1. What is a role particle special effect? 2. How is the role particle special effect realized?
With the rapid development of Internet technology and CG technology, the appearance of particle system special effects has brought revolutionary changes to the development of movies and animation. Many 3D softwares and post-synthesis softwares have particle special effects, which can simulate the interaction between objects in the real world and play an irreplaceable role in future film and television. It can help us to realize the shooting scenes that are impossible or difficult to complete in real life in film and television, and it can give people a refreshing feeling and a strong visual shock effect. Furthermore, the particle system can also be used for the production of film and television special effects, such as explosion, smoke, rain, light effects and so on. Different from ordinary special effects, its quick and convenient functions, interesting and diverse effects, and the visual effects it creates can surprise you.
The emergence of particle special effects is a new technology with the development of computer software and hardware technology in recent years. The application of special effects software in computer virtual world is more and more extensive, and designers set it according to the shape of objects to be expressed in movies and animations. The way particle system special effects simulate reality in movies and TV programs makes it a useful tool. Will be widely used in the future film and television. In film and television production, particle special effects, a new technology, can give people a refreshing feeling, so it has been welcomed and sought after by many customers.
Definition of particle system: What is a particle system? Particle system is a collection of a large number of display elements, which have the same performance law as a whole, but individuals randomly show different characteristics.
This definition has several elements:
1, Group: The particle system consists of "a large number of display elements". So it is correct to describe a swarm of bees with particle system, but it is meaningless to describe a bee.
2. Unity: Each element of the particle system has the same performance law. For example, every flame that constitutes a fire is red, shining and jumping upwards, and it will gradually become smaller or even disappear on the way up.
3. Randomness: Each element of the particle system randomly shows different characteristics. For example, the flight path of each bee in a bee colony may be tortuous, just like Brownian motion, but the whole bee colony seems to move in one direction in a straight line (this is the unity mentioned above).
Characteristics and prospects of particle system special effects in film and television applications;
As a branch of computer art, particle special effects is a relatively independent new art form formed on the basis of the development of film and television art and computer software and hardware technology. With the further development of computer software and hardware, the application of particle special effects technology has got unprecedented development, and particle special effects, as an independent subject, has really embarked on the road of rapid development. Particle special effects software is becoming more and more powerful and easy to operate, which makes the application of particle special effects more and more extensive, so that not only can we see that the column packaging and advertisements of TV stations everywhere are full of gorgeous particle special effects, but many computer enthusiasts have also played the production of particle special effects on their personal computers. Particle special effects have developed rapidly in China, but there is a shortage of production talents! Film and television special effects companies have been set up all over the country, and animation companies are eager for talents. The recruitment information of special effects talents can be seen everywhere on the Internet, but there are few qualified talents! So that people in the industry can't help but feel that it will be difficult to find!
Particle special effects talents have become high-paying high-tech talents urgently needed in the domestic market. According to the data, particle special effects is one of the hottest high-paying jobs in the future film and television animation industry!
First, create a shot that can't be completed or is dangerous in real life: many shots are impossible for us to get in real life, which requires us to achieve through computers and special effects software. Among them, particle special effects occupy a very important position and play an irreplaceable role. Many people are interested in particle special effects for the first time because they are insane fire enthusiasts and gun addicts. After all, we need to keep passion in life. Traditionally, these special effects are created by more than a dozen elements (such as scaled-down models) on the spot, and the skills of on-site smokers will not be abandoned at all. But recently, in many cases (especially in some small general cases), particle special effects can save a lot of shooting time and cost without considering the production budget. On-site explosion is very interesting, but it involves a lot of equipment and poses a great threat to actors and filmmakers. Often, one shot can succeed. Particle special effects have their own unique advantages in this respect. Particle special effects can complete the debris effect caused by explosion with strong sense of reality, the flash of muzzle, smoke and the falling off of bullets hitting the target. So particles are an effective way to simulate the actual lens elements. Particle special effects require special effects technicians to understand the complex imagination. And show it through particles. When I say "understanding", I mean not only scientific understanding, but also intuitive understanding, just as painters understand color movies and photographers understand pictures. This requires particle special effects workers to learn to observe the effect in the three-dimensional world, so as to reproduce it in the picture through special effects tools.
