Keita Funamoto, runs an animation and recording studio in Japan. He makes films for NHK television and runs animation classes. We spoke to him about the puppets, the films and of course, Stop Motion Pro...
Hi Keita, thank you for talking to us.
Who you are, your background - how did you get into animation?
I was born in Harajyuku, the central area of Tokyo, as the eldest son of Miki Hiroshi, the founder of OTONO MARCHEN YA (The recording studio MARCHEN). The studio had supported the Japanese independent music scene during the 60s to 70s. When I was five years old, My family moved to Sendagaya, where Kihachiro Kawamoto resides. Our studio is there, too. OTONO MARCHEN YA has been serving as a music recording studio for forty years; however, by having me as staff, it also started functioning as an nimation studio.
At first we made FLASH animation pieces, and some of them were selected for The Shockwave Award in Japan and the three international animation ilm festivals: Annecy, Otawa, and Soul. Our flash animations were also shown at Baus Theater in Kichijyoji, Tokyo, as well I appeared on a reality show. After those efforts, we could commence to make stop motion animation which we really wanted to.
Gradually we started making commercial clips. And after experiencing teaching a stop motion animation class in a culture center, I opened stop motion animation classes in our studio. The classes had a good reputation and had been interviewed by various media such as TV, radio, and printed media. My classes are the first ones specialized in stop motion animation in Japan, but other private classes are starting, as well as classes in culture centers, vocational colleges, and art colleges and universities. The educational supplies are expanding drastically as the demand is rising. It is true indeed. In this ANIME nation, young hip women who are crazy about kawaii and tired of ANIME-- imagine how original and innovating stop motion animations will be created by them. I cannot wait.
I began to make animation at 30 with self-education.Without support by my studio and the talented staff, I could not have been doing that. My position is a director and a producer. If I had tried to do everything just by myself, I would not keep moving ahead. There are not so many things you can achieve just by yourself.
I was inspired by Phil Tippett (when I was in kindergarden), Ray Harryhausen (when I was in middle school), Jan Svankmajer, Brothers Quay, and Garri Bardin(when I was in high school). I usually watch 100 to 200 films in a year. That is my tutor. I had created comics, poems, short stories, musics, short experimental films, figures, illustrations, collages, and taken photographies in my teens to 20s. After having those try and errors, I reached to stop motion animation. Now I still do graphic design and illustration to earn money.
What are your recent productions, who are they aimed at, where might people see them?
Our latest production is a stop motion animation called 'Oshibori,' made for the children's TV program called "Shakiin! The Night" aired on NHK, the Japan government-controlled station. That episode had aired already, so unfortunately you cannot watch it anymore.
Most of our independent products can be watched on YouTube. We place great importance on YouTube while our main target is Annecy International Animation Film Festival. We are the official YouTube partner.
What hardware do you use?
Camera: Cannon EOS KISS X2 with various lenses including normal zoom lens, macro lens, wide-angle lens, telephoto lens, and fish-eye lens, of Nikkon, Cannon, and other brands. Other than a tripod, we use a slider for a dolly shot.
Lighting: Tungsten or fluorescent bulb depend on a production.
Computer: Windows XP Core 2 Duo note. Photoshop and After Effects for composition, and Premiere for editing.
As for armature, we are supported farmly by Tetsu Kawamura. We use his ArmaBenders as well as custum-made armatures he designs for us. Not only offering his armatures, Kawamura also gives us tips about sets, lightnings, and special effects as a technical supervisor.
How you use SMP in the production - how does it help your workflow?
We use SMP with Cannon EOS KISS X2 synchronized. Freeing from using a camcorder for video assisting is a blessing for the Japanese cramped studio environment, as well as assist images and shooting images are in the exact same angles. For us, SMP is a vital tool. When I want a different assist angle, I connect another software for stop motion shooting to a camcorder in addition to using a SMP and a DSLR camera. For example, in the scene a camerawork like tracking needed, I shoot the puppet and the camera with a camcorder to support the animating. It is difficult to animate from the straight front or the behind camera position for a walking shot, so I would shoot from the straight side with the video assist so that I could check the walking animation from both angles.
Can you tell us a little about how you make the imagery in your work? How do you make your puppets?
A. We have various types of doll artist members in our studio. Many of them play active parts in the Japanese artist doll world. Therefore, the puppets in our animation are made from many kinds of materials which you don't see in usual puppet animations such as cernit, La Doll, wood formo, clay made from paulownia wood, leather, steel wire, needle felt, doll eye, doll hair, ore, etc. Those puppets are our most notable trait and pride. We are making effort to break down stereotypes as hard as we could. Always having a pioneer spirit and challenging something new, that is our principle. Firstly comes a doll artist and her doll, then we develop a story which suits the doll . Many of our projects were planned in that way. Doll artists are our stars in our studio, as it were. I would try to find and make contact with new doll artists constantly. There are many unique and highly skilled doll artists in Japan, and now Asian BJD are spreading world widely. Also I produce doll making classes and doll artists besides making stop motion animations.
What is next for you and your animation?
"WORKU," which we have been making since December 2003, will finish in November this year. It is taking approximately 6 years long. We will enter for the next year's film festival circuit with "WORKU." It is already set to be screened in a Japanese movie theater. Other than that, we are proceeding four more projects at the same time. All are
independent short stop motion animations, and each stands out with four doll artists.
As for myself, I was interviewed by a Japanese anime magazine called "Animation Note" and the article about my classes was on it on June2009. Furthermore, I will publish a book about how to make stop motion animation. In that book, the SMP's help file will be translated. On the other hand, I will hire experts as lecturers for my expanding stop motion animation classes to strengthen them. In addition, I am about to start video blog reporting about stop motion scene in Japanese and the USA on my studio's YouTube channel.
Keita Funamoto, runs an 
I began to make animation at 30 with self-education.Without support by my studio and the talented staff, I could not have been doing that. My position is a director and a producer. If I had tried to do everything just by myself, I would not keep moving ahead. There are not so many things you can achieve just by yourself.
What hardware do you use? 
For us, SMP is a vital tool. When I want a different assist angle, I connect another software for stop motion shooting to a camcorder in addition to using a SMP and a DSLR camera. For example, in the scene a camerawork like tracking needed, I shoot the puppet and the camera with a camcorder to support the animating. It is difficult to animate from the straight front or the behind camera position for a walking shot, so I would shoot from the straight side with the video assist so that I could check the walking animation from both angles.