Behind the magic

Visual-effects artists show their skills at a workshop. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Dr Grordbort eventually will be marketed as a mixed-reality game made by Magic Leap, a US virtual reality technology company.

"It's the first time that the savage world of Dr Grordbort has been shown to the public in such a big scale," says Broadmore. He was chased by lots of Chinese to autograph souvenir figures they bought on the opening day, Dec 13.

Wang Yonggang, a visitor from Southwest China's Sichuan province, traveled to Wuzhen for the opening of the show. He says he was impressed by how the artist built an imaginary world in such a detailed way. Wang has a studio to design figures and models for films and games.

"They have mature system to protect intellectual property. But it's not the case in China. Once a good design is made, there will be lots of copies and the designer can do nothing to protect his right," Wang says, adding that he and his peers need to learn more on how to be creative.

Taylor says the show is designed to inspire exactly that.

"China is never short of good stories. You can find lots of inspiration from mythology and culture," he says.

He adds that one of his favorites is A Chinese Ghost Story produced by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark. It was based on Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) writer Pu Songling's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.

Coinciding with the Wuzhen show is the launch of a visual concept art fund and a competition to find talented young people and support their work in visual effects for China's film industry.

Sun Lijun, co-founder of the fund and vice-president of Beijing Film Academy, says that as China's film market is the second-biggest in the world, demand for visual artists is increasing.

The problem of the industry is that people go to a cinema, pay for a ticket for a Chinese fantasy movie but often end up complaining about the low quality of visual effects, says Sun.

He hopes to hold such a show and launch the project to inspire the young and get more people trained in top visual-effects companies, such as Weta.

Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn