LASSETER-SAN ARIGATAŌ (ラセターさん、ありがとう)



This two hour long Documentary narrates the travel Hayao Miyazaki did to the US when he was promoting the release of his latest film Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (千と千尋の神隠し) known in the US as Spirited Away. 

In it, Miyazaki visits John Lasseter, the American filmmaker he met back in 1987 and whose friendship has grown over the years. Lasseter who founded Pixar by that time, stablished a great relationship with Miyazaki, what led to the recent deal between Ghibli and Disney, owner of Pixar since 2006, to release Studio Ghibli films in America. 

The whole film was created on the first hand as a thank letter to Lasseter, hence the title, and was originally a video made just as a personal gift to him, but later, Studio Ghibli decided to release it commercially on DVD under their label:  'Ghibli Ga Ippai Collection Special'

Hayao Miyazaki's Watercolor tips




Translations via: nausicaa.net

My recommendation. Transparent watercolor is good.
"transparent watercolor has a strong habit", "do not paint stickily and paint after wiping the extra paint and water off", "paint thinly the bright part",

"had better not use white", "paint other color after under color has dried",
"let's mix the color and use it."
1. Light the wool which protrudes on a new painting brush.
2. Anything is fine for a water vessel.
3. A retractable knife is enough for the pencil sharpener.
4. One 2B pencil is enough for the pencil.
5. Divide the palette into seven zones: Bright, Dark, Black, Green 1, Green 2, Blue 2, Blue 1.
6. Do not use the eraser.
7. Do not draw a guideline for a picture.
"these painting materials are enough for a 2-week trip and preparations for a movie."

Hard drives in 1980




In 1980 a 10 MB hard drive would cost you adjusted for inflation $9,829. Thats $983 per MB. Today with that money you can buy 96 hard drives with a storage capacity of 3TB each. Making a total of 288 million MB storage capacity with a cost per MB of $0.000034. If the price per MB had been maintained for the last 34 years, todays 3TB hard drives would cost one billion dollars. That's the price of two Airbus A380 planes or the Chicago Cubs franchise.

Yume to kyōki no ōkoku (夢と狂気の王国)


This documentary directed by Mami Sunada brings the spectator to the center of the three year long process that went on the creation of the latest animation film by Studio Ghibli directed by the master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki: Kaze no Tachinu (風立ちぬ).

It's not the first time that Miyazaki provides full access to a documentary maker to his daily life, but this time Sunada, digs a little deeper in the filmmakers most personal details. Nevertheless, the in and outs of the making of the film are the centerpiece of this documentary as Miyazaki has spend most of his last fifty years of his life behind the drawing desk.

Kaze Tachinu was released in Japan on July 20, 2013, and Yume to Kyōki no Ōkoku (夢と狂気の王国) known outside Japans as the THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS AND MADNESS was released theatrically on November 16, 2013.  Soon after Miyazaki at age 72 announced his retirement from his Studio Ghibli's day to day tasks, to focus on other projects related with the Ghibli Museum. Miyazaki founded Studio Ghibli together with Isao Takahata in 1984 and ever since, he has created all his animation films in there.

The documentary was released this last May 21st on  Blu-ray and DVD  in Japan and it includes English subtitles.

Satoshi Kon - Editing Space & Time by Tony Zhou




Tony Zhou is creating remarkable video analysis of the way film directors think and work. His last addition focuses in the animation works of Satoshi Kon. An excellent piece to appreciate the artistry of this Japanese director that sadly passed away a few years ago at the age of 46.

INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE directed by Lisanne Pajot & James Swirsky



Indie Game: The Movie a 2012 released documentary directed by Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky that follows the trajectories of various indie game developers in their way to publishing their independently created video games.

Available in Amazon: US