Project details report
Producer Yoshinobu Nishizaki
We interviewed a talented producer who is the instigator of the “anime” world. What is the role of the producer in leading to success?
A producer’s job
The first thing to do is planning. Along with this is the promotion business, distribution publicity. In my case, the basic draft for entering the production stage of the work is that I make my own products, but not all producers necessarily do so. I create the original draft of the story myself, so in the credits for planning, draft, and production, the title “Executive Producer” enters the picture.
Even if it’s an original idea, that’s not enough. The story is developed and a script is created by the script writer, director, and producer. Next comes the storyboarding stage, when I attend script meetings. These involve a storyboard man to convey his sensibilities. The definitive draft of the script is ready when the storyboard man submits a storyboard, and the director and I check it. At that stage, I give my own instructions for every shot, and of course the director also gives his. We put them together and come up with a total direction. This is what is important in the storyboard stage.
Also, in my case, I decide on the music at that stage. There are surprisingly few directors and producers who are familiar with the field of music.
There are two types of producers
The term “producer” varies from person to person. I am the opposite type of Haruki Kadokawa. Even though we both have the urge and intention to create a work of art, what comes next is different. He is someone who does not go into the field. Of course, he will oversee the total project, but he leaves the filming and such to the director. In the meantime, he focuses his efforts on distribution and publicity. In other words, he is a highly promotional producer.
On the other hand, I am rather the opposite. I think you can say that I am a highly creative and direct producer. In any case, the producer is the person with overall responsibility for the work. Not just the promotional aspect, even though that is a given, but ultimately the quality of the work. In other words, we must be responsible for all aspects of the product, including the content.
In Japan, people who are called “producers” are considered “executive producers.” Few people work independently. If you join a film company, there is no risk to your personal funds because the company provides the money. Therefore, even if you are fairly familiar with the content of the work you’re creating, the distribution, promotion, and marketing are done by a different section of the company. Then you don’t really fall into the category of producer. I think that’s one way to put it.
To sum it up, producing is a creative field (pertaining to the content of the work) and a promotional field (distribution and publicity), and I think we should be responsible for both. That’s what an executive producer is all about. However, the extent of authority depends on the individual’s personality.
How to arrange things according to your personality
I am the type of person who demands my own flavor in my work. I don’t often use other people’s original works. Wansa-kun was an Osamu Tezuka character, but the story itself is original. Triton of the Sea has the theme of Blue Triton, and although I used the same character, the actual story itself is original. And when it comes to Yamato, it is 100% original.
It varies depending on the person. Some people leave everything to the director and writer once they’ve hired them. That’s fine. That kind of approach reflects a director’s personality. It is also a method to bring out the artist’s personality in a different way. But I’m the type of person who demands my own flavor, so when it comes to the construction of my works, everything in it has to be unified.
To be more specific, I check the key points of the story during the drawing stage. For example, the way Kodai holds Yuki Mori in his arms. I have an idea that I really want to express this way. I don’t like it if I don’t depict it with my own sensibilities. Then, with the director’s permission, I speak to the illustrators. I discuss the story with the person who draws it. In reality, the director and the animators decide on the direction of the work and create it, but I’m in charge of it.
I step in where I think I can have a good influence. I have strong feelings about Dessler, not just for the man-woman relationships. This is the kind of thing we do with Dessler, this is the kind of gesture he makes at such and such a time. I will discuss this with the animator.
In the scene where Susumu Kodai holds a dying Yuki Mori, he puts his hand on her hair. When Mamoru Kodai and Starsha remain on Iscandar, the same kind of gesture is used in the scene. As for why they he puts his hand on her hair, Kodai and Yuki Mori have a close relationship. So I’m thinking about it with that premise.
Animators aren’t particularly good at understanding the subtleties between men and women. (Laughs) Well, that’s part of the reason. There are times when I go into such details. In cases like this, there is no limit to how far the producer can go. It depends on the person’s personality. There is no such thing as 100% perfection. But the most basic thing to do is to plan. I am responsible for promoting the project and ultimately turning it into a video work. The question is how to express one’s own flavor in the midst of such a situation.
