Full Transcript for Hiroshi Katagiri Interview

who was getting paid. 29 00:02:50,100 --> 00:02:53,900 You know, everybody leaves like a 7 p.m., but I always stayed after that. 30 00:02:53,900 --> 00:02:57,800 So I did anything, everything I could do. 31 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:05,400 So then after a few months, you know, after finishing the one movie and the owner just paid me. 32 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:11,100 Oh, that's awesome. Do you remember which movie it was that they all started? 33 00:03:11,100 --> 00:03:14,900 Yeah, that's the movie called The Freaked. 34 00:03:14,900 --> 00:03:21,600 There's the Alex Winter, you know, which is like a Bill and Ted, Excellent Adventures. 35 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:28,800 And there's like a Keanu Reeves and Mr. T and Randy Quaid and the Brook Shields. 36 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,800 It's a crazy comedy movie. It's a cult movie. 37 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:36,000 Oh, okay. Yeah. 38 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:37,900 That's an awesome cast. 39 00:03:37,900 --> 00:03:40,900 Yeah, yeah, well, it was. 40 00:03:40,900 --> 00:03:47,300 I'm so excited, you know, people I was watching in the movie and I get to see them. 41 00:03:47,300 --> 00:03:49,600 It was an amazing experience. 42 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,300 Oh, man, I bet that's got to be so cool. 43 00:03:52,300 --> 00:03:55,700 Do you have like any advice for anyone that wants to start out nowadays 44 00:03:55,700 --> 00:03:58,600 if they want to do something along the similar line? 45 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:01,100 Yeah, at least you may have to show, you know, what you can do. 46 00:04:01,100 --> 00:04:05,300 So many people talk about and I can do this, I can do that, but we never trust that. 47 00:04:05,300 --> 00:04:09,000 That's we trust behavior, what they have done. 48 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,900 So and also personality is very important. 49 00:04:12,900 --> 00:04:19,500 We are expecting beginners to be good, but we are not expecting they're going to be good. 50 00:04:19,500 --> 00:04:23,600 So by you know, they have to listen, you know, take direction really well. 51 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:34,500 So we just be just humble and try the best you can do and, you know, don't give any attitude. 52 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:36,000 Wise words. 53 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,700 Yeah. 54 00:04:38,700 --> 00:04:44,300 Now from from way back then on that movie, now you're working on things like Avatar, 55 00:04:44,300 --> 00:04:51,700 The Way of Water, which is a huge movie with a bunch of special effects. 56 00:04:51,700 --> 00:04:57,300 How much can you guys get away with just like CGI and how much do you still have to rely on 57 00:04:57,300 --> 00:05:00,200 on the special effects makeup or props? 58 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,900 Oh, I see. That's the pretty much I would say CG. 59 00:05:03,900 --> 00:05:13,900 But it's the what I worked on is the the reference for the CG people and one of the Navis, 60 00:05:13,900 --> 00:05:15,300 you know, you Navi people. 61 00:05:15,300 --> 00:05:27,100 So we created the the

life-size bust and then so CG guys can, you know, take a look at as a reference. 62 00:05:27,100 --> 00:05:30,700 So, you know, a lot of shots ended up, you know, become the CG, 63 00:05:30,700 --> 00:05:37,900 but CG people just using the actual products. 64 00:05:37,900 --> 00:05:43,100 So you guys make like a big origin and then they go off of that for the reference. 65 00:05:43,100 --> 00:05:45,000 Yeah. Yep. 66 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,100 Very cool. 67 00:05:48,100 --> 00:05:56,100 Now, did you have to do that as well for like the big animals like the like the Tukun, the whale? 68 00:05:56,100 --> 00:06:02,900 Oh, that one is yeah, I don't know. It's a many, many different studios were working on it. 69 00:06:02,900 --> 00:06:08,500 So it's yeah, it's hard to tell, you know, which one did what way it was. 70 00:06:08,500 --> 00:06:11,500 Everything was so good. 71 00:06:11,500 --> 00:06:17,500 Some I believe, you know, there's the many maquettes, you know, clay maquettes. 72 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:26,700 And yeah, but not sure, you know, I don't think someone build that. 73 00:06:26,700 --> 00:06:29,200 Okay. Yeah. 74 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:35,400 That's a lot of little pieces that come together and then like CGI kind of puts it all together at the end. 75 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,500 Yeah. 76 00:06:37,500 --> 00:06:40,100 Okay. 77 00:06:40,100 --> 00:06:46,400 And, you know, you have such an extensive career from like the nine starting in the 90s. 78 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:58,100 Is there any special effects or like practices or methods that are still being used today from from back in the 90s? 79 00:06:58,100 --> 00:07:04,300 Yeah, I mean, basically, there's a performer actor where the prosthetic makeup. 80 00:07:04,300 --> 00:07:07,400 So it's still same. 81 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:12,500 And animatronics is getting less and less because of the CG. 82 00:07:12,500 --> 00:07:21,700 You know, we were building the mechanical moving creatures and all the large sized dinosaurs. 83 00:07:21,700 --> 00:07:27,300 But, you know, it's becoming, you know, the technology of CG and quality is getting better and better. 84 00:07:27,300 --> 00:07:30,000 So it's become less and less. 85 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:40,400 But, you know, like many, you know, for the makeup stuff, prosthetic stuff, it is still using a lot. 86 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:44,500 Okay. 87 00:07:44,500 --> 00:07:53,000 Imagine is it is that a whole lot more makeup now that the actors have to wear? 88 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:58,900 Yeah, now and then it's the same. 89 00:07:58,900 --> 00:08:07,500 After after so many years in that field, what sparked you wanting to jump into the director's chair? 90 00:08:07,500 --> 00:08:15,000 Well, it's like before I started this career, I was into movies itself, not just the makeup effects. 91 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,600 But I love movie in general. 92 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:25,300 And earlier days, I realized that still making movie is more what I

