"Is the collection of facial expressions made possible by it?"

"Yes, it's a head-mounted camera, Cameron's idea, but he hasn't used it yet, you used it before him. + Tip Novel, "Wellington, New Zealand, Weta Digital's headquarters, VFX Supervisor Joe. Lettery said with a smile on his face.

"Heh, so I'm the first to try it." Lin Yuquan looked at the camera equipment in front of him with interest, and smiled at Qiao. "I don't think Director Cameron would mind if I tried it for him, so he could use more sophisticated equipment when he shoots next year, and I think as a user of the equipment, you should pay me somewhat," Letteri said. ”

"Uh, oh my God!" Joe. Lettery stroked his forehead: "We've saved you so much time now, Lin, it's really sad that you still ask us what kind of trial pay we want." ”

Lin Yuquan couldn't help but smile, and said unmoved: "Saving time for me, isn't it saving time for yourself?" Your personnel expenses are huge, and you don't earn them. ”

"Okay, Lin, you really deserve to be a director, I can't tell you." Joe. Letteri shrugged.

"Oh, it seems to be Peter. Director Jackson has left a deep psychological shadow on you! Lin Yuquan smiled.

Immediately let Joe. Lettery smiled bitterly, what is it, but Lin Yuquan is not wrong, Peter at work. Jackson is very scary.

After this episode, the two also continued the topic just now.

"In addition to this head-mounted camera, how exactly do you realize the collection of facial expressions?" Lin Yuquan asked with interest. In the film he conceived. There will be many close-up facial performances. These facial performances not only convey the abundant emotions of characters such as apes, but also help to interpret the story well.

Specifically, the number of facial expressions captured by the head-mounted camera is analyzed and solved with a facial solver to produce a set of mixed shapes and facial muscle movement settings, and then the captured number jù is further stabilized, and then the human face is converted to the ape's face, and the system is generated at the same time. Let the animators adjust the lip sync, correct the expression, and finally better restore the performance of the mocap actors to the faces of the apes and lions"

When it comes to special effects technology, Joe. Letteri immediately brightened, and through his introduction, Lin Yuquan finally had a general understanding of facial expression capture, and in the process of listening, he couldn't stop nodding.

"While it is said that the number jù can also be applied directly to a set of points on a face holder, this system is rarely used and can only be used if the captured face is consistent with the model. Even so. Noise and errors can still occur, as alternate raw samples are difficult to correct. It was also difficult to adapt to the deletion.

But using our facial solver is different, the motion capture number jù is interpreted and converted into another format, so that it can be processed and filtered without any trouble at all, not only face capture, we also have a body skeleton solver, after use, you can effectively avoid the situation that the actor's body is not in tune with the limb length and joints of apes, lions and other beasts. "Joe. Letteri said proudly.

"Awesome!" Lin Yuquan gave a thumbs up very cooperatively, but his admiration was indeed from the heart, and he really deserved to be the team that made the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "King Kong", and in the field of motion expression capture, they are the best team in the world at that time.

Lin Yuquan's admiration undoubtedly made Joe. Letteri is becoming more and more proud, not the vanity of being a sycophant, but a sense of accomplishment that has been recognized by others for the results of his efforts.

Afterwards in Joe. Led by Leteri, Lin Yuquan visited the team of 500 people responsible for motion capture and expression capture, final CGI generation, and post-production special effects for his Savage Tales: Rise of the Apes.

As a fantasy masterpiece that requires huge special effects, the special effects of "Wild Wild: Rise of the Apes" can't be completed by Weta Digital alone, in addition to them, there are several small and medium-sized special effects studios that polish the visual effects for the film in different categories, and everyone has only one goal, that is, to create the most vivid and real wild continent.

"It's not easy to make money, Lin, the amount of motion capture footage required for your movie is too huge, this is the list we received, no, it should be the largest amount of motion capture required by all the movies so far." Joe. As the best VFX company in the VFX industry today, Lightry lamented that as a VFX supervisor, he certainly knows everything about motion capture in the film industry.

