for light are mostly television stations and cinemas.

Fengxing Media also has an internet platform.

Liu Tong quickly composed himself and discussed the next project: "What's the progress on the Mermaid project?"

"The confirmed investors for the movie 'The Mermaid' are us and Shanghai New Culture Group."

Zhou Xinchi was still not at ease, so he contacted Han Sanping, hoping that Huaying Group would also join in.

After his dispute with Huayi, he no longer wanted to cooperate with just one company, but instead introduced multiple investors to check and balance each other.

Besides Huaying, LeTV is also said to be very interested in The Mermaid.

If LeEco reaches an agreement with Zhou Xinchu, our investment share may be further reduced.

After being called out by Jiang Yifeng for manipulating box office figures for Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, Zhou Xinchi lost a large sum of money in the stock market and subsequently sued Huayi Brothers.

To make up for the losses, Zhou Xinchi quickly launched the Mermaid project.

Although his reputation among investors is getting worse, his market appeal remains.

In addition, this was a period when the Chinese film market was making a fortune.

Therefore, Zhou Xinchi is still highly sought after, and many film and television companies want to cooperate with him.

Especially LeEco.

Under Jiang Yifeng's influence, LeEco recruited many people from the Hong Kong entertainment circle.

The huge box office success of "From Vegas to Macau" during this year's Spring Festival caused LeEco's stock to surge.

Having tasted success, Accountant Jia wanted to collaborate with Zhou Xinchi again.

Guangxian Media was the first to contact Zhou Xinchu, but now its investment share is decreasing, which is another piece of bad news, leaving Liu Tong feeling very helpless.

The employees in the back row also sensed Liu Tong's emotions and quickly said, "Where Are We Going, Dad? The movie has reached 3.9 million yuan at the box office, and it will be no problem to break 4 million yuan in the end."

The current state of China's film market is evident from the movie "Where Are We Going, Dad?".

A variety show can be filmed for a few days, then edited into a "movie" and released, and it can rake in 4 million yuan at the box office.

This is still influenced by the various reality shows and variety shows produced by Fengxing Media. "Where Are We Going, Dad?" is not as popular as its predecessor, and the addition of the movie "Lost in Thailand" during the Spring Festival season has also affected the box office of the "Where Are We Going, Dad?" movie.

Otherwise, in its previous life, this movie would have grossed 7 million yuan during the Spring Festival season.

Although it "only" made 4 million, this "movie" still made a lot of money.

Liu Tong nodded in satisfaction and moved on to the next topic.

It wasn't until 6:45 p.m. that the car arrived at the Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal film set.

Just then, the crew was having dinner. Liu Tong had someone distribute the fruit and snacks he brought during his visit to the set, and then he went to the production center.

The rooms in the production center are spacious, fully equipped with appliances, and even have air conditioning that can provide heating.

When I went inside, Wu Ershen, Chen Kun, Li Binbin, Bao Beier, Yang Zishan and others were sitting together eating.

Upon seeing Liu Tong, everyone stood up.

Wu Ershan said with a smile, "Mr. Liu, you came to visit the set without giving us any advance notice. We apologize for not being a good host."

"This was just a spur-of-the-moment decision," Liu Tong said. "There's something I'd better tell you in person."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kun, Li Binbin, and the others prepared to leave, taking the initiative to avoid suspicion.

On the contrary, Bao Beier remained motionless; this guy is truly the favored son of Guangxian Media.

Seeing this, Liu Tong quickly said, "Everyone, there's no need to leave. It's just a small matter. I haven't eaten either, so let's eat and talk."

The production assistant served Liu Tong a special meal, and while eating, he asked Wu Ershan, "How's the special effects design for Zhong Kui exorcising demons coming along? Are you confident?"

Urshan said firmly, "Of course I'm confident!"

Liu Tong nodded and reminded him, "Keep a close eye on the special effects production. Don't cut corners."

Based on my understanding of Jiang Yifeng, he is not the kind of person who just takes a beating without fighting back.

You mocked him online, and he hasn't responded yet, so he must be planning a counterattack.

Moreover, Jiang Yifeng is very vengeful. Once "Zhong Kui Conquers the Demons" is released, he will definitely attack the special effects of our movie.

If your special effects are terrible, you'll definitely be ridiculed by the entire internet.

Liu Tong knew that Wu Ershan was taking kickbacks from hiring a foreign team for special effects, and he himself had also received money.

