Appleseed Alpha (2014) Movie Script
The origin of this film goes back...
...to when we were shooting
Starship Troopers: Invasion.
That film we were shooting
with director Aramaki...
...who's also the director of this film...
...and producer Joseph Chou,
who's our friend.
We thought, ''Okay,
why don't we do another project...
...you know, together,
and have some fun with it.''
We decided to brainstorm,
look into different titles...
...and we came back to the idea
of Appleseed.
I thought this was a great idea...
...because the former titles worked well
all over the world.
It's very well-known.
And the franchise is something
that we probably should continue...
...because it works well in CGl films.
So that is why, you know, I thought,
"it's a great idea, we should go for it.''
When I went independent
as a producer...
...Appleseed was the first title
that I got to work on.
And that's when I met Aramaki.
And then it led to the following film,
Appleseed Ex Machina...
...that we worked on together.
And that led to several other films
that we created.
But after Appleseed, however...
...a lot of the films that we've done
were ideas or franchises...
...that were not from Japan.
So it was actually very much
a Western-driven project.
But, you know,
when we were discussing what to do...
...for our next project,
we kind of hit upon the idea of:
"Well, what about
tackling Appleseed again?''
Before working on Appleseed...
...we established a studio called Sola...
...and worked on Starship Troopers.
In discussing our next
project with Joseph...
...we had a new studio
and new staff members.
Of course, they were the same staff
from Appleseed Ex Machina.
But that group was at
the core of our new studio.
So we knew certain things.
We made great technological leaps.
We wanted a new challenge.
So we focused on doing Appleseed...
...but in a new way.
That's how we decided.
Personally, it was
the first film I worked on...
...so it has a special significance
for me.
I wanted to give it new life.
That was my main
motivation behind this project.
Well, at that point, I thought...
...it would also be important
to call on my other friend in Japan.
His name is Eiichi Kamagata...
...and he's head of a company
called Lucent Pictures.
And I wanted to bring him on board,
just because, you know, we're...
Sola Studio
is a CG animation production.
But in order to really provide
production companies service...
Because we're dealing with
a Japanese property.
We're dealing with
a Japanese licensor.
So we really needed someone
on the ground...
...who would oversee these issues and
Japanese distribution and whatnot...
...who specialises in that market.
And Tony brought in, obviously,
the international distribution...
...and Sony expertise...
...in trying to craft this film's
distribution or marketing strategy.
I thought we were all a natural fit.
Mr. lshizuka contacted us...
...with the idea of
doing another film.
Mr. lshizuka is based
in Los Angeles, so...
...it was tricky to coordinate.
From 2009 onwards...
...we have been in constant contact...
...regarding this new project.
We acted as producers
based in Japan...
...to get this project off the ground.
So we formed this great team with...
Co-production team with everyone.
Now, the only thing left...
...was to go back to the creators
about making this.
And we went to see,
in Osaka, the creators...
...so that we can discuss
and do something.
It took quite a while
to really make this happen.
But then finally they agreed,
since Aramaki was directing it...
...and it was gonna be a great sort of
rendition of a new franchise.
When Aramaki and I were first
discussing the idea for the new film...
I mean, we obviously wanted this
to be a reboot.
A fresh start for the franchise.
So when thinking about that,
we were wondering:
What kind of story
do we want to tell?
Do we want to go back
to the first film...
...where we kind of retread
the story of Deunan and Briareos...
...and their experience
in this city called Olympus?
When we looked at the manga, when we
revisited the manga together again...
...we realised that both of us
shared a love...
...for the first volume of the manga,
how it started.
Meaning how Deunan and Briareos
ended up in this city called Olympus.
What were they doing before then?
How did they get there?
And I thought there was room...
...to explore that
in a much bigger sense.
And Aramaki had this brilliant idea...
...of trying to set this
in a post-apocalyptic world.
And they're on a journey
to find this city called Olympus...
...which might just be a mirage.
So to restart the franchise,
we called it Appleseed Alpha...
...which is, of course,
the starting point.
This time around, we had
a new team and a new look.
It was a reboot of Appleseed.
That was one of our goals.
So what do we need to do?
We re-examined the source material.
Appleseed is a story that...
...takes place in the United States.
So in doing a prequel...
...we wanted to focus on the setting.
In developing the scenario...
...it was only natural to tell
the story in English.
That was one of our big focus points.
So we approached Mary Anne...
...who's the writer of several very
successful video game franchises.
When talking to her, we realised...
...that she really did have the right
passion and sensibilities for this project.
This time, we really wanted to explore
the story of Deunan.
We really wanted to have her
on board...
...and bring us that sensibility and
understanding of the female psyche...
...and the relationship, you know,
that we couldn't think of.
So she not only, you know,
crafted a brilliant script...
...based on the plot
that was created by Aramaki...
...but I think the film was really helped
by that aspect as well...
...and her being on board.
Our story for this project...
...is a prequel to the original.
The protagonists have not
yet reached Olympus.
Olympus is a utopian society...
...that was built during
and after the war.
Once the war has ended...
...they are just surviving without
really understanding their situation.
So we see their day-to-day lives.
It's a limited point of view.
They are just getting by.
However, the war has stabilised
so there isn't much fighting.
But there is still lawlessness.
Information regarding other countries
is scant.
There are communication barriers.
That's where we start our story.
At its core, Appleseed...
...is about our two protagonists.
The plot always becomes inflated...
...once you start
examining the city itself.
Other characters and
conspiracies come into play.
Politics come to the forefront.
When you look at the source material...
...the things like bioroids...
...really exemplify the detail
that Mr. Shiro put into the story.
However, when you adapt it to film...
...it's very easy for the narrative
to become...
...a bit dull and expository.
So we wanted to simplify it.
We wanted a pure story
about the protagonists.
That's what we focused on.
I worked as a concept designer
for this project.
There's the original story
of Appleseed...
...so I focused on
how I could incorporate...
...the image of the original...
...into the lifelike 3D-CG world.
To tell you the truth,
I was conscious...
...about Hollywood movies out there.
You see many mecha-robots...
...in today's Hollywood movies.
Robot characters that emerged
from the Japanese anime culture...
...used to be our speciality
and signature, but these days...
...people overseas are producing
great stuff.
The director told us that...
...he wanted our robot designs to be...
...unparalleled to the ones overseas.
I've worked with him
on three to four titles so far.
He doesn't just design something...
...that looks cool in the story.
He's a designer
who's very capable of...
...designing things with...
...the actual technical
functionalities in mind.
Regarding some of the mechas
that appear in this new Appleseed...
...such as Landmates and Takyo
Houdaibig, the director asked me...
...to think how they would look
in real life...
...with the real mechanical details.
If you look at the shoulder designs
of a Landmate...
...you notice everything...
...inside the shoulders
are revealed rather than covered.
You can see the cylinders...
...or axis moving
and functioning properly.
The director and I discussed it
and decided to design them...
...with realistic mechanical designs.
I just let him be in charge.
He designed various mechas for me.
He's full of ideas.
He's very detailed when it comes
to mechanical designs.
There's a scene where that big
robot comes straight up out of...
...the ground to the surface.
I had a meeting with the animator...
...at the beginning of the project
and we discussed how we could...
...make it look like it's climbing
straight up on the wall.
We talked about stuff like how many
joints it should have...
...or how long its legs should be.
We discussed those things
before I created the robots.
Then I designed its details based
on the discussion we had.
Staff members communicated with each
other during the project.
What Usui designed
was sent to the modeller.
After the modeller worked on it
for a while...
...the modeller sent it back for feedback.
That's how they worked together.
How we worked together
in this project was very satisfying.
