Behind-the-scenes tidbits of dreams coming true

"It is hard to imagine that anyone really believes that true love can connect hearts and will not disappear with the death of the body. This beautiful belief is touching. In addition, Dreams Come True touches the deepest fears and taboos of human beings and teaches the audience to think about what kind of world they will face after death. Scott Kruff, the executive producer of the film, made the above remarks.

The filming process of Dreams Come True can be traced back to 1978. That year, the film producer Steven Simon (then named Stephen Deutsch) received a gift, which he didn't open until nearly 20 years later. Steven Simon is preparing deja vu (seventy years back in time), and Richard mattson, the original author of the film, gave Steven Simon his unfinished novel Dreams Come True. This book was written by Richard Mattson for his wife. After reading the first draft, Steven Simon immediately bought the movie rights of this book without hesitation. However, in the next decade, the shooting plan of "Dreams Come True" was put on hold again and again.

It was not until 1994 that Steven Simon met Burnett Bourne, a writer and filmmaker, at a seminar on metaphysics. They had a good talk and found that they were both deeply interested in another world after death, hoping to start shooting on this theme. Two years later, Steven Simon and Bennett Byrne formed the Metafilmics production company, with the aim of shooting mysterious films.

Dreams come true is mainly about the unswerving relationship between Chris and Anne. Robin williams said, "Annie is on the verge of collapse, but her love for Chris has never diminished. It was this love that saved them both. The visual effect is one thing, but the most remarkable thing about the dream coming true is the selflessness and love in human nature, which can also be seen in Children, Angel of Heaven and Angel of Hell. This movie will make the audience say, "Yes, I am so happy." Or "Alas, why am I not blessed? "This is the success of this film. 」

"In case," robin williams said in his usual funny tone, "the audience doesn't have this kind of reaction, at least" Dream Come True "can be regarded as a great" Travel "movie full of advertising effects. If you want to join the "spiritual journey", please call this number. The first appearance was a stunt performance from Angel Falls in Venezuela, the highest waterfall in the world. The stuntman Jake Lombard jumped from a cliff as high as 32 12 feet (about 8 1.6 meters), opened the stealth parachute after 18 seconds, and landed after 4 seconds. The play was shot 22 times before it was finished.

When the audience saw this scene, they could understand that Chris could do whatever he wanted after his death. He can fly. This is the magical world created by special effects and visual effects. This is just an example of realizing a dream with special effects.

These amazing special effects pictures are attributed to every visual effects magician and artist in popular movies and digital fields. They worked together to process pornographic films again and again, which made the world after Chris's death present real and illusory effects.

The work of converting plane painting (2D) into 3D image (3D) began in June of 1996+00. The visual effects working group is led by Oscar winner Joey Hynes (and Nick Brooks). Their first step is to use the latest lidar technology to draw the topography and surface morphology of Glacier National Park. This innovative lidar is based on light and radar technology. With the advent of lidar technology, workers can draw charts and photograph hundreds of acres of land in a very short time. This cutting-edge technology using radar detection can provide visual effect designers with enough information as a reference to reproduce camera movement and lens changes. Based on this, they can further create 3D effects on pornographic screens covered with orange spheres. These orange balls scattered all over the scene are used as reference points for lidar scanning.

Regardless of visual effects for the time being, producer Bennet Byrne also hopes that the audience will be moved when they walk out of the cinema after watching Dreams Come True. "Even if they just get closer to their families and hug their children, we will feel that we have done the best thing." Dreams Come True was released in Glacier National Park in Montana at the end of June 1997, and ended in San Francisco Bay 75 days later. Producer Aaron Blanchester said, "Our first task is how to build a magnificent location. Although some pictures in the movie are special effects made by computers, most of them are real scenes. The gardening staff must transport a large number of flowers and plants into the national park, even covering the whole Bay Area.

