#50 Update: 1st Forum Exclusive! Director Ando Interview
over 9 years ago
– Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 05:44:58 PM
Wow, it’s our 50th Update!
1st Forum Exclusive: Director Ando Interview
Have you registered on our UTD Forum yet?
If you haven’t, now is the time to do so, as we will have our first Forum exclusive content: an interview with Under the Dog Director – none other than Mr. Masahiro Ando!
You can go to the Forum page from the link below:
http://community.under-the-dog.com/forums/
Please note:
- You must have a backer status of AGENT tier or above to access the Forum.
- The interview will be available in English only.
This interview article was originally published in a German anime magazine called “AnimaniA” in the December/January 2015 issue. Click on the logo below to visit their website.
We have a message from Mr. Thomas Webler, who is the Editor in Chief of AnimaniA magazine as well as the organizer of AnimagiC Convention in Bonn, Germany:
"As Germany’s most prominent magazine for covering Japanese anime and manga, AnimaniA supports and endorses the new and exciting anime project directed by Ando-san. We hope that all the anime fans from all over the world will enjoy 'Under the Dog' by reading this article. We can certainly look forward to witnessing a high-quality and fantastically animated action-flick!"
Thank you for allowing us to share this insightful interview article with our backers, Thomas-san!
Till the next Update then!
You can read this Update in Japanese on our Under the Dog website.
このUpdateの日本語版はUnder the Dogのウェブサイトで読むことができます。
http://under-the-dog.com/ja/news/director-ando-interview/
#51 Update: 2nd Forum Exclusive! Storyboards
over 9 years ago
– Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 05:44:52 PM
Woo-hoo! We’re flying into Area 51!
Brace yourself for Close Encounters of the Third Kind!
Following last week’s Forum Exclusive interview with Director Ando, this week we present our 2nd Forum Exclusive, which is…(drum roll please)
Storyboards preview!
As we have promised in the past, we showed some action sequences from B-part of the storyboards at Sakura-Con. We promised that we would be showing the final versions with higher resolution. Eventually, we will add those storyboards in the more public area of our website. However, we wanted to share them with our backers on the Forum first.
Why is it called “B-part”? Normally, a 20-30 min. show is divided into two parts: A-part and B-part. In Under the Dog, B-part is more action heavy and that’s where Director Ando started to storyboard based on the finalized script. The reason for that is, the action scenes usually take up more time to animate because of the complexity involved. So it’s better to start animating the portion that will take more time. However, that is not to say that A-part where you see more of everyday life depiction is any easier.
There are different areas or genres that an individual animator can exert his/her talent the most. There are animators who are very good at brining realism into daily life motions or facial expressions, whereas some others specialize in superhuman body movements yet still looking realistically cool at the same time (as many of you have seen such movements in Sword of the Stranger and CANAAN). Also, there are some specialists in making animation movements “fun to watch”. Those are the animators who do really well in “animating”, not necessarily drawing accurately according to the reality, but literally breathing life into drawings. (What I’m trying to imply here is that there’s something about the animation that makes you feel amused when you see it.) Why would you want to see it in animation otherwise?
Anyway, try to keep in memory of what you see as glimpses of storyboards right now and later compare with the actual animation. Please note that some scenes may get deleted or changed later on as the production moves forward for different reasons. (The reason can vary from for the sake of better pacing or flow to switching to better solution/idea that has come up from the animator responsible for that scene, etc.) Consider it as the proof of anime production being alive. It’s in constant shifts and changes. It’s more fun to imagine now, how it will actually turn out to be, isn’t it?
Please also note we won’t be showing any more of the storyboards, simply because we don’t want to spoil your fun of seeing the actual OVA before the production is finished. (At Sakura-Con, a good number of you mentioned you didn’t want to see much of the B-part storyboards that we brought with us to our autograph session, saying you wanted to save the enjoyment for later.)
So if you absolutely don’t want to see any storyboards right now, it’s fine, of course. For those who are eager to see what’s latest now, visit our website and Forum!
You can go to the Forum page from the link below:
http://community.under-the-dog.com/forums/
Please note:
- You must have a backer status of AGENT tier or above to access the Forum.
- This actually marks the first of our “monthly developer video diary” promised as one of the rewards.
Till the next Update then!
You can read this Update in Japanese on our Under the Dog website.
このUpdateの日本語版はUnder the Dogのウェブサイトで読むことができます。
http://under-the-dog.com/ja/news/forum-exclusive-storyboards/
#52 Update: Special Thanks
over 9 years ago
– Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 05:44:46 PM
Have you said “Thank you” on Mother’s Day?
Are you going to say “Thank you” on Father’s Day?
We’re saying “Thank you” to our UTD backers today!
As it was promised as one of the rewards, we have created a new page on Under the Dog website to thank all our backers supporting us.
