Friday 6 June 2014

Arietty Cosplay. How to!





Her dress. In the film, Arrietty wears one of two dresses, one that is brown and white, and one that is red. Her brown and white dress has arm sleeves that cut off at the elbow. Her red dress has arm sleeves that cut off above the bicep. If you do not have a dress of those colors, a skirt and shirt are also optional. She also had a yellow belt across her waist.
Her shoes. Arrietty wore two different types of shoes, both being brown in color. She wore a pair of boots which go up to below her knee, or a simple pair of brown slipper shoes.
Her hair. When in her red dress, Arrietty had an orange clip in her hair, making her hair into a ponytail. If you want to recreate the scene where Arrietty and Sho go their separate ways, or if you are wearing her brown and white dress, skip this. If your hair is a different color, dye it brown.
Her weapon. In the film while sneaking around, Arrietty finds a pin which she uses as a sword weapon. You can build this out of a driveway marker with a styrofoam yellow ball on the end as the handle.

Her backpack. She had a single strap backpack carried on her back with the strap going over the right shoulder. Fill it with things Arrietty would "borrow" like sugar, soaps, or cookies. Also fill it with tools she would use like rope, hooks, or a lantern. Close it shut with a button.

A visit to the Studio Ghibli Museum, Tokyo


This is not perhaps strictly food related…but I’ll make it as food-oriented as possible! Back in early February, my sister Mayumi and I went to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, a suburb of Tokyo. Here’s a brief report, with practical details as to how to get there and so on. I know that many Just Hungry readers are Ghibli fans, so I hope you find it useful.
The Studio Ghibli Museum, officially called the Forest of Mitaka Ghibli Art Museum (三鷹の森ジブリ美術館) is a small yet perfectly formed jewel of a museum. It’s located in a park that’s about a 15-20 minute walk, or 5 minute bus ride, from the Mitaka station. Mitaka is a suburb of Tokyo.
I can’t show you any photos of the inside of the museum, since it has a strict no-photos allowed policy. 
air enough. Still, there are areas within the museum that seem to be crying out for a photo op, such as the fabulous, furry Cat Bus (from Totoro), over which little kids (age limit: 12) scramble in pure glee. Oh well. But it is wise to abide by their rules - there are smiling, friendly yet firm museum attendants stationed all over the place, watching out for rogue cameras.
Fortunately the outside, the rooftop garden and the cafe are not off-limits to cameras. The most prominent photo-op is on the rooftop garden, the giant metal sculpture of one of the Laputa robots from the movie Castle In The Sky:

Behind the Scenes at Studio Ghibli

Whether I am watching Totoro, Studio Ghibli never fails to impress. We are transported to fantasy worlds taking us back to our childhood, introduced to characters that capture our hearts and immersed in stories told to us through stunning, hand-drawn animations. So how do they do it? Let’s take a look behind the scenes at Japan’s top animation studio.
Traditional Hand-drawn Animation
The majority of Studio Ghibli films are made using traditional animation techniques. So what does this mean? EVERY SINGLE FRAME is hand-drawn by animators, before being put together to give the illusion of movement and create the film. This is a very repetitive and time-consuming process but Ghibli believes that “hand drawing on paper is the fundamental of animation”.
Everybody knows that things always take longer than expected. And making films at Studio Ghibli is no exception. Since each frame is hand-drawn, and thousands of frames are needed to create a feature film, the whole process takes a lot of time. The progress of each section is mapped out on a chart to estimate when the film will be completed and delays are not uncommon. In this case, each staff member is assessed and pushed to complete their work faster. Often new employees need to be hired towards the end of production to ensure that the film is completed on time.
Animators have to work long, exhausting hours, often working until after midnight in the final months. They can spend over a year drawing at the same desks! Animators must work efficiently whilst at the same time being very observant and paying attention to every detail in their drawings. It’s a tough job but this balance between speed and quality is essential so that Studio Ghibli can continue to deliver the highest quality films...On time.
Like other films, all Studio Ghibli creations start off as an idea. This idea is then developed into a script outlining the story – including all scenes and dialogue – so that all members of the team are (quite literally) on the same page.
Next, the characters and their costumes need to be worked out. The way the characters dress is used to reveal their personality and place in society, as well as the time period the film is set in.
A storyboard is created from the script. It is to be used as a foundation for all the drawings, illustrating the key frames and basic movements of the film.
Each scene must be sketched out, frame by frame, so that when put together the pictures will move. After this, the drawings are put on carbon sheets before being burnt onto transparent cells.