As far as Spider-Man 3 is concerned, in order to create the villain image of green goblin, sandman and poisonous spider, Sony Graphics and Image Operation Company produced 930 individual special effects, nearly 100 more than spider-man 2.
Among them, the sand people are the hardest to come by. At the beginning of the film, Sandman is just an ordinary human criminal-Flint Marco. He happened to meet a particle atomizer, which weathered with the sand inside and became a sandman with super powers.
In the shocking scene of The Birth of the Sandman, the sand on the ground gathered together like life, one by one, gradually taking on a personal shape, and our villain was born. We can't guess what the sandman can become from the name. Because of the power combined with sand, he sometimes turned into a huge sandman and sometimes into a sandstorm.
Sand can be said to be a frequent visitor in movies, and the most famous one is its application in "Mummy" movies all over the world. Scott Stokdyk, director of visual effects of Sony Graphics and Image Operation Company, said, but for Sha people, sand is "really alive, which undoubtedly brings some difficulties to the production of special effects". The software engineer compiled a sand simulation program. The final sandstorm program allows animators and designers to create scenes where quicksand, blown sand and sand gather into bodies and limbs. Grant Curtis, the producer of Spider-Man 3, said: "We really showed the terrible power of the sandman monster and how he managed or couldn't manage energy."
Jody Duncan, editor of Film Technology, a film special effects magazine, said that it was a huge challenge for the special effects team to create various forms of sandman, from clouds to giants the size of glass. "Almost every shot has to be retaken to achieve the perfect effect."
The birth of Sandman is probably one of the most shocking scenes in Hollywood special effects movies in recent years. This shot is one of the best in technology and creativity. No one has ever challenged such a large-scale sand simulation. These grains of sand will eventually be assembled into a "character" for realistic action, which is a double challenge to animation special effects. When director Sam Raimi put forward his ideas to the special effects producers of Imageworks, they also felt that there was no way to start, because there was no precedent to follow. Finally, Imageworks decided to use both model and particle simulation: the core of Sandman is a simple human model, which is adjusted by the animator; Special effects artists simulate particles and set materials on the surface of this model. Because the sandman's shape is unstable, it often breaks from solid to fine sand, so it often drifts between "model state" and "particle state"
Production is not affected by weather season and other factors: there is no need to rebuild extreme weather conditions, even if you inadvertently glance out of the window, you will find that the phenomenon outside is constantly changing. In fact, the climatic conditions rarely meet the requirements of the scene, let alone wait for the perfect climatic conditions to shoot. For example, we need a scene of snowstorm and rainstorm in the process of shooting, but the change of weather is beyond our control. Due to various conditions, we can't wait until there is a snowstorm and rainstorm to realize the scenes and shots we need, which wastes time, money and personnel, and even wait until the weather is fine. A series of extreme weather conditions, such as snowstorm, hail and rainstorm, can be realized by particle special effects, so they are not affected by the weather. The contrast will be very significant, and the result may be a blockbuster.
Particle special effects in film and television reduce costs: the existence of particle special effects reduces the cost output of film and television works to some extent. Particle system special effects don't need a complicated production environment, sometimes only a few staff and computers are needed. In film and television, we often have fireworks scenes, and shooting these scenes will cost us a lot of money and often require us to succeed once. There are many such examples, which aggravate the output of film cost, and we can completely simulate it through particle system. This can not only reduce the output cost, but also make the film more attractive because of the powerful visual effect brought by the particle system.
When shooting a movie,
The modification is strong, and the quality requirements are easier to control: because the particle system depends on computers and software, what is mainly needed in the production is the artistic accomplishment of the producer and the operation level of the software. Particle system has unique advantages in simulating natural phenomena, physical phenomena and space distortion, which can control the behavior of particles and enhance the authenticity of physical phenomena. Combined with space distortion, it can simulate the particle flow such as gravity, blocking and wind. It can simulate almost any related three-dimensional effect, such as smoke clouds, sparks, explosions, snowstorms or waterfalls. Therefore, through the control of particle system and computer software, the quality of products can be well controlled, and it is relatively easy to modify. Compared with the scenes and effects shot by the camera, it has the advantages of accuracy, truthfulness, unlimited maneuverability and easier quality control.
