With the opening of Universal Studios Beijing, Megatron, the interactive highlight in the park, frequently boarded hot searches, and its verbal properties gained a large number of fans. However, few people know that Megatron in the park is artificially manipulated by a real actor standing on stilts and wearing a mecha. Most people only see the prestige and humor in front of him, ignoring the hardships and helplessness of the actor behind him. In addition to the physical effort and the incomprehension of others, Megatron in the park also received complaints and reports from some tourists because of his classic line "stupid human beings". This article is intended to explore the bitterness and helplessness behind the cool mecha.
author | qianjiang evening news Hour Journalist Liu Qiaoyan Rong Zhang
edit | Cao Yumeng
source | qianjiang evening news
The text is 3848 words in total | Estimated reading time is 10 minutes.
△ Photo courtesy of Megatron CFP at Universal Studios Beijing
"Crazy, netizens are crazy, and even Megatron’s mantra has to be reported."
With the opening of Universal Studios Beijing, Megatron, the interactive highlight in the park, frequently boarded hot search. This well-known villain in Transformers captured the hearts of tourists with his huge body and talkative attributes as soon as he appeared. However, its life in China was not so smooth. Just a few days after its opening, there were successive controversies.
According to BRTV Capital Economic Report, Megatron was reported and complained for calling tourists "stupid humans" every day.
But this sentence was originally Megatron’s classic line in Transformers. If you can’t even say this, your mouth is full of love and peace, which really doesn’t conform to Megatron’s original setting in the movie.
In fact, Megatron’s "descent to the world" was a bit miserable. He "killed the crazy autobots" in the movie, but he often acted as the aunt of the neighborhood Committee in Universal Studios Beijing, adjusting the contradiction of tourists jumping in line. After the adjustment failed, there was no way but to regret leaving.
Just a few days ago, a little girl kicked Megatron and went on a hot search. In the face of the "violent behavior" of human cubs, Megatron seemed helpless. Finally, it posed for a photo with the girl’s parents, without the risk of being a villain.
Even in the face of unfriendly gestures from the audience, Megatron can only borrow lines from the movie to deal with it. Finally, Megatron still took a group photo with the tourist as a souvenir, which can be said to be completely out of line.
In fact, it is not so much Megatron as the staff of Universal Studios interacting with tourists. Many netizens speculated that Megatron was AI before, but in fact, it was actually arranged for a staff member to stand on the knee of the mecha like walking on stilts, carrying a 30-pound mecha, artificially controlling the movement and sound, and finally processing it through a voice changer.
Behind Megatron are actually migrant workers like us ordinary people, ordinary lives and shining dreams. Qianjiang evening news Hour News interviewed Wang Ming, the "China Mecha Operator" who once played Megatron. He endowed the Mecha with soul and satisfied people’s infinite imagination of the Mecha, and behind this, there were thousands of runs-in between man and machine.
Wang Ming, 33, once performed in Hangzhou in armor. On September 30th, he told us the secret of Megatron and his little-known professional joys and sorrows.
Megatron is played by people.
There may be voice changing devices and sensors in the mecha.
△ Photo courtesy of Megatron CFP at Universal Studios Beijing
"Megatron in Universal Studios is about 3.3 meters tall. Like us, actors have to step on stilts, with their feet almost at Megatron’s thigh and their heads at the breastplate, artificially manipulating the whole mecha." Wang Ming told qianjiang evening news Hour reporter with a smile.
When Wang Ming first put on the mecha, Universal Studios Beijing had not yet opened. Because he liked Transformers, he first learned about Megatron of Universal Studios Los Angeles. At that time, this field in China was still blank.
With the megatron fire out of the circle, more and more people are beginning to wonder, is artificial intelligence behind this megatron, which is taller than human beings and can pose all kinds of actions at any time, and even has some verbal properties, or is it played by innocent people?
Wang Ming gave the answer that he had been in this business for many years-the role of innocent people.
