Mamoru Oshii, the well-known anime director, launched a new five-hour course in collaboration with Naro, dedicated to filmmaking, story and world-building, longevity in the film industry, and more. In “Director’s Analysis” sessions he also breaks down key moments and methods from his own works, including Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, and The Sky Crawlers, and more.
Commenting on the course, director Oshii said:
“In theory at least, an anime director’s job is to make films.
But arriving at work, what’s on the proverbial desk to work with? There’s nothing to serve as a base, no background or landscape, no actor to inhabit a character. The tool kit consists entirely of words and whatever images they can conjure up.
That is why I’m so fastidious in how I communicate a film story: an animation director’s destiny is to forever rely on language as the sole basis for filmmaking.
What convinced me of this truth about the vitality of film-telling as a crucial part of directing is that in actuality, there is no other basis for creating film at all. Film-telling is what makes a film possible, and a film finds completion only by being told. And it may be an obvious point, but telling the story of a film requires a listener.
The tough reality is that animation production staff – particularly the animators – typically hate talking about story. Moreover (and this I find surprising), film audiences also seem to only enjoy talking about film in everyday terms.
In my case, it’s not only that I desire viewers to watch my work, but that I desire viewers who talk about my work. No matter where you are in the world, I have faith that these words about my films will find these people.
Because, as someone once said, the net is vast and infinite….”
Oshii has influenced film directors such as James Cameron (particularly on the Avatar series), the Wachowskis (The Matrix), and Steven Spielberg (AI), and his master class will also be of special interest to animation creators, film buffs, and aspiring filmmakers.
The course consists of 20 videos and is available on the Naro website. Naro was founded by Mariko Nishimura and Todd Silverstein who connected around their shared passion for storytelling. Their upcoming courses will please admirers of Japanese culture and include:
- Japan’s Olympic skateboarding team coach, Daisuke Hayakawa
- Zen Priest and head of Shunkoin Temple in Kyoto, Reverend Zaiyu Kawakami
- MIKIKO, the sensational choreographer behind Olympic ceremonies and cutting-edge pop bands
- ULTRAMAN series Director Takeshi Yagi on the “tokusatsu style of filmmaking using giant monsters and heroes
Source: Press Release
