Chapter 859: First Ghibli Production Meeting
April 16th, Monday.
Elffire City, Tokyo Studios HQ.
As usual, the production teams held their Creative Meeting every Friday, where they reviewed their progress from the week.
When the studio was dedicated to producing the SAO Anime, the meeting involved the whole studio. But now that Theo and Ryoko had formed the departments and separated teams for different productions, there was a Creative Meeting for each production. Currently, the studio has two productions in progress.
Theo formed two teams to produce two projects, and they were: a Studio Ghibli movie and a Naruto anime.
The Studio Ghbli movie production was a long-term project, and Theo predicted that they would only be able to finish this project by the end of the year, and there was a big chance that they would only be able to finish this project next year.
Some people might be asking why it took such a long time to finish a 2-hour animation while the Tokyo studio managed to finish several 25 minute anime episodes in a month. There were several explanations for this, one of them was that the style of the Studio Ghibli animations was mostly hand-drawn, and that’s why Studio Ghibli movies on Earth took years and years to finish production. And Theo didn’t want to change the styles of the animation, so the Tokyo Studio managing to finish production in just over one year was only because Theo had most of the script, character designs, storyboards, and other material necessary for the production. Without these, the production would take as long as the studio on Earth took to produce a movie.
Currently, the Ghibli Production Team is only training their drawings according to Theo’s schematics. Theo wanted them to become experts on Ghibli drawing style, so he reserved the first month of production exclusively to train the production team. Theo was aware that sharpening the ax wouldn’t delay the process, but it would only make the process faster.
The Ghibli Production Meeting was scheduled on Friday morning, and the Naruto Production Meeting was scheduled for Friday afternoon. It was done this way for Theo and Ryoko to be able to participate in both meetings. As the ones in charge, they had to participate in both meetings.
08:15 AM, Conference Room C.
This was the first creative meeting of the production, which was because the Ghibli Production only started this week after the whole studio finished the SAO anime production last week.
This meant that the team had been training on the Ghibli drawing style for only one week.
In other words, they hadn’t reached Theo’s standards yet.
The conference room buzzed with anticipation as the Ghibli Production team gathered for their first creative meeting. The team had been hard at work all week, immersing themselves in the unique art style of Studio Ghibli, and they were eager to showcase their progress to their leaders, Theo and Ryoko.
Theo kicked off the meeting, his expression encouraging. "I want to start by saying that I’m impressed by your dedication this week. Learning a new art style is no easy feat, and I know we’ve set a high bar with our goal of mastering the Ghibli aesthetic that I showed you. Remember, this is a journey, and we’re in it for the long haul. Let’s use this meeting to assess our progress and identify areas where we can improve."
One by one, animators presented their drawings, laying them out on the table for Theo and Ryoko to review. The room fell silent as they examined each piece closely.
Before we entered the following part of the meeting, some people might be asking how the animators knew about Ghibli’s art style when Studio Ghibli didn’t exist in this world. The answer was when Theo started the Ghibli Production, he showed them a 5-minute animation in Ghibli style that he produced himself based on one of Ghibli’s movies. And through this short movie, the animators saw the magic of this style. Plus, Theo gave them several drawings that he made himself on Ghibli’s art style.
"This dragon," Theo pointed to a particularly angular creature, "needs more... softness. Look at how Ghibli’s art style uses curves, even in its fiercest beasts. Think about the gentle slope of a hill, even a mountain, and apply that to your forms."
Ryoko gently picked up another drawing. "The forest here feels a little... static. Ghibli’s backgrounds are alive! Imagine the wind rustling through the leaves, the subtle movement of branches. Try adding some implied motion."
"My perspective’s off, I know," admitted Hana, fiddling with her sketch. "It feels too flat."
"That’s alright," Theo reassured her. "Perspective is tricky. Let’s focus on creating depth using layers and overlapping elements. Think about atmospheric perspective too – things farther away should be lighter and less detailed."
"I tried to capture the feeling of loneliness," explained Kenji, pointing to a solitary figure in a vast landscape. "But I think I overdid the emptiness."
Ryoko nodded. "Yes, loneliness in Ghibli isn’t just emptiness; it’s a quiet strength. Perhaps focus on the character’s posture, their expression. Even in solitude, there’s a resilience, a hope."
"I’m struggling with the color palette," another team member confessed. "It always looks... dull."
"Think about the richness of Ghibli’s colors, I showed you guys" Theo suggested. "I used muted tones but with vibrant accents. A dash of a bright color can make all the difference."
"And don’t be afraid to experiment!" Ryoko added. "Try different mediums, different techniques. Find what best captures the spirit of Ghibli."
Theo smiled gently as he examined the artwork. "I want to remind everyone that we are still in the early stages of our journey. The fact that we haven’t reached our goal yet is expected and absolutely fine. It’s all part of the process. Today, I’d like to offer some guidance on how to capture the essence of Ghibli. Let’s start with the basics: the way we draw trees, the subtle use of color, and the importance of negative space."
As the meeting progressed, Theo provided a masterclass in Ghibli-style animation, offering corrections and suggestions with a gentle hand. The team hung on his every word, their notebooks filling with sketches and notes.
His critiques weren’t harsh judgments, but thoughtful explorations of how to better capture the ethereal beauty of Miyazaki’s work – the subtle weight of a character’s movement, the delicate interplay of light and shadow, the expressive power of a single, perfectly placed brushstroke.
Theo wanted them to arm for Miyazaki’s work even though they didn’t know about it.
He showed them how to imbue seemingly simple backgrounds with a sense of wonder, how to create characters that were both relatable and fantastical. He even demonstrated a few techniques, his nimble fingers dancing across the tablet, creating a miniature animated scene right before their eyes.
The air hummed with a quiet intensity as they watched, captivated by his expertise and inspired by his passion. By the end of the meeting, a sense of renewed determination filled the room.
They weren’t just making an animation; they were crafting a dream, and with Theo’s guidance and their unwavering passion, they knew they could bring that dream to life. A palpable excitement buzzed in the air as they began discussing their individual tasks, already brimming with new ideas and a shared understanding of their vision.
The long road ahead no longer seemed daunting, but rather, a thrilling adventure they were ready to embark on together.