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.