Computer Graphics World

■ ■ ■ ■ Projection DIGITAL T 46 he culture of China is one of the oldest and most complex. With a country so large and diverse, the thought of creating a display that embraced China's ethnicity on a scale that refl ected the countrymen's national pride would be overwhelming for most produc- tion companies. But not so for Crystal CG. Crystal CG had faced the monumental challenge of designing and producing an exhibit that would become the centerpiece for the Chi- nese Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo and would illustrate the theme "Better City–Better Life." Th is was no short order for any company, let alone one that had already set the bar of "greatest" to new heights with its moving scroll animation that was part of the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "Being able to design and create these two quite meaningful 'pictures' for both the Olympic Games and World Expo was a coincidence and also a necessity," says project leader Yu Zheng. "Crystal has been dedi- cated to providing visual expression solutions [that utilize] new media technology at the core. Th ese two events were particularly demanding in this area, especially because of the trend to express traditional Chi- nese culture with the use of high tech." So how do you top yourself and fulfi ll such a design brief? For Crystal CG, you look to the past, albeit using technology of the future, to create a visual masterpiece in the present. Work for the Chinese Pavilion exhibit began nearly two years before the attraction opened last summer. Crystal CG's team, headed by Yu Zheng and comprising 70 artists, 40 of whom work in 3D, started the concept stage of the project by looking at the past. "We set up a special Fine Art yet elegant colors in his depiction of life in China at the time. Th e original scroll measures 5.28 meters in length (more than 17 feet) and includes 814 human characters, 28 boats, 60 animals, 30 buildings, October/November 2011 The past, present, and future represented in the largest digital tapestry By Douglas King creative team comprising people from the major branches in Shanghai, Beijing, and some other cities," notes Yu Zheng. "Th is was enough to guarantee that in less than six months, we could complete this project of a grand-scene animation that has nearly 1000 persons, dozens of animals, and many vehicles and other elements." Inspiration came from one of China's most famous panoramic paintings, Qīngmíng Shànghé Tú (Along the River during the Qingming Festival, also known as Life Along the Bian River at the Pure Brightness Festival). Th e original, painted by Zhang Zeduan around 1100 AD on light-colored silk, lushly illustrates traditional Chinese life, depicting three major scenes of daily life of the people during the Northern Song period (960–1127) in the then capital, Bianjing, which today is Kai- feng. Th e fi rst scene, beginning from the right-hand end of the scroll and moving left, portrays life in the tranquil countryside, with thatched cottages, farmers, and livestock using paths that crisscross fi elds, and farm life of the suburbs. Further along the scroll, the second scene de- picts commerce along the Bian Canal, while the fi nal section shows urban life in the city, with all its various activities, including a camel train passing through. Zeduan used fi ne freehand brushstrokes and pale,

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