Once we know what the finalised
picture should look like...
...we determine how
the subject should move.
When you're making a 3D model...
...you have to think about
the rigs and layout and...
...the designs that
go into it all...
...at the same time.
So it's hard when you can't work
collaboratively with others...
...who are working on specific
elements of the 3D model.
I got to work side by side with
the character and mecha designers...
...the people from CG production...
...such as modellers, animators...
...the people who set up all the rigs...
...and composite at the very end.
So it was better than working alone.
We exchanged opinions
and ideas to make things look better...
...and characters came alive.
I was able to communicate with
CG designers who were in charge of...
...different areas,
so I think the quality...
...of the designs came out well.
I'm a production designer.
I mainly design the items...
...other than the characters...
...and mechas that Mr. Usui
and Mr. Yamada design.
The story is set in
the near future...
...so I designed them
with the idea...
...of technologies that
are slightly evolved...
...from today's technologies.
I've worked on the titles with
realistic looking pictures before.
This is a little different because
this title has its origin in manga form.
In this movie...
...we animated what we thought
it would look like in 3D...
...if the original story was
acted by real actors.
It's easy to take an object...
...that exists today
and put it in the movie...
...with a touch of futuristic appearance.
It could look realistic, but that would
stray from the concept...
...of the original story
and also not be entertaining...
...so I'd add some pieces...
...and different elements to it...
...which is challenging
and also rewarding.
This is Briareos' handgun.
As far as this handgun goes,
there is the original version of it.
I added some pieces to it,
but I actually designed it...
...to fit the silhouette
of the handgun that appears...
...in the original manga.
How convincing the design looks...
...changes the impression
of the movie itself.
If it looks too unrealistic...
...it gets criticised.
But at the same time...
...if it looks way too close to
the real thing, people think it's boring.
In that sense,
the designs can impact...
...the impression
of the movie significantly.
Many of the projects...
...I've worked on in the past
were cartoons.
Doing it for the cartoon
is actually a little easier...
...but personally
I like the lifelike look...
...so it was a lot of fun.
Sculpting the characters' faces
was what I was...
...most focused on,
and it was also very challenging.
A part of me wanted to
distort it a little more...
...but I didn't want it to stray from...
...the image the audiences had had
about Deunan.
I had an inner conflict over that.
You tend to be criticised
when you make the character...
...look too realistic. So it was a
challenge as to how far I could push it.
To me, making a character
look cool when it's...
...standing still is completely
different from making...
...a character look cool
when it's moving around.
Up until now, I was rather...
...making something that
looked cool in the still picture.
There's so much action...
...and movement in this movie,
so I figured that...
...the characters should
look cool...
...when they're moving around...
...so I was most focused on that.
Briareos' body looks
very different...
...from the one that appeared
in the first and second movie.
Up until the last movie,
he had this so-called...
...hero physique with
a small head and long legs.
But in this movie
he looks very burly.
I created his body...
...thinking how he would...
...look like in real life.
His upper body was...
...a bit exaggerated, though.
I focused on...
...his ruggedness...
...in creating him.
Iris was almost the secondary...
...main character in the movie.
I was a little worried...
...how this character would turn out...
...when we finished sculpting her,
but once she was animated...
...with facial expressions
she became an attractive character...
...so I was happy.
When they first approached me...
...with this project...
...they told me that the story...
...would be set in New York...
...so I felt somewhat at a loss.
I've never been to New York...
...so I didn't think...
...I, a Japanese person,
could create...
...something that feels like...
...New York to others
who are familiar with the location.
The camera takes you
from the subway...
...to the front of Times Square
in the opening.
I felt like I was forced to challenge...
...the most difficult task...
...from the opening.
I was aware that it was going to be...
...the lifelike look, so the lighting...
...was the high-priority agenda for me.
When the light hits
this side of the face...
...the other side looks darker.
That's the fact that...
...we unconsciously see
on a daily basis.
Stuff like that is very subtle...
...but that's also the element that...
...makes you recognise
if the CG looks really real or fake.
The lighting could bring out
the details of the object...
...or add glossiness to the object.
You can even see or feel
the coolness, coldness or hotness...
...depending on
the adjustments of the light.
For example, the only request
I got from the director...
...regarding the subway was...
...to make the entire scene
slightly dark.
Of course it has to look like...
...the subway in New York,
but since the usage of electricity...
...is limited according to...
...the story setting of the movie...
...the light must be dimmed...
...except in a few spots.
The more you tweak it...
...the more real it looks...
...but that lacks the sultriness.
I think the audiences
eventually get bored...
...if they keep looking at
only realistic things.
How you add the glossiness...
...to the object is really important...
...in adding the lighting.
L'm very aware that...
...it's extremely difficult
to create something...
...that looks real from nothing.
So in that sense,
to be honest with you...
...there are things that I'd rather avoid.
I don't mean to brag...
...but I think this is actually
a great opportunity...
...to show the world
that the Japanese can create...
...something this awesome.
At the beginning...
...I knew this was going to be hard...
...but I was ready to face the challenge.
You see very exaggerated
backgrounds...
...in conventional anime.
For instance, you see a building
in the distance...
...purposely enlarged.
They would enlarge...
...or shrink objects depending on
the size of the screen...
...but in lifelike animation...
...we must portray the objects...
...in their true sizes.
They're two similar methods...
...but the finalised pictures...
...look very different.
I was in charge of the ruins.
The story is set...
...right after the war ended...
...so you can imagine
things are pretty ruined...
I could easily see that
in my head...
...but I had to work...
...on the ruins in New York,
so I went out...
...and searched for references...
...of New York as well as...
...references of ruins.
I looked through them
with the director...
...and discussed things like...
...how destroyed they should look...
...or how ruined the place should be.
That's how I defined...
...what the picture should look like.
As for the Humvees...
...you see four different types
in this movie.
One is the broken one
and the others are...
...in different colours.
They were used
in the different scenes.
I created them by...
...looking at an actual Humvee model.
Since we had to put...
...Landmates and Briareos...
...in the vehicle in this movie...
...I edited the size of the vehicle...
...according to
the size of the characters.
Pretend this is the stage.
There are dozens...
...of cameras around it.
They capture the movements
of the actors...
...from every direction.
Each actor wears...
...the special suit with...
...about 30 to 40 reflective sensors
all over the suit...
...mainly on the joints.
Their movements...
...get captured from every direction.
All the movements are...
...recognised as 3-D movements...
...and saved as data in the computer...
...using the special software.
The system is called...
...motion capture.
You see Deunan in the CG.
Her movements neatly match...
...the movements of the actual actor.
So the movements of
the 3D character...
...match to the movements
of the actor...
...no matter which direction
you look at it from.
This allows you to switch
the camera view later on too.
That's the technology we use.
Basically your movements...
...get captured as computer data.
Now it's in the chamber.
Slide it, put it in, and load it.
Put the safety on, then put it in.
We hired the action advisors...
...from the military.
They advised us on everything...
...from how to hold the gun,
move with it, and shoot it.
Both Briareos and Deunan are...
...the weaponry experts.
Since they look visually real...
...their movements must be
even more real.
They gave us
very detailed advice.
You can express how nervous you are
by raising or lowering your shoulders.
You can express the distance
between you and enemy by raising...
...or lowering your weapon. If you feel
the area is safe, you lower your weapon...
...but watch your surroundings.
When the enemy is approaching...
...you can express your nervousness
by raising your shoulders and weapon.
That's the type of instruction
I gave them. I'm detailed about it.
Mr. Hosokawa is
a military commentator...
...who used to be in
the French Foreign Legion.
I used to belong to a team...
