Interview

Koji Yamamura, a nominee for the 75th Academy Awards Short Films' Animation Category, has been a top Japanese artist in the field of animated film. His unique creativity and detailed drawing ability have received international recognition and praise leading to numerous invitational screenings and film festivals.

Mr. Yamamura has created a new short animation film tittled "Man & Whale" for our Whale-Love campaign. Here is the interview about his new animation and his views on whales.

Question: Tell us about how you had an offer from Greenpeace for a film.

Answer: I was in the finishing process of producing another movie when I got the offer. I was quite busy and wondered if I could take on another production at first. But I got interested in making an animation film about whales as I like the animal, and finally decided to accept the offer.
It was actually quite tough to make this film along with another movie, but was really worth doing.

Q. What did you find most difficult in making a story of the animation?

A. What I wanted to achieve with this film was to get children, who are our future, interested in whales, protection of whales and other environmental issues. I came up with the idea of the last scene where some children try to help a whale together with grown-ups. You need a grown-up to help the kids doing so in a realistic storyline. So I wanted an adult person as a main character. To decide on this person, what he is, what the relationship with the kids, was the most difficult part for me.
After all, I chose a school principal as the main character. The trusting relationship between the school principal and the kids made it easy for me to create a natural and realistic last scene where they unite to rescue a whale.

Q. Could you tell us about the process of animation production?

A. The first step of animation is to make a storyboard that consists of pages of thumb nails and texts. Then you design a “layout” which shows scenes with their angles, size and objects included. Based on the layout, you make “original drawings (genga)” of the major scenes in the animation. Drawings of backgrounds and other items are made as well.
The next step is to make keyframes. We call the process “in-between framing (nakawari)”. A key frame is a frame that has an actual picture of a character in the animation, and you decide on how the object makes a certain action. You need 12 frames per second, and the key frames is the base of the characters’ movements.
By the way, we drew for this animation total of 1,700 sheets of cells, way more than we first expected 1,400.  
Finally, giving your animation color. We did coloring with oil markers and color pencils.
Then scan all the finished cells, capture them with other cells of backgrounds or other items, and finish each frame on computers.

Q. What was the most difficult part in production?

A. That was creating scenes of the sea. In animation, it’s fun to express something in flux shape, but it was really tough to make scenes of the sea because you need multiple cells to show the   reflection of lights, waves, bubbles, shadows and so on.

Q. How long did it take to produce the film?

A. About 5 months.

Q. What message did you want to convey the audience of the film besides protecting whales?

A. What I wanted to express is that your thoughts, feelings, ideas, what you have in mind will be gotten through and handed down over generations. Even when you get older, what you thought and felt in your childhood still remain inside of you and will pass on to your children, in some way. That’s what I wanted to say.

Q. Any message to those who are protecting whales in the world?

A. It’s a tough job. I think each of us should not be too emotional about the issue and should take actions from our pure motive to protect the animal.

Q. Are you interested in environmental issues?

A. Yes, I am interested in environmental issues including global warming. But they are not simple problems. When human beings live and act, you use electricity, and that’s ruining the environment.
I try to save electricity at home. Also, when you think “what else can you do to solve the problem?” I thought the best thing I can do is to convey the message by making animation films for that purpose.

Q. What do you think whales mean to you?

A. I love animals in general, especially whales.
The reason is they are BIG, prompting me to capture their bigness in motion.
I’d like to try whale watching and touch them if I can.

Q. What did the director ask you in making music for the film?

A. Mr. Yamamura had a clear image for the music when the storyboard of the animation was complete.
He told me at the first meeting, he’d like to start with something nostalgic played with wind instrument. In the school scenes, something rhythmic, like polka, the one played in the Ozu movies. Then music should get up-tempo and more thrilling in the scenes with whales, leading to the ending with more impressive music.  

Q. Tell us about the process of making music.

A. First you have a meeting over the storyboard. Then I make some demos on a rough draft video Mr. Yamamura edited, and the director checks them. When we’ve decided on the main theme of the melody, choose instruments. Then organize players, print scores, and do the recordings.  

Q. What instruments did you have for the music?

A. We wanted strong strings, so we had 15 players of strings and 1 horn, that is: 6 first violins, 4 second violins, 2 violas, 2 cello, 1 contrabass.

Q. Any message to those who are protecting whales in the world?

A. I can’t even imagine the earth without whales, so whales are important.
But we have to think about the ecological system as a whole, caring not only visible creatures like whales but also invisible ones including planktons. All living things are related and linked, so we should keep in mind that to balance is important.

Q. Are you interested in environmental issues?

A. I love the planet earth, so I’m scared of the current situation in which we are ruining and damaging our globe. As a part of its living creatures, we human beings must protect the planet.
I try to do what I can do even it’s a small thing, like using eco-friendly detergents and avoiding car use.

Q. What do you think whales mean to you?

A. They are the biggest creature on the planet. I really adore them and definitely want to see them even once.

Interview #002 Hitomi Shimizu