Science fiction film breaks new ground

By Hao Nan | China Daily | Updated: 2019-02-23 06:18

The Wandering Earth, China's first blockbuster movie set in space, will represent the dawning of a new era in Chinese filmmaking, according to a report in The New York Times.

"Filmmakers in China see science fiction as a holy grail," Raymond Zhou, an independent critic, told the newspaper, noting that Hollywood had set the technological standards, and thus audience expectations, very high.

The Wandering Earth, released on Feb 5, is based on a short story of the same name by Liu Cixin, China's top science-fiction writer and the first Chinese winner of the Hugo Award for the genre in 2015.

1 Capsule a core element

The space capsule used in the film has captured special attention from the audience due to its precision instruments and equipment, which made it look like the real thing. This core element was built in an open shooting space of Sound Stage 2.

"This was the first time anything like that was done," said Wang Hong, producer of the movie. The production team at first planned to use a small space capsule that had appeared in an earlier Ning Hao film, but found that it could not meet their demands for filming.

Components of the space capsule were made by 3D printers at the workshop.

"Although it took nearly two months to finish, the space capsule's debut in the film was worth it," Wang said.

2 Carrier loaders key to film

Giant carrier loaders, which were shot on Sound Stage 11, are another highlight visual element in the film. Famous Hong Kong actor Ng Man-tat said he could not even imagine what these vehicles would be like before filming, because the concept was far ahead of our time.

To better present Liu's description of cosmic space, the production team has made more than 10,000 props for the film, including the carrier loaders.

3 Saving planet itself

In the film, the Earth itself is propelled by 10,000 giant thrusters, pushing its remaining 3.5 billion people some 4.2 light years through space to avoid destruction by the dying sun. In Liu's story, each thruster is 11,000 meters in height, the same as it was shown in the film.

The thruster, shooting on Sound Stage 12, stood with seven brackets pressed into the ground and had steering in the middle to regulate the angle. To render this spectacular visual design, the film team designed dozens of programs ranging from line drawing to coloring and dynamic preview, showing the spirit of craftsmanship.

4 Breathtaking opening

In the beginning of the film, a long take showing the environment and life in an underground city - a big tree growing upside down, busy bookstores and snack bars, and the crowds viewing a dragon dance and lanterns - was shot on Sound Stage 20.

The stage also hosted most of the film's snow scenes, including an amazing ice landscape after a disaster. Some of the vivid snow is costly biodegradable and flame-retardant paper snow imported from the United Kingdom, while filmmakers also used snow made of plastic and sand.