wanted to do. 93 00:08:25,300 --> 00:08:33,100 You know, that's like I was 20 years old and I didn't think of, you know, just making movie back then. 94 00:08:33,100 --> 00:08:41,800 But that's realized my friend were in a school just learning the making the independent film, the student film. 95 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:47,600 Then when I hear that, I just realized, wow, oh, that's what I wanted to do. 96 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:49,100 You know, that's not just a makeup. 97 00:08:49,100 --> 00:08:53,300 I know this is making movies. 98 00:08:53,300 --> 00:09:00,100 So that's that I was 20 years old and I was just starting to become independent. 99 00:09:00,100 --> 00:09:04,600 I was making money with makeup effects and just make it in my own. 100 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,100 And back then, it was like early 90s. 101 00:09:08,100 --> 00:09:18,700 I have to go to like a college to study, take a film course and get equipment from there and get people to work with. 102 00:09:18,700 --> 00:09:22,300 And I couldn't afford that. 103 00:09:22,300 --> 00:09:28,300 So until digital technologies developed. 104 00:09:28,300 --> 00:09:34,900 So actually, you know, that's what I wanted to do this long time ago. 105 00:09:34,900 --> 00:09:39,700 Well, that's awesome. It's really great to see the progress that you've made and how hard it is. 106 00:09:39,700 --> 00:09:44,500 You know, you worked hard and now here you are about to come out with this movie. 107 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:47,000 So we're really excited to support and watch it as well. 108 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,500 It sounds like a great movie. 109 00:09:50,500 --> 00:09:53,100 Yeah, it's right hard to do that. 110 00:09:53,100 --> 00:09:56,300 It's yeah, you're an inspiration. 111 00:09:56,300 --> 00:09:57,700 We love to see that. 112 00:09:57,700 --> 00:10:01,200 Yeah, thank you. Thank you. 113 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:12,100 During your career, have you seen anything or what do you think has been the most impactful advancement in the special effects? 114 00:10:12,100 --> 00:10:16,500 Well, it's the biggest one ever was Jurassic Park. 115 00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:20,100 The first one came out in 1993. 116 00:10:20,100 --> 00:10:23,100 Yeah, it's the new, totally new technology. 117 00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:25,300 It's not like developing gradually. 118 00:10:25,300 --> 00:10:29,900 It's all of a sudden just came up and freaked out everybody. 119 00:10:29,900 --> 00:10:32,400 That's the way the CGI started. 120 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,500 And so that's the one thing. 121 00:10:35,500 --> 00:10:42,300 And the other thing is like avatar also, you know, it's like without applying the actual physical piece on the actor, 122 00:10:42,300 --> 00:10:52,900 you know, like she's using the actor, the face, track the movement and then apply the digital appliance on top. 123 00:10:52,900 --> 00:11:01,300 So that's the that's another evolution of the makeup effects. 124 00:11:01,300 --> 00:11:07,600 OK, so it was like these two movies that kind of like made the right. 125 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:11,700 Yeah, maybe not. Not just avatar. 126 00:11:11,700 --> 00:11:14,900 It's the planet of the apes. 127 00:11:14,900 --> 00:11:19,500 So that's the that's before avatar, I think. 128 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:22,400 Yeah, technology was there, but gradually developed. 129 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:24,700 But in avatar was so perfect. 130 00:11:24,700 --> 00:11:29,500 You know, that looks really real. 131 00:11:29,500 --> 00:11:36,200 OK, and what do you find the most challenging thing to be in special effects? 132 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:41,600 Hmm. Well, that's the tough question. 133 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:48,000 It's the what we do is usually, you know, like some there's a performance inside. 134 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:55,200 So it's the sometimes we have to cheat the original proportion of a human being. 135 00:11:55,200 --> 00:12:01,000 And there's of course, the limitation because, you know, there's the people inside. 136 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:08,000 So that's always a challenging to make it look like somebody is not inside. 137 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:15,600 While trying to like erase the actor and make it into this like being that that is the animation. 138 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:21,200 Yeah, so we often combine like a green screen is like a part of a face or a part of a body. 139 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:28,800 You know, use the green and the erase and have extended, you know, arm or legs as a puppet. 140 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:37,200 So, you know, we make those combinations also in order to changing the human proportion. 141 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:44,800 OK, yeah. And do you have like a social media where people can follow you or see your works? 142 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:54,400 Yeah, can follow the Twitter or the Facebook under my name, Hiroshi Katagiri. 143 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:58,600 Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. 144 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,400 We look forward to seeing your movie and we can't wait to see what else you come out with. 145 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:11,400 We hope to talk to you again soon. Maybe after we watch the movie, we can talk about it and we'll discuss how awesome it was. 146 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:13,000 Great. Great. Thank you. 147 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,200 All right. This has been a Geek Network interview. 148 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:44,000 Thank you guys so much for joining us. Artlist IO.