Isn't there a saying called "Begin with appearance, fall into talent, and be loyal to character", which is a good illustration of the importance of appearance - ugly, even the possibility of the beginning!

In these years, even if you are ugly, you have to be ugly to get your hands on it.

Of course, different people may have different opinions about the "handsomeness" of dinosaurs.

In the opinion of a paleontologist like Professor Wei Jishun, I am afraid that every dinosaur is "handsome" and charming!

Fortunately, he is just a guarantee to resurrect the dinosaurs on the big screen, and the aesthetics are checked by others.

For example, another factor that makes dinosaurs "resurrect" is the special effects master who determines whether dinosaurs are "handsome or not" to a considerable extent-Lei Tieniu.

He is one of the top names in the field of physical effects in the industry.

This big man also lives up to the name of "Iron Bull", he likes to fiddle with model props since he was a child, and after entering the industry, he was employed by the Big Five, and later left to establish his own physical effects studio!

The so-called physical special effects, simply put, are to help the film achieve a special artistic effect through special effects makeup, special props, mechanical bionic and other special techniques or materials.

In other words, it is a special effect that can be touched, visible to the naked eye, and not digitized by a computer.

It should be said that since the birth of cinema, physical special effects have begun to appear.

Today, in the Chinese entertainment industry, the master is naturally Lei Tieniu's physical special effects studio.

The props team of Dunhuang Special Effects Studio can only be said to be above average, and it is no problem to put on special effects makeup for the actors and make some relatively simple model props, but the mechanical dinosaur model that is more than ten meters high is not something they can easily deal with.

In order to achieve the best effect, the crew invited Lei Tieniu, a master in the industry.

Regarding the topic of dinosaur image in the movie, he is naturally inseparable from the key character.

"I think dinosaurs are handsome as long as they are realistic!"

His point of view fits well with the main point of his work – realism.

The "realistic" mentioned here is of course not to 100% restore the real dinosaurs, but to make the dinosaurs more like real creatures, rather than ordinary monsters.

Therefore, in order to make the dinosaurs in the movie realistic, he and Professor Wei cooperated very tacitly-

Teach them to infer body shape from fossils, simulate behavioral movements from lizards, birds and other animals, and debug textures and colors from paleontological research.

The studio took out the design sketch and sought feedback from the consultant team and the director team to propose revisions until they were satisfied, and then entered the stage of creating a mechanical dinosaur model.

It's better to see it with your own eyes, and Lei Tieniu showed the first dinosaur model they had made - the sick triceratops.

"The inside is a mechanical structure, and we put skin on it, paint it, and even the teeth are 'armed' in place, just to restore the prehistoric texture ......"

Lei Tieniu said and motioned to the staff to synchronize the control, well, the employee was "playing" this dinosaur through the manipulator arm from a distance-

Then, it really seems to be alive, and the people around it can even feel it breathing, the muscles on its body will tremble, and its eyes will open and close......

Whether it is Professor Wei, who can only look at fossils to use his imagination, or Wang Wei, who has only seen the image of dinosaurs on the big screen in two lifetimes, at this moment, when he came into close contact with such a real mechanical dinosaur, he couldn't help but let out an exclamation-

Sure enough, as long as it's realistic enough, it's very handsome!

This kind of realism is not CG technology, at least not the current CG technology can perfectly present.

Moreover, filming with realistic models has the added benefit of being an actor who doesn't need to be completely "acting in the air", which makes it impossible to get into the play.

Originally, if they were all mature actors, this problem would not be prominent; The problem is, Wang Wei hasn't forgotten that there are two little actors in the movie, if they are not talented, let them directly "act with the air", huh......

Of course, this worry is a little less now - the crew chose to use the hybrid stunt method of "mechanical model + CG special effects", which not only makes the dinosaur technology and reality presented in the final film both scientific and realistic, but also makes it relatively easy for the actors to enter the state during the performance.

Professor Wei didn't think about it so much, he circled around the dinosaur model twice, looked up and asked, "Is the crew still short of people now?" Why don't I let some students come and intern, free ......"

- There's nothing like building a dinosaur so realistically that students get to the bottom of paleontology.

Of course, this is more of a joke.

"However, I'm looking forward to the last Tyrannosaurus Rex even more!"

