.034 - the internship @ IG

Things have been great at Production IG since I've arrived, but this greatness is definitely not without its downfalls however. It's not an American entertainment company and at times, I think my expectation of that disappoints me.

First off, there aren't bright lights when you come to work, free donuts, coffee, or soda. Heck, there aren't even free pencils and pens. The rule for just about everything in our small studio of about 15 people is BYO_(bring your own whatever-you-call-it). I know its small issue, but its just one of those things that came as a shock to me since after 2 summers of internships filled with perks, I was suddenly without any. It kinda makes sense once you figure out where the rest of the money goes. Animation houses in Japan are not sponsored by super rich VCs or big studio heads(ie Disney, WB, FOX). So when they make movies like Ghost in the Shell, they sacrifice beauty and glamour in office life for beauty and glamour on screen. What's amazing to me is how grand the imaginations of these artists are despite their uninspiring workspace.

However, there are many reasons why I think I am very fortunate to have gotten an internship at the studio I work in within Production IG. I work in the 3d studio of Production IG. There are many other small branches around the Tokyo as well. But after visiting the main headquarters in Kokubungi, I am so glad I was placed in the 3D studio.


The main studio is older and is a full functioning 2d animation studio. This means floors creak as you enter, rooms are so quiet you can hear yourself bow, and all you see are "cubicles" of animators, colorers, storyboarders, and concept artists hard at work ALL DAY long. Whereas my studio feels more like a Silicon Valley startup. It actually kind of is since we are embarking on the kinds of projects never seen before in the company. Other than that we talk a lot, we have computers(!), and there is actually a bit of color in the office(provided by our red cubicles). Small differences, but again they go a long way.

Aside from that the environment, the actual talent here is out of this world! Given that my studio is so small, I feel fortunate to be able to tap these resources anytime I like. For instance, every artists' portfolio has art the quality of Pixar's Ratatouille, my supervisor has won 1st prize at Cannes and the Academy Awards, two of the artists here worked at Nintendo, one of these artists created THE art direction for the Nintendo game, Advance Wars, the list of greatness goes on and on. I must admit, it was hard for the first few days to figure out where I fit in amidst such greatness. After all, I'm just a Film STUDIES student with only 3 real short films under my belt. But after just 2 weeks, I've seen an improvement in my own filmmaking skills(as I create the final cut of my latest short) and in the way I see ANY form of media(like TV shows, commercials, anime, movies, and even music). As long I can give the company what they hired me for, then my only concern is try to pick up as much here as possible.

I can sense that I'll be blogging more on storytelling in the coming weeks not only to document it for myself, but also for the benefit of those interested in Japanese storytelling.