Welcome to the 3D Era

Because everyone quickly realized that HF's sheer level of terror wasn't actually that bad.

To paraphrase a horror film enthusiast, while "The Hassan Murder Case at Ryuudou Temple" was well-made, it wasn't as scary as other horror movies.

The reason why Heaven's Feel is so famous is entirely because viewers who don't usually watch horror movies went to see it because of the Fate name.

In fact, if you look at the entire first episode of HF, you'll find that horror elements only make up less than a third of the episode. But because this part of the plot is in the second half, it is mentioned many times.

Putting aside the horror elements, if you look at the first episode of HF as a whole, you'll find that it's a bit of a mixed bag, touching on all sorts of elements.

The series features a range of elements, from heartwarming youthful romance to saccharine sweet moments between husband and wife, from hilarious antics to thrilling action sequences and terrifying horror scenes.

However, Shinji's excellent storytelling ability makes HF, despite its many elements, not chaotic.

The only downside is that after getting used to the extremely fast storytelling pace of Shinji's Shinji and Fate/Zero, the slower pace in the early stages of Heaven's Feel might take some getting used to.

However, regardless of the circumstances, HF, as a series released in the OV (Online Video) format, far surpasses other OV-format releases in terms of both cast size and production quality.

Just look at Seven OV produced by Tsuburaya Productions. It was only two years earlier than Tiga, but the two feel like works from two different eras.

This refers not to the quality of the script, but to the special effects, fight scenes, and stage design.

The same situation was also reflected in another Ultraman OV produced by Tsuburaya Productions. Its finished product looked quite different from Ultraman, and the difference in budget was obvious to the naked eye.

And what about HF?

If someone were to montage the fight scenes between Lancer and Archer, and Saber and Berserker from both works, it would be almost impossible to tell the difference.

Aside from fans who have already seen it, you can't even be sure which shot is from UBW and which is from HF.

With such excellent production quality and the added boost of the Fate IP, the initial release of 200,000 DVD copies of HF sold out in just two days, with major stores announcing that they were sold out.

This unwitting creation of scarcity marketing made HF's reputation even stronger and further boosted demand for HF DVDs.

As a result, Bandai, the distributor, had to work overnight to increase DVD production lines to expand output.

Even videotapes, which were basically on the verge of disappearing from the scene, saw a surge in sales because DVDs were running out of stock and became a backup option for many fans.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, HF Volume 1 should become the best-selling videotape in Japan this year... probably.

Who knows if some miracle might happen in the later volumes of Heaven's Feel?

After all, that's Fate, and creating miracles is a Fate tradition.

Faced with such brilliant achievements, Bandai was overjoyed.

Although Bandai's performance has been outstanding in the past two Bandai, its film and television division has even surpassed Toho, the industry leader, in terms of profit margin alone.

But these achievements are basically due to the legendary IP Fate and its legendary Director Shinji Matou.

So when Shinji announced that he would not be making movies this year but would instead be working on TV dramas, Bandai's film division was very worried that its performance this year would experience a precipitous decline.

As a result, Shinji Matou proved to the audience that even in a TV drama, he could make Bandai.

Even the toy division made a fortune thanks to the popularity of Fate.

If Bandai has any regrets, it's that half of their five-year merchandise agreement with Shinji Matou has already passed.

Given the current popularity of Fate, it's entirely possible for this IP to remain popular for another five years. If Shinji Matou can maintain the quality of his work, it's not impossible for it to remain popular for another ten years.

This is the most painful thing for Bandai: they haven't made enough money yet, and the contract is about to expire.

"We must renew Shinji Matou as soon as possible. Even if we can't guarantee Bandai's exclusive rights to all the merchandise, we must at least maintain their exclusivity in the toy and model segment!"

Bandai's board of directors issued this order to Udagawa Nao.

Although there are still more than two years left before the agreement expires, negotiations involving tens of billions of yen in profits are unlikely to be concluded in less than a few months.

It's always good to plan ahead.

Udagawa Nao himself wasn't entirely confident about securing a deal with Type-Moon.

Despite her current close relationship with Shinji uncle, Kariya, in the Japan workplace where public and private matters are clearly separated, such a relationship will not add any advantage to negotiations.

Especially since the person she was negotiating with was Shinji Matou, Udagawa Nao still couldn't forget how shrewd and calculating Shinji was during their first negotiation.