...that was specialised in...
...setting up or removing bombs.
I started off as a rocket gunner.
The team was sent overseas
one day.
The destination was Somalia.
During that time I received...
...beginner-level sniper training...
...so I worked as a sniper.
When I was watching him doing the
motion capture through the monitor...
...I realised Mr. Hosokawa's movements
were better than that of the actors.
So I asked him to put on the suit.
He did all of Deunan's scenes
by himself.
Because of his performance,
the picture looks so much better.
Stay here.
I was told that the movie's worldview
is close to the one...
...from the original Appleseed.
Judging from the information
that I knew about Deunan...
...I determined that she has a lot of
battlefield experiences.
So when I did the motion
capture for Deunan, I moved like...
...she was someone who's experienced
in running around the field...
...carrying heavy weapons
rather than...
...experienced with the latest
fighting techniques.
When you look at...
...how he holds guns...
...you can tell he's the real deal.
It's different from...
...how we try to look cool,
holding the gun ready...
When he does it, he looks like
he's going to shoot.
I could definitely tell
the difference in the studio.
I was hoping that would...
...be reflected in
the CG character's movements.
I think we've achieved that.
We use the storyboards...
...when we make a movie.
The storyboards contain...
...every shot of the movie...
...and each one shows the size...
...which actor is appearing...
...and what type of action
is being done in details.
Basically, we draw up
a whole movie on the papers.
We used a method called
motion capture...
...which captures the body's
movements into computer data.
The actual performances by the actors
in the studio would always...
...turn out differently from the
storyboards we had drawn up before...
...because of various factors
such as the pauses actors take...
...in the acting, so we would edit...
...the movements accordingly...
...to the scenes.
Reconstructing them...
...is called layout.
The storyboards are like
the blueprints.
Layout is just like constructing...
...the basic framework
in the 3D environment.
To be more precise...
...it is about placing...
...the objects such as...
...background models...
...and characters...
...within the screen frame...
...by using the motion capture data...
...and also add camera movements.
Once we decide on the location...
...and the situation of the camera...
...we fixate the length of the shot.
That's the layout.
Since this is...
...a lifelike-looking movie...
...we tried to move the camera...
...in realistic ways.
We wanted it to look like...
...the camera was...
...actually at the field.
In the beginning...
...there's a scene where Deunan...
...fights against
Sokaku's subordinates...
...in the narrow space...
...on the subway train.
I have a certain
fondness for the scene.
The director asked me...
...to use the camera...
...in certain ways for the scene.
I got to use the camera freely...
...with the understanding of
the director's vision...
...and spend a lot of time
with camera movements.
Layout is the basic
blueprint of the entire movie.
We, animators, create the best
expressions...
...within the given camera frame
with the complete layout.
Whenever the audience says...
...''lt felt like I was looking at...
...normal-looking humans...
...in the movie...
...so I was able to focus...
...all my attention...
...to the story itself"...
...that means you did
a good job as an animator.
I observe different things...
...very closely on the daily basis.
I catch myself observing random things
such as the way a car comes to a stop...
...or the way people walk,
stop, move forward.
Everyone moves differently.
I notice a certain type of people
walk in a particular way too.
Old and young, men and women...
...we are all different.
The way we walk, move forward,
move our arms, et cetera.
I observe those things all the time.
Not that I'm always
thinking about work, but I try...
...to pay attention to
those things whenever I can.
I catch myself looking at
things like that a lot.
Because I'm doing that quite a bit...
...I'm able to catch
awkwardness in the movements...
...and tell the difference
between what looks awkward...
...and what looks natural
in the animation.
If I think it looks awkward,
I can fix it.
If I don't see anything unnatural...
...I can determine that it looks okay.
There are a limited number of human
characters in this movie.
Actually that was my intention from the
beginning. Because the characters...
...and the worldview had to look
as close as possible to reality...
...we wanted to spend a lot of time
with each character.
It was our strategy
to limit the number...
...of the characters
with human facial expressions.
In other words...
...we wanted Deunan and lris
to look perfect.
The storytelling comes
with a lot of emotions...
...so we wanted to capture the details of
Deunan's and Iris' facial expressions.
We also wanted to be able to edit...
...their facial expressions
precisely later on too.
We had the facial
animation supervisor, Moriya...
...who oversaw everything
from the rigs to the facial expressions.
I told him...
...''This is very important,
so do your best...
...I'm counting on you."
We captured
the facial expressions...
...and the body movements separately
for this movie.
The benefit of doing so...
...was that we were able to focus solely
on the actors' facial expressions.
I was able to tell the actors exactly...
...what I wanted at the production site.
You notice the actors' habits
when they're performing.
For example,
some people blink a lot...
...or open their eyes
really wide when they talk...
...or always have their
mouth half open or talk fast...
...or move their lips awkwardly
just like how l'm talking now...
...because l'm nervous.
I get to look at their faces
very closely...
...so I can learn their habits
during filming...
...which is one of the benefits.
But on the other hand,
the negative is that...
...you can't see their facial movements
along with body movements.
When you look at something
or away from something...
...your body also moves,
synching with your facial movements...
...and they move at the same time.
It creates a realistic, natural flow.
It was challenging because
they were captured separately...
...so we had to think
and supplement...
...what was missing to create the flow.
In that sense, you could call it
an extra segment of the project...
...so that's a negative.
As for Deunan...
...she's an emotional character.
When she's mad, her facial
expressions clearly display anger...
...and when she laughs,
she really laughs.
So both the director and I agreed that
she has a straightforward personality.
We added some
very subtle expressions...
...to her expressions too...
...such as a sneering or
sarcastic look...
...when she's mad, for example.
Going from being angry to laughing...
...we added the angry-smile
expression in between too.
By contrast, as for lris, as you
can see on the screen right now...
...she grins a lot.
She grins between the lines.
That's not something
the motion-capture actor did...
...but we added it by choice.
Adding a little grin would...
...make her impression better.
It's really subtle...
...but her facial expressions
are very detailed.
I think so.
I hope so.
That certain impression
she gives out...
...easily stays with the audience.
I'm not sure if he's
already told you this...
...but I wanted to display...
...a certain feminine softness...
...through their lips' movements.
The upper lip and the lower lip...
...come together...
...when you talk, right?
He told me he wanted
to duplicate that...
...and I thought that was a good idea,
so I encouraged him...
...to do that.
I think you can see that...
...especially in
the close-up scene of lris.
You know,
the suppleness of the lips.
I think it came out really good.
You're looking well.
I thought I had
a lot of work ahead of me...
...when I first saw that character.
He doesn't have a human face.
I've facial-captured a dog
in the past...
...but I had some knowledge of
non-human facial expressions...
...so I decided to work...
...on the facial expressions
of the robot.
I could say it was experimental...
...but I definitely had fun.
It was challenging to create...
...the laughing expressions...
...on the robot's face, though.
When I first saw the model sent by...
...the character department,
I thought I couldn't add...
...any facial expressions to it,
so I asked them if it was okay...
...to change pretty much everything
around his mouth.
I basically remodelled it and sent it back
to the character department...
...and had them work on it again.
Much trial-and-
error helped create this character.
That was challenging.
To tell you the truth
I didn't think too much about...
...adding facial expressions
onto a cyborg's face.
I figured it would be funny
if his eyebrows move.
That was the extent of it.
But I saw so many detailed...
...expressions on his face.
I asked him, ''Are you sure you're...
...going to do that much to his face?"
He said yes, so I let him.
At the end he turned into
such an interesting character.
I think he's the funniest
character in this movie.
We worked on character models...
...mecha models
and background models.
They're tangible items...
