“The VFX of “Dai Nipponjin”” by Matumoto
Conference:
- SIGGRAPH 2008 More animation videos from SIGGRAPH 2008:
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SIGGRAPH Video Review:
Track:
- 07
Title:
- The VFX of “Dai Nipponjin”
Length:
- 3:09
Director(s):
Company / Institution / Agency:
- Casio Entertainment, Inc.
Description:
In “Dai Nipponjin,” Japan’s busiest comedian, Hitosi Matumoto,is recreated as a photorealistic 3D CG character. Creating “virtual actors” has been a challenge in Japan’s stringent production environment, but we created a low-cost, high-performance solution that has been optimized to the Japanese motion picture industry. We created photorealistic actors with a limited number of staff and managed to complete 370 VFX shots in just one year by combining in-house software with hand work and without using expensive methods like facial motion capture.
This is the first time a “virtual actor” or performance-capture style film has been created within the limited production budget typical of Asian films. The merits of this method include reuse of the same character resources for sequels, game development,and other multi-media expansions. It also minimizes the actors’ hours and risks.
Additional Contributors:
Cast:
Dai Nipponjin/Masaru Daisatou: Hitosi Matumoto
Hanerunojyuu: Riki Takeuchi
Manager Kobori: UA
Warabenojyuu: Ryunosuke Kamiki
Shimerunojyuu: Haruka Unabara
Interview Director: Tomoji Hasegawa
Female Niounojyuu: Itsuji Itao
Stay With Me: Hiroyuki Miyasako
Male Niounojyuu: Takayuki Haranishi
Super Justice: Daisuke Miyagawa
Midon: Takuya Hashimoto
VFX Production: Casio Entertainment, Inc.
VFX Director: Hiroyuki Seshita
VFX Producer: Satoshi Okano
Character Supervisor: Taiji Okusawa
Sequence Supervisor: Kenichi Isaka
Composite Supervisor: Teruaki Shiraishi
Technical Supervisor: Michiru Tanaka
Promotion Reel Director: Mitsunori Kataama
Chief Engineer: Naotaka Horiguchi
Chief Character Modeler: Wataru Takahashi
Chief Character Animator: Keisuke Ide
Chief Lighting Designer: Hirokazu Ayukawa
Lead Facial Animator: Azumi Hoshino
Lead Set & Props Modeler: YAMAG
Lead Compositors: Tomotake Ishikawa, Tetsuo Maeda
Scenemaker/Editor: Manabu Suzuki
Hair Dynamics: Gen Ito
Character Animation/Lighting: Nagayoshi Takahashi
Facial Animation/Lighting: Emi Watanabe
Facial Animation/Dynamics: Nobuhiro Tahara, Yuta Iwamoto
Facial Animation: Kouya Sakamoto, Takuya Moriwaki
Modeling/Lighting: Toshiaki Matsumura
Lighting: Masayuki Tanaka, Kenji Yamada
Set & Props/Dynamics: Naoya Hagiwara
Dynamics: Kotaro Yamamoto
Composite/Dynamics: Yuya Sugiyama
Composite: Misato Usui, Minori Aoyagi
Painter: Maiko Suzuki
Engineers: Hideki Hadano, Satoshi Higuchi, Kazuki Takahashi
Production: Ryo Ohta, Naoki Takahashi, Misato Usui, Hisashi Morikawa
Photography: Koji Arai
Lighting: Daisuke Watanabe
Lighting Assistants: Isao Asai, Hisakazu Nomura, Takanori Doumae, Tomokazu Ooi
Lighting Support: Taiji Kawashima, Takumi Kobayashi, Tamao Osakabe, Yasuhiro Ohte, Mitsuru Tanaka
3D Scanning: Hiroko Obara
Matte Painter: Rieko Nohara, Ayako Kawawa
Prototype Modeler: Hideki Kuraku
3D Car Model Support: GEAR, T_ABE, makoto, kakomiki, tendo
Technical Support: Satoshi Mima
Transportation: Misao Nemoto
Photographers: Tsunenobu Miyahara, Rei Yamada
image corporation
Producers: Yuichi Furukawa, Takao Namiki
VFX Director: Koichi Isobe
Project Manager: Issei Kimura
VFX Designers: Satoru Yazaki, Huang Jun Hao, Shigeki Sakano, Shinya Kanbe, Daisuke Takei, Amoe Ohba
Compositors: Akihiro Nakamura, Shizuka Okimoto
Flame Editors: Takayuki Ikewada, Tetsuo Shinshi
Font: Shu-ei-tai
Frameworks: Entertainment, Inc.
Chief CG Producer: Katsuyuki Sugimura
CG Producer: Kazuya Nozawa
CG Director: Kensuke Suzuki
CG Designer: Hiroshi Nakajima
CG Production Manager: Daisuke Sato
Created by Hitosi Matumoto
Screenplay: Hitosi Matumoto, Mitsuyoshi Takasu
Associate Planners: Mitsuyoshi Takasu, Tomoji Hasegawa, Mituru Kuramoto
Music: Towa Tei
Associate Producer: Yoshiya Nagasawa
Cinematographer: Hideo Yamamoto
Lighting: Akira Ono
Sound: Mitsugu Shiratori
Production Design: Yuji Hayashida, Etsuko Aikou
Producer: Akihiko Okamoto
Head of Distribution: Teruki Matsumoto
Executive Supervisor: Hisaya Shiraiwa
Production: Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Japan Distribution Shochiku Co., Ltd.
Film Sales Financing: Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Executive Producers: Isao Yoshino, Hiroshi Osaki