In Ms. Udagawa's mind, Shinji is the reincarnation of that stingy Grandet.

When Udagawa Nao arrived at Type-Moon Company in Fuyuki City with a do-or-die mentality, he found that several old acquaintances, including Shinji, were preparing to go out together.

"With everyone here, are you planning a team-building event or a year-end banquet?" Udagawa Nao asked. "Isn't it still a long way from the end of the year?"

Shinji rubbed his stomach, looking helpless, and said, "We're going to the cinema to see how the completed scenes of the new movie look."

Are you sick?

"No, Sakura put bugs in my lunch at noon... Ms. Udagawa, would you like to come and take a look?"

"Wait, I think I heard something incredible, and why did you change the subject..." Udagawa Nao wanted to press for more information.

But Shinji didn't give her the chance. "Why don't you go take a look? This is the first time this new technology has been actually used. It's a new technology that can change the film industry, a technology that transcends time!"

Although Shinji had previously seen 3D without glasses effects with ordinary projection equipment, this was his first time using an IMAX screen.

Unfortunately, IMAX screens are too expensive; even a casual touch can cost tens of thousands of dollars in repair fees.

So this is the first time IMAX has shown a clip from Naked-eye 3D movie.

"New technology?"

Udagawa Nao dismissed Shinji's talk of new technology, believing that no matter how advanced film technology became, it only made special effects more realistic.

From the audience's perspective, new technologies are amazing, but from the perspective of practitioners, there is no fundamental difference between new and old technologies.

But Udagawa Nao was still determined to follow Shinji to find out what this mysterious Great Director was really up to.

Chapter 147 Welcome to the 3D Era

After several months of renovations, Type-Moon Cinema welcomed its first batch of new guests today.

If it's a regular screen, the conversion to 3D without glasses isn't that complicated. If the local Ley Lines quality is good, it can be debugged within a week, and multiple screens can be converted at the same time.

There's also the issue of IMAX screens being expensive, and given their enormous size, retrofitting is far less easy than building a new one.

Fortunately, this modification is a one-time thing, so unless the screen is damaged later, there will be no need for rework.

Over the next few months, clips from Super 8 will be screened here free of charge for the exhibition.

The best way to experience the effects of a 3D movie is to see it for yourself. No amount of praise can compare to the lasting impression of experiencing it firsthand.

As Shinji's headquarters, the IMAX theater in Fuyuki City was the first theater to screen clips from "Super 8" for free.

This free screening program will then be extended to most IMAX theaters throughout Japan, and even to Asia and the world.

Shinji hopes that this approach will allow moviegoers to experience firsthand the charm of 3D without glasses + vibration + IMAX full-frame, and ideally cultivate their habit of watching IMAX movies.

The IMAX theater in Fuyuki City is a standard hall, and even for such a memorable first screening, it was too few people—only Shinji and his group.

Therefore, Shinji also invited some journalists and filmmakers, and even several North American filmmakers who were filming on set in Fuyuki City were invited to come and observe.

Even so, the huge IMAX theater was not full, with many empty seats.

This is also why Shinji invited Udagawa Nao; since there were empty seats, having more friends wouldn't be a problem.

As for the extra seats, Shinji had the cinema randomly invite moviegoers to experience them firsthand.

"Hey, junior, you finally brought your people."

As they entered the theater, Touko, who had been waiting for a long time, raised her hand to greet Shinji.

"Thank you for your help this time, senior. Please continue to help me in the future." Shinji smiled and shook hands with her.

"Well, well, I've learned a lot from this technology too, it's worth it!" Touko laughed very freely.

"Senior, what do you think of our technology?"

Upon hearing Shinji's question, Touko shrugged. "Filming and screening costs are key to the widespread adoption of our technology. Also, we need to make as many films as possible that utilize our technology."

During her research on 3D technology, Touko did a lot of homework, so she understands why the technology version of 3D technology has not yet been widely adopted.

Shinji nodded. "Yes, from now on I won't be the only one who needs to work hard."

The 3D movie market is huge, and even if Shinji is extremely prolific, he can't satisfy the entire market. Other 3D movie projects must be launched.

Shinji already had a few options in mind; it all depended on whether he could find a suitable Director and team.

"This technology seems really impressive."

