Update:01-29-03
.:Making Anime:.
Welcome to the making anime page! Here is all the infomation you need to know if you would like to make your oun anime. Learn from the price to the company that you would have to choose to make your anime. All your questions about making your oun anime will be answered here.
Question:
What are the costs and time production of making an anime. Could an individual put up the funds or only companies?
Answer:
Afterdoing a bit of research, I've come up with some rough figures on the capital necessary to produce a professional quality anime production. Production cost on an average 26 episode anime TV series ranges in 100-300 million yen range (roughly US $800,000 - $2.5 million) including production, promotion and associated costs. OAVs likewise divide a similar budget between fewer episodes. For example, the 6 episode first Dirty Pair Flash OAV series had a 100 million yen budget to work with. Expensive major theatrical features range from the 8 hundred million yen (US $4-5 million) budget of Wings of Honneamise, the most expensive anime film of its time, to Akira and Metropolis that both had a budget of 1 billion yen (US $8 million) to Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi and Mononoke Hime which had budgets of 2 billion ($19.2 million) and 2.4 billion ($19.7 million) yen respectively.
Even short single episode anime OAVs require a large number of animators, artists, producers, coordinators and directors to oversee production of story, art, painting, music, script and dialogue, hiring and directing actors, photography, editing, marketing and distribution. And major works including the Cowboy Bebop movie, Mononoke Hime, Metropolis, and the Earth Girl Arjuna TV series are well known for having spent anywhere from a year to three years in production. Thus producing a major anime production is much more than a one-man job.
American companies including AD Vision, Manga Entertainment and Media Blasters have helped co-produce Japanese anime productions, and AD Vision has successfully commissioned and had custom anime productions created for them by Japanese studios- namely the American created and Japanese animated Sin: The Movie and the upcoming Lady Death movie. Smaller American companies and individuals including Glenn Danzig and his Verotic Studios and Antarctic Comics have tried to finance original anime productions but have only managed to support the production of 3-5 minute long preview clips.
But this isn't to say that it's impossible for a single person to create anime (or even finance a major production). While it may be improbable for a single person to finance a major anime production, there are numerous examples of fan produced anime, including the Daicon convention anime opening clips created by the people that would later be known as General Products, then Gainax, and short pornographic anime films including the Evangelion and Rayearth "ani-gan" films and "The Shower" films which have all been produced almost singlehandedly by determined and talented amateur Japanese fans.
Question:
How Anime is Produced:
Answer:
It's obvious that many anime showing today derive their roots from their respective manga. However,once a manga is slated to take that jump into the anime world,there is still a process to go through befor the first cel is even created. As with many things in this world today,money talks and anime has to be funded. Inlike animation companies in the U.S.,most Japanese anime companies are very small. Some are big enough to fund their own anime. Toei is an excellent example, producing anime like "DragonBall Z","One Piece",and "Doraemon". Most Japanese animation buildings are no bigger than a few floors of a small building. Anime companies normally have to team up in order to have to team up in order to have the funds to complete a project. Even toy companies like "Bandai" may "sponsor" a particular project,ensuring the toy rights as a result. This is more apparent in movie features and OAVs then in TV series.
When a manga is considered for an animation,a proposal is made to appeal for prospective funding. Decisions of whether it's going to be a TV,OVA,or movie are made. Normally,things like popularity ,money and time are part of the equation. The proposal also determines the amount of episodes a series will have. The more popular the manga,the more episodes the anime will have. A solid anime run is 26 episodes,or two seasons in Japan. The initial proposal will also have a character sheet of the main characters in various action positions and a "line up" of the main/secondary characters. The main characters will also have face shots showing various emotions. Other sketches like mecha and other props may also be added to the mix.
Normally,anime is proposed and will finish its run of slated episodes without regard to how popular it will be when it appears on TV (American shows will normally determine how a series will continue according to public ratings). Essentially,an anime has already proven itself from the popularity of it's manga. If an anime is extremely popular with the public,the studio will consider doing alternate stories or maybe venture into more TV,OAV series,or a movie (the Mobile Suit Gundam series is a good example of this trend).
Character Model Sheet:
Quite literally the look of the character. These drawings are later given to animators to keep the look of the character consistent throughout the anime. Most of the anime previewed here show great examples. It also gives distinct facial expressions and height requirements to make a character more believable. Other frequently used items such as mecha,props,and magic items can be included to make sure the characters are properly interacting with their environment.
Proposed Script:
This may be the first several episodes to get the feel for the direction of the anime. A script is almost necessary to determine the pace of the show. For example anime like "Dragonball Z" have drawn out stories that may span many episodes,where as an anime like "Evangelion" may use a series of flashbacks / foreshadowing to effectively tell a story. An anime does not have always follow it's respective manga ( "Ruroni Kenshin" anime was being produced faster then it's manga,so the last third of the series were filler episodes ). Normal scripts are printed in A4 format ( approximately the size of a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper ) and is usually bound. Other documents such as an overview of episodes are usually included; they determine how many episodes a series will run as well as the overall direction of the story. Script writers have the job of not only writing the script,but also translating manga into plausible anime. They do a lot of adaptation according to what is demanded of the anime.
Budget:
Questions on onces mind would be "Can the title be done in the frame given with the money offered? How much money is available? How many stydios are involved in this process? How many animators can the budget afford?" Depending on the studio,money,and resources,processes will change according to the situation. Funding for an anime is important. Many steps are taken even befor the first cel is painted. When a proposal is approved,the script will start to be storyboarded. Basically,a storyborad is a "comic strip" of a script,but with slight differences. Storyboards will not only include parts of the script ( dialogue and setting ),but also direct actions and a more distinct pacing of the story.