case study--three body trilogy

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hree Body Trilogy niversity of Southern Californi

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The presentation is an academic case study for a transmedia storytelling project--Three Body Trilogy. The project is based on the most popular Chinese science fiction which is being translated into English now.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Case Study--Three Body Trilogy

Three Body TrilogyUniversity of Southern California

Page 2: Case Study--Three Body Trilogy

What is Three Body Trilogy?This transmedia project aims at introducing the best Chinese science fiction to the English-speaking world, combining interactivity, film, music and documentary.

The Three Body Trilogy is one of the best-known and best-selling science fiction novels in China, and the original Chinese version has sold around 400,000 copies to date. The trilogy presents a sweeping, ambitious tapestry of the alien "Trisolaran Civilization" and creates new and richly-imagined rules of the cosmos, resulting in a work of fiction that is both emotionally stirring and boldly fantastic. Literary critics have said that it "infuses its own systematic concepts and limitless vision into Chinese literature."

The Three Body Trilogy is being translated into English by Mr. Ken Liu, the first Chinese American winner of the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award. Inspired by the news, we are more than happy to introduce Three Body to more sci-fi fans as well as everyone who believes that the outer space is the common wealth for human beings.

Links:

Trailer

Theme Song—Not Afraid

Interactive video—Dark Jungle Theory

Game Demo

Street Interview

Website

Facebook

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“The Three Body Trilogy is a novel of grand imagination…It asks big questions about the relationship between humanity and extraterrestrials and tries to answer them. It takes the "sci" in sci-fi seriously and delves into technical details in a way that many Chinese fans with an interest in science and engineering appreciate. And finally, it uses Chinese elements in an organic, authentic way that is not available in Western sci fi imported into China.”------Ken Liu, Writer

Written by Mr. Liu Cixin, The Three Body Trilogy mainly discusses the most possible relationships among different civilizations in the universe, and whether it’s suicidal for the innocent human beings to expose themselves to other civilizations. The ultimate hypothesis in the book is cautionary: the first day mankind find themselves not lonely in the universe is going to be the last day of human civilization.  

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Production Notes

The project tries to employ the transmedia storytelling to help English speakers understand the essence of a Chinese science fiction.

To shrink the gap between two thoroughly different cultures, the project uses a short movie to display the background and a theme song to acquaint the audience with the tone of the story.

To explain the fundamental axioms in an entertaining and engaging way, an interactive video and an iOS game application are created.

To enhance the proficiency of the team, professional composer, film producer, singer, actors and voice actors are invited to participate in the project.

The project has aroused the interest of both English and Chinese speakers in reading the fiction; and attracted more than 500 fans on Facebook. In April 2013, the Three Body Trilogy project gained a great success on Hollywood 3.0 Forum.

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Trailer

This trailer is based on and adapted from the first and second books of the Three Body Trilogy.

Due to the limited equipment and funding, a couple of the original plots have been adjusted. This trailer aims at providing a background story for the audience who haven't read the trilogy andcreating a foreshadowing for the publish of the trilogy in May, 2013.

Watch

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China, 1967: The madness of the Cultural Revolution has engulfed the country, but someone at the highest levels of the Communist Party has launched Red Coast, a top secret military project to establish contact with extraterrestrial intelligence.

Ye Wenjie, a graduate student in astrophysics, has been exiled to the remote frontiers of Inner Mongolia for manual labor after witnessing the brutal death of her father, a physics professor, at the hands of the Red Guards. By a stroke of fortune, she enters Red Coast Base and becomes a technician there.

After discovering a property of the sun that allows certain radio transmissions to be amplified, Ye secretly experiments with using the sun as an antenna to broadcast Red Coast's message without apparent success.

Eight years later, Ye receives a signal from space that turns out to be the response to her original broadcast eight years earlier. Four light-years away, on the last planet orbiting three suns, Three Body, is an alien civilization.

Embittered by the horror she experienced during the Cultural Revolution and believing humanity to be beyond redemption, Ye agrees to help the aliens conquer Earth. She hopes that humanity can be reformed through this external intervention……

Background

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The main idea of the song is a lullaby a mother croons to her child before the Three Body civilization invades the Earth.

The Earth, a planet where mankind has lived so far, is like a mother; and human beings are all her children. The extermination is approaching, people have to bid farewell to her. Although the end is coming, we do not need to be afraid. The future of human civilization is unknown, but when we review the past, we should realize that all of us have already had a happy life and many beautiful memories.

The lyrics are also created based on the same theme, telling people that this is the end of the world, but it is not the end of human civilization. Hope is still there.

In order to overcome the language barrier, music becomes a perfect platform to cross the cultural boundaries and express the theme of the book. Through melody and lyrics, this theme song also tells a mini version of the Three Body story. It expresses a feeling of infinite melancholy, however, hope still exists.

Listen

Theme Song—Not Afraid

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Interactive Video

Initially, we wanted to avoid the traditionally dull and dry style of explaining theories and axioms.

