CLIP STUDIO PAINT appears in the music video production scene of the main character in the movie, and CLIP STUDIO PAINT was also used in the production of the main story. The movie "A Few Minutes of Cheer" {https://yell-movie2024.com/} was released on Friday, June 14, 2024.

 

 

To commemorate the release, we spoke to Poprika, Ohajiki, and Magotsuki from the video production team "Hurray!" who worked on the animation, about the highlights of "A Few Minutes of Cheers," the scenes they were particularly fond of, and other behind-the-scenes stories.

 

We hope you enjoy this exclusive interview.

 

 

About "Hurray!"

 

A video production team consisting of Popurika, Ohajiki, and Magotsuki. Popurika is in charge of everything from direction to creating the actual data, Ohajiki is mainly in charge of 2D and 3D animation, and Magotsuki is mainly in charge of characters and visuals.

They became famous overnight after working on Yorushika's music videos ("Ame to Cappuccino" and "Dakara Boku wa Ongaku yaki yai"). Since then, they have attracted attention for their innovative video and music expressions, such as the ending video for the TV anime "Kawaii dake ja nai Shikimori-san," the special music video for "Shiny Racers" ("LoveLive! Sunshine!!"), and a commercial for Cream Genmai Bran.

Their motto is to create videos with messages based on the theme of "Hurray = encouragement, praise, joy," and this is their first theatrical anime.

Hurray! Interview

--Please tell us about the production flow and division of roles within your team.

Poprika First of all, I'm in charge of the director's duties. I'm also in charge of leading the technical aspects.

 

Magotsuki mainly handled concept art and art direction, while Ohajiki was more of a behind-the-scenes supporter. He did everything from animation to effects.

The general flow of production is that when I finish writing the storyboard, Magotsuki works on the concept art for each scene. At the same time, Ohajiki and I recorded the motion capture. Most of the motion capture for this work was done by just Ohajiki and me, at Ohajiki's house.

 

Ohajiki We recorded the daily acting by ourselves, but for the live scenes we asked professional actors who can play instruments.

 

Poprika Once the concept art was solidified, Magotsuki and Ohajiki made rough models of the background. We made 3D based on the concept art, and once it reached a certain level of quality, Magotsuki retouched it. We used the retouching as a reference and reflected it in the 3D, and if we got stuck, we asked for more retouching. We repeated this process.

 

It was the same as making a regular music video (MV), but the final picture and quality improvement were done by the three of us. Ohajiki improved the quality of the backgrounds, and Madotsuki adjusted the colors and lighting of the characters, and then I did the final compositing and quality improvement.

 

Because the majority of the cuts were done by three people, there was inevitably a difference in quality between the early cuts and the later cuts, and I struggled a lot about where to draw the line within the 60-minute length.

Magotsuki: The retouching work is done by adding touches to screenshots in CLIP STUDIO PAINT. At this point, I'm focusing on the appearance as a picture, and not really thinking about how to express it in 3D.

 

Popurika: It's my job to decide how to incorporate it. The rainy street performance, especially the umbrella expression, was difficult because the retouching that Magotsuki had done had a very brushstroke-like analog feel, but the scene turned out to be a good one when converted to 3D.

 

When retouching 2D-like elements into 3D, I weigh the cost, quality, and the image creation I want to aim for, deciding whether it's technically possible and should be done, whether it's possible but doesn't have to be done, whether I want to explore other methods if I can't, or whether it's difficult but I think it will look cool if I do it, so I'll spend the time to develop it.

 

However, if I spend too much time on development, the actual work doesn't progress, and the marbles played a role in complementing those areas.

 

Magotsuki Ohajiki has also done a good job on pictures that I haven't retouched myself.

 

Ohajiki It's like I get the direction from Magotsuki's concept art and then make sure the quality is consistent.

 

Poprika It's a style that only these three people who know each other so well can do.

 

 

- How did you decide on the style of the concept art?

Magotsuki First of all, we wanted to avoid a style that uses extremely limited colors, like the music videos we've made up until now, because it would be tiring to watch as a 60-minute movie. Once we agreed on that direction with Popurika, we started creating the concept art.

 

Popurika It's not too eccentric, but it looks a little different.

 

Magotsuki The distinctive feature of this art is the rim light expression around the silhouette, where colors overlap like a prism. When I came up with this method of expression, which is not only rich in color but also guides the eye, I thought, "This is cool!"

 

Shiny items such as headphones and guitars are often shown in close-up, so I like the fact that it adds an accent to the sparkling expression.

-How did you use CLIP STUDIO PAINT?

Confused The functions of CLIP STUDIO PAINT that I used are very simple, and I just painted with brushes. I didn't use layer effects like multiply or dodge very often, and just specified colors on a normal layer.

 

I often download brushes from CLIP STUDIO ASSET and incorporate them into my work.

 

Other than that, when I needed to "draw," I basically worked in CLIP STUDIO PAINT.

 

▼Example of brush used in the creation of "A few minutes of cheer": Out of ink brush pen (by Mutsugoro)

--Please tell us what inspired each of you to start making things.

Magotsuki To conclude, there was no real trigger.

This may be the case for people who draw, but I've been drawing since before I was old enough to understand. I started thinking about making it my job when I was in the first grade of elementary school.

