Chapter 505 Core Technology of Industrial Light and Magic
Lucas led Liu Lang and others into another factory building. This one was completely different from the previous one. That factory building was regarded as a photo studio, and even outsiders could come in and out at will. But this factory building was different.
It is a security door and you need to press the password to enter.
"This is the core of our Industrial Light & Magic!"
Lucas opened the door and walked in, pointing inside and saying.
Liu Lang was also very curious. In this era before computers were widely used, how did Industrial Light and Magic produce special effects that were beyond this era?
The spacious factory building is divided into three areas, with seven or eight people working in each area.
Lucas looked at them with a hint of pride in his eyes.
"Little Jimmy, the movie Star Wars made 700 million U.S. dollars at the box office. Although the second movie was not as good, it still had a box office of 100 million U.S. dollars. Do you know what is the key to the success of these two movies? It is that we combined the model's
The level of sophistication has been raised to an unprecedented level.”
Lucas took a few people to an area where models were made, then pointed at two "ships" and said: These two are the models of the "Death Star" and "Star Destroyer" spaceships, which are also the most popular models in Star Wars.
The two famous spaceships, if you look at their surfaces, every texture is lifelike, even under extreme close-ups they don’t look “fake”.
Liu Lang got closer and looked carefully. Sure enough, the two ship models were very lifelike. If they were magnified a hundred times, everyone would probably think that these were two alien spaceships.
"Is this made of steel?"
Liu Lang touched it gently and asked.
"Most of them are made of steel. After all, the hardness of steel cannot be compared with other materials. However, it still needs more than a dozen polishing processes to finally show the look like in the movie. However, if it is just a model,
, no matter how well we do, we can’t be much better than others.”
The shooting of Star Wars requires a large number of dynamic lenses, which we need to achieve optically. Then we need a very time-consuming "stop-motion animation" technology.
That is to say, the continuous movements of the miniature model are decomposed into independent gestures at 24 frames per second, shot separately, and then printed on film. However, no matter how precise the stop-motion animation is, it is difficult to achieve smooth flight when shooting scenes of space flight.
effect, so we invented a machine that can move the camera and allow the lens to interact with the subject.
The photographed miniature models produce convincing relative movements. The most important thing is that we record the camera’s movement trajectory data, and then continuously analyze and correct it. It can be said that after multiple shots, we will not be able to
Even if you make mistakes, you can shoot in perfect form every time and accurately combine other images in post-production.”
Lucas stood in front of a giant camera. This camera was much larger than other cameras. The body was controlled by multiple couplings. Behind the couplings was a motor. This motor was obviously the same as an ordinary motor.
It was very different, Liu Lang could tell at a glance.
This kind of motor can only be found in CNC machine tools. That is to say, the core component inside is an integrated circuit board. Of course, this integrated circuit board cannot be compared with the chips of the wafer production line, but applying the CNC system to photographic equipment can
Industrial Light & Magic is probably the first.
"Mr. Lucas, who made this CNC system?"
Liu Lang pointed and asked.
"What? You know about this device?"
Lucas was startled.
"Haha... these things are blue screen technology, right?"
Liu Lang ignored the other party's question and pointed to a large blue cloth hanging high not far away.
Lucas looked a little unhappy. It seemed that this kid was not only good at designing, but also very amateur in other aspects. Blue screen technology is not a popular product. It is an original shooting technology of Industrial Light and Magic. This kid from China
How could the child know?
"Well, okay, you are right, this is blue screen technology. Both movies use blue screen technology extensively, which is very effective for complex dynamic scenes.
For example, there is a chase battle between the Millennium Falcon and the TIE Fighter in a swarm of meteorites. This scene requires layered shooting of different moving objects.
We reprinted the layered images multiple times. Each layered image required the same background, and then overlaid it. Of course, the overlay process required a level of precision that no previous film had.
Lucas explained the three areas in detail. Industrial Light and Magic created many original technologies, such as blue screen technology, multi-link control system, and introduced CNC motors into shooting for the first time, which greatly improved the accuracy of shooting.
Degree, this should be a unique creation in the film industry.
Liu Lang admires this group of technicians very much. It is their persistence that has brought the film industry into the era of special effects.
Of course, in Liu Lang's eyes, today's industrial light and magic technology is still too rudimentary. What about the special effects? It is still "fake" enough. The main reason for this is that computers have not yet been fully popularized, and the accuracy of CNC systems is not high, especially for computers.
, has not officially appeared in the movie.
In the previous life, Industrial Light and Magic later became Pixar. The turning point was that in 1986, they were acquired by "Qiao Gangzhu" of "Apple" Company. However, at this time, Qiao Gangzhu was also very depressed. He had just been acquired by the "Apple" company he founded.
Being knocked out of the game and buying Industrial Light & Magic was just a matter of idleness and boredom.
However, as a computer genius, how could he not think of introducing computers into special effects?
It seems that Industrial Light and Magic only underwent a real transformation after the arrival of "Master Joe". In the past, Industrial Light and Magic was a "traditional" special effects production. After becoming Pixar, it gradually embarked on that legendary path. From the beginning
Model manufacturing has been transformed into virtual generation; from miniature scenes to the use of computer programs to create vast scenes.
It can be said that as long as designers have enough imagination to create the pictures they want, and it is enough to look real, then Pixar will truly stand at the pinnacle of the world's special effects industry.
Liu Lang's hypothesis is very logical. Without the participation of "Gang Leader Qiao", perhaps Industrial Light and Magic could become a top special effects production company, but if it wants to reach the heights of Liu Lang's previous life, I'm afraid there is still a long way to go.
a little.
"Computer? Gang Leader Qiao is a computer genius, but I'm not bad either! I had Apple in my previous life, and I also have Wanan Technology in this life! When it comes to software programming, Wanan Technology in the previous life may not be as good as Wanan Technology in this life.
No matter how much stronger it is, if we look at the current time period, Wan'an Technology is probably number one in the world!"
Liu Lang is a must-win for Industrial Light & Magic, not only to acquire him, but also to bring him to the heights of his previous life.