科技英语新闻:Films lined up for a sparkling new dimension

Lu Xiaobo, professor in the Academy of Art and Design at Tsinghua University, said an impressive feat 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 extravagant, 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 mythology," 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 allusions. 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".