An interview with Production I.G.

Date: 2013 January 12 15:28

Posted by Priss

Returning for the second time in 2012, the fourth Hyper Japan festival in November welcomed thousands of visitors to Earls Court for a three day extravaganza of entertainment. The event flourishes every time with an array of Japanese cultural experiences, encompassing fashion, film, games, cuisine and of course anime and manga for people to see.

For anime fans, this Hyper Japan was host to an astounding public event - a panel chaired by Helen McCarthy in which Production I.G. President & CEO Ishikawa Mitsuhisa was joined by esteemed anime critic Hikawa Ryusuke. It was an exciting opportunity to gain unique insight into the Japanese animation industry from one of today's greatest studios and a major modern figure in Japanese cultural criticism.

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Production I.G. are renowned for their technical innovation in animation and their portfolio boasts a myriad media including games, films, animated sequences for live action movies and great TV anime. They are responsible for all anime adaptations of Shirow Masamune's Ghost in the Shell, Eden of the East, Usagi Drop and work with high profile directors such as Oshii Mamoru.

In their 25th year of business, Production I.G. has made it to a major milestone as a studio, which has given Ishikawa-san time to reflect upon the founding drivers for what built their house style and dictated their animation projects. As the studio has evolved and expanded with success, how can free thought and artistic innovation resist the demands of the commercial marketplace? How does I.G. intend to keep its edge, staying remarkable and never generic? All animation projects need funding to succeed and in the end money is what will make or break an idea.

The web has connected the creative industries throughout the world in ways that have revolutionised the filmmaking on a budget. For the creative industries, this has given new hope to artists who have been tied to the restrictions of ensuring marketability of their product. In recent years, however, there has been a rise in the promotion of artistic ventures and the trend of encouraging public participation in filmmaking through crowd funding.

Crowd funding serves two important functions; for the artist, it gives a concept that has no chance in the mainstream market the potential to exist. For the project backers, helping to fund a production gives a unique sense of ownership. As backers are given exclusive updates and insight into the workings of the project as it progresses, it is an exciting and promising platform for the future of independent filmmaking.

My first encounter with the crowd funding film phenomenon was with the announcement that animator Yuasa Masaaki had launched a project on Kickstarter.