1. What are character particle special effects? 2. How are character particle special effects implemented?

I understand what you mean. You are looking for special effects like those in science fiction movies, right?

With the rapid development of Internet technology and CG technology, the emergence of particle system special effects has revolutionized the development of film, television and animation. Particle special effects are included in many 3D software and post-synthesis software. Particle special effects can simulate the interaction between objects in the real world and occupy an irreplaceable position and prospect in future film and television. It can help us achieve shooting shots that are impossible or difficult to complete in real life in film and television, and can give people a refreshing feeling and strong visual shock. In addition, particle systems can also be used to produce special effects for film and television, such as explosions, smoke, rain, light effects, etc. Different from the effects commonly seen, its fast and convenient functions and interesting and diverse effects create visual effects that will amaze you.

The emergence of particle special effects is an emerging technology that has emerged in recent years with the development of computer software and hardware technology. Special effects software is used more and more widely in the virtual world of computers. Designers set the settings according to the shape of the objects to be expressed in films and animations. The way particle system effects simulate reality in film and television makes them a useful tool. Will be widely used in future films and television. In terms of film and television production, the new technology of particle special effects can give people a refreshing feeling, so it has been welcomed and sought after by many customers.

Particle system definition: What is a particle system? A particle system is a collection of a large number of display elements that have the same performance rules as a whole, but randomly show different characteristics individually.

This definition has several elements:

1. Group nature: The particle system is composed of "a large number of display elements". Therefore, it is correct to describe a swarm of bees using a particle system, but it does not make sense to describe a single bee.

2. Uniformity: Each element of the particle system has the same performance rules. For example, every flame that makes up a fire is red, shiny, jumping upward, and will gradually become smaller and even disappear on the way up.

3. Randomness: Each element of the particle system randomly exhibits different characteristics. For example, the flight path of each bee in the swarm may be winding and irregular, just like Brownian motion, but the entire bee swarm seems to move in a straight line in one direction (this is the previous point) said unity).

The characteristics and prospects of particle system special effects in film and television applications:

Particle special effects, as a branch of computer art, are based on the development of film and television art and computer software and hardware technology. A relatively independent new art form formed. With the further development of computer software and hardware, the application of particle effects technology has achieved unprecedented development, and particle effects as an independent discipline have truly embarked on a path of rapid development. Particle effects software is becoming more and more powerful and easier to operate, which makes particle effects more widely used. Not only can we see local TV station packaging and advertisements full of gorgeous particle effects, but also many more Computer enthusiasts play with the production of particle special effects on their personal computers. Particle special effects are developing rapidly in China, but there is a shortage of production talents! Film and television special effects companies have been established all over the country, and animation companies are eager for talents. Recruitment information for special effects talents can be seen everywhere on the Internet, but there are few qualified talents! To the extent that people in the industry can't help but sigh that it will be hard to find!

Particle special effects talents have become high-paying, high-tech talents that are urgently needed in the domestic market. According to data, particle special effects will be one of the most popular high-paying professions in the film and television animation industry in the future!

1. Create shots that cannot be completed through real shooting or are dangerous in real life: Many shots are impossible for us to obtain in real life, which requires us to use computers and special effects software to create shots. accomplish. Among them, particle effects play a very important role and play an irreplaceable role. A lot of people first became interested in particle effects because they were deranged fire and gun nerds. After all, we need to maintain excitement in our lives. Traditionally, these special effects are created on-site with more than a dozen elements (such as reduced models). The skills of the on-site smoke master will not be neglected at all, but recently in many, many cases (especially some smaller general-purpose cases) , no matter what the production budget is, particle effects can save a lot of shooting time and expenses. Explosions on set are fun, but they involve a lot of gear, pose a threat to actors and crew, and often only one shot has the chance to be successful. Particle special effects have their own unique advantages in this regard. Particle special effects can be used to create highly realistic explosions, muzzle flashes, smoke, and debris effects caused by the falling off and scattering of targets hit by bullets. So particles are an efficient way to simulate elements of actual footage. Particle special effects require special effects technicians to understand complex imagination. And expressed through particles. What I mean by "understanding" is not only scientific but also intuitive understanding, just like a painter understanding color and a cinematographer understanding picture. This requires particle special effects workers to learn to observe effects in the three-dimensional world so that they can be reproduced in the picture through special effects tools.

