 Japan:
State of the Industry: Scott Frazier gave his observation about Japan's anime industry
that is currently mired in a sea of change, grasping new technologies and slowly losing
traditional art techniques as demand for anime increases. Live action flicks like Jin-Roh,
Avalon, and Metropolis receive great praise and highlight the best of computer-generated
films in an anime medium, but must also compete with the likes of Sailor Moon, Card Captor
Sakura, and Pokemon which have stayed true to the traditional cel-based art, crude as it
might be, that the young generation likes so much. A complicated and delicate balance
to support two different kinds of anime now. Additional topics included changing
plots, editing times, dealing with marketing, broadcast standards, and the ocean of many
rules to abide by.
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A
Model Society: Bootleg Invasion!: From posters to wall scrolls, music CDs to DVDs,
model kits to artbooks, bootlegs are a nuisance for those who paid good money for the real
deal and only get a cheap copy. But how can you tell? Panelists educated the
audience about copyright details to look for, inconsistent design and photos in the
packaging, licensing stickers, quality of the product, and overall illegitimate cost to pay
for a cheap product that you know is pirated or copied. Basically, if the cost equals
that of the original and the packaging shows obvious signs of bad quality printing, then
quite certainly you are being ripped off. It's a consciousness many anime fans have
battles with when it comes to buying music CDs vs. model kits or artbooks, but in the end,
it's up to the purchaser to be aware of these cheap products, shop smart, and be a good
judge about how much value you place on anime collectables.
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Voice
Acting with Matt K. Miller: Best known for his English voice role as Tenchi Masaki in
the magical comedy Tenchi Muyou!, Matt inspired spirited members of the audience to actively
"try out" their voices and see how hard it really is to be a good voice actor with
a consistent range and grasp of character on a day-to-day basis. Details about the
technical and human challenges when working as director, producer, actor, and voice work at
the studio were also given attention.
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Tales
of Voice Acting: Doug Smith (GoldenBoy) and Matt Miller (Tenchi Muyou!), both
accomplished English voice actors, gave a little history about their roles. Matt
recalled his first experience of being Tenchi of a lot of screaming and since it was just
the first episode filled with chaos. Doug's first lines demanded a sense of
nervousness and youthful scratchiness. Technical obstacles included sound operation
and voice direction coordination, difficulties with complicated Japanese name pronunciations,
and lessons learned when using Hollywood celebrities as voices instead of real voice actors.
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Anime
Hell: Dave Merrill and Ryan Gavigan with Corn Pone Productions once again proudly
showed its fine collection of the best of the best anime spoofs and music videos generated
by the ongoing spirit of American fandom.
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Fan
Dub Parodies: How to Succeed in Humor Without Really Trying: Magnum Opus Productions and Rich Lather
gave video essentials for the audience on how easy it is to make an anime fan spoof
video. No, they're laughing with you, not at you.
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