By, uav-jp 26/01/2023

[Video +] A making interview and concept design by Koji Tajima, a young Japanese creator who participated in "Blade Runner 2049" as a concept designer! !

Video + (EIZO PLUS) The scene where new video is born vol.10

"Blade Runner 2049"

October 27 (Friday) Nationwide road Show distribution: Sony Pictures

A making interview and concept design by Koji Tajima, a young Japanese creator who participated in "Blade Runner 2049" as a concept designer, will be unveiled for the first time! !

STORY

In the year 2049, poverty and disease are rampant in California. Investigator K, a blade runner who specializes in genetically engineered artificial humans known as replicants, discovers the existence of a conspiracy by Wallace, the manufacturer of replicants, during the investigation. In order to ascertain the truth, K follows the whereabouts of Deckard, a former blade runner who disappeared 30 years ago...

INTERVIEW ── Concept Designer Koji Tajima (Double Negative Vancouver)

Concept design by Koji Tajima. Conversation scene between K and 3D holography. A lot of time was spent on Joy's hologram, and every look was explored.

Q: When did you participate this time, how many pictures and what kind of concept pictures did you draw?

Tajima: I participated from the winter of 2016, and I was drawing until around June of 2017. At first I did the design of the building as an assistant, and then gradually I was entrusted with signboards and spinners. Also small props, weapons and gadgets. I don't remember how many I drew in total. The concept design of the city was different from the previous work in terms of building shape and era, so I started by exploring what kind of buildings there were. After that, I was asked to make a signboard in Japanese. I did all the Japanese signs, and my Korean (double negative) colleague next to me did the Korean signs.

Q: Did you refer to Syd Mead's drawings in "Blade Runner" for the cityscape design? "Or did you come up with something completely new?"

Tajima: It feels completely new. A little new without breaking the style of the first "Blade Runner". I used the feeling of buildings in Hong Kong, China, lined up in a row, and the feeling of Kowloon. The tallest building is about 40-50 stories. There are various types of buildings, from low to high. The standard style seems to have been inherited from the first "Blade Runner". I had a book of Syd Mead's art at my company (Double Negative), and when I saw it, I thought about spinners. I refer to the feel of the details.

Q: Did the director give you any instructions about "this kind of image"?

[Video +] Blade Runner 2049 A young Japanese creator who participated in

Tajima: Surrounded by walls, it feels dull. It is close to the image of Tokyo. It was raining when I returned to Japan this summer, and the way the light from the billboard reflected in the rain was close to the director's image. It's an image of Asia with a thick layer of air. There was a lot of freedom regarding signage, and there was no particular designation. The work itself had the feeling that the streets were filled with billboards from various countries, and besides Japanese, there were also Russian and African languages, and because there were so many different languages mixed together, I was able to see all the cultures. It was an image like a mix of

Q: How many signs did you draw?

Tajima: I drew more than 100 signboards. The characters were quite retro in line with the world view. Feels like neon. First, start with a ramen shop. After drawing about 60 patterns, I couldn't think of anything else, so I thought, ``Let's add my own name,'' so I drew ``Tajima Dental Clinic,'' and they liked it a lot (laughs). I don't know if you liked the color scheme, but it's in the trailer. I thought about the 3D signboard relatively from a technology point of view. How is the project going, is it like a laser, or does it emerge?

Q: Have you received any retakes?

Tajima: Regarding the characters with 3D holograms, which the director was particular about, he said, "I don't want them to look like magic or anime." It's a key presence in the movie, but he doesn't want it to look like a fake. It took more than a year, including the time when I wasn't involved, without getting the OK. I want to make it look real and real. But if you make it too real, you'll end up being just a human... Everyone was there at that time (laughs). It's been tough for over a year.

Q: Are there any words from the director that left an impression on you?

Tajima: When I saw the signboard in Japanese, I was told that I wanted it to be something that wouldn't feel out of place for the Japanese audience. When it comes to other foreign languages, I want them to make sure that native speakers don't feel uncomfortable.

Q: Regarding the design of the spinner.

Tajima: Various artists have drawn, but what I was doing with Double Negative was police spinners. There were also things like refining based on the sketches of Syd Mead and George Hull given by the client. They handed me a picture drawn with a pencil and said, "It's a sketch of a legend."

The spinner was made entirely in 3D. There are also designs that I came up with completely from scratch, starting with making things that were made with pencils into 3D. I made about 5 of them. After that, I finished it and made it in real size, but I was told, ``It's not cool, so please do something about it,'' so I changed the details without changing the general framework...

After all, drawing spinners was exciting. When I'm drawing, my colleague who likes "Blade Runner" will come up behind me and say things like "I wonder what that would be like..." or "If it's me...". That person didn't participate (laughs).

Q: Participating in the movie.

Tajima: "Blade Runner" has a lot of fans even among Double Negatives, so the staff had different feelings. I felt high morale. I wasn't even born when the previous "Blade Runner" was made, but there are many works that have influenced me since I was a child, so I'm very lucky to be involved in this sequel. That was it. I hope to continue to create works that I can be proud of that can be passed on to the next generation.

The concept design of the police spinner by Koji Tajima, which was completely redesigned for this work.

Spinner concept design by Koji Tajima. In the movie, the bottom side is drawn intensively because the top side cannot be seen much.

Kouji Tajima / Double Negative Visual Effects Concept Artist Born in 1990, from Tokyo. He graduated from the Computer Graphics Department of Japan Electronics College in 2011 and joined Double Negative Singapore branch in April 2012, currently based in Vancouver. As a concept artist, he has participated in films such as "Pacific Rim: Uprising" (scheduled to be released in 2018), "Blade Runner 2049" ('17), "Wonder Woman" ('17), "Assassin's Creed" ('17), and "Fantastic".・Beast and Wizard's Journey" ('16), "Star Trek BEYOND" ('16), "Bridge of Spy" ('15), "Godzilla" ('14), "The Hunger Games 2 Catching Fire" ('13), "Furious 6" ('13), "Les Miserables" ('12). As a character designer, he worked on Parasyte (2014), Parasyte Final (2015), and Attack on Titan ATTACK ON TITAN (2015).

A city design by Koji Tajima, where advertising neon lights sparkle. There are many signboards that use three-dimensional projection technology instead of normal neon.

《STAFF》

Director: Denis Villeneuve Screenplay: Hampton Fancher, Michael Green Original story: Hampton Fancher Production: Andrew A. Kosove, Broadrick Johnson, Budd Yorkin , Cynthia Sykes Yorkin Executive Producers: Ridley Scott, Bill Carraro, Tim Gamble, Frank Gistra, Yale Baddick, Val Hill Co-Executive Producers: Ian McGloin, Osa Greenberg Co-Producers: Carl O. Rogers, Dana Belcastro, Steven P. Wegner Photography: Roger Deakins Production Design: Dennis Gassner Visual Effects Supervision: John Nelson Costume Design: Renee April Zimmer