Japan! Culture + Hyperculture - Koji
Morimoto - 2008
Music, poetry and animation all are part of
the “Dimension Bomb” segment of “Genius Party Beyond,” directed by
veteran animator Koji Morimoto. That director made great use of music –
an aria from “Madam Butterfly,” specifically – in the “Magnetic Rose”
segment of the animated “Memories” anthology. Morimoto returned to that
idea in “Genius Party Beyond,” where he used Ben Watkins' music for
Juno Reactor as the inspiration for his animated short. “I liked his
music, and when I was watching the music, the images came to my
mind” said Morimoto. His first idea was to create an extended
animation, something that would be “...more than a music video...I feel
the images and I feel things from the music that other people don't
feel. Music is the entry for me to search out the images for my work.”
Morimoto also likes to compare the sequencing of "Dimension Bomb" to
poetry in the way it uses animated phrases and pauses. Some composers
define their music not by notes and rhythms, but by the silences
between the notes. In the same way, Morimoto said he's interested in
the pauses as much as in the movement in his animated films. "What i
tried to create was to subtract unnecessary aspects to animation and go
back to the core. Minimalizing, that's what I want to do through this
work. My theory is that animation is continual movement, but my theory
also is that you have to halt the movement."
The "Genius Party Beyond" project comes from
Studio 4°C which Morimoto helped found. Morimoto has been a part of many
commercial animated projects, so he's used to performing under the
real-world pressures of pleasing directors, producers and sponsors. By
contrast, "Genius Party Beyond" offered Morimoto the chance to create
exactly the animation he wanted, with only a time limit on his animated
segment. "It's not hard to create with total freedom, but when there
are limits, it's easier. If I was not given a deadline to finish a work
I can work forever, so there must be a point where someone tells me to
`stop it here.'" Fans always like to learn what inspires creative
people such as
Morimoto, and the inspirational work in his career was the "Blade
Runner" feature film. That film still impresses viewers, years after it
was released, and Morimoto said he wants to make films that also change
viewers' lives. Some reviewers said that "Blade Runner" was more about
creating a unique fictional world than about creating a plot and story,
and Morimoto said he likes that kind of film making where atmosphere
counts more than a story.
Music, poetry and animation all are part of
the “Dimension Bomb” segment of “Genius Party Beyond,” directed by
veteran animator Koji Morimoto. That director made great use of music –
an aria from “Madam Butterfly,” specifically – in the “Magnetic Rose”
segment of the animated “Memories” anthology. Morimoto returned to that
idea in “Genius Party Beyond,” where he used Ben Watkins' music for
Juno Reactor as the inspiration for his animated short. “I liked his
music, and when I was watching the music, the images came to my
mind” said Morimoto. His first idea was to create an extended
animation, something that would be “...more than a music video...I feel
the images and I feel things from the music that other people don't
feel. Music is the entry for me to search out the images for my work.”
Morimoto also likes to compare the sequencing of "Dimension Bomb" to
poetry in the way it uses animated phrases and pauses. Some composers
define their music not by notes and rhythms, but by the silences
between the notes. In the same way, Morimoto said he's interested in
the pauses as much as in the movement in his animated films. "What i
tried to create was to subtract unnecessary aspects to animation and go
back to the core. Minimalizing, that's what I want to do through this
work. My theory is that animation is continual movement, but my theory
also is that you have to halt the movement."
The "Genius Party Beyond" project comes from
Studio 4°C which Morimoto helped found. Morimoto has been a part of many
commercial animated projects, so he's used to performing under the
real-world pressures of pleasing directors, producers and sponsors. By
contrast, "Genius Party Beyond" offered Morimoto the chance to create
exactly the animation he wanted, with only a time limit on his animated
segment. "It's not hard to create with total freedom, but when there
are limits, it's easier. If I was not given a deadline to finish a work
I can work forever, so there must be a point where someone tells me to
`stop it here.'" Fans always like to learn what inspires creative
people such as
Morimoto, and the inspirational work in his career was the "Blade
Runner" feature film. That film still impresses viewers, years after it
was released, and Morimoto said he wants to make films that also change
viewers' lives. Some reviewers said that "Blade Runner" was more about
creating a unique fictional world than about creating a plot and story,
and Morimoto said he likes that kind of film making where atmosphere
counts more than a story.
