After 19 days of release, the box office broke 3.6 billion, ranking among the top five in the mainland box office list, and Ne Zha quickly became the box office champion of domestic animated films. In addition to the "China Myth Universe", "Nezha" also shows the strength of a large number of domestic film and television production teams in a low-key way. The reporter found that the names of nearly 70 production teams appeared in the credits of the film, and the luxury of the lineup has not lost to foreign special effects blockbusters.

　　Recently, the reporter interviewed Nanjing Yuanguang Digital Technology Co., Ltd., which participated in the production of Nezha, and Nanjing Force Animation, which produced a 300-minute virtual picture of the TV series Full-time Master, to understand how technicians created a virtual three-dimensional world through CG (computer animation), motion capture and other "technical flow" work.

　　"Nezha" was born in this way.

　　Most special effects

　　There are more than 1,800 shots in Nezha, including 1,400 special effects shots, which is the highest among Chinese cartoons.

　　From Noisy Sea to Nezha: From 2D to 3D, from hand-drawing to computer modeling.

　　Compared with the animated film "Where is the Sea", which was also widely praised 40 years ago, the most intuitive impression of the "amateur" audience is that the original two-dimensional picture has become the current three-dimensional picture. Not only Nezha, but also the animated films in recent years, we will find that with the rapid development of CG (computer animation) technology, there are more and more three-dimensional animations.

　　"The difference between two-dimensional animation and three-dimensional animation is mainly reflected in the middle and late stages." Lu Xi, director of Yuanguang Digital CG Department, told reporters that whether it is two-dimensional animation or three-dimensional animation, script roles, scenes, props setting, shot script production and other work should be carried out in the early stage. From the beginning of modeling and mapping, the characteristics of three-dimensional animation began to appear.

　　It is understood that the picture of two-dimensional animation is flat, generally hand-drawn. The production method is to input the pre-drawn animation into the computer frame by frame, and the computer helps to complete the coloring, and then output it into pieces. Three-dimensional animation is generally a virtual space established by three-dimensional software, and then modeled in this space according to the shape and size of the object to be represented. According to the requirements of the story, the material of the model is made, the motion animation is set, the virtual camera is added, and the lights are put on it, and finally the picture is generated.

　　The technology of "growing" wrinkles and "growing" hair makes the details more simple and real.

　　In order to avoid spoilers, Lu Xi took other works of the company as examples, and used pictures to show reporters the process of "birth" of an elderly male character.

　　Modeling is the first step to create three-dimensional figures. Thanks to the progress of digital carving and other technical means, technicians can now process the model more carefully and add wrinkles and other details. The next mapping adds details such as skin color, skin texture and hair to the plaster model with single color and texture, and the age spots on the old man’s face are clearly visible. In the early days, the modeling of three-dimensional animated hair needed to map fake hair, but now, technicians can use software to make people "grow" hairs, each of which conforms to the dynamic characteristics and is very authentic.

　　To make the model move, it is necessary to bind the bones, spine, humerus, ulna and phalanx … … Driving the model with the weight distribution of bones in different parts makes the model have similar actions with real people. There are generally two ways to shape expressions: to make key frames of expressions manually, or to do it through motion capture devices.

　　After that, it is necessary to put the characters into the environment and complete the rendering and special effects synthesis. This part sounds more like a physics lesson: fine-tuning the material, such as a table, adjusting the reflective effect according to the specific situation, adding more real details such as wear and scratches; Rendering layering, layering the place where each lamp shines, which is convenient for later adjustment; Special effects production, such as people entering the pool, people interacting with water as collision objects; Finally, the light rendering and special effects synthesis, and then fine-tune the light projection and so on.

　　How is the "full-time master" tempered?

　　Enough "luxury"

　　"Full-time Master" has more than 300 minutes of virtual pictures, and its volume is almost three times that of ordinary movies. Therefore, the Force team formed a team of 566 people and completed the production task within half a year.

　　94 cameras were used for modeling.

　　To be "a little like him and a little different from him"

　　Stick marks all over your body and do various actions in the motion capture shed; Put on an expression catcher and mobilize all facial muscles to match the real expressions of emotions and sorrows for the virtual characters … … These shooting methods, which often appear in "burning money" movies in Europe and America, are widely used in the recently popular online drama "Full-time Master". The Force Animation Company, which completed this "luxury" production, is headquartered in Nanjing. Previously, Yang Yang and other actors completed the filming of the virtual part in Nanjing’s Force Motion Capture Base. In addition to software and hardware, the technical team also belongs to the film-level ultra-luxury lineup.

　　The reporter learned that "Full-time Master" is an e-sports TV series with a large number of virtual shots in the game. In order to enhance the recognition of virtual characters, the producer adopted the method of redesigning the faces of real actors. Shi Ningning, executive producer of visual effects of Force Animation, introduced that Force Animation used 94 cameras to scan Yang Yang and other leading actors from multiple perspectives, built a real head model, and then adjusted the details to make the digital characters "a little like Yang Yang but a little different". In addition, the actor has to make 74 special facial expressions, such as emotions, emotions, eyes wide open, eyes wide open, mouth wide open and so on, so that the expressions can be more truly presented in the three-dimensional world.

　　After that, it should be "matched" with the real characters and real scenes of physical props in the studio in real time, and through certain technical processing, actors can drive digital characters with their limbs. "For example, when Yang Yang raised his left hand, his corresponding game character Jun Moxiao also raised his left hand; When he picked up the weapon props, Jun Moxiao also picked up the weapon ‘ Thousand machine umbrellas ’ 。”

　　"The next step is action editing and special effects editing. The concept of virtual shooting special effects editing is completely different from that of conventional editing." Shi Ningning said that this is the coolest part. In the built digital world, all actions can be replayed and repeated constantly. Virtual cameras can get close-ups, distant views and close-ups of faces from all angles. After a few seconds of performance, they can change "positions" to get hundreds of shots, which are output and edited to form all the necessary elements in a scene.

　　Technology is a double-edged sword.

　　Did Simba the lion "face paralysis"?

　　The audience may not necessarily buy the technology of "god reduction"

　　This year, the "live CG version" movies Alita and The Lion King are both called the ultimate application of CG technology. There are no real people in the two films, so it is called "real version" because a lot of motion capture and real expression capture are used in the films.

　　There are 47 hair styles including eyebrows and eyelashes. There are nearly 500,000 "peach fluff" on the face and ears, and more than 2,500 fixed-frame images of facial expressions … … Figures and actress rosa salazar’s action and expression capture create an Alita with real joys and sorrows, which makes fans of the original comic book very happy.

　　However, it is also "God restored". After the release of The Lion King, it was criticized by many old fans as "facial paralysis" and "dull expression without aura". Some even directly said that the director used CG technology excessively to shoot an Animal World, and the little lion Simba completely lost the soul of the original animation.

　　"Exaggerated expression is the feature and charm of animation. If you rely on technology to pursue complete ‘ Restore ’ , but let the role lose its expressiveness, then ‘ Animation ’ It makes no sense. " Lu Xi bluntly said that technology is a tool to promote the continuous innovation and progress of animation, rather than a stumbling block to imagination, and technology should be well used in animation production. (Yangzi Evening News/Yangyan reporter Liu Liyuan)