The long action play is the highlight of this work.

The cartoon “ULTRAMAN”, which was published in the “Monthly HERO’S” series, will be shown on the NETFLIX by the full 3DCG on April 1 as an animated commemoration. The official website of “ULTRAMAN” conducted a special project and interviewed the production lineup of animation. This time, I was interviewed by two supervisors, Shenshan Jianzhi × Amumu, who is good at realizing the 3DCG’s pastoral supervision and how the Shenshan Supervisor who has experienced 3DCG experience in hand-painting style is working together to make this ULTRAMAN. 》?

Shenshan Kenji used to direct the animation of many TV series, while Arakawa Shinji did not have the experience of directing TV series animation. The addition of this pastoral supervision is to provide Shenshan Supervision with the experience of using motion capture in action scenes. Combine the experience of the two people and learn from each other to lead the entire team to make this animation

Because “ULTRAMAN” originally decided to use 3DCG to render in hand-drawn style, so Shenshan can only think of using one beat two (one frame stays 2 frames, that is, 12 frames per second) to let the characters Move it up. However, after repeated trials, I finally felt that I should use full animation to make the overall atmosphere. The grazing also thinks that it can’t be like a hand-drawn animation, and there is a sudden pause in the middle. In addition, with the action capture, the action of the actor can be used as a reference, and the action scene can be added to the action scene, and there is a feeling of “animation”

Shenshan recognizes the idea of aramid, after all, one of the charms of animation is the smooth movement of the characters. At first, Shenshan was still skeptical, whether it could be achieved with full animation, but after the addition of the wild animal husbandry, this doubt was completely solved. In particular, it is necessary to add a long action play in a chapter. If you don’t need to capture the action, it is difficult to perform smoothly in general hand-drawn animation. What’s more, the long action play is the biggest point of this game

With the use of motion capture technology, the characters’ actions are given to acting. Although the animation is digitally produced, it is not much different from the holster technology of the special work. Shenshan said that although the texture of this leather case was not deliberately made, it did have such an effect. First, the actor puts the action, then replaces it with CG, and then the animator adds motion to capture the action that can’t be done, such as flying and jumping, which is also a new attempt in the whole CG works

About the hand-drawn style rendering used in this use, it first reflects the texture and luster of Altman and the aliens. In addition, although there is no more information in the human character, in order not to have a clear distinction with Altman, fine-tuning will be done in the light and shade. Although it is a hand-drawn style rendering, it is obviously different from the actual hand-painted style

The 牧牧 added, in addition to the background light and texture, which is closer to the real system than the usual hand-painted style. Because the background and characters are all made using 3DCG, even a static picture will have a stereoscopic lens. In the process of doing it, everyone is especially aware of this point to make. Shenshan personally is very satisfied with this light. In the 3DCG animation that Shenshan participated in, I couldn’t use so much light like this one. This time I can say that I realized the light performance that he dreamed of. This is the biggest difference compared with the previous works. According to the grazing, the color tone of each scene is different from the color design of the past hand-drawn animation. It is necessary to determine the color during the light adjustment and material composition. This aspect has also been repeatedly tested in order to achieve the desired effect

Regarding the texture of Otto’s armor, Amu said that at the beginning of the production, it was done in a real style, with the premise of “joining the outline” and then embodying the texture. After all, Otto armor is a great charm of the original, so it emphasizes the light and shadow to reflect the performance on the armor. This is also because of the relationship between the scenes at night. Not only in the eyes and everywhere, there are many special effects of glazing, such as Altman’s iconic Spellsman light. Shenshan said that the special version of Altman gives a biological feeling, but it can emit light from the hand. This “ambiguous” feeling is also one of Altman’s charm. This time, “ULTRAMAN” is to maximize the fun of this aspect. Using animation and CG to express it is also a highlight of animation. Shenshan is also very interested in the “Straight Light” in ULTRAMAN. Interpretation

Both the grazing and the mountain are growing up watching Altman, so the place where they first got entangled was the gesture of launching the light of Spellsham. I hope that the launching position of the original comics will be as close as possible to the original “Ottoman”. This is a discussion between the two husbands and the original two original comics, Shimizu Shoichi and Shimoguchi, and will eventually be close to the original. Show it to everyone

Of course, after all, it is an animated work, in addition to this tribute to the original version, naturally there will be animation-specific performance. Shenshan said that, for example, the shape of the character is actually very animated. In addition, the hand-drawn style of the show is introduced in the full animation, such as blinking and talking when the mouth is also very hand-painted. At the beginning of the mountain, Shenshan gave instructions to the animator. Every time the expression changes, it must be blinked. This is where the hand-drawn animation is very concerned. Sometimes some 3D animations will neglect this. This is mainly because the appearance of this character is not the same as the change of the expression of the real system, so it is as good as possible to show the performance of the animation. In addition, the grazing mentioned that the hair fluttering is done by calculation. However, when it is necessary to use very much force, you can only adjust it by hand. Thanks to the experienced CG animators, they will choose the necessary methods when necessary

Because it was a person who grew up watching “Ottoman”, both Shenshan and Amuman said that it is very interesting to be involved in the production of Altman. Just when I just received this animation work, Shenshan would like to be able to join the “What is Altman?” “What is the hero?” The grazing priest added that because of the past “Ottoman”, the monsters and the cosmic people were stumbled by the three, five, and two, at least on the image surface. These are now a bit cruel. Once you think about the topic of “What is Altman?”, you can’t even ignore these seemingly cruel parts. This is the reason why Netflix’s network platform has been chosen. Netflix is different from TV stations. There are no restrictions on various screens. Moreover, these cruel scenes are hard-core and inevitable in ULTRAMAN

When studying the original work, Kamiyama thinks that the protagonist Harada Hiroshi is a very modern child, not a simple hero. Therefore, his process of becoming Altman is also the main axis of this work. And when shaping him, it also coincides with the above-mentioned “What is the hero of today?” The abdomen believes that although Jinjilang is a very modern child, since he wants to become Altman, he must look directly at the grim. In the face of this cruelty, how will he face it? This is the story of this book. When doing scripting meetings, I hope that everyone will focus on this and then select other necessary elements

Because it is a work broadcast on Netflix, the audience is the world, and the pastoral said that he did not specifically understand this point. He believes that it is a matter of course for people around the world to pay attention to this work. Therefore, there is no need to pay special attention to the world and realize the overseas audience. It is just that, “If only 10 out of 100 people like this work, it means that 10% of the world like this work.” So, There is no need to care about the difference between overseas and Japan. After all, this is a work that anyone who likes heroes, action, and sci-fi movies can enjoy

Shenshan said that it is more important that many overseas audiences are not as old-fashioned as they are, so how overseas visitors will evaluate this work is also very much looking forward to it. Moreover, because this time Altman is a real person ratio, it seems that overseas audiences are more able to accept such heroes. He also heard that some overseas viewers seem to have doubts about the hugeness. “Why is it getting bigger?” Shenshan laughed and said that he never cared about this

Finally, Amu said that this is a work that was re-examined “What is Altman?”, and this idea will be reflected in the picture. This is whether you know the audience of Altman or the works that the audience of the series can enjoy. Shenshan also believes that whether it is the audience who saw the original comics, or the audience who liked the original “Ottoman”, the turnip greens have their own love. It is very difficult for all the audience to like this work, but this is an interesting work, so it is worth challenging, so stay tuned!

[References].
  • “ULTRAMAN” official website: Shenshan Jianzhi × Amumu Shenzhi supervisionインタビュー”かなり手ごたえのある作品 になっています”