Chapter 412 How to shoot special effects

Chapter 412 How to shoot special effects

The cube changed its location. The original old and small one could no longer meet the office requirements after annexing Activision. Diane simply moved to a more spacious office building.

In the new office area, Diane specially arranged a huge office for Zhang Chen.

"This is yours, Boss~"

I personally opened the glass door for Zhang Chen, and inside was an independent area of ​​nearly 60 square meters, with sofas, desks, boss chairs, TVs, everything...

There is actually a treadmill near the window.

Zhang Chen sat on the boss's chair, turned around and admired the oil paintings on the wall. It felt very good.

It’s actually similar at home and abroad.

In China, people like to reward those who work hard, but abroad, there are oil paintings that are incomprehensible.

The painting in Zhang Chen's office looks like a painter's palette. A lot of oil paints are mixed together in a mess. I don't know what I want to express?

"Are you satisfied?"

"Of course~"

Seeing the ashtray on the table aroused Zhang Chen's craving for cigarettes.

He took out his cigarettes, took out one, and motioned to Diane.

The latter refused and took out his cigarette.

Foreign countries generally do not have the habit of spreading cigarettes.

The two lit it, sat down, and then started smoking on their own.

After a few seconds, Diane stood up: "Wait for me a moment~"

Diane left and went to the next door, then returned after a while with a document bag in her hand.

"Boss, this is the information you asked me to record~"

Zhang Chen opened it and looked at it. It was a document related to the registration of "Pacific Rim" with the Screenwriters Guild.

He nodded and resealed the document bag.

Diane said: "Let me say something offensive, I am not very optimistic about your cooperation with Warner this time..."

After a pause, seeing that Zhang Chen had no resistance, Diane continued: "Hollywood is not friendly to external funds. Peter Jackson's lesson is here. If the Big Six start doing this kind of thing, it will only be worse than New Line." It's even more excessive..."

Diane was a reminder.

He knows all about the virtues of these guys in Hollywood. To describe them as eating people without spitting out their bones is an easy way to describe them.

If the Boss suffers a loss here, it will probably affect the cube.

"So I need knowledgeable people to help me, like you, like those new special effects backbones you recruited. I don't want to be played as a fool..."

Zhang Chen also has this concern.

He even knew more than Diane.

The history of Warner Bros. cheating on young actors in "Harry Potter" happened next year.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" cost 145 million and sold 939 million, not counting copyright fees.

The young actors signed not a box office share but a profit share. According to the above estimates, Warner Bros. made at least 600 million, but when the share was calculated, the young actors were told that not only did they not make any money, they also lost 190 million.

How can this be justified?

There is no reason, and even the accountants can't find it out.

Hollywood can even trick its own people, so why can't it trick an outsider like Zhang Chen.

Diane's worries are very reasonable, and Zhang Chen's only support is China Film.

With China Film Group's endorsement of Zhang Chen, if Warner really dares to cheat people, it would be equivalent to voluntarily giving up on the Chinese market. This depends on Warner's choice.

Zhang Chen briefly talked about his relationship with China Film Group, and then Diane knew where his boss was.

"Okay, let's call a few technical backbones over and let's get to know each other~"

After a while, three people from Activision arrived at the door. They were actually the three original founders.

There were originally five founders, but two of them wanted to quit and left after receiving the money. The remaining three wanted to continue working in this industry, so they entered the cube together. Diane did not even disrupt their original plans. The structure still lets them take care of things.

"This is our boss, Steve Zhang. You can call him Boss as well. Strictly speaking, today is your second meeting. I took him to meet you when we were discussing acquisitions..."

"Yes, Boss, I am Drizzt~"

"Boss, hello, I'm Frank~"

"Boss, I'm Schulman~"

At first glance, the three of them look like technical men and are not good at talking.

Zhang Chen greeted everyone for a few words, just to cheer him up, and then said: "You are all experts in special effects. I happen to be launching a science fiction movie recently, and I want you to help me give advice..."

As he spoke, he motioned to Diane to hand over the script, storyboards, and several conceptual design drawings brought from China to a few people.

"This is a film project invested by another company under my name. If nothing else, some of the special effects work will fall on you.

But before that, I want to talk to you. After all, I don’t know much about special effects. In an unfamiliar field, I don’t want to be led by the big companies..."

When everyone heard this, they immediately became interested.

They circulated the script in turn, and then looked at the storyboards and storyboards.

There are also those few concept drawings, which are the most intuitive to them.

After looking at the concept drawings, I understood the special effects style the director wanted.

Several people murmured for a long time, and then Drizzt spoke: "Boss, we want to know, what is the budget of this movie?"