"Tyrannosaurus rex! That's truly an unprecedented dinosaur model! ”

Speaking of the most representative Tyrannosaurus rex in the movie, Lei Tieniu couldn't help but have his eyes shining.

In their design, the Tyrannosaurus rex model weighed at least several tons, and the skull of the machine would be made of metal pieces and powerful hydraulics...... Bringing such a real behemoth to life makes him excited to think about it.

If he could, he would like to create a perfect "Tyrannosaurus Rex" that represents the highest level of physical special effects!

After all, such opportunities are still rare.

Although Lei Tieniu has always been a frequent visitor to big directors before joining the "Jurassic Park" project; But with such a high overall level, he hasn't met a few so far-

Professor Wei, a world-class paleontologist;

Wang Wei, a world-class commercial director;

There is also Dunhuang special effects studio, a world-class CG special effects studio;

Plus he's arguably a world-class physical effects artist...... How can a group of the world's top personalities get together to make a film and break through a lot of technical ceilings in cinema without being ambitious?

However, ambition is ambition, and people still have to face reality.

For example, don't look at "Jurassic Park" is a dinosaur blockbuster, but in the final film, the actual appearance of dinosaurs may not exceed 20 minutes; There is really less time left for the "Tyrannosaurus Rex".

No matter how good his plan is, it can't match the fact that "Tyrannosaurus Rex" doesn't have much playing time.

"That's pretty much it" - this is the relatively rational solution;

After all, in addition to models, isn't there also CG compositing?

Unexpectedly, Wang Wei chose to make the Tyrannosaurus Rex perfect very "irrationally", and even to achieve the truth with the fake!

And he immediately gave an explanation -

"I know that the more detailed and perfect the special effects, the higher the cost, whether it is CG or physical effects; And there are two main reasons why the requirements are so high-"

He held out a finger,

"One, it's that the film is sponsored by advertisers, which means that we have the money!"

“……”

A local tyrant's breath came to his face, leaving Professor Wei and Lei Tieniu speechless.

Well, there's really no more hardcore reason than that.

The so-called rich and capricious, nothing more than that.

Moreover, the two of them quite understand the placement of advertisements in the movie.

Professor Wei is substituting himself - he worked so hard to help Wang Wei make this movie, in a sense, isn't it also to help the paleontology community "advertise"?

He will be optimistic about this movie, and others will certainly be optimistic; It's just that he uses "knowledge" to sponsor, while other advertising placement businesses rely on throwing money......

Oh, no technical content! ——The old professor silently despised in his heart.

As for Lei Tieniu, as an industry insider, he is no stranger to product placement.

is the so-called watching science fiction movies, what can you see in science fiction movies?

You can see how the protagonist goes to heaven and earth, travels through time, and saves and destroys the world...... Or, you can see either a surprise or a carefully set up product placement!

The investment in movies is getting bigger and bigger, and from the perspective of cost, it is more and more inseparable from all kinds of product placement;

After all, this is the only way to get the producer to recover a certain amount of costs before the film is released, in addition to the film incentive funds and tax rebate schemes in various countries, and it is naturally impossible for profit-seeking film companies to give up.

What's more, product placement is not without a good job.

Not to mention anything else, Wang Wei's previous filming of "Genius Gunman" implanted advertisements in the movie, and after the movie was released, the plot in the movie was used to reshoot the advertisement, "one fish and two eats", which was cited as an interesting talk by fans for a while.

Of course, this is not common.

Wang Weidu is a very disciplined director of commercial films, if memory serves, this is his second film with a large number of product placements?

- Indeed it is!

This is Wang Wei's second large-scale product placement after "Genius Gunman".

Well, the debut work is implanted with its own advertising, which doesn't count.

No way, his first two movies were either thrillers or costume films, and they were not suitable for product placement.

It's not that there are no businesses that want to insist on sponsorship, but Wang Wei must first tell a good story, and all the shots need to give way to the narrative;

And if it is implanted with a brand that does not match the plot, hurting the plot and characters, just to earn three melons and two dates, he will definitely not do it!

Unexpectedly, Wang Wei's reputation among advertising placement merchants is quite good - if it is not suitable, he will resolutely not accept it, and if he accepts, he can show strong advertising monetization ability, and such a director is a good director for businesses.