The interior was built on Treasure Island in San Francisco, and the prop team set up a huge set in the vast local hangar, which is more spectacular than the stage of most theaters in Los Angeles. There is a large pool filled with 300,000 gallons of water (about 1 136 cubic meters), surrounded by different scenes. Producer Aaron Blanchester mentioned that the scene designer built the set in the form of an opera stage: "Just like every scene in a stage play has to be changed, we have to tear down the set and build a new one after each scene is shot. The only thing that doesn't need to be changed is the big pool as the center of the stage. 」

Eugenie Osani, the scene designer, mentioned that other art designers fully understood the "painting paradise" in the mind of director vincent ward. After his death, Chris woke up leisurely on the flower bed lightly brushed with colored pens, with petals swaying in the wind. Eugenio Saniti explained: "The second act is mainly carried out in this scene. This kind of picture is a very common impression of "another world", but it can convey the subjective feelings of the soul through the touch of painting. We take this scene as the blueprint, and then play, add more creativity and extend other scenes. 」

The unique creative concept of this group of artists was described by vincent ward as "putting the veil of19th century on oil paintings with a piece of transparent glass stained with pigments". This kind of image processing, which combines the wet feeling of wet oil painting and dynamic image photography, makes the finished product not only meet my expectations, but also see my own interpretation. Because this kind of image presentation is unprecedented, it took the staff two years to combine computer special effects with traditional painting so perfectly.

Hannack further explained: "Any Italian Renaissance artist, such as Leonardo da Vinci, would scoff at our spiritual journey through painting. But we give the scenery subjective meaning, so the audience can have their own daydream space. The aircraft carrier in the flashback picture in the film is drawn according to the aircraft carrier in the Mel Island Naval Shipyard.

Director vincent ward's mother once appeared in the scene of Paradise Library.

A small amount of Fuji Velvia film was used in filming. This kind of film is good at framing in still photography and is famous for its high color saturation, but it is rarely used in film shooting and is often only used in special effects.

Chris' cemetery is located in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California. There are indeed tombstones of Anna Nelson and her husband near the shooting location.

The title of this film comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The soundtrack of this film was originally composed by ennio morricone, but it was not well received when it was shown, so all the music was replaced. Humans, like other creatures, can't escape the end of death, but they don't know when that terrible moment will come and what will happen after death. For theorists, scientists, religious leaders and agnostics, the world after death has always been a confusing topic. So far, there are three kinds of experiences after death, namely near-death experience, out-of-body experience and life after death.

1998, a survey by the National Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Chicago showed that 8 1% of Americans believe in the afterlife, which is a new high in 25 years. Later, a TV program said that two-thirds of atheists admitted to believing in the afterlife. It is also reported that 6.5438+0.5 million Americans are on the verge of life and death.

In Dreams Come True, the description of the world after death is not based on religious beliefs, but from the soul. The film asks a question: Is there any other world besides what we know? Can you be happy forever with eternal love?

"It is hard to imagine that anyone really believes that true love can connect the soul and will not disappear with the death of the body. This wonderful soul mate is touching. Besides, Dreams Come True touches the deepest fears and taboos of human beings, making the audience have to think about what kind of world they will face after death, "said Scott Kruff, executive producer of the film.

The idea of making a dream come true and put it on the big screen began at 1978, when producer Stephen Simon was preparing for "Seventy Years Back in Time", which was also adapted from a novel by richard matheson. Ma Xisen gave Simon a sample of a new book, Dreams Come True, which is a novel written by Ma Xisen to his wife. Simon immediately bought the right to adapt the novel. For the next 16 years, Simon always wanted to make a novel into a movie. It was not until 1994 that he met barnett Bain, a screenwriter and producer, at a meeting on supernatural science. They found that they were all interested in stories after death. Two years later, they set up Metafilmics, a production company dedicated to shooting supernatural films. They found ronald bass, a famous screenwriter who won the Oscar for Rain Man, and adapted Ma Xisen's novel into a script, with vincent ward as the director.

The reason why I took a fancy to vincent ward is because his "Love in My Heart" directed by 1993 left a deep impression on Simon and Bain. However, in Ward's view, it is bittersweet to make this dream come true, because although he likes this book very much, he also knows the difficulty. "I was deeply moved by this story, but I don't know what to do, because 75% of the stories happened in the afterlife," Ward said. "And the world of the afterlife, in addition to shrouded in clouds, is nowhere to be found. In the past 2000 years, artists have been trying to imagine the scenes of hell and heaven. I think if we absorb some past traditions and put them in movies, we will find a solution. In the novel, Anne works in a catering company. I think if she is turned into a painter, a restorer of works of art in the19th century, the plot will be more logical, so that when Chris goes to heaven after his death, he will believe that he is really in Anne's paintings, which is a gift from Anne. We convey heaven and hell through a series of paintings, which is a very subjective version. " The presentation of these illusory scenes is attributed to the development of special effects technology. Bain once admitted that in the early years, this story could not be put on the big screen at all.

