Chapter 25: First Visit to Industrial Light & Magic, A Night Out in Chinatown

Chapter 25: First Visit to ILM and a Night Stroll in Chinatown

The car drove steadily, arriving in San Francisco by the afternoon. San Francisco is a port city along the Pacific coast, a world-famous tourist destination, and the fourth most populous city in California. It is also one of the regions with the highest density of Chinese residents in the Western Hemisphere, second only to New York in total population.

Qin Feng had spoken with the person in charge there over the phone, who suggested they rest for a night before visiting the company the following day. Qin Feng accepted the advice, and they checked into a hotel.

The next day, they arrived at the headquarters of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). The company was born in 1975 with George Lucas’s "Star Wars." In this world, "Star Wars" had only produced three films as a sci-fi series before the subsequent installments were shelved.

Qin Feng parked the car, and the two stepped out. Bill, the person in charge, was waiting at the front entrance.

"Director Qin, Dr. Horner, welcome to Industrial Light & Magic."

"Hello, Mr. Bill."

Bill led the way, and the three walked into the company lobby. Upon entering, they were greeted by the company’s logo and its motto. The logo resembled a glowing light bulb, and the motto read: "Film is more important than technology."

The sides of the lobby were filled with life-sized models, figurines, and posters from "Star Wars." It was a dazzling sight, and both Qin Feng and Horner looked around, mesmerized.

"So grand! How impressive!" Qin Feng exclaimed.

Bill offered a polite smile, a hint of melancholy in his expression. If it weren't for the occasional special effects project they still managed to secure, the company would be struggling even more.

The three went directly into a large conference room. Bill called over the heads of the relevant special effects teams.

"Let me introduce everyone. This is the assistant director and lead screenwriter for 'Jurassic Park,' Qin Feng. And this is Dr. Jack Horner, the paleontologist whom you are all very familiar with, as we have been communicating with him online frequently."

The room erupted in applause. The team members were surprised: "This assistant director is so young! And he's Asian." "I didn't expect him to be the one who wrote the script; that’s quite impressive." "He's here in place of Director Spielberg to discuss the special effects issues."

Bill turned to Qin Feng and said, "Director Qin, if you have any questions, please feel free to speak up."

Qin Feng stood up, looked around the room, and smiled. "Hello, everyone on the special effects team. In my heart, I have great admiration for the post-production staff who work on film effects. You are the heroes behind the scenes, bringing the emotions we want to convey and the visuals we envision to the big screen. When I was in middle school, back in China, I watched 'Star Wars.' It wasn't easy to watch movies in my hometown, so I rented a disc to see it. All these years later, those scenes are still breathtaking. Here, I would like to pay my respects to you all!"

With that, Qin Feng bowed slightly. The room fell silent as the staff listened, genuinely moved. This young man’s words were sincere and went beyond mere pleasantries.

"I am also aware that the special effects film industry is currently in a slump, and your company is facing a bottleneck. Precisely because of this, we must produce more and better sci-fi films to boost morale. That is why Director Spielberg’s 'Jurassic Park' project was launched, and it has now entered its most critical phase. I hope everyone will complete the effects shots on time and with high quality, so we can bring this film to the audience as soon as possible. I believe that from now on, there will be more and more spectacular special effects films! And I also believe that the cooperation between us has only just begun!"

As soon as he finished, the room broke into applause. Although Director Qin was young, his poise and speech were those of someone well-accustomed to big occasions. He was truly worthy of being someone working alongside Director Spielberg. Impressive!

Bill said, "Director Qin, please rest assured, and tell Director Spielberg not to worry. Our progress is going quite smoothly, and we will certainly not exceed the scheduled timeframe."

"Hearing you say that, I am relieved."

Bill turned to one of the staff members and said, "Charles, show Director Qin and Dr. Horner what you’ve completed so far."

"Okay," Charles agreed, turning on the large screen. A dozen clips appeared, each ranging from several seconds to two minutes long.

"Director Qin, Dr. Horner, these are what we have generated. Of course, they still need some color grading and sound effects, but you can get a general idea."

He clicked on the first video. It was the scene where the Brachiosaurus first appears in the film. On screen, the massive dinosaur, with its thick limbs and swaying tail, walked past the lead actors and their jeep—the sense of scale was overwhelming. A few seconds later, the Brachiosaurus crouched, raised its forelimbs, and stretched its long neck to eat leaves from the top of a tree.

After taking a couple of bites, it lowered its forelimbs. Even without sound effects, it felt as if the earth were trembling!

Qin Feng watched with extreme focus and was surprised to find that these effects were actually better than those in his previous life! They were more natural and realistic! The dinosaur looked as if it were truly alive!

He thought about it for a moment and then realized why. It was 2009, after all; hardware configurations and software performance had improved significantly. Although ILM hadn't been doing many projects, their technical foundation and talent remained. With the advancements in software and hardware, they would soon catch up.

Qin Feng nodded. "Truly excellent. I don't see any problems." He turned to Horner. "Doctor, what do you think?"

Dr. Horner nodded as well. "We’ve already gone over this shot and made a few revisions; I can't see any issues now."

"Okay, next one."

For the rest of the time, the group reviewed all dozen clips. Qin Feng and Dr. Horner provided feedback on the recent effects shots, which the artists noted down for later adjustments.

Over the next few days, Qin Feng stayed at the ILM headquarters, facilitating communication between Director Spielberg and the effects artists. Dr. Horner worked with the artists to discuss the behavior and movement patterns of the dinosaurs to ensure maximum authenticity. According to the plan, they would work there for a week.

On the fourth night, while Dr. Horner was working overtime, Qin Feng left the company alone. Since he was finally in San Francisco, where should he go for a stroll?

Right! He had heard that Chinatown here was very famous. Why not go and take a look?

With that thought, he started his car and turned on the GPS. It was the evening rush hour, and the roads were filled with a constant stream of traffic. He arrived near Chinatown and parked the car.

Stepping out, he saw in the distance a long plaque with three large characters written on it: Chinatown. Colorful lights were strung up, and red lanterns lined both sides. There were countless storefronts, with large and small signs and advertisements extending in every direction. It was hard to say whether it felt more like the Republic of China era or a Hong Kong street, but one look told you it was a place where Chinese people lived.

Pedestrians flowed in an endless stream. What a lively scene!