The two primary axioms of the universe and the Dark Jungle Theory are the bases for the audience to understand Three Body Trilogy: why human beings cannot communicate with other civilizations; why friendship cannot be possibility built between two civilizations; and what the only action is when two civilizations encounter.

Therefore, we decided to produce an entertaining interactive video to let the audience find the answer and understand the universe in the fiction by themselves.Watch

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Street Interview

The street interview aims at involving our audience offline. To engage the native speakers in US, it is effective to walk out  and introduce the Three Body story to the potential US audience face-to-face and invite them to follow our campaign.

In addition to the thrilling original story alone, questions that the audience have emotional connection to are added to the interview to amplify the whole story-verse, varying from about aliens and universe to about life and love.

Also, in order to collect different ideas and have a better understanding of the US audience, the fans demography of other Sci-fi works are reviewed and the interviewees are carefully selected, based on ages, genders, occupations and cultural backgrounds.

Watch

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Game

In order to telling the story through a different arc, the game demo is designed to explain why the Three Body civilization has to conquer the Earth.

Due to its extremely unstable orbit—the result of an ancient celestial mechanics puzzle known as the Three Body Problem—life on the Three Body planet evolved in an environment of extreme, sudden, unpredictable shifts in climate.

Civilization rose and fell in cycles of destruction and rebirth, and the Three Body civilization finally settled on an extremely authoritarian form of government, dedicated to the cause of finding a new home before their planet is destroyed by its uncertain path among the three suns, the Earth.

Experience

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The game will be embedded into the Three Body Trilogy official Facebook page, providing an interactive and competitive experience for the sci-fi fans online.

In the game, players will control the planet through the Three-Axis Gyroscope on iOS devices, trying to keep an appropriate distance from the three suns-neither too far (too cold) nor too close (too hot). When the temperature is proper, the evolution of the three body civilization will continue.

The players’ goal is to keep a proper temperature as long as possible until the Three Body civilization develop the Warp Drive Engine Technology to get rid of the control of gravity, and start their journey to the Earth.

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About Our Team

HE, RUI Team leader, producer of the trailer and the director of the interactive video. She is the scripter and the editor of the two videos. She also helps promoting the Facebook page.

CHEN, LINYIPR specialist coordinating with the copyright owner (China Educational Publication Import and Export Corporation) and the translator, Mr. Ken Liu. She is the co-producer and co-editor of the theme song and street interview. She also inspires the spirit of the theme song.

PEI, MORANThe producer of the iOS game. He is the director of photography of both trailer and interactive video and assists in maintaining connections with the Liu Cixin and the publisher.

NAN, RUThe producer and editor of the interactive video. She also films the street interview, assists the trailer shooting, and establishes and maintains the official website.

LI, QINThe co-producer and video editor of the theme song and the street interview. She also designs the Three Body Trilogy project logo and the team T-shirts.

CHENG, MENGYAOIn the charge of the Facebook Official Page. She is the leading actress of the trailer.

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CreditsTRAILERDirector

YU, ZHIKUN(New York Film Academy,

Los Angeles)

WriterLIU, CIXIN (Scripted by HE

RUI)

ProducerHE, RUI

Director of PhotographyYU, ZHIKUNPEI, MORAN

CastCHENG, MENGYAO-YE WENJIE

GENG, MENGYAO-LUO JIPU, CONG-YE WENJIE (YOUTH)DYKMAN, PAUL-COLLEAGUE

PETER-PILLAR DWELLERJESSICA-PILLAR DWELLERZHANG, HAIYANG-PILLAR

DWELLERDubbing

MOORE, ERICALEXANDER, LAUREN

EditorHE, RUI

MusicTHE SARMANS

THEMESONGComposer

COHEN, MATTHEW

CONTACTCHEN, LINYIPEI, MORAN

LOGODesignerLI, QIN

TEAM T-SHIRTLI, QIN

CHEN, LINYI

PUBLISHERCHINA EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION IMPORT

AND EXPORT CORPORATION (CEPIEC)

SPECIAL THANKS TOProfessor David Craig

& Keyvan Paymani

CMGT 550 Class

Muholland Drive View Point

California Science Center

[email protected]

USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND

JOURNALISM

LyricistsCOHEN, MATTHEW

LEIGH, JESSICBROCHIER, TIM

VocalistsLEIGH, JESSICABROCHIER, TIM

Original Footage ESA/Hubble

Video EditorLI, QIN

CHEN, LINYI

INTERACTIVE VIDEODirectorHE, RUI

ScriptHE, RUI

Director of PhotographyPEI, MORAN

NAN, RU

CastHECOX, CULLON-

REPORTER

EditorNAN, RUHE, RUI

STREET INTERVIEWDirector; Producer

NAN, RUCHEN, LINYI

LI, QIN

EditorCHEN, LINYI

LI, QIN

GAMEProducer

PEI, MORAN

CodingLYU, QIAN (Beijing University of Posts

and Telecommunication

s)lvqian900710@hotm

ail.com

DesignersPEI, MORAN

HE, RUI

ConsultantCHEN, XIAOTIAN