Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 343, Section 341: Let's Make a Big Move

In early February, the capital city was still chilly.

After making the decision, Wang Sheng first called Han Sanping to explain the reasons for the postponement of the "Brotherhood of Blades" project.

After hearing Wang Sheng say that he was also going to make a big-budget film with an investment of over 2 million yuan, Han Sanping was silent at first. But after understanding what Wang Sheng was going to do, he immediately expressed his full support!
The directorial work for "Lost on Journey" was handed over to Wu Yiyi. Wu Yiyi already had several comedy films that he independently directed and which grossed over ten million yuan at the box office, so his abilities had been honed. In addition, he was also the executive director of "Lost on Journey" and was involved in the script and other preparations throughout the process, so taking over the project was a smooth process.

After cutting or abandoning the two projects he had on hand, Wang Sheng devoted himself entirely to preparing for "Night at the Museum".

In his vision, the Chinese version of "Night at the Museum" would be filled with all sorts of Eastern wonders.

It is a unique "fantasy adventure blockbuster of Chinese civilization" that blends the classical charm of "The Myth", the visual creativity of "Kung Fu", and the core concept of "Night at the Museum".

……

Wang Sheng led the screenwriting team to conduct a complete localization and reconstruction based on "Night at the Museum":

Background settings:

The story takes place in a fictional museum called the "Museum of Chinese Civilization".

All the artifacts in this museum are replicas.

Main storyline:

Jackie Chan plays Chen Dabao, an unemployed martial arts coach who takes a night shift security job at the Chinese Civilization Museum to make a living.

On a night of full moon, he was shocked to discover that all the figures in the artifacts, sculptures, and portraits in the museum had come to life.

From then on, he interacted with historical figures, mythical beasts, and cultural relics that "came to life" every night, creating many hilarious situations.

Core plot:

Pre-Qin Hall: During drills with the resurrected terracotta army, a mechanism is accidentally triggered, causing a "Qin crossbow volley," creating a perilous situation. The leading general terracotta figure yearns to find his lost "comrades-in-arms."

Han and Tang Dynasty Hall: Silk Road merchants were determined to "find the road to the Western Regions." Li Bai, drunk, composed poetry and invited Chen Dabao to drink with him; Tang tri-colored camels danced, leading a "Silk Road Carnival."

The Song, Ming, and Qing Dynasties Hall depicts Zhu Yuanzhang and Emperor Kangxi debating the art of governance, with Chen Dabao's mediation failing and him becoming embroiled in the "Imperial Debate." A model of Zheng He's treasure ship from the Ming Dynasty, portrayed as a navigator, leads the protagonist on a sea adventure, symbolizing exploration and openness.

Natural History Museum: Dinosaur skeletons and Yellow River elephant remains vie for the title of "prehistoric overlord," and Chen Dabao resolves the conflict with Tai Chi.

A mysterious bronze artifact (similar to the "He Zun"): It holds the secret to the museum's "revival" and is the key to solving the problem.

Climax: Evil forces (foreign antiquities dealers) infiltrate the museum, attempting to steal the "bronze artifacts" hidden among a pile of replicas. Chen Dabao, together with resurrected historical heroes such as Xiang Yu, Huo Qubing, and Hua Mulan, launches a battle between the ancient and modern eras to protect the national treasures.

The ending: At dawn, the artifacts returned to stillness. Chen Dabao understood the significance of historical inheritance, contacted relevant departments, handed over the bronzes, and wrote the manuscript of "Night Shift Museum Records".

……

After completing the script, Wang Sheng, based on the "Film Studio Alliance," drew on top talent from various studios:
Beijing Film Studio:
Art Department: Led by Zhang Heping, a senior art director who participated in "The Birth of a Warrior", the team is responsible for replicating the interior of the Forbidden City and making cultural relics props.

Special effects makeup: The special effects makeup team from "The Emperor's Shadow" was drawn from the team to be responsible for the physical special effects of characters such as the Terracotta Warriors.

