Film
The shape's so hazy,
and the shadows end up looking totally flat and different...
I ended up drawing a pond up top, even though there's no water source.
How does the smoke flow from an explosion, anyway?
This is gonna be hard to adjust.
Maybe a bunch of roots would imply capillary action in a way that—
I'm getting nowhere, and it's making my brain boil!
You've gotten really good at handling a machete.
I wanted a real one, but they said it was too dangerous.
I have no idea how this smoke is moving...
Smoke can be pretty complicated in motion.
There's nothing wrong with using live action references,
but check out the kind of stuff our forebears did.
I guess it can change pretty suddenly, without much transition, too.
This has a lot of impact.
And this one is just shaking the screen?
You can learn a lot from studying what our predecessors did!
There's something about the pace here...
Both of you, in the PC room, now!
Hey, there's color, and it's composited!
Is that really all you have to say?
This feels totally different from just flipping pages.
Since there's no option for previews,
only getting to see it once it's finished makes a stronger impression.
The extra time until it's ready gives you a more objective view on it...
You get that, "So that's how it turned out!" feeling,
like after you fire some sculpted clay.
You imagine how it'll turn out while you work on it,
but once it's finished, it's hard to make any corrections.
It makes you think about where you could do a better job!
Since the screen's big with good picture quality,
you get a better idea of how it turns out.
It's still kind of rough...
Adding sound effects and music will give it a new vibe, too!
Gotta say, I can't wait to see the finished product!
Do you realize whose job that is?!
You'd like to see all the finished cuts, yes?
Because we only have a month left until our deadline.
Hang on... is that all we've got for finished animation?
Exactly.
Mizusaki, what cut were you working on last week?
Number four...
What about this week?
Number... four.
After an entire month, we only have four cuts done?!
This pace is too slow! Try to consider that we have to finish the entire thing!
Here we have two typical cuts.
And here are our four!
Each one has enough art for 36 cuts.
You said I could make the acting realistic, Kanamori!
Only when there's leeway to do so,
in the context of finishing the whole product!
At this rate, we have no chance of finishing before the budget committee review!
You'd need to draw 24 hours a day for the next month, starting today.
That impossible! Thirty all-nighters in a row?!
In that case, we'll shorten it to 48 hours a day over the course of 15 days.
All you did was halve one of those numbers and double the other!
That ought to give us another ten seconds.
What kind of magic did you use to do that?
I added a pure background to the cut.
Then throw in a little camerawork to jazz it up.
We don't have to animate every single scene.
Good! More like that!
Yes, ma'am!
Episode 4 Hold That Machete Tight!
Keep
Your
Hands
Off
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
We will now begin shooting with our self-propelled tripod-mounted camera!
Now, where's our subject?
Asakusa! That car!
Rotating camera platform!
We can get away with just rotating the cel for the camera with top down shots!
Wait, maybe we could rotate the rest instead...
Asakusa, hurry!
Get rid of anything that hasn't been painted
in an otherwise a pure background shot!
Got it!
If it's a close up of a rotating wheel,
we only need three frames to reuse over and over!
I'm not a fan of these highlight-only backgrounds, though.
Then we can zoom in and add the sky!
But wouldn't that be a waste, since we drew the bottom?
We could cycle three frames for the ground,
and fade them into the horizon!
How's that?!
Plus a side-scrolling cut!
It's the same background repeating, huh?
That one is pretty infuriating...
Okay, let's take a cool pose, and stretch it out to fill a bunch of time!
Pan! Pan! Pan!
Too close!
Since it's hand-drawn, we just rescan the art.
These are still roughs! There's not enough detail.
The lines...
So we throw in a light source!
We can add additional cuts to focus on the parts with a lot of movement!
Tight focus, horizontal pan!
Make the background slightly off-set from the character!
This is like cheating.
Aw, shut it!
It's not holding up with this zoom, so I'm gonna add an additional frame.
That looks more natural!
I don't really like these kind of loops!
I'd rather draw a unique fluttering animation.
Too fancy!
If it's gonna hold on the shot for so long, then one more frame!
That made a difference!
You take the classics and then add a little variation to keep things fresh!
Just like the menu at a popular cafeteria!
Let's shoot the sky!
Everybody loves a blue sky with clouds.
Movies set in summer are bound to have a shot with clouds scrolling by.
If a character is framed against the sky, it makes the backgrounds simple.
There are lots of panels in manga with white backgrounds.
It makes you wonder why the backgrounds bother being so detailed in anime!
Manga is monochrome! Is there really any need for color?
But it's pretty!
We can change the level of exposure to simulate a real camera.
That's how it works for the human eye, after all.
Even if there are no animation cels involved,
we can't just show a purely static shot!
That said...
If we overdo it, the story is going to fall apart,
considering we've already got a storyboard.
It makes a good impression, though.
Th-The thing is, even if it looks good, without a story—
I'm trying to say that it's already cool.
Even in black and white.
You're not about to lay some kinda weird stuff on us, are you?
It would be a lot easier without a story, though.
You think we can pull that off somehow?
