Li LiuJun
Exclusive Interview with Li LiuJun, Director of "Farewell to Walnuts":What is the concept of XR film based on Metaverse technology?
专访《告别核桃》总导演李柳君:基于元宇宙技术的XR电影是什么概念?
随着Quest系列、HTC Vive 、Pico、大朋VR等VR设备在市场上的普及,VR电影、VR游戏两大娱乐体验也逐渐被熟知,但你听说过XR电影吗?With the popularity of VR devices such as Quest series, HTC Vive,Pico and Dapeng VR in the market, VR movies and VR games are gradually known, but have you ever heard of XR movies?
告别核桃》就是第一个吃螃蟹的XR影片。该影片由温州商学院的XR_LAB团队打造,总时长约10分钟,已经入围了北美电影节、英国Lift-off Global Network、新西兰亚太国际电影节金蕨奖、香港国际青年电影节等多个海内外知名电影节提名。
Farewell to the Walnut is the first XR movie to eat crab.Created by the XR_LAB team of Wenzhou Business School, the film has a total duration of about 10 minutes. It has been nominated by many well-known film festivals at home and abroad, such as the North American Film Festival, the UK Lift-Off Global Network, the Golden Fern Award of the New Zealand Asia Pacific International Film Festival, and the Hong Kong International Youth Film Festival.
《告别核桃》结合了优链时代的3D数字真人分身技术,其最独特的体验是能让观众的数字人替换影片中的角色。据总导演李柳君所言,目前《告别核桃》已经在爱奇艺VR频道、快手全景VR平台推出预告片,但因为还在参与各大电影节,所以具体推出时间尚未确定。
"Farewell to the Walnut" combines the 3D digital live-action dope-in technology in the era of YouTube, and its most unique experience is that the audience's digital people can replace the roles in the film.According to chief director Li Liujun, Farewell to the Walnut has already released trailers on iQiyi VR channel and Kuaishou Panorama VR platform, but the specific release date has not yet been determined because it is still participating in major film festivals.
XR影片和VR电影有何不同?《告别核桃》背后有哪些故事?元宇宙在影视领域的发展情况如何?我们邀请到《告别核桃》总导演李柳君做了本期访谈。
What's the difference between XR films and VR films?What's the story behind Farewell to the Walnut?How is the metaverse developing in the field of film and television?We have an interview with Li Liujun, chief director of Farewell to the Walnut.
李柳君曾从事新媒体、会展相关工作,2015年开始接触VR领域,在厦门大学嘉庚学院数字媒体教研室任教,2017年被人才引进到温州商学院,在传媒与设计艺术学院网络与新媒体系任教,开设了《数字媒体技术》《MR混合现实》《电子竞技与游戏传播》《元宇宙技术》等课程,XR_LAB团队正是其带队成立。
Li Liujun used to be engaged in new media and exhibition related work. In 2015, he began to get into the VR field and taught in the Digital Media Teaching and Research Department of Xiamen University Jiaeng College. In 2017, he was introduced to Wenzhou Business School and taught in the Network and New Media Department of the School of Media and Design Art. He opened courses such as "Digital Media Technology", "MR Mixed Reality" and "E-Sports and Game Communication", and led the XR_LAB team.
《告别核桃》总导演 李柳君
Li Liujun, chief director of Farewell to the Walnut
以下为采访实录:The following is the interview transcript:
游戏日报:当时是怎么想到去做《告别核桃》这样的短片的?
Game Daily: How did you come up with the idea to make a short film like Farewell to Walnuts?
李柳君:我在VR领域研究了很多年,最初想的就是用元宇宙数字人技术和XR显示技术来去创作,类似美剧《西部世界》(科幻连续剧,大概世界观是高科技乐园中生活着仿生人,游客可以进入到这个“世界”中体验新的剧情/人生)一样,让观众可以参与到电影中。
For many years I study in the field of VR, originally wanted to be in the yuan digital universe come and go and XR display technology creation, similar to a TV drama "in the western world" (science fiction series, probably worldview is the bionic people live in high tech park, visitors can enter into the "world" in the new drama/life), let the audience can be involved in the film.
