Reinventing the Wheel

Liang, by now in his 60s, decided to pull his money together by selling off his house and extending his credit. Finally, he raised RMB 40 million to upgrade his 2D film Prequel of the Monkey King to a 3D format.

Most films today are in fact two-dimensional, but through technology and a nifty pair of glasses, audiences can admire 3D figures popping from the screen. Unlike actual three-dimensional space in real life, these films use a virtual visual illusion to create a perception of seeing 2D images as 3D. Three-dimensional films are not entirely new to Chinese audiences. They appeared years earlier in cinemas. However, due to the crude equipment available at the time, audiences would come away feeling dizzy after watching these films. Now digital 3D technology makes films so lifelike the cineaste can imagine him or herself part of the action.

Nevertheless Liang was confronted with another predicament – the fact that in China there is just not much in terms of 3D technology to use as a reference. The first domestically made 3D film – China Idol Boys – featured only 20 minutes of 3D visuals. Due to complicated postproduction requirements, it takes much more time to produce a 3D film than a standard 2D film. "Since it's our first attempt at 3D, we just hoped to gain some experience from the production," said director Lin Huaquan. "We had even left ourselves a way out – if the 3D effects were not ideal, we were prepared to release a 2D version."

After consulting the China Film Science and Technology Research Institute, Liang Hansen was able to solve the technical difficulties one after another. "As China's first fully animated 3D film, Prequel of the Monkey King was digitally mastered in line with Hollywood technical standards," said Yang Xuepei, head of the institute.