Animation Industry Watching No.36: Director Shinji Aramaki Talks about Why He Sticks to 3DCG and Motion Capture

Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki will direct another anime adaptation of "Ghost in the Shell." ...... Such news hit the Internet in April of this year. Two months later, SOLA DIGITAL ARTS Inc., the production studio where director Shinji Aramaki serves as CCO, began posting job ads.
SOLA DIGITAL ARTS' new studio, which is taking on a new project, is even equipped with a motion capture studio. We asked Director Aramaki, who is currently working side-by-side with Director Kamiyama on preparations for "Ghost in the Shell," about the company's past and future prospects.

Behind the Scenes of Building a Studio and Making a Film at the Same Time

─ ─ Since "APPLESEED" (2004) and its sequel "EX MACHINA" (2007; hereinafter referred to as "EX MACHINA"), Director Aramaki has been working on a series of films. Since "APPLESEED" (2004) and its sequel "EX MACHINA" (2007), you have consistently directed 3DCG animated films, haven't you? Little by little, it seems that the number of foreign-capital works is increasing?

Aramaki: This is largely due to the fact that projects from overseas have come in at the right time, and I myself feel that I am able to do what I want to do more with works for the overseas market than for the Japanese domestic market. The current production system was established when I was offered the project "Starship Troopers: Invasion" (2012) by Sony Pictures. When I was working on "Halo Legends" (2010), Joseph and I were talking about how it was time for us to have our own studio. It started there, and when "Starship Troopers" was actually decided, we established our current studio (SOLA DIGITAL ARTS Inc. In the beginning, we rented a studio but didn't have any production staff. We had no choice but to create artworks and launch the studio simultaneously. Through chance encounters and through word of mouth, we gradually gathered a staff.

─ When I look at Director Aramaki's films, I get the impression that you have about half of your staff from Japan and half from overseas.

Aramaki: We had some help from CG companies in Korea, Canada, and Hong Kong, but I think the production base for "Starship Troopers Invasion" was almost 80% to 90% Japanese.


─ ─ Surprisingly, "SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK" (2013) was released the year after "Starship Troopers".

Aramaki: "Captain Harlock" was not produced by SOLA, but by Toei Animation and Marza Animation Planet. When this project started, SOLA did not exist yet. Since we started working on the project around 2009, the actual production of "Starship Troopers" and "Starship Troopers" overlapped with each other. We had to work on both films while also organizing our own studio, which was a difficult situation.