If you’re a big Japan-fan, you’ll love this podcast. Joining Chris is Shuzo Shiota, CEO of Polygon Pictures, the long-lived and prolific Tokyo-based digital animation studio behind movies and TV series including Godzilla, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Transformers: Prime and Big Hero 6: The Series.
Shuzo and Chris discuss the impact of Japanese art on the west, from its breakthrough at a Parisian exposition in the 1800s, to movies such as Akira, Manga graphic novels and now Netflix’s vast array of anime titles. Shuzo also talks about Polygon Pictures’ origins, why it can be hard to create authentic anime in 3D, and the future of cinema, gaming and subscription-based services.
Links:
Shuzo John Shiota 塩田周三 (@da_shooz) on Twitter >
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
04:52 Shuzo's start in the steel industry
11:59 CG and gaming in mid-90s Japan
16:55 What Polygon produces
20:57 Embracing Eastern and Western audiences
33:52 3D versus 2D animation techniques
43:39 Japan's rich storytelling ecosystem
48:50 Polygon's future plans
56:11 THU and Polygon