Raising the bar with documentary The Flag

A creative visual effects team ensures The Flag, a 10-episode documentary presenting the course of 90 years of the Communist Party of China (CPC), is hoisted in magnificent fashion.

Massive amounts of liquid steel are poured from a gigantic furnace, creating flaming sparks that resemble splashing raindrops. The fiery current, sizzling and bubbling, gradually fills a big mold in a CPC emblem shape, which then glints like gold.

The opening 45-second clip opens every episode of the documentary and is called a "triumph" by visual director Zhou Jue.