游戏日报:《告别核桃》的标签“首部元宇宙XR影片”吸引了很多人关注,怎么理解什么是XR电影呢?它和常规的VR电影有什么不同?
Game Daily: Farewell to Walnut's label "the first Metaverse XR movie" has attracted a lot of attention. How do you understand what an XR movie is?How is it different from a regular VR movie?
李柳君:其实我们刚刚开始提这个概念的时候,很多人也都不理解,简单来说,VR是XR影片的技术基础,但是它的展现形式又不限于VR。举两个点来解释一下。
Actually, when we first mentioned this concept, many people didn't understand it. In short, VR is the technical basis of XR movies, but its presentation form is not limited to VR.Let me give you two points to explain.
一方面,XR影片会拓展“观看”的边界。除了能用VR设备来看,还能用手机来看,我们也在尝试结合真实的环境来做影像内容,比如实拍温州中心的某个区域,让观众能快速融入到这个场景中,或者是直接线下走到这个场景中去看XR影片。
On the one hand, XR movies stretch the boundaries of "watching".In addition to VR devices, mobile phones can also be used to view. We are also trying to combine the real environment to create video content, such as shooting a certain area in Wenzhou center, so that the audience can quickly integrate into the scene, or directly walk to the scene to watch XR film.
另一个方面,也就是《告别核桃》已经在做的事情——融入数字人形式。我们和优链时代合作,让主人公可以替换成每个观众自己的数字人形象,从而给观影者身临其境的体验。
The other aspect, which is what Farewell to the Walnut is already doing, is integrating into the digital human form.We worked with UberLink to replace the protagonist with each audience's own digital avatar, so as to give viewers an immersive experience.
游戏日报:是只能替换主角吗?
Game Daily: Is it only possible to replace the main character?
李柳君:不是的,故事中的路人也可以替换,当然故事肯定是要有主线,不会说替换了这个路人,就一直能看到路人。另外,这个影片比较特别的是很多角色都用了数字分身。这些数字分身并没有特意去找演员,就是我们身边的普通人。
No, the passer-by in the story can also be replaced. Of course, the story must have a main line. It won't be said that if the passer-by is replaced, the passer-by can be seen all the time.In addition, what's special about this film is that many characters use digital doppelgangers.These digital doppelgangers aren't specifically looking for actors, they're just ordinary people around us.
游戏日报:这似乎有点像《头号玩家》中进入影视片的场景简化版?
Game Daily: It seems a bit like a simplified version of the scene in Ready Player One that goes into the movies?
李柳君:对的,就是类似那种体验。
Yeah, it's kind of like that.
游戏日报:我们花了多长时间把《告别核桃》短片做出来?过程中遇到了哪些难点?
Game Daily: How long did it take us to make the short film Farewell to the Walnut?What difficulties did we encounter along the way?
李柳君:项目是在去年6月份启动的,立项后不断修改剧本、策划案和角色,从无到有创作了两万多字的剧本,制作了接近2T的三维素材文件。主要的难点就是没有可以参考的产品,因为这个概念是完全创新的,我们是第一个探索者。
The project was launched in June last year. After the project was approved, I kept revising the script, the plan and the characters. From scratch, I created a script of more than 20,000 words and produced a 3D material file close to 2T.The main difficulty was that there was no product to refer to, because the concept was completely innovative and we were the first explorer.
最新人物形象动画设计稿
The latest animation design of character image
最新人物形象动画设计稿
Latest character image animation design draft
Game Daily: Farewell to Walnut has been shortlisted for so many awards. Do you think it is a good story telling or a gain of XR new experience?