At the back of the line, Udagawa Nao whispered to Kariya.

Kariya proudly raised his chin. "Of course, to be honest, I was quite surprised myself."

Shinji has not yet publicly announced the use of Naked-eye 3D technology. Apart from the crew members, only a few people from Johnny & Associates participated in the negotiations last time know about it.

However, V6 and SMAP are both veteran artists, and the members know very well what they should and shouldn't say.

As for the Kitagawa siblings, although they were dismissive of the so-called 3D without glasses, they were not talkative people.

So even Bandai, where Udagawa Nao works, didn't know what Shinji was up to with Super 8; they just received an order to make a commemorative transformation device for the movie.

From Kariya's words, Udagawa Nao sensed immense confidence.

She originally attended this preview screening mainly to save face for Shinji, but now she's genuinely interested in these new technologies.

"Then I'll wait and see."

Udagawa Nao smiled slightly and followed the group into the screening room.

Guided by staff, guests and audience members entered the screening room one after another.

The most eye-catching feature at the front of the fan-shaped hall is the huge screen, which many viewers have to crane their necks to see the top of.

As Udagawa Nao and the others sat down, they heard several reporters whispering behind them.

"They called us to the IMAX theater this time, not just to showcase the IMAX projection equipment, right? I heard that Shinji Matou's new movie was filmed with IMAX camera."

"In that case, it would be great if we went to the science museum. There aren't many documentaries shot with IMAX camera, but there are still quite a few."

"Indeed, this kind of mere gimmick has no practical significance whatsoever."

"After all, they're the current box office champion. Even if it's just a fart, we'd still come over and smell it."

Hearing the sarcastic remarks from the reporters in the back row, Tokiomi Tohsaka had also been invited, turned his head and whispered in Risei Kotomine's ear, "Do you think Shinji- kun is reliable or not? Don't make things worse."

"Just you wait and see."

When it comes to movies, Risei Kotomine trusts Shinji completely; this younger man has never let him down.

The lights in the screening room gradually dimmed, and the image began to appear on the screen.

Since the film is not yet fully completed, this preview screening will not be the finished product, but rather three clips totaling 20 minutes of sample footage.

In fact, Shinji organized this preview screening partly as a test, so the selected clips were very representative.

The first segment featured Ultraman Mebius battling the deep-sea monster Guvira, showcasing the 3D without glasses + vibration audiovisual effects to the entire audience.

The second segment is set in post-apocalyptic Yokohama, Shinji used a green screen + post-production CG approach for this scene.

During filming, Magecraft paint is first applied to the green screen scene. After rehearsals are completed, CG is used to create scene details, and the recorded paint is used for 3D rendering.

Shinji chose this scene to see how well the CG scenes blended with the 3D graphics, and whether there were any continuity errors.

The final scene features the Heisei Ultraman Trilogy Heroes battling the Five Emperor Beasts in aerial combat.

The reason for choosing this is simple: this set of shots contains a large number of moving shots, making it the best material for testing viewers' 3D motion sickness.

While it's impossible to prevent everyone from getting motion sickness in 3D, Shinji needs to at least ensure that 99% of people won't experience it in his 3D movies; otherwise, the promotion of the technology will definitely be hindered.

Based on the feedback from this broadcast, Shinji will make targeted adjustments to ensure the technology is perfect when it is finally launched to the market.

The audience members present were unaware that they had been used as guinea pigs; at that moment, they were astonished by the scene displayed on the IMAX screen.

Tokiomi Tohsaka stared intently at the screen, his brow furrowing unconsciously. He had noticed that the images on the screen were different from the movies he had seen before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what the differences were.

"That's what makes IMAX camera so amazing," one reporter boasted to the others. "While Fate/Zero was shown in IMAX, it wasn't filmed with dedicated IMAX equipment, so the quality was somewhat lacking."

"This time it's different because it was shot with IMAX camera, so the picture displayed on the screen is exceptionally clear, almost indistinguishable from what the naked eye sees in reality."

"However, this isn't exactly new technology; it existed back in the 1960s..."

The knowledgeable reporter fell silent before he could finish speaking.

Because--

"The effect of this building collapsing is so realistic! It's like it's about to collapse right in front of you!"

As soon as the clip began, the scene of the deep-sea monster Guvira destroying the city stunned all the viewers.