Let's drop the narrative and have Asakusa figure out
a way to re-contextualize it all.
Whoa, hold on—
We do not have enough time for additional color, sound, or photography.
Wait, you mean actually going monochrome?!
It should be fine.
We'll make it stylized, and present it like a preview for the finished product.
Manga is monochrome too, but it's still a full-fledged entertainment product.
But the story...
The story won't matter if we can't finish it!
Listen. As long as we can deliver on this presentation, we'll have funding.
Then, by all means, make whatever you want, however you want.
We're going into this budget review committee...
And our plan is to bluff.
It's hard to get the right line quality with a scan...
You're the one who wanted to do this with paper.
Getting the lines to look nice and finishing the coloring takes time.
We're not going to be able to finish this anime
with just what you have on paper.
Film
Automated inbetweening?!
Right. We generate the art between key frames automatically,
which should save us on the time needed to color them.
That'll let you focus more on the general animation.
Finished In-Betweens
Finished Keyframes
Hang on! I said I wanted to do this all by hand!
Why are you so dead set on that, anyway?
We're already using digital colors and photography.
Those are different!
And it'll be hard to use this method for the whole thing!
Finished In-Betweens
There's no guarantee it'll work...
Besides, a lot of simple cuts are coming up!
I bet we make a ton of progress really fast!
Finished In-Betweens
Finished Keyframes
I've heard those kinds of optimistic proclamations before,
and I've come to realize that there's no basis for them.
TASK
MIZUSAKI
KEYFRAMES
IN-BETWEENS
The numbers aren't going up,
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
and based on that, we have to assume it won't be done in time.
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
It's already clear that this won't work if it's 100% hand-drawn.
Finished In-Betweens
So we need to go with the methods that will actually let us finish.
The audience won't be particular about whether it's analog or digital anyway.
There are people who will be able to tell!
The alternative is you finding a way to work 48 hours a day.
Look, I'm doing this by hand! Okay?!
Finished In-Betweens
Finished Keyframes
I think it'd be good for the cuts where we need clean art
with simple proportion changes.
The way the lines stay clean even when you zoom in is pretty handy.
Finished In-Betweens
But if we can't use digital at all, we won't be able to finish.
Is it all right if I ask the art club for help with the backgrounds?
I want you to be able to back Mizusaki up as soon as possible.
I couldn't possibly start bossing around the folks in the art club...
Then we'll use solid white or black shots for backgrounds.
And the remainder of our cuts will be panning, static lip sync shots.
Using lip sync shots when there isn't any dialog?! That misses the whole point!
Then it'll have to be a static picture story.
We can't do that! No way!
Would you rather screen the line art we have right now?
I'm going to talk to the art club.
Hold That Machete Tight!
The art club was no help.
They've got their hands full preparing for the budget review committee,
and apparently don't feel anime backgrounds
are a sufficient outlet for their artistic ambitions.
That being the case...
Moving forward, it'll be stills and keyframes only—
I'll test out the automatic in-betweening program!
In exchange, can I still do the cuts that I want to focus on by hand?
That should be fine, as long as you pull back some on other cuts,
and are willing to split the work with Asakusa occasionally.
Okay! Then I'll put my focus where it's needed, and get get to work!
Let's head to the PC room, and I can give you the basic breakdown.
I've already set everything up, and know how it's done.
P C R O O M
Awesome!
What do you think, Mizusaki?
Yeah, this should work with a few adjustments.
It's better than I thought!
This is gonna work!
The lines are clean and flow smoothly,
so we can even up the frame count!
Please head back to the club room and get to work on the backgrounds, Asakusa.
But I wanted to see more...
Film
Place card here
Asakusa?
Were you sleeping down there?
Yeah. I was pretending to be a pro.
And professional animators sleep under their desks?
Yeah. What time is it?
It's 3:5.. wait, no, it's 4:00 AM now.
Good morning.
Yeah, something about 4:00 AM says, "It's morning now," huh?
So, were you able to finish?
I'd say it's less about finishing or completing the project,
and more the outcome of passion crashing against compromise and resignation.
Where's Mizusaki?
The last cut is a pretty beefy one...
I suppose we'll have to use line art for that one.
No time to color it, huh?
I gotta say, there's something humiliating about having to toss out the story
in favor of doing something more like a preview!
Given the situation we were in, what was the alternative?
And even then, we ended up having to stay
at school overnight the day before the screening.
The night watch is going to be making the rounds soon.
That's bad, Kanamori!
Then again, considering we never left,
it's not like we snuck in, so we won't be arrested.
You realize being on campus outside of designated hours is
still trespassing, right?
It is?!
It looks like Mizusaki's finished.
That sure is morning.
Let's finish this thing and clear on out.
Sorry I'm late!
Oh, good morning.
I got approval for our overnight stay.
You could've said something!
You never asked.
That's our Kanamori!
Moving on, during the presentation,
I want you two to stay quiet and avoid anything dangerous.
Dangerous?
We're up against the student council,
who are apparently dangerous enough that, "Keep your hands off the student council!"
is common advice.
