-We understand that this is the first animation film you've directed-
-Is that true?
Yes, that's right.
-Please tell us what your main concerns were and where your main focus was.
Well...Let's see... I've created a storyboard for one 30-minute short film before. But in this case, I worked on this film from it's inception. I've been involved from the start when we began writing the script all the way till the end as a director. It has been such a long way, from the beginning to the end and I focused on the big picture of putting it together as one cohesive 80-minute project.
I'm not sure that I've answered your question.
-Sounds like you've put a lot of energy into this project.
That's right. Coming up with a story and making detailed decisions about what type of a home a certain character should live in, for example, and then sketching it, is a lot of work. I would get caught up in the details of the task before me and lose sight of the big picture. It was a lot of work.
- It sounds like you've spent a lot of time on the actuel drawings.
It isn't that I tried to make the drawings sensational as such, but I wanted the drawings to effectively flow smoothly during the 80 minutes of the film. Rather than have one scene stand out, I hoped that the story would be delivered well over the entire 80 minutes.
-As the audience watches this 80-minute film, there seems to be much confusion as to what is really going on and what is imagined, like the scenes with virtual Mima. The audience has to ask themselves whether or not they are watching real images or imaginary ones. The audience has to constantly ask themselves what is going on.
Yes, you are right. We intentionally tried keep the audience guessing. We tried to do this right from the beginning when we were writing the script. Gee, I don't know. I don't think that is too confusing or difficult to understand. Actually, we originally planned to make it easier for the audience to understand what is going on, and then we decided to keep them guessing a little, to draw their own conclusions using their own imaginations. In the end, I think we were right in keeping the audience guessing and leaving them to use their imaginations rather then spelling everything out for them. We wanted to be even more elusive, but the final result wasn't nearly as vague as we had originally intended.
-There are so many quick cuts. Scenes change so quickly from one cut to another that it is somewhat difficult to follow.
To tell you truth, we did not notice it while we were in production. From our point view, we really didn't go out of our way to confuse the viewer. We didn't do anything special or out uf the ordinary. We just did what we would normally do without putting to much thought into it. It was very standard.
-As a director, did some of the scenes turn out differently than what you had visualized or imagined?
No, no at all. The final images are what I visualized them to be. I started out as a painter so I think in terms of visualized drawings from the beginning.
-How involved were you in casting the voice-over actors and actress for this film? Could you comment on how Ms. Iwao was selected for the role of the heroine, Mima?
I didn't know anything about any of actress who auditioned for the role of Mima. All I could do was listen to their demo tapes over and over. It isn't easy to find voice that you feel fits a character perfectly. After listening to Ms. Iwao's demo tape over and over, her voice seemed to match the character the best. I didn't know who she was or anything about her and later found out that she was in fact a very popular voice-over actress whom the rest of the staff had favored. I think we had more tapes of her than anyone else's and after a while, she started sounding like the one.
-Is there a message you tried to deliver through this film?
A message? Well, I'm not sure if there's anything in particular.. Perhaps it would be "losing reality". It is hard to explain, but as I said before, the real-life images and the virtual images come and go quickly in the film. When you are watching the film, you sometimes feel like losing yourself in whichever world you are watching, real or virtual. But after going back and forth between the real world and the virtual world you eventually find your powers. Nobody can help you do this. You are ultimately the only person who can truly find a place where you know you belong. That in essence, is the whole concept. It is rather hard to explain. One little thing in your life leads to another and things start to fall apart.
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