After vincent ward was confirmed as the director of this film, finding the right actor became a problem to be solved later. According to the creator, robin williams is the only one who plays Chris. Williams said: "When I first read the script, I knew that the role of Chris belonged to me, because my wife is an artist, and this story will connect us with ourselves." Director Ward said: "From everything, you will find Robin's fraternity. A group of extras participated in the filming, and it was inevitable that the filming was boring, so during the intermission of the scene, you will find Robin telling jokes in front of 300 people, hoping to make everyone happy with his wit. "

Cooper Martin Jr. plays the guardian angel Albert in the film. In addition to the opportunity to cooperate with Williams, Martin also believes that this role is unprecedented. He said: "As a paradise guide, my main purpose is to impart my experience and knowledge. I have such a line in the movie,' Thought is real, body is illusory'. I must instill this concept in Chris, let him relax and start to adapt to this new world. "

Looking for an actress to play Anne, Ward said that she took a fancy to annabella sciorra because she and Williams had a tacit understanding, which would convince the audience of the unique qualities of soul mates.

The film was mainly filmed at the end of June 1997 in Glacier National Park, Montana, and ended 75 days later in the San Francisco Bay Area. Producer Alan C. Blomquist said, "Our first task is how to decorate the magnificent appearance. Although some pictures are synthesized with computer special effects, most of them are taken in real scenes. " Gardeners must transplant a large number of flowers and plants, even covering the whole Gulf area.

The interior of the film was built in the hangar on Treasure Island in San Francisco, covering an area larger than most studios in Los Angeles, in which 300,000 tons of water was injected, and the scenery was multi-layered, just like the opera stage. In order to create a sense of wholeness, director Ward was inspired by the works of Monet, Van Gogh and19th century German romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. He said: "Germany's romantic style is very charming, and they firmly believe that the power of nature transcends everything. You will find in the paintings of these artists that the feeling of heaven is not supple, where the wind is raging, the trees are twisted and the rocks are rugged. Compared with others, Friedrich's works convey this information more. " The film combines the texture of oil painting with dynamic images, and integrates computer programs with painting. This perfect breakthrough is unprecedented.

The film won the Oscar for Best Visual Effect, which was attributed to the painstaking efforts of the special effects team led by Joel Hynek and Nicholas Brooks. The work of transforming plane painting into three-dimensional image began from June 1996 to June 10. In the process of drawing the landscape of Glacier National Park, a revolutionary new technology "lidar" was used. Lidar is an advanced active sensing system. The system itself emits controlled laser to illuminate the ground and the targets on the ground, and can obtain the three-dimensional data of the ground all day without relying on sunlight. Compared with traditional measurement methods, it has the advantages of high precision, high density, high efficiency and low cost. Using this technology, hundreds of acres of holographic images of Glacier National Park are scanned and recorded at one time.

Brooks said: "There is no doubt that the existing visual effects and cg animation technology simply can't present the scenes described in the script on the big screen. From the early discussion with Vincent, we know that the image that needs to be created is unprecedented. We should learn all kinds of picture skills from Friedrich and Monet's paintings, so that oil paintings can be naturally and closely linked with objects and scenery. "

In the film, Chris jumps off a waterfall, which was shot at Angel Waterfall, the highest waterfall in the world. The stuntman Jack Lumbard jumped from the top of a cliff 32 12 feet high. The whole falling process lasted for 22 seconds, and Lombardy would open the stealth parachute in 18 seconds. This shot was taken 22 times.

In the later DVD version, the director put some deleted clips into the DVD, and one of them had another ending, which was completely different from the ending when the film was released. In this clip, the old man tells Annie to look at the people in front of her carefully and Annie finds that they are not her own children at all. Finally, Albert told her and Chris that Anne would be born in Sri Lanka and Chris would be born in America. The two of them will continue their relationship in the next life, but Anne will get an incurable disease in the next life and die in her twenties, while Chris will live to be over 80 and spend the rest of her life alone with love for her. In the last two different places of the clip, two different mothers gave birth to a baby boy and a baby girl almost at the same time, and their fate was doomed from the moment they were born into this world ... This ending is actually closer to reality, but in order to take care of the audience's feelings and make everyone happy, director vincent ward deleted the whole ending (the translation of Flying Over the Afterlife should be based on this clip).