Tokyo Sound

Since most of the backgrounds are digitally assisted, the output efficiency is higher than that of hand-painted character original paintings. The characters haven't been colored yet, but the backgrounds can be cut out and used as wallpapers. Yesterday, someone even produced four pictures and supervised three of them. The new supervisor, who has been in office for two days, worked very quickly, fully compressing the time, as if he had turned on the starry sky acceleration for the team.

The production has already largely transitioned to the photography and sound effects steps.

"Then we can start deciding on the voice actors. As the most front-stage profession in animation, we cannot be careless in this area," said Genki Kawamura.

"Yeah." Nito Makoto nodded.

"Connections are the foundation of our careers as producers." Kawamura Genki smiled, "So, do you have any idea of ​​a suitable candidate?"

"Mr. Kawamura, how about you make a recommendation list for me first?" Nidu Makoto said kindly.

This is actually the way of the world.

In this cooperation, Dongbao has contributed money and effort, and is very cooperative. Of course, the selection of performers should give the other party some space. At least it is impossible to choose an artist who is not on good terms with Dongbao as the leading actor... Wouldn't it be very embarrassing to give resources to the opponent?

As for why actors are considered first rather than professional voice actors, it is the same reason and also out of commercial needs.

The positioning of this project is to support the basic line of Toho's summer movies, that is, commercial films, and there are minimum expectations for box office performance. In terms of publicity, popular actors are still needed.

As for the dubbing skills, not to mention that the actors have lines courses, the old actors' readings are full of storytelling. Perhaps young people lack the skills, but this is not a TV series that is broadcast one episode every week. There is enough time for the actors to read the script and polish it, the director to explain the play on the spot, and to hire professional voice actor instructors to provide one-on-one targeted guidance.

With the treatment of the college entrance examination cramming class, the performance may not be very outstanding, but it will definitely not be a failure.

Ordinary newcomers don’t have such opportunities. If they don’t have the ability, they will be rejected in the audition. And because of the lack of experience on the set, their level of improvement is slow, and they suffer from the cycle of troubles.

Is it really true that talented voice actors cannot get rid of their professional habits and cannot convey a "sense of life" or "amateur feel"? I'm afraid that's not necessarily the case.

Unless the animation itself is already a big hit, from the perspective of attracting audiences, actors often have greater appeal. Even national IP movies will invite big stars to help out, and it is best to attract passers-by fans who don’t watch animation. Who would complain about the lack of audiences buying tickets?

Due to different influences, those who can be actors generally prefer to be actors, and voice actors will act in a play as long as they have the opportunity.

What Makoto Nito means now is that we can promote Toho's own young artists and see if they are suitable.

"Okay, then I'll think about it first." Kawamura Genki agreed immediately and suddenly asked, "Do you have a favorite candidate for the male lead?"

"Huh?" Nido Makoto was stunned, thinking, didn't I tell you already? Why did they ask men and women separately?

"The new animation director is not only a great artist, but also a very popular male voice actor at the moment." Kawamura Genki said, "There are professionals in the team. The director might as well ask him for any suggestions on dubbing. It's better than nothing."

"That's right..." Nito Makoto felt like this was the other party's turn to hint at him. How strange.

"Okay, then I have something else to do, so I'll leave first." Kawamura Genki patted the director's shoulder and left.

Although Makoto Nido was a bit weird, he actually went to find the animation supervisor. After all, they were all in the animation business, so he naturally knew whether the teacher was popular and strong as a voice actor.

"Who will voice the male lead?" Yin Ze was painting clouds in the blue sky and turned around in confusion. "I'm the animation supervisor, and you're asking me?"

"Just take it as a reference, and if you're interested, come to the dubbing set and help out," said Makoto Nido.

"I'm afraid this is not appropriate." Yin Ze said this without stopping his hands, and with a few strokes he laid out beautiful and deep clouds.

