Julie
If you thought being an anime director was all cosplay1) groupies2) and cool action figures, think again3). Turns out it's long, long hours in front of a computer, less-than-fancy convenience store dinners and tons of office all-nighters.
We caught up with the anime director of acclaimed4) Dream Link Entertainment (DLE), Azuma Tani, whose cool name is rivaled5) only by his dedication to creating the best animated films he can. The man recently spent nearly three months locked in his office to complete the recent Glass No Kamen Desu Ga6) film, and for some reason, instead of going on a much deserved vacation, Tani lent us his time to give us a glimpse into the busy, bizarre7) world of an anime director.
What is it like to be an anime director? Give us a day in the life.
When you're making an anime, there are two phases: writing and animating. During production of Glass Kamen, I would wake up around 7:30 or so, watch one of my favorite TV shows, then start writing and drawing. At around 10 a.m., people start showing up in the office, so it gets harder to concentrate on writing. That's when I'd usually switch to animating. My team filters in8) and shows me the work they're doing, so throughout the day people are asking questions. I give directions, tell them what's good and what needs work, etc. I'll go to lunch around 2 p.m. most days. Most of the time I'll grab a bento9) from a convenience store or, if I'm feeling fancy, I'll get ramen10) at a place on the corner near the office.
So you're in the office most of the time?
During production of Glass Kamen, I slept in the office most nights. I'd have dinner at around 10 p.m.—again, ramen or bento—then get back to work. I'd sleep around 2 a.m.
Did you ever get out of the office?
I would go to the recording studio to supervise voice actors a couple of times, but I would leave the office, bike out there, spend just a few minutes listening, give my approval and bike back to the office.
Where did you sleep?
I have a tatami mat I'd lay out on the floor in one of the meeting rooms, and I'd use a plush11) toy of one of DLE's characters as a pillow. When you sleep on the floor, you get itchy12) all over, so it wasn't the most pleasant of sleeping arrangements. Glass Kamen took about three months to complete, and I was in the office the majority of that time—but if you spend too many days in a row13) in the office, you start going crazy. So, towards the end of production, I'd go home most days. But, my wife and kids were always asleep when I got home at night, and I felt bad waking them up in the morning.
So, how often did you get to see your family?
When we were making Glass Kamen, I had dinner with my family once.
谷東
作為一個(gè)動(dòng)漫導(dǎo)演是怎樣的體驗(yàn)?請(qǐng)向我們講述您的一天。
做動(dòng)漫有兩個(gè)階段:寫(xiě)作和繪制動(dòng)畫(huà)。在制作《雖然是玻璃假面》期間,我通常7:30左右起床,看看我最喜歡的電視節(jié)目之一,然后開(kāi)始寫(xiě)作和繪畫(huà)。上午10點(diǎn)左右,人們開(kāi)始來(lái)辦公,因此更加難以聚精會(huì)神地寫(xiě)作。這個(gè)時(shí)候我通常會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)而繪制動(dòng)畫(huà)。我的團(tuán)隊(duì)成員陸陸續(xù)續(xù)地走進(jìn)辦公室,向我展示他們正在做的工作,因此一整天人們都在問(wèn)問(wèn)題。我給出指導(dǎo),告訴他們什么讓我滿(mǎn)意以及什么需要加工等等。在大多數(shù)日子里,我下午2點(diǎn)左右去吃午飯。通常我會(huì)在便利店隨便買(mǎi)一個(gè)便當(dāng),或者如果我心情不錯(cuò),我會(huì)在辦公室附近街角的一家店里吃一碗拉面。
所以您大多數(shù)時(shí)間都在辦公室嘍?
制作《雖然是玻璃假面》期間,大多夜晚我都睡在辦公室里。我通常晚上10點(diǎn)左右吃晚餐——依然是拉面或者便當(dāng)——然后回去工作。我通常在凌晨2點(diǎn)左右睡覺(jué)。
您曾經(jīng)離開(kāi)過(guò)辦公室嗎?