Liu Tong's biggest concern wasn't whether Wu Ershan would be ridiculed; he was worried that the special effects for Zhong Kui: Exorcising Demons would be so bad that the production team would be accused of taking kickbacks, which would affect his career.

So Liu Tong came to the film crew specifically to find Wu Ershan and emphasize it to him in person.

He spoke rather cryptically, and wasn't afraid of others overhearing.

Wu Ershen understood what Liu Tong meant, and he patted his chest to assure him, "Mr. Liu, you can rest assured, the movie's special effects will definitely be top-notch!"

Hearing this, Liu Tong felt much more at ease.

He didn't expect Urgench's thought process to be so bizarre.

This guy is obsessed with Western aesthetics; what he considers good special effects is different from what normal people understand as good special effects.

Liu Tong checked the time; it was already 7 p.m., so he turned on the TV on the wall and said, "I'll watch the news broadcast. You guys chat first."

In addition to film projects, Liu Tong also oversees information-related businesses at Guangxin.

Whenever possible, he watches the news broadcast every night to stay informed about official policy developments.

Nobody paid much attention, since having the TV on didn't interfere with eating or chatting anyway.

Unexpectedly, near the end of the news broadcast, the host said, "At the end of the program, we have a preview for you."

In recent years, my country's film market has flourished, with box office records being broken time and again.

However, the gap between the level of special effects in Chinese films and the top international standards has always been a topic of discussion and debate among industry professionals and audiences.

Where exactly do we fall short? Is it the technological barrier, the financial investment, or the bottleneck in creativity and aesthetics?

Tonight's "Focus Interview" will focus on this "competition behind the scenes".

We will take you inside a Chinese company called "Monster Effects" to understand the business logic behind film special effects and the film industry.

Upon seeing this, Bao Beier's eyes widened in shock, and he exclaimed, "Holy crap! Jiang Yifeng is going all out!"

Others were also shocked.

No one expected that Jiang Yifeng would be so fierce in the face of the special effects controversy, going directly to Focus Interview and even making a preview on the news broadcast.

Only Wuerzhen had a gloomy expression and was very flustered inside.

He remembered what Liu Tong had just said: Jiang Yifeng was not the kind of person who would just take a beating without fighting back.

Clearly, tonight's Focus Interview is Jiang Yifeng's counterattack.

With this in mind, Wu Ershen immediately postponed the filming of the night scene and decided to watch Focus Interview first.

Li Binbin comforted her, saying, "This is a Focus Interview on CCTV, which is usually very official and shouldn't involve Director Wu."

Chen Kun echoed, "That's right, Focus Interview won't do anything reckless. Jiang Yifeng's main purpose is probably just to promote his own company."

Hearing this, Urgen felt a little better.

After the weather forecast and commercials, tonight's Focus Interview officially begins.

The host, Hou Feng, stood in the monster photography studio. Behind him, a giant mecha and a giant eagle fish stood facing each other.

"Hello, viewers! Welcome to Focus Interview."

In recent years, with the booming development of the Chinese film market, one topic has always lingered in the minds of the industry and audiences: In what way are the special effects of Chinese films inferior to those of foreign films?

Is it a technical hurdle, insufficient funding, or some deeper gap?
Whenever a domestic blockbuster sparks controversy due to its "cheap special effects," or when a Hollywood visual effects extravaganza sweeps the box office in China, the discussion about the gap in special effects intensifies.

Today we've visited Monster Effects, China's leading visual effects company, to learn about the specific development of China's film visual effects and film industry.

Beside me is Jiang Yifeng, the founder of monster special effects.

"Hello everyone, I am Jiang Yifeng."

After giving his opening remarks, Hou Feng, led by Jiang Yifeng, toured the Monster Studio.

"...This is a motion control shooting system customized by our company, called the Monster Shooting System, which we have already registered as a patent."

This system uses a track and a long mechanical arm to enable the lens to switch between different angles in three-dimensional space without blind spots, thus capturing a variety of wonderful scenes.

In addition, the control system can achieve precise shooting with multiple lenses, capture and synthesize scenes, and has built-in visual motion testing and post-processing layer overlay technology. It can also seamlessly connect with various post-processing special effects software, making it convenient for special effects production.

My goal is to make the system intelligent, combining it with AI technology to achieve semi-intelligent shooting.

Before filming begins, the directing team translates their desired shooting trajectory and shot sequence into instructions and inputs them into the system.

