Located in Matsuya, Dogo Onsen is the oldest bath house in Japan. The building was the primary inspiration for the critically acclaimed film Spirited Away by director Hayao Miyazaki, which won Best Animated Feature at the 2002 Academy Awards, and Best Film at the 2002 Japan Academy Awards.
This is a short film celebrating Dogo Onsen’s 120th anniversary. We wanted to create a film that represented the long history and legends surrounding the bath house, but that was also upbeat and exciting. To accomplish this, we used an intricate mixture of animation, time lapse, and real time footage. The intro, which tells the story of the Legend of the Egret, was largley inspired by Japanese woodblock prints.
Original Storyboard I created before final illustration work started.
Credits
Director: Brad Kremer
Production Company: Tytan Creates
Producer: Shinya Fukuoka
Executive Producers: Jim Stone & Scott Jacobs
Animation/Illustrations: Jessica (Weiss) Thomas
Illustrator: Madie Gables
Post production on live shots: Mark Nguyen
Coordination: Rod Walters - natora.jp
Translation: Mayumi Kremer - risingsuntranslations.com
Camera One/Time Lapse: Brad Kremer
Camera Two: Masahito Kawai
Camera Assistant: Mika Tadokoro
Calligrapher: Kouji Murotsu
Flute Composer: Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos
Sound Design: Emily Jackson
Director: Brad Kremer
Production Company: Tytan Creates
Producer: Shinya Fukuoka
Executive Producers: Jim Stone & Scott Jacobs
Animation/Illustrations: Jessica (Weiss) Thomas
Illustrator: Madie Gables
Post production on live shots: Mark Nguyen
Coordination: Rod Walters - natora.jp
Translation: Mayumi Kremer - risingsuntranslations.com
Camera One/Time Lapse: Brad Kremer
Camera Two: Masahito Kawai
Camera Assistant: Mika Tadokoro
Calligrapher: Kouji Murotsu
Flute Composer: Alcvin Ryuzen Ramos
Sound Design: Emily Jackson
