Long interview with Kosuke Nakanishi, Director of Photography! (The 15th "Inside Man" of anime and games)

This series brings you the real voices of creators active in the animation and game industry. In this 15th installment, we introduce Mr. Kosuke Nakanishi, Director of Photography. The pop and unique opening animation of "Haruka Nogizaka's Secret," the exquisite parodies of "Baka to Test to Summoner" and "Norin," and the dynamic magic effects of "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya" are all made possible by Nakanishi's cinematography skills. Mr. Nakanishi, who is also the art director of Asahi Productions, continues to pursue new possibilities in animation photography. In this article, he talks about his influences, his career, his commitment to his work, the qualities and abilities required of a cinematographer, and his goals for the future.

A cinematographer who also handles 3DCG

Thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed by Akiba Research Institute. First of all, I am afraid to ask a basic question, but what kind of work is it to shoot animation?

Kosuke Nakanishi (hereafter, Nakanishi): It is a job in which the cel (the drawing of the moving parts), which is colored by the finisher, and the BG (the drawing of the background), which is drawn by the background artist, are combined and assembled into a picture based on a blueprint called a time sheet.

Nakanishi: Is it correct to say that you are also responsible for adjusting the color and light of the entire screen?
Nakanishi: Yes, that is correct. Most of my work involves filtering, but I often respond to requests from the director by creating a slanting effect for evening scenes or a sepia tone for recollections. There are some things that are not quite right, such as the shape of the shadows and the lighting, which only become apparent when the cell is placed on the BG, so I adjust these things during the shoot.

For the "Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya" series (2013-16), we did not use filters for the most part, but only blended the cells a little. It was difficult because I had to do it for each cut, but I had wanted to try it for a long time. I had to do it one shot at a time, so it was difficult.

Nakanishi: Do you have any advice on composition or camera work?

Nakanishi: Sometimes I follow the instructions of the animators and directors, and sometimes I correct them if the picture is not strong enough or if it is not in line with the director's intentions.

Tadashi Nakanishi: According to a past interview, you worked on "ILYA" as a scene reference, CG effects, and 2D effects.

Nakanishi This is... this was taken up largely because of the special nature of this composition. 2D effects have been ordered for a long time, but it is not usual for a filming to do CG effects. I thought, "If we can do CG effects in the shooting, we can add various effects to the final line," so I had a close meeting with Mr. 3D and we did it. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to get closer to the CG effects used in ufotable's "Fate/Zero" (2011-12), so I consulted with SILVER LINK.

Tadashi Nakanishi: Do you think that the idea of "filming that also handles 3DCG" will take root in the future?

Nakanishi: In live-action and Hollywood movies, there is a proper position called "VFX" (editor's note: short for "visual effects"), but in the case of animation, there is no such position because the filming began in analog. I think we are now paying the price for our ambiguity.

The term 3DCG does not mean that I can do all rigging, modeling, animation, and CG effects. In the future, I hope to be able to separate filming into compositors and effectors.

Nakanishi: In "Nourin" (2014), you are a "technical director.

Nakanishi This is another ambiguous position in the animation industry, or rather, it is a title that changes from film to film. I was asked, "How should I put it on the staff roll? The cinematographer is our director of photography, Tomonori Teramoto, and I am in charge of determining the workflow, cell processing, and some very heavy cuts. For example, I was allowed to work on Yukatan's live scene at the beginning of the first episode, and I created the effects for the musical notes and hearts.

Aiming for "the director's request + α

Are there any expressions you are good at? Are magical girls your specialty?

Nakanishi: I have become good at magic effects (laughs). When I first joined the company, I was put in charge of "Twin Princesses of the Mysterious Planet" (2005-06), which was unusual at the time in that all the special moves were processed by filming and there was no animation. I was in charge of the series for a year and a half, so I thought about my own approach to the transformation scenes and tried various approaches. Since then, I have been asked to work on many magical girl stories, and this is where I am today.

In terms of expression, I am actually better with natural elements such as rivers, lapping waves, water, and fire. When I was in college, I was originally interested in mad painting (a technique for combining live-action images with backgrounds). Recently, I was given the opportunity to work on a photorealistic film called "Slaughterhouse Organ" (2017), which was a lot of fun.

I also sell my expression, which is not to respond 100% to the director's request, but to add something extra. When I am asked to do something like this, I don't just say, "This is how I want it," but rather, "This is how I want it, but I can also do something like this," which I try to present. Sometimes I get a "What the heck is this? (laugh), but I always want to challenge myself in this way.

Nakanishi: What works have influenced you?

Nakanishi: I like live-action films, and recently I have been inspired by Alejandro González Iñárritu's "The Revenant: The Return of the Dead. I often watch films in which cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki participates. I also like "No Country" by the Coen Brothers, "Interstellar" and "The Dark Knight" by Christopher Nolan, and "Hidden Memories" by Michael Haneke. I like films shot on film, and I also like cosmology and quantum mechanics, like "Interstellar.

Some of my old influences are Frank Darabont's "The Shawshank Redemption," Ridley Scott's "Alien," and David Fincher's "Seven. I've been interested in them since I was a kid, even in terms of the filmmaking. The opening shot of "Seven" was so shocking that I wondered, "How can they make something like that? I wondered.

I also use live-action films and Marvel films as reference for creating effects. I also use "Houdini" (the name of 3DCG software), and I tend to watch films that use it.

Among Pixar's 3D animated films, I love "Remy's Delicious Restaurant" directed by Brad Bird, which I watched every day when I bought the DVD. As for Japanese animation, my favorite is Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" (1988). I also saw the art book, and I thought I was out of my mind when I saw that there were drawings with aiueo references (laughs). (Laughs.) I was shocked to think that even the scene where the glass breaks was all drawn.

The film that got me started in the industry was "Samurai Champloo" (2004), directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, and Kazuhiro Yamada of Asahi Productions was the director of photography. It was not in black and white, but I thought it was cool how he reduced the saturation as much as possible. After that, I worked with Mr. Yamada on "Slaughterhouse".

Who is your target?　I see that you have Tokumitsu Kifune's name on your Twitter page.

Nakanishi I am a graduate of the Kifune Seminar at Tokyo Zokei University. At the time, the university did not have an animation major, but I heard that Mr. Kifune was teaching an animation class, so I joined the seminar.

During the first seminar, we were given a tour of an animation studio, and we visited Sunrise's "Steamboy" studio. I was very happy to meet Director Otomo wearing an "Akira" T-shirt at the entrance (laugh), but I was also quite shocked when I saw the digital artwork being created there.

In terms of creating pictures, my target person is Mr. Yamada. I use Mr. Lubecki as a reference for my artwork, but I shoot animation digitally, and I don't hold a camera like a live-action cinematographer. However, I would like to try my hand at shooting animation in one cut someday.

Nakanishi: Was your participation in the film an offer from the director?

Nakanishi: I started receiving offers after I finished "Nogizaka Haruka's Secret" (2008-09). I am still friends with director Munenori Nawa and the "Nogizaka" staff. I have been working with director Shin Onuma since "Baka to Test to Summoner" (2010-11). I have always been good at photo-realistic works, but being able to participate in the works of directors Nawa and Onuma has allowed me to expand my range of expression.

Since it has only been a decade or so since the digitalization of animation filming, I am still in a state of exploration to see how far I can go. Therefore, I always give myself some kind of challenge so that I can do what I am not able to do now by the time I am done. I would like to work on female-oriented works if I am asked to do so.