It’s time to add some colour! After the colour scheme is determined, colours are hand painted onto the cells using watercolours. By using different tones for objects in front of and behind the characters, the image is given extra depth.
The cells are now placed onto their corresponding background and each frame is shot individually. Yes, all this is for just ONE FRAME of the film! But the hard work isn’t over just yet.
There’s still more audio to be recorded. As well as sound effects and background noises, the theme music needs to be created. In this case, there are 28 live musicians in the studio.
The developed film is edited with the cinematic film which contains the audio recordings. These days of course everything is digital!
The film is now ready to be screened to all of the crew members! Months of hard work have led up to this moment. The animators anxiously wait for their cut to appear on screen whilst the director watches their vision finally come to life.

Thursday 5 June 2014

Interview Hayao Miyaki

"I love his films. I study his films. I watch his films when I'm looking for inspiration."
How can he start a film. from real life even watch his friend's daughter, from memory to animation

In Japan, You Can Visit the Totoro House. For Real.

In Japan, You Can Visit the Totoro House. For Real.

A very special visit…


Among all the amazing animated movies Studio Ghibli has produced, Totoro continues to be my personal favorite for a few reasons. Aside from the mastery in design, animation, and story telling led by Miyazaki-sensei, My Neighbor Totoro brings me back to my own childhood every time I watch it.
Walking into Satsuki and Mei’s house felt like walking into a dream in real life. Due to countless times of Totoro screenings, the house seemed extremely familiar as if I’ve been there before. Walking through it brought back favorite moments and chattering between the characters. Opening up their cabinets and unfolding their clothes felt slightly intrusive, but incredibly surreal. I was more than convinced that people lived there.
The house itself was absolutely mind-blowing and felt incredibly genuine. It’s the antithesis of Barbie’s Dream House. In this house, the residents lived a simple and joyful life surrounded by nature. 


In 'Maleficent,' A New Kind Of Disney Princess—Dark, Sexy, Wicked Good

The closing credits of Maleficent” scroll up punctuated by Lana Del Rey singing a breathy, eerie, narcoticized version of Disney’s by-way-of-Tchaikovsky “Once Upon a Dream” “Sleeping Beauty” waltz. Wow.
I suppose we’re intended to take “Maleficent” straight, and come out convinced that she’s been horribly slandered all these years. But I walked out feeling suspicious of such righteous sentiments. I guess I’m just not ready for her to give up the dark side yet. I keep wanting Maleficent to still be so brilliantly, deliciously dastardly that she’s just duped us into thinking she’s really got a heart of gold by funding this self-serving propaganda flick.

Grave of the Fireflies encapsulates so much humanity and beauty

I’ll go ahead and say it: Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Takahata and animated by Studio Ghibli, is the greatest animated film ever made. It is the most haunting, heart-wrenching and tragic tale ever told on film, and that includes live-action films, as well. If you thought Mufasa’s death or Bambi losing her mum was too painful to watch, you haven’t felt true sorrow. But that’s not a fair comparison; the truth is, it is unfair to compare Grave of the Fireflies with the greatest work of Walt Disney or any animated film for that matter. This isn’t a children’s movie, it’s a devastating war film that has the power to make a grown man cry, sob and weep. I’m not ashamed in admitting Grave of the Fireflies brings tears to my eyes every single time I watch it.