The system automatically controls the movement trajectory of the robotic arm to complete the shooting work of various lenses.

To achieve this goal, I have invested billions to establish the Classic of Mountains and Seas Laboratory. The AR visual effects on this year's Spring Festival Gala stage are the result of the Classic of Mountains and Seas Laboratory's work. ...

This is a giant backdrop screen, composed of 600 LED screens, which can meet different scene setting needs.

Compared to traditional green screen shooting, LED background screens offer greater depth and produce better results. They can also be integrated with sensors on the actors to enable dynamic scene transitions…

Watching Jiang Yifeng's introduction on TV, Liu Tong couldn't help but exclaim, "Has the equipment for monster special effects become so advanced? When I visited Hollywood last time, I don't think they had such a precise shooting system or such a huge LED screen."

The last time Monster Studios was open to the public was during the production and broadcast of the first season of the Pacific Rim web series.

At that time, the studio mainly featured mecha and alien models.

After the Monster Studio underwent a complete upgrade, the internal workings have never been made public.

Seeing the monster shooting system and the giant LED backdrop, everyone can naturally feel the advanced nature of the studio.

At least, as a special effects movie, Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal was filmed using a green screen.

Hearing Liu Tong's praise, Wu Ershan's face darkened, but he still forced a rebuttal: "The equipment was all purchased from abroad; it's just that Jiang Yifeng has money!"

On the television, Jiang Yifeng continued, "...What's playing on the screen now is a special effects clip from the Hollywood movie Man of Steel. We did 30% of the special effects for this movie."

These are Optimus Prime and Galvatron. We also participated in the special effects work for Transformers 4.

This monster model is Godzilla.

Godzilla is a monster movie with special effects, co-produced by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., with a production cost of $1.6 million. We were responsible for Godzilla's modeling and special effects.

This is a dragon model from Game of Thrones. The special effects work for Game of Thrones Season 4 was divided into two parts:
One part is the fantasy scenes and architectural special effects, which were produced by Hollywood companies.
The other part was the key creatures and dynamic effects. For this part, we competed with the famous German special effects company Pixomondo and ultimately won the contract.

Through the filming and refinement of Pacific Rim, Monsters, Inc.'s special effects production level has reached world-class standards, especially in the design and special effects of monster models, which are now among the best in the world.

If Jiang Yifeng's initial display of advanced equipment was just an appetizer, then his presentation of the monster special effects is a bombshell.

It turns out that monster special effects are so amazing that they can be used for Hollywood blockbusters like Superman, Transformers, and Godzilla. The dragons in Game of Thrones were also created using monster special effects.

These monster effects were not advertised beforehand, and no one paid attention to them.

Moreover, of these films and TV series, only Man of Steel has been released; the rest have not yet been released.

Superman's acknowledgments are all in English, and viewers don't have the time to look them up.

But no one doubted Jiang Yifeng's words.

Given Jiang Yifeng's current status, coupled with the endorsement of CCTV News and Focus Interview, these achievements must be true.

Upon seeing the monster special effects report on TV, Wu Erzhen could no longer maintain his composure and began to curse: "Damn it, Jiang Yifeng has such good results but didn't say anything, isn't this deliberately trying to screw me over? Are you kidding me!"

Wu Ershan only felt that Jiang Yifeng was setting him up, but he never thought that he was the one who took the initiative to start criticizing on Weibo.

After the introductions, Hou Feng and Jiang Yifeng went to the recording studio to begin a one-on-one interview.

Hou Feng continued the previous topic and asked, "You just introduced the achievements of the monster effects company. I'm curious, why do Hollywood blockbusters choose to collaborate with monster effects?"

Jiang Yifeng replied, "First of all, our special effects are good enough."

In fact, special effects production is mostly a slow and meticulous process, requiring careful allocation of resources and teamwork.

In this respect, China has an advantage.

Secondly, regarding cost, the same special effects might cost ten million dollars to a Hollywood studio, but our monster effects only cost seven or eight million dollars.

Hou Feng concluded, "This is what you call good quality at a low price."

Jiang Yifeng shook his head and said, "We didn't set the price very low, so it's not cheap. It's just a little cheaper than other companies."

I still hope my team can have good income to motivate everyone.

In fact, Jiang Yifeng's answer was somewhat reserved.

The special effects orders for Monster Company were partly secured with the help of Han Sanping from Huaying Film Studio, who introduced some projects to them.
On the other hand, Jiang Yifeng did the opposite, giving kickbacks to Hollywood production teams so that these foreigners could make money personally. Naturally, they were willing to put the company's orders into monster special effects.

