![]() ![]() Budgets for feature films can be anywhere from as low as US$1 million to $15 million at the very highest. Probably one of the greatest differences I have noticed between Japan and America is that the Japanese feature animation industry is very poor money poor that is. Back to Back: working in very close proximity. In Japan a great deal of respect is given to the film's director who has a major influence on all of the final creative decisions. After the final animation has been approved, it goes into post-production where the music, sound fx and voice recordings are added to the film. Once the colors have been added, the shots will continue to undergo various tweaks and fixes. Once the animation for the shot is approved, it then goes to digital ink and paint. Next, the final approved designs are handed to the 3D and 2D animation staff and the production begins. During this time the character designer, mechanical designer, weapons designer and layout designers begin to create work based on the research and director's input. From this point, the director may decide to make an animatic but is not really considered necessary for production. After the storyboards are finished, the director will add notes, and estimate number of frames per shot. After returning from the research trip, the director will finalize the script and create the storyboards (called "ekonte" in Japanese) for the entire film (usually in about a month's time). After the influences have been identified, the director's staff travels around the world gathering photo reference and information related to the story. At this time, the director and his key creative staff work together to decide the look and style for the film. The Animation Production ProcessĪs in the West, once a concept has been established, a great deal of research is done. From time to time, I dream of my old window cubicle in America overlooking the Manhattan skyline and sigh, "Ah, that was nice." This is a stark contrast from the big feature film studios in America. Sometimes when I am talking on the phone, the employee sitting behind me has to crawl under the telephone cord to leave the room. I guess the words that come to mind when working here are "garage spirit." Network cables all over the floor, florescent white lights buzzing, employees smoking at the office, and everything shoved into every possible nook and cranny. I have a very small desk space (not really any cubicles here, just desks divided by shelves) and sometimes if I push my chair out too far, I'll bump into the guy working behind me. The ING Studio building has 4 floors, each with 2 small rooms. The ING Studio (where I work) does the bulk of the animation work for current television, video games, direct-to-video and feature film projects. is divided up into 4 separate studio spaces scattered throughout town with about 200 people employed all together. Due to lack of space, most of the employees have to fit in the best they can. When I tell my friends that I get to rub elbows with famous Japanese directors like Mamoru Oshii, I am actually not joking. ![]()
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