Wednesday, June 20, 2007

South Park vs Final Fantasy

前日,我哋壹傳媒出業績。一份業績報告,就係一間公司嘅倒後鏡,睇到去到邊。不過,今日孫柏文想 講嘅係未來。用紙張印刷嘅傳媒產品,喺1999年前已被當時嘅Intel總裁「溫馨提示」。佢話雖然人類始終要睇新聞報道,不過如果報紙唔諗方法迎合互聯 網,遲早滅亡。壹傳媒當然唔會坐以待斃,根據前輩話,我哋迎合互聯網嘅方法,就係變成兩棲動物。有紙,有網。

當然,淨係將紙上文字擺上網,根本冇「進化過」,問題就係點樣用網嘅多種表達方法去報新聞。有見及此,前輩話要用video報新聞。如果拍唔到事件經過,前輩就話可以做電腦動畫,令讀者、觀眾更投 入故事經過。

其實,孫柏文從第一次聽到呢個「動畫計劃」,已經非常之buy,好想參與將 佢成功催生,所以反覆思考。以下就係諗咗好耐,噚日為止嘅睇法。不過同大家分享之前,我想介紹一個叫做Uncanny Valley嘅概念。首先,Uncanny呢個概念係弗洛伊德發揚光大,指一樣嘢仿人嘅像真度好高,不過因為知道唔係真嘢,喺人嘅心目中會產生一種唔舒 服,甚至有一種抗拒嘅恐怖感覺。即係仿人像真度低番啲,更容易令人接受。用深啲英文就好似係叫做cognitive dissonance。

畫真啲 死快啲

最好例子係,如果有個人因工業意外冇咗隻手臂而要佩戴義肢,伸隻義肢出嚟握手時,你覺得如果隻義肢用木造,仲要一睇就知係木,會令你舒服啲?定係一隻驟眼睇好似真,不過握手起嚟就完全冇體溫嘅矽膠義肢呢?當然,如果可以做到隻義肢摸起嚟呃晒五個感官,當然唔會覺得恐怖。

如 果用圖表(圖A)表達,由像真度係零開始,一個人接受嗰樣嘢似人嘅程度會慢慢提升。不過去到大約七成像真度嘅時候,人就開始會唔接受。去到九成,甚至令人 反感,有要抗拒嘅恐怖感。直到可以欺騙晒五個感官時,甚至百分之一百係真人,人嘅接受程度就會完全唔會唔舒服。正因為圖表有個「谷」,所以叫 Uncanny Valley「抗拒恐怖谷」。而做過好多次整容手術嘅人,就係因越嚟越非human,所以跌落嚟,令人反感。

今日要講呢個 有100年歷史嘅概念,係因為電腦動畫都有同一現象(圖B)。大家可能成日都唔明點解一間擁有超過500個漫畫家,一年先一部110分鐘動畫電影嘅 Pixar「唔畫真啲」。又或者點解嗰啲「畫真啲」嘅電影公司,畫一間、死一間。其實,就係因為就算散盡千金,都未必跳得過呢個Uncanny Valley。跳得過就用咗好多錢,跳唔過就……

講真,死得最慘嘅「畫真啲」電影,一定係有史以來畫得仿人像真度最高,2001年嘅《Final Fantasy》。就算故事被花旗國首屈一指嘅影評人Ebert,評為同Pixar嘅《超人特攻隊》一樣咁好睇,最後都因為Uncanny Valley,搞到公司執笠。

孫柏文曾經喺演藝學院讀過短期編劇課程,深信老師話齋,故事劇本勝於一切。喺電影動畫當中,畫得「最差」嘅一定係South Park《衰仔樂園》,雖然成本只係《Final Fantasy》嘅1/6,不過票房就贏晒。

作為一間要畫動畫嘅公司,如果用多一蚊喺畫真啲到,分分鐘不但無效益,仲要跌落Uncanny Valley。從成本效益角度講,如果好劇本真係勝於一切,不如嗰一蚊就用嚟製造寫得好同肯挑戰難度嘅劇本,可能會仲好?

三齣動畫電影成本及票房

電影:

《衰仔樂園》製作成本(美元) :2100萬票房(美元):5000萬電影

《超人特工隊》製作成本(美元) :9200萬票房(美元):2.61億電影

《Final Fantasy》製作成本(美元):1.2億票房(美元) :3000萬

6 comments:

  1. Hi Pakman, enjoy reading your nicely written blog. This phenomenon could be linked to one of the pathogenesis models of some schizophrenic-in such circumstances, the stored template of self-image could not update very well, so you know what? Patient looking into the mirror at home think that s/he is living with someone looks like him/herself but not actually him/herself, using their properties which is quite fearful - therefore in certain sense, they live in a Final Fantasy like world with another "self" around. Could be quite threatening, right?

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  2. FF's problem was the story. It's totally different from what the fans expected. If SP was about space traveling in the movie, it wouldn't worth a dime.

    And what kind of AH would compare FF & The Incredibles!? It's like comparing Dilbert with The Simpsons.

    u can do better than that...

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  3. to bravo,

    I think from an evolutionary point of view. At least dealing with humanlike looks.

    we are trained to dislike vehemnetly corpse and zombies, is because if our ancestors liked it, they might have walked over to a corpse and contracted certain diseases.

    So evolution dictated that if you developed a trait hating corpse, you will survive better.

    To Wesley,

    SP might not be about time travel. but it talk about satan sodomizing saddam in hell. So whether that falls into the same category of stretching the imagination like "time travel" is in the eye of the beholder.

    Finally, I do compare dilbert with the simpsons! Mr Burns vs Dilbert's boss. The passive resistance exhibited by both Dilbert and Homer. It is very interesting.

    I doubt one can do better than that.

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  4. Homer is brainless. Dilbert is passive. In contrast, Mr Burns is evil and Dilbert's boss is brainless.

    I'm just trying to say that their fundamental genres are different. Of course, it would be great if u can do a comparison on G.W.Bush & Donald T.

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  5. Yep, a relatively new neuroscience discovery was that some neural network in the brain are dedicated to update our internal representation with the latest external inputs, e.g. everyone get older with a few more wrinkles as time passes by. If this mechanism or its comparator is faulty, the situation is just like uncanny valley. So some schizophrenic patient look at the mirror but could not match their current mirror image with their old representation of their self-image, hence fear arises!

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  6. I am wondering too.

    Does uncanny valley effect play into when a guy chase chicks.

    Especially in a Bar environment.

    Like sometimes, you can be so buff, that you would seem "not human enough" and be repulsed.

    Same for ppl too tall, too fat etc...

    Wonder...

    ReplyDelete