Behind the scenes of Jade Warrior

This film is the first time that Nordic style films have been integrated into Chinese film creation. The film is adapted from the Finnish national epic "Kalevala", which is rich in mythology and lyrical meaning. The epic has been translated into 54 languages ??and widely spread to many countries around the world. "Kalevala" means "hero country", which is the territory where heroes live. Compared with other epics, the male protagonists in "Kalevala" are very unique. They are real warriors and hopeless lovers. Although they fight bravely and skillfully, they can never get the woman they love. The film was shot in Finland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Zhejiang, China between 2005 and 2006. With the cooperation of local investor Villila Film Studio, the film officially started shooting in Pori on August 1, 2005. Villila Studios was originally the shipbuilding building of Technip Offshore, where all the interior scenes of Kai's blacksmith shop were filmed. At this time, the members of the film crew already included Finns, Estonians, Swedes and Chinese. At the most filming scene (and also the most troublesome time), 6 languages ??were used at the same time. The film's production designer Giucca Ustalo and his crew spent months building a huge octahedral blacksmith shop in this tall shipyard, where the crew would shoot for four weeks. Open flames were allowed on the set, and a running tractor engine was chained to the set to strengthen the fire and keep the forge of the film's protagonist Kay burning. The scenes in the blacksmith shop were shot in sequence, starting with Kai's sword-making scene at the beginning of the film, and ending with the fight between Kai and Hiroshi, which required six shooting days. Filming in Estonia began in Vihterpalu, where a swamp was created on a site that had been leveled by forest fires. The land here is very dry and hard, which makes the work of the film crew much easier than in a real swamp, but the number of mosquitoes there is almost comparable to the dust concentration in Pori. In a dreamlike sequence of a fight on the grass, Pertola's character Hiroshi directs Aion's character in a very rough manner, which was filmed in the forest near Vihterpalu's residence. There were very few mosquitoes there, but instead there were lice, and after a night of filming, 17 of them were found on Tommy Ion's body and clothes. In the grass fight scene, the wire-rope fighting skills that Ion practiced so hard during fight training will come in handy. Over the course of three nights of filming, Aion and a thrilling action actor wandered through a forest covered in soft moss. In Anila's memory, the scene of the fight on the grass was the most successful both in terms of feel and technique. After completing the filming in Vihterpalu, the crew moved to Tallinn to shoot the interiors and secret rooms of the Sanfu store as well as the exteriors of Finland's modern cities. The chamber scenes were filmed in a room in the basement of the old Tallinn University, where heinous crimes were committed during World War II. University administrators refused to go to the basement room used for filming, saying they had seen a trembling older woman on surveillance cameras in a room that was supposed to be empty. The crew could now work without any interruptions, and the ghosts would only appear when setting up scenes. Thinking about the experience during that period still makes the film crew feel chills. The first scene shot in China was a scene in a tavern. Extras played by people from the filming location crowded the filming location. After the initial chaos and difficulties, the filming went smoothly, just like the previous filming. Just as smooth. Although only two of the 85 Chinese people on the crew could speak English, and the crew had only one translator, the filming went very smoothly. The photographer said that in the later stages of his cooperation with the local illuminator, he was able to communicate smoothly just by gestures. The most anticipated thing during the production of the film was that Tommy Ion spoke his first Chinese dialogue in front of the local film crew, the main actors and the public. The director issued a warning through the assistant director that no matter what came out of the protagonist's mouth, no one was allowed to laugh, because his dialogue would have to be dubbed in the future. Aion has been practicing Chinese dialogue for a long time, often late into the night, so it has been quite rewarding. His first line of dialogue was very authentic. However, Aion, who has always been strict with himself, has continued his intensive language practice during the filming in China. The post-production of the film was completed in collaboration with editor Aika Hesse. From the beginning of 2006 until May, the underground editing room in Helsinki became their second home. Work on digital effects also began during that time. This film uses the most digital effects in Finnish films. Stunt supervisors Timo Peku Neminen and Lasse Kilpia and their teams created outstanding digital effects under a very tight schedule. Thousands of monk warriors, splashing sparks, wasps and leaves, mountain scenery, and rotating starry sky were all added to the real-shot scenes, while the hanging wires and production equipment that entered the frame during filming were removed. .