...that actually exist...
...in the real world.
But when it comes to weapons...
...such as rifles
and pistols, for example...
...you can't actually shoot them...
...while filming the movie.
We create visual effects
later in CG and add them...
...to the picture, such as the muzzle
flash, the sparks that come out...
...of the gun muzzle...
...and/or car explosions.
That's called the effects.
Backgrounds...
...people, and so on look very
realistic in this movie...
...so the effects that go with them...
...must be as realistic as they are.
The director was striving for
realness in the effects...
...so I worked hard
to meet his expectations.
There's a scene
where the train explodes.
In order to make
the scene look real...
...as if it were happening right
in front of your eyes...
...the first thing I did was
gather references and materials.
The train blows up because of
the bombs that have been set up in it.
So I did the research on
how the bombs explode...
...and recreated that in the movie.
I guess the director is really particular
when it comes to...
...weapons like guns
and rocket launchers.
I spent a lot of time
on detailed things...
...such as the muzzle flash...
...or the sound of a bullet
landing on the target.
The muzzle flash...
...is the sparks...
...that come out of the muzzle...
...when you shoot.
I made sure those things...
...looked realistic as well as cool.
My job is compositing.
Compositing is...
...just like traffic control.
There are departments that are
specialised in the backgrounds...
...characters and effects,
and so forth.
Once they submit
the finalised materials...
...I take them and
combine them into one image...
...while emphasising what's to be
focused on in the particular shot.
I finalise each shot by
using various methods...
...such as blurring the backgrounds...
...or adjusting the colour saturation...
...brightness and atmosphere.
That's called compositing.
Mr. Matsumoto's job is to unify
the look of the entire movie.
He does things such as deciding
on the brightness for each scene...
...or setting the colour tone
of the entire movie.
He also worked as...
...a CG director for this movie.
He's been in charge of
the overall CG-related issues...
...including...
...technical issues...
...from the planning phase.
Things are looking very realistic...
...and the performance of the actors...
...have a lot of weight in this movie...
...so in that sense...
...I think he's been...
...the most appropriate person
for the job.
His way of handling...
...the camera is orthodox. He doesn't
move around the camera too much.
You see his camera work is very stable
so you can really see what's going on...
...in the screen, but towards the end of
the movie, the camera work gets...
...pretty crazy along with all the action.
We wanted to show off...
...the flashy camera work
towards the end...
...so the camera work in the first
half of the movie is calm.
I think it's well balanced...
...and came out nicely.
I can truly entrust...
...Mr. Matsumoto with everything.
I like how the iris looks here.
It really leaves an impression.
Mr. Matsumoto in the CG department...
...is in charge of compositing
visually.
I pretty much manage
everything else.
My title is compositing lead...
...and it basically means that...
...I manage and...
...oversee the scheduling...
...and resourcing.
My job is to make sure
to finish our work...
...as a team in a timely manner.
In order to run the production
effectively and smoothly...
...the tools that we use
play a big role.
We use the tool to
minimise the manual labour.
The tool automatically creates...
...the pictures to a certain point.
We send the requests to Jung...
...the technical director.
It took him...
...about a month...
...to create the tool for us.
There were so many textures...
...so managing them was challenging.
There's a thing called base comp.
You take it and
switch in the other shot.
Sometimes all you have to do
is switch...
...while in another instance
the user...
...can tweak it after switching it.
You can switch...
...textures by...
...pushing a button.
That's the tool I made.
Basically, we let the computer...
...do the work without any mistakes...
...which normally we would do by hand.
That's what the tool does.
Computers can do repetitive...
...or simple works with no problem...
...but they can't determine...
...which texture is good or bad
or contains errors.
So the designers have to work...
...on what computers can't do.
I worked on...
...compositing myself too.
Managing textures...
...was a hard task.
Well, I think Sola Digital Art itself...
You know, Aramaki and I and
our partner, Mr. Kawada, we kind of...
The three of us kind of thought,
"Well, look, I mean, let's start..."
We were frustrated with the fact...
...that there are titles we wanted to do,
films we wanted to do...
...but we couldn't really quite get other
studios to work with us 100 percent.
So I wanted to kind of set up
a system...
...where it, you know,
works for the director...
...rather than, you know, director
having to really persuade the studio...
...to move his way,
you know, to do his bidding.
We wanted to really form
a production around him...
...so that things will become
much more efficient.
And also, you know,
we will do our best...
...to always truly show
what he's able to do.
For... l mean, for example, this time
in Appleseed, we wanted the...
We wanted the production to try
as much as possible...
...to really realise his vision on-screen.
You know, whether
it comes to design, modelling...
...you know, action, camera work...
...anything, so that he would
actually have full control.
Now, for Appleseed, we did form
a system like that for the director.
But, I think, going forward,
we're also thinking that...
...you know, any director who comes in
to, you know...
To direct a title with Sola,
that's how we would like it to be.
We want it to be very much
creator-friendly, director-friendly...
...to really help them
realise their vision.
At the same time,
you know, make sure...
...that the title's aim in terms
of the commercial aspirations...
...you know, exposure,
you know, promotion and whatnot.
You know, all of that can work together
to support the film...
...the title that we're trying to make,
so...
That's how we're a little different
than other CG studios in Japan.
Mr. Takahashi has worked on...
...the movie score of Appleseed's
theatrical movies.
Up until this movie, the style of his
movie score has been orchestral...
...but this time we've discussed that
the music style should be...
...a little more personal to match...
...the tone of the story rather than...
...something grandiose.
At least we wanted to...
...start off the movie...
...with not-so dramatic sound.
So I think it was a little different.
It was completely different
from the other movies.
He told me to make it very minimal...
...and quiet with a European style...
...so I was actually surprised.
That was the style
he wanted to go with this time.
I found it very interesting, though.
First, I made a couple songs...
...as the main theme...
...of the movie...
...and he listened to them.
One of them was used...
...at the end of the opening scene.
I tackled it with rather quiet...
...European-style music...
...this time, compared to before.
Of course the music picks up steam...
...toward the end of the movie...
...but overall...
...the music style for this movie is...
...quiet with a European flare.
Every now and then...
...I run into a movie where
the music is standing out too much.
For example,
there's a touching scene...
...where I just want to simply
be moved...
...but the music is so overwhelming...
...that I just can't be moved.
I had such experiences before.
I just couldn't help feeling like
that's not how it's supposed to be.
I don't mean that...
...the music should...
...be passive...
...but I think it's important...
...that it's synchronised...
...with the scene.
Additionally we had Mr. Nakata...
...and others who have worked on
the music.
The signature sound of Appleseed...
...is definitely there, thanks to them.
I think the sense of
international feel is...
...very important in Appleseed...
...so we're always looking for
a Japanese artist...
...who's also known overseas...
...someone who's been talked about
a lot...
...and trendy...
...with futuristic visions.
We just couldn't think of anyone...
...other than Mr. Nakata
for this movie.
Just like Perfume...
...or Kyary Pamyu Pamyu...
...from the very beginning...
...Mr. Nakata's style...
...was completely different
from anything that came before.
He's brought something new
to the music scene.
I think he's someone...
...who can turn what's considered
subculture...
...into something major.
My directorial debut was
the first Appleseed movie...
...and I was blessed with
the opportunity to work with him.
I had already loved that type of music...
...so I was very curious to see...
...how we could collaborate
in the movie.
I enjoyed the experience very much...
...and think it turned out unique.
Some musicians...
...also told me that Appleseed...
...turned out to be
a very special project...
...for them as well.
Whenever we collaborate...
...with musicians...
...the results are always...
...unexpected and interesting.