Products that can beautify the display: We need to create some visual effects in film and television that we can't see in real life. Particle special effects sometimes greatly improve our work efficiency. Create a gorgeous visual picture. The special effects of particle system have an influence on the aesthetic feeling, artistic feeling and shock of viewing. Particle special effects beautify products in many aspects and industries, such as advertisements, titles, movies and games. For example, in the game production in the 2D era, we have seen many special effects using particle systems. For example, the magic effect in Diablo uses a lot of particle effects. Objects similar to natural clouds can be generated in the game, which make the environment change colorful because of randomness and can add strong visual appeal to the game. In the 3D era, the use of particle systems in games has become more common, and we can produce many gorgeous particle effects. Particle system is an essential element in 3D games. Many famous game engines provide powerful particle systems and particle editors for artists. These powerful particle editors have more complex designs, such as considering the interaction between multi-layer particles and particles, but the most fundamental design still comes from the basic structure of particles above.
Problems in the development of film and animation;
With the vigorous development of film and television animation industry in China, passionate special effects production practitioners find that while the conventional production technology has been fully mastered and developed, the lack of special effects production technology and materials has even become a fatal injury to film and television production. The reason is simple: without the support of cutting-edge and high-end CG technology, there will be no wonderful CG works. Let me talk about my overall view of this industry first. Because it is a new industry, everything starts from scratch. There are no specialized schools offering such majors, no specialized high-level teachers, no traditional sphere of influence and no monopoly. So for those who have a low diploma but strong self-study ability, this industry is simply a treasure trove of feng shui. Everyone runs on the same starting line, which is completely different from traditional industries such as chemical industry and finance. Experts in this industry are all around 30, and their qualifications will not be too long.
With the recession of domestic film and television industry and the impact of foreign blockbusters, how to effectively improve the level of Chinese people's creation and particle special effects production and standardize the production standards is a subject that cannot be underestimated in front of peers. First of all, limited by objective conditions, the final picture effect only depends on the producer's level, experience and artistic accomplishment, as well as the technical limitations of special effects software and hardware. The technical requirements for producers are relatively high, and the production cycle is relatively long. Particle special effects are also common stunts in blockbusters, and few people can do them. The Oscar for Best Visual Effects won a speech by the special effects director of Spider-Man 3 in China. He said Sandman was the most difficult film. In order to do a good job, we set up a team of 100 people to study sand, and it took 1 year to succeed!
Secondly, the objectives of the particle system special effects personnel in our industry are not uniform, and there are the following:
Guided by art, many masters in China are fascinated by the amazing effects of Hollywood blockbusters from curiosity to hobby of doing special effects, and strive to improve the level of digital imaging in China. However, due to the limited conditions, limited capital and technical channels, the dream can not be realized. Or because the film market is depressed, the investment is insufficient, the talents are not concentrated, and they are unwilling to be "licensed" and can't make money.
Second, making money, particle special effects or new products. It attracts countless explorers to enter the gold market with its charming charm and unlimited development prospects. Most of them have no art foundation. With their amazing acceptance, they learned all the special effects software. In the early days of emerging industries, they have made a lot of money from hardware monopoly, but they are about to face the creative impact and price impact of countless newcomers.
Third, amateurs, it is undoubtedly a good thing for more amateurs to join our cause, but everyone has different factors leading to uneven level. They want to do it well, but there are no conditions! What is even more helpless is that some of them are forced to rush out of the market with low-priced and inferior special effects products in order to survive and adapt to fierce commercial competition, resulting in a vicious circle of nonstandard industries.
Money is earned, food is eaten, and skills need to be improved. What should colleagues do to make the cake bigger together? The space before us is vast. We are faced with opportunities and challenges. How will our development blueprint be planned? This requires the joint efforts and development of people with lofty ideals.
Summary:
Although the entry threshold of particle system special effects technology is low, it takes years of unremitting efforts to master and skillfully use it, and it is also necessary to constantly learn new technologies with the development of software. In all forms of film and television advertising production, the technical content is the highest. The application of particle system special effects in film and television is a close combination of art and technology. In the production process, on the one hand, we should fully realize the requirements of truth and beauty in technology, on the other hand, we should re-create the art in the aspects of picture tone, composition, light and shade, lens design and combination, rhythm control and so on. Film and television special effects need to learn from some laws of graphic design, but more should be created according to the laws of film and television art, and there is reason to believe that it will shine brilliantly in the future history of film animation. In the future, we will live in the ocean of information, and the existence of particle system special effects will be a landscape everywhere.