SUZUKI TOSHIO - Creative Leader Interview (Studio Ghibli)

[OwenWelsh]

A very interesting interview with Suzuki Toshio, a creative leader at Studio Ghibli. I think his philosophies explain a lot about why traditional animation is still thriving in Japan. What do you guys think?

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[KlarkKentThe3rd]

Wow! He said nothing new!

And what's "tojo"???

[jeremyhopkins]

I think his philosophies explain a lot about why traditional animation is still thriving in Japan. What do you guys think?

Partially but what Suzuki mentions at the end is the most disconcerting problem. I think what he's referring to is houdou which is when Japanese mass media promotes an individual who does something great and inspires others to become involved. If a Japanese team does well at the Olympics, they receive a lot of media attention and that encourages others to join the sport and build sport facilities that focus on that event. The problem that Studio Ghibli has is that Miyazaki's work is so great that others feel like they can't compete. Even if a movie is released by a different director, the general Japanese audience associate Ghibli with Miyazaki and believe it is his work. If they could find and promote one great new animation director that shows that others can match the success and quality of Miyazki, then other Japanese students might be willing to follow in his footsteps. That's one of the reasons why Miyazaki has started his student training programs and studio ghibli is promoting a new, younger director. They need to find suitable replacements. It may seem like animation is thriving in Japan because hand drawn work is still being done but there are some serious problems with the workforce that needs to be addressed. Yoshifumi Kondo, one of the other top Ghibli directors/animator worked himself to death shortly after Princess Mononoke was released.

[Rodney]

At about 6:09 the interviewer asks a question about keeping people motivated and interested in a project. Always a good topic to discuss.

Suzukisan speaks of the initial interest that can be expected in a project as well as the inevitable downturn in motivation and interest after time passes. In the case of Ghiblis feature films he cites approximately two years.

I'd love to hear more from Suzukisan about Storybuilding as that is certainly a key area of interest. The effect project leaders have on the timely build up and dissemination of storybuilding elements has much to do with keeping people motivated past a projects continuation to its ultimate completion.

The camera moves were a bit strange and distracting in this video... (The camera followed Suzukisan's hands when he was looking at them in his lap... it was like he was referring to a card in his hand). Perhaps some of that was related to the third person off screen translation issues. Still, it was a nice little interview. Thanks for posting it Owen!

[Sidney]

I thought he was reading a card too or maybe a translater.
Awefully distracting when your interviewee is looking on the ceiling for answers and looking to his palms when being asked a question. But that's just me.

[Dave]

I thought he was reading a card too or maybe a translater.
Awefully distracting when your interviewee is looking on the ceiling for answers and looking to his palms when being asked a question. But that's just me.

I find many artists to be introverted by nature. Perhaps he was nervous and not used to the limelight. I liked the interview; I was focused on the content of the answers rather than the demeanor of the interviewee. I give him a big Two-Thumbs-Up

[johncbeggs]

I agree with you Dave! this guy was giving all the signs of being uncomfortable and not acting Confident, avoiding eye contact!

- but displaying confidence is very important even if you don't feel it!

[joedorsey]

Thanks Owen for the vid. I like what he had to say about promotion and how to approach it. Marketing seems to be a very tricky business.