VOA标准英语2014--融合科学,技术和艺术的《超能陆战队》

 

'Big Hero 6' Fuses Science, Technology and Artistry 融合科学,技术和艺术的《超能陆战队》

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA—

Disney’s latest animated¹ film, Big Hero 6, is a blend of science, technology and art.  Cutting-edge technology was used in the making of the movie, and one of its key characters, a robot, is based on real world science.

The action adventure movie about a boy genius, his robot and his friends started out as an obscure comic book.  Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams kept the title and the characters' names, but transformed Big Hero 6 into something uniquely Disney.

“We don’t have any super-powered people in this movie. It’s all super technology," said Hall.

“You’re always walking the line. You want to push it so it feels fun and fantastic, but at the same time you want it to be based on an actual science because people feel - just makes it feel more plausible," said Williams.

One real world example in the film, says Don Hall, is Baymax, a huggable inflatable robotic nurse made of vinyl.

“Our robot had to be something unique.  It couldn’t be something that we’ve seen before," he said.

They found their robot in Chris Atkeson’s robotics lab at Carnegie Mellon University.

“Most people think of robots either as tools for industry or military things. When you say a robot is going to help you, be your servant, or take care of you, that’s a stretch for most people," said Atkeson.

In fact, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have built inflatable robotic arms to assist older adults and people with disabilities... kind of like the movie robot, which works to heal the sick and injured.

Cutting-edge technology is featured in Big Hero 6, and groundbreaking computer technology also was used to create the movie.

New software was used to build a city called San Fransokyo, where the movie is set.  From the buildings, to the characters and the geometry, this world is more complex than anything in the last three Disney films combined.

With a more detailed² world, the film needed a more complex lighting³ method. The studio created Hyperion, a computer program that simulates the technique of global illumination.

“Global illumination is basically what you see around you in the world," said Andy Hendrickson of the Walt Disney Animation⁴ Studios.

Hyperion harnesses the physics of how light works in the real world and applies that to this virtual world.

Another piece of software created for this movie allows hundreds of thousands of people to be created in crowd scenes.

“No two people are the same in this film.  It’s not like before in computer graphics⁵ films where we had several different body types, several different head types and you made 100 different people and they’re repeated.  There are no repeats in this film," said Hendrickson.

The directors say the new technologies developed for this movie remove technological⁶ limitations for filmmakers in Big Hero 6 and future animated features. 

1 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

2 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

3 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

4 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

5 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。