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Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential artists of our time not only
is he the only anime creator to ever carve out a home in western pop culture
but his track record is unmatched releasing masterpiece after masterpiece
without ever once compromising on quality across his entire four
decade-long career writing and directing 11 feature films with another in the
works he operates on a level all of his own being such a legendary and private
artist it's hard to imagine him ever struggling to create but thanks to NHK
world Japan were given a peek behind the curtains in the form of a documentary
spanning ten years of Miyazaki's career the series documents everything from the
inception of Ponyo to the release of the wind rises and gives an in-depth look at
Miyazaki's creative process to my great surprise I found myself relating to
Miyazaki's every struggle and every victory despite an unfathomable scale of
pressure and responsibility his experience is really not all that
different to my own and I imagine anyone's who's attempted to express
themselves through an art form Miyazaki is a man so full of wisdom that it leaks
out in everything he does watching him work and listening to him speak has
changed my perspective for good and taught me invaluable lessons on what it
means to be an artist
part 1 finding inspiration when approaching the
monumental task of developing a feature film
Miyazaki's creative process begins with a single image or idea the inspiration
that will then bloom into an entire world brimming with life but even the
great Miyazaki cannot pull this idea out of thin air like we all try so hard to
do when we sit down with our coffees and our laptops and stare at a blank page
no instead Miyazaki chooses to live his life with his eyes wide open finding
beauty in the benign he taped a camera to the inside of his car just to review
his daily commute because to him
and inspiration is like dropping a fishing line into your mind you aren't able to choose what is
caught but your job is to let it flow through you and out onto the paper
because of this Miyazaki carries around a notebook with him everywhere he goes
that he fills with ideas and concepts that will most likely never come to
fruition but the very act of writing them down is important in and of itself
even once Miyazaki commits to an idea his search for inspiration is just
beginning weeks will pass without any progress
being made but this doesn't worry Miyazaki
he knows that inspiration will come as long as he is actively searching for it
rather than looking towards other works of animation Miyazaki chooses to take in
music tours and museums for inspiration on one such trip Miyazaki found a piece
to be particularly interesting despite it having no apparent connection to his
work on Ponyo the thoughts and emotions it triggered in him led to a
breakthrough in his work
it often takes Miyazaki almost a year of work before even a single frame is
complete and despite drawing all day every day for work he continues to find
time to draw unrelated pieces out of no incentive but the joy it brings him it
isn't until a solid foundation has been laid that Miyazaki will then force
himself to create once the story is almost complete he'll often isolate
himself in another city to grind out the rest of the story to Miyazaki the change
in scenery is a helpful tool for getting a bigger picture and overcoming any
preconceived notions of what his film needs to be like a fresh blanket of snow
covering up the etched in paths so rather than sitting at your desk with
your fingers on the keyboard get out there and experience the world even if
that means just going for a walk it will make all the difference because you
never know what small image can grow into something much greater
Part-2 confidence the most unexpected
part of Miyazaki's process is just how much doubt and anxiety he experiences
throughout every step of the journey whenever I picture a master of their
craft working i assume their years of experience provides them with an
unwavering confidence in their own ability but i failed to put in
perspective is that the more experienced one has one more times they failed
because of this expert to know what it means to fail far better than any
beginner giving them all the more reason to strive for success as another artist
once said the master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried
early in his career miyazaki went from Studio to studio pitching his ideas for
my neighbor totoro castle in the sky and Princess Mononoke but the industry would
not even give him the time of day and he was constantly rejected his inability to
convey his vision for the future of animation did not stop him from
believing in himself and his own ideas which would one day become the most
iconic anime characters in history despite being responsible for six of the
10 highest-grossing anime films of all time he is still filled with anxiety and doubt at every premiere for
a new film just like everyone trying to create
in his mind if people get bored during one of his films it's game over
Part three reality
almost every word that comes out of Miyazaki's mouth is something to
analyze and learn from but one thing he said hit especially close to home for me
even for someone as experienced as Miyazaki having the idea is only the
first step even the most brilliant concepts might not be possible to
realize the way you imagined it he's been known to work for days on a single
image and then completely scrapped it he doesn't allow himself to fall victim to
the sunken cost fallacy just because you've already put hours days or even
weeks into a project does not mean that it is in your best interest to finish it
sometimes the only way to create something special is to make attempt
after attempt until the final product becomes an amalgamation of everything
you've learned it takes a team of over a hundred animators an entire week to
create five seconds of final animation try to keep that pace in mind next time
you're struggling to translate your idea into reality
Part 4 you are your own worst enemy
after years of dedication hard work and a bit of luck something you've
created might resonate with a large enough audience that its success
snowballs and turns you into an overnight success known for that one
particular work at this point the hardest question you can ask yourself is
what's next how can you possibly continue to grow and evolve as an artist
while still pleasing you're now dedicated fanbase
the line gets blurred between making art to express yourself and just trying to
please your audience although my neighbor totoro is what turned Miyazaki
into the celebrity he is today it has become a thorn in his side a
mountain he's created that he will struggle to top for the rest of his
career Miyazaki believes that talent is a finite resource that gets worn out by
use day by day unless you continue to push yourself into unknown territories
making a film at the level studio ghibli does is like capturing lightning in a
bottle but having to continually top yourself every few years is a task
bordering on impossible despite this miyazaki continues to push his own
boundaries and test new mediums like pastels and cgi even this far into his
life his only rival that he needs to best is himself and although he might
always be known to others as the creator of Totoro he's proved to himself that he
can branch out and create films of all genres styles and themes
part five finding your purpose although it's seemingly obvious step in the
creative process I believe it can take a lifetime of experimentation to figure
out for Miyazaki his purpose for creating is the same as his purpose for
living to spread joy to those who need it and because his purpose is so clearly
defined he is literally willing to die to see it through when the 2011
earthquake changed Japan forever and its people were at an all-time low
rather than mourn for what was lost in the days following Miyazaki insisted the
studio remain working despite rolling blackouts and potential aftershocks
he knew that now more than ever people needed to feel the joy that only his
unique talent could bring them
throughout the documentary almost every time we are shown Miyazaki working he is
pulling at his hair shaking from stress and muttering under his breath about how
much of a hassle animation is despite the magical and joyful nature of his
films he feels as though he is forcing a smile in order to be socially acceptable
it's clear he finds the process to be tremendously draining especially in his
old age but after every film and even every declaration of retirement he can't
help but dive right into the next project Miyazaki and everyone he
surrounds himself with are constantly drilling home the idea that the
challenge is what makes it worth doing Miyazaki himself saying that the most
important things in life are hassles
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