Japanese animated films eye the international market

Japanese animated films eye the international market

By Gotot Prakosa

JAKARTA (JP): On Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, a workshop on animation
featuring Yashuo Yamaguchi, 62, and Koichi Tsunoda, 59, was held
at the Japanese Cultural Center. These two animation experts came
to Indonesia under the sponsorship of Anima (the Association of
Indonesian Animation Film Makers) and the Japanese Cultural
Center.

The event was packed and various institutions have since
contacted the organizing committee requesting more workshops on
the same lines. Anima chairman Wagiono Sunarto could only
apologize that the time and space were both limited.

Similar workshops will be organized at Red Rocket Animation
Studio, Bandung; Index Studio, Surabaya and FFTV IKJ.

Yashuo Yamaguchi is an animation film producer with a 30-year
history in the field. His works include Okami Shonen Ken, Moretsu
Ataro, Kick no Oni, Candy Candy, Maple Town Story.

In 1995 he helped establish Toei Institute (an animation
course institute) and now he is the executive director of Toei
Animation Co. Ltd. Koichi Tsunoda has more or less the same track
record in animation as an animator and artistic designer. His
works include Devilman, Maziner Z, Microid S, Cyborg 009 and
Space Battleship Yamato.

Japan's animated films are attractive in terms of their
production. Their techniques and the story lines are unique. In
Indonesia they are pretty popular. Almost every day they can be
seen on TV. To mention a few: Dora Emon, Sailor Moon, Saint Seya,
Dragon Ball, Candy Candy, Remi -- these names are very familiar
to both children and adults.

In Japan, animated films first appeared in 1917. The whole
thing began with a very simple film using the cut-out technique
(hinges were attached to pieces of paper where they were to be
put together, just like leather puppets).

Animated films then developed further in the U.S., with
transparent cells or dolls. But Japanese animation techniques
have never really imitated the technical approach that has
prevailed in U.S.

Japan does not want to copy the Walt Disney technique, which
uses 24 pictures to make a movement in one second. The Japanese
think this is too expensive.

Most Japanese animated films are made with eight pictures
(known as the limited picture style). This is so as not only to
cut down on production costs but also because of artistic
considerations. As a result this technique is now known as the
Japanese style, or "Japanimation".

This technique is often exploited to create various
possibilities, such as 3-D images, by moving still pictures in a
number of layers in various directions at the same time.

In early 1953 television broadcasting began in Japan. Three
years later Toei Animation Co. Ltd. was established. Its ambition
was to parallel Disney productions, which then dominated the
world.

Toei's initial productions were full-length cartoon films
based on classical stories from China and Japan, among others
Hakuja Den (The White Snake Enchantress), directed by Taiji
Yabushita in 1958 and Shonen Sarutobi Sasuke (The Adventure of
Little Samurai Magicboy, which many years later inspired the
creation of the now-popular Dragon Ball. This animated film won
an award at the Venice Film Festival in 1960.

The pioneer of Japan's animated film industry, who spoke in
many international forums was Nobure Ofuki. In 1958 he was the
industry's spokesman at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Since
then Japanese animated films have been considered an important
phenomenon in the global film industry.

Another promulgator of Japan's animated films was Yoji Kuri.
He made a lot of experimental animated films and these always
took part in European and American films festivals. Kuri is an
animated film maker who has always stayed outside the system. He
was of the opinion that animated films were an artistic medium
for personal expression.

Not until 1963 did Toei enter the television industry and
control it with the production of a 30-minute cartoon series,
Tetsuwan Atomu, known in Indonesia as Astro Boy, which was made
by Osamu Tezuk. This TV serial has become popular not only in
Japan but also the world over because it tells the story of a
robot with human feelings.

According to Yamaguchi, to produce a 24-minute animated film
in Japan today costs some 12 million (US$102,000) while a TV
station can afford to buy films for 9 million .

So, to ensure animated films become popular, most are based on
popular comics. This was the case when he produced Candy Candy.
Of course this strategy is well received because the producer is
able to sell products related to the films, such as games, CDs
and so forth,

Toei and a number of animated film production houses in Japan
use the same strategy.

The largest market is the domestic one. The films can then be
sold on to Asia, Europe and Central America at the producers'
leisure.

Japan's television stations now air more or less 60 titles of
local cartoon serials every week. Toei can supply only 6 to 68
titles.

Social changes in Japan, which have reduced birth rates and
allowed young people to spend most of their time outside the
home, have also affected the airing hours of animated films. Film
owners prefer to broadcast their films at night, Or, the films
are broadcast in special channels, cable TV for instance.

This has led to the introduction of changes in the content and
storylines of films to cater to the viewers' tastes and
lifestyles. Most of the topics popular now are related to
youngsters and male-female relationships although the films are
still based on popular comics with similar subjects.

Yamaguchi and Tsunoda revealed that, as a large company, Toei
embarked on digitalization with Macintosh hardware only two years
ago (not all Toei productions are computer-aided).

It means that some of its productions still rely on a
classical technique, namely using animated cells. The production,
that uses drawing and coloring, is often entrusted to parties
outside Japan, in Taiwan or even Indonesia.

Now that computers are being used more and more, it is
expected that the production time will be cut and fewer people
will be need. Besides, greater accuracy should be possible.

However, the weakness of both current hardware and software to
make animated films, he said, was that time was needed to learn
how to use them and experts in the field are still relatively few
in number.

So, he and his colleagues established in 1995 the Toei
Animation Institute. however he admitted that Japan was still
well behind the United States in terms of animation education. No
universities offer animation courses like the ones available in
the U.S.

It seems that to Japan's animated film-making industry, having
the latest technology is not the main goal. The most important
thing is consistency and seriousness in processing creativity
which is adjusted to market demands.

According to some animators at the workshop, Indonesian
animators can now get hold of sophisticated equipment like
silicon graphics, soft images, Targa, Henry and scores of Avids
and hundreds of Macintoshes but unfortunately the results are not
equitable with the quality of the equipment.

Yamaguchi and Tsunoda said they came to Indonesia to paint a
picture about Japan's animation world and also to find out the
state of the development of Indonesia's animated film industry.

They said they would take some Indonesian products home to
study further and then consider cooperating with Indonesian
animators.

The writer is a filmmaker and teacher at FFTV IKJ.