I had a great time working
with him in this movie.
...to when we were shooting
Starship Troopers: Invasion.
That film we were shooting
with director Aramaki...
...who's also the director of this film...
...and producer Joseph Chou,
who's our friend.
We thought, ''Okay,
why don't we do another project...
...you know, together,
and have some fun with it.''
We decided to brainstorm,
look into different titles...
...and we came back to the idea
of Appleseed.
I thought this was a great idea...
...because the former titles worked well
all over the world.
It's very well-known.
And the franchise is something
that we probably should continue...
...because it works well in CGl films.
So that is why, you know, I thought,
"it's a great idea, we should go for it.''
When I went independent
as a producer...
...Appleseed was the first title
that I got to work on.
And that's when I met Aramaki.
And then it led to the following film,
Appleseed Ex Machina...
...that we worked on together.
And that led to several other films
that we created.
But after Appleseed, however...
...a lot of the films that we've done
were ideas or franchises...
...that were not from Japan.
So it was actually very much
a Western-driven project.
But, you know,
when we were discussing what to do...
...for our next project,
we kind of hit upon the idea of:
"Well, what about
tackling Appleseed again?''
Before working on Appleseed...
...we established a studio called Sola...
...and worked on Starship Troopers.
In discussing our next
project with Joseph...
...we had a new studio
and new staff members.
Of course, they were the same staff
from Appleseed Ex Machina.
But that group was at
the core of our new studio.
So we knew certain things.
We made great technological leaps.
We wanted a new challenge.
So we focused on doing Appleseed...
...but in a new way.
That's how we decided.
Personally, it was
the first film I worked on...
...so it has a special significance
for me.
I wanted to give it new life.
That was my main
motivation behind this project.
Well, at that point, I thought...
...it would also be important
to call on my other friend in Japan.
His name is Eiichi Kamagata...
...and he's head of a company
called Lucent Pictures.
And I wanted to bring him on board,
just because, you know, we're...
Sola Studio
is a CG animation production.
But in order to really provide
production companies service...
Because we're dealing with
a Japanese property.
We're dealing with
a Japanese licensor.
So we really needed someone
on the ground...
...who would oversee these issues and
Japanese distribution and whatnot...
...who specialises in that market.
And Tony brought in, obviously,
the international distribution...
...and Sony expertise...
...in trying to craft this film's
distribution or marketing strategy.
I thought we were all a natural fit.
Mr. lshizuka contacted us...
...with the idea of
doing another film.
Mr. lshizuka is based
in Los Angeles, so...
...it was tricky to coordinate.
From 2009 onwards...
...we have been in constant contact...
...regarding this new project.
We acted as producers
based in Japan...
...to get this project off the ground.
So we formed this great team with...
Co-production team with everyone.
Now, the only thing left...
...was to go back to the creators
about making this.
And we went to see,
in Osaka, the creators...
...so that we can discuss
and do something.
It took quite a while
to really make this happen.
But then finally they agreed,
since Aramaki was directing it...
...and it was gonna be a great sort of
rendition of a new franchise.
When Aramaki and I were first
discussing the idea for the new film...
I mean, we obviously wanted this
to be a reboot.
A fresh start for the franchise.
So when thinking about that,
we were wondering:
What kind of story
do we want to tell?
Do we want to go back
to the first film...
...where we kind of retread
the story of Deunan and Briareos...
...and their experience
in this city called Olympus?
When we looked at the manga, when we
revisited the manga together again...
...we realised that both of us
shared a love...
...for the first volume of the manga,
how it started.
Meaning how Deunan and Briareos
ended up in this city called Olympus.
What were they doing before then?
How did they get there?
And I thought there was room...
...to explore that
in a much bigger sense.
And Aramaki had this brilliant idea...
...of trying to set this
in a post-apocalyptic world.
And they're on a journey
to find this city called Olympus...
...which might just be a mirage.
So to restart the franchise,
we called it Appleseed Alpha...
...which is, of course,
the starting point.
This time around, we had
a new team and a new look.
It was a reboot of Appleseed.
That was one of our goals.
So what do we need to do?
We re-examined the source material.
Appleseed is a story that...
...takes place in the United States.
So in doing a prequel...
...we wanted to focus on the setting.
In developing the scenario...
...it was only natural to tell
the story in English.
That was one of our big focus points.
So we approached Mary Anne...
...who's the writer of several very
successful video game franchises.
When talking to her, we realised...
...that she really did have the right
passion and sensibilities for this project.
This time, we really wanted to explore
the story of Deunan.
We really wanted to have her
on board...
...and bring us that sensibility and
understanding of the female psyche...
...and the relationship, you know,
that we couldn't think of.
So she not only, you know,
crafted a brilliant script...
...based on the plot
that was created by Aramaki...
...but I think the film was really helped
by that aspect as well...
...and her being on board.
Our story for this project...
...is a prequel to the original.
The protagonists have not
yet reached Olympus.
Olympus is a utopian society...
...that was built during
and after the war.
Once the war has ended...
...they are just surviving without
really understanding their situation.
So we see their day-to-day lives.
It's a limited point of view.
They are just getting by.
However, the war has stabilised
so there isn't much fighting.
But there is still lawlessness.
Information regarding other countries
is scant.
There are communication barriers.
That's where we start our story.
At its core, Appleseed...
...is about our two protagonists.
The plot always becomes inflated...
...once you start
examining the city itself.
Other characters and
conspiracies come into play.
Politics come to the forefront.
When you look at the source material...
...the things like bioroids...
...really exemplify the detail
that Mr. Shiro put into the story.
However, when you adapt it to film...
...it's very easy for the narrative
to become...
...a bit dull and expository.
So we wanted to simplify it.
We wanted a pure story
about the protagonists.
That's what we focused on.
I worked as a concept designer
for this project.
There's the original story
of Appleseed...
...so I focused on
how I could incorporate...
...the image of the original...
...into the lifelike 3D-CG world.
To tell you the truth,
I was conscious...
...about Hollywood movies out there.
You see many mecha-robots...
...in today's Hollywood movies.
Robot characters that emerged
from the Japanese anime culture...
...used to be our speciality
and signature, but these days...
...people overseas are producing
great stuff.
The director told us that...
...he wanted our robot designs to be...
...unparalleled to the ones overseas.
I've worked with him
on three to four titles so far.
He doesn't just design something...
...that looks cool in the story.
He's a designer
who's very capable of...
...designing things with...
...the actual technical
functionalities in mind.
Regarding some of the mechas
that appear in this new Appleseed...
...such as Landmates and Takyo
Houdaibig, the director asked me...
...to think how they would look
in real life...
...with the real mechanical details.
If you look at the shoulder designs
of a Landmate...
...you notice everything...
...inside the shoulders
are revealed rather than covered.
You can see the cylinders...
...or axis moving
and functioning properly.
The director and I discussed it
and decided to design them...
...with realistic mechanical designs.
I just let him be in charge.
He designed various mechas for me.
He's full of ideas.
He's very detailed when it comes
to mechanical designs.
There's a scene where that big
robot comes straight up out of...
...the ground to the surface.
I had a meeting with the animator...
...at the beginning of the project
and we discussed how we could...
...make it look like it's climbing
straight up on the wall.
We talked about stuff like how many
joints it should have...
...or how long its legs should be.
We discussed those things
before I created the robots.
Then I designed its details based
on the discussion we had.
Staff members communicated with each
other during the project.
What Usui designed
was sent to the modeller.
After the modeller worked on it
for a while...
...the modeller sent it back for feedback.
That's how they worked together.
How we worked together
in this project was very satisfying.
Once we know what the finalised
picture should look like...