 

Ohajiki It's a bit vague when you say what triggered it, but like Magotsuki, I've loved drawing since I was a child. I don't know why, but when I was in the first grade of elementary school, I didn't realize that the anime and special effects I watched back then were made by humans (lol).

 

Once I realized that they were made by humans, I started to think that I wanted to work as an artist.

 

Popurika I'm a little different from the two of them. I liked drawing, but I gave up on the idea that I couldn't make it into a job because I didn't have the talent.

 

When I was in high school, I discovered music videos on Nico Nico Douga, and decided to go to art school to try that kind of world just once.

 

 

--What was the trigger that led the three of you to start making things together?

Poprika The three of us met at university. First, Popprika and Ohajiki were classmates, and Magotsuki, who is two years younger than me, helped me with my graduation project. At that time, we didn't do much production together as a trio, and the three of us had different jobs.

 

I was working a side job producing music videos, and they helped me out, and that's how we became the current trio.

 

Ohajiki Even though I got a job back then, I still thought that someday we'd like to work together again as a trio.

 

Poprika Really? I thought that you had your own life! (laughs)

 

Magotsuki I definitely said that (laughs)

 

 

--As digital tools become more widespread, what are your impressions, expectations, and possibilities for anime produced by small groups or individuals in the future?

Poprika I think the spread of tools is a good thing in the sense that it broadens the scope of animation, but I also feel that there are some difficult aspects.

 

On the one hand, it's getting easier to create, but on the other hand, in order to get noticed, you have to do everything yourself, from technology, art, to self-production. If you can't do all of that, you won't be discovered, so I wonder if that's a good thing, but it's difficult.

 

Ohajiki I was simply envious that when I was a student, I had to work hard across multiple tools to create things, but now, with a tablet and just paying for CLIP STUDIO PAINT, you can complete animation production in the same environment as a professional!

 

Megotuki I see a lot of students who are really good at drawing on social media, so I think they have discerning eyes. With the development of tools, the time you can remain a frog in a well may be getting shorter.

--Please tell us about the highlights of the movie "A Few Minutes of Cheer" and give some encouragement to those who aspire to become creators!

Poprika In order to express the joy of making things, I put a lot of effort into the tempo and sense of immersion in the creative scenes. The production scenes for the main character, Asaya Kanata, condense the progress made over the course of several days, and I went through a lot of trial and error, including the tempo of the dialogue.

 

Also, by depicting the production scene in my head rather than an actual work scene, I hope I was able to convey the excitement of the thoughts and inspiration that come when you're actually creating something.

 

Megotsuki Since it's a scene that doesn't take place in the real world, I also had a little fun with the visuals.

 

Because it's a scene where they're making a music video, the cable that Kanata is wearing glows yellow as an item that connects him to the music, and I've included some things that aren't used in other scenes, so I hope you enjoy those aspects as well.

 

 

Confused My favorite scene is the golden flag that appears in the background of the music video in the film. It was inspired by a golden origami piece from my childhood that I kept because it was so special, but after a while I ended up throwing it away without using it for anything.

 

The idea behind this motif, born from such an episode of regret, is that the moment you feel excited or longing for something is the most valuable, so I hope you will not hesitate to try it. Please go to the theater to see what kind of scene it is!

 

Marbles I think of myself as an ordinary person, and I really sympathize with Tono (Daisuke Tonozaki). The reason I am able to continue making things like this is because of my two friends from Hurray!.

 

Nowadays, with the spread of social media, you may feel scared of being compared to talented people all over the world and of publishing your work, but I don't feel scared at all if there are three of us.

If you feel that it is difficult to make a work alone, I hope you will continue making things by finding friends who share your sympathy and thinking about making it together.

Poprika I'm sure a movie made by a music video creator will be a different visual experience than usual, so be sure to go see it in the theater!

About "A Few Minutes of Cheer"

For all those who aspire to make things in this era

 

A high school boy, Asaya Kanata, who is absorbed in making music videos, is moved by a street live performance he sees one day and strongly wants to make a music video for that song. However, the singer is a female teacher, Orishige Yu, who has given up on her music career...

 

This work, which depicts the joys and hardships of making things with the two people's meeting as the axis, is written by Hanada Jukki, who worked on "Love Live!" and "A Place Further than the Universe", and almost all of the video, from direction and production to character design, was created by the three members of the video production team "Hurray!", consisting of "Popurika", "Ohajiki", and "Magotsuki".

 

This is the first theatrical animation released by the most popular team, who has worked on Yorushika's music video and the ending video for the TV anime "Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie". It was produced mainly using the free 3DCG software "Blender", and its unique and delicate image creation is also attracting attention.

 

The song that Yu Orishige sings in the movie is produced by VIVI, who is also active as a Vocaloid producer, and is sung by singer-songwriter Kei Sugawara, who was selected as a next-generation artist "RADAR: Early Noise 2022" by Spotify, who is expected to be active in the future. Yu Orishige sings the feelings that she puts into the song with an androgynous and emotional voice.

 

I want the people who watch it to look forward and smile.

 

Please give you a few minutes of cheer.

 

Official website: https://yell-movie2024.com/

 

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