"Sometimes, looking at the loss of money on our books, I really feel that maybe it was a mistake that I agreed to make such a big investment film so easily."

Standing on the set, looking at the equipment in the crew in front of him, Alexander, as one of the producers of this film, said a sentence leisurely after a long time.

It has been a period of time since the three-body film began to invest in preparations, and now it is June, and the preparations for the film are also in full swing. In the crew, the equipment is in place, the models are established, the scene settings are set up, and the preparation of the crew has been further improved.

Some people say that it is a happy thing to watch the cause you are working hard for, taking shape little by little in front of your eyes. However, Alexander watched the construction of the crew and did not feel happy at all. Looking at these things, he can only feel that these things are burning money, and he knows very well how much money each thing has, but he can't find a sense of accomplishment at all.

"Maybe you're right, my business is actually to make money. Watching the construction of the crew, you are all very happy, but I always feel very distressed. Looking at the box office, you didn't have much reaction, but I was very excited. Maybe we do have a difference in our careers, focusing more on money ......"

Alexander muttered again, but he said a lot, but he didn't hear Levy's answer. He looked back, only to find that Levy was no longer with him. Now, he's standing next to the stand camera, fiddling with the machine.

"Nick, I'm talking to you." Alexander opened his mouth a little annoyed.

"What you're talking about is nothing more than how much money the movie costed, and you talk about it every day these days, don't you feel annoyed yourself? I'm tired of hearing it. Levy waved his hand, "Trust me, the money spent will definitely be recovered." ”

"You say it easily. It's because you simply don't know how much money you're spending. Alexander retorted.

Looking at the mount camera next to Levy, Alexander immediately had such an idea. For example, this one camera costs a lot of money.

3D film shooting, it is necessary to use a dual-lens mount camera, such a camera, the investment is a money, and the matching lens is a money, this camera is heavier, when you need to show different lenses. How to move it, again a hassle, and the film cost of two machines, which is also money...... These things, in his eyes, are all money.

But Levy didn't care much about these things.

"I don't know how much I spent, won't it be over when I earn it back?"

However, in this regard. Levy didn't say anything, he just waved his hand.

"Where is it so easy." Alexander muttered again.

"I know it's not easy, but it's because it's not easy. It's more meaningful to work hard, isn't it? None of us work hard, so why keep nagging? ”

Standing up straight, Levy turned his head. He opened his mouth to Alexander. His words left Alexander speechless for a moment.

Alexander was somewhat helpless about Levy's optimistic attitude. But. He is also very aware of another thing: for this movie, he may only pay some money, but Levy paid many times more hard than him.

Levy has been on the set since the film began to be prepared, and that's something Alexander knows very well. He knew that if there was one of the most troublesome things about this movie, it was definitely not investment, but technology.

Not all movies, with a 3D camera, you can start shooting 3D movies right away. There are a lot of differences in the shooting methods between 3D movies and flat films, which are two very different things. And no one has ever shot a 3D movie before, so how to make such a movie is a big problem. Some of the methods that are common in 2D movies, even very good, can no longer be used in 3D movies, and in 3D movies, some technologies that are not in the original 2D movies also need to be developed - these things, now Levy is all groping.

In fact, in Levy's preparations, there was already a lot of trouble in this.

The simplest and most direct is the lighting problem of the movie. When 3D movies simulate the principle of human eye imaging, the smile parallax of the two pictures constitutes a sense of distance, which makes people have a three-dimensional illusion, and this shooting method determines the use of light when shooting, compared with single-camera shooting, there are many things that need to be paid attention to.

To take the simplest example, glass will reflect light, in stand-alone shooting, it will only form a light spot, shooting nothing noteworthy, but if it is a 3D shooting, then the same piece of glass, because the angle of the two lenses is different, will be two different light spots, the position and shape are different, this picture, naturally can not be used.

In the shooting of the movie, sometimes, light is the best magician, glare, prism, filter, covering the lens, through different colors of glass, different angles to shoot, has become an important means of 2D film shooting, but in 3D movies, these things want to be applied, you have to start again, consider how to shoot.

