--
Rising Sun Pictures served as a principal visual effects provider for The Eight Hundred; the epic war film from director Guan Hu and Huayi Brothers Media and Haining Seventh Image Movie & Media Co Ltd. The film centers on the true story of the 1937 Battle of Shanghai where a Chinese battalion mounted a determined defense of the Sihang Warehouse from the invasion of the Japanese army. Working in collaboration with BangBang Pictures, Beijing, and overall VFX Supervisor RSP's Tim Crosbie, RSP contributed scores of richly detailed, seamless visual effects to support the film's riveting combat scenes, all set around a massive warehouse complex near the city center.
The Eight Hundred, sets a new standard for production value in Chinese cinema. The lavish production spanned more than three years and included the building of an exact-scale replica of the 6-story, concrete Sihang Warehouse riverside structure, where much of the action takes place. Principal cinematography by DP Cao Yu (ASC) was captured in 6.5K with ARRI Alexa 65 camera systems.
The majority of RSP's work focused on a lengthy sequence representing the battle's decisive third day. The Japanese unleash a vicious aerial attack on the Chinese soldiers on the roof of the warehouse. The fighting is witnessed by thousands of foreigners and Chinese civilians from the relative safety of Shanghai's international Concessions, now called The Bund, located just across the river from the warehouse.
The studio's team created CG set-extensions, showing the ruined city of Shanghai to augment production footage of the practical warehouse set. That included thousands of individual buildings and other structures, many in ruins, as well as debris, fire, smoke, snow and other atmospheric elements. Additionally, they animated fighter aircraft and an airship as well as a CG horse running through the interior of the warehouse.
RSP's set extensions were monumental in scale. Crosbie notes that the warehouse set was more than a kilometer in length and that over two kilometers of green screen, 15 meters high, was used around the perimeter. RSP was given responsibility for the largest key shots in the film because of its deep experience, especially with war-themed historical recreations, says Crosbie. The RSP team did such a great job hitting the mark early on for the look that we needed to tell the story. It made my job so much easier when I could present shots to Guan Hu that usually hit and often exceeded his expectations.
VFX Supervisor Tom Wood, who led the project for RSP, says that the CG sets not only had to be large, they also had to be finely articulated and rigorously accurate due to the sweeping camerawork employed in the sequence. The camera travels with planes and an airship moving over the landscape so details that begin in the far distance are later seen close up, he explains. We had to build out houses to a distance of five kilometers from the warehouse.
Guan Hu's production team supplied RSP with many photos of 1930s Shanghai, before and after the battle, and other reference media. The film's art department also built a 3d model of the city at the time of attack to use as the basis for building the practical set as well as initial previs needs. RSP's team used that material to ensure that homes and buildings were accurate in terms of style, color and texture, and that the layout of the city was historically accurate.
The research conducted by the production team was very impressive, recalls CG Supervisor Julian Hutchens. They supplied us with loads of material. We took all those ingredients, ingested them one by one, rebuilt them and adjusted them to scale. We took considerable care to render those thousands of buildings and the associated props. It pushed the instancing to the limit.
Once the general layout of the environment was established and key buildings set in place, artists worked to hone details. We looked at everything closely to see if anything was missing, notes Hutchens, like slate planks between floorboards and busted bricks on the edges of walls. To heighten realism, we varied the color and shape of rubble, or added a car or a bicycle. It was quite fun.
Integrating CG and effects into the live action plates required special care due to the super high resolution of the production footage and the distinctive style of the cinematography. It was shot with a very short shutter speed, says 2D Supervisor Guido Wolter. That meant there was very little motion blur. Most action films use fast camera moves. People are running around and debris is falling. The action is distorted making it easier to blend things. Here, every detail is crystal clear, like a still photograph.
As a further complication, Wolter adds, many of the shots in the battle sequence are long some extending for more than a thousand frames. We had to double down in our attention to detail because the audience is going to see it all, he observes. They have time to explore every shot.
The final results, according to Wood, are very convincing. He believes that audiences will feel that they are witnessing living history. The film quality is amazing, he says. Guan Hu does a wonderful job in choreographing the action, going back and forth between different characters and different aspects of the battle.
In addition to the battle sequence, RSP worked on several shots showing views of the devastated city from the perspective of Japanese aircraft. They also contributed to a few more fanciful scenes. In one instance, CG artists animated a white horse that gallops through the interior of the warehouse. (In the context of the story, the horse plays an allegorical roll.) Another scene involved a dreamlike flashback to an ancient Chinese battleground, a reference to an event in history that's very
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
NUGEN Audio will debut Version 1.1 of DialogCheck, its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at the 2026 Media Production & Technology Show (S...
12/05/2026
The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content
Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3 m...
12/05/2026
Snapgrid , Snapbag & Airglow Expand Creative Control for the ARRI Modular LED BarFollowing the launch of the ARRI Omnibar, DoPchoice introduces a dedicated li...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
TRIBECA FESTIVAL UNVEILS 2026 GAMES PROGRAM
Tribeca Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary With World Premieres and Pl...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
MADONNA BRINGS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF CONFESSIONS II TO 2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL
The Global Icon Will Unveil a Cine...
12/05/2026
Customer demand for data continues to grow in the first quarter of 2026 at Magya...
-- 
