Note by J.C.Staff animator needs translating

For the n00bs of cel collecting and production art . . . and for some of us old-timers, too. Post your questions on anything that puzzles you.
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sensei
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Note by J.C.Staff animator needs translating

Post by sensei »

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I'm preparing a sketch set for uploading/displaying in my ongoing tribute to J.C. Staff's 2006 series Asatte no Houkou aka "Living for the Day After Tomorrow." The above note came with Cut 296 from Episode 12, which shows the character Kotomi on a train, looking briefly out the window, then turning and saying, "Now then...." I can tell that the note is an animator's comment on some issue dealing with this sequence, evidently at the very end (A8 and A9 are the last frames in this particular series).

I also note that the studio was evidently very particular about this cut, as they had a complete series of color tests run off for inspection: A1 to A9 END. And the dougas include several "kabuse" layers for the dougas, fixing details in the character's face. So I'm assuming that the note concerns these issues in some way.

Can someone more proficient in cursive kanji/hiragana provide a sense of what this note actually says? Signs of gratitude will be forthcoming...
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Re: Note by J.C.Staff animator needs translating

Post by sensei »

Courtesy of Van Donovan on FB:
竹内さんへ
お疲れ様す。
C-296ですが動画(A)8、9せりで髪がパヤるらしいんで秋野さんがりたら見てもらって石川さんにとれてもらえますか?お願いします。

(す)

To Takeuchi-san.

Thanks for the hard work.
Douga C-296 (A), 8, 9 seems to have some hair poking through. Can you get Akino-san to have Ishikawa-san take a look at it? Thanks.

-Su
"Takeuchi-san" is Gen Takeuchi, who was credited as "Production Advancement Chief" for Ep. 12. Ishikawa-san is either one of the clean-up/color setting inspectors, Kyousuke Ishikawa, or (more likely) Takahiro Ishikawa, another of the Ep. 12 "Production Advancement" team. "Su" could be a lot of folks, but I'm guessing Kaoru Suzuki, also one of the Ep. 12 "Production Advancement" bunch.

"Akino-san" didn't turn up in the credits but could have been an office messenger boy or other functionary who carried batches of sketches from office to office.

So while I don't know exactly what "Production Advancement" involves (nearly all the Google hits are to ANN credit lists) I'm assuming that it subsumes all the steps needed to advance the pencil-on-paper sketches produced by the animation team to the production of the digital animation that is the final product. That is, getting them properly scanned and colorized and timed, at which point any inconsistencies in the artwork would be spotted and corrected.
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Re: Note by J.C.Staff animator needs translating

Post by Pixel »

I looked at the note last night, but bad weather threatened the power and I had to log off. Indeed, the power is off right now. I'm posting from my less than stellar cell phone. The only thing our power company is proficient at is billing.

I got the uchi part right, and I thought the first line was directed to someone specific. I could see the te morau based form suggesting/requesting a favor but that's about as far as I got.

I'm glad you got someone to help. I doubt I would have ever been able to untwist all that cursive kanji. I was willing to give it a try though. :-)
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Re: Note by J.C.Staff animator needs translating

Post by sensei »

Thank you, Pixel. I've reanimated the color tests and think I can see what issue is being flagged here: there is one place where Kotomi's hair sticks out in an unlikely way as she turns her head. I'll have to look at the final animation and see if that got fixed in the final footage.

Yeah, our landline phone/DSL Internet service leaves a lot to be desired. After one service visit (they have to come from the regional office about an hour and a half away) the technicial ran a wire from our phone connection to our neighbors, through a swale that is often filled with water and over the neighbor's driveway. We complained, and the home office allowed as how that was an "inappropriate fix." Nevertheless, two years later, our phone/Internet still come through that wire draped over the neighbor's driveway. (She's an old lady, happily, and doesn't drive over the wire twice a day like we would.)
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Re: Note by J.C.Staff animator needs translating

Post by Pixel »

sensei wrote: Fri Jun 22, 2018 1:05 pm Thank you, Pixel. I've reanimated the color tests and think I can see what issue is being flagged here: there is one place where Kotomi's hair sticks out in an unlikely way as she turns her head. I'll have to look at the final animation and see if that got fixed in the final footage.
Wow, that's pretty cool that you scored enough color tests to reanimate.

Oh that reminds me, I was wrong about the Azumanga Daioh color test you pointed out to me awhile back. IIRC, the color test is from Ep 14 (I orginally said Ep 5), and combines character states from both early and late parts of the scene, with Tomo's pose coming from early in the scene, and the sweatdrop on Yomi coming from later. I can't remember where Kagura fits in, I think she's late scene but I'm not sure.

I originally thought it was all late in the scene. I think they did it that way because they had a better view of the color pattern on Tomo's yukata from early in the scene. Yomi's glasses glared the entire time, I thought that only started as a reaction. I'm beginning to think they did that sometimes just so they wouldn't have to draw her eyes. In any case, it's an incredible piece-maybe I'll come across one myself someday.
Yeah, our landline phone/DSL Internet service leaves a lot to be desired. After one service visit (they have to come from the regional office about an hour and a half away) the technicial ran a wire from our phone connection to our neighbors, through a swale that is often filled with water and over the neighbor's driveway. We complained, and the home office allowed as how that was an "inappropriate fix." Nevertheless, two years later, our phone/Internet still come through that wire draped over the neighbor's driveway. (She's an old lady, happily, and doesn't drive over the wire twice a day like we would.)
Indeed, we have DSL ourselves. We would have problems with the connection dropping out during rain. I complained to AT&T about our junction in the phone lines missing it's protective cover. They finally came out and looked, but only decided to fix it rather randomly several months later.

It still has trouble from time to time, but the main problem is it's not really fast enough for more that one device at a time. A community just few miles away has fiber-to-the-home, as fast as you can get residential. A local big shot lives there, and he's interested in that sort of thing. I've pushed for fiber to the home here, but we live in AT&T territory so it'll probably be whatever they decide to do.

It looks like we'll be stuck with either IP-ADSL or fixed wireless. Fixed wireless gives me the chills.

Sorry for getting that far off topic, but I definitely know how the internet problems are.
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Re: Note by J.C.Staff animator needs translating

Post by sensei »

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Oh, yeeeeeeeeah!

Look at the way Kotomi's hair moves around her collar. In the last two frames it looks as if one of her hair locks just sprouts out of nowhere. That's an inbetweener's mistake: that lock should have brushed over Kotomi's shoulder, to end up where the key animator (Shinya Hasegawa!) wanted it to finish.

And if you screen the DVD, you'll see the impact of the kabuse that was ordered: that big lock now does slide over Kotomi's shoulder, ending up where it belongs. Details, details.

Good catch, "Su"! :yourock:
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Re: Note by J.C.Staff animator needs translating

Post by Pixel »

That's one heck of a catch. It takes years of experience and a very sharp eye to keep up with all of that.

Excellent reanimation, BTW. There is just SO much work in all of this, you can really see it.
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