I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

“For Chinese-language films today, the actors are not a problem. No matter where the actors are from, as long as you have money, you can basically get them. But for a science fiction film, having money is the most basic requirement. Without money, you can't make any science fiction.”

"Besides money, there's the production technology aspect. Science fiction films have specific technical requirements, and Chinese films are far behind in this area. Relying entirely on our own system won't work for now."

After listening to Cheng Sheng's long speech, everyone else fell silent.

"Director Cheng, do you mean that what we lack most is technology?" Lu Zhengdao asked.

"Yes, our technology is far behind Hollywood's. A good science fiction movie relies heavily on special effects technology, and no domestic special effects company can do that," Cheng Sheng said.

"Our technical skills aren't great, but we can get Hollywood companies to help with the special effects," said Mr. Wang, giving him a "See, I've solved the problem!" look.

Looking at the slightly smug smile on Xiao Wang's face, Cheng Sheng couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

Do they really think Hollywood special effects are a panacea?

Based on experience from another world, the special effects Hollywood does for Chinese-language films are completely mismatched.

Of course, this isn't to say that Hollywood special effects are bad, or that they're just trying to fool the Chinese people.

Rather, it's due to differences in cultural aesthetics and narrative logic between the two sides.

Chinese mythology and historical themes (such as "Investiture of the Gods" and "Nezha") emphasize freehand brushwork, spirit, and the interplay of reality and illusion, while Hollywood special effects teams are more adept at realism, physical simulation, and mechanical design.

For example, if the "three heads and six arms" in "Ne Zha 2" were produced by a foreign team, they might have preferred to use stacked solid limbs rather than the particle flow and fading-in/fading techniques of Dunhuang flying apsaras, the latter better reflecting the Eastern concept of "seemingly there yet not there."
Western teams' understanding of traditional Chinese deities, weapons, and clothing may become symbolic, resulting in designs that are "similar in spirit but not in essence." For example, Nezha's Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon) is made into an energy band similar to that in "The Avengers," losing the agility of Chinese weapons.

There are also issues with communication and processes.

Some projects had their special effects outsourced to American companies by domestic production companies, but the lack of Chinese directors or art directors involved throughout the process resulted in key shots deviating from their original intent.

Some projects involve bringing in foreign teams through intermediaries, which is not only costly and slow to respond, but may also lead to the selection of suboptimal solutions due to conflicting interests, thus affecting the final outcome.

Finally, there is insufficient technical compatibility.

Hollywood excels in realistic rendering (such as Avatar), but its ability to digitally reproduce traditional Chinese art styles such as ink painting, meticulous brushwork, and paper cutting is relatively weak.

In contrast, the "Dynamic Ink Rendering Engine" independently developed by the Nezha team successfully simulated the ink wash effect on rice paper, which is something that foreign teams find difficult to replicate quickly.

Foreign special effects teams often fail to deeply understand the emotional resonance points of Chinese audiences, such as the awe felt towards settings like "Heavenly Court" and "Investiture of the Gods," resulting in visual presentations that are "technically impressive but lack emotional impact."

For these reasons, even if you hire Hollywood for special effects, the final result will be completely different from what you expected.

In the end, they might spend money but not get a good product, and instead end up making a complete mess of the film. Cheng Sheng knew all this, but he couldn't tell them, because even if he did, they probably wouldn't believe him.

Because the norm in the entertainment industry today is that if the special effects aren't good, they can hire Hollywood companies to do them, instead of delving into their own shortcomings.

Only after experiencing setbacks will one realize the importance of cultivating their own special effects company.

The success of "Ne Zha 2," which is expected to gross over 10 billion yuan at the box office, is due to its special effects. It was a costly mistake to hire a domestic special effects company, which led to its box office phenomenal success.

“Mr. Wang is right. If our technology isn’t good enough, we can hire Hollywood to do the special effects. Zhang Yimou’s special effects for the movie ‘Hero’ were done by a Hollywood special effects company,” Yu Dong said.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Sheng smiled coldly to himself. Although the special effects for "Hero" were done by a Hollywood special effects company, the person in charge of visual effects planning was born in Hong Kong.

Foreigners who grew up in Hong Kong Island naturally have some understanding of Chinese culture, and with the influence of Hong Kong martial arts films, it's not surprising that they can create special effects that perfectly match the aesthetics of Chinese people.

Therefore, the success of this movie's special effects is not entirely due to Hollywood special effects companies.

“We’ll hire Hollywood special effects companies. Those arrogant foreigners only know how to misinterpret Chinese culture, and the special effects they produce are completely different from what we’re looking for,” Cheng Sheng said.

Seeing that Cheng Sheng still refused, Third Master Han said, "If hard science fiction isn't going to work, how about we make a soft science fiction or pseudo-science fiction film?"

Cheng Sheng was also helpless; he hadn't expected that Third Master Han would be so persistent about 'science fiction movies'.

Generally speaking, the difference between "hard science fiction" and "soft science fiction" and "pseudo-science fiction" is that hard science fiction is based on science and technology. Therefore, compared with the other two, hard science fiction is difficult to write well and very difficult to attract readers.

In contrast, soft science fiction is more relaxed. Compared to hard science fiction, its plots and themes tend to be more philosophical, psychological, political, historical, or sociological, mainly using the form of science fiction to express the development of the novel's plot.

The definition of "pseudo-science fiction" is not so rigorous. Some science fiction fans believe that characters possess various superpowers but have no corresponding scientific basis, or that the author creates a substance with various strange properties but has no scientific basis, and this is considered pseudo-science fiction.

However, Cheng Sheng believes that "pseudo-science fiction" is generally mixed with the personal feelings of the evaluator—many readers and viewers regard those works that are usually called "soft science fiction" as "pseudo-science fiction," the difference being that "soft science fiction" has a better impression and is more entertaining.

As everyone knows, Liu Cixin's "The Three-Body Problem" has become the number one IP in the Chinese science fiction world, and its influence in the international science fiction community is unmatched in China.

So here's the question: Is The Three-Body Problem considered hard science fiction?

The Three-Body Problem is hard science fiction—Liu Keqiang, based on existing science, rigorously predicts future development paths and describes the impact of possible new technologies on the future world, which is undeniably hardcore.

In the novel, settings such as the death line, the light tomb, the dark domain, and the slow fog, although not proven by modern physics, are based on existing scientific theories. In this respect, "The Three-Body Problem" has already surpassed many fantasy and xuanhuan works with amazing imaginations, which is precisely the charm of hard science fiction.

Of course, while many science fiction fans highly regard "hard science fiction," Cheng Sheng believes that "hard" and "soft" are merely different categories and not the decisive factors in evaluating whether a science fiction work is excellent or not. (End of this chapter)