There are many creators that bring the worlds imagined by KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS to life.
In our eighth installment, we interviewed our lead animator Mr. Kawata from the animation team. In PART 2, we asked him about the atmosphere of his team, the type of person they’re looking for, and his hobbies.
[PROFILE]
Name: Masaaki Kawata
Position: Lead Animator
Masaaki Kawata has been with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS since its founding in 2015. A father of two who loves drawing pictures for his children. He recently took an interest in camping, but most of his interest lies with looking the part, and he is now obsessed with camping gear.
*Lead is the name of the leadership position in each team.
Q. What do you like about KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS?
Kawata: The term “overkill” could be taken out of context, but I mean this in a good way. We want to excel, overdeliver, in the work that we do – that’s the culture here at KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS.
Newly joined members of KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS are always surprised, saying things like, "What’s with these people! They are pushing too hard!" It’s only because we want to do the best work and we support those in that journey.
―― So, this is the place where you can really push the limits.
Yes, that's right. The sky is the limit if you want to push yourself to go as far as you can. We are not restricted at all in that way.
Normally, the line would be drawn, "this is as far as we can go," and there would be no other choice but to go with it as is, rather than improve the quality any further. At KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, we can always keep going as far as we want until we are satisfied with the results. Of course, there are always deadlines, though I think everyone here feels they can devote all their energy to improving quality until the very last minute.
I feel this is a very fortunate and fulfilling environment for creators, and it is one of my favorite aspects of KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS.
Q. What type of people do you like to work with and what type of people does the team consist of?
Kawata: Someone who can give shape to an idea and convey it to someone else. If I put it this way, it may sound easy, but I think it’s quite difficult. I believe the skill to engage with others to build something will be essential for the future of creation.
Since my department’s main work is motion, my main focus is to construct animations. We all think, "I want to do something like this" or “this motion should be expressed in this way." When we work on tasks with team members that can express their own ideas while involving others at the same time, this results into creating something great. I hope we’ll continue to get people like that to join our team in the future.
Also, someone who has a lot of ideas. Even if Mr. Kojimaor a team member comes up with a really good idea, there are times when it is difficult to implement it in a timely and cost-effective manner. In such cases, we all come together to come up with an alternative, but it is not unusual for Mr. Kojima or team members to like the alternative idea even if it is a departure from the original.
I believe that this company has a culture that appreciates and values the challenges of coming up with good ideas that make sense.
【Video】『DEATH STRANDING 2 : ON THE BEACH』- State of Play Announcement Trailer
Q. What are you looking for in an applicant's portfolio?
Kawata: It doesn't matter if it is a human, animal, or creature, if it is a photo-realistic piece of art, it catches my eye. Plus, if there is manually added motion (see PART 1), I'll pay more attention to that.
―― So that's how important manually applied motion is.
Yes, even if they were to work with motion capture data, the person may not have the skills to work with it if we can’t gauge their skills for manually applied motions. The other important thing is whether the portfolio is designed with the viewer's perspective in mind. In addition to submitting works or videos, it’s also nice to see detailed explanations of how they were involved, what part they enhanced and focused on in the creation of those works. By looking at the way the portfolio is put together, it gives me an idea of the way he or she works.
I always love it when artists send in their own original artworks.
Q. Do you have any hobbies? What do you do on your days off?
Kawata: I actually don't have any hobbies, but I often watch Netflix while having a beer. I like to play with my kids, and sometimes I draw for them. Often, I draw things from my kids' favorite cartoons, and I always get really into it, and before I know it, I'm so absorbed in it that I can't sleep at night.
Also, I love going camping with my family. I think camping gear is really cool. I thought about everything I would want, and I’ve worked on a list of gear I want to buy, but now what I need is a car to go with it all. So, I’ve sort of got stuck at the collecting phase. Maybe I’m a perfectionist, but I’ｍ not satisfied unless I look the part [laughs].
Q. Can you tell us about your future plans?
Kawata: Nowadays more and more young people are joining the company, so I do feel that I would like to pass on the baton to them.
But then I think, "well, what am I going to do after this?" To be honest, I’ve never thought about climbing above a leader position, when considering it while being part of the structure of the game industry.
I believe that KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS is an environment where I can enhance essential parts of myself, and if that is the case, I have a desire to master motion all over again. But I will be careful not to become the nagging grandpa of the team [laughs].
Also, another thing I want to mention about KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS.
The team is currently divided into smaller teams for motion, environment, lighting, etc. and I’ve recently been talking with various people about the idea of integrating these teams to create a more efficient team structure. For example, it would be interesting to split the team in charge of cutscenes and the team in charge of game design. But I wonder which one I would want to do...if that ever were to happen.
We still have lot to go until the release of "DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH", but from here on, we’ve entered the polishing phase, where we all concentrate on refining the game, thinking how we can make it more interesting. The game itself changes so much during this period that it's hard to believe so much can change from now until when we launch. It will probably change again this time. That’s how games get to be so fun.
――So, does it look like you’ll be even busier?
Yes, I think I will! A little nerve-wracking, but very exciting haha!
CLICK HERE FOR PART1
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For more insight into other creative disciplines, be sure to check out our other interviews:
https://kojimaproductions.jp/en/careers_interview
KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS respects each employee's unique work style.
For more information, please check out our HR interview: https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/HR-interview
As we grow our team, we have opened several new positions.
Fore more details on our open positions, please visit our CAREERS page on our website:
https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/careers
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