Hayao Miyazaki | What it means to be an artist

[Music] Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential artists of our time not only is he the only anime creator to ever carve out a home in western pop culture but his track record is unmatched releasing masterpiece after masterpiece without ever once compromising on quality across his entire four decade-long career writing and directing 11 feature films with another in the works he operates on a level all of his own being such a legendary and private artist it's hard to imagine him ever struggling to create but thanks to NHK world Japan were given a peek behind the curtains in the form of a documentary spanning ten years of Miyazaki's career the series documents everything from the inception of Ponyo to the release of the wind rises and gives an in-depth look at Miyazaki's creative process to my great surprise I found myself relating to Miyazaki's every struggle and every victory despite an unfathomable scale of pressure and responsibility his experience is really not all that different to my own and I imagine anyone's who's attempted to express themselves through an art form Miyazaki is a man so full of wisdom that it leaks out in everything he does watching him work and listening to him speak has changed my perspective for good and taught me invaluable lessons on what it means to be an artist part 1 finding inspiration when approaching the monumental task of developing a feature film Miyazaki's creative process begins with a single image or idea the inspiration that will then bloom into an entire world brimming with life but even the great Miyazaki cannot pull this idea out of thin air like we all try so hard to do when we sit down with our coffees and our laptops and stare at a blank page no instead Miyazaki chooses to live his life with his eyes wide open finding beauty in the benign he taped a camera to the inside of his car just to review his daily commute because to him and inspiration is like dropping a fishing line into your mind you aren't able to choose what is caught but your job is to let it flow through you and out onto the paper because of this Miyazaki carries around a notebook with him everywhere he goes that he fills with ideas and concepts that will most likely never come to fruition but the very act of writing them down is important in and of itself even once Miyazaki commits to an idea his search for inspiration is just beginning weeks will pass without any progress being made but this doesn't worry Miyazaki he knows that inspiration will come as long as he is actively searching for it rather than looking towards other works of animation Miyazaki chooses to take in music tours and museums for inspiration on one such trip Miyazaki found a piece to be particularly interesting despite it having no apparent connection to his work on Ponyo the thoughts and emotions it triggered in him led to a breakthrough in his work it often takes Miyazaki almost a year of work before even a single frame is complete and despite drawing all day every day for work he continues to find time to draw unrelated pieces out of no incentive but the joy it brings him it isn't until a solid foundation has been laid that Miyazaki will then force himself to create once the story is almost complete he'll often isolate himself in another city to grind out the rest of the story to Miyazaki the change in scenery is a helpful tool for getting a bigger picture and overcoming any preconceived notions of what his film needs to be like a fresh blanket of snow covering up the etched in paths so rather than sitting at your desk with your fingers on the keyboard get out there and experience the world even if that means just going for a walk it will make all the difference because you never know what small image can grow into something much greater Part-2 confidence the most unexpected part of Miyazaki's process is just how much doubt and anxiety he experiences throughout every step of the journey whenever I picture a master of their craft working i assume their years of experience provides them with an unwavering confidence in their own ability but i failed to put in perspective is that the more experienced one has one more times they failed because of this expert to know what it means to fail far better than any beginner giving them all the more reason to strive for success as another artist once said the master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried early in his career miyazaki went from Studio to studio pitching his ideas for my neighbor totoro castle in the sky and Princess Mononoke but the industry would not even give him the time of day and he was constantly rejected his inability to convey his vision for the future of animation did not stop him from believing in himself and his own ideas which would one day become the most iconic anime characters in history despite being responsible for six of the 10 highest-grossing anime films of all time he is still filled with anxiety and doubt at every premiere for a new film just like everyone trying to create in his mind if people get bored during one of his films it's game over Part three reality almost every word that comes out of Miyazaki's mouth is something to analyze and learn from but one thing he said hit especially close to home for me even for someone as experienced as Miyazaki having the idea is only the first step even the most brilliant concepts might not be possible to realize the way you imagined it he's been known to work for days on a single image and then completely scrapped it he doesn't allow himself to fall victim to the sunken cost fallacy just because you've already put hours days or even weeks into a project does not mean that it is in your best interest to finish it sometimes the only way to create something special is to make attempt after attempt until the final product becomes an amalgamation of everything you've learned it takes a team of over a hundred animators an entire week to create five seconds of final animation try to keep that pace in mind next time you're struggling to translate your idea into reality Part 4 you are your own worst enemy after years of dedication hard work and a bit of luck something you've created might resonate with a large enough audience that its success snowballs and turns you into an overnight success known for that one particular work at this point the hardest question you can ask yourself is what's next how can you possibly continue to grow and evolve as an artist while still pleasing you're now dedicated fanbase the line gets blurred between making art to express yourself and just trying to please your audience although my neighbor totoro is what turned Miyazaki into the celebrity he is today it has become a thorn in his side a mountain he's created that he will struggle to top for the rest of his career Miyazaki believes that talent is a finite resource that gets worn out by use day by day unless you continue to push yourself into unknown territories making a film at the level studio ghibli does is like capturing lightning in a bottle but having to continually top yourself every few years is a task bordering on impossible despite this miyazaki continues to push his own boundaries and test new mediums like pastels and cgi even this far into his life his only rival that he needs to best is himself and although he might always be known to others as the creator of Totoro he's proved to himself that he can branch out and create films of all genres styles and themes part five finding your purpose although it's seemingly obvious step in the creative process I believe it can take a lifetime of experimentation to figure out for Miyazaki his purpose for creating is the same as his purpose for living to spread joy to those who need it and because his purpose is so clearly defined he is literally willing to die to see it through when the 2011 earthquake changed Japan forever and its people were at an all-time low rather than mourn for what was lost in the days following Miyazaki insisted the studio remain working despite rolling blackouts and potential aftershocks he knew that now more than ever people needed to feel the joy that only his unique talent could bring them throughout the documentary almost every time we are shown Miyazaki working he is pulling at his hair shaking from stress and muttering under his breath about how much of a hassle animation is despite the magical and joyful nature of his films he feels as though he is forcing a smile in order to be socially acceptable it's clear he finds the process to be tremendously draining especially in his old age but after every film and even every declaration of retirement he can't help but dive right into the next project Miyazaki and everyone he surrounds himself with are constantly drilling home the idea that the challenge is what makes it worth doing Miyazaki himself saying that the most important things in life are hassles [Music]

Channel: Kinda Neet

Views: 180,415

Rating: 4.9763145 out of 5

Keywords: miyazaki, hayao miyazaki, problem, ghibli, studio ghibli, miyazakis career, 宮崎 駿, retrospective, joe hisaishi, spirited away, haku, chihiro, ghibli museum, how animation comes to life, The Name of Life, never-ending man hayao miyazaki, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, 10 Years With Hayao Miyazaki, Never-Ending Man, 센과치히로, มิติวิญญาณมหัศจรรย์, vùng đất linh hồn, 千與千尋, 神隱少女, chihiro lạc vào sứ thần bí, ponyo, hayao miyazaki netflix, hayao miyazaki films, princess mononoke, 5 lessons

Id: mjAWVZq6wlw

Length: 11min 20sec (680 seconds)

Published: Fri May 08 2020