Anyway, the monster effects are capable enough to complete the work with high quality and quantity.

These things couldn't be said publicly, and Hou Feng understood that, so he asked again: "The monster special effects are world-class, so how big do you think the gap is between Chinese special effects, or rather the Chinese film industry, and foreign ones?"

Jiang Yifeng thought for a moment and replied, "In terms of filming equipment and certain technologies, we still have some gaps compared to Hollywood."

However, this gap is acceptable. We can introduce advanced foreign filming equipment and appropriately recruit outstanding foreign special effects talents to gradually develop our own film industry.

It will take three to five years to catch up.

Moreover, many people don't understand movie special effects. When movie special effects are mentioned, they talk about the film industry, as if it's something very high-end and can't be caught up in for decades.

In fact, the most important aspects of movie special effects are not technology, but aesthetics and culture.

Technology is merely a means to achieve special effects; the final appearance of special effects is determined by cultural aesthetics.

I hope everyone remembers one concept: film and television special effects are a high-level condensation of cultural aesthetics.

While Western special effects teams possess superb technical skills, they struggle to capture the spiritual essence of Eastern aesthetics.

If a director blindly believes in the special effects of Western teams, it means that he believes in Western aesthetics.

Take Urgench, for example. In Painted Skin 2, he spent millions of dollars on a single scene of skin peeling off, but the result was completely devoid of aesthetic appeal.

Many viewers complained that the special effects of Painted Skin 2 looked like a fantasy RPG game.

It's not that the French special effects team lacked technical skills, but rather that they simply didn't understand Chinese supernatural tales and couldn't grasp the essence of Eastern aesthetics, turning the skin-peeling animation into something resembling a Western fantasy game.

Wu Ershan didn't understand either. He thought the special effects made by Western companies were high-end, and he sincerely believed that the special effects of Painted Skin 2 were very well done.

Therefore, Ulgen's new movie has once again hired a Hollywood visual effects team.

Imagine what would happen if Westerners created Zhong Kui, a mythical figure from Chinese mythology.
This is something that can't be reconciled at all, but Urgench is enjoying it immensely.

I made a point of looking into this director and discovered that he also enjoys performance art and has participated in various filming activities that push the boundaries of ethics.

Seeing Jiang Yifeng getting more and more into the subject, Hou Feng quickly interrupted him, asking, "Film and television special effects are a high-level condensation of cultural aesthetics. Could you elaborate on that?"

Jiang Yifeng said, "To put it bluntly, there are cultural differences between the East and the West, and the West is in a dominant position and is unwilling to understand and learn our culture."

They tried to paint Chinese ink paintings using the techniques of oil painting, but the result was a mess.

Technology is merely a tool; the final visual result of a film still depends on our human cultural aesthetics.

"And some companies and individuals in our Chinese entertainment industry lack cultural confidence and are unwilling to properly explore the vastness and beauty of Chinese culture, instead blindly worshipping foreign cultures..."

Wu Ershen didn't hear a word Jiang Yifeng said next.

He never expected that Jiang Yifeng would be so bold and direct as to criticize him by name on the Focus Interview program.

Not only did they thoroughly dissect his aesthetic sense from a cultural and aesthetic perspective, but they even went so far as to discuss the performance art he had done with his friend Zhu.

It also used the definition of "breaking the ethical bottom line".

What's even more alarming is that Focus Interview didn't edit out that sentence; instead, it was broadcast.

What does this mean? Urgench dared not even imagine!

At that moment, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his whole body was ice cold, and he was also extremely regretful that he should not have been the first to criticize Jiang Yifeng.

Everyone in the room was looking at Urgench; some felt sympathy, some gloated, and some clever people had already started looking for new jobs.

After tonight's Focus Interview airs, it's questionable whether Wu Erzhen can still work in the industry, and the movie "Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal" will definitely have to be suspended.

The production center was silent; the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Inside the training room of the round building, however, there was a burst of cheers and jubilation.

Wang Churan clapped her hands until they were red, expressing her excitement.

After seeing the counterattack arranged by Jiang Yifeng, Wang Churan felt extremely satisfied. The depression from last night was swept away, and she felt as if her breasts were clear.

Wang Churan looked at Jiang Yifeng with admiration, and even began to fantasize in her heart about how great it would be if her boss could help her deal with Liu Jicun.

