Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 574 This scene is stunning enough.
Bullet time and slow motion are not the same. Even though bullet time presents a slow-motion effect, simply slowing down the motion cannot achieve the same effect as bullet time. Even if the shooting method of adding frames and slowing down is used, the final effect is far inferior to that of bullet time.

So back then, the Wachowski brothers—at that time, they hadn't undergone gender reassignment surgery.

Therefore, when the brothers were filming The Matrix, they used a total of 120 high-speed cameras to create the stunning bullet-time effect in The Matrix.

Back then, being able to see such a scene was something you could brag about to your brothers for twenty years.

What's more, it also features Keanu Reeves at the peak of his good looks.

"Keanu Reeves..."

Gu Ming glanced at Zhen Zidan.

Dan had a motorcycle accident last time and was hospitalized with Hiroyuki Sanada. Now that he's recovered, he'll be making a cameo appearance as a henchman with a significant role in the story.

Later, Zhen Zidan collaborated with Keanu Reeves several times. According to Zhen Zidan, who is not very emotionally intelligent but tries to be as emotionally intelligent as possible, Keanu Reeves' action scenes are really not good, and even changing the action choreographer could not save them.

Gu Ming withdrew his gaze and clapped his hands to gather everyone together.

"Filming hasn't started yet, so we can test out this new lens first."

Gu Ming pointed casually.

Hey, Dan!

"Dennis, you try it. Do as I say later."

We've already discussed several techniques for creating bullet time, and the cheapest way is similar to stop-motion animation. It still involves shooting with ten high-speed cameras orbiting a track, but since there isn't a matrix of one hundred and twenty high-speed cameras, actors are needed to cooperate, just like stop-motion animation, with each action performed step by step.

Jackie Chan and his stunt team stood on the other side, watching Gu Ming busy himself.

This is so high-tech! Old Hong Kong martial arts masters never use this kind of thing!
Gu Ming arranged for everyone to place more than thirty adjacent standing positions on the ground according to the predetermined locations, and then began to disassemble the action with Zhen Zidan.

"Let's keep it simple. You can throw a punch like this, but you don't have to actually hit me. Just make a gesture."

Zhen Zidan responded and instantly threw a punch, stopping in front of Gu Ming.

Regardless of how fierce it is, the pose is cool enough.

"Got it? Then we'll use this action later, but we need to break it down into thirty parts, splitting the same action into thirty different shots."

Zhen Zidan: ...?
A pointed head, a big question mark.

Zhen Zidan thought Gu Ming was joking with him!

This is something that not just anyone could do!

For the sake of the money, Dan decided to give it a try.

I'll try my best! After all, I'm getting paid.

The same action was filmed repeatedly on this side, and the filming was broken down more than 30 times, using up a whole roll of film. This made Jackie Chan on the other side feel both distressed and confused.

Cheng Long certainly couldn't understand what this shot was about, but he believed that Gu Ming had gone to the United States specifically to get such a large box of equipment, and it definitely wasn't just for fun.

A rather unattractive young man approached Cheng Long and whispered a greeting.

"Brother Long, what are the Japanese doing?"

"You're asking me? How would I know!"

Cheng Long shrugged.

As far as he knows, he is completely unaware of the current situation.

The rather unattractive young man is named "Mars," and he was a well-known figure in the early days of Jackie Chan's stunt team. He was not only a martial arts performer but also acted in numerous films. However, to be honest, Mars's appearance is rather unconventional, and no matter how much promotion he received, he just couldn't become famous. When Jackie Chan filmed Project A, Mars actually held a leading role.

Even Jackie Chan doesn't understand now, and Mars can only wear the face of the Martian crater, full of confusion.

It took more than two hours of work over there to finish filming. Seeing Gu Ming leading his team to pack up the equipment, Cheng Long went over to say hello.

"Brother Gu".

"Brother Long."

Mars was instantly thrown back after hearing just a few words.

What kind of relationship is this?!

Cheng Long was used to it, and laughed heartily: "Look at you guys who have been busy for so long, what are you doing here?"

"This is the bullet time technique I mentioned before, but it requires a lot not only in filming but also in editing!"

Gu Mingdao said, "If we send it for editing now, we probably won't see it until at least tomorrow. I can guarantee that this shot will be absolutely full of tension! It will have an impact that feels like it could burst through the movie screen and bombard the audience!"

Cheng Long almost burst out laughing after hearing those few words.

That's not an exaggeration!

"Since you've put it that way, then I'll be watching with bated breath!"

He wanted to see exactly how this camera would bombard the audience; could it possibly knock them off their seats?

……

……

Bishamonten Studio was busy in Japan with post-production work on the reboot of Godzilla, so they naturally couldn't come to France. Fortunately, this scene, once filmed, didn't require much computer processing.

The following evening, after the editing was completed, Gu Ming specially gathered everyone in the hotel's conference room to show them the videotape.

Although the shot was short, the effect was quite satisfactory.

Of course, everyone was eager to attend and arrived at the conference room early, creating a noisy and chaotic scene.

"Brothers, quiet down!"

Gu Ming put down the tape, clapped his hands repeatedly, and then made everyone look up in his direction.

"Yesterday someone asked me what these devices are used for, right? Today the tape has been edited, so I'll show you all some high-tech stuff!"

Gu Ming inserted the tape into the projector, and as the machine turned, the image appeared on the screen.

Zhen Zidan threw a punch with tremendous force.

Although no one spoke, they didn't really take it seriously.

That's it! In Hong Kong, you can find any martial arts instructor you want!

The tape continued playing, and soon a second shot appeared for comparison.

It was still that same punch that emphasized power.

but.

With the help of high-speed cameras, it seems that even the subtle changes in muscles when punching can be seen clearly. The camera moves back and forth, showing all the changes in the muscles on the palm. At the moment of punching, the focus is on the knuckles, and then it expands to the entire impact surface.

The sandbag swayed left and right, and the many martial arts masters in front of the screen were mesmerized.

I never imagined that such a scene could be filmed in a movie!
Although it was still an ordinary punch, after filming, it truly had the impact that almost broke through the screen, just as Gu Ming said, making the audience feel as if they had really been punched.

"Then we'll sprinkle some pulverized tile powder on it. That way, not only will the punch be incredibly powerful, but the flying pulverized tile powder will also show the trajectory of the punch. If possible, we can even put lights on the characters so that there will be lighting effects when the punch lands, which, combined with the reaction of the victim, will show the effect of every punch landing... Don't you think that's amazing!"

Cheng Long slapped Mars's thigh.

That's absolutely incredible! Scenes like this create a powerful impact in a movie, and combined with Hong Kong's action choreography capabilities, it's definitely worth the ticket price! Forget about him directing it himself; he'd want to see a movie like this himself!
(End of this chapter)