Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 536, Section 534: Breaking Ground

The Los Angeles business is temporarily concluded.

The grand blueprint for the Chinese American Film Festival has been laid out, with its framework supported by four top figures: Richard Walter, Mark Johnson, John Burns, and Joan Chen, while its flesh and blood are filled by Su Yantao's Eagle Dragon team and the capital of Sheng Ying International Department.

The remaining specific execution and fine-tuning were no longer something Wang Sheng, as the helmsman, needed to handle personally. He delegated authority and trust to Zhao Jingsong, instructing him to oversee the process and report back regularly.

Before boarding his return flight to China, Wang Sheng had one last stop – the Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank.

The purpose of this trip was to inspect the Zootopia project, which had successfully leveraged a deep collaboration with Disney.

Although the project was named as a "joint development," Wang Sheng secured rare dominance for Shengying Media during the negotiations.

One of the core aspects of the agreement is that at least half of the key technical positions in the project must be filled by technical personnel dispatched by Shengying.

Wang Sheng's car quietly drove into the Disney Animation Studios campus without alerting the media.

Edwin Catmull, the new head of Disney Animation, and Clark Spencer, the senior producer in charge of the project, were already waiting at the door.

Without much small talk, Wang Sheng immediately got to work.

In a studio filled with creative graffiti and storyboards, he met the core team, a mix of members from both sides.

"Mr. Wang, these are the preliminary character designs for the main characters Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, as well as visual concept art for several major areas of Zootopia."

The project's art director, a senior designer from Pixar, showed Wang Sheng the team's work over the past few months.

On the screen, Judy Hopps, the rabbit policewoman, has a determined look with a hint of naivety, while Nick Wilde, the fox, has a cynical and cunning demeanor.

The sketches of Zootopia blend architectural styles from different climate zones, including skyscrapers in glacial areas and market alleys in desert areas, attempting to create a utopia that is both in line with animal habits and has a modern urban feel.

Wang Sheng examined it carefully.

"How did the rendering of Judy's fur texture, especially under different lighting conditions, perform in the tests?"

He asked, pointing to a technical challenge, "What I want is not a perfect cartoon character, but a character that allows the audience to feel a 'real' touch."

A young engineer from Shengying Digital's special effects team, who was also one of the key technical personnel assigned here, immediately stepped forward and skillfully pulled up several test clips to explain: "Chairman Wang, our joint technical team is trying a new subsurface scattering algorithm. Combined with Disney's existing rendering farm capabilities, the initial results, displayed on the SGI workstation, can already simulate relatively natural fluff reflections and a sense of depth, but the efficiency of large-scale cluster rendering still needs to be optimized..."

As Wang Sheng listened to the report, he occasionally raised key questions, directly addressing the core of the integration of technology and art.

He wasn't just checking the progress; he was also giving on-site instruction, demonstrating to the Disney team and the Shengying team he brought along how to demand the highest standards for every detail.

"Remember, Zootopia is more than just an animated film."

Wang Sheng looked around at everyone, his tone calm yet powerful, “It is a world we have built together, an allegory about prejudice, dreams, and breaking free from constraints. Every pixel should serve this core theme. The glitz and glamour of Zootopia, Judy’s perseverance, and Nick’s transformation must be conveyed to a global audience through top-notch visual language.”

He turned particularly to several young animators and modelers sent by Shengying: "You are here not only to work, but also to learn."

The inspection lasted the entire afternoon. Wang Sheng offered specific suggestions on the script structure, character motivations, humor, and even the soundtrack style. His meticulous thinking and precise grasp of genre elements showed the veteran Disney creators present what true genius is.

……

After a transoceanic flight of more than ten hours, Wang Sheng's flight landed smoothly at Beijing Capital International Airport.

A few days later, in Huairou District, a remote suburb of Beijing, which had long since been upgraded from a county to a district, colorful flags fluttered and huge balloon banners swayed in the wind on a planned piece of land, which read "Groundbreaking Ceremony of Zhongbeisheng Digital Film Base".

The scene was packed with people, including staff from Shengying Media and China Film Group, officials from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, municipal and district governments, and reporters from dozens of media outlets.

This base was one of the core fundraising projects that Wang Sheng planned when he promoted Shengying's listing. It was also a key step in his collaboration with Han Sanping to build the "hard power" of China's film industry.

The aim is to build a modern, digital film production base that integrates pre-production shooting, post-production, technology research and development, equipment rental, and talent training, breaking the bottleneck of China's heavy reliance on overseas bases and technologies for high-end film and television production.

Wang Sheng changed into a dark Zhongshan suit, looking dignified and capable.

He stood side by side on the stage with Han Sanping, who had come with him, and several leaders from relevant departments.

Han Sanping, as the chairman of China Film Group, delivered the opening speech.

He emphasized the importance of building a national-level film base for improving the overall production level of Chinese films and responding to international competition, and stated that China Film Group will fully support the construction of the base, share resources, and jointly explore the standards and paths for the industrialization of Chinese films.

When it was Wang Sheng's turn to speak, he walked to the microphone and glanced at the many expectant faces below the stage, many of whom were young technical talents recruited by Shengying from various film studios and universities.

"Distinguished leaders, colleagues, and friends from the media," his voice resounded through the loudspeaker, "Today, we are here not only to lay the foundation for a base, but also to lay a cornerstone for the future of China's film industry."

He spoke without a prepared script, his words flowing smoothly and full of passion:
“Over the past few years, from ‘Shaolin Soccer’ to ‘Night at the Museum’, from the small office of Beijing Film Studio to the listing of Sheng Ying today, we have proven that Chinese people can also make commercially successful films that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, and can also occupy a place in the global market. But we know that the success of a film cannot be separated from the support of a strong industrial system behind it.”

"Special effects, sound, editing, color grading, digital workflows... these 'infrastructures' of the film industry used to be our weaknesses. Zhongbeisheng Digital Film Base is here to make up for this weakness! We will build a soundstage that meets the highest international standards, introduce the most advanced digital intermediates and special effects rendering clusters, and create a first-class sound production center in Asia!"

He gestured towards the undeveloped land behind him, as if he could already see the blueprint for the future:
"This place will not only be a base for Shengying and China Film Group, but also a platform open to filmmakers across the country. We will cooperate with universities such as Beijing Film Academy and Communication University of China to establish training bases and cultivate our own digital film engineers, visual effects supervisors, and sound designers! We want to enable Chinese directors and producers to complete world-class post-production without having to travel overseas!"

His words resonated strongly with the audience, especially the young technicians, and were met with thunderous applause.

"Film is art, technology, and a manifestation of a nation's cultural soft power." Wang Sheng's voice grew increasingly resolute. "The Zhongbei Sheng Base is our training ground for building a 'regular army' of Chinese cinema, a solid step towards becoming a film powerhouse from a major film-producing country! With this foundation laid, we will let it grow into a towering tree, supporting the future of Chinese cinema!"

The atmosphere reached its climax after the speech.

Amidst the deafening sounds of gongs and drums and the fluttering colorful decorations, Wang Sheng, Han Sanping, and several key leaders, holding shovels adorned with red ribbons, laid soil around the foundation stone.

The soil fell, covering the bluestone that symbolized hope and the future.

The sound of camera shutters clicking filled the air, capturing this milestone moment for the Chinese film industry.

(End of this chapter)