Postscript 4: Giant Pit Project
at the dinner table.
Aziguli was munching on the braised pork. Although it couldn't be said to be gobbling it up, it definitely didn't belong to the style of a lady.
Of course, beautiful girls do everything to please the eye.
Song Jingxing asked: Can you eat pork?
Azigul nodded and said, Well, my mother is Han. She is responsible for cooking at home. Dad and I eat whatever she cooks. It's already the same as the living habits of the Han people.
You are from the acting department, are you not afraid of getting fat after eating so much? Song Jingxing asked.
Azigul swallowed a mouthful of meat and said, Don't be afraid. There are physical classes in school, and I like playing basketball. I consume a lot of energy every day. If I don't eat more, I will starve.
Song Jingxing said: There are quite a lot of girls who like to watch basketball, but girls who like to play basketball are very rare.
In addition to the attributes of foodie, Aziguli obviously also has the attribute of chatterbox. Song Jingxing asked, and she said a lot: My parents are both basketball players. I grew up in the basketball training room since I was a child. The average height of the two of them is 1.88 meters. I am only 1.76 meters now, and I have not inherited them. I have been studying in sports school before high school, and I gradually lost my stature. My dad also sent me to have my bone age tested, and found that it was difficult to grow to be over 1.8 meters, so he asked me to train as a guard. Then there was a time My knee was seriously injured. Although I recovered, I couldn’t adapt to the intensity of professional competitions, so I didn’t continue to study in sports school. But I still like to play basketball, and I play for at least an hour every day. Look at my palms. Cocoons are created by playing basketball for a long time.”
Song Ruoxi interrupted suddenly: Your hands need to be taken care of.
Teacher Song, I will try my best. Aziguli lowered her head and stuck out her tongue.
Song Ruoxi asked Song Jingxing again: I heard you plan to start a business?
Song Jingxing said speechlessly, Why do you know it in a few days?
Song Ruoxi asked: Have you found any entrepreneurial projects?
Not yet. Song Jingxing said.
Song Ruoxi said: Invest in VR movies, I happen to have a project in my hand.
Song Jingxing reminded: Sister-in-law, Chinese law prohibits the production and dissemination of colored audio-visual products. I don't want to be the target of the government's anti-pornography campaign.
Who asked you to make that kind of film? Song Ruoxi was a little angry.
Song Jingxing said: Could it be possible to make other types of VR movies?
From 3g to 4g, and then from 4g to 5g, every technological improvement has spawned a large number of related industries.
5g applications can be mainly summarized into three aspects: first, enhanced mobile broadband; second, mission-critical services; third, massive Internet of Things.
For example, the autopilot function of Song Jingxing's Tesla Wisdom Light is a mission-critical service.
As for the massive Internet of Things, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are now being built into smart cities, and various infrastructures are connected by mobile broadband. Including street lamps, electric meters, water meters, traffic lights, trash cans, etc., which street lamp is broken, which section of water pipe is leaking, which trash can is full, the manager can judge by sitting in the control room.
If it is combined with the Skynet system, it will be even more awesome. Which family's children or old people are lost, as long as they are not in too remote places, Skynet and image recognition technology can automatically search for you in minutes.
The application of VR and AR technology requires the help of enhanced mobile broadband.
The theoretical downlink peak value of 5G exceeds 10GB, which is enough to support the interaction of AR/VR users. The most typical example is the virtual online game played by Song Weiyang, as long as the scene is not too complicated, it is very smooth.
And now Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are already laying 6G network-strictly speaking, it is 5.5G, just like the 2.5G in the past, the performance has been improved to a certain extent, but it has not yet reached the level of leapfrog replacement.
As early as 2015, VR movies appeared, and then AR movies appeared.
The film and television industry is originally a capital paradise. After the popularization of 5G networks, large entertainment companies around the world, as well as many venture capitals, are frantically pouring money into the field of VR and AR movies. Up to now, more than 90% of the projects have lost money, and they have lost everything.
AR movies are barely successful, and some companies are already promoting AR screening halls. Only one super-best-selling AR movie will be able to develop rapidly—just like Avatar for 3D screening halls.
But vr movies are completely a pit!
The technical problems have been basically solved, but vr and movies are inherently conflicting. It's like a man and a woman with different personalities who insist on being tied together forcibly to get married. Life after marriage is so miserable that it's impossible to watch.
The essence of movies is frame vision, and each scene has a specific performance function. Generally speaking, the atmosphere is shot in the long shot, the action is shot in the middle shot, and the emotion is shot in the close shot. The characteristic of VR is immersion, which needs to bring in a specific character, and then use the main vision of this character to blend into the scene-the scene cannot be changed. Technically, it can be converted, but once it is converted, it loses the immersion of VR, which is very interesting!
