CCTV News: In accordance with the requirements of simplicity, safety and excitement, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics used a large number of digital technologies and integrated with aesthetic innovation, which will present a new visual feast for the audience. Our reporter exclusively visited the opening and closing ceremony creative base responsible for the entire visual effects.
Wang Xiaojie: This is the creative base for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and at the opening ceremony in a few days, everyone will see shocking visual effects from this studio. Most of the creative teams of more than 100 people are young people who are "post-90s" and "post-00s", who have been fighting here for three years, in order to perfectly present our Chinese digital technology to the world.
"Post-80s" Wang Zhiou is the leader of this young team, he has participated in the design and production of visual effects for important performances such as "Beijing 8 Minutes" and "70th Anniversary of the National Day" created by Director Zhang Yimou. In his view, the entire opening ceremony is a feast of digital technology and a leap forward in China's digital aesthetics.
Wang Zhiou, visual effects director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics: The general director's requirement for us is that it must have this kind of oriental heritage, but (and) have a new expression of the new era, so we have been looking for this unique aesthetic. For example, we are looking at this drop of water, a drop of ink is going to fall, both to make it gentle but also to weigh, and then there must be layers before and after.
The presentation of a drop of ink and a drop of water must be done to the extreme, both with scientific and technological content and artistic effects, and every detail creation team must be repeatedly revised hundreds or even thousands of times. The visual effects of some links, after several months of repeated polishing, were finally pushed back and restarted.
Wang Zhiou, visual effects director of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics: This kind of original creative is very, very difficult. Every day does not stop, every day to subvert the self to innovate. Because the general director's requirements are all completely original, as long as the work can be better, he will not hesitate to completely subvert the ideas of the previous year or even years.
Wang Zhiou introduced that their team covers artists, designers and digital engineers, many of whom are master's and doctoral students, and the current level has been comparable to the top digital technology production teams in foreign countries.
Wang Zhiou, visual effects director of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics: At the beginning, the general director hoped to find artists around the world, some top digital workers to create together, but then we went to creative meetings with the director again and again, and then came up with a lot of plans. Later, the director said that this time it seems that the Chinese team can be used, and we can have such a creative opportunity is really a big improvement in China's scientific and technological and economic strength.
Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony visual effects designer Sun Belle: For me, it is like a very large and deep graduation creation.
Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony visual effects planning Yu Bo: Just grow up with the country, and then because of China's development, we will also have our own new stories to tell, and we are looking forward to it.
Wang Zhiou introduced that for three years, they suffered day and night, did not stop for a moment, everyone is holding a force, must prove that they are OK, even in the last few days, the general director has been very satisfied with the situation, they are still competing with themselves, carefully cutting every detail, and striving to do better.
Wang Zhiou, visual effects director of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics: We must first have this determination, we must have this feeling, I think everyone can persist for such a long time, is to prove to the people of the world that we young people. We not only love the art industry, we can also use the industry we love to make a perfect appearance for the motherland for our Chinese people in the world, I think these three years are too worthwhile, I hope that on February 4, when our works are unveiled, the people of the whole country and the people of the world will applaud.