Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: A Brilliant Idea (2)
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In front of the main gate of Seo-jong Arts University, known as one of South Korea's top art schools.
I loitered near the gate, waiting for the appointed time.
‘Still vacation season, so it’s pretty dead.’
After waiting for about ten minutes, a taxi screeched to a halt in front of the gate.
“Hyunsoo!”
“Ah, you’re here.”
Rokhui, dressed in a trench coat, carefully stepped out of the taxi and greeted me.
The smile on her face made me smile back naturally.
“You waited long, didn’t you? You should have waited inside where it’s warm.”
“No, not really. I only waited about five minutes.”
“Hehe, that’s a relief. Let’s go in, then. The professor is waiting in his office.”
Rokhui took my hand and strode forward confidently.
The quiet campus, with patches of white snow scattered about, had a nice atmosphere.
If I wasn't here for work, it would have felt just like a date.
“That’s the art supply store, over there is the convenience store, and that’s the cafeteria. If we had time, we could have had a meal there for old times’ sake.”
Seol Rokhui pointed out various places on campus, eagerly explaining them to me.
Thinking that this was the school the person I was dating had attended gave me a strange feeling for some reason.
After about a five-minute walk, we arrived at a building on the outskirts of the campus.
We reached the top floor, where professors' offices were clustered together.
We walked down the corridor and knocked on the steel door at the very end, which had a plaque that read [Department Head’s Office].
*Knock, knock, knock!*
“Professor, we’re here. It’s Rokhui.”
“Come in, it’s unlocked.”
As we opened the door and entered, a stern-looking old professor with white hair greeted us.
With a happy expression, Rokhui placed the fruit she had brought on his desk and exchanged greetings.
“Hello, Professor Han!”
“Ah, welcome, welcome. Is this the gentleman next to you?”
“Yes, yes! This is Producer Jo Hyunsoo from NB Soft, the one I was going to introduce you to today!”
“Ah, a pleasure to meet you. I hear you’re a famous game developer?”
“Not at all. The pleasure is all mine.”
The professor’s name was Han Jeong-sik.
He was an alumnus of CalArts, famous for producing the most Disney animators.
I didn’t know much about him, but apparently, he was a legendary figure in the Korean animation industry.
“Please, sit down. What would you like to drink? Coffee? Juice?”
“Ah, water is fine for me.”
“Haha, alright. Water is good for your health, too.”
We sat at the reception table in the center of his office.
I had expected a professor of his age and position as department head to be quite rigid, but he was surprisingly friendly and had good business etiquette.
Then again, I suppose that’s why he and Rokhui had stayed in touch all this time.
“Producer, do you enjoy animation or comics?”
“Ah, yes. Since they overlap with games to some extent, I watch them often.”
“Ho ho, I see. Then our conversation might go a bit more smoothly. We don’t have any experience pursuing an industry-academia collaboration with a game company, so I was asking in case there might be some awkwardness.”
Professor Jeong-sik started the conversation with some light talk, then sipped his coffee and smoothly transitioned to the main topic.
“I heard you wish to establish an industry-academia collaboration with our university, Producer.”
“Ah, yes. I’d like to create a cinematic animation for a game I’m developing called Pass On Dream. It mainly deals with the life and dreams of the artist Van Gogh.”
“Gogh, you say. You won’t find anyone who works with his art who dislikes him.”
“Right? Everyone seems to love him.”
I smiled faintly and took out a file I had prepared, handing it to him.
“This is a business proposal containing the scope of the animation I have in mind. Please take a look.”
It was a detailed planning document containing the storyboard, concept, overall volume, and estimated cost of the animation.
I had put a lot of effort into it since I was meeting someone from an unfamiliar industry, and I couldn't help but worry if it would be okay.
“Oh, you’re very well-prepared. To have a document like this already.”
Professor Han Jeong-sik seemed to find some points interesting, humming as he carefully read through the document, page by page.
“You want to include animations of various concepts, like stencil technique animation similar to *Princes and Princesses*, sand animation, puppet, and claymation.”
“Yes. Since the game is about an artist’s life, I thought using various animation techniques appropriate for each situation would enhance the dramatic feel. Would this kind of work be a bit difficult?”
I had studied a lot before coming here.
When people think of animation, most envision something like Disney or Ghibli.
However, just as music has its major and indie scenes, the animation world also has a market considered ‘indie animation.’
There were many works with fantastical styles of expression that the major scene couldn't attempt, like Michel Ocelot’s *Princes and Princesses*, Sylvain Chomet’s *The Triplets of Belleville*, and Yuri Norstein’s *Hedgehog in the Fog*.
I planned to actively use such methods.
‘The problem is whether the other party will accept it.’
In fact, the problem lay not with me, but with the industry-academia collaboration team.
Sand animation, cut-out, clay, puppet, rotoscoping, stencil, and so on.
I had requested nearly ten different animation techniques.
For this first build, we only needed to create two in-game cinematics.
However, the full game had thirteen chapters requiring fourteen cinematics, and I wanted to use a different technique for each chapter to match its theme.