CAPTION: Susumu Kodai, Yuki Mori, and Chief Engineer Tokugawa and others. The spirit of Space Battleship Yamato
is a “challenge” in the conceptual sense. It can be said to have been born out of the image of teenage youth.
Producer and director as a kind of married couple
What happens when a director, who is a direct-oriented person like me, is attached to a producer who has a strong flavor of his own? There are two ways to handle this. One is to let the director’s individual personality assert itself freely. In either case, the common denominator is that the producer decides, “Which director should I get to make this film?” In principle, the director who is hired will work with the script writer under the producer’s umbrella to create the basis for the film. Once the production stage begins, the director is 100% in charge.
On the other hand, if the director’s own sensibilities and those of the producer do not match, the producer has the authority to dismiss them. However, we discuss it well in advance to avoid such a situation. The producer and the director play a kind of married couple. It is important to create a situation that makes it easy for the director to work.
There are various types of producers. Some have a strong direct orientation while others may leave it entirely up to the director when it comes to the production stage. Normally, once filming begins, it would be logical to leave everything to the director. With a few exceptions, directors are often stronger than producers in the world of Japan’s film industry. They think about things in different ways and have a deep grasp of the content. To put it bluntly, producers can’t always do it right. Especially in the case of a salaryman producer, because there’s also the fact that he’s not paying for it himself.
You can’t say, “If you don’t like it, get off the train” or “I hired you because this is what I want to create.” Directors are now falling into the category of producers. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. However, in Japan, planning often comes from the director. If you’re going to go that far, you should really just call them “producer/director.” Instead, the title is simply “supervisor.” I say this even though I’m in the producer field. That’s why the work of some directors comes out very strongly.
Producer requirements
It’s a little difficult to say whether it’s aptitude or not. Lately, I’ve been getting the feeling that it’s probably personality that makes a difference. After all, there are many different types.
First of all, I guess you have to have a deep desire. Like a desire for everything. Second, the ability to divide vertically. In other words, to put it simply, a producer’s work is broad in scope, I don’t think it is possible without the ability to organize and put it all together. Third, do you have something to say or not? This is also important. What do you want to create yourself?
It is not that we make things because we want to make money. If I were to say that I have a particularly strong will, then being a producer is a way of life within yourself. Whether you are a producer or a writer, a work of art is created from your daily life. With that as a premise, it means to have a desire for all things.
If I were to talk about Yamato, the most important thing for teenagers to cherish is falling in love with someone for the first time. The other thing is a sense of one’s own potential for the future. These two things are the basis of ideas, and they are also the basis of optimism about the future of humanity. From this form of love came Space Battleship Yamato.
If you think about what comes next, you will be in your middle teens. After 16 to 17 years old, the next generation is 17 to 21 or 22 years old, from high school to university. Even though they’re beginning to experience social constraints, there are people who never give up on their own dreams.
So what is Yamato in the conceptual sense? In the largest sense, it would be “challenge.” But the content of youth can change. A more vivid image of youth depicts that you will fail, get frustrated, and make mistakes. Such things are not found in the form of Yamato. I think that would be something different.
There is also a difference between the age of family upbringing and the age of consciousness. I wouldn’t be able to make Space Battleship Yamato if I still thought about things based on my age of upbringing. Some people can’t get away from their family age. It’s just a matter of the person’s characteristics.
Although Yamato is certainly one of the pillars in my mind, on the other hand, there is the feeling that Yamato won’t be around forever. The children who grow up with Yamato will eventually reach the age of 20 and 25, and will be young adults. They may change in their late 20s, or in their 30s. There are always things that change within you.
In such a situation, a producer must continue to have desire. I still have a lot to absorb, even now, when I’ve turned 50. I will no longer be able to picture myself in my 40s. Therefore, I think we have to keep improving our own “eyes for seeing.”
(Text extracted from interviews)