Chapter 282 Paying out of pocket
Kawakubo Shintaro drove and took Zhang Wei to the Pig Society.
While driving, Shintaro Kawakubo introduced: "The president of ProductionI.G, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, is the son-in-law of Tatsuo Yoshida. Have you heard of Tatsuo Yoshida?"
"No." Zhang Wei shook his head: "Is he a well-known person in the Japanese animation industry?"
"Yes, he is the founder of Tatsunoko Studio and the eldest son of the Yoshida family. In the field of Japanese animation, Yoshida The family should be regarded as a godfather-level figure," Kawakubo Shintaro continued to introduce.
"I've heard of Tatsunoko Studio, it's quite famous."
"Of course, Tatsunoko Studio is equivalent to Tokiwa-so in the animation world, but Tokiwa-so has been replaced by Tokiwa-so. It was demolished, but Tatsunoko Studio is still there.”
Tokiwaso is an apartment in Toshima District, Tokyo. This area was not originally part of the old Tokyo city, but belonged to North Toshima County, and later Tokyo. After the city expanded its administrative area, this area was included in the scope of Tokyo City.
During the shogunate period, there were many temples and shrines in Toshima District, so it also became a cultural and religious gathering place. This situation continues to this day, and many people engaged in the cultural industry work here. , or live here.
In the early 1950s, Japan ushered in an economic recovery, and Japanese industry quickly returned to its pre-war level. It was also at this time that a 25-year-old young cartoonist felt that the factories in urban Tokyo It was too noisy for him to create in peace, so he moved to Tokiwaso Apartment in Toshima Ward. Although the environment here is not elegant, it is very quiet and there are no factories around. It is very suitable for signing hearts and creating creations.
This cartoonist is Osamu Tezuka. He created the classic cartoon "Astro Boy" in Tokiwaso, and also shook up the chain of the entire animation industry in Japan.
At that time, the circle of Japanese cartoonists was not large. When other cartoonists learned that Osamu Tezuka was working here, they came here one after another. They also felt that the creative environment of Tokiwa-so was very good, so they lived here. Come down.
This includes Fujiko Fujio and Fujiko F Fujio, which means that Doraemon and Nobi Nobita were born here.
There is also Shotaro Ishimori, whose "Kamen Rider" series has a great influence in Japan. The dynamic Superman in Crayon Shin-chan is based on Kamen Rider.
Because Tokiwaso has produced many famous cartoonists, it is also regarded by the Japanese as a holy land of comics. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 1982 to build the Shinkansen. Later, as Japan's animation industry gradually grew, the Tokyo city government rebuilt a Tokiwa-so apartment nearby, coupled with a manga street, and turned it into a tourist attraction.
If Tokiwa-so is the mecca of Japanese comics, then Tatsunoko Studio is the mecca of Japanese animation.
Although Tatsunoko Studio has not produced many excellent works like Toei, it has provided many top talents for Japanese animation, such as the Clown Club that produced "Naruto" and "Bleach" , which was independent from Dragon Son Studio.
The Zhushe that Zhang Wei is visiting this time was originally a production branch of Dragon Son.
In addition, Kunio Okawara, the producer of the Gundam series, Mamoru Oshii, the producer of the Lucky Boy series, and Yoshitaka Amano, the art designer of the Final Fantasy game, all used to be from Tatsunoko Studio.
These are all seniors in Japanese animation production. Today’s Japanese animation producers are basically the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of Tatsunoko Studio.
The president of Inosha, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, is the son-in-law of the founder of Tatsunoko Studio. This qualification alone is enough to gain a place in the animation industry in Japan, a rigid society.
After arriving at Zhushe, Zhang Wei met Mitsuhisa Ishikawa smoothly.
Ishikawa Mitsuhisa is about fifty years old. He looks like an ordinary Japanese and dresses like a standard middle-aged Japanese social beast. If you go to a Japanese subway station during rush hour and look for office workers who are around fifty years old, nine out of ten of them will be of Mitsuhisa Ishikawa's character.
When business came to his door, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, a man in his fifties, was respectful and nodded towards Zhang Wei, a young man in his twenties. Not only did he not have any ideological baggage, but he was extremely sincere. .
This is easy to understand. Over the years, Zhushe has been doing things here and there, basically not accomplishing anything. He is still relying on the money he earned from "Ghost in the Shell". Now he finally has a Kodansha's top work came over, of course, and I treated him well and tried to win the project.
Mitsuhisa Ishikawa introduced the animation production team of Zhushe to Zhang Wei, and looked at the comic works produced in recent years. Zhang Wei also put forward a few of his own requirements. Mitsuhisa Ishikawa said there was no problem and he would definitely be able to do it.
The next step is the bargaining process.
Ishikawa Mitsuhisa's quotation for the "Giant" animation is 20 million yen per episode. Shintaro Kawakubo felt that the price was too high and said that Kodansha was only willing to pay 15 million yen.
