“The VFX of “Dai Nipponjin”” by Matumoto

  • ©Hitosi Matumoto Casio Entertainment, Inc.

Conference:


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

Animation / Video Overview:


Type: