Wowed by the terracotta warriors

Keith Melton's documentary Mysteries of China provides thrills on big screen

Keith Melton decided to make his documentary Mysteries of China after he saw the Terracotta Warriors up close. "The first time I saw the real Terracotta Warriors, I thought they were incredible. I read about them and saw pictures of them. Then you go there, it is like wow!" he said.

"That was the moment I wanted to do the film. I want people to have the wow moment for sure," Melton, the film's writer, director and producer, told China Daily.

On June 20, Melton joined an audience for a screening of the film at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, where coincidentally the Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor exhibit was on display.

 

The movie tells the story of the first emperor of China and his army of Terracotta Warriors. After the 40-minute documentary, Melton shared behind-thescenes stories, talking about the challenge of the big screen as well as the unprecedented access he had to the warrior archeological site.

Early in February, the Advanced Imaging Society and The VR Society bestowed 28 honors for "distinguished achievement" at The Lumiere Awards, presented by AMD and Stereo D, at Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood. The documentary was honored with Best 3D Documentary Short.

Melton started filming about four years ago.

"It is an all-China-oriented project. You may see the documentary on the television, but they never see it in large-format 3D," he said. "This is the next best thing to being there, if you cannot go to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors. We also have very unique footage as well."

Melton said "this film, like the country, is a visual sensation. It is the first giant-screen production to utilize Sony's new 8K image processing workfl ow. The result is stunning footage of unparalleled quality - precisely what the giant screen medium prescribes."

"From a 2,000-year-old archaeological dig twice the size of a soccer field to the vast countryside and craggy peaks of rural China, to the ultramodern Pudong district of Shanghai at night," was how Melton described the film's scope.

Melton said he is a "big fan" of 3D. "The IMAX 3D immerses people into the story, the environment and the people in a way that no other media can," he said.

(IMAX is a 70 millimeter film format that can record and display images of much greater size and resolution than regular film systems).

Narrated by Avery Brooks of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fame, Mysteries of China was produced by Giant Screen Films, Top Production China and Expanded Eye Entertainment. It was distributed globally by Giant Screen Films and D3D Cinema in digital 3D and 15/70 dome formats.

"Top Production in Beijing is great. They use different techniques, but they were very professional. We worked closely with the camera team, and we learned things from each other," he said.

Melton said that he's "always enjoyed working with the Chinese groups, which are bigger than what I was used to. They may not have all the experience that a Hollywood team might have, but they really want to learn, and they were very hard-working."

As for what needs to improve in China's film industry, Melton mentioned infrastructure and story quality.

"And acting will be a good one to improve. There are a lot of models and pretty people in the Chinese films right now, but they are not necessarily great actors. They don't have very good casting directors," he said.

"There is a lot of co-production between Hollywood and China. It is hard because of our cultural differences. What the American audience likes is different from what the Chinese audience likes. But they will find a way," Melton said.

Mysteries of China is the second film in GSF's Ancient Civilizations series follows Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs, an international success generating more than $40 million in the global museum cinema box office.

"This is an incredible opportunity for students to immerse in Chinese history and culture, which always helps language studies," said Chen Tang, a Chinese-language teacher from the Overlake School in Redmond, Washington. Last month, Tang took a group of students to the Pacific Science Center to watch the documentary.

"Through film we recreate archeology, the galloping horses that served to fill out his majesty's decrees," said Mahlon Meyer, as assistant professor of Chinese history at the University of Washington. "We have never seen dead sculpture brought to life as it has been done upon the screen. Traditionally, Chinese filmmakers rely on their imagination to recreate the past, but now they are intermingling the ancient objects that exist to revivify a past in contemporary ways," he said.

Others who saw the film weighed in favorably online.

"I highly recommend you see the IMAX film Mysteries of China either directly before or after going to the exhibit. It enhances the experience very much," wrote Mary S. on TripAdvisor.

"Very interesting, gives you the history of the emperor and shows you the detailed work that went into the excavation of this amazing find," said Loreen P. on TripAdvisor.

Jeffrey Totey of Red Tricycle said the movie "explains further the mystery while also ... showcasing the best of modern China before going back in time."

Melton is trying to raise the funding now for his next film, on Tibet.

"From the Western and European point of view, very few people know much about Tibetan people and culture, the Buddhism and what an amazing place it is."

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com