Films lined up for a sparkling new dimension

 　　BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- One of the world's brightest minds aims to bring to the world a new, advanced three-dimensional image technology that will leave other such technology in the shadows.

　　"Our new technology will be better than that used in Avatar," says Professor Yau Shing-tung of Harvard University.

　　"The image will be more vivid than with technologies used in previous movies. The new technology is not only quicker but cheaper."

　　Yau is one of the world's greatest mathematicians¹, having won the prestigious² Fields Medal. He was once the dean of the department of mathematics at Harvard, and is now a professor there. He is also a visiting professor at Tsinghua University.

　　Professor Yau and his team met professionals from Tsinghua University and Renmin University of China last week, and they discussed possible cooperation to apply the technology in making a demonstration³ movie using the new technology.

　　Yau and a team started working on the new 3D technology, founded on geometrical principles, at Harvard 10 years ago.What marks it out is the extremely vivid pictures it produces.

　　3D technology is used not only in making movies and in Internet games but in other areas , such as medicine. Movie audiences the world over were awestruck by the technology used in the movie Avatar.

　　"After I watched the movie, all I could say was 'Wow'," said Shen Yiren, an IT staff worker in Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park Zone. "3D technology has extended the boundaries of the human imagination."

　　Yau says that six years ago the makers⁴ of Avatar had wanted him to cooperate with them but he turned them down.

　　"I was not sure that (Avatar) would be such a big success."

　　Avatar's facial caption⁵ technology puts points on models' faces while the new technology uses geometric methods, saving time and money, Yau says.

　　Lu Xiaobo, professor in the Academy of Art and Design at Tsinghua University, said an impressive feat⁶ of Yau's technology is the vivid reproduction of facial expressions.

　　Zhu Hui, a lecturer at Tshinghua University, said: "It takes at least a week to build a vivid facial expression by current technology the new one seems to save a lot of time."

　　Yau said the cost of the technology used in making Avatar was extravagant⁷, the film having taken 10 years to make, at a cost of nearly $3,000 a second.

　　"Since our technology is better than Avatar's, why not apply it to production?"

　　His goal is to make a 3D movie of at least 30 minutes, and possibly up to 90 minutes, using the innovation.

　　As a Chinese American, Yau, is also intent on making a contribution to Chinese culture.

　　"I want to make a short movie about Chinese mythology⁸," Yau told China Daily. "My friends from western countries know about Greek culture, South American mythology, and even Indian mythology, but they have no idea about Chinese culture and mythology.

　　"Chinese culture is fantastic. Some stories also have modern allusions⁹. For example, Houyi shooting down the suns (Houyi She Ri) echoes environmental problems."

　　Xu Weixin, a professor at Renmin University of China, said the new 3D technology presented an opportunity to "express Chinese thoughts to the world".

1 mathematicians   

数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗？ 来自英汉文学
• Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分

2 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

3 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 caption   

n.说明，字幕，标题；v.加上标题，加上说明

参考例句：

• I didn't understand the drawing until I read the caption.直到我看到这幅画的说明才弄懂其意思。
• There is a caption under the picture.图片下边附有说明。

6 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

7 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

8 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

9 allusions   

暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We should not use proverbs and allusions indiscriminately. 不要滥用成语典故。
• The background lent itself to allusions to European scenes. 眼前的情景容易使人联想到欧洲风光。