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Shaft animation in a nutshell3/18/2024 ![]() ![]() The first step is to write the episode scripts. Once the story and designs are mapped out, the first episode is tackled. Character designers often continue to advise animation directors on corrections to animation that should be made to stay close to their character models (in which case they are generally credited as Chief Animation Director for the series). Character designers either have the task of simplifying manga/illustration designs so that they are suitable for animation, or, in the case of an original anime, coming up with a new set of characters based on descriptions from the director/producers. Designs are obviously an important factor in creating a good anime. Their involvement is generally to attend meetings and make decisions in order to manage the schedule, budget and quality of an anime.įollowing the early panning sessions, designs (character, mecha, costume, etc) are then created. To understand the role of directors, you could think of them like directors of a movie, but instead of dealing with actors, they deal with the animators who make the characters movie. One of the most crucial core staff is the director. When the core staff is arranged, they meet and plan out the anime, work on series composition (how the anime will play out across each episode/over the course of the series), and select further staff such as character or mecha designers. For example, Full Metal Alchemist, which had a 6pm Saturday slot had a total budget of 500 million yen (before additional costs). You can see why anime can be an expensive business. The broadcast costs are surprisingly high – according to blogger, ghostlightning – at about 50 million yen for a late-night timeslot across 5-7 stations for a 52 episode series. While many people describe studios as being cheap, only around half the budget is often given to the anime studio, with the rest going to broadcasters and other contributing companies. The production company (e.g Aniplex) gathers staff, sponsors, and looks at advertisement and merchandise. This process depends on who’s pushing for an idea and who is backing it up, it can be animation studios themselves along with sponsors, but many anime are adaptations of manga or light novels, in which case, publishers front costs (including the costs of having it shown on TV stations). ![]() This chart from AIC’s English website is a good visual overview for what I’ll be discussing: The process of making an anime is a complex one, with many steps and stages. That said, there can be a lot of variation between studios and individual productions. The article will focus on TV-anime production, but the same general process applies to movies and OVAs as well. Over the last year or so, my increasing interest in this side of things has really opened my eyes to the talent, artistry, passion and beauty that can be found in Japanese animation. So, if you want ammunition to return fire the next time you find yourself caught in an argument about the merits of anime, or want a fresh way to look at anime, I hope this article will be useful. For the sake of other anime fans with the same question, I thought I’d share my findings. I think it’s both important and fascinating to learn about the fundamentals of the medium we all love, and one of the most critical questions is: how is anime made? For me, especially recently, that’s been a burning question that I ended up researching in detail. ![]()
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