Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 624 Design should facilitate monetization

San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles
This place is world-renowned for producing pornographic films, but many people don't know that Industrial Light & Magic's Los Angeles studio is also located here.

The black van came to a steady stop in front of the steel gate of the Industrial Light & Magic studio, and Zhang Chen opened the car door.

The building in front of us is very distinctive. Although the exterior walls have been renovated many times, they still retain the retro steel frame, with dark gray metal beams supporting the entire glass curtain wall like ribs.

Edland came down the steps to greet him: "Boss, you're here!"

"What happened to you? You have dark circles under your eyes!"

"I stayed up all night with the monster team last night; they polished the fur color of the prehistoric creature again~"

"Thank you for your hard work these past two days~"

"I'm the visual effects supervisor for this film, this is just what I'm supposed to do."

Edland shrugged, but Zhang Chen knew that he had been living at Industrial Light & Magic for almost all this time.

The two walked through the lobby. Even though they had been there many times before, the display walls on both sides still caught Zhang Chen's eye. From the Millennium Falcon model from Star Wars to the replica of the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton from Jurassic Park, each exhibit had a yellowed label, recording Industrial Light & Magic's special effects milestones.

This is the confidence of a long-established company; its history is the history of the development of American science fiction films.

Upon arriving at the agreed-upon meeting room, two groups of people were already waiting inside. Upon seeing Zhang Chen, they all stood up.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting~"

Zhang Chen greeted everyone. He recognized the group on the left; they were the special effects team for Pacific Rim 1. However, Zhang Chen had already poached the entire team to Tiangong Yicai, so they would only be able to switch jobs once the work on Pacific Rim 2 was completed.

I haven't seen the group on the right before; they must be another team from Industrial Light & Magic.

Adland then handed over a folder: "It contains a list of key shots to be checked today, categorized according to the two groups' roles..."

The first "Operation Ring" was about mechs fighting monsters, while the second "Operation Ring" had a more complex storyline, divided into two storylines: the prehistoric monster storyline and the Crimson Storm storyline.

They correspond to two groups respectively.

The Primordial Era storyline mainly consists of battles between monsters, including the initial battles between Primordial Era and King Kong, and the battles against Skeleton Monsters. These were created by Industrial Light & Magic's monster expert team.

Crimson Typhoon is a battle between mechs and monsters. Crimson Typhoon enters the Otherworld to search for the Primordial Era and fights against the local Kaiju. This part was produced by the original team behind Ring 1.

Zhang Chen flipped through the pages. "We can begin now."

"Musk, you guys go first~"

After Edland's reminder, Musk immediately opened the PowerPoint presentation and began his introduction.

Zhang Chen is not only their current client, but also their future boss, and his introduction was very detailed.

The mecha storyline focuses on the narrative of "humans actively exploring the other world":

Crimson Storm breaks through the "Rift Gate" into the Inner World. Its core mission is to find the giant beast Primordial, and in the process, it must deal with the "Native Kaiju" unique to the Inner World.

These Kaiju differ from the "frontal assault type" of the previous game, and mostly operate using ambush tactics, such as the "strangulation type Kaiju" hidden at the top of the cave (which wraps its tentacles around the joints of the mech) and the "ambush type Kaiju" lurking in the underground lake (which attacks the lower limbs of the mech).

"To adapt to the environment and combat requirements of the Otherworld, we have made targeted upgrades to the Crimson Storm, such as adding low-gravity thrusters to the shoulders and optimizing the energy focusing patterns of the plasma cannons on the forearms..."

Just like how Optimus Prime's transformation process is redesigned in every Transformers movie, Red Storm in Pacific Rim cannot remain unchanged either.

Red Storm's role in Pacific Rim is similar to Optimus Prime's role in Transformers; it needs to be changed to give the audience a fresh experience.

They were originally the Jaeger special effects team for Pacific Rim 1, possessing deep expertise in "Jack mechanical logic" and "tactical combat details," enabling them to accurately recreate the Jaegers' exploration movements in the alternate world, such as the environmental adaptation of searchlights and the ground feedback from the anti-slip textures on their feet...

"We also designed tactical coordination when fighting against ambush-type Kaiju, such as the reaction delay after the mech is attacked and the energy trajectory of weapon attacks, to ensure the professionalism and entertainment value of the 'Mech Exploration Battle'."

As Musk explained, he played a video of the special effects they had created.

The screen shows a rough cut of the battle between Crimson Typhoon and the Strangler Kaiju: when the mech's knee joint is wrapped by tentacles, the metal shell instantly turns a light red heat spot, the hydraulic rods visibly shrink by two centimeters, and even the metal scratches where the tentacles wrap are clearly visible.

The visuals are explosive! It's clear that Musk and his team have upgraded the battle scenes in Crimson Typhoon. While the weapons are still the same, the combinations and transitions have been optimized, making it look much smoother.
"You've improved the flame color of the thrusters?"

