Small and micro enterprises are a vital force driving innovation, promoting employment, and improving people's livelihoods. Over the years, Beijing has continuously optimized its business environment, cultivated fertile policy ground, and stimulated the development momentum and innovative vitality of small and micro enterprises. As of the end of September last year, Beijing was home to 2.212 million operating small and micro enterprises, an increase of 133,000 compared to the same period in 2024. Since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the number of specialized, sophisticated, and innovative SMEs in the city has increased more than tenfold, and the number of "little giant" enterprises has grown by over 1,000. Overall, small and micro enterprises in Beijing contribute approximately 40% of the city's tax revenue, 50% of authorized invention patents, and 80% of employment opportunities, establishing themselves as the main channel for employment and entrepreneurship, the primary base for technological innovation, and the main force in developing new, quality productive forces.
In September 2025, at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, "The End of The World: Battle! Biyou Village" won the Best Visual Effects award in the streaming media unit, defeating strong competitors such as Disney and local South Korean teams. On the awards stage, the representative of the production team was so emotional that their voice trembled; they even forgot to leave time for the translator and delivered their entire acceptance speech in one breath. This marked the first time a Chinese production has received this award. This young visual effects team hails from a Beijing-based company: Shenli Shijie. Although not widely known, the company has already participated in the production of several film and television works, including "The Three-Body Problem." Recently, a visit to this SME revealed how its lifelike visual effects are meticulously crafted frame by frame.
In Shenli Shijie's post-production area, each staff member works with two monitors, every screen displaying stunning, eye-catching visuals. Here, the post-production of a project is divided into over a dozen steps, completed in a relay by various teams. More than 4,000 lifelike visual effects shots for "The End of The World" were born in this environment. "No one expected to win the award, as the shortlist included major companies like Disney," recalled Quan Hongkun, founder of Shenli Shijie, who hadn't even prepared formal attire or a detailed acceptance speech for the Busan event. Yet, the team had great confidence in their work. The 27-episode series took over six months in visual effects production alone, with particular attention paid to repeatedly refining the opening scene where the character Liao Zhong is poisoned. The director required a roughly 30-second long take that starts with a close-up on a character and pulls back to reveal the entire environment, demanding texture even in the dust particles floating in the air. "This required us to create a 1:1 three-dimensional replica of everything from the characters to the entire environment, with precision sufficient for close-ups and full of detail," explained Cheng Jin, Vice General Manager of Shenli Shijie. From the outset, this shot was designated a "Hero shot." In the film industry, a "Hero shot" refers to a key scene selected by the production team to serve as a visual spectacle, intended to become a highlight that attracts viewers upon broadcast. This approach also forces the team to challenge technical boundaries and achieve the seemingly impossible.
The industry often refers to an "impossible triangle" where short production cycles, low budgets, and high quality cannot be achieved simultaneously. "'The End of The World' challenged this 'impossible triangle.' Under tight schedules and budgets, we delivered a high-quality production that defeated top international competitors," Quan Hongkun stated. He noted that foreign teams often require a year and five to six times the budget for post-production of a similar scale. To tackle this challenge, team members typically worked 16 to 18 hours daily, with meticulous attention to each frame resulting in the final, vivid imagery.
Post-production work is often behind the scenes, rarely in the spotlight. For any post-production team, the most thrilling moment is arguably when a film ends, the credits roll, and their team's logo appears, even if just briefly. Over a decade ago, Quan Hongkun left a well-known foreign film company to start his own venture. At that time, China's visual effects technology was relatively weak, and major productions often relied on foreign teams. Initially, his company took on tasks that larger firms were unwilling to do—the "leftover" work. "If others weren't willing to work overtime, I was happy to take it on, even working through Chinese New Year's Eve," he said. In the first three years, he only secured work during holidays like the Spring Festival. Project by project, the team accumulated comprehensive, end-to-end post-production capabilities. The company also maintained an annual R&D investment of at least 10%, steadily building its internal expertise. "Beijing is at the forefront of China's film and television industry. The abundance of resources allows small enterprises to grow rapidly," Quan Hongkun remarked. He highlighted that Tongzhou District, where the company is located, is accelerating its focus on the film industry, enabling seamless collaboration across the upstream and downstream supply chain. Flexible financing policies allowed the company to quickly obtain loans during critical times. Most importantly, being in Beijing provides access to the latest technological advancements, allowing the company to gain information early and plan accordingly. Just before the Spring Festival this year, when AI technology in film and television exploded, Shenli Shijie, through cooperation with Beijing-based AI companies, anticipated the trend by one to two months, completing updates to relevant systems and software and staying ahead of competitors in the technological iteration race.
As the AI wave surges, with普通人 able to generate slick short videos by typing a few keywords into their phones, visual effects companies face new challenges. "'The End of The World' was our project from two years ago. At that time, AI was involved in only about 5% of the work. Now, AI can handle over 30% of the visual effects for a project, saving both production time and cost," Quan Hongkun admitted. He expects this proportion to continue rising, potentially reaching 70% this year. However, this does not mean visual effects teams will have less work. On the contrary, it necessitates more technically skilled personnel. Three years ago, while many peers were still观望, Quan Hongkun began investing in AI. Running large models requires significant computing power, so the company set up server rooms in both Beijing and Inner Mongolia to support AI model integration into post-production. Recognizing that traditional software was becoming obsolete, the company developed its own AI production tools and platforms. The AI team has expanded from just a few individuals to over thirty people. Prior to "The End of The World," Shenli Shijie participated in the post-production of several works, including "The Three-Body Problem." Despite having an impressive portfolio, Quan Hongkun's feeling remains the same as when he first entered the industry—treading on thin ice. "In the past, post-production technology iterated once a year, then every few months. Now, in the AI era, a model might iterate in just a day. We have no choice but to maintain continuous R&D and investment, pushing forward relentlessly," he said.
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