You can go to the “Special Thanks wall” page from the link below:
http://under-the-dog.com/en/thanks/
See if you can find your name!
Please note:
- You must have a backer status of WALK-IN tier or above for your name to be credited on the wall.
- This marks the fulfillment of the “Special Thanks wall” promised as one of the rewards.
Till the next Update then!
You can read this Update in Japanese on our Under the Dog website.
このUpdateの日本語版はUnder the Dogのウェブサイトで読むことができます。
http://under-the-dog.com/ja/news/special-thanks/
#53 Update: It’s All About You
over 9 years ago
– Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 05:44:36 PM
Did you find your name on the wall?
Since our last Update, we have received numerous requests and questions regarding the backer name inscriptions on the Special Thanks wall (http://under-the-dog.com/en/thanks/).
So the first half of this week’s Update will consist of FAQs.
FAQs
Q: Where is my name? I can’t find my name on the Special Thanks wall.
A: First of all, you must have a backer status of WALK-IN tier or above for your name to be listed on the wall. Second, the names listed are not in alphabetical order but starting from the top tier. Third, what’s listed is the name you have registered with Kickstarter. So if you registered with a pseudonym, that's what you'll see. If you cannot find your name, try searching with “Find” function (Ctrl + F or Command ⌘ + F).
Q: Can I change my name on the Special Thanks wall?
A: Yes. We are currently looking into a systematic way of facilitating name changes on the wall, since it’s not realistically feasible for us to change names one by one. Once we figure it out, we will make an announcement. So please be patient with us while we work on this matter. There’s no need for you to send us any more emails or make comments on Kickstarter and UTD website requesting name changes. Your voice is heard.
Q: I just recently backed UTD through PayPal. Will my name be on the wall?
A: Yes, your name will appear on the wall in the course of time. Please give our system a bit of time before the new names get transferred over to the Special Thanks wall. If you still cannot find your name after a month you backed us, please let us know via website's Contact (http://under-the-dog.com/en/contact/).
Note: The above FAQs will be compiled and posted on our website.
IMPORTANT: Eventually, the name data for the Special Thanks wall will be transported to make the end credits of the Under the Dog OVA. So it is very important that you check your name on the wall now.
We hope to make you happy when you see your name.
Winners of the UTD poster giveaway contest!
Thank you all for entering the T-ONO poster giveaway contest.
We had more than 1200 entries! The messages and questions were delivered to the production team. We plan to answer some of the questions submitted during the contest.
Those are the two lucky winners:
Here's a photo of Yong-san with the poster signed by Original Storywriter Jiro Ishii.
Another photo of Jimmie-san with the poster signed by Director Ando.
Thank you again, The-O Network Online!
If some of the backers attending Anime Expo see them there, say hi to Theo-san and his crew for us.
Till the next Update then!
You can read this Update in Japanese on our Under the Dog website.
このUpdateの日本語版はUnder the Dogのウェブサイトで読むことができます。
http://under-the-dog.com/ja/news/its-all-about-you/
#54 Update: Siliconera Interview
over 9 years ago
– Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 05:44:32 PM
We’ll start off our weekly Update with a question submitted to our UTD poster giveaway contest:
“Dear Mr. Morimoto-San, What was your first thought, when you heard of Under the Dog?” – from Germany
UTD Producer Mr. Koji Morimoto answered:
My first impression for the animation work was, ‘Under the Dog is the action flick version of Dancer in the Dark’ – though I hope the backers won’t expect us to be making a musical.
As for my first impression of the project itself was, ‘There are too many rewards. Seriously, what am I gonna do?’
Morimoto-san also has the following message for all backers of UTD:
The animation production for Under the Dog is ongoing right now by the team of highly talented staff. The new trailer due out this summer is also in progress, with the first key frames of the episode and music in development. So please look forward to its completion. As for the rewards…I’m sure many of you are very eager to know their status. We finally see the estimated dates of production completion for the rewards that were promised to you all. Along with the new trailer, we are working to bring updates on them soon. So please also look forward to the coming up progress report.
Siliconera Interview
We had an interview with Siliconera, a website featuring articles about video games and Japanese anime. The interview is pretty extensive. Some of the questions were rather tough to answer, but Mr. Muneki Ogasawara (Kinema Citrus CEO) and Mr. Koji Morimoto (UTD Producer) answered all of them!
Here’s the link to the interview on Siliconera:
http://www.siliconera.com/2015/06/22/under-the-dog-getting-an-anime-kickstarter-back-on-track/
Till the next Update then!
You can read this Update in Japanese on our Under the Dog website.
このUpdateの日本語版はUnder the Dogのウェブサイトで読むことができます。
http://under-the-dog.com/ja/news/siliconera-interview/