"Dubbing is your real job, how can it be inappropriate?" Nido Makoto pretended to be surprised, "Strictly speaking, it's inappropriate for you to sit here and draw!"

"..."Yin Ze.

Cheng is not very friendly. He offers one salary but asks me to do two jobs. His inner thoughts are exposed now. He wants to make money, right?

"Excuse me, it's only my second day at work," Yin Ze said. The implication is that he dare not even think about how he will be exploited tomorrow.

"Teacher, are there any actors you are familiar with?" asked Makoto Nidu.

"Yakusho Kanji." Yin Ze said that this was indeed the actor he was most familiar with, although he himself did not recognize many of the actors.

"..." Nito Makoto was silent. He was a big star, but even if Yakusho Kanji had great acting skills, he couldn't possibly play a teenage high school student. "Let's do something normal."

"I'm not in the entertainment industry. There's no one to promote myself. Should I talk about myself?" Yin Ze was helpless.

Huh?

Makoto Nido's brows were deeply furrowed, and there was a strange light in his eyes.

Chapter 74: Eat some snacks

Is it feasible to let a teacher voice the male lead?

Yes, and it’s very big.

Among the current voice actors, this one is the top C. His ability matches his fame. He has a wide range of voices, a high degree of development, and his acting skills are strong enough to win awards for live-action movies. As for his current level in the entertainment industry, although he is not that great, he has works, awards, and discussions. He is not unknown. He is a newcomer, a rising star, and has a promising future.

When I think about it this way, I am indeed qualified.

As for the conflict between the animation supervisor and the leading actor?

One is an artist with the pen name Yin Ze, and the other is an actor named Takizawa Satoru. The credits are written like this, and there is no conflict.

But Makoto Nito continued to think and felt that there were difficulties.

There is no doubt about the teacher's professional level, the problem is the commercial value, whether it meets the standards of Toho. As an animation, the teacher can certainly stimulate animation fans to buy tickets with his high popularity as a voice actor, but it may not necessarily attract passers-by.

In fact, true anime fans generally want to watch such a well-made project, and whether there are professional voice actors will not affect their viewing tendency. On the contrary, passers-by who don’t pay much attention to anime may be attracted by national actors, thus opening up a part of the market of non-audience groups.

Therefore, it is very obvious for the film producers how to choose.

Although the teacher is a big C in the voice actor industry, his popularity cannot compete with that of popular artists.

"Is it okay if I increase the saturation of this part of the scene by 20?" Yin Ze asked.

"Teacher, you too, you won the Junpo Newcomer Award, why are you acting in a special effects web drama? You should be acting in a Taiga drama, surely you should strike while the iron is hot and accumulate national popularity." Nido Makoto sighed.

"?" Yin Ze didn't understand why the director was complaining about something that had nothing to do with work, nor did he understand why so many people wanted him to play Okita Souji and Uesugi Kenshin. Is there no other chosen costume actor in Japan?

"Let me think about it." Makoto Nito said again.

"Then I'll make a copy before and after the adjustment, and you can decide later." Yin Ze used the software's shortcut keys fluently.

Let me think about how to mention the teacher to the producer. Makoto Nido stroked his chin and thought.

A few days later, the project is still in production.

After some internal communication, Kawamura Genki also prepared a list of female leads and came to the studio for a second round of preliminary discussions. "These are the candidates I recommend. Mitsuha is a young girl after all, so it should be appropriate to let a young girl play the role."

Makoto Nido took the artists' resumes.

Aoshima Shin, born in Shizuoka Prefecture, has relatively little experience in entertainment, but has participated in the movie version of "Kiki's Delivery Service".

Minami Hamabe, born in Ishikawa Prefecture, is the winner of the 7th "Toho Cinderella" talent show. She is a legitimate Toho female artist, so her film and television resume is relatively stable. Her current representative works include the drama version of "Anohana".