Although motion capture is no secret in today's film industry, in fact, the rise of motion capture is not long, the earliest in the early 90s of the last century in the film "Total Recall" first used this technology, to generate the actor as the actor Schwarzenegger through X-ray shots, at that time it was only a few seconds of footage, after that, this technology gradually began to be adopted by more and more films, James . When Cameron filmed "Titanic" in 1996, he established a CG character action library with the help of motion capture technology, which generated a large group of CG characters of different shapes on the Titanic. Lucas applied this technique to the creation of the 1997 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Add. Binks was the first CG animated film based on the video game Final Fantasy to capture the entire game in 2000 with motion capture and simultaneous multiplayer, but this groundbreaking animated film suffered a double failure at the box office and word of mouth.

Until this time, motion capture was used in film shooting, but it did not cause much repercussions among fans until 2001. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which they made special effects, was born. Among them, the god-chattering, schizophrenic Gollum beast shocked the world in one fell swoop. Let everyone know that motion capture technology can achieve such a magical and incredible effect. However, motion capture at that time could only handle large body parts such as heads and limbs, and could not capture facial expressions. Zemeckis first captured body movements and facial expressions simultaneously in 2004 with the 2004 animation, which was produced entirely in motion capture, and they did so in 2005's King Kong, giving gorilla King Kong a delicate and complex facial expression.

In the past two years, there have been more and more movies that use motion capture on a large scale, but in comparison, no movie can match the demand for motion capture compared to "Wild Wild: Rise of the Apes", which has an outrageous amount of motion capture demand. Even if it is an investment of up to 165 million US dollars, the whole process of using motion capture technology "Polar Express" is not comparable at all, the motion capture of human characters is much simpler than the motion capture of the apes and lions in "Wild Story: Rise of the Apes", and only Sony's graphic image operation company will spend so much money, in other words, hum.

"Really? What about Cameron's "Avatar"? As far as I know, the special effects demand for that movie was much higher than my Wild Tale. Lin Yuquan showed a curious look in his eyes.

"That's right, that guy's Avatar is definitely the most demanding special effects movie to date, it's a crazy guy, but when it comes to motion capture. "Avatar" is not as much as your movie, and its real horror lies in the fact that almost all the qiē things in the film are created with special effects. Every leaf, every inch of grass, every stone, every drop of water, every piece of jewelry, except for a few shots, every qiē is drawn by digital designers, with only one purpose, to create a clear and real Pandora planet world. "Joe. Lettery sighed that he used to think that Peter. Jackson is crazy enough to be in and out of James. After Cameron cooperated, he knew what it was to have someone outside the world, and there was a sky outside the sky, that guy was simply a madman, a madman who only had movies and visual effects in his eyes, and no other director was crazier than him, because only he would not care about the so-called cost, the so-called time, and the so-called sophistication.

"Oh, that's crazy!" Lin Yuquan imagined Joe in his mind. Letteri depicted the scene, and said with deep feeling, it is not easy to create a world out of thin air, James. Cameron is not doing what he has always wanted to do, restoring the image of the shocking and beautiful cultivator world, so that everyone can feel his original feelings, but the workload is too huge, not only requires huge financial support, but also requires a long production time and strong technical support, which is why he has not done that, think about James. How long Cameron spent on "Avatar" seems to have started since the end of "Titanic", and the world of cultivators in his mind is undoubtedly more important than that of James Ka. Mellon's Pandora Planet World, George. The world of Lucas's Star Wars is much larger, and the time it takes to complete this qiē is unimaginable.

He is only 24 years old, and it takes him a few years and ten years to make a movie, which is too long and boring for him today.

"yes, that's crazy, if every director is like him, we who do special effects design are going to be driven crazy." Joe. Lettery said that for James. Cameron's artistic pursuit, as long as he is a filmmaker, no one can not admire horror, but his capriciousness and tyrant-like extreme harshness in his work are not something that everyone can bear.

"Heh, Cameron is Cameron, no one learns lightly, he is the special one." Lin Yuquan said with a smile, but he was thinking about when he would go crazy.

"That's right, not to mention anything else, his consistent budget overspending is a nightmare for major film companies, and fortunately his "Terminator 2" was successful after a record $100 million cost, otherwise he wouldn't be where he is now, but presumably 20th Century Fox is having a headache again." Joe. Leterrey had a smile in her eyes.

"Oh, what's going on?" Lin Yuquan became interested and asked.

