Wen 丨 Keva
Report丨Yu Jia, Shao Xiaotao, Liu Bin, Xuan Yong
"China Film Report"丨Big country heavy weapon! Revealing the "production base" of "The Wandering Earth 2"
"The Wandering Earth 2" has received a lot of praise since its release, and as of press time, the cumulative box office has exceeded 3.4 billion, temporarily ranking second in the box office ranking of the Chinese film market this year.
Since the weekend of last week, the counterattack "Full of Red" has been set off, and the film has won the single-day box office championship many times in recent days, and the market performance is expected to rise to a higher level.
As of press time, "The Wandering Earth 2" has a cumulative box office of 3.489 billion
Following the opening of the first year of Chinese hardcore science fiction movies in 2019 "The Wandering Earth", the second part of the series, which took four years to polish, once again wrote a brilliant stroke for Chinese science fiction movies.
The sci-fi wonders constructed by the space elevator, lunar base, planetary engine, and unmanned car in the film are undoubtedly the best embodiment of the development achievements of China's science fiction film industry.
The amazing hardcore equipment is the result of hundreds of engineers in front of and behind the scenes. The heavy weapons of the big country full of science and technology are full of confidence in the continuous progress of Chinese manufacturing.
Recently, "China Film Report" visited XCMG Group, which is deeply involved in the creation of "The Wandering Earth 2", and talked to the engineers who quietly worked hard for the film, revealing the behind-the-scenes details of this sci-fi masterpiece.
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"4517" became a hero in the construction of the space elevator base
Wu Jing exposes the hidden skill - forklift drift
Wang Dianbo, site coordinator of XCMG's "The Wandering Earth 2", introduced that in order to help director Guo Fan create a sense of realism in science fiction movies, they deliberately dismantled the tooling of half of the production line and transferred it to the filming base in Qingdao.
A total of more than 60 sets of equipment and more than 400 parts were transported from the entire base, including precision parts such as dashboards in space elevators.
In terms of machinery and equipment, XCMG Group has dispatched more than a dozen production and transportation machinery alone, not only covering multiple electric loaders, but also various forklift products represented by the famous 4517 telescopic boom disassembly and assembly machine.
"The 4517 telehandler, as its model says, has a maximum load of 4.5 tons, and the telescopic boom can extend up to 17 meters, which can carry goods and reach a maximum travel speed of 36 kilometers per hour. The site is mainly responsible for the construction of the service space base. ”
Manager Wang said that large-scale machinery and equipment are more involved in infrastructure projects in reality. The hardcore equipment represented by the 4517 telescopic arm disassembly and assembly has participated in the construction of the venue for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France in the past, and has played an indispensable role in the construction of the "Wandering Earth 2" space elevator base.
They are not only tools for scene building, but also "actors" in some famous scenes.
For example, in the space elevator scene, the audience will see many forklifts carrying materials back and forth. These busy figures themselves are very important members of the construction of the space elevator base.
Many mechanical equipment may be assisting the set crew with material transfer and prop placement one second, and the next second they quickly enter the set to stand by, turning into "extras" for "The Wandering Earth 2".
Fortunate to participate in the creation of this sci-fi masterpiece, Wang Dianbo gained a lot of new experiences. He shared with us an experience of meeting Wu Jing for the first time.
At that time, I was discussing construction work with the staff at the entrance of the base, and suddenly a staff member wearing camouflage uniforms, driving a forklift, drifted, and then parked the car steadily next to everyone.
"Seeing that it was our car, I didn't care at the time."
Unexpectedly, the driver who slowly walked out of the forklift was Wu Jing, the star of "The Wandering Earth 2". The "exposure" of Wu Jing's hidden skill in driving a forklift surprised everyone present, "I feel that he can use a lot of equipment, and he may not be worse than our professional masters!" ”
Manager Wang laughed and said that Wu Jing, Sha Yi and Li Xuejian on the set were particularly approachable. The shooting scene of "The Wandering Earth 2" is always full of joy and filled with a very uplifting atmosphere.