李柳君:最重要的是新技术带来的新变化,它会给传统媒介带来创新改变,甚至推动电影行业改革。据我了解目前好莱坞的电影例如《狮子王》《奇幻森林》《银翼杀手2049》都使用了Unity来做脚本预览。其次《告别核桃》本身是基于真实故事改编,充满了现实主义色彩。
The most important thing is the new changes brought by the new technology, which will bring innovative changes to the traditional media and even promote the reform of the film industry.As far as I know, current Hollywood films such as The Lion King, The Jungle Book and Blade Runner 2049 all use Unity for script previews.Secondly, Farewell to the Walnut itself is based on a true story, full of realism.
游戏日报:真实的故事?可以简单讲讲吗?
Game Daily: A true story?Can you tell me a little bit about it?
李柳君:是的,这源于我们一个真实的采访片段,大概是十多年前的事情了,当时就遇到了《告别核桃》里主角这样的小姑娘。
Yes, it comes from a real interview we had more than 10 years ago, when we met a girl like the main character in Farewell to the Walnut.
游戏日报:听说《告别核桃》在筹备IP手游和VR游戏?是自己研发还是与哪家公司合作?
Game Daily: I heard that Farewell Walnut is preparing IP mobile game and VR game?Will you develop it yourself or cooperate with any other company?
李柳君:我们团队有相关游戏VR应用的开发技术储备,在我的相关课程(《数字媒体技术》《电子竞技与游戏传播》《MR混合现实》等)里面会全面介绍如何去设计开发一款手机游戏和VR游戏,涉及上百个手机游戏、VR应用、XR电影策划案和演示demo。温州商学院一些学生在掌握了一定技能后想要加入项目开发,我们也非常鼓励学生参与进来。
We have related team game reserves, the development of VR application technology in my courses (" digital media technology, the spread of e-sports game with "MR mixed reality", etc.) it will introduce how to design and develop a mobile game and VR games, involving hundreds of mobile phone games, VR applications, XR movie plot, and demonstrates the demo.Some students from Wenzhou Business College want to participate in project development after they have mastered certain skills, and we also encourage them to participate in it.
我指导的20届毕业生目前就从事手机端的游戏开发,并且得到了近1000万的融资。当然大多数学生没有能力做完整系统开发,主要还是做创意和策划案。当下游戏项目是早期准备的阶段中,还没有快速落地,现在也在找资金。
The graduates of the class of 20 I supervised are currently engaged in mobile game development and have received nearly 10 million yuan in financing.Of course, most students do not have the ability to do complete system development, and they mainly do creative work and plan cases.At present, the game project is in the early stage of preparation, which has not been quickly landed, and now it is still looking for funds.
游戏日报:在做完《告别核桃》之后还有哪些打算?
Game Daily: What do you plan to do after you finish your game?
李柳君:我会把《告别核桃》这个IP一直做下去,直到有足够的影响力,这是很明确的未来目标。包括基于IP打造的系列作品、手游和VR游戏等。
I will continue to work on the IP of Farewell Walnut until it has enough influence. This is a clear future goal.This includes IP based series, mobile games and VR games.
《告别核桃》的预告片在快手播放量超14万
The trailer for Farewell to the Walnut has been viewed more than 140,000 times
in Kuaishou
Game Daily: Talking about the metaverse, about the application of VR, AR and other virtual technologies in animation/film, how do you think it has changed from five years ago?
李柳君:2016年是VR爆发元年,VR技术在逐渐更加成熟并获得市场接受、迎来大规模的商业化运用。到目前来看,一方面是硬件技术的提升,另一方面是基于VR、AR基础创作动画/电影内容越来越丰富。这个非常重要,任何新技术必须要有足够丰富的内容作为载体才能逐步培养一个新的消费群体,从而形成一个庞大的产业。
2016 is the first year of VR explosion. VR technology is gradually becoming more mature, gaining market acceptance and ushering in large-scale commercial application.So far, on the one hand, it is the improvement of hardware technology, on the other hand, it is the creation of animation/film content based on VR and AR.This is very important, any new technology must have enough rich content as a carrier to gradually cultivate a new consumer group, so as to form a huge industry.