"It's not that the upfront expenses of "Avatar" are too large, and it is estimated that the film will be overspent before it is filmed, and it is not a small amount. It's the same as the original "Titanic". Fox is again in a dilemma. "Joe. Lettery said.

"There is this. But this is also the style of director Cameron, so what if you don't overspend? By the way, do they need to bring in investment from outside? Lin Yuquan said with a smile.

"Why, Lin, you are interested in investing, I don't know, I only know that it seems that Fox has cooperated with two investment companies, which will provide Fox with huge financial support to produce a series of movies for Fox in the next two or three years." Joe. Leterrey said after glancing at Lin Yuquan in surprise.

Platter investment? Lin Yuquan nodded knowingly. This is a film financing method pioneered by Paramount and Merrill Lynch in 2004, Merrill Lynch raised $232 million to invest 18% in 26 films produced by Paramount in 2004 and 2005, including "Mission Impossible 2" and "War of the Worlds".

"Okay, I got it."

"Lin, do you really want to invest?" Joe. Lettery asked, curious.

"Excuse me, can't you?" Lin Yuquan smiled: "I don't know the specific situation, let's find out first." And even if I want to invest, others may not allow me to invest. Although Cameron burns money more heavily, his movies are still guaranteed, who will have one more person to come in for no reason to share the profits that they are very likely to get, unless they are kicked in the head by a monster, anyway, if it is me, I will definitely not do it. ”

"Hey, that's right." Joe. Leterrey also smiled, glanced at his watch and said, "Oh, it's almost time, let's have lunch together first, and then I'll take you to see the Stone Street Studio!" ”

"Okay, I'm okay, I'm curious about the indoor shooting location you strongly recommended to me?" Lin Yuquan said with a smile.

That's right, the filming location of "Wild Wilds: The Rise of the Apes" was set in New Zealand, originally he was going to look for studios and venues around Los Angeles to shoot, and then Weta Digital recommended him to shoot in New Zealand, of course, Weta Digital is actually helping the New Zealand government matchmaking, since the release of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, New Zealand, as the filming location of the movie, has suddenly become a popular place for movie fans, and the filming of the movie has also provided hundreds of jobs to the local area. It has played a strong role in boosting the development of the economy.

As a result, the New Zealand government, which has enjoyed the sweetness, has implemented a subsidy for large-cost film and television production since 2003, stipulating that any film produced in New Zealand with a cost of S$15 million, or a TV series with a cost of S$500,000 per episode, can enjoy a cashback subsidy equivalent to 15% of the cost of production provided by the New Zealand government.

And for "Wild Story: Rise of the Apes", which is expected to cost more than $150 million to produce, this means that Summit Entertainment can save at least $22.5 million in costs.

Although there are a series of conditions for such a cooperation, Lin Yuquan has no reason to disagree, this money is enough for him to buy a mansion in Beverly Hills, or for Summit Entertainment to invest in a small and medium-cost movie, he is not a wasteful person, not only him, even Cameron, who only has movies in his eyes, also chose to shoot "Avatar" in New Zealand?

Of course, tax rebate is an important reason, but the main reason is because New Zealand meets the shooting conditions of his film, after all, New Zealand is not the only one who engages in tax rebate concessions, and the selection here, first of all, the local natural scenery in New Zealand is indeed beautiful, and the primeval forests and snow-capped mountain scenery are very suitable for the selection of his movie, and then it is filmed in New Zealand, due to the proximity to Weta Digital, in the shooting of motion capture, you can get the most efficient support from Weta Digital, to ensure the effect of film special effects, Nothing could be more important to a film that relies almost entirely on special effects.

"Don't worry, you won't be disappointed." Joe. Leterri said confidently.

In Joe. Under Lettery's guidance, the two soon arrived at the Mirama Stone Street Studio, not far from Wellington, where Weta Digital is located. Jackson on the set in Miramar City, after Peter Murray. It was here that Jackson and his team completed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and now the paint factory studio has tripled in size, with Lin Yuquan's "Wild Story: Rise of the Apees" indoor part being completed here, and Cameron's "Avatar," which he is preparing to shoot next year.

