China News Service Client, Beijing, July 8th (Reporter Shangguan Yun) Every summer vacation is almost a time when "Journey to the West" is hot. Although the 82 edition of "Journey to the West" has been filmed for 38 years and the quality of the picture is not satisfactory, it still has a lot of "old drama fans".
A few days ago, a video explaining the special effects of the old version of "Journey to the West" appeared on the hot search. Netizens who laughed in tears were curious about the content of the video, and also lamented that the conditions were backward at that time, and they could still complete so many special effects shots.
Behind these special effects and stunts that now seem to be "soily", there is the hard work and effort of the crew. The 82-page "Journey to the West" videographer Wang Chongqiu is the designer of the stunt lens. His story also reveals the secret behind the old version of "Journey to the West".
Sun Wukong drove the fog. Image source: 82 version of "Journey to the West" video screenshot
Sun Wukong, who takes the clouds by the clouds, the clouds made of cotton
When I was a child, I watched "Journey to the West". Many people were most concerned about the fairy's ability to ride the fog. Sun Wukong learned the scene of the cloud, which was shot at the rehearsal field of the acrobatic troupe.
"Hang the blue curtain first, set the trampoline in front, and use the bouncing to reflect the "lift"." Wang Chongqiu said that because it is a dangerous professional action, it is done by professional acrobats, and then combined with the blue sky lens , Presenting a "flying" shot.
In many scenes, in order to show the picture of Sun Wukong falling on the clouds, the crew also thought of many ways and did many experiments. For example, the material for making clouds, and even tried using dry ice, and finally chose cotton.
To make white clouds with cotton, the first step is to put the cotton in front of the blue screen for the first keying and synthesize it with the blue sky. The actor jumped and stood in front of the blue screen, performing the second key combination with Bai Yun.
Then on the stunt stage, put the character and the cloud that looks like it together, grasp the speed of the character and the speed of the cloud, and fly out of the picture at the same time, this shot is completed.
In the whole work, there are many special effects similar to synthesis, such as the fight of fairy monsters, flying around in the sky... In terms of the experience of the crew, it is "the combination of earth and foreign."
"At that time, there was only one special ADO stunt machine, and the special effects in the play mainly included post-synthesis, keying, and on-site special effects such as Waia. Where there is insufficient technology, Director Yang Jie mobilized various types of work together to find a way. "Wang Chongqiu said.
In the episode "Sleeping Prisoners of Five Elements Mountain", Sun Wukong was crushed under the Five Elements Mountain. Image source: 82 version of "Journey to the West" video screenshot
How was Wu Wushan photographed when Sun Wukong was pressed?
"Journey to the West" has many classic shots, and Sun Wukong is one of the Buddhas pressed down by Wulai Mountain. The scattered stones, Sun Wukong's struggle and unwillingness, had watched and cried many small audiences.
This scene is composed of more than ten shots. You have to take an empty shot of the blue sky first, and then take a close-up shot of the palm in front of the blue screen.
The crew found a more open place in Shilin, Yunnan. Wang Chongqiu and his colleagues first lowered the camera position so low that they could only see the blue sky. Then, with the ingenious hand of smoker Liu Li, an "explosion" created a "landfall" Crack" effect.
Use a stunt machine to flip this lens, and then remove the horizon in the picture by occlusion, put the lens in the palm of Rulai, and combine it with the lens of Sun Wukong hanging upside down in front of the blue screen. Appeared in the blasted stone.
However, the crew still felt a little less. At the Seven Kings Grave in Beijing, they found a big pit and let Sun Wukong squat in the pit. The artist made some fake stones, and the ash and sand smashed from top to bottom. Wang Chongqiu stood on the high platform beside the pit and shot down.
After smashing Sun Wukong, the person squatting in the deep pit was replaced by Wang Chongqiu carrying the camera, the camera was facing the sky, and the people on the high platform again poured ash and sand against the camera. In this way, the camera switches back and forth, and the sand is overwhelming, showing the atmosphere that Sun Wukong cannot escape.
In the play, at this time the Tiangong is lively, but Sun Wukong is struggling in every way, and finally trapped under the Wuxing Mountain. Wang Chongqiu said that it was through this set of shots that a strong drama contrast was formed.
Sun Wukong and Xiaobailong are fighting each other. Image source: 82 version of "Journey to the West" video screenshot
Those "imperfect" special effects
Despite the hard work of the crew, due to various reasons, the 82 edition of "Journey to the West" still left a lot of imperfections.
Because of the lack of key software, the characters created by the stunt mechanism are not very three-dimensional. The crew inquired that this key software cost 50,000 US dollars, and really could not get the money. Coupled with time constraints, those special effects characters can only be in the state of "paper-man" in the end.
The lack of technology will affect the quality of keying. In "Monkey King Bao Tang Seng", Sun Wukong fought against the little white dragon who appeared in real life. The wood carving prop "dragon" was once spit out by the audience "looking awkward".
"There are scales on the dragon, the light is uneven, and there will be uneven pictures. The keying results are a little bit numb." This prop cost nearly 1,000 yuan, but the effect is not very good. For a long time, Wang Chongqiu and his colleagues were hard to release.
Due to limited conditions, some shots cannot be taken at once. In one episode, Tang Seng was framed by a monster and turned into a tiger. The crew first took a shot of the Tang monk lying on the ground in a temple in Yunnan, and then went everywhere to find a suitable tiger to shoot.
The first time was in a zoo in Xinxiang, Henan, but Wang Chongqiu waited for a long time, and the tiger didn't cooperate at all, so he had to give up. Over the past year, they ran to the Shanghai Circus again. Wang Chongqiu squatted in the iron cage of the tiger. After many setbacks, he took the picture of the tiger lying on the ground.
This lens also took a lot of time, but for technical reasons, it can still see the traces of the synthesis.
Why is this old drama still nostalgic?
From the perspective of today, many special effects and special effects of the old version of "Journey to the West" are indeed rough, but for many years, the audience still watched with interest. One of the reasons may be "true", one is true and the other is serious.
For example, Nezha stepped on the hot wheels and descended from the sky. Although it was through post-production that the actor and the hot wheels were combined, the fire on the hot wheels was real. The smoker Liu Li gave the wheel a layer The layer is coated with asbestos and burned.
The red child squirted Sam Wuzhen's real fire and burned Sun Wukong. Liu Li found a blowtorch, close to the actor's side face, and at the same time cooperated with the actor's mouth opening, using the method of "borrowing" to complete the shot. .
In the play, the red baby vomits Samadhi. Image source: 82 version of "Journey to the West" video screenshot
Liu Li also configured different appearance smoke for the character. White smoke is generally a fairy appearance, and red children use red smoke...
In one scene, the yellow robe monster had yellow smoke when it debuted, and then appeared with a few laughs. The smoker put the smoke tube under the robe of the yellow robe. After the smoke was up, it was very smokey, but the actor worked hard to persist, and finally achieved a classic shot.
There are many similar examples. Some people have lamented that the special effects level of "Journey to the West" has gone up. The big scenes are very cool, but the viewing experience is not as good as the previous 25 episodes.
Wang Chongqiu has also heard many mixed opinions about the sequel. He believes that everyone has their own views, but Director Yang Jie and himself and the crew have done their best within their ability. For them, round is a dream. (Finish)