...we determine how
the subject should move.
When you're making a 3D model...
...you have to think about
the rigs and layout and...
...the designs that
go into it all...
...at the same time.
So it's hard when you can't work
collaboratively with others...
...who are working on specific
elements of the 3D model.
I got to work side by side with
the character and mecha designers...
...the people from CG production...
...such as modellers, animators...
...the people who set up all the rigs...
...and composite at the very end.
So it was better than working alone.
We exchanged opinions
and ideas to make things look better...
...and characters came alive.
I was able to communicate with
CG designers who were in charge of...
...different areas,
so I think the quality...
...of the designs came out well.
I'm a production designer.
I mainly design the items...
...other than the characters...
...and mechas that Mr. Usui
and Mr. Yamada design.
The story is set in
the near future...
...so I designed them
with the idea...
...of technologies that
are slightly evolved...
...from today's technologies.
I've worked on the titles with
realistic looking pictures before.
This is a little different because
this title has its origin in manga form.
In this movie...
...we animated what we thought
it would look like in 3D...
...if the original story was
acted by real actors.
It's easy to take an object...
...that exists today
and put it in the movie...
...with a touch of futuristic appearance.
It could look realistic, but that would
stray from the concept...
...of the original story
and also not be entertaining...
...so I'd add some pieces...
...and different elements to it...
...which is challenging
and also rewarding.
This is Briareos' handgun.
As far as this handgun goes,
there is the original version of it.
I added some pieces to it,
but I actually designed it...
...to fit the silhouette
of the handgun that appears...
...in the original manga.
How convincing the design looks...
...changes the impression
of the movie itself.
If it looks too unrealistic...
...it gets criticised.
But at the same time...
...if it looks way too close to
the real thing, people think it's boring.
In that sense,
the designs can impact...
...the impression
of the movie significantly.
Many of the projects...
...I've worked on in the past
were cartoons.
Doing it for the cartoon
is actually a little easier...
...but personally
I like the lifelike look...
...so it was a lot of fun.
Sculpting the characters' faces
was what I was...
...most focused on,
and it was also very challenging.
A part of me wanted to
distort it a little more...
...but I didn't want it to stray from...
...the image the audiences had had
about Deunan.
I had an inner conflict over that.
You tend to be criticised
when you make the character...
...look too realistic. So it was a
challenge as to how far I could push it.
To me, making a character
look cool when it's...
...standing still is completely
different from making...
...a character look cool
when it's moving around.
Up until now, I was rather...
...making something that
looked cool in the still picture.
There's so much action...
...and movement in this movie,
so I figured that...
...the characters should
look cool...
...when they're moving around...
...so I was most focused on that.
Briareos' body looks
very different...
...from the one that appeared
in the first and second movie.
Up until the last movie,
he had this so-called...
...hero physique with
a small head and long legs.
But in this movie
he looks very burly.
I created his body...
...thinking how he would...
...look like in real life.
His upper body was...
...a bit exaggerated, though.
I focused on...
...his ruggedness...
...in creating him.
Iris was almost the secondary...
...main character in the movie.
I was a little worried...
...how this character would turn out...
...when we finished sculpting her,
but once she was animated...
...with facial expressions
she became an attractive character...
...so I was happy.
When they first approached me...
...with this project...
...they told me that the story...
...would be set in New York...
...so I felt somewhat at a loss.
I've never been to New York...
...so I didn't think...
...I, a Japanese person,
could create...
...something that feels like...
...New York to others
who are familiar with the location.
The camera takes you
from the subway...
...to the front of Times Square
in the opening.
I felt like I was forced to challenge...
...the most difficult task...
...from the opening.
I was aware that it was going to be...
...the lifelike look, so the lighting...
...was the high-priority agenda for me.
When the light hits
this side of the face...
...the other side looks darker.
That's the fact that...
...we unconsciously see
on a daily basis.
Stuff like that is very subtle...
...but that's also the element that...
...makes you recognise
if the CG looks really real or fake.
The lighting could bring out
the details of the object...
...or add glossiness to the object.
You can even see or feel
the coolness, coldness or hotness...
...depending on
the adjustments of the light.
For example, the only request
I got from the director...
...regarding the subway was...
...to make the entire scene
slightly dark.
Of course it has to look like...
...the subway in New York,
but since the usage of electricity...
...is limited according to...
...the story setting of the movie...
...the light must be dimmed...
...except in a few spots.
The more you tweak it...
...the more real it looks...
...but that lacks the sultriness.
I think the audiences
eventually get bored...
...if they keep looking at
only realistic things.
How you add the glossiness...
...to the object is really important...
...in adding the lighting.
L'm very aware that...
...it's extremely difficult
to create something...
...that looks real from nothing.
So in that sense,
to be honest with you...
...there are things that I'd rather avoid.
I don't mean to brag...
...but I think this is actually
a great opportunity...
...to show the world
that the Japanese can create...
...something this awesome.
At the beginning...
...I knew this was going to be hard...
...but I was ready to face the challenge.
You see very exaggerated
backgrounds...
...in conventional anime.
For instance, you see a building
in the distance...
...purposely enlarged.
They would enlarge...
...or shrink objects depending on
the size of the screen...
...but in lifelike animation...
...we must portray the objects...
...in their true sizes.
They're two similar methods...
...but the finalised pictures...
...look very different.
I was in charge of the ruins.
The story is set...
...right after the war ended...
...so you can imagine
things are pretty ruined...
I could easily see that
in my head...
...but I had to work...
...on the ruins in New York,
so I went out...
...and searched for references...
...of New York as well as...
...references of ruins.
I looked through them
with the director...
...and discussed things like...
...how destroyed they should look...
...or how ruined the place should be.
That's how I defined...
...what the picture should look like.
As for the Humvees...
...you see four different types
in this movie.
One is the broken one
and the others are...
...in different colours.
They were used
in the different scenes.
I created them by...
...looking at an actual Humvee model.
Since we had to put...
...Landmates and Briareos...
...in the vehicle in this movie...
...I edited the size of the vehicle...
...according to
the size of the characters.
Pretend this is the stage.
There are dozens...
...of cameras around it.
They capture the movements
of the actors...
...from every direction.
Each actor wears...
...the special suit with...
...about 30 to 40 reflective sensors
all over the suit...
...mainly on the joints.
Their movements...
...get captured from every direction.
All the movements are...
...recognised as 3-D movements...
...and saved as data in the computer...
...using the special software.
The system is called...
...motion capture.
You see Deunan in the CG.
Her movements neatly match...
...the movements of the actual actor.
So the movements of
the 3D character...
...match to the movements
of the actor...
...no matter which direction
you look at it from.
This allows you to switch
the camera view later on too.
That's the technology we use.
Basically your movements...
...get captured as computer data.
Now it's in the chamber.
Slide it, put it in, and load it.
Put the safety on, then put it in.
We hired the action advisors...
...from the military.
They advised us on everything...
...from how to hold the gun,
move with it, and shoot it.
Both Briareos and Deunan are...
...the weaponry experts.
Since they look visually real...
...their movements must be
even more real.
They gave us
very detailed advice.
You can express how nervous you are
by raising or lowering your shoulders.
You can express the distance
between you and enemy by raising...
...or lowering your weapon. If you feel
the area is safe, you lower your weapon...
...but watch your surroundings.
When the enemy is approaching...
...you can express your nervousness
by raising your shoulders and weapon.
That's the type of instruction
I gave them. I'm detailed about it.
Mr. Hosokawa is
a military commentator...
...who used to be in
the French Foreign Legion.
I used to belong to a team...
...that was specialised in...