So this time, as soon as I heard that Wang Wei was going to make a science fiction film, many interested businesses paid attention.

After Wang Wei showed the concept and concept of the film to some businesses with concept art and an animated sample - the scene where the Tyrannosaurus Rex appeared to attack the park car, it didn't take too long to sign product placement agreements with more than a dozen manufacturers.

The biggest of these is naturally the car, which is an important prop.

The first domestic car manufacturer that will release several blockbuster models next year is said to have even thought of next year's promotional slogan after seeing the animated sample of the Tyrannosaurus rex chasing the car - "The car that the dinosaurs can't catch up, you deserve it!" ”

Later, he took over all the props and vehicles of the crew, including the new off-road vehicle and the sightseeing car converted from a new commercial vehicle...... All are free to sponsor.

Of course, this is just a "small gift".

In the officially signed sponsorship agreement, FAW packaged all the automotive products in the film for 45 million yuan, and this is only the basic sponsorship amount;

According to the supplementary terms of the sponsorship agreement signed by the two parties, if the domestic box office of the film exceeds 1 billion yuan, the sponsorship fee will be increased by another 10%; The global box office exceeds 2 billion yuan, and an additional 20% of advertising expenses will be added.

2 billion yuan, if calculated according to the domestic ticket price, the most conservative will have 100 million people to watch the movie, which is far better for the display of the brand image than the advertising film shot with a lot of money.

In addition to the car, there are also the night vision goggles of the younger brother in the movie, the shaving cream that the researcher used to cover the theft of dinosaur embryos, and even the amber-encrusted walking stick of the Jurassic Park owner...... There are related manufacturers who have won the right to implant ads.

This also makes the film not officially start shooting, the production cost of up to 200 million has been recovered by nearly 70 million, and in the long run, there is even a chance to recover 100 million, which is not amazing!

What's more, there are also provisions in the agreement that after the film is released, these businesses will also carry out joint promotion with Dunhuang, which is a big boost to film marketing.

Of course, the other two don't know the exact number of ad sponsorship revenues.

Fortunately, Professor Wei has no effect on the amount of advertising sponsorship income, basically just listen to it;

But Lei Tieniu couldn't help but care.

The higher Dunhuang's income in this area, the more adequate the film budget is, well, he can be more free when he makes special effects models - at least, the crew can still cover the cost if he overspends.

And Wang Wei told him not to be afraid of spending money even though he let go of his hands and feet.

Then he held out a second finger,

"The second reason to make a dinosaur model perfect is that someone has already bought it!"

"What!?"

Professor Wei and Lei Tieniu looked at each other, both looking incredulous.

Although it is said that dinosaur movies, dinosaurs are of course the selling point, but is the selling point so "sold"?

Really sell "dinosaurs"?!

Well, it doesn't seem incomprehensible, after all, after the movie is released, dinosaur toys and figurines will definitely be sold, and to some extent, they are also "selling dinosaurs...... Understand, what a ghost!

This is not a dinosaur figure that can be held in the palm of the hand, but a "big dinosaur" that is ten meters high, weighs several tons, and can be driven and manually controlled by electromechanical models.

Professor Rao is not an expert in the industry, and he is also dumbfounded by this operation.

"Strictly speaking, not only the mechanical model of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, but even the studios of the crew have been packaged and 'sold'!"

Wang Wei's expression was a little complicated and indescribable, and his voice was a little erratic.

"Who would dare to believe that before the movie even started, we sold the biggest 'merch'!"

——When he was told the news by Lao Wang, he was also shocked and opened his mouth!

Lao Wang showed off very much this time and sold this "peripheral product" at a good price.

And the buyer is still an "old acquaintance"!

Wang Wei had in his mind the scene when he was told by Lao Wang-

"Do you still remember Guo Zhaobing?"

"Well, that's kind of familiar......"

"Guo's, a wealthy family."

"Oh, I remember, the eldest princess of the Guo family is here! Speaking of which, she is still our 'benefactor' who has re-emerged in Dunhuang, what happened to her? ”

"I packaged and 'sold' Jurassic Park to her!"

"!!"

……

I'm a little busy today, so let's talk about it~~~

(End of chapter)