我會(huì)去幾趟錄音工作室監(jiān)督配音演員,但是我會(huì)離開(kāi)辦公室,騎自行車(chē)去那里,只花幾分鐘時(shí)間聽(tīng)演員配音,給出我的嘉許,然后再騎回辦公室。
您在哪里睡覺(jué)?
我有一張榻榻米墊子,我把它鋪在其中一個(gè)會(huì)議室的地板上,然后用DLE公司的一個(gè)動(dòng)漫人物的毛絨玩具當(dāng)枕頭。當(dāng)你睡在地板上的時(shí)候,你渾身都會(huì)覺(jué)得癢,所以這不是最舒適的睡覺(jué)安排?!峨m然是玻璃假面》用了幾乎三個(gè)月才完成,其中的大多數(shù)時(shí)間我都在辦公室——但是如果你連續(xù)太多天待在辦公室里,你會(huì)開(kāi)始發(fā)瘋。因此,在制作的收尾階段,我大多數(shù)時(shí)候會(huì)回家。但是,通常等我晚上到家,我的妻子和孩子們都已經(jīng)睡著了,而且在早上吵醒他們讓我覺(jué)得很抱歉。
那么,您多久見(jiàn)一次家人?
我們?cè)谥谱鳌峨m然是玻璃假面》期間,我和我的家人一起吃過(guò)一次飯。
每一種職業(yè)都有其辛苦和枯燥之處,可沉浸在其中的人卻自有其樂(lè)趣可言。對(duì)于動(dòng)漫導(dǎo)演來(lái)說(shuō),其工作可能不像普通電影導(dǎo)演那樣看上去威風(fēng)凜凜,反而是在電腦前一坐就是數(shù)月,其間辛苦自不必說(shuō)。但做著自己喜歡做的事,這本身就是一種快樂(lè)。
1. cosplay [?k?sple?] n. 角色模仿,利用服裝、飾品、道具以及化妝來(lái)扮演動(dòng)漫作品、游戲或影視劇中的角色。
2. groupie [?ɡru?pi] n. 追星者,狂熱追隨者
3. think again: 表示前面所述是錯(cuò)誤的
4. acclaim [??kle?m] vt. 稱(chēng)贊;贊揚(yáng)
5. rival [?ra?vl] vt. 能與……媲美;與……不分高低;比得上
6. Glass No Kamen Desu Ga: 《雖然是玻璃假面》,改編自美內(nèi)鈴惠的漫畫(huà)作品《玻璃假面》,于2013年4月上映,這里指的是其同名劇場(chǎng)版。文中后面將其簡(jiǎn)稱(chēng)為Glass Kamen。
7. bizarre [b??zɑ?(r)] adj. 異乎尋常的
如果你以為當(dāng)動(dòng)漫導(dǎo)演所要做的一切就只是跟喜歡角色模仿的追星族和酷炫的可動(dòng)人偶打打交道,那你就錯(cuò)了。事實(shí)上,動(dòng)漫導(dǎo)演需要坐在電腦前度過(guò)漫長(zhǎng)的時(shí)光,吃著不那么上檔次的便利店快餐,在辦公室熬過(guò)無(wú)數(shù)個(gè)通宵。
我們好不容易約到廣受贊譽(yù)的DLE動(dòng)畫(huà)公司的動(dòng)漫導(dǎo)演谷東——他的鼎鼎大名只有他那極盡所能創(chuàng)造最好動(dòng)漫電影的奉獻(xiàn)精神才能與之相媲美。他最近(編注:原文發(fā)表于2013年7月)花了將近三個(gè)月的時(shí)間待在辦公室里完成了最新電影《雖然是玻璃假面》的制作,出于某種原因,谷東沒(méi)有去享受一段十分應(yīng)得的假期,而是把他的時(shí)間借給了我們,讓我們得以瞥見(jiàn)動(dòng)漫導(dǎo)演忙碌又不同尋常的世界。