Bona President Yu Dong raised a question at the forum, "The next ten years will be the most critical decade to move from a big film country to a powerful film country. What else can we do for Chinese films?" Although he said this The context of the words was to introduce Bona's upcoming projects, but the core question of "what else can be done for movies" actually became the core of the discussion throughout the forum.
This year’s forum attracted Alibaba Pictures President Li Jie, imax China CEO Meng Danqing, Enlight Media Co., Ltd. Chairman Wang Changtian, Vice Chairman of the China Film Association, Party Secretary and Chairman of Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd. Wang Jianer, Ying Xujun, vice president of Chinese Culture Group and president of Chinese Pictures, Yu Dong, founder, chairman and president of Bona Film Group Co., Ltd. and other heavyweight guests participated in the discussion.
Actively Respond to and Embrace Industry Changes In the first half of the
forum, the participating guests first "reported" on their respective work in the past year, and exchanged their views based on their own industrial practices and observations.
Shanghai International Film Festival Opening Forum First Half
Wang Changtian, who has focused on commercial films in the film market for many years, talked about some of the problems currently facing the Chinese film market. Wang Changtian pointed out that the genre structure of the Chinese film market is obviously unreasonable. Specifically, genre films such as animation and science fiction films account for a disproportionately low share of the overall box office.
"Compared with international markets, especially developed markets such as the United States, cartoons usually account for between 15% and 20% of their box office. In China, this proportion is only 7% to 8%, and sometimes even As low as 4% to 5%. Even in the best years, cartoons only accounted for about 15% of the box office. "At the same time, he believes that the output and quality of China's science fiction movies are also relatively lagging behind. "Although " The Wandering Earth " has been successful, overall, the number and influence of China's science fiction movies every year are still insufficient. Science fiction movies not only represent the level of a country's film industry, but also have huge market potential."
Then Wang Changtian broke the "big news", saying that the new "三body" movie jointly produced by Enlight Media and Trisolaris Universe will be directed by Zhang Yimou.
Li Jie, President of Alibaba Pictures, shared his observations from the perspective of a technology company. "Audiences' value propositions and aesthetic trends change drastically within 6-12 months, and the film production cycle is usually 24-36 months, which makes it difficult for film producers to adapt to the short-term changes of audiences in the long cycle." Therefore, Li Jie pointed out that it will undoubtedly be a big challenge for "film producers to adapt to the short-term changes of audiences in a long-term cycle". Alibaba Pictures has some preliminary judgments about this and will also make some preliminary judgments in this regard. "Perhaps it will take a few years to prove whether the decision made today is correct." Yu Dong of
Bona Pictures also came prepared. He said In the future, Bona will turn its attention to the overseas stories of Chinese films. The plan is also a trilogy. "The story of Chinese entrepreneurs on Wall Street that Bona is developing will be based on ": The Wolf of Wall Street ", and the intelligence personnel of the National Security Bureau. The struggle to catch spies overseas and fight against hidden fronts is set against the backdrop of "The Bourne Supremacy" and "", Yu Dong pointed out, "More international expressions in genre films are what Bona needs to work hard on in the next few years." The international expression of people’s overseas stories may be one of our future efforts. We hope that after Chinese films become profitable in the domestic market, they can continue to expand their influence, radiation and export capabilities in overseas markets.”
In the face of changes in the audience's viewing needs, even imax, the most "hard-core" hardware, still needs to make changes.
imax China CEO Meng Danqing emphasized at the forum that imax has also successfully attracted audiences who did not often go to theaters in recent years by introducing diversified content, such as concert movies and live sports events. This attempt not only enriches movie viewing in theaters The experience also inspires theater operators to expand content types to enhance audience stickiness and the overall appeal of the theater.
Meng Danqing introduced that imax had previously held an NBA game in Taiwan and Hong Kong, which was "very popular, and 100% of the tickets were sold out. I heard that the local theater chain told me that 80% of the people who participated in that event were People who haven’t been to a movie theater in three years.” The Taylor Swift concert movie, co-produced with Ali, also brought back many young music fans who had not been to the theater for a long time. "Some people haven't gone to the movies for a long time, but they came because of Taylor Swift's concert. We hope to promote some diversified content to attract another group of viewers to watch the movie." Is
ai a tool or a partner?
The Shanghai Film Festival Forum focuses on industry hot spots, and of course it can’t wait to talk about the hottest AI nowadays. Is
ai just a tool?
Li Jie, president of Alibaba Pictures, believes that AI technology and virtual shooting are changing the way film production is made, improving production efficiency and reducing costs, but they will not change the essence of film creation. Creativity and creators are still the core. "Although AI provides new possibilities for creation, movies are still an art with creativity and creators as the core." Alibaba Pictures currently uses AI technology in multiple projects, including large-scale application in drama series and movies aigc technology to optimize text, video, special effects and post-production. Ying Xujun, vice president of
Chinese Culture Group, also talked about Chinese Culture Group’s extensive application of AI technology in its animation department Oriental DreamWorks to speed up the design and production of animated characters and scenes. She added that AI at the current stage mainly provides creative and technical assistance, but with the development of technology, AI will make film and television creation more popular and democratized, giving more ordinary people the ability to create. "AI has been used a lot in animation production, but most of it is still in the early stage of creative assistance." Meng Danqing, CEO of
imax China, emphasized that AI can help optimize equipment and diversify content, but it can never replace human innovation. . "No matter how well AI develops in the past few years, it will never replace a person's creativity." IMAX is studying the use of AI technology to optimize live broadcast and streaming resolution, and plans to apply AI technology in future sports events and concert movies. , providing a better viewing experience.