There is also the sense of space and editing effects of movies, which are also difficult to integrate with VR technology.
In the past few years, many VR movies have been made both at home and abroad, all of which were released in theaters, and the profit and loss of transplanting to personal VR devices are mixed. Only those who changed to VR stand-alone games midway made a lot of money. That stuff doesn't look like a movie at all, it's more like a vr experience game.
To put it more simply, theater is the art of the actor, film is the art of the director, and VR is the art of the audience.
The difference between vr movies and movies, just like the difference between movies and dramas, cannot be implemented with mature traditional movie theories.
During this period, Japanese and European and American small movie companies have made great contributions to the development of VR movies. The colored film emphasizes the sense of immersion and substitution, which perfectly fits with the VR technology. Coupled with specific x props, a small vr film can make people feel refreshed, and some old drivers even said that it is more enjoyable than having sex in reality .
By the way, while VR movies are hitting the street, VR distance education is extremely popular.
The tuition fees in the United States are frighteningly high, and even technical education is outrageously expensive. There are two engineers in Silicon Valley who took the lead in launching the cheap VR education plan. At the beginning, they only did vocational education and training, which is equivalent to the VR version of Lanxiang and New Oriental Cooking School. The result was quickly recognized by the market, and even attracted the attention of American education unions and teachers unions. boycott of the march.
The two founders were almost bankrupted by huge legal fees in order to deal with the union lawsuit. Fortunately, venture capital funds entered the market at a critical moment, and it developed rapidly under the pressure of the labor union.
It is much more difficult to do VR education in China, because education fees in China are cheap. After all, VR education is virtual. Whether it is a beauty salon or cooking with an excavator, it is not as real as real training in reality. Besides other education, tutoring in reality can adjust the teaching plan according to the specific situation of students. Although the tuition fee is expensive, the effect is much better than VR education. As for adult education, you can go directly to a regular university to enroll, and they will issue academic certificates.
Only Chinese who are busy with work and want to improve themselves, and don’t care about academic qualifications, will choose VR education. The market is much narrower than that of the United States.
Song Ruoxi explained: I am currently working as a lecturer in the Department of Acting, and at the same time I am studying for a PhD in the Department of Directing. At the beginning of the year, I went to Hollywood with my tutor and participated in an industry seminar on VR movies. Well-known VR from all over the world Film directors all agree that genre films such as adventure, suspense, and horror will be the future of VR movies. Last year Universal Pictures invested in The Mummy 6, which is a very good reference. Unfortunately, Universal Pictures is too ambitious. It has to be comprehensive and made into a 3D version, a VR version and an AR version respectively, and none of the versions will be pleasing to the eye.”
Song Jingxing asked: What kind of project do you want to shoot?
Song Ruoxi said: Horror and suspense films are only made in VR versions. The scenes are compressed into a specific narrow space as much as possible. The time span of the movie and reality is within two hours. The transition of the movie depends entirely on the movement of the characters. The audience can choose Bring in the gender of the characters, couple audiences can even choose to bring in the characters of couples. In this way, it can follow the traditional film theory to shoot, and at the same time, it can reflect the characteristics of VR movies.”
Song Jingxing asked: Did no other director come up with this kind of shooting method?
Song Ruoxi said: Yes, but it can't be made. Horror and suspense films are a niche genre, and generally speaking, the investment is not large, and VR movies are made with money. Only a large investment can make a theater-level movie. VR horror suspense films, and large film companies are afraid of market risks, so they dare not invest easily. If Spielberg or Cameron is willing to make VR suspense horror films, they will definitely attract investment, but they are too old. My health is not very good, and I can no longer shoot VR movies that consume energy.”
Song Jingxing asked: How much does it cost to make a 90-minute VR movie?
Song Ruoxi said: Help nine years ago was regarded as the first real VR narrative film. The film was less than 5 minutes long, the scene was relatively simple, and there were not many characters, but it cost 5 million US dollars. Even now With the development of technology, the production cost of VR movies has been reduced a lot, but if you want to make a 90-minute theater-level VR movie, the production cost will also increase exponentially. It’s not like 5 million US dollars for 5 minutes, and 90 million US dollars for 90 minutes In US dollars, it can’t be calculated like this at all. Funds grow geometrically. If you want to make a good production, even if you don’t invite stars to shoot it, a theater vr movie will cost more than 500 million US dollars. We try to compress the space and scenes as much as possible to make a movie with a small cost. A vr film, barely worth 300 million US dollars.
Song Jingxing asked: It's only 300 million U.S. dollars. Sohu, Tencent, Ali, Excalibur, and other companies can definitely get it. Why don't you go to my dad?
