In the history of Chinese film and television, science fiction creation has been advancing in exploration.
In particular, the 2019 Spring Festival file "The Wandering Earth" was born in the form of a hard science fiction movie, which inspired the public's imagination of the stars and the sea, and reminded film and television professionals to expand new areas of practice and development ideas.
In the Spring Festival of 2023, director Guo Fan returned with "The Wandering Earth 2" and presented the audience with a nearly three-hour shocking audio-visual experience, which aroused heated public opinion and won a box office score of more than 3 billion yuan.
At the same time, the animated version, the TV series version of "Three-Body Problem", and the animated film "Bear Infested: Stay with Me "Bear Core"" have been broadcast one after another, using science and technology and artistic imagination to introduce audiences to strange and splendid places.
From obscurity to fame, Chinese science fiction film and television has gone through a critical development period of several years. No matter in the exploration of the narrative level, the treatment of typology, or the innovation of technology and the exploration of the core of thought, they have jumped to a new height.
The "future" has arrived. If the creation of Chinese sci-fi film and television was "a kind of undefinable X", now it presents a Chinese-style pattern that can be defined and has more possibilities, not only for sci-fi culture The vigorous development of the film and television industry has injected vitality, and it has opened up a broader imagination space for the Chinese film and television industry.
The work matrix explores the possibility of the fusion of science fiction culture and film and television art from multiple angles
The accelerated development of sci-fi themes began in 2019. The movies "The Wandering Earth" and "Crazy Alien" were released at the same time, setting off a sci-fi boom.
The two films, both adaptations of Liu Cixin's works, appeared together symbolically, and their box-office victories signaled the arrival of a new era of sci-fi cinema.
In particular, the phenomenal market performance of "The Wandering Earth" demonstrates the charm of sci-fi images from multiple dimensions such as industry and culture.
The basic configuration of science fiction film and television is technology and imagination.
Before "The Wandering Earth", Chinese sci-fi film and television usually adopted a soft sci-fi strategy, incorporating visions of the future into daily life, and creating wonderful dramatic conflicts through a slight "impact" on real life.
And "The Wandering Earth" builds a grand sci-fi world with the visual spectacle of heavy industry and the stern sci-fi core, and opens up a new path for the development of sci-fi literature and art with the proud attitude of hard sci-fi.
With the rise of sci-fi films, relevant policies have provided important support and scientific reference for the rapid development of sci-fi films.
In August 2020, the National Film Administration and the China Association for Science and Technology issued "Several Opinions on Promoting the Development of Science Fiction Films", proposing ten policy measures to strengthen support and guidance for the creation, production, distribution and projection of science fiction films, and special effects technology.
Relying on policy support, sci-fi film and television set off a wave of creation, embracing the future with a more diverse and open attitude.
"Mozart in Outer Space" and "Lonely Walking on the Moon" opened up the idea of traditional local soft science fiction, superimposed with comedy, parent-child and other genres, and effectively combined the realistic shock of science fiction scenes with the burden of laughing jokes and sincere and moving emotions. Soft science fiction creations make useful explorations.
In addition to the "Wandering Earth" series, China's first mecha movie "Tomorrow's War", as well as the TV series and animation "Three-Body Problem" respectively use the artistic charm of genre movies, sci-fi dramas and sci-fi animations to make the audience "see A world that can be believed".
After that, many sci-fi film and television dramas such as "Three-Body II: The Dark Forest", "Three-Body Problem: The Great History", "All Stars" and "The Abyss of Time" will be launched one after another.
They have different styles and are distributed in a matrix. They explore the possibility of the fusion and collision of science fiction culture and film and television art from different levels and angles, playing the prelude to the new development of science fiction film and television.
Under the tide of science fiction creation, China's film and television industry is making a comeback
Social development and progress have provided strong support for the rise of sci-fi film and television and even the entire sci-fi literature and art.
On the one hand, the concentrated explosion of sci-fi film and television creation requires the full support of high-tech.
On the other hand, science fiction film and television, as the top of the pyramid of the film and television industry, requires highly standardized and specialized industrial clusters to work together.
The growth of Chinese sci-fi film and television in recent years is not only a breakthrough in the genre itself, but also reflected in the development and application of Chinese film and television technology and the significant improvement of the industrial level.
Technology is the primary productive force, and the advancement of science and technology provides a strong impetus for the rise of science fiction film and television.