This was an approach that would be absolutely impossible for a typical outsourced animation studio.
“Hmmmm.”
Professor Jeong-sik’s expression was subtle as he read the document.
Was such an unreasonable request proving to be difficult after all?
“Since you said you were from a game company, I assumed you came to us thinking of 2D animation, but you seem to have a deep knowledge of animation, Producer.”
“Not at all. I just did some studying for today’s meeting. Since my game has a unique tone, I thought utilizing these various techniques would be a good fit.”
“Ho ho, I see.”
After reading the document to the end, Han Jeong-sik placed it lightly on the table and curled his lips into a smile.
“I am very positive about the project you’ve proposed. If we use such a variety of techniques, we could involve several student teams from our side. If any students are interested, we could even link this to their graduation projects. To be honest, this would be a great opportunity for us to build a good track record and portfolio.”
“I’m relieved to hear you say that.”
“However, what concerns me a little is that you said two in-game cinematics need to be completed by the end of March. The timeline is a bit tricky. We can assign the technique to the team that worked on the Mystery of Egypt exhibition, but considering the time needed for planning and storyboarding, it seems a bit tight.”
It was a valid point.
Even for a short animation, pre-production (the preliminary work required before the main production, including planning, storyboarding, and creating character sheets) takes at least a few weeks.
Moreover, since it was outsourced work, various communications would be necessary, naturally extending the production time.
“In that case, I’ve also prepared something else. Would you mind taking a look?”
“This is…”
I took out another file and handed it to him.
“It’s a storyboard I worked on. I thought it might be helpful.”
It was a storyboard I created based on what I had learned while working with NB Soft’s cinematic team.
The storyboarding method would differ slightly as the techniques were different, but it was a measure I’d taken to save even a little bit of production time.
“Oh, you know how to do this as well, Producer?”
Han Jeong-sik began to read the storyboard with interest.
Sitting next to me, Rokhui stared at me, mouthing words.
She was saying, ‘You know how to do this too, Hyunsoo?’
I gave a small nod with an awkward smile.
“Ahem.”
After finishing the storyboard, Professor Jeong-sik wore a serious expression.
I had a bad feeling. Was my work not to his liking?
“Producer. This might sound a bit rude, but did you really create this storyboard yourself?”
“Ah, yes, I did. Is there a problem?”
“Not at all. To be frank, the quality of this storyboard is exceptionally high. With just a few tweaks to address issues that arise in actual production, it’s good enough to be used immediately. Have you ever created storyboards for animation or film before?”
“Ah, I’ve drawn up storyboards a few times when producing cinematic videos within my company. When I was working as a solo developer, I also had to create my own graphic resources, so I learned a bit of drawing.”
Of course, I had received a little help from God Game Maker.
“I see. That’s truly surprising.”
Fortunately, it seemed Professor Jeong-sik didn’t dislike my storyboard.
“In that case, if I provide storyboards like this, could we shorten the production time a bit?”
“It should be more than possible. We also have the set that was built for the Egypt exhibition.”
“That’s a relief.”
From his explanation, it seemed that stencil animation, which uses light and shadow, takes more time to build the set than to actually film.
Fortunately, Seo-jong Arts University still had the set from their recent industry collaboration on the Egypt exhibition.
It seemed we could finish within the deadline by making good use of it.
‘I’m really lucky this time.’
A line I had once read in a web novel came to mind.
Although I had prepared diligently, it felt like various circumstances were falling into place perfectly.
“Shall we discuss the contract then?”
“Ah, yes, let’s.”
After the discussion about the work, we moved on to the money talk.
I shared the basic details I had received from Division Head Shin Chihwan with Professor Jeong-sik and told him that someone from the company’s legal team would be in touch.
I had been worried because the budget I was given wasn’t large, but the professor’s reaction seemed quite positive.
I remembered what Rokhui had told me before we came here.
-Seo-jong Arts University will probably think the budget you’re proposing is a huge amount of money, Hyunsoo.-
-What? But don’t 2D and 3D animations usually cost tens of millions of won per minute?-
-Hey, that’s for studios with professionals who have decades of experience. This is a place where students work, right? Besides, the minor animation techniques you want are hard to sell commercially because the market is so small, even if you learn them.-
It seemed that in the market generally referred to as ‘indie animation,’ this amount of money was not small.
It felt strangely similar to the game industry, which left a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Oh, yes, yes, this is good. I hope the project proceeds smoothly until its completion, Producer.”
“Thank you.”
We shook hands to confirm our mutual understanding.
Now, once the contract was processed through the legal team, the animation department of Seo-jong Arts University would form an industry-academia collaboration team and take on POD’s in-game cinematics.
Just as we were about to leave the professor’s office.
“Professor, since we’re here, would it be okay if we took a look at the industry collaboration studio?”
Rokhui suddenly suggested it to Professor Jeong-sik.
He stroked his white beard for a moment, then nodded and replied.
“Of course. There aren’t many students since it’s vacation, but there should be a few still working.”
And so, we headed straight for the studio.
Without the faintest idea of what was about to unfold there.