Song Ruoxi said: Because there are many problems in the market. VR movies are contrary to the atmosphere of theaters. There are no VR screening halls in movie theaters, and there are relatively few AR screening halls. The TV and Internet copyrights of this kind of film are also difficult to sell. Only Users of vr equipment can make money, but there are not many people who have purchased vr equipment. If 300 million US dollars is spent, it is almost difficult to pay back, unless the AR screening hall is vigorously promoted, and VR movies are played in the AR screening hall. This requires a huge With the power of capital, when it is uncertain whether it can make money, it spends huge sums of money and contacts to do marketing.
It's too difficult. Song Jingxing said.
Song Ruoxi smiled and said: But if you accomplish this, you will be listed in the world film history, become a man of the world in the film and television industry, and open a new era of vr movies. Do you dare to do it?
Song Jingxing shook his head and said: I only have 100 million yuan of start-up capital in my hand, and I can't even shoot the film. What's more, the difficulty of this project is not money at all, but how to promote AR or VR screening halls. If it is really that easy, as soon as possible There is a film company doing it, and it’s our turn to catch the leak?
Song Ruoxi said: You are the son of the richest man in the world.
Song Jingxing said: I want to read your script first, and also read your project plan. If it is feasible, I will not start any business. I will go directly to work at Excalibur Entertainment Company. I should be able to apply for a project worth 300 million US dollars. arrive.
That's fine, I'll call and bring someone back from Hollywood. Song Ruoxi said.
The director is a Yankee? Song Jingxing asked.
Song Ruoxi said: A Chinese director has a green card but has not yet immigrated. This man graduated from Beijing Film Academy and went to the University of Southern California Film School to study for a master's degree. His graduation short film won attention. He has been in Hollywood for ten years. For many years, he has been doing small things, until he made a small-budget B-grade film three years ago and made a big hit. Last year, Universal Pictures’ The Mummy 6 was pulled to be a group director, so he had the opportunity to shoot VR The idea of the film. I also followed my mentor to Hollywood to hold an industry seminar at the beginning of the year, and I met him by accident. The script was very exciting, but I couldn’t get investment.”
Song Jingxing asked: Suspense horror movies, no ghosts?
Song Ruoxi rolled her eyes: If there is a ghost, I still dare to get it in China?
That's fine, Song Jingxing said, You don't need to save too much money, you have to hire celebrities. Suspense and horror movies are already niche, and VR movies are even more niche. Not inviting celebrities to join is like committing suicide. I I don’t ask for much profit, as long as I don’t lose money, this is a very interesting attempt.”
Song Ruoxi said: That's fine, I'll be the heroine, at least I'll be considered a star.
Song Jingxing asked: Are the audience acting as the male and female protagonists?
Song Ruoxi said: Of course, the male audience is the male protagonist, and the female audience is the heroine. People with transsexualism can also do it the other way around. Through the male and female protagonists in the old mansion, narrow basement, together with other characters, one or two Horror encounters within hours allow the audience to fully immerse themselves in the film, experience the tense and suspenseful atmosphere of horror, and also experience the love, friendship, and betrayal of desperate moments. The scale is a bit large, mainly bloody and horror, bloody can be reduced as much as possible, but Horror is one of the selling points. You need to clear the relationship between broadcasting and television, and at the same time, audiences with diseases such as heart are strictly prohibited from entering the venue.
What should I do if some viewers are scared and have problems? Song Jingxing said, The more people listen to this film, the less popular it is. It's a complete trap. It may be extremely difficult to promote VR screening halls.
Song Ruoxi said: There is no way. Film companies at home and abroad have tried it. It is not feasible to use VR technology to make blockbuster films in the traditional sense. They all lose the essence of VR movies. It is better to directly engage in 3D or AR giant productions. Only this kind of VR film with narrow activity space and short story time can let the audience immerse themselves in it without appearing to be out of play. Take the previous 2012 as an example, a disaster film, it is very suitable for the audience to experience. But the Which role do you want to join? Flying from the United States to China, do you switch scenes directly? Switching scenes is a dance, and you can jump once after cutting a scene, so that the audience can realize that you are not the character itself. How long do you plan to let the audience fly in the sky without switching scenes?
Song Jingxing asked Aziguli who was still eating braised pork: Why don't you play a role too?
Ah? Azigul swallowed the meat, I'm only a freshman in freshman year, and I haven't finished my theoretical courses yet. Will the school allow me to take on the role?
Song Jingxing said: Yes, we will handle special matters.
Aziguli smiled and said, Then I'm definitely willing to film, I'm not a fool.