China Youth Network News :
Recently, the first Beijing Audiovisual “Beijing Langya” talent selection and release ceremony was held at the opening ceremony of the Beijing International Audiovisual Conference. Professor Sun Lijun of the Beijing Film Academy was awarded the title of “Beijing Langya” leading talent.
Professor Sun Lijun is a leader in Chinese animation education in the new century. He founded the Animation School of the Beijing Film Academy and developed it into a world-leading higher animation education institution. He has made landmark demonstration plans and outstanding historical contributions to animation education in China and even the world.
Sun Lijun in the process of creation
Animation Research recently conducted a special interview with Professor Sun Lijun. Sun Lijun expounded his views on topics such as “Cultivation of Contemporary and Future Animation Talents”, “Backbone of National Spirit and Animation Cultural Mode”, “AIGC and ‘Death of Animation’”, and “Development of Beijing Animation”.
Talking about “Cultivation of Contemporary and Future Animation Talents”, Sun Lijun said that he has gradually expanded and strengthened the entire animation industry from the perspective of talent cultivation. He admitted that the cultivation of interdisciplinary talents is a global problem, but it is also a topic that cannot be avoided. The Beijing Film Academy has its own unique interdisciplinary training experience. He said that in an era where excellent original talents are urgently needed, the talent positioning of the film academy must always emphasize originality and leadership, and cannot become a slave to the market. Therefore, cultivating outstanding talents is our goal. From the selection of talents to the training of talents, and finally to the use of talents, a complete education chain is formed.
Regarding the “backbone of the national spirit and the cultural style of animation”, Sun Lijun emphasized the issue of inheritance and innovation of the Chinese animation school. He said that China cannot have cultural rickets and cultural people cannot lack calcium. “Where are the roots of our own culture? We must understand the achievements and connotations of our predecessors.” He said, “So in recent years, in my works such as “Autumn Fruit” and “Beginning of Autumn”, I have put forward a very important point, which is to ‘raise the flag of originality and uphold the style of the school’ - that is, everyone must be clear: who am I?”
On the topic of “AIGC and ‘animation is dead’”, Sun Lijun said that the AIGC era should be said to have only appeared for a short year, but it has already undergone earth-shaking changes. The first impact was on the education sector. For example, writing papers, poster design, doing some basic work, and university secretarial majors and computer programming majors have all had a great impact. Some people say that AI will never replace humans, which is too absolute, because artificial intelligence also has innovation and creativity. There are weak artificial intelligence and strong artificial intelligence in artificial intelligence. Some people in the computer industry also call it general artificial intelligence, and now some people have proposed to call it super strong artificial intelligence. Whether it is called AIGC or AGC, the name is not important. “We are in the cultural field, not in the production of spare parts. When we are in the cultural field, strong artificial intelligence poses a threat to us. If you look at AI with the mindset of weak artificial intelligence, of course you think it will not replace it. But in front of AI, there is no difference between experts, old people and children. Whoever improves cognitive ability will ‘die’ later in the future.” He said.
Talking about the “Beijing Animation Development”, Sun Lijun called on relevant departments to quickly formulate some good environments for talents, especially young people to start businesses. In an era where excellent original talents are urgently needed, the talent positioning of Beijing Film Academy must always emphasize originality and leadership, and cannot become a slave to the market. Therefore, cultivating outstanding talents is the goal. From selecting talents to cultivating talents, and finally to using talents, a complete education chain needs to be formed.
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