The Value And The Practice Of The "air" Theory In Science Fiction Movies

As an early national film theory,the “air” theory had been proposed as soon as after the emergence of film in China with exploration by two generations of filmmakers and finally finished a more complete discussion in director Fei Mu.In recent years,due to the increasing popularity of the study of “Chinese film school”,the “air” theory has been mentioned frequently in the field of academic vision.Similar to the theory of “air”,“photogénie”,the second semiotics of film,the theory of “Aura”,and the Chinese theory of “qi yun” and “yi xiang“ also put forward relevant views on the issue of creating the atmosphere in a film.In contrast,“photogénie” and “Aura” both pay great attention to the performance of actors in filming,while the “air” theory highlights the performance of audiovisual language for the presentation of the environment and the interaction between characters(audiences)and the environment.The second semiotics of the film focuses on "the psychological relationship between the audience and the screen",but the “air” theory shows the importance of enhancing the credibility of the picture to gain the attention and trust of the audience.“Qi yun sheng dong(vivid)” is the aesthetic goal of the “air” theory and the highest state of the atmosphere of a work of art.The “imagery” that grows on the cultural soil of "figurative" thinking is the aesthetic basis of the “air” theory.The basic rule of creating “air”(atmosphere)is to enhance the credibility of the environment in which the characters in the film live.Fei Mu puts forward in the “air” theory that there are four ways to create an atmosphere: “the performance of the camera itself”is determined by the choice of cameras,lens and formats;“the object itself of photography” is mainly divided into exterior scenes that focus on nature and interior scenes that focus on artificial skills;“the side-tapping method” can be discussed from the performance of reaction shots and empty shots;the last method,“due to sound”,covers sound elements such as background sound,soundtrack,and vocal performance of actors.From the perspective of creating the atmosphere,with the help of the perspective and the framework of the “air” theory,the sci-fi film works of director Guo Fan and director Denis Villeneuve are analyzed in details.Firstly,what could be clearly seen is that the choice of camera-related equipment and aspect ratios is determined based on the theme of each film itself and the director’s own aesthetic style.Secondly,in terms of exterior shootings,the team led by Guo Fan and the team led by Villeneuve showed their same love for live-action shootings,while the interior scenes emphasized the setting of lines,the lights and the use of empty spaces.Thirdly,although reaction shots and empty shots are only ways to assist in expressing the atmosphere,the two directors show their outstanding comprehension here,but also expose their flaws in the technique of atmosphere creations.Fourthly,the sound that blends warmth and realism makes Guo Fan’s The Wandering Earth and The Wandering Earth Ⅱ feel more intimate and real to Chinese audiences,yet expose the shortcomings of Villeneuve’s Arrival,Blade Runner 2049 and Dune on the unnatural vocal performance in spite of their superior soundtracks.The gains and losses of the two directors which from China and Canada respectively on creating atmospheres in the five science fiction films draw from the “air” theory and the analysis of certain contents based on this theory.It proves that this theory owns the universality on certain artistic interpretations and communication significance,especially in the field of film analysis and criticism,it has sufficient applicability and application value.