How to make the movie effect is a very troublesome thing. For example, how does a rain screen make translucent rain reflect light? How to make the smoke reflect the layering of a heavy fog? When a person stands next to glass, how can the light be the best? These things are made to be considered in detail.

And so it is with light, and so is with color. In terms of color matching, in order to highlight the layering, the 3D lens cannot use too many dark colors. However, the shooting of a movie must always have a color tone, and how to ensure that the color is normal and acceptable is also a problem.

What's more, in addition to these, there is also the problem of photographers - in single-camera shooting, some places in a lens can be blurred, which can highlight some key points very well, but in 3D shooting, how can this be done. It's also a test for photographers.

These things were never mentioned by Levy to Alexander, but Alexander knew very well that none of them would be easy to do. If you want to do the best of this, Levy has paid a lot. Moreover, what he said is not wrong, it is his ideal to make a good movie, but to make a movie that can make a lot of money, this is also Alexander's ideal.

Everyone is working on this, and no one is easy - for example. In the past two days, Levy has been working on adjusting the shaft spacing, which is a very troublesome job.

Axis spacing is the most critical parameter that determines the 3D effect seen by the viewer, and it refers to the distance between the optical center axis of two lenses when shooting in 3D. The axis spacing determines the parallax, and the brain obtains depth information through two parallax images, and finally forms a three-dimensional image.

And how to determine this distance, that is, Levy's current work.

In fact, the relationship between the axis spacing and the 3D effect is actually very simple, regardless of comfort and accuracy. The greater the shaft spacing, the more pronounced the 3D effect will be. The stronger the viewer's sense of depth in the picture; The smaller the axis spacing, the weaker the 3D effect of the picture and the weaker the depth of the picture. It's surprisingly simple.

However, in reality, it is natural that comfort and correctness cannot be ignored. If the shaft spacing is too large, it seems that it will produce a good picture. However, it is also easy to have other consequences. One consequence is the Lilliputian effect - because the depth is so great, it is easy for the audience to have the illusion that what is on the picture is unusually small. And there is an even more troublesome problem, which is that the picture cannot be integrated into the three-dimensional image in the brain - such a trouble. If it's just a trivial matter if you can't see the three-dimensional effect, it's more likely that it will make the audience dizzy, have a headache, and can't enjoy the movie at all.

The shaft spacing is too small, and the trouble is that the 3D effect is not obvious, and it looks little different from the plane. Naturally, such a picture cannot be used.

Therefore, before the start of shooting of 3D movies, it is generally necessary to use a laser rangefinder to determine the axis spacing of 3D movies, and there is no special person responsible for this process.

However, if you want to be the first person to shoot a 3D movie, you will have to put up with some trouble.

"Actually, we still have gains, and now, I've basically found the axis spacing for shooting, and we're getting more and more familiar with these machines -- not only that, but I'm also thinking that maybe we can train stereoscopists so that they can work on other people's films in the future. Believe me, our movie will definitely be filmed, this is definitely not bragging. ”

Despite all the difficulties, Levy's preparations went smoothly. After all, he had some memories that helped him a lot.

As far back as he can remember, there was a conventional 1/30th rule in 3D photography: the axis spacing should be 1/30th of the distance from the eye to the object being photographed. For example, if you want to shoot an object at a distance of 3 meters from the lens, the best distance between the axes should be about 10 cm, and you can get a comfortable image by shooting at this distance between the two cameras.

This law was summed up after I don't know how many failed experiments, and now it is also a great benefit for him.

It's just that the screen on which the movie is projected is different, and in terms of details, it will naturally be different. IMAX has a large screen, how to be able to show movies on such a movie screen, and how to adjust the axis spacing, which is also the focus of Levy's work in the past few days.

Alexander also knows all this, and he also knows that to be able to find the shaft spacing so quickly, Levy has done his best.

"Since you think you can do it, then keep trying. Anyway, our money has already been thrown in, so we have to produce some results. Otherwise, we're going to lose a lot. ”

Alexander sighed, but Levy immediately replied, "Less, haven't we just made a lot of money recently?" Wasn't the X-Men 3 movie just released and a box office hit? (To be continued......)