After all, putting aside costs and talking about implementation is just being a rogue. This is a truth that everyone understands.

Zhang Chen stretched out a finger: "One hundred million US dollars~"

Several people gathered together again to discuss. After muttering for a long time, Drizzt said on their behalf: "Boss, we discussed it. If the budget is 100 million US dollars, the special effects shots can be more solid. Preliminary estimates , at least 3,000 or more, and we have several suggestions for special effects manufacturers and solutions:"

He paused, and seeing that the others had no intention of speaking, he continued: "First of all, for the main special effects, I suggest you hire Industrial Light & Magic to do it. They are a long-established special effects company, and their physical effects and green screen special effects are both great. , and there are specialized software processing in many fields..."

Zhang Chen thought for a while, "What is the theme you are talking about?"

"It's the production of monsters and mechas, as well as the combat part. Of course other companies can do these things, because everyone uses the same tools. Houdini software is used to create special effects of various buildings being destroyed, and Arnold is used to render monsters. And mecha, V-ray is used to render the environment, but in addition to these things, Industrial Light and Magic also has many self-developed components that can make the effect better and cheaper, so it is the most cost-effective to find them in this regard. ~”

Zhang Chen nodded: "Continue~"

"If you are an outsider, you will definitely outsource the special effects part to them, but we don't have to. I can help you separate the special effects parts and outsource them to different companies, which is more cost-effective."

Zhang Chen understands this truth, so he can reduce the middlemen and make profit from the price difference.

"There is no need to hire them for parts other than the main body. They are too expensive. For example, Pixar has a software called RenderMan for the ocean fluid effect. The effect is better than that of Industrial Light and Magic, and it is also cheaper than them. We also have one of our own. The patented software Flowgen is also very effective. Although it is not as good as Pixar's RenderMan, it is not far behind them, and it is faster than them and more cost-effective..."

After Drizzt finished speaking, seeing that Zhang Chen was listening very seriously, he continued: "Actually, we can also do V-ray work. It's not difficult. As long as there is enough time, the effect will be similar no matter who you are. , and finally just use Nuke to synthesize it.”

At this time, Zhang Chen only felt that he had gained a lot.

He is not a novice who has never been exposed to special effects before. "Shark Beach" and "Painted Skin" both used a lot of special effects.

However, special effects companies in China and Hong Kong basically buy templates from abroad and apply them directly.

This is the first time Drizzt has spoken so professionally.

I feel like I've found a treasure.

"What you said is very good. Many of the suggestions are very useful. What else are you talking about~" Seeing Zhang Chen's encouraging face, Drizzt simply continued: "The inside of the mecha, including the physical model and so on, Industrial Light & Magic They can do it all, they are very good at it, but the price is also the most expensive.”

Even Zhang Chen has heard of this. He got his start in Star Wars. In Star Wars, there are many more physical models than green screen special effects.

"Do you have any good suggestions?"

"There is a company called Rodeo in France that can also do this, and the price is more cost-effective. You can try to contact them.

As for other things, such as computer screen displays and the like, they are all child's play and can be outsourced to any special effects company. We can also do them ourselves, as long as we have enough manpower. ”

Drizzt Balabala said a lot, and Zhang Chen felt that he had benefited a lot.

If you are not an expert, you will not understand it so clearly.

Sure enough, you still have to have someone of your own.

"Drizzt, huh?"

"Yes, Boss, my name is Drizzt Underwood, you can just call me Drizzt~"

"Well, I have a suggestion, Drizzt. You can be the technical person in charge of my film, specializing in all aspects of special effects. Of course, I will pay your salary."

Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!

Drizzt glanced at Diane and nodded: "Of course, I'm honored."

"That's great. You can take these materials back and look at them. We need to go to Warner Bros. tomorrow. I will be responsible for the negotiations then, and I will leave the other business and technical aspects to you two..."

"My pleasure~"

Diane and Drizzt said in unison.

Drizzt's face was full of joy. He knew that today he had shown his face in front of the new boss, and it also indirectly proved the value of Activision.

Dai An was also very satisfied next to him. The more satisfied Zhang Chen was with Drizzt, the more it proved that her decision to acquire Activision was not wiser.

And she was very satisfied with how Drizzt knew how to get business for the company.

Zhang Chen wanted to chat with them for a while longer, but looked at his watch and saw that time did not allow for it.

In the evening, he made an appointment with members of the Huala Gang to talk about things.

It’s still that familiar little cafe.

These guys like to choose this place for gatherings, chatting while drinking coffee, and collaborating on each other's ideas.

If it were placed in China, it would most likely be a drinking game.

Zhang Chen pushed the door open and walked in. The guest bell rang incessantly, and he saw several people looking towards him at a glance.