Zhang Chen has a sharp eye and immediately noticed the differences from the previous work.

"Yes, in order to adapt to the low gravity environment of the Otherworld, we specifically asked NASA for the hydrodynamic data of rocket propulsion. We made twenty-seven versions just to test the layering effect of the thruster flames—from the initial single orange-red to the current gradient of 'light blue on the outside and crimson on the inside,' just to make the mecha's flight more in line with physical logic."

Musk was surprised that Zhang Chen could notice such a subtle detail. His voice was filled with excitement. "We've also added other details. Now, when the mech is under pressure, the metal deformation at the joints will change with the force. For example, when it is lightly wrapped, it will only dent slightly, but when it is pulled hard, it will show obvious wrinkles. We've also added the detail of 'metal fatigue,' where parts subjected to long-term stress will develop dark yellow rust."

Zhang Chen leaned over the screen, zooming in on the image with his fingertips on the touchpad: "Make the friction sound of the hydraulic rod retracting a bit louder, so that the audience can feel the texture of 'mechanical force' even through the screen."

He looked up at Musk, his eyes filled with expectation, "Very good, I appreciate your serious attitude~"

Having received praise from his future boss, Musk happily returned to his workstation.

His performance is over, and now it's up to the other group to see how they perform; the pressure is on the second group.

Edland gestured, and the leader of the second group stood up.

This time, the screen displayed 3D models of the prehistoric monster and the skeleton monster, with the graphics tablet filled with diagrams of the monster's muscle exertion.

There's no introduction this time, let's play the video first:

King Kong was a powerful figure in the inner world. Upon discovering that the outsider, Honghuang, had intruded into his territory, he immediately showed his anger, pounding his chest with his two fists like drumsticks.

The Primordial Wilderness is not some adorable giant panda; it is a ferocious beast, especially after the repeated battles since entering the Inner World, which have filled it with savagery.

Upon seeing King Kong, it knew that another fight was about to begin.

Industrial Light & Magic, as expected of a veteran special effects company, produced incredibly exciting scenes.

The battle was fierce, with two colossal beasts, each the size of a small mountain, locked in hand-to-hand combat. While it might not be described as moving mountains and filling seas, it was certainly earth-shattering.

Roar, roll~
The special effects footage features many close-ups, emphasizing the enormous size of the two monsters, so large that they grab nearby trees and use them as weapons.

"This group is our Industrial Light & Magic's 'Monster Expert Team.' They didn't work on 'Ultraman 1,' but they did the dinosaur special effects for 'Jurassic World.' They are best at recreating the details of biological forms," ​​Adland introduced to Zhang Chen.

The leader of the second group was named Jansen. Jansen pointed to a close-up of the prehistoric world on the screen and said, "We referenced the prehistoric world's design in 'Ultraman 1' and upgraded it."

When Honghuang appears in this movie, he has already been in the Otherworld for some time.

During this time, he fought and was injured, so we added a lot of details to him, such as the scar on his face~” Zhang Chen looked at Honghuang’s new look and thought it was pretty good.

He has been emphasizing that although the prototype of the prehistoric world is the panda, it is different from the panda; it is a ferocious beast.

Zhang Chen thought the scar design was good.

"We've added the concept of poison to the design of the skeleton monster."

Zhang Chen leaned closer to the screen, watching the special effects artist adjust the skeleton monster's poison sac: the pale green toxin flowed slowly inside the sac, and the blood vessels on the sac wall were clearly visible.

"What data did you refer to regarding the diffusion trajectory when the venom sac ruptured?"

"We referenced the diffusion rate of cobra venom in different media," the special effects artist next to him immediately replied.

"In the humid environment of the inner world, the toxins will first form 'droplet splashes', and after landing, they will slowly spread into a translucent mist. When they come into contact with the skin of the Primordial Being, they will first corrode the surface fur, and then penetrate into the muscles, forming grayish-brown corrosion spots, accompanied by tiny bubbles—just like the effect of strong acid corroding metal."

"Does it look a bit like an alien?"

"It's not that exaggerated. In our plan, if the primordial beast is injured by the venom, it will be hurt, but it won't cause too serious damage. Instead, it will arouse the beast's ferocity."

Zhang Chen nodded, indicating his approval of the design.

Monster battles aren't necessarily more exciting the more powerful the monsters are in the primordial world. The opposing monsters also need to have their own unique characteristics and things that make the primordial world wary.

Only in this way will the audience find it engaging.

Zhang Chen is increasingly impressed with Adran's division of labor.

The team behind "Ring 1" understands the 'mechanical logic' of mechs and knows how Crimson Storm should 'move' in the Inner World;
The monster expert team understands the 'survival habits' of living things and knows how to 'fight' the prehistoric monsters and skeleton monsters.

Overall, the two storylines have different narrative subjects.

