Kazuaki Kiriya's "Synergy Production Techniques"

 

Dentsu Design Talk #108 (held December 25, 2013) featured a solo talk by film director Kazuaki Kiriya titled "Kazuaki Kiriya's Synergy Production Method." We explore his life journey of constantly challenging new possibilities—from photography, PVs, and films to launching the social networking service "FREEWORLD"—and his perspectives on the future of the creative industry.
 

 

(Planning & Production: Dentsu Inc. Human Resources Bureau, Aki Kanahara & Article Editing: Sugatsuke Office & Composition Cooperation: Eiji Kobayashi)

　

 

#A Fateful Encounter with "Creativity"

 

"Today, I'd like to present myself to you all. And first, I want you to understand what kind of person I am."

Mr. Kiriya began his talk by sharing stories about his life. He recounted his childhood filled with curiosity, his growing dissatisfaction with Japan's education system during elementary school, and his life as a struggling student in America after graduating junior high, where he had gone "intending to emigrate." He reflected on the sudden turning point in his teens: his encounter with the newly launched "MTV (Music Television)." This experience profoundly shaped his life. "I was born and raised in a tiny Japanese town with a population of 2,000. I skipped Tokyo altogether and came straight to America. So, I never thought people could actually make a living through creativity or art. Going to America opened doors I never even imagined existed." After experiencing this encounter with the unknown, he transferred from a public school to the nationally renowned Cambridge School of Weston, receiving a "rich, gifted education" in the arts.
 
After that, he went through a "dark period" when the design company he started with a friend went bankrupt. But the next turning point didn't take long to arrive.

In 1992, Apple released the Macintosh Quadra 950. "I made up my mind and bought the machine, which cost around 500,000 to 800,000 yen including the main unit. It was because I saw Photoshop 2.0. The shock came from realizing I could finally edit photos in color." From there, he began his path as a graphic designer, started shooting digital photos for publications like the hip-hop magazine 'Vibe' and the Japanese magazine 'CREA', and found success as a photographer.

 

#Music Video Production and the Blockbuster 'CASSHERN'

 

"But then, something different started growing inside me. I started thinking, 'I want to shoot video. I'm done with still photos.'"

In 2001, he made the shift from the world of still photography to the world of video. Using Final Cut Pro 2 imported from the US, he began shooting music videos for bands like THE BACK HORN and artists like Utada Hikaru. During the production of Utada Hikaru's 'traveling' music video, which became a massive hit at the time, he realized, "If something's missing, you can just fill it in with CG." This methodology then led to new possibilities for his directorial debut, 'CASSHERN'.
 
He produced 'CASSHERN' on a tight budget that made creating CG work seem impossible. He recalls the process starting with gathering parts in Akihabara and assembling 30 computers, then creating CG using After Effects—a software virtually unused in the film industry at the time. Despite this low budget, CASSHERN became a major hit. While his production style and screenwriting faced criticism from Japan's traditional film establishment, this debut opened the door to Hollywood. "All five major agencies—CAA, ICM, William Morris, Endeavor, and UTA—called me. They called directly, saying, 'We're flying to Japan immediately. Please meet with us.'"

 

#Japan, and Breaking Free from the Studio System

 

His subsequent film career was far from easy. The Lehman Shock wiped out projects in development, ushering in what he calls his "second dark age." Then came the production of "GOEMON," which, made before CG technology could catch up, failed to generate the same reaction as his previous work.
He is currently in the final production stages of the Hollywood film 'The Last Knights' (tentative title), scheduled for release in April 2014. It features a star-studded cast including Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman. This is a project he undertook with the mindset of "breaking free from the studio system at least once." Regarding his decision to produce films independently in America, he strongly points out the problem that in both the Japanese and American film industries, "the studio system sometimes treats creators like slaves." Furthermore, he states that above all, Japan is "physically incapable of making films that work globally."
 
He states that Japanese cinema is "an extremely challenging medium" at a time when budgets of hundreds of millions or even billions of yen are almost impossible to secure. Citing the 3D film Gravity as an example, he notes, "In inverse proportion to the decline in Japanese film budgets, the budgets and quality of films worldwide have been rising." Furthermore, he rebels against the prevailing conventional wisdom of "It can't be done," a phrase he himself heard constantly from childhood and which he believes is a cause of stagnation in Japanese cinema. "Why do people in the Japanese film industry immediately say 'it can't be done' about everything? Have they lived lives that give them the right to say that? Have they even tried? It's almost always the people who've never done anything who say 'this won't work, it's impossible.'"
 

#Returning the Initiative to Creativity

 

He further posed the question: "Why don't we take another look at why we started this work, why we're doing creative work?" and addressed the audience: "Don't you think there's a part of us that has tacitly accepted being told 'You can't do that because you're Japanese'?"
 
"I want to return the initiative to creativity. I want to create a world where systems work for creativity, not where creativity is used by systems. Creativity transcends various problems. And I believe true creators are grounded in humanity and emotion." His passionate talk concluded with this powerful message.

 

(End)