"Guys, you're so early~"

"Haha, when I heard you were coming, everyone dropped what they were doing..."

Zhang Chen hugged the Huala Gang members one by one.

"Guys, long time no see~"

After everyone had finished hugging, the waiter came over with coffee. Zhang Chen took the coffee, regardless of whether it was his: "Guys, I respect you all. The box office of "Breathless" is 47 million, all thanks to you." Support~”

Everyone also smiled and raised their glasses. It was obviously coffee, but it tasted like wine.

Cheers~

Only then did Zhang Chen say to the overwhelmed waiter: "I'm sorry, I'm just too excited. No matter whose cup of coffee belongs to him, I will pay for his consumption today~"

Looking at the dozens of dollars placed on the tray, the waiter left with satisfaction.

Zhang Chen then turned his attention back to everyone: "Thank you again, Daji. I really didn't expect that the box office of "Breathless" could reach this level..."

Wen Ziren smiled and said: "Don't mind, in fact, we have talked about this matter privately and have reached a consensus.

In the future, when everyone has a new work released, the organizer will organize an advance viewing. When interviewed by the media, everyone will only speak their true thoughts and will not be kidnapped morally just because they have a good relationship..."

Zhang Chen exclaimed: "amazing, this suggestion is great~"

He looked at everyone one by one, and everyone nodded. It was obvious that this resolution was voted on by a show of hands.

From the bottom of his heart, Zhang Chen felt that this was a good way.

Everyone only looks at the works, not whether the relationship is good or not, everything depends on strength.

Although there is a high probability that you will be kidnapped by morality in the end, at least in the beginning you will definitely be relatively objective.

He never felt that this method could be carried out consistently.

People are emotional creatures. Even if you stick to your heart at first, your heart will change over time.

"When are you going to see "I Saw the Devil"?"

Even though he wrote the script, Zhang Chen is still curious about Alexander's version.

New Line did not make any calls to him to complain about Alexander, which at least shows that this stressful version was recognized by New Line.

"Tomorrow~, I have agreed with New Line, tomorrow~"

Alexander smiled and said that he was still struggling with whether to take this form, but New Line saw the success of "Breathless" and instead urged him to hold an internal test screening.

"Okay, I can't wait~" Some people were very supportive.

Zhang Chen said at this time: "Since Alexander's movie is tomorrow, I have two scripts here. Take a look. Who is interested?"

As he spoke, Zhang Chen took out the script for "Crocodile" and in addition to the script for "Dead Silence".

A thriller, a horror film.

Zhang Chen did not say anything immediately, but waited for everyone to read before saying:

"Guys, don't say I favor one over the other. I wrote both scripts. I know you must like "Dead Silence" more, but I can only say that the two scripts are tied together. If you want to make "Dead Silence" , you must help me film "Crocodile"~"

"Oh, comeon, how could you do this?"

Apparently someone was really interested in the script of "Dead Silence", but was stopped in place by Zhang Chen's words.

Zhang Chen spread his hands and shrugged: "Guys, I know you all like "Dead Silence", but I can't help it.

"Crocodile" is a film that I promised others, not only must it be filmed, but it must be filmed well, and "Dead Silence" is the reward I paid for it.

Originally I wanted to shoot it myself, but now I have no choice but to give it up.

Let's see who is interested in helping me film "Crocodile". The director of "Dead Silence" is him..."

Most of the people here are horror film directors, and they actually have limited interest in so-called thrillers.

But "Dead Silence" is really amazing.

"I can't imagine how your brain is so long that you can come up with stories like "Crocodile" and "Dead Silence"..."

Zhang Chen shrugged and made a helpless expression.

Everyone, look at me and I look at you~

"I'm very interested, but I'm afraid I don't have time. I have to be busy with the promotion of "I Saw the Devil"~"

"Seeing the Devil" is different from "Breathless."

"Breathless" is a standard low-budget movie, with only 1,700 theaters open. The actors are all relatively unknown, and there is basically no publicity. The box office performance depends solely on God's will.

But "I Saw the Devil" is different. New Line has great expectations for it and decided to open it directly with 2,360 houses. This is already a medium-sized opening and there is no room for failure.

James Wan is extremely itchy. He really likes the plot of "Dead Silence", as if it was tailor-made for him.

Unable to bear the torment in his heart, James Wan finally said: "I'll do it, I really like this story so much."

Zhang Chen said: "Deal, preparations for "Crocodile" have been completed and can start shooting at any time, but it needs to be shot in China. After the filming is completed, Cube will start the project of "Dead Silence", and you are the only director candidate..."

(End of chapter)