"One leg weighs almost 20 pounds." Wang Ming revealed that the actor who plays Megatron should stand on the knee or thigh of the mecha like walking on stilts, and complete the action of manipulating the mecha. When performing, the people inside need to wear invisibility cloaks to completely hide the possibility of the human body that can be seen by the naked eye. As for the twisting of the mecha’s head, it is actually the same as the principle of wearing a hat. The actor is equivalent to wearing a mecha’s hat on his head, and the real-time twisting of the mecha’s head is realized through the twisting of his head.
As for how to interact with people around him, Wang Ming explained: "People inside need to look around through the cracks in the mecha. Because the field of vision is narrow, visitors can’t get too close. When preparing for interaction, the people inside need to match the corresponding body movements with language, and the sound is transmitted to the tourists’ ears in real time through the voice changer, thus completing the interaction. "
Wang Ming said that there should be at least sound changing devices, sensors and other equipment in the Megatron Mech of Universal Studios, which should be synchronized with the actors’ performances. As for the internal details, "this is a commercial secret of Universal Studios, and they should not disclose it to the public. In short, it should be a part without artificial intelligence. "
Mecha manipulator
A profession that has no name for the time being
△ Photo courtesy of Megatron CFP at Universal Studios Beijing
Wearing a wearable mecha on his back, he makes all kinds of movements and interacts with people at the same time. At home, people in this line of work can’t find a very suitable word to define their occupation. In the United States, they are called "actors" and "special technicians", but in China, the mecha performance is still in the blank. Wang Ming looked up a lot of information on the Internet, and found a word from science fiction movies, comics and novels to define his occupation-"Mecha Manipulator".
Different from the common name of "actor" in the United States, Wang Ming wants to give life and soul to the cold mecha, and he wants to create a mecha culture that belongs exclusively to China.
At first, Wang Ming’s performances all started with imitation, such as playing bumblebee.
"Here comes the bumblebee!" Often, Wang Ming is surrounded by groups as soon as he appears. Facing the noisy crowd, Wang Ming curled up slightly, put his hands around his head, stepped back and squatted in the corner like a shy child.
All of a sudden, Wang Ming stood up again, raised his right arm, lifted his head slightly, and looked around at a 45-degree angle-this was Wang Ming’s trademark action when he performed "Bumblebee", which meant that it entered a state of "fighting".
After long-term practice, Wang Ming can transform three kinds of sounds freely without a voice changer. As long as the mecha are changed, Wang Ming can be a naughty bumblebee, a powerful Optimus Prime, and a scary Megatron.
In the past few years, Wang Ming has completed thousands of similar performances, with more than 20,000 hours. Wang Ming has heard countless people curiously discuss, "Is there anyone here?" He thought, what would the audience call themselves if they knew there was someone inside? "Wear a mecha? Or the performer? "
General weakness after the performance.
But I feel the heat between people
△ Wang Ming took off his heavy armor
Behind the prestige or interest of the audience is the hardship of a profession that is unknown.
In the first few years, the mecha controlled by Wang Ming were all made of EVA. "It’s not much different from ordinary clothes." At the beginning of 2019, he came into contact with NK01, the first exoskeleton mecha in China. Although it takes 30 minutes to take off this mecha with the help of two engineers, Wang Ming feels that this is the real "Iron Man".
"When performing, it’s like dancing with a person on his back." Usually, after performing an activity, Wang Ming was caught in a heavy rain, his clothes stuck to his body, and his hair was soaked with sweat, forming plumes on his forehead. And this kind of performance often lasts for several days, just like Megatron of Universal Studios, as long as he stands out, he must always be in a role state. Wang Ming, who unloaded the mecha, felt weak, almost dizzy, and his shoulders and elbow joints were particularly sore.
△ After taking off the mecha, the whole body of the mecha manipulator was soaked with sweat.