As far as "Spider-Man 3" is concerned, in order to create the images of villains such as the Green Goblin, Sand Man and Poisonous Spider, Sony Graphics Image Operations produced 930 separate special effects, which is more than the number of special effects in "Spider-Man 2". There are nearly 100 more.

Among them, Sandman is the most difficult to deal with. At the beginning of the film, the Sandman was just an ordinary human criminal - Flint Marco. He accidentally encountered a particle atomizer and was weathered along with the sand inside, turning into sand with super powers. people.

In the shocking scene of "The Birth of the Sandman", the sand on the ground came together as if it were alive, rising and falling one after another, gradually taking on a human form, and our villain was born. As we can't guess from the name, Sandman can transform into anything. Because he gained the power to become one with the sand, he sometimes transformed into a huge sand man, and sometimes turned into a sandstorm.

Sand can be said to be a frequent guest in movies, and the most famous one is its use in Universal's "The Mummy" series of films. But for Sandman, the sand "is truly alive, which undoubtedly makes it difficult to create special effects," said Scott Stockdick, visual effects supervisor at Sony Graphics Image Operations. A software engineer writes a sand simulation program. The final sandstorm program allows animators and designers to create quicksand, blowing sand, and sand gathering into bodies and limbs. "Spider-Man 3" producer Grant Curtis said: "We really showed the terrifying power of Sandman, a monster, and how he harnesses or cannot harness energy."

< p>Jody Duncan, editor of film special effects magazine FilmTech, said that for the special effects team, creating the Sandman's many forms - from a bundle of clouds to a Glass-sized giant - was a huge undertaking. challenge. "Almost every shot had to be remade to achieve the perfect effect."

The birth process of "Sandman" is probably one of the most shocking scenes in Hollywood special effects movies in recent years. From a technical and creative perspective, this shot is one of the best. No one has attempted such a large-scale sand simulation before. These grains of sand will eventually be brought together into a "character" to perform realistic movements, which is a double challenge for the special effects of animation. When director Sam Raimi proposed his idea to the special effects producers at Imageworks, they felt they had no way to start because there was no precedent to follow. In the end, Imageworks decided to use a combination of models and particle simulation: the core of "Sandman" is a simple humanoid model, and animators adjust various movements for it; while special effects artists perform particle simulation and simulation on the surface of this model. Material settings. Due to the unstable shape of the "Sandman", which often breaks into fine sand from the solid body, it often wanders between the "model state" and the "particle state".

The production is not affected by factors such as weather seasons: there is no need to recreate extreme climatic conditions. Even if you glance out the window inadvertently, you will find that the phenomena outside are constantly changing. In fact, climate conditions rarely meet the requirements of the scene, and it is even less possible to wait for perfect weather conditions for filming. For example, we need a snowstorm or heavy rain scene during the shooting process, but the weather changes are beyond our control. Due to various conditions, we cannot wait for blizzards and heavy rains to achieve the scenes and shots we need. This not only wastes time, money, and personnel, but also has to wait for God to bring his blessing. But blizzards, hail, heavy rain, a series of extreme weather conditions can be realized through particle effects so that they are not affected by the weather. The before-and-after comparison will be striking, and the result could be a blockbuster film.

The implementation of particle special effects in film and television to reduce costs: The existence of particle special effects reduces the cost output of film and television works to a certain extent. Particle system special effects do not require a complex production environment. Sometimes all that is needed is a few staff members and a few computers. We often see fireworks scenes in movies and TV shows. Shooting these scenes will cost us a lot of money and often requires us to succeed in one go. There are many such examples, which intensify the cost of the film, and we can completely simulate it through the particle system. This can not only reduce the cost of output, but the powerful visual effects brought by the particle system may also make the film more attractive.

When shooting a film

It is highly modifiable and the quality requirements are easier to control: Since the particle system relies on computers and software, the main requirements for production are: The artistic accomplishment and software operation level of the production staff. The particle system has unique advantages in simulating natural phenomena, physical phenomena and space distortion. It can control the behavior of particles through space distortion and enhance the authenticity of physical phenomena. Combined with space distortion, it can cause gravity, obstruction, wind and other simulations on particle flow. Influence. It can simulate almost any associative three-dimensional effect, such as smoke, sparks, explosions, snowstorms or waterfalls. Therefore, the quality of the product can be well controlled through particle system and computer software control, and it is relatively easy to modify. The advantage over scenes and effects captured by cameras is that their quality requirements for accuracy, authenticity and unlimited operability are easier to control.

