"Because the audience's amazement has no direct connection with the special effects price, the one that looks exciting may be easier to implement and has a lower cost. Because the special effects are not what they seem on the surface, it involves some specific work, such as models, lighting renderings, maps, animations, roto, TC, etc. You need to break down the director's requirements before you know which one is cheaper."

"In essence, the key to whether it looks good or not is the artist's imagination."

"To give a simpler example, the same sky flying, missile launching, monster attacking, and night is much cheaper than daytime. Because the details, light sources, and reflections are all simplified, and other parts don't need to be too exquisite."

"Of course, the audience's psychological feelings are different, but not too big. Why are the battles in the first part of "Iron Man" always at night? That's the same thing."

"The special effects of each video are discussed separately by the producer and the special effects company. The quotes of different companies are different. There are hundreds of special effects companies in Los Angeles alone. The special effects of similar or slightly lower level are one-third of the quotes of the United States."

"Of course I'm not saying that "Titanic Movie" uses special effects from Korean and even Indian special effects companies. The natural and real level in the movie is absolutely impossible to be something that a small company in South Korea, Japan, India or even Los Angeles can do."

"In that case, why does "Titanic Movie" cost only $200 million, which involves more detailed filming."

"You know, no video can be produced every minute, every second, and most of it is real shot, because good special effects are expensive. Unless it is a 5-rupee special effects in India, you can add it as much as possible. It is about 8 cents and 5 cents."

"Of course the same is true for "Titanic Movie". So how did it be filmed without Leonardo?"

"Don't forget that real-life face-changing techniques are still natural and realistic. "Fast and Furious 7" exists, and "Avatar" has been available earlier. He is not something new."

"This technology called the 'face performance capture and restoration system' was used in movies very early. Each company may have different names, but the principles are similar. Don't forget Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings"."

"In recent years, technology has been improving and the cost has also been declining. If a Leonardo DiCaprio face model is built and performed by other actors, it is likely that the cost will be less than the pay Leonardo DiCaprio paid. Of course, no formal film company can do this and dare not do this."

"If there is no such thing as portrait rights, we might see Robert Downey Jr.'s face appearing in more than a dozen movies at the same time today. So, thanks for portrait rights."

"If every actor in "Titanic Movie" uses this technology and adds real shots, the cost will be $200 million?"

"Of course it's more than that. Even if the cost of real shots is excluded, the cost of just changing face effects is more than $200 million. Because a large part of the cost of this special effect lies in establishing the actor's face model. After face modeling, the longer it is used, the lower the cost will be diluted. There are a lot of actors in "Titanic Movie", and it's too exaggerated to model the modeling cost of everyone."

"To put it bluntly, except for the starring actors, no other actors are worth the price of modeling."

"In fact, those actors who appear very few times have more cost-effectiveness to deal with without building models and using traditional special effects. As for actors who only show off, using special effects to make-up is more cost-effective than any computer special effects. Even so, $200 million is not enough."

"But don't forget that the first protagonist in the film, the Japanese Abe, who is now locked in Chinese actor Yun.Ning, does not need to use any special effects."

"Yun.Ning uses real-faced performances, and he has the most shots, so minus the cost in this area, it's almost $200 million. After all, this film has no explosion or monsters. Apart from changing faces, there are not many special effects, or very few, which depends on the actual shooting situation."

"There is another premise. The production time of this video must be in 2015 or 2014. In an earlier year, due to technical reasons, the cost is much higher than it is now. This still refers only to special effects, not to real shots, not to include film pay."

"Of course, I think those actors whose faces cannot be revealed, and Yun.Ning, who starred in the movie for the first time, can be ignored in the combined pay."

"Some people who often care about movie news may still feel that the cost is more than that. I can only tell you, don't believe in the producer's water injection promotion. The audience loves special effects, and of course they tell you that I have spent a lot of money on special effects."

"Don't believe that the average number of numbers per minute and second in the average quoted price of the special effects company. Every movie is discussed as a whole. I never say that I want a special effects for ten minutes. You can give me a price. There is that kind, but it is not a movie, and the price per minute is pitifully small, and the number of modifications is also stipulated."

"So is it reasonable to make such a movie of $200 million or more?"

"Of course it's unreasonable. Who would be so bored that he spent $200 million to make a movie that cannot be released or profitable? Is it just to make everyone laugh!"

"So now there is a more interesting question. Does the special effects really cost $200 million?"

"I think this is also what many people want to ask, why are the special effects so expensive? What is it expensive? Why are the cheap special effects so poor?"

"In the simplest terms, visual effects are very expensive, technology is expensive, R&D is expensive, artistic creation is expensive, and manpower is also expensive."

"Special effects companies are different from special effects companies. Companies that can grow up all start their own technical capital accumulation very early, or have their own unique technologies. For example, Pixar, founder Ed.Catmull, is a scientist who wrote the RenderMan software. RenderMan is a computer program that can render geometric descriptions submitted to computers into real images in photos."

"Lucas bought Renderman's right when Ed.Catmull was an employee of Industrial Light and Magic. Later, Industrial Light and Magic also invited the Academy Award winner Ron Fedkiw as a consultant. Ron Fedkiw is an expert in aeronautical mechanics, professor Stanford, and editor of "Computable Physics". His achievements in graphics were as a pioneer and innovator of fluid computing programs, making fluid simulation possible in movies and continuously optimized. Industrial Light and Magic had the right to use the fluid simulation software PhysBam, which he wrote."

"Vita Digital, the most important asset, is the Crowd.simulation technology, which is specially used to simulate the movement of tens of thousands of people and complex scenes. The large-scale scenes of tens of thousands of people moving simultaneously in "Lord of the Rings" are digital people generated using this software. This technology was used earlier by Disney in "Mulan" and the simulated deck of the "Titanic" shipwreck.

"When it comes to Disney, everyone knows a lot, but few people know that Disney spends huge amounts of money to support six mathematical science colleges in the world's top scientific research institutes."

"In order to realize the simulation of snow in Frozen, Disney specially invited UCLA's computing physics team to develop the Material.thod computing program."

"There are more unfamiliar to the public, such as Scanline.VFX, who participated in "2012" and "Iron Man 3", and are known as the "controller of water" in the industry because they are very good at making fluid effects such as water and fire."

"When you see this, you understand that special effects are very expensive. In order to produce the best special effects to meet the director's growing demand for reality, the special effects company needs to raise a team of about 100 top scientists, engineers, and programmers. This expenditure does not include more expensive consultants, special scientists, etc...."

"Of course, there are about 200 visual effects artists who actually use these software for special effects."

"In order to improve competitiveness, special effects companies must continue to renovate special effects production software."

"A movie requires a lot of special effects work, which can easily cause the company's structure to be over-expanded in a short period of time. However, after the production is completed, the special effects company may not be able to receive the contract for the next movie. Even if there is no job, the salary will still be paid."

"You think that's all, of course it's more than that. I have a friend at Rhythm & Hues, the one that closed down not long ago and produced the special effects of "Pi's Fantasy Drift". R&H is a typical American company with a bright style. The office space is large and open, and you can take pets to work. There are a variety of sports and leisure areas, and CG models and hand-painted throughout the building."

"I like companies like this, but how much does such companies cost? How can they be competitive? I have visited companies in Japan and South Korea. They all work in small grids. If R&H were the same, they might not have gone bankrupt."
Chapter completed!