Go outside the mecha, Wang Ming became silent, "I talk to others about mecha, few people understand; Even if someone understands, I am worried that I am very wonderful in their eyes. "
Wang Ming said that few people understood him, including his family, and once branded him as "doing nothing". Many people question, "It’s just like cosplay, it’s very simple, and it can’t be counted as a career."
For a two-hour performance, Wang Ming’s price ranges from 1,200 yuan to 3,000 yuan. And NK01, which has scientific and technological elements, is worth as much as six figures, and Wang Ming can get thousands of dollars. However, in the past two years, due to the epidemic, the number of performances in Wang Ming has dropped significantly. "I don’t know when the next performance will come." He told qianjiang evening news Hour reporter some reluctantly.
Wang Ming is full of guilt for his family because of his precarious job, but he is addicted to his heroic and fearless role interpretation. "When I was a child, I was very naughty. I was king of the children; But when I grow up, the world seems different. " Wang Ming said.
From Gundam to Transformers, the mech robot carries Wang Ming’s childhood memories, all his dreams and the definition of bravery.
"There is a wonderful feeling injected into the body, which is very healing." At those moments in the mecha’s body, Wang Ming felt that he was really "deformed", became a fearless hero, and became fond of communicating and hugging strangers. "This is the other side of me."
"In this world, the relationship between people is more indifferent. On the street, if you see a stranger, you won’t talk; But if it is a robot, you will take the initiative to go over and see, touch and even communicate. " Wang Ming regrets ground say, let him feel the heat between people under the mecha.
The dream continues.
I hope to have my own Megatron as soon as possible.
△ Wang Ming took off his heavy armor
Before contacting the mecha, Wang Ming was a soldier. After retiring from the army in 2011, he returned to his hometown of Puyang, Henan Province, worked as a security guard and waiter, sold mala Tang and mobile phones, and changed jobs almost every six months. He once fell into the confusion of life. "I don’t know what to do every day, I can’t find the value of life."
Wang Ming once suffered from narcolepsy. For half a year, he slept in bed for more than ten hours every day: "Why am I not a hero?" "What can I do to get others’ love?" Memories of childhood came into his mind. "Is it possible for me to become a Transformers, a hero and be noticed?"
With the help of Internet extending in all directions, Wang Ming found that someone had boldly tried his "fantasy"-playing Transformers. Later, Wang Ming found a group of like-minded friends who loved the Mecha. From the hot online discussion to 2016, they formed a team to manufacture and perform the Mecha.
At first, Wang Ming can only take the initiative to run, go to large and small shopping malls and media companies to promote their own mecha, usually only two months before a chance falls from the sky. Later, Wang Ming gradually became a minor celebrity in the circle, and the gap period was shortened to half a month. Wang Ming traveled all over the country with his mecha and appeared on various occasions, playing the role of welcome robot, warm-up guest and marriage guardian. Wang Ming will also be on the stage of various variety shows, taking photos with stars and shaking hands with celebrities.
"It’s like being possessed." Wang Ming is immersed in this world. Whenever he has time, he repeatedly watches his own performance videos and robot-related movies, always pays attention to the information in the field of mecha, fiddles with robot models, constantly studies, imitates and learns, and regularly integrates new elements into the mecha and adds new actions that are more in line with the role positioning. On one occasion, Wang Ming stayed up for three consecutive nights and was taken to the hospital the next day.
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About the mecha, Wang Ming is still having more and longer dreams. In the dream, Wang Ming dressed the robot in costumes, painted Facebook, and went to the world with a mecha full of China elements; In the dream, the mecha industry has formed a complete industrial chain, from manufacturing and training to control and evaluation; In the dream, professional mecha controllers have norms and grades, which bring happiness to many people and are respected.
Wang Ming thinks that one day, China will have its own image of a mecha like Megatron, and go to the world.
△ Photo courtesy of Megatron CFP at Universal Studios Beijing