The other six members of the girl group were also celebrating, with leader Cheng Xiao making the most exaggerated gestures.

Besides clapping, she also jumped around a few times, and the "DuangDuangDuang" effect caught Jiang Yifeng's attention.

The Cheng family has truly seen a daughter grow up to be beautiful!

Surrounded by seven beautiful girls praising him, Jiang Yifeng had a fantastic experience of this counterattack.

This Focus Interview was actually a pleasant surprise.

The main reason is that the previous controversy surrounding the special effects had a significant impact, and the official team has taken note of it.

Since the monster special effects were a success, the official team used this as an opportunity to create a program to promote cultural confidence and publicize development achievements.

Jiang Yifeng went to record Focus Interview last night.

As for criticizing Wu Ershan, Jiang Yifeng only made one outrageous remark, which was also integrated into the theory of cultural aesthetics and cultural confidence, so CCTV did not cut it out.

The Focus Interview program was very well received after it aired.

That night, the hottest topics on the internet were all about monster special effects, Jiang Yifeng, and Wu Ershan.

Comments, photos, and video clips related to the program have been circulating wildly online.

Jiang Yifeng didn't mention "prehistoric monsters" once during the show, but after the show aired, it sparked debate among scholars.

Soon after, staff members came forward to reveal that the ugly special effects in Prehistoric Monsters were done by the Hollywood company Prime Focus, while the excellent special effects were done by Monsters Company.

The facts are undeniable; the monster effects company is truly amazing, leaving netizens with no choice but to believe it, and public opinion has completely reversed.

Ursin's Weibo account was flooded with comments, forcing him to enable the selection of the most-read comments.

Netizens found the performance art that Jiang Yifeng mentioned, and everyone was stunned after seeing it.

In an instant, Urgench became a pariah, his reputation utterly tarnished.

Surprisingly, Wu Erzhen had someone backing him up, and Guangxian didn't want to waste his investment, so he let Wu Erzhen continue directing Zhong Kui Exorcising Demons.

Ursin was putting in all his effort, hoping to make a comeback with this movie.

Netizens also followed the clues and found special effects movies released in China in recent years, discovering a pattern.
Any film that claims to be made by a Western special effects team, such as The White Fox and The Monkey King, is a bad movie with very poor visual effects.
On the contrary, Tsui Hark's Detective Dee series, although the special effects are not top-notch, is more comfortable to watch.

In particular, Zhou Xinchi's kung fu special effects were all produced by Xiantao Digital Technology, showcasing the charm of Chinese kung fu culture.

After this comparison, netizens found that Jiang Yifeng was right; film and television special effects are indeed a high condensation of cultural aesthetics.

Foreign teams have no understanding of Chinese culture and it's impossible for them to produce good film and television special effects.

Any movie that uses a Western special effects team for promotion is generally a bad movie trying to use that as a gimmick to make money.

This is the brilliance of Jiang Yifeng's remarks; he did not mention the issue of receiving kickbacks for special effects, because that is a taboo subject and could easily offend people.

Instead, it fundamentally analyzes why Western special effects companies cannot do good special effects for Chinese films, and avoids the differences that still exist in special effects technology, thereby forcing domestic film and television companies to use domestic special effects companies, thus promoting the development of the domestic film and television special effects industry.

It's important to understand that the domestic film market will expand rapidly in the next few years, with a large influx of hot money investing in it. These next few years will be the best opportunity to develop the film industry.

With the joint efforts of the government and Fengxing Media, topics such as film and television special effects being a high condensation of cultural aesthetics, the need for cultural confidence, and the priority given to domestic special effects teams in Chinese film and television productions have begun to be widely discussed and accepted by more people.

Many people have even gone to extremes, wanting to boycott films and television dramas produced by foreign special effects companies.

This public opinion situation alarmed the Taiping Steamer crew, who quickly issued a statement clarifying that "Digital Domain" is now a Hong Kong-based special effects company and asked everyone not to misunderstand.

Before the Crossing, the company heavily promoted Digital Domain as a top Hollywood special effects team that had participated in the production of blockbusters such as Avatar.

Now they've changed their tune and said the digital sector is a Hong Kong company, which is a contradiction.

However, there was nothing they could do. Public opinion had shifted, and the authorities had stepped in to support them. The crew of "The Crossing" needed to make money, so naturally they wouldn't go against the authorities and public opinion.

(End of this chapter)