"Ishikawa-kun, the production fee of 20 million yen per episode is really too high. The production fee for each episode of "One Piece" is only 10 million yen." Shintaro Kawakubo said.
"So the production quality of "One Piece" is not very good. Many places are simply slides, which is far worse than "Naruto". This is not only obvious to everyone in the industry, but also to many viewers. Think.”
"But the production cost of "Naruto" is only 14 million yen per episode."
"That is when there is no fighting, you can use 8 frames per second, calculated at 1,300 yen per frame If so, the cost of one second is 10,400 yen, one minute is 624,000 yen, and an episode is 25 minutes long. If the opening and ending credits are removed, the production cost can indeed be controlled to 14 million yen per episode. But if there are fights, it will be different. No, 14 million yen is not enough.”
“That’s why I’ll give you 15 million yen per episode!” Kawakubo Shintaro continued.
"Kawakubo-kun, we have known each other for more than 20 years. I'm not lying to you. 15 million is really not enough. I just said that when there is no fighting, you can use 8 frames per second, but If there is fighting, you need to use 18 frames per second. Some more intense and fast-paced fighting scenes even need to use 24 frames per second.
Calculated at 1,300 yen per frame, 24 frames is 31,200 yen. , just one minute of fighting costs 1.87 million yen. If there is five minutes of such fighting, that is 9.35 million yen! You only give me a budget of 15 million yen for one episode. What do you want me to do? ? Full slide show? ”
"Okay, then I'll add a little more, 16 million yen per episode!"
"No, the minimum is 19 million yen."
"Then I'll give you another 500,000 yen, 1650 Ten thousand!”
“It’s not impossible to do it at 16.5 million, but some of the battle scenes may have to be reduced in effect. Can you accept it?”
“No! The effect of the animation must be guaranteed!" Zhang Wei said first.
"If you want to ensure the effect, 18 million episodes is the bottom line!" Ishikawa gave the final quotation.
Kawakubo Shintaro shook his head: "No, our Podium Club's maximum debut is 17 million, which is already the limit of our budget."
"17 million is okay, but in some scenes The content may need to be streamlined, such as cutting into close-up shots, and omitting some combat actions. In this case, although it is just lacking some perfection, if the audience is not picky, it should be acceptable," Ishikawa said.
Listening to the two bargaining, Zhang Wei sighed helplessly. He had long heard that animation was expensive, but now he finally experienced it for himself.
In an era without AI assistance, it was indeed very expensive to make a high-quality cartoon.
For example, the production cost of many of Hayao Miyazaki's movies and theatrical versions of well-known animations is no less than that of a big-screen movie.
For example, the production cost of "Spirited Away" was 2 billion yen. At that time, in 2001, 2 billion yen was equivalent to 140 million yuan. In the same year, the production cost of Stephen Chow's "Shaolin Soccer" was only HK$60 million, which also included the cost of special effects.
Also in the same year, Director Feng's "Big Shot" invited foreigners and was shot in the Forbidden City. It cost 3 million US dollars, which was 24 million yuan according to the exchange rate at the time. . "Spirited Away" could make six "Big Shots" movies.
To put it this way, making cartoons is more expensive than making movies.
In 2007, the production cost of each episode of popular cartoons was generally between 10 million yen and 15 million yen. At that time, the animation of "One Piece" was always criticized because the production company Toei was too stingy. To save money, the production is too shoddy, and often the characters don’t know how to move their mouths.
In "Naruto", the Battle of Pein is the most expensive episode to produce. The battle between Naruto and Pein took a full 10 minutes and 24 frames. The production cost of this episode was over 30 million yen.
The animation of "Attack on Titan" is so exquisite, and naturally it is also a big money-burner. For example, the first time Eren actively transformed into a giant was a 40-second long shot, constantly showing various arrows and bamboos. Rushing through, changing the perspective, and finally transforming into a giant and landing on the ground, the production cost of 10 million yen was spent in 40 seconds.
Also because of production costs, many domestic animations use 3D technology.
Without AI assistance, 2D animation requires painters. For a cartoon of more than 20 minutes, it is normal for more than 20 painters to be busy for four or five days. Just for these more than twenty painters, the cost will definitely not be low.
3D animation only requires modelers. If you do a good job in 3D modeling, it will be much easier later. Domestic 3D modelers are plentiful, cheap, and have pretty good skills. Relying on high-quality 3D technology, the cost of animation per minute can be reduced to 3,000 to 5,000 yuan. An episode of cartoons can be done for 100,000 yuan. The more well-made ones only cost 200,000 to 300,000 yuan.
To put it into perspective, the cost of one episode of domestic animation is only one-tenth of that of Japan. It costs Japan to make one episode, but China can make one season. How can Japan compete with you?
So the rapid rise of domestic animation in recent years is also a historical necessity.
......
Kawakubo Shintaro and Ishikawa Mitsuhisa bargained for a long time, and finally set the price at 17 million yen per episode.
