On 5 November, the 81st session of the Excellence Media Lecture Series was held in Room 1-121, North Teaching Building. Titled ‘AIGC Empowering the Poetic Authenticity and Aesthetic Excellence of the Documentary Flying Peak’, the lecture featured Jiao Zhengyuan, Director of the Party Building Programme Department at Zhejiang Broadcasting Group's Zhijiang Documentary Channel and director of the documentary Flying Peak, as the keynote speaker. The event was chaired by Lu Xiaoxiao, a faculty member specialising in film and television studies.
As Zhejiang Province's inaugural 8K documentary, Flying Peak not only secured the 2024 National Outstanding Documentary Award for Best Feature-Length Production but was also selected for the National Radio and Television Administration's public service broadcast programme. During the lecture, Jiao Zhengyuan and Zheng Jie, Head of AIGC Content Creation at Xinyada Guangnian Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., jointly explored the film's innovative endeavours through an in-depth analysis of both its creative vision and technical implementation.
Jiao Zhengyuan highlighted that the core challenge in preserving cultural heritage in the digital age lies in revitalising dormant historical data. The emerging technology of AIGC offers documentary filmmaking a novel solution for ‘visual rebirth’. For instance, when confronting filming difficulties such as the damaged facial reliefs of the Lushan Buddha Assembly at Qinglindong Cave and the confined space of the Liguangyan Inscription rock face, the team collaborated with Zhejiang University City College to conduct high-precision 3D scanning. They then employed AIGC and CG techniques to construct virtual cinematography. He emphasised that the core of technological application lies in upholding ‘poetic authenticity’. The team deliberately employed a ‘defocused flash’ technique to preserve the imperfect beauty of history, demonstrating respect for the past and avoiding the creation of ‘new history’.
In breathing life into cultural symbols, AIGC demonstrated unique appeal. To depict the evolution of the ‘Eastern Smile’ from Gandhāra sculptures to the Baguazhang Maitreya, the team employed algorithms to learn the smiling characteristics of statues across different eras, generating a series of intermediate frames. This achieved a seamless transition spanning millennia of cultural fusion within seconds. Faced with the challenge of the ‘Journey to the West’ and ‘White Horse Carrying Scriptures’ sculptures in Longhong Cave, which could not be captured together, AI scanning and reconstruction technology was employed. High-precision 3D data was first collected from the two dispersed sculptures. Their perspective, proportions, and composition were then readjusted within a virtual space, ultimately seamlessly merging them into a coherent narrative visual scroll that clearly illustrates the trajectory of civilisational exchange.
Looking ahead, Jiao Zhengyuan believes AI will unlock more precise historical reconstruction, personalised storytelling, and cross-cultural communication. Yet he repeatedly emphasises the need for ‘restrained technology,’ asserting that technology's ultimate purpose is to serve cultural expression. In presenting the group sculpture of the Bagu Maitreya and the Eighteen Arhats, the team employed AI to create intricate models yet adhered to a ‘visual spectacle’ rather than a “fantasy” approach. By inputting data from traditional Chinese paintings, they effectively corrected the Westernised bias in AI-generated scenes—all in pursuit of ‘ultimate aesthetics’ and authentic style.
Technology is the “wings”, culture the “soul”. Only by adhering to the creative principles of “poetic authenticity, restrained technology, and supreme aesthetics” – ensuring AI genuinely serves the expression of cultural essence – can we produce more works imbued with warmth, depth, and power, allowing the vitality of Chinese culture to continue flourishing in the digital age.
Zheng Jie deconstructed the AIGC production techniques behind Flying Peak. Drawing on case studies, she outlined the fundamental workflow from ‘text to image to video,’ encouraging students to actively experiment, using creativity to drive technology and harness tools for human purpose.
In the concluding segment, students presented their group video assignments. Jiao Zhengyuan and Zheng Jie offered insightful critiques and guidance on the submissions. Qiu Ge, Head of the Film and Television Department at the School of Media and International Culture, provided constructive feedback on the students' work.
This lecture has successfully established an exchange platform connecting academia, industry and technology, offering valuable insights into innovative pathways for cultural dissemination in the era of AI-generated content.
