Kenichi Matsumura interview Zeta ANT Gundam Ace

Kenichi Matsumura interview
The August issue of Gundam Ace contained a Zeta movie staff interview with Kenichi Matsumura. In the past, he has worked on series like King of Braves GaoGaiGar Final as assistant producer, and Argento Soma and Witch Hunter Robin as a producer. He is currently working on the Zeta movie as a producer.

Q: The previously rumored Zeta movie is finally underway. Did this year being the 25th anniversary have anything to do with it?

Matsumura : This year being the 25th anniversary wasn't the only reason behind it. Last year, Mr. Tomino's TV series (Overman King Gainer) finally ended and the biggest reason was Mr. Tomino's feelings towards Zeta.

Q: For this movie production, did Director Tomino demand anything from the staff?

Matsumura: Instead of demands, he told us to be prepared. Since we are reorganizing a 20-year-old-series and adding new scenes, he told us, "Don't let this being 20-years-old imprison you." Besides making this movie fit with the 20-year-old Zeta, we were told to create this like a movie of today. As for the staff, it's mostly centered around people I know.

Q: Regarding the staff, you didn't organize the people who worked on the series for the movie?

Matsumura: I started off by hiring people I worked with in the past. Therefore, a lot of them don't have any experience with Zeta Gundam. We do have staff members like Naoyuki Onda and Morifumi Naka, who have worked on the TV series. We also have other former TV production members like Shigeaki Saegusa for music and Sadayoshi Fujino as the sound director. The new Zeta Gundam has a good balance of old and new staff.

Q: The main focus of the movie will be about the new scenes. How much of Part 1 "Inheritor of Stars" will be new scenes? Overall, how much air time does that translate to?

Matsumura: Part 1 will be about 90 minutes long and things will develop in a very good tempo. The new scenes will be about 1/3 of the movie. Director Tomino is personally re-editing the TV series footage using computer editing software. Usually the whole scale is decided during continuity, then the rest is "rush and cutting". However this time, the director would make a compilation of the footage, then feedback it to the continuity where overall scale and changes will take place. Finally, we would decide on what new scenes are needed.

Q: There are differences in the quality and animation today compared to 20 years ago. Is the staff having any difficulties with the new scenes?

Matsumura: In terms of animation, there was a lot of doubt. Today's art styles are different. Besides the difference in quality, you can experience a major gap in the drawing's feeling. In the beginning, there was a lot of doubt about how to draw them so it can be added on. As the production went on, the director's advice and each animator's strong tenacity resulted in the quality of the animation settling. The new scenes try to reflect the TV series' style while maintaining the movie's high quality. If you tried to follow the picture's change, you can probably tell which is new or old. We tried to make it unnoticeable if you followed the story. Necessary new scenes were added depending on how the story unfolded. As for the old animation, adjusting it from the TV format to widescreen was more than just cutting the top and bottom parts out. Lots of time was spent reflecting the anime direction design, fine tuning each cut, and making images clearer. I hope they will notice those parts as well.

Q: Finally, do you have a message for the anticipating fans?

Matsumura: This is a new Zeta Gundam with several original movie scenes and new BGM featuring Dolby Digital 5.1ch added. Of course, the characters and episodes will share common ground with the TV series, but it should distinguish itself as a movie. Please look forward to its completion.


Source: http://aeug.blogspot.com/2004/06/#108832143400777703