...setting up or removing bombs.
I started off as a rocket gunner.
The team was sent overseas
one day.
The destination was Somalia.
During that time I received...
...beginner-level sniper training...
...so I worked as a sniper.
When I was watching him doing the
motion capture through the monitor...
...I realised Mr. Hosokawa's movements
were better than that of the actors.
So I asked him to put on the suit.
He did all of Deunan's scenes
by himself.
Because of his performance,
the picture looks so much better.
Stay here.
I was told that the movie's worldview
is close to the one...
...from the original Appleseed.
Judging from the information
that I knew about Deunan...
...I determined that she has a lot of
battlefield experiences.
So when I did the motion
capture for Deunan, I moved like...
...she was someone who's experienced
in running around the field...
...carrying heavy weapons
rather than...
...experienced with the latest
fighting techniques.
When you look at...
...how he holds guns...
...you can tell he's the real deal.
It's different from...
...how we try to look cool,
holding the gun ready...
When he does it, he looks like
he's going to shoot.
I could definitely tell
the difference in the studio.
I was hoping that would...
...be reflected in
the CG character's movements.
I think we've achieved that.
We use the storyboards...
...when we make a movie.
The storyboards contain...
...every shot of the movie...
...and each one shows the size...
...which actor is appearing...
...and what type of action
is being done in details.
Basically, we draw up
a whole movie on the papers.
We used a method called
motion capture...
...which captures the body's
movements into computer data.
The actual performances by the actors
in the studio would always...
...turn out differently from the
storyboards we had drawn up before...
...because of various factors
such as the pauses actors take...
...in the acting, so we would edit...
...the movements accordingly...
...to the scenes.
Reconstructing them...
...is called layout.
The storyboards are like
the blueprints.
Layout is just like constructing...
...the basic framework
in the 3D environment.
To be more precise...
...it is about placing...
...the objects such as...
...background models...
...and characters...
...within the screen frame...
...by using the motion capture data...
...and also add camera movements.
Once we decide on the location...
...and the situation of the camera...
...we fixate the length of the shot.
That's the layout.
Since this is...
...a lifelike-looking movie...
...we tried to move the camera...
...in realistic ways.
We wanted it to look like...
...the camera was...
...actually at the field.
In the beginning...
...there's a scene where Deunan...
...fights against
Sokaku's subordinates...
...in the narrow space...
...on the subway train.
I have a certain
fondness for the scene.
The director asked me...
...to use the camera...
...in certain ways for the scene.
I got to use the camera freely...
...with the understanding of
the director's vision...
...and spend a lot of time
with camera movements.
Layout is the basic
blueprint of the entire movie.
We, animators, create the best
expressions...
...within the given camera frame
with the complete layout.
Whenever the audience says...
...''lt felt like I was looking at...
...normal-looking humans...
...in the movie...
...so I was able to focus...
...all my attention...
...to the story itself"...
...that means you did
a good job as an animator.
I observe different things...
...very closely on the daily basis.
I catch myself observing random things
such as the way a car comes to a stop...
...or the way people walk,
stop, move forward.
Everyone moves differently.
I notice a certain type of people
walk in a particular way too.
Old and young, men and women...
...we are all different.
The way we walk, move forward,
move our arms, et cetera.
I observe those things all the time.
Not that I'm always
thinking about work, but I try...
...to pay attention to
those things whenever I can.
I catch myself looking at
things like that a lot.
Because I'm doing that quite a bit...
...I'm able to catch
awkwardness in the movements...
...and tell the difference
between what looks awkward...
...and what looks natural
in the animation.
If I think it looks awkward,
I can fix it.
If I don't see anything unnatural...
...I can determine that it looks okay.
There are a limited number of human
characters in this movie.
Actually that was my intention from the
beginning. Because the characters...
...and the worldview had to look
as close as possible to reality...
...we wanted to spend a lot of time
with each character.
It was our strategy
to limit the number...
...of the characters
with human facial expressions.
In other words...
...we wanted Deunan and lris
to look perfect.
The storytelling comes
with a lot of emotions...
...so we wanted to capture the details of
Deunan's and Iris' facial expressions.
We also wanted to be able to edit...
...their facial expressions
precisely later on too.
We had the facial
animation supervisor, Moriya...
...who oversaw everything
from the rigs to the facial expressions.
I told him...
...''This is very important,
so do your best...
...I'm counting on you."
We captured
the facial expressions...
...and the body movements separately
for this movie.
The benefit of doing so...
...was that we were able to focus solely
on the actors' facial expressions.
I was able to tell the actors exactly...
...what I wanted at the production site.
You notice the actors' habits
when they're performing.
For example,
some people blink a lot...
...or open their eyes
really wide when they talk...
...or always have their
mouth half open or talk fast...
...or move their lips awkwardly
just like how l'm talking now...
...because l'm nervous.
I get to look at their faces
very closely...
...so I can learn their habits
during filming...
...which is one of the benefits.
But on the other hand,
the negative is that...
...you can't see their facial movements
along with body movements.
When you look at something
or away from something...
...your body also moves,
synching with your facial movements...
...and they move at the same time.
It creates a realistic, natural flow.
It was challenging because
they were captured separately...
...so we had to think
and supplement...
...what was missing to create the flow.
In that sense, you could call it
an extra segment of the project...
...so that's a negative.
As for Deunan...
...she's an emotional character.
When she's mad, her facial
expressions clearly display anger...
...and when she laughs,
she really laughs.
So both the director and I agreed that
she has a straightforward personality.
We added some
very subtle expressions...
...to her expressions too...
...such as a sneering or
sarcastic look...
...when she's mad, for example.
Going from being angry to laughing...
...we added the angry-smile
expression in between too.
By contrast, as for lris, as you
can see on the screen right now...
...she grins a lot.
She grins between the lines.
That's not something
the motion-capture actor did...
...but we added it by choice.
Adding a little grin would...
...make her impression better.
It's really subtle...
...but her facial expressions
are very detailed.
I think so.
I hope so.
That certain impression
she gives out...
...easily stays with the audience.
I'm not sure if he's
already told you this...
...but I wanted to display...
...a certain feminine softness...
...through their lips' movements.
The upper lip and the lower lip...
...come together...
...when you talk, right?
He told me he wanted
to duplicate that...
...and I thought that was a good idea,
so I encouraged him...
...to do that.
I think you can see that...
...especially in
the close-up scene of lris.
You know,
the suppleness of the lips.
I think it came out really good.
You're looking well.
I thought I had
a lot of work ahead of me...
...when I first saw that character.
He doesn't have a human face.
I've facial-captured a dog
in the past...
...but I had some knowledge of
non-human facial expressions...
...so I decided to work...
...on the facial expressions
of the robot.
I could say it was experimental...
...but I definitely had fun.
It was challenging to create...
...the laughing expressions...
...on the robot's face, though.
When I first saw the model sent by...
...the character department,
I thought I couldn't add...
...any facial expressions to it,
so I asked them if it was okay...
...to change pretty much everything
around his mouth.
I basically remodelled it and sent it back
to the character department...
...and had them work on it again.
Much trial-and-
error helped create this character.
That was challenging.
To tell you the truth
I didn't think too much about...
...adding facial expressions
onto a cyborg's face.
I figured it would be funny
if his eyebrows move.
That was the extent of it.
But I saw so many detailed...
...expressions on his face.
I asked him, ''Are you sure you're...
...going to do that much to his face?"
He said yes, so I let him.
At the end he turned into
such an interesting character.
I think he's the funniest
character in this movie.
We worked on character models...
...mecha models
and background models.
They're tangible items...
...that actually exist...