From the outside. The Stone Street Studio is no different from many factories built in the 10s in China. After entering, you will find that there is a cave inside. First of all, there are all kinds of beautiful sets, and secondly, there are high-end shooting equipment everywhere in sight. Jackson didn't spend a lot of money, of course, it wasn't his own money, just like Weta Digital used the "Lord of the Rings" series to rise, this studio is also a typical money to smash new lines to enrich himself.

As early as the decision to shoot in New Zealand, the staff of Summit Entertainment rushed to New Zealand to start the preparations. And as soon as the filming of "Hurricane Rescue" ended, Brody . Jenner and Danty. Ferreti and the others rushed over immediately.

"Ah, boss, you're here." "Hey, boss." Brody was discussing something. Jenner and Danty. After seeing Lin Yuquan's figure, Ferreti greeted in surprise.

"Hey, Brody, hey, Danty! Thank you very much! Lin Yuquan smiled and hugged the two warmly.

"It's good that you're here, boss. I'll show you the set we built specifically for Savage: Rise of the Apes, although I did it in an email. But it's definitely not as good as watching it on the spot, and you can feel the effect of the set better on the spot. "Danti. Ferreti excitedly.

"Haha, that's what I thought too." Lin Yuquan laughed.

Soon everyone came to a scene in the studio that used the entire studio of seven acres of "Wild Continent", this is the "Wild Continent", Lin Yuquan, who was completely out of his own ideas, naturally recognized the scenes at a glance, the most striking is the gathering place where the ape people live.

And also like Danti. What Ferreti said was that the feeling of actually watching it was completely different from the feeling of looking at the pictures, which made him feel like watching the cultivator's memories immersive, and a bright smile suddenly appeared on his face: "Oh, it's great, thank you for your hard work." ”

"Hehe, we're just in charge of the operation, thanks to the beautiful illustrations you provided, boss." Brody. Jenner scratched his head and said.

"Please, don't be so modest, no matter how good the illustration I provide, if it weren't for your bothered scenography and the necessary realism and exquisite details, it would have been just an illustration." Lin Yuquan smiled and turned to Qiao. Leterrey said, "Joe, are there any restaurants in the area that you can recommend?" ”

"Of course, Lin, are you going to have a treat?" Joe. Letteri laughed.

"Of course, everyone has worked hard for so long, how can I, as a director, not invite guests? And I'm going to start shooting soon, but I'm going to be busy, so I'm going to ask everyone to work hard! Lin Yuquan said with a smile.

"Oh, there's a lot of people!"

"It doesn't matter, I won't be poor for a meal, and the most important thing is that if everyone can work better, won't I get a better return on my current investment?"

As the new week progresses, the major media and bestseller lists in the United States will focus on "Wild Tales" and "Lunar Eclipse", which were released last Tuesday, and the focus of the focus is naturally on the weekly sales of the two, and the media and the charts will certainly not call Little Bear Press directly to ask for sales figures for the two novels, which is also customary, mainly because publishers are unlikely to use this opportunity to promote their own books.

Different media outlets and rankings have their own methods, the New York Times numbers come from 4,000 bookstores plus some wholesalers, USA Today has 4,700 sample sources, and Publishers Weekly originally had its editors calling major bookstores in several major cities to ask for book sales figures, and then doing certain statistics and arrangements based on these numbers, but now the statistics and arrangement tools are more advanced, the method of the money counter used by Nielsen Bookscan, Networking with the electronic money counters of bookstores and book sellers gives them direct access to their sales information, covering 70% of book sales, and they are the most accurate of almost all media and charts, while the bestseller lists of major newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, as well as the Amazon online bookstore, have their own methods

So on Monday of the new week, the sales of "Lunar Eclipse" and "Wild Story" were reported by major media and charts, and as expected, both occupied the top two places on almost all the charts, and although the number was not as accurate as that of Little Bear Press, the amazing sales of one more than 300,000 copies and one more than 200,000 copies quickly aroused a warm response among the public, which made the two novels in the second week of the market not lose sales, but continued to maintain an amazing sales momentum. Let Lin Yuquan, who is far away in New Zealand, be delighted. (To be continued......)

ps: Thank you for the support of friends such as Cat's Tail Flower, Expectations in the Heart, Ou Zhonghua, Haotian God Emperor, Screen Window Fan, Ourpart Zhou Gongzi and other friends.