In addition to organizing a variety of equipment to ensure the normal operation of the shooting of "The Wandering Earth 2", the equipment team needs to serve multiple departments such as the art team, the photography team, and the director team at the same time.
For example, the art team is mainly responsible for creative ideas based on the look and feel of the film. In this process, when it comes to the actual use of equipment such as electric trucks, aerospace engines, on-site forklifts and cranes, the equipment team will make relevant suggestions to them. Sometimes the art team is too busy to get busy, and even takes the handle directly.
The device group interacts a lot with different departments, and they are helping each other and learning together. In Wang Dianbo's words, for Chinese science fiction movies, everyone is contributing their part.
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Seemingly imaginative devices have real-world "prototypes"
The unmanned car hit by Andy Lau in the play actually has an obstacle avoidance function
In "The Wandering Earth 2", the mechanical equipment full of technology is dazzling, and many audiences are shocked by the visual spectacle constructed by the movie, and even expect the "future products" in the film to be truly applied to our real life.
Ma Ming, executive director of the film, said that the so-called "future products" are actually based on the real life of the present.
Before the filming of the film, the equipment team optimized the appearance design and modification project of all props and equipment under the guidance of the director team. Like the ET120 step-type mountain excavator, unmanned flatbed transporter, off-road chassis transportation system, etc. are all in the film.
Take a UEG off-road chassis transport system, for example.
After the equipment group formed an overall transformation plan, it took only seven days to carry out a comprehensive transformation of the entire body. The off-road chassis transportation system is used in the film to the explosion scene of the space elevator. The creation of a strong blasting atmosphere requires the equipment group to destroy the body and windows.
"But it was bulletproof glass, so it was really difficult at the time."
In the end, the prop team specially used the ET120 step mountain excavator as an aid, and used its (bucket teeth) to strongly hit the transportation system cab and break the glass before forming a certain blasting effect.
According to reports, the ET120 walking mountain excavator is also known as "steel mantis". Compared with other equipment, it can be applied to all terrains such as mountains, swamps, woodlands, etc.
In "The Wandering Earth 2", in addition to being mainly responsible for cooperating with various departments of the crew to arrange the equipment in place, when shooting some action scenes, it will also become props and integrate with high-tech fiction scenes.
In addition, the driverless flatbed transporter also plays an important role in promoting the development of the plot. The unmanned car that caused the car accident of Tu Hengyu played by Andy Lau in the film is based on this. This vehicle is actually used in unmanned operations in Tianjin Port and Xiamen Port. The port hands off the task to the transporter, which can complete the task independently through automatic path planning and natural navigation.
Liu Jingxiao, the designer of the container reachstacker crane, revealed for the first time that the unmanned flatbed transporter has a barrier avoidance function, and the crash cannot occur in real life. Because this device is very close to the sci-fi theme, the relevant scene design is completely based on the needs of the movie. "Vision sensors and radar sensors at the front and rear of the vehicle can identify obstacles during operation and thus achieve obstacle avoidance."
Since the official announcement, it has carried the attention of countless audiences, and "The Wandering Earth 2" can be called another milestone of Chinese science fiction movies. Therefore, at the production level, director Guo Fan strives for excellence, emphasizing the importance of real shooting more than relying on special effects.
During the filming of the film, more than 300 staff members before and after XCMG provided all-round protection for "The Wandering Earth 2", "As long as the crew puts forward production needs, we will strive to overcome difficulties and go all out." Ma Ming recalled.
After four years of polishing and gathering the wholehearted efforts of the crew, "The Wandering Earth 2" finally completed an excellent co-creation of Chinese science fiction and major countries in the output of cultural confidence.
Director Guo Fan revealed in a public interview earlier that perhaps in the next four years, "The Wandering Earth 3" will bring everyone new surprises.
Great powers, heavy weapons, scientific and technological blessings, Chinese science fiction movies, have been making great strides...