Interview with Koji Tanaka, Director of Photography of “Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet” [2/4]

Ishikawa: So the director of pictures is the art director, and the one who supervises everything is the director of photography?

Tanaka: Almost.

Ishikawa: Eh?

Tanaka: The one who supervises all this is the director, Murata. As I said before, various image materials like animation and background art come to the director of photography. The very first step is the storyboard, which the person responsible for original drawing makes into a proper picture. This is called a layout, and it is the first stage in animation. The supervisor then plans which parts will be drawn by animators and which parts by artists. He thinks about the contents of a scene, for example, that Chamber is 3D, and he gives instructions, such as artists will draw this and animators draw that, and so the materials are made separately. And since the work doesn’t progress in a fashion that everyone draws all the material together, sometimes the shades or other things can be a bit off. The photography section makes final, elaborate adjustments to make sure that there are no discrepancies between the materials. After that, the scenes are roughly colored one by one, but according to the scene, there can be differences in the shadows or in the sun, and the locations change as well. Fine tuning such things is also done by our section. The job of the director of photography is to gather all the materials done by different departments and finalize them into one cohesive item that is in line with the original plan.

Hirasawa: If I might add, for example, when you, Kaito, watch anime, there must be scenes you might think have a high level of humidity or that distant places look dusty, but that it’s pretty nonetheless. Tuning the atmosphere of a scene, more precisely, what mood does it have, how humid should it look like, how strong the sunlight is, is the job of the photography section, and the one who supervises all this is the director of photography. For instance, mountains or buildings in the distance are a little hazy, aren’t they? It’s called aerial perspective, and in the process of photography, if there is a part we “want to look distant,” they put on a blue filter to make the viewers feel that, and this is how the work is done.

Ishikawa: I see.

Hirasawa: Just like the Gargantia fleet in the opening, by putting on such filters to something that’s far off in the ocean, the viewers will know that it’s enormous. On the contrary, without filters, you wouldn’t able to tell the size, because it’s not like there is a cigarette pack laid sideways to help you guess.

Ishikawa: Yes. And even if there was, it still wouldn’t help a lot (laughs).

Hirasawa: And, like this, in the stage called processing, things like depth, feeling of solidity, and atmosphere become more prominent. For instance, a scene you think looks freezing cold has a subtle white look to it. Things like that are also done by Tanaka one by one.

Ishikawa: Amazing.

Hirasawa: And one more, if it’s only some coloring or CG, it can be added or adjusted in the photography process. Since photography is done on computers, there are a lot of things you can do, and it’s role is growing. For instance, if the drawing is lacking something, you can supplement it with photography. By now, depending on the situation, it has become important to the point that it’s like a second direction. I think that in these times, it has become easier for photography directors to show their distinctive style.

Ishikawa: I see, amazing.

Tanaka: Since all departments work hard, the results can be different, so maybe it’s not even about which part should be strong. From my position, I prefer not to change the materials so much. On the other hand, if even someone who sees it for the first time says, “Did you do something with this?” I feel that I’m doing well. Because only with a little adjusting, the scenes become complete. It’s like getting the fruits of everyone’s hard work closer to perfection, just like cooking.

Ishikawa: Cooking?

Tanaka: Exactly.

Gargantia x Tokyo Otaku Mode Special Site:
http://otakumode.com/sp/gargantia

Source:
http://gargantia.jp/#kaito_3 (Japanese)

© Oceanus / Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet Production Committee