"Excessive expectations for AI are unrealistic, and panic is also unrealistic." Wang Changtian believes that "movies are based on creativity, and AI can only be used as a tool to improve efficiency."
Shanghai Film (Group) Co., Ltd. The company’s chairman, Wang Jianer, believes that the power of AI should not be underestimated and that it should not be viewed just as a tool, but as a “creative partner.” Wang Jian'er mentioned that in practical applications, AI has been able to inspire people, "We think our creativity is particularly important and the best, but we also have to admit that sometimes the results of another one are the same as yours." It will feel very good, even better than what we originally imagined. This brings us a kind of creative inspiration. So I want AI to become our creative partner, not just a tool. Will it become a tool? "
Wang Jian'er said that Shanghai Film has a very open attitude towards AI and is currently trying to use AI technology for film creation and has established an AI creation center at the newly purchased Haopu base in Chedun to explore AI. More possibilities in film creation. In addition, Shanghai Film Group also plans to use AI technology in the Antarctic-themed movie "Snow Dragon" to achieve more realistic scene reproduction.
Yu Dong also belongs to the group that is more actively embracing AI. He said that AI will bring major changes to film companies. "Things we called materials and project files in the past may all be digital assets in the future." Bona Pictures has established its own AI studio, starting with short films and image creation, and gradually accumulating digital assets.Whether it’s Jackie Chan returning to his “peak state” in his twenties in the upcoming “Legend of ” that will be released in the summer, or whether he will have a conversation with himself 25 years ago at the upcoming Bona press conference. Yu Dong was very excited.
Draw a blueprint together, Chinese films seek a new chapter with a global perspective
In the second roundtable discussion, the guests discussed the "going overseas" of Chinese films, as well as global industry cooperation and observation. Director Guan Hu, who has returned from Cannes with great success, shared the common emotions of movies spanning the East and West based on his own creative experience.
The second half of the opening forum of the Shanghai International Film Festival
Vice President of Chinese Culture Group Ying Xujun said that Chinese companies and Chinese filmmakers must actively and comprehensively participate in the entire world film cycle with an extremely open attitude. Only then will you have the strength to Negotiate with international production companies, international producers, international directors and actors.
Ying Xujun gave an example. During the filming of "Decryption" using IMAX, the crew needed the participation of heavyweight American actors. However, during the filming and preparation period, there happened to be a general strike by the Hollywood union, because Chinese are members of various industry associations in the United States. Members, we used our resources, contacts and experience to negotiate with the Screen Actors Guild in an extremely clever way, and thus found a very good American actor. "Only by actively participating can you become a member and better understand the pattern and ecology of world movies."
At the same time, Ying Xujun shared the innovative trial case of "Chinese master control + international resources" at the forum, with " Take "The Meg " series of movies as an example. This film was developed by a Chinese company, purchased international IP, and cooperated with Warner Bros. in the United States. Through the integration of screenwriters, producers, directors and actors around the world, it successfully created For blockbusters targeting the global market, this model not only enhances the international influence of Chinese films, but also demonstrates the competitiveness and creativity of Chinese films in the global market.
Whether it is facing the technological innovation brought by AI, or the film going global to face the expression of different cultures, for creators, in the final analysis, the most important thing is to maintain sincere and independent artistic expression. On this point, the filmmakers on the forum reached a consensus. Guan Hu emphasized that film creation should start from the heart and sincerely express the inner world of the creator. He believes, "Try to listen to the voice coming from your heart, and then work hard to do it. I believe it will definitely work." go out".
Director Li Shaohong pointed out that the key to film creation is to truly reflect the creator's life and reality. "It is most important that you understand yourself, your life, and your reality. You may not be able to express it through deliberate methods."
Wu Ershan talked about his experience in participating in the China Film Week screenings of " Fengshen Part 1 " in different countries, "The feedback from the audience was that they were moved by the emotions of the father and son in this story. This was the core inspiration and the strongest emotional motivation for me to create "Fengshen" at that time. I think there is no obstacle to this thing. No matter what culture we come from or what race we are, we are all children and we all have our own parents. In the future, I will also become the parents of others. This kind of family relationship is the most basic human emotion, so it is completely consistent at this level."
Wuershan
's positive appeal for Chinese films to "go abroad", partners of overseas film festivals. He also gave his own opinions.
Tokyo International Film Festival Program Director Ichiyama Naozo pointed out, "The international market is gradually accepting film works from different cultural backgrounds. Now is a good opportunity for Chinese films." At the same time, he also reminded, "In the process of making films Don’t rush to consider the international market, but stay true to your original intention to produce high-quality and excellent films. When you go overseas, if the quality is good enough, it will be recognized by overseas audiences.”
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