Many thanks to Maru for tweeting the link!
Pushing Pixels has posted their interview with set designer Masako Masuda. It is a great interview especially for those who are interested in the film industry in general. Ms. Masuda talks about set designing and talks about what it is, how it is done, who set designers work with, the chain of command that they follow, and problems associated with saving and accessing her work with all the changes in digital technology. In the course of the interview, she talks about 47 Ronin twice. The first is to relate an incident where the special effects/CGI people changed her set to make the CGI action work. In another part she says she is glad that 47 Ronin is being released late in the year so that it will have a good chance to get nominated for an Oscar for Art Direction.
Kirill: Speaking of digital, do you see more of your design being created digitally on screen instead of as physically built sets?
Masako: …On my latest film, “47 Ronin”, which is not released yet, my Art Department was designing all sets, and there was another group of special effects/CGI people who were working with our sets. One day I found out by accident that they were modifying a set that I had designed. They were adjusting the height or location of certain things to make their CGI action work but did not tell me. But what they were designing did not make sense to my design. My design had reasons in terms of architecture and story why this alcove is here, or why this screen is there, or why things are of a certain height. They were coming from the point of view of how to make their CGI action work, and wanted to arrange things around it. Of course, if I had known about their issues, I could change my design, and we both could have worked more efficiently. We both were trying to make the scene work, but more communication was needed.
Kirill: What can you tell us about “47 Ronin”?
Masako: It is a story based on the real story about 47 Samurai who lost their lord, which happened in the Shogun Period Japan. It is one of the most beloved storied in Japan. It has everything: loyalty, betrayal, revenge, love, fight, and honor. It’s a big movie with probably a lot of CGI. All the sets were originally designed in LA where I was located, and built and shot in London and Budapest. I was quite impressed by the photos of the sets build in Budapest which showed how they carried out our design, and I am very curious about how all our sets will come out. I really enjoyed working on the film with such a creative production designer and a great group of talented Art Department crew. I’m glad that the film will be released closer to the end of this year, so that, I’m hoping, that it will have a good chance to get nominated for an Oscar for Art Direction! I am really looking forward to seeing it, and hope audience will enjoy not just the story but all the sets!