The history of Motion Control (MoCo for short) technique can date back to 30 years ago, during the shooting of Star Wars film series. Nowadays this technique has already been widely used in film industry, yet barely can be found in TV plays, especially in China. However, this summer, Love and Destiny has brought us a refreshing new experience.
When asked about their favourite scenes in this fantasy drama, many viewers mention several amazing full-length shots, such as Jiuchen's visiting to the Peach Orchard, Linmo's dream (Linmo is another name for Lingxi in her 2nd life), Jiuchen's seeking for Lingxi by using his magic duplications, etc. Besides, the battle of Youdu Mountain and Jiuchen's flashing back of memories, are typical examples of motion control shots as well.
Let's have a quick look at those shots seperately.
Shot No.1, at 27'57", in episode 3.
Jiuchen visits Lingxi's home with suspicion, and sees back in time by using magic power.
Shot No. 2, at 36'10", in episode19.
Lingxi is missing. Jiuchen seeks her in his palace.
Shot No. 3, at 27'20", in episode47.
Linmo's dream reflects her deepest fear, since she doesn't realize that she and Lingxi are actually the same person, thus misunderstands that she is nothing but a replacement to her lover.
Shot No. 4, at 38'57", in episode 2.
In the battlefield of Youdu Mountain, Jiuchen himself fights against the devils and 100,000 soldiers (controlled by the Dark Lord) from his own side.
Shot No. 5, at 2'05", in episode 2.
Jiuchen recalls his memory about the military officers who died in the battle of Youdu Mountain.
How does MoCo technique work in above brilliant shots?
The biggest advantage of MoCo technique is to control the routes of cameras while filming, in a very precise way. This is extremely useful when an actor/actress has to appear twice or more in the same scene, just like in Shot 1 (Peach Orchard), Shot 2 (Seeking Lingxi), Shot 3 (Linmo's dream) and Shot 5 (Jiuchen's flashing back of memories).
This type of MoCo shot creates a vivid experience in which viewers are entering the memories or feeling the same moods of the characters. In the "seeking shot", audiences can also feel the anxiety while watching Jiuchen looking for Lingxi. Similarly, in the "dream shot", a complex empathy is aroused when Linmo is heartbroken and vanishing away. This kind of full-length shot requests higher standard of acting skills, as well.
Besides, MoCo technique can also be used in crowd duplication, when a lot of people are needed to fill a scene, but there are not enough actors to shoot it all at once. Moreover, as we can see in the behind-the-scenes documentary, actors and background are not shot together sometimes. The background is designed by computer, therefore actor has to perform in front of a green or blue screen and later be put together with the background. And that is how the "Battlefield shot" is made in this drama.
Apart from the five distinguish shots we have mentioned above, there are many other examples of MoCo shots in Love and Destiny, such as removing of wires/special rigs/actors, as well as combining different frame rates in action, etc.
Due to the limitation of time, there's no necessary to go through every single detail, and I'd rather to leave more fun for readers/viewers to find out yourselves. Thanks for reading. Attached please find articles and videos about MoCo technique for your references.
References:
<the collection of full-length shots>
https://m.weibo.cn/6505380673/4402958210719018
<a introduction of MoCo technique>
https://m.weibo.cn/6505380673/4402955195059703
<about motion control shots>
http://www.general-lift.com/About/AboutMoCo.html?from=singlemessage