游戏日报:当前影视领域的观众对元宇宙这个概念有足够的认知吗?
Game Daily: Do current audiences in the film and television field have enough awareness of the concept of the metaverse?
李柳君:说实话是比较陌生的,有一些大规模的专业国际电影节可能会设置这一板块,他们会愿意去拥抱新技术。至于观众部分,我们自己去宣传也不会特意强调是元宇宙,而是主要讲XR影片,即便是这样观众有时候也不是很明白。所以这需要不断地宣传,需要更多优秀作品。
To be honest, it is relatively unfamiliar. There are some large-scale professional international film festivals that may set up this section, and they will be willing to embrace new technologies.As for the audience, we will not emphasize the meta-universe, but mainly focus on XR films. Even so, the audience may not understand very well.Therefore, this needs to be constantly promoted, and more excellent works are needed.
游戏日报:如今市场上VR设备您有研究吗?怎么看当下的覆盖情况和特点?
Game Daily: Have you researched VR devices on the market today?How do you see the current coverage and features?
李柳君:这个领域我可以说是比较了解,目前我们大概有50多套设备,涉及各个类型和品牌,是买来用于课程教学实验和做项目开发测试的。现在内容大多是基于Unity去做,这也限制了国内一些设备的功能。本人开发体验感觉最好的是Meta的Quest系列,基本无缝兼容各种需求,其他硬件还有华为VR、PICO、HTC Vive、影创VR等,但是都会对软硬件有限制。
I know a lot about this field. At present, we have about 50 sets of equipment, covering various types and brands, which are purchased for course teaching experiments and project development and testing.At present, most of the content is based on Unity, which also limits the functions of some domestic equipment.My best development experience is Meta's Quest series, which is basically seamless and compatible with all kinds of needs. Other hardware includes Huawei VR, PICO, HTC Vive, Film Creation VR, etc., but all of them have restrictions on hardware and software.
其实也背后也反映着一种趋势,国内缺乏足够体量的自研引擎,一旦跟不上升级换代,前面的内容就会受限,而没有了软件内容支撑,硬件市场也激活不起来。所以为什么我会去做XR影片领域,很重要的原因之一就是适配各种硬件。当然早期我们也是用了很多成本试错。
In fact, it also reflects a trend that there is a lack of self-developed engine of sufficient volume in China. Once the engine fails to keep up with the upgrade, the previous content will be limited. Without the support of software content, the hardware market will not be activated.Therefore, one of the most important reasons why I want to work in the field of XR films is to adapt to various kinds of hardware.And of course there was a lot of trial and error early on.
游戏日报:XR在VR、AR的基础上更强调可触摸、可互动,有人认为脑机接口才是真正能做到XR体验的第一步,您怎么看这种观点?
Game Daily: XR emphasizes touch and interaction on the basis of VR and AR. Some people think that brain computer interface is the first step to truly achieve XR experience. What do you think of this view?
李柳君:扩展现实(XR)包括虚拟现实(VR)、增强现实(AR)和混合现实(MR),被称为未来虚拟现实交互的最终形态。之前IDC预测2025年全球AR/VR/XR设备市场会突破8000亿美元,外形与重量接近普通眼镜的新一代XR眼镜将产生,会成为下一代互联网的关键入口。脑机接口现在的发展也很顺利,主要是在医疗健康领域,另外V社正在开发能应用于游戏的,我觉得未来两者会相互推动发展。
Extended Reality (XR) includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR), which is called the final form of virtual reality interaction in the future.IDC previously predicted that the global AR/VR/XR device market would exceed $800 billion in 2025. The new generation of XR glasses, which are close to ordinary glasses in shape and weight, will be produced and become the key entry of the next generation of Internet.Bci is also developing well, mainly in the medical and health field, and V Society is developing one that can be used in games. I think the two will push each other in the future.