Especially in recent years, practitioners have paid close attention to the development of science and technology, and used technology integration and independent innovation to serve high-quality production and industrial transformation and upgrading.
The "Wandering Earth" series covers almost all categories of visual effects production, with thousands of special effects shots.
These difficult movements are mainly due to the application of world advanced technologies such as 3D printing and CNC machine tools and domestic cutting-edge equipment.
"Lonely Walking on the Moon" uses a six-axis platform device to simulate the bumps of the lunar rover, and uses real-life motion capture and post-production special effects to express the digital character King Kong mouse, achieving a "realistic" level.
In addition, "Tomorrow's War" breaks through the action scenes of mech warriors and alien creatures fisting to iron, using technology to push the presentation of Chinese science fiction scenes to a new level.
Building a strong industrial system requires not only equipment and technology, but also processes and standards.
As Guo Fan said: "We need imagination, and we also need specific methods to transform imagination into works. With this system, it will be easier for filmmakers to create excellent works based on previous experience. Production efficiency will be more guaranteed." The "Wandering Earth" series was completed in this way of thinking.
Guo Fan and his team have subverted the traditional film production process. From project planning to technical support to industrial support, they all reflect standardized process management and professional division of labor and collaboration.
Inspired by the historical leap of the "Wandering Earth" series, the TV series and the anime version of "Three-Body Problem" are marching toward one of the most difficult literary IPs, "Three-Body Problem".
It took many years for these two works from the decision to shoot to the release, and it took a long time just to determine the development ideas and direction.
From script to storyboard, from dynamic rehearsal to post-production, every step of decision-making requires repeated demonstration and experimentation.
These efforts may seem trivial, but they allow film and television workers to gain experience in teamwork.
The rich experience they have accumulated will help the development of Chinese sci-fi dramas and sci-fi animations, and promote the upgrading and improvement of the entire sci-fi film and television industry chain.
Expressing the humanistic care in the vast universe, the future of Chinese science fiction aesthetics can be expected
When the novel "The Three-Body Problem" won the Hugo Award, some experts commented: "Science fiction was born in the West, grew up in the West, and found fertile ground in the East. This is the best proof of the significance of science and imagination beyond national borders." From a certain In this sense, Chinese science fiction film and television shows the same value.
For example, in the "Wandering Earth" series, the spiritual core of the romantic feat of "Taking the Earth to Wander" is the nostalgia for home in traditional Chinese culture.
In order to save the earth, people unite and cooperate, and start a life-and-death battle against the clock, behind which is the logical support of the spirit of Chinese collectivism.
The TV version of "The Three-Body Problem" reflects on civilization and pays attention to human nature, and it is also a reflection on the "significance" of "Chinese narrative" to the "world".
There are also works such as "Mozart in Outer Space", "Lonely Walking on the Moon" and "Bear Infested: Stay with me "Bear Core"", which are full of Chinese-style emotional relationships, Chinese-style heroism, and Chinese-style life wisdom.
These works take Chinese social and cultural psychology as the soil, show many imaginations about history, times, and future with magical artistic conception and profound emotions, touch people's "brightest hopes and darkest fears", and express the Chinese people's outlook on the universe , Outlook on life.
These contents all point to a unique form of science fiction film and television, showing the aesthetic characteristics of "Chinese style".
It is true that in recent years, science fiction creations still have problems such as insufficient vision, and the number of works that have aroused repercussions is not enough, and there is still a certain distance from clustered and high-quality development.
The discussion of realistic propositions and the deep description of relevant details in the creation show the strong ambition of Chinese science fiction film and television, but how to point to the motif of science fiction works in another dimension, see the flash of the soul from the science fiction narrative rich in narrative logic, and gain We have not summed up the nourishment of beauty and the charm of intelligence, asking about the meaning of "human being" and the meaning of "survival".
Based on this, future Chinese sci-fi film and television creations must balance the relationship between spectacle presentation and artistic expression, sci-fi creation and film and television industry, cultural standpoint and technical logic on the basis of a strong film and television industry, and create a more realistic experience unique to our era. Film and television practitioners still have a long way to go to explore more possibilities of Chinese science fiction aesthetics.
(Author: Ding Yaping, dean of the Faculty of Art, Communication University of China, researcher at Beijing Xi Jinping Thought Research Center on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era)
Guangming Daily