Can beautify the products shown: In movies and television, we need to create some visual effects that cannot be seen in real life. Particle special effects can sometimes greatly improve our work efficiency. Create brilliant visual images. Particle system special effects have an impact on the beauty, artistry, and viewing shock of the scene. The beautification of products by particle special effects is reflected in many aspects and industries, such as advertising, film and television titles, movies, and games. For example, in the 2D era of game production, we have seen many special effects incorporating particle systems. For example, the magic effects in Diablo make extensive use of particle effects. Objects similar to natural clouds and fog can be generated in the game, and due to the randomness of these objects, the environment changes richly and colorfully, adding strong visual appeal to the game. Entering 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 component 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 multi-layer particles, interactions between particles and other factors, but the most fundamental design still comes from the basic structure of particles above.

Problems existing in the development of film, television and animation:

With the vigorous development of China's film, television and animation industry, passionate special effects production practitioners have found that they have fully mastered conventional production techniques. At the same time as the development of film and television, the lack of special effects production technology and materials has even become a fatal injury to film and television production. The truth is simple: without the support of cutting-edge and high-end CG technology, there will be no wonderful CG works. Let me first talk about my overall views on this industry. 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 spheres of influence, and no monopoly. Therefore, this industry is a geomantic treasure for those with low diplomas but strong self-learning ability. Everyone is running on the same starting line. It is completely different from traditional industries such as chemical industry and finance. The masters in this industry are all around 30 years old. , said seniority is not too long.

With the sluggish domestic film and television industry and the impact of foreign blockbusters, how to effectively improve the level of Chinese people's creation, particle effects production and standardize production guidelines is an issue that should not be underestimated in front of our colleagues. First of all, it is limited by objective conditions. The quality of the final picture effect only depends on the level, experience and artistic accomplishment of the production staff, as well as the technical limitations of special effects software and hardware. The technical requirements for production personnel are high and the production cycle is relatively long. Particle special effects are also common stunts in blockbusters, and few people can pull them off. The special effects director who won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for "Spider-Man 3" came to China to give a speech. , he said that the sand man in the film was the most difficult part of the film. In order to do it well, we set up a team of 100 people to study sand, and it took a year to make it successfully!

Secondly, the goals of particle system special effects personnel in our industry are not uniform, and they are as follows:

One type of art, many domestic masters do special effects from curiosity to hobby, and to obsession Based on the amazing effects of Hollywood blockbusters, we strive to improve the domestic digital image level. However, due to the constraints of conditions and limited access to funds and technology, we were unable to realize our dreams. Or because the film market is sluggish, there is a lack of investment, and the talent is not concentrated, it is impossible to produce blockbusters, and it is unwilling to be a "licensed" product, so it is difficult to make money.

The second type of money-making, particle special effects is still a new product. With its charming charm and unlimited development prospects, it attracts countless explorers who enter the gold rush. Most of them have no artistic foundation and rely on their amazing receptivity. , learn all special effects software, and have made a lot of money from hardware monopoly operations in the early days of the industry, but they are about to face the creative impact and price impact of countless new forces.

3 Amateur type, it is undoubtedly a good thing for more enthusiasts to join our business, but everyone has different factors that lead to uneven levels. They want to do well but do not have the conditions! What is even more helpless is that in order to survive and adapt to the fierce business competition, some of them are forced to compete with the market with low-priced and inferior special effects products, resulting in a vicious circle of irregularities in the industry.

Money needs to be earned, food needs to be eaten, and technology needs to be improved. What can we do as colleagues to make the cake bigger together? The space in front of you is vast. We are faced with opportunities and challenges. How will we plan our development blueprint? This requires the joint efforts and development of people with lofty ideals.

Summary:

Although the threshold for entry into particle system special effects technology is low, it takes years of unremitting efforts to be proficient in and use it skillfully. At the same time, you must continue to learn new technologies as the software develops. technology. It has the highest technical content among all film and television advertising production forms. The application of particle system special effects in film and television is a work that closely combines art and technology. During the production process, on the one hand, it is necessary to fully realize the requirements of reality and beauty technically; on the other hand, it is also necessary to artistically recreate the color tone, composition, light and shade, lens design and assembly, and rhythm control. Film and television special effects need to learn from some rules of graphic design, but more of them need to be created according to the rules of film and television art. There is reason to believe that it will definitely shine in the history of film animation in the future. In the future, we will live in an ocean of information, and the existence of particle system special effects will be a sight everywhere.