Kodansha was able to offer this price, which can be regarded as sincerity. After all, the average production cost of each episode of the three major comics at that time could not reach this price.
Obviously, Kodansha is willing to pay so much production fee, and also hopes to make a turnaround with "Giant".
However, Zhang Wei was not satisfied. He felt that since he had to do something, he should try his best.
"It seems that the two of you have reached a consensus." Zhang Wei smiled slightly and continued: "But I don't agree with the budget of 1,700 per episode."
"Zhang Sang, I know "We hope to strive for excellence and make an excellent animation, but our budget at Kodansha is really limited, and we can't afford more money. Please understand," Kawakubo Shintaro immediately explained.
"I know that Kodansha can provide 17 million, and I am very grateful, but I do feel that the money is not enough to produce a beautiful comic. So I thought of another plan."
< br>"Zhang Sang, please speak."
"The production cost of each episode will be an additional 3 million yen. It will still be produced at a cost of 20 million yuan. The additional 3 million yen will be borne by me. Privately funded!"
"Zhang Sang, you mean you have to pay for the animation yourself?" Shintaro Kawakubo and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa were both surprised. This was the first time they encountered this situation.
"Of course, I have to share the share of the animation revenue in accordance with the proportion of my investment." Zhang Wei said.
"There is definitely no problem in giving you a share according to the proportion, but Zhang Sang, I need to remind you that this is 3 million per episode. If the number of episodes increases, it will be a lot of money. You have to invest hundreds of millions of yen. !" Kawakubo Shintaro reminded.
The average Japanese commune may not be able to save 100 million yen even if he has not eaten or drank for 20 years. After all, the salary of a commissary is relatively small when he first joins the job. After working for a period of time, the salary will increase. It is possible to save 100 million in twenty years.
If you own a house and are not married, 100 million yen in hand is actually enough for you to sleep flat in Japan. Occasionally, you can even play two steel balls or go to a custom shop to release them. one time.
In Shintaro Kawakubo's view, if you have 100 million, how good would it be to keep it for yourself? Go to Okubo Park to inquire about the price. Isn't it better than investing in making animations?
And the price of 17 million per episode is considered a big production, so why do we have to increase it to 20 million!
Zhang Weize went on to say, "Thank you Kawakubo-kun for the reminder. If I really want to produce hundreds of episodes, I really can't afford that much money, so I suggest that we try one season first."
< br> "You mean, don't continue serializing, do it season by season? This is a way, but I'm worried that if it is interrupted in the middle, a lot of viewers will be lost." Shintaro Kawakubo said.
"Kawakubo-kun, you have to have confidence in my work." Zhang Wei paused and then said: "And I think that doing it season by season will be more conducive to the fermentation of the work's reputation.< br>
Do you usually watch American TV series? Many American TV series are broadcast in seasons, and they often become more and more popular as they are broadcast. For example, "Friends" has been broadcast for ten seasons, and its fans have not decreased. It has also increased significantly."
"It makes sense. We in Japan also have many Japanese dramas that have been broadcast for several seasons and still have good ratings." Kawakubo Shintaro nodded.
"And if the first season does well, we might be able to find some investors to invest in our production of subsequent seasons. We can find DVD distribution companies to cooperate, or find online video websites. In the past year, online videos have It’s very popular around the world.”
What Zhang Wei said may be a bit too advanced for Shintaro Kawakubo. After entering the Internet era, Japan is not like the world's second-largest economy at all. Things like video websites have blossomed in China and the United States, but Japan has not even sprouted seeds.
DVD is probably the limit of technology that ordinary Japanese can accept. It is difficult for the Chinese to imagine that even in 2024, China's three major video websites, Aiyouteng, have been fighting for several years, and Japan is still Use DVD as the main medium for film and television works.
In 2007, Chinese people had already started downloading movies online, and many Japanese families were even still using black box video tapes. This retro thing was not discontinued by the Japanese until 2016. of.
……
Zhang Wei proposed to pay for it out of his own pocket, and of course Kodansha would not refuse. Someone is willing to pay to make the Giant animation more refined. That is a dream come true.
On the Inishe side, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa is of course also very happy. Animators are just like film makers. They are not afraid of money. They can spend any amount of money for you.
What's more, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa also hopes to make a turnaround with the "Giant" animation.
The production cost of 20 million yen per episode can definitely produce a very sophisticated work, and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa is also confident that it can achieve the quality of a movie.
After finishing the animation production of "Giant", Zhang Wei returned to China.
The top 10 competitions in the Beijing Division of "Fast Boys" will be broadcast live to the national audience, so Zhang Wei must seize the time to rehearse. If the performance was poor at that time, it would be embarrassing in front of the national audience.
And this time's version of "Fast Boys" will be kept on the video website. I don't know how many people will go archaeologically in the future!
If this were to happen, it would be a stain on his life.
(End of this chapter)