We at the carbohydrates revolution group, with the amoeba we have created...
Club Activities Budget Review Committee
Go home! Beat it!
h-have found a way to make the miso soup from the cafeteria taste more mild!
How long is this gonna be?!
Who gives a damn?!
I like the rich flavor, dumbass!
Get lost!
The carbohydrates revolution
seeks to have ramen and rice added to the cafeteria's menu,
and eliminate the parties responsible for charging exorbitant prices
for double orders at our school's cafeteria!
Double carbs?!
Ramen with rice is a crime against nature!
This will all be made possible by our electromagnetic amoeba!
Get off the stage!
Other people have presentations to make!
SECURITY CLUB
Okay, that'll do.
There's inconsistency in your vision, your agenda is ambiguous,
there's no scientific basis for your claims about that amoeba,
and ramen with rice is not a socially approved dietary combo.
Therefore, the carbohydrates revolution's budget request is denied.
DENIED
This is one intense committee!
Next up is the film research association.
Calm down, people!
We've done all we can to prepare.
Let's hold our heads high...
Come on, Asakusa.
We are the film research association.
One second, please.
Before your presentation,
SECURITY CLUB
there are questions about the film research association's activities.
Or rather, antics you've gotten up to.
We've received reports that you've smashed through steel walls,
and torn down iron pipe railings.
You do realize that you're damaging property that was provided to you
by the school, right?
Isn't that a major problem?
I fail to see the problem.
Huh?
SECURITY CLUB
Well, there's more than that!
The anime club has made complaints
that your film club was chased through their screening, disrupting it,
with non-school personnel being on the premises as a result.
What do you have to say about that?
I don't believe it's a problem.
Well, it's a huge one!
SECURITY CLUB
There are even rumors the eizouken has been keeping a wild raccoon dog!
Why don't you think it's a problem?
Why?
Are you curious about what I think about it?
We're making the call on whether you get a budget here.
As it stands, the eizouken is basically a public enemy.
And depending on how this goes, you might even get shut down.
Our club room was damaged because it was in disrepair.
The school has admitted that already,
and if there is an issue with the outsiders on school grounds,
that would be a matter to bring up with the school
as a lack of security, wouldn't it?
Meaning the problems you've stated are the school's responsibility.
Which would be downright scandalous.
Would the faculty like to discuss these scandals?
No! Let's not talk about any school scandals at this meeting!
You don't have much of a poker face, huh?
By my authority as student council president,
SECURITY CLUB
the eizouken's activities are hereby suspended!
Your authority?
Does the student council wield their authority like a blunt weapon, now?
SECURITY CLUB
Y'know, your little bluff might have scared the teachers,
but do you really think it's enough to get us to back down?
Aw, cram it!
You bunch, thinking you can get high and mighty
just 'cause you've got us over a barrel!
Well, we ain't exactly the kinda folks who're gonna bow to bums like you!
We come up on this stage like clowns 'cause you decided to put on a show,
and now you wanna rake us over the coals?!
Say what now? All kindsa problems?!
Blast it, all you've done is run your mouths about a buncha hokum, ya nimrods!
You think we were running from those goons
or wrecking ourselves in that crummy old club building for fun?!
But we did it all, cuz that's what it took to make anime!
We took our lumps to get this anime made, ya ignoramuses!
The proof's in the pudding! Don't run yer mouth until you've tasted it!
Got it?!
Say what now?
"Don't complain about how it's done. Look at the finished product first."
I suppose you can run your video, in that case.
You realize you just gave them the okay to announce their project?
Hold That Machete Tight!
Film
Holy crap...
That wasn't in 3D, right?
Y'know how in 4D theaters, they blow wind at you?
Huh... they were actually working on something.
I wanna see more.
What do you two think?
Aw, come on.
You're seriously asking that, Kanamori?
It was hard to pick the tank out with the two-tone coloring.
We should've added some gray.
The transitions during the fall didn't look too good.
And the dust clouds look really flat unless you add textures to them all.
They got something done even without a budget.
The rough parts look more obvious on a big screen.
Just shows you must do the job right, no matter how small it seems.
One of the frames in the loops was missing a shadow.
That made it look a bit choppy.
Some stuff only becomes obvious when you see the final product.
Like how almost all the cuts are with a wide angle lens.
We should bring a PC into the club room so we can do regular checks!
I'll take it under advisement.
Anyway, we've gotta move on from here. The editing is pretty rough.
You've gotta be thorough, or it wrecks the thing.
What do you think they'll come up with if they get a budget?
Wouldn't the tank shoot her down?
Don't be stupid! Those flight suits are really fast!
We should probably go over what we've got so far and redo the plan.
All right! Onto the next phase!
Our goal is to put everything we want into this thing!
Yeah, definitely!
I dunno how we got this far, but it's getting even more interesting!
Club Activity Budget Request Form
Club Name:
Film Study Association (Eizouken)
Goals:
Study of film, production of animation
APPROVED
Wa-ha-ha
Illustration by: Masakazu Ishiguro