Rina Terakawa, born in Kanagawa Prefecture, has extensive performance experience and is often active in TV dramas and theater stages.

Hirona Yamazaki, born in Chiba Prefecture, won the 7th "Toho Cinderella" Judge's Special Award. Her current representative works include "As God Says" and the drama version of "Prison School".

Harada Shin has a different positioning. He is a singer with an impeccable voice. He mainly specializes in musicals and also has performance experience.

Kamishiraishi Mone, born in Kagoshima Prefecture, won the 7th "Toho Cinderella" Jury Special Award. She has dubbed in "Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki" and her current representative work is "Maiko", for which she won the Japan Academy Best Newcomer Award.

There are four or five other candidates.

Makoto Nito turned the pages with his head down, and most of them were artists from Toho Entertainment or those related to Toho. This was understandable, after all, it was their own summer movie project. Moreover, Toho was a big company, and the quality of the artists under its command was indeed good.

"They're all good. Why don't we arrange an audition so we can listen to the sound." Makoto Nidu agreed.

"It should be so." Kawamura Genki nodded.

“By the way, why don’t I see the list of male lead actors?” Makoto Nidu just remembered.

"Didn't we agree that you would think about it?" Kawamura Genki was also confused.

"Is that so?" Nido Makoto tilted his head slightly.

Could it be that the producer felt that the female lead had already been cast by his family, and that the male lead was embarrassed to take over the role, so he was using social conventions?

But the director came from an independent film background and knew many of the craftsmen behind the scenes, so when he was asked to make the selection, he would not recommend anyone internally, but would go through the regular audition selection process.

"Does any famous voice actor have any suggestions on this?" Kawamura Genki took the initiative to ask.

"He said he only cares about art and doesn't care about audio," said Makoto Nido. It's a bit like a military attaché not caring about internal affairs. "He hardly interacts with other artists. If I have to talk about it, I can only talk about myself."

"Haha, that sounds interesting. Why don't we let him audition for the male lead?" Kawamura Genki laughed cheerfully.

"?" Makoto Nito.

It’s different from what I expected. How come the producer took the initiative to finalize it?

"Since our majors are suitable, I think it's okay. Remember to communicate with him," Kawamura Genki emphasized.

"Are you really going to let the supervisor take over?" Nido Makoto was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"What's the big deal? Mr. Miyazaki once invited an animation director to play the male lead." Kawamura Genki waved his hand, "Their status and skills are also suitable. They are more than capable of leading the girls on this list on the project and on the set."

"...Actually, I think so too." Nido Makoto nodded vigorously.

"Then we can find a time to start the audition. Oh, go tell the production supervisor later." Kawamura Genki said.

"What if he doesn't agree?" Nido Makoto said. After all, it's quite tiring to do both the drawing and the dubbing.

"Then let's continue discussing the list of male leading actors. It's okay, don't worry, there's still plenty of time." Kawamura Genki comforted.

"?" Makoto Nidu felt something strange.

Does this mean that the co-author and supervisor only needs to take the order and doesn’t even need to look for other candidates?

This is clearly a designation, not an audition.

Such great passion? Is the teacher actually from Toho Entertainment? Am I the one who came?

That's impossible. When we had our fateful encounter at the Miyama Shrine in Hida City, the award-winning movie hadn't even been released yet!

Even though Brother Cheng has produced many stories about the pain of youth, he couldn't help but feel a little upset at this moment.

In the painting area, someone is still working diligently at his workstation.

"Teacher." Nido Makoto approached, "I have something to tell you."

"You can talk as you like." Yin Ze responded. He was addicted to painting with the masters, discussing and exchanging ideas with them, and couldn't extricate himself.

"I talked to the producer and they both think you can audition for the lead role." Makoto Nido said in a gentle tone, "Anyway, you're here anyway."

"Me?" Yin Ze looked back blankly.

