Adaptations of Manga

-History of Anime
-From Panel to Screen
-Differences between Manga and Anime

-Other Adaptations

History of Anime

From Panel to Screen

Many of the popular anime movies and series on television began as
manga. The process of transforming a manga into an anime is difficult.
The easy part about doing it this way, is that most of the storyline is
already set, there is a script with only some details to work out, and the
animators already know what many of the characters and scenes will look
like, as well as what kind of target audience they will make the anime for.

Another advantage is the fact that there is already a fan base, so the
chances of the anime being a success is higher than starting from scratch.
The first step from there is the storyboard. The creators work
with the manga's creator, producers, director, and production supervisor to
decide how to lay out the events in the story. The production supervisor
also meets with the art production director and the key animator to analyze
the overall "smoothness" of the storyboard; checking the position of the
characters, angles, light direction, shadows, etc.

The next step is beginning to animate. The art production takes
place in three general stages, which are "layout", "key art", and "in-
between animation". The layout is the flow of the characters actions,
background details and off camer actions. After this is complete, it is
examined by the production supervisor and then by the art director. The
key art are images used by the layout to determine fixed points of object
in the scene, e.g. the character's starting point and ending point in
movement, and where his or her footsteps will be. In-between action is the
art that is responsible for making the character move from point A to point
B. This stage is important and is monitored well to ensure there are no
gaps in movement. The final product of these stages are also examined by
the production supervisor and the art director.

The next steps are filling in the color, and making sure the colors
throughout the cells match. The color coordinator is in charge of this,
and the color designer makes unique color adjustments for characters and
objects that only appear in certain episodes. The next step is the fine
art step, where the settings and backgrounds, which are seperate from the
character and object animations, are made and fine-tuned. The art director
makes a picture and the staff animate it; adding components such as moods
and time of day.

The next step is the compositing and editing. All the components
(characters and backgrounds etc.) are synced together, adding visual
effects and motion. Computers do most of the work, but before computers,
each frame had to be shot one at a time. Cutting comes next, the segments
of shots are cut to fit into broadcasting or film time schedules, in
accordance with openings, endings and commercials.

Performing the voice overs are the next step. A studio is rented
and actors are hired to do the various voices of the characters. Recording
is usually divided into halves and is overseen by the sound director. A
recording session for one television episode usually takes about 2 or 3
hours due to troubleshooting and retakes. Background sounds such as
background chatter are recorded at this stage as well.
Dubbing is the next step. This step involves bringing together
sound effects, background music and the voice actors' recordings. This can
bring actions and characters to life as well as bring more insight into the
scene. It can change the mood of the scene and makes the whole scene more
realistic.

The final stage of the process is the final editing stage. If its
a television anime, they revise it to fit around scheduled commercial time.
Some effects are added at this stage as well, including flashback fading
and light halos. After that, the anime is sent to the broadcasting station
for broadcasting or is sent to the theatres for viewing or its sent to
whatever it's final destination may be.

Differences Between Manga and Anime

Other Adaptations of Manga

Works Cited

http://www.mit.edu/~rei/Expl.html

http://www.sunrise-inc.co.jp/international/sp02/index.html