One is a monster civil war, and the other is a mech exploration battle, but both revolve around the "inner world" scene. They enrich the visual experience through differentiated combat types (native confrontation vs. active exploration), and ensure the quality of special effects and the integrity of the narrative in each line through the division of labor among professional production teams (the monster team is responsible for the monster details, and the "Ring 1" team is responsible for the mech logic).

Both groups created incredibly exciting battle scenes, but if you look closely, you'll notice that the backgrounds of their battles are exceptionally beautiful.

Of course it's beautiful; the background is based on Guilin.

Guilin's scenery is the best under heaven; this is something that's been included in Chinese language textbooks.

The mountains are magnificent and the waters are beautiful~
Zhang Chen's Star Entertainment is not just a simple film and television company, but a cultural complex.

When Pacific Rim 2 was in pre-production, Star Entertainment contacted the governments of Guilin and Zhangjiajie through the Ministry of Culture. They believed that local tourism would definitely boom after the movie's release, and that the opportunity for development was there for them, and it was up to them to seize it.

Zhang Chen thought they could follow Yantai's example.

The line from "My Fair Princess," "Your Majesty, do you still remember Xia Yuhe by Daming Lake?" made Daming Lake famous. Yantai even built a beautiful lantern on the shore of Daming Lake. They didn't say it was Xia Yuhe, but everyone knew it was Xia Yuhe.

Guilin and Zhangjiajie could also follow suit, building sculptures to recreate the battle between the prehistoric king and King Kong; the copyright fee is negotiable.

……

A few days later, Zhang Chen returned to China with the first version of the trailer.

Mission: Impossible 4 was prepared by Paramount and Warner Bros. It is said that Tom Cruise installed a whole glass curtain wall in his house specifically for practicing rock climbing at the Burj Khalifa.

He's definitely a dedicated guy.

Upon learning of Zhang Chen's return, Guo Fan was the first to visit him.

"Boss, these are my concept sketches. Could you take a look?"

Zhang Chen hadn't even settled in when Guo Fan came rushing over.

Zhang Chen took it, and the first thing that caught his eye was the design drawing of the exoskeleton equipment:
The gray-black metal frame conforms to the curves of the human body, the hydraulic rods at the shoulders and knees gleam with a cold luster, the energy core on the back is inlaid with light blue crystals, and even the mechanical knuckles on the hands are clearly marked with the technical parameter "can rotate 360 ​​degrees".

"That's really detailed."

Continuing on, the exoskeleton was alright, but the monster was very different from what Zhang Chen remembered.

The monster in the original Edge of Tomorrow was completely transparent, like a floating wisp of smoke, leaving only faint trails of light and shadow as it moved. It had no facial features, not even a clear outline of its body.

The monster in Guo Fan's hand-drawn sketch is dark brown all over, with six slender limbs as sharp as scythes, a pair of compound eyes on its head, fine fangs visible when its mouth opens and closes, and a tail with sharp spikes trailing behind it.

It looks a lot like the monsters in Starship Troopers; the prototype is probably an insect like a praying mantis.

It seems that Starship Troopers had a profound influence on Guo Fan.

In fact, Zhang Chen was also deeply impressed by "Starship Troopers" and thought it was particularly good.

However, because the army in this film clearly adopted the German military system, it was resisted by Jewish forces in Hollywood. In addition, due to the bloody scenes, it was rated R, so the film did not perform well.

As for why Guo Fan's design differs so much from the original, it's normal because Zhang Chen provided a written script, which didn't provide detailed descriptions of the monsters.

However, Zhang Chen thought it was pretty good; Guo Fan's monster design was at least better than the original.

The biggest drawback of the original design immediately came to mind: it was not conducive to the sale of physical toys.

Zhang Chen got up and walked to the display case in the office. The glass case neatly displayed models of Jaegers and monsters from "Pacific Rim"—every joint of the Gipsy Jaeger could move, the Primal Jaeger's scales could even be disassembled, and the King Kong's fist could even make a fist gesture.

These models became bestsellers precisely because they have clear shapes and tangible details, making consumers willing to spend money to collect them.

"Among non-box office profits, merchandise accounts for half of the total."

Zhang Chen ran his fingertips across the head of the Wanderer mecha model, his eyes filled with certainty.

He was acutely aware of the importance of merchandise—after the release of Pacific Rim, sales of the main toys alone exceeded 500 million units, and with a 10% revenue share, he earned over 3000 million yuan from it.

Not to mention the subsequent release of figurines, posters, clothing, and other merchandise, the combined profits of which exceeded the film's box office earnings in the Chinese market by 20%. Those clearly defined and richly detailed mecha and monster models have become "money-making machines" in the derivative market, with some collectors even willing to pay high prices to acquire limited editions in order to collect all the models.

In contrast, the monsters in the original Edge of Tomorrow, let alone being made into physical toys, would only be a blurry "blue mist" model, lacking both playable details and collectible value.

In short, the design should be easy to monetize!

(End of this chapter)