……

Kawamura Genki was just a coincidence this time. He had heard that someone had worked in the crew of "Gal", so he made a joke about it. After all, he was an actor one foot and became a production supervisor the next foot, which is quite interesting.

"Joined the summer movie project?" The producer of the neighboring movie, Shuji Demoto from the same company, was relieved when he heard this. Hehe, pretending, and then pretending, seamlessly connecting, and still saying that you are not one of us.

"He wants to transfer here?" Kawamura Genki asked and was very surprised by the answer.

"Yes, Director Okumoto came over to visit the set last time and talked to him for nearly twenty minutes." Izumoto Shuji said, "It's not like he just wandered into the crew and played Gobang with a good guy to kill time, right? It seems he even brought a secretary with him, very business-like."

"There's this?" Kawamura Genki was stunned. The director of the company came to visit the team to have a detailed chat. This shows that he takes it very seriously. He had joked before about whether the other party would change jobs. I don't think he was right.

Although it is surprising, it is not incomprehensible. How can a voice actor who can win the Shunpo Award not want to seek better development in the film and television industry? I can only say that he has excellent qualifications and the director is willing to be his mentor. On the other hand, there are many female artists under Toho Entertainment who can carry the flag, but male artists are not so good. Thinking about it this way, both parties get what they need, and the foundation for cooperation is very solid.

As a top producer of Toho, Kawamura Genki also has some say in the project. After thinking about it, he called the busy director. While reporting the progress of the project, he also mentioned the newly hired director.

"Wait? Who did you recruit?" When Oku Shoji heard the name, he couldn't help but ask.

"Takizawa Satoru." Kawamura Genki added calmly, "It's quite interesting to say that I was invited by Director Shinto just after the filming of 'Hot Girl' was finished. It's quite fate."

"..." Oku Shoji digested the process of this career change for a while, and finally laughed and sighed, "What a genius."

"Oh? Oku-san knows him?" Kawamura Genki's eyes moved slightly, and he asked naturally.

"Well, this young man is amazing. He has strong abilities and responsible parents." Okuma spoke clearly. "You probably don't know, but he is a student of the dean of the University of Tokyo. It's not an ordinary teacher-student relationship, but a closed disciple. Oonishi Kawase is one of the best in the literary world today, and his eldest disciple is Natsume Kenzo, who was recently promoted to Vice Minister of Education of the Ministry of Education."

"..." Kawamura Genki was silent for two seconds. He never thought that by following the clues, he would actually touch the rocket launcher.

There is no doubt about the social status of the Southeast University alumni network, but this may not be an exception.

The producer thought about it again and again, and the only thing in his mind was the image of a gentleman who was modest in words and deeds and treated people just right. Unexpectedly, there was something even more important hidden in the shadow.

Why don't you include this special ability in your resume?

"So this is... a collaboration?" Kawamura Genki guessed, "He's working under my company?"

"Oh, it would be great if he could sign with Toho Entertainment, but unfortunately others are not interested in this." Oku Shoji said regretfully, "I guess when the dean retires, he will stay in school to continue the influence of his master in Toho University."

"I didn't expect there were such inside stories." Kawamura Genki sighed. He couldn't help but think of a word - Akamon Clan.

"His main job seems to be a voice actor. He just happened to be in this animated film. You can send him an audition and see if he's interested." Oku Shoji thought of it and said.

Natsume Kenzo personally visited the set, which shows that he really likes his apprentice. Even if there won't be a deep exchange, it's still good to show some good intentions.

And judging from his acting skills, he fully deserves the role of the leading actor.

Toho has a summer movie project every year, which is not unusual. Last year, it was "Child of the Beast" directed by Hosoda Morisaka, and also invited first-line stars such as Yakusho Kanji and Miyazaki Aoi to help out. With a strong production team and publicity, as long as it is steady and commercial, takes care of the audience, and doesn't go crazy, the possibility of sudden death is very low. So this time, we also plan to promote our own young female artists.