Shanghai Film Studio:
Miniature Model Team: Creates detailed models of Zheng He's treasure ship, the Forbidden City complex, and other architectural styles for special effects filming.

Mechanical Props Group: Design movable artifact supports to achieve the physical movement of the "resurrected" objects.

August First Film Studio:
Explosion and Action Design: Responsible for the final battle scenes, ensuring safety and visual effects.

Changchun Film Studio:
Traditional Crafts Group: Provides support for traditional techniques such as lacquerware and embroidery to enhance the authenticity of cultural relics and props.

At the same time, Wang Sheng brought in a top-notch external team:
Sinotrans Digital (Hong Kong Island):

Visual effects supervisors Zhong Zhixing, Huang Hongxian, and Huang Hongda jointly led the team, responsible for core effects such as digital characters, motion capture, and scene extension.

He has participated in films such as "The Storm Riders" and "Kung Fu Soccer," and his work is considered top-notch in the field of special effects in Asia.

Beijing Film Academy Special Effects Team (Mainland China): Based on the experience gained from projects such as "Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit 3000 Questions" and "Kung Fu Soccer", they were responsible for some basic special effects work.

Hollywood: Through Jackie Chan's connections and China Film Group's channels, some cutting-edge technologies are outsourced to Industrial Light & Magic, mainly for muscle simulation, hair rendering, and complex physical collision effects for biological characters (such as resurrected dinosaurs).

This move aims to address the shortcomings of domestic teams in the field of realistic biological CG.

……

In late February, Wang Sheng held a project technical seminar at the Jingxin Building.

The special effects team submitted a detailed breakdown plan.

The portion that can be completed domestically (budget approximately 6000 million yuan).

Scene extension and digital painting (such as expanding the museum dome, starry sky).

Basic particle effects (such as magical light and dust).

A basic animation for "revitalizing" cultural relics (such as walking terracotta figurines or fluttering calligraphy and paintings).

Mechanical prop operation (such as remote-controlled vehicles, electric dinosaur skeletons).

The portion requiring Hollywood technical support (budget approximately 4000-8000 million RMB):
High-precision biological CG: such as the skin texture and motion mechanics of Tyrannosaurus Rex and mammoth.

Complex fluid simulation: such as transforming a fountain water curtain into a historical scene.

Large-scale dynamic light and shadow tracking: like the real-time changes in light and shadow when a luminous pearl illuminates the entire exhibition hall.

The total special effects budget was kept under 1.5 million yuan, accounting for 50% of the total project cost.

Wang Sheng emphasized: "Money must be spent wisely. The 'miracle moments' that the audience can see at a glance must be done to the extreme; for transition shots, clever ideas can save on the budget."

……

mid March.

After multiple rounds of calculations, the total cost of the "Night at the Museum" project (excluding Jackie Chan's salary) was set at 2 million to 2.5 million yuan.

Scene construction (3000 million): The main hall of the "Chinese Civilization Museum" was rebuilt in Huairou at a 1:1 scale, combining real cultural relics (such as replicas borrowed from museums in various provinces) with digital expansion.

Special effects (1 million - 1.4 million): as broken down above.

Script and Directing Team (1000 million): This includes the script buyout fee and the director team's salaries.

Other (5000 million): costumes, makeup, props, music, post-production, etc.

……

Feasibility conclusion:
Domestically, the following can be completed: physical props, miniature models, basic CG, and some digital characters.

Hollywood support is required: high-end particle systems and complex lighting and shadow rendering (such as the magical lighting effects at the moment of "resurrection").

Key to cost control:

70% of the basic special effects were completed using a domestic team, reducing labor costs.

Negotiating a package deal with ILM, they managed to reduce the cost of outsourcing high-end special effects to below 5000 million.

By sharing equipment resources through the "film studio alliance," rental expenses can be reduced.

……

In addition, Wang Sheng proposed a "three controls and one guarantee" strategy: control the scene cycle (synchronize construction and shooting), control special effects rework (dynamic pre-production rehearsals), control actors' schedules (concentrate on shooting Jackie Chan's scenes), and guarantee the quality of core visual effects.

(End of this chapter)