...in the real world.
But when it comes to weapons...
...such as rifles
and pistols, for example...
...you can't actually shoot them...
...while filming the movie.
We create visual effects
later in CG and add them...
...to the picture, such as the muzzle
flash, the sparks that come out...
...of the gun muzzle...
...and/or car explosions.
That's called the effects.
Backgrounds...
...people, and so on look very
realistic in this movie...
...so the effects that go with them...
...must be as realistic as they are.
The director was striving for
realness in the effects...
...so I worked hard
to meet his expectations.
There's a scene
where the train explodes.
In order to make
the scene look real...
...as if it were happening right
in front of your eyes...
...the first thing I did was
gather references and materials.
The train blows up because of
the bombs that have been set up in it.
So I did the research on
how the bombs explode...
...and recreated that in the movie.
I guess the director is really particular
when it comes to...
...weapons like guns
and rocket launchers.
I spent a lot of time
on detailed things...
...such as the muzzle flash...
...or the sound of a bullet
landing on the target.
The muzzle flash...
...is the sparks...
...that come out of the muzzle...
...when you shoot.
I made sure those things...
...looked realistic as well as cool.
My job is compositing.
Compositing is...
...just like traffic control.
There are departments that are
specialised in the backgrounds...
...characters and effects,
and so forth.
Once they submit
the finalised materials...
...I take them and
combine them into one image...
...while emphasising what's to be
focused on in the particular shot.
I finalise each shot by
using various methods...
...such as blurring the backgrounds...
...or adjusting the colour saturation...
...brightness and atmosphere.
That's called compositing.
Mr. Matsumoto's job is to unify
the look of the entire movie.
He does things such as deciding
on the brightness for each scene...
...or setting the colour tone
of the entire movie.
He also worked as...
...a CG director for this movie.
He's been in charge of
the overall CG-related issues...
...including...
...technical issues...
...from the planning phase.
Things are looking very realistic...
...and the performance of the actors...
...have a lot of weight in this movie...
...so in that sense...
...I think he's been...
...the most appropriate person
for the job.
His way of handling...
...the camera is orthodox. He doesn't
move around the camera too much.
You see his camera work is very stable
so you can really see what's going on...
...in the screen, but towards the end of
the movie, the camera work gets...
...pretty crazy along with all the action.
We wanted to show off...
...the flashy camera work
towards the end...
...so the camera work in the first
half of the movie is calm.
I think it's well balanced...
...and came out nicely.
I can truly entrust...
...Mr. Matsumoto with everything.
I like how the iris looks here.
It really leaves an impression.
Mr. Matsumoto in the CG department...
...is in charge of compositing
visually.
I pretty much manage
everything else.
My title is compositing lead...
...and it basically means that...
...I manage and...
...oversee the scheduling...
...and resourcing.
My job is to make sure
to finish our work...
...as a team in a timely manner.
In order to run the production
effectively and smoothly...
...the tools that we use
play a big role.
We use the tool to
minimise the manual labour.
The tool automatically creates...
...the pictures to a certain point.
We send the requests to Jung...
...the technical director.
It took him...
...about a month...
...to create the tool for us.
There were so many textures...
...so managing them was challenging.
There's a thing called base comp.
You take it and
switch in the other shot.
Sometimes all you have to do
is switch...
...while in another instance
the user...
...can tweak it after switching it.
You can switch...
...textures by...
...pushing a button.
That's the tool I made.
Basically, we let the computer...
...do the work without any mistakes...
...which normally we would do by hand.
That's what the tool does.
Computers can do repetitive...
...or simple works with no problem...
...but they can't determine...
...which texture is good or bad
or contains errors.
So the designers have to work...
...on what computers can't do.
I worked on...
...compositing myself too.
Managing textures...
...was a hard task.
Well, I think Sola Digital Art itself...
You know, Aramaki and I and
our partner, Mr. Kawada, we kind of...
The three of us kind of thought,
"Well, look, I mean, let's start..."
We were frustrated with the fact...
...that there are titles we wanted to do,
films we wanted to do...
...but we couldn't really quite get other
studios to work with us 100 percent.
So I wanted to kind of set up
a system...
...where it, you know,
works for the director...
...rather than, you know, director
having to really persuade the studio...
...to move his way,
you know, to do his bidding.
We wanted to really form
a production around him...
...so that things will become
much more efficient.
And also, you know,
we will do our best...
...to always truly show
what he's able to do.
For... l mean, for example, this time
in Appleseed, we wanted the...
We wanted the production to try
as much as possible...
...to really realise his vision on-screen.
You know, whether
it comes to design, modelling...
...you know, action, camera work...
...anything, so that he would
actually have full control.
Now, for Appleseed, we did form
a system like that for the director.
But, I think, going forward,
we're also thinking that...
...you know, any director who comes in
to, you know...
To direct a title with Sola,
that's how we would like it to be.
We want it to be very much
creator-friendly, director-friendly...
...to really help them
realise their vision.
At the same time,
you know, make sure...
...that the title's aim in terms
of the commercial aspirations...
...you know, exposure,
you know, promotion and whatnot.
You know, all of that can work together
to support the film...
...the title that we're trying to make,
so...
That's how we're a little different
than other CG studios in Japan.
Mr. Takahashi has worked on...
...the movie score of Appleseed's
theatrical movies.
Up until this movie, the style of his
movie score has been orchestral...
...but this time we've discussed that
the music style should be...
...a little more personal to match...
...the tone of the story rather than...
...something grandiose.
At least we wanted to...
...start off the movie...
...with not-so dramatic sound.
So I think it was a little different.
It was completely different
from the other movies.
He told me to make it very minimal...
...and quiet with a European style...
...so I was actually surprised.
That was the style
he wanted to go with this time.
I found it very interesting, though.
First, I made a couple songs...
...as the main theme...
...of the movie...
...and he listened to them.
One of them was used...
...at the end of the opening scene.
I tackled it with rather quiet...
...European-style music...
...this time, compared to before.
Of course the music picks up steam...
...toward the end of the movie...
...but overall...
...the music style for this movie is...
...quiet with a European flare.
Every now and then...
...I run into a movie where
the music is standing out too much.
For example,
there's a touching scene...
...where I just want to simply
be moved...
...but the music is so overwhelming...
...that I just can't be moved.
I had such experiences before.
I just couldn't help feeling like
that's not how it's supposed to be.
I don't mean that...
...the music should...
...be passive...
...but I think it's important...
...that it's synchronised...
...with the scene.
Additionally we had Mr. Nakata...
...and others who have worked on
the music.
The signature sound of Appleseed...
...is definitely there, thanks to them.
I think the sense of
international feel is...
...very important in Appleseed...
...so we're always looking for
a Japanese artist...
...who's also known overseas...
...someone who's been talked about
a lot...
...and trendy...
...with futuristic visions.
We just couldn't think of anyone...
...other than Mr. Nakata
for this movie.
Just like Perfume...
...or Kyary Pamyu Pamyu...
...from the very beginning...
...Mr. Nakata's style...
...was completely different
from anything that came before.
He's brought something new
to the music scene.
I think he's someone...
...who can turn what's considered
subculture...
...into something major.
My directorial debut was
the first Appleseed movie...
...and I was blessed with
the opportunity to work with him.
I had already loved that type of music...
...so I was very curious to see...
...how we could collaborate
in the movie.
I enjoyed the experience very much...
...and think it turned out unique.
Some musicians...
...also told me that Appleseed...
...turned out to be
a very special project...
...for them as well.
Whenever we collaborate...
...with musicians...
...the results are always...
...unexpected and interesting.
I had a great time working
with him in this movie.