Xie Tianyang in the shooting of a special effects video Photo: Courtesy of Xie

Unlike Huang Rui, who uses sci-fi art to envision the future, Xie Tianyang - another Chinese special effects video creator - has harbored a simple wish from the very beginning: to recreate the whimsical fantasies of his childhood through special effects. 

As a senior fan of ACGN (animation, comics, games and novels) culture, Xie has dabbled extensively in animation, games and Xianxia (immortal heroes) novels since his youth. He told the Global Times that, at that time, when playing games or watching videos, he would often imagine himself flying like an immortal hero or shooting webs like Spider-Man. In his eyes, special effects technology is like a magic wand, capable of turning these hidden fantasies into reality.

After graduating from university, Xie dedicated himself to short video creation. In the early days, he used special effects to place himself in various game scenes. He also incorporated many animation and game tropes familiar to post-90s audiences in his works, attracting a large number of fans. This made him realize that, as long as the content is novel and interesting enough, even niche content like ACGN culture can attract viewers. This strengthened his confidence in deepening the integration of special effects and ACGN content.

Soul of short videos in AI era

A turning point came in 2023. The rapid rise of AI technology made special effects easily accessible, marking the end of the era when audiences could be attracted solely by special effects. Xie fell into deep thought: What is the "soul" of short videos? "I need something more down-to-earth," he pondered repeatedly. 

At that moment, he recalled a series of videos he shot in the winter of 2020 - featuring a square dance grandma as the protagonist, who, with the help of special effects, carried a cannon and played skills of characters of video game franchises King of Fighters and Dynasty Warriors. The contrast between the actor's identity - an ordinary elderly grandmother - and her exaggerated, passionate lines and actions impressed many netizens. 

Unfortunately, the grandma was an amateur and her acting skills were awkward, so we did not continue the series. However, that unique sense of fun and contrast of that video remained etched in my mind, Xie said. 

A bold idea took shape in his mind: What if I find more professional actors to shoot an upgraded version of the elderly animation series? In October 2025, Xie put this idea into action and recruited three experienced elderly actors.

Xie soon discovered that these senior actors exactly became the "soul" he had been looking for. With these elderly actors, Xie experienced the most joyful and highly motivated shooting scene in recent years: in a chess and card room, the three actors shouted animation lines at the top of their voices and fully immersed themselves in "releasing skills" of animation characters, creating a scene that was both passionate and hilarious. 

"I used to think the elderly might be hard to communicate with, but now I realize that if you find the right people, they can be even more dedicated than young people," Xie said.

Actors play moves of animation characters during the shooting of Xie's team's special effects video. Photo: Courtesy of Xie

Li Junliang, a senior actor who had participated in several Xie's videos, said that when he found that so many people were paying attention to Xie's works and by extension to the role he played, he felt a strong sense of accomplishment. "I think that when we elderly people spend time with young people and engage with the things young people like, it helps us keep up with social progress, integrate into society, and avoid being left behind by the times," Li said.

These enthusiastic and dedicated elderly actors became Xie's new "secret to create viral videos." A video featuring them playing cards posted on video platform Bilibili had racked up nearly 22 million views to date. It also gained hundreds of thousands of views overseas. Xie said it was these passionate elderly people that allowed emotions to break through the barriers of national borders, languages and cultures.

As one of the earliest live-action special effects video creators in China, Xie joked that the AI wave has pushed him to the edge of a "sunset industry," and he has also become an "elderly person" in the short video industry. But after working with these elderly actors for months, Xie realized that "sunset" is never a limitation of age, but a shackle of mentality. As long as one's heart is young and imagination and enthusiasm remain, there is no such thing as being "outdated," he said.