MAKING OF G-SAVIOUR
MAKING OF G-SAVIOUR
How did G-Saviour come about? Today, I’ll summarize the process based on a lengthy article appearing in the Newtype 100% Collection G-Saviour Full Weapon book published back in March 2001. Here, you’ll learn about the arduous journey, hidden agendas behind the scenes, and some unexpected developments. So, let us take a look at the very beginnings of this ambitious project, starting with the pre-production and on through its airing.
EARLY SIGNS OF A CG GUNDAM
When G-Saviour is mentioned, many times, “live-action CG Gundam” gets tossed around. While this is an easy way to refer to it, that doesn’t mean it’s always the correct way of referring to it. Nonetheless, it is without a doubt that the starting point of G-Saviour was a live-action CG version. So, let’s go back to how it all began, shall we?
The year was 1995. Kouichi Inoue took the initiative and founded the D.I.D. Promotion Offices at Sunrise, becoming its first director. This company would be considered an experimental team that could explore what could be done through digital technology, and it had two departments under its control. The first was O.D. Section, which was formed to promote and advertise Sunrise using personal computer communications and later the Internet. The other was I.D. Section, which explored how anime production could utilize digital technology.
The following year, Toei Doga (now Toei Animation) introduced digital finishing with their work Gegege no Kitarō. It was around this time that DID began experimenting with the 3D modeling of mobile suits. The question of whether it could be done came up, so in order to find out, requests were made with various companies. The results varied, but one thing was obvious: the modeling made by skilled people was exceptional.
In comparison, Jurassic Park came out in 1993 that blended CG dinosaurs with live-action without difficulty, so if the dinosaurs could race across the screen, why couldn’t they make robots do the same? As these thoughts were going through his mind, a Gundam game utilizing live-action and CG was going to be made for Pippin, an upward-compatible machine by Macintosh released by Bandai Digital Entertainment at the time. Inoue cooperated with the production of the live-action portion of the game. As such, he spent a considerable amount of time traveling to the United States, supervising scenarios and auditioning actors. As he was here, he experienced the American film industry firsthand and was shocked by it. In his mind, the longer they waited, Gundam-like realistic robots that Japan was known for would be made into live-action movies in the US before they stood a chance. It was clear that should that happen, then America would be able to claim rights. He felt that they had to make a live-action version of the film in Japan before that happened.
So, as luck would have it, the timing seemed just right. This is something Inoue felt due to his involvement in the production of the game for the Pippin (War for Earth). It’s noted that Inoue had some complaints, which weren’t directed at the game per se. The progress of computer technology allowed for 3D CG to be used quite easily in games, and while various movements of robots represented by Gundam were created, he felt they weren’t quite right. This wasn’t limited to just Inoue, as other colleagues who worked on Gundam and other real robots felt the same. The consensus was that movements were plamodel-like and didn’t seem like 18-meter-tall robots.
Of course, part of this had to do with gameplay and the speedy nature of cel animation itself. Still, he had a burning desire to create a mobile suit that wasn’t like this but something more realistic. So, in April 1995, Inoue proposed a plan for a “live-action CG version of Gundam” as an American version of Gundam as a Sunrise project.
So became the beginnings of G-Saviour itself.
DIGITAL MUSE
It is now the Summer of 1995, and the project for a live-action CG version of Gundam has been given the green light. And so, production on a trailer began. A trailer is a sort of pilot film in Japan and is roughly the same length as a short trailer but contains various elements of the work that will be produced. Of course, content may undergo drastic changes once full-scale production ramps up, but the basic premise was that CG-modelling of mobile suits would be used.
Aside from the live-action parts, modeling data for the CG parts could be re-used in the main story, so the utmost care was taken in their design. Mobile suits would be designed by Kunio Okawara (original mecha designer of the Gundam and Zaku), mechanical designs would be by Masahisa Suzuki (mecha designer/illustrator who also drew art for the novel versions and is known for his deep knowledge of firearms), and setting artwork would be done by Shigemi Ikeda (a veteran of Atelier Musa that worked as an art director at Sunrise for many years) with Ikusabura and others designing the missing parts. In addition, Takashi Imanishi, known for City Hunter and Gundam 0083, created the storyboards based on the plans.
Work on this continued until the following spring of 1996, when work on the Japanese side came to an end.
In the meantime, Inoue was busy working overseas, hunting for a CG production company to partner with them. At this early stage, he was considering a domestic company, but with the infrastructure in Japan at the time being what it was (not fully developed), costs would have soared considerably, so off to the U.S., he went. Inoue reached out to various production companies in the Fall and onward, including Digital Muse, which would later become their partner. With work done in Japan, he researched costs through the storyboards and setting designs. During this process, he began to wonder how much it would cost to make a film like Babe through Rhythm and Hughes. Then there was Digital Domain, which was known for its work on Titanic. These companies came up for consideration and then vanished.
In the end, two companies remained that showcased a balance between quality and cost. Digital Muse ended up winning out for two reasons. First, the software they were using at the time was Newtek’s 3D CG software “LightWave,” which just happened to be used by people at Sunrise, making it more convenient. The other company mainly used discreet’s 3dstudiomax. The other reason was John Gross, one of the founders of Digital Muse. He was from Spielberg’s Amblin Image and was in charge of special effects for SeaQuest as well as CG on Star Trek. This gave Inoue the confidence that they were the right people for the right job to work on a TV-based project to make things look good in outer space.
So, in June 1996, Sunrise and Digital Muse officially signed a contract, and work began on a trailer with the goal of completing it for spring of the following year.
The budget for the project was 200 million yen.
A LECTURE ON GUNDAM
June 1996. Sunrise makes Digital Muse an official partner and decides to move forward on the production of a trailer. First, Inoue started by giving a lecture on the world of Gundam. Oddly enough, a staff member just happened to have LDs of the movie trilogy, and he heard that someone had personally added English subtitles to it, so he snagged a copy of it. So, he then held a briefing session, editing together scenes from each of the Gundam films where people went about their daily lives as well as where people and mobile suits interacted in a normal way.
In short, the team worked hard to convey the fact that this was a real world. Still, staff on both sides felt slightly uncomfortable at first. Aside from a few of the enthusiasts, this was the first time Americans were experiencing a world like this. Whereas typical scifi of the time had people dressed in some futuristic fashion, portable weaponry that could destroy or stun, conveying that the world of Gundam was nothing more than an extension of reality was an arduous task. Still, giant robots with faces that exist as weapons was quite a foreign concept.
But, on the flip side, he explained that he had to create a world around them as realistically as possible in order to make the manga-like existence of mobile suits the biggest lie of them all.
TRAILER PRODUCTION
With two months of lectures complete, Digital Muse started work on the trailer. Oddly enough, there was almost no difference in the way the companies worked on either side. On the U.S. side, work was more straightforward since there was a logical flow to everything. For example, it’s normal in film production to change the setting for dramatic purposes. In Japan, however, it can be changed on the spot since filmmakers insist that the mood of the moment is crucial. For the U.S., you have to ask, “why do I want to do that?” and you ask well in advance.
Here’s an example: The mobile suits that appear in the film, except those developed by the Saviour Team, use solid round ammunition instead of beam rifles. The reasoning behind this? Staff on the American side felt that guns create a better atmosphere when it’s a real bullet. In that vein, the enemy commander is a bit of a perverse enthusiast of old weaponry, so that’s why he went to all the trouble of selecting the weapons he wanted to use. General Garneaux’s room was later decorated with old-fashioned weapons to explain his character.
It was easier to explain things through clear visual imagery on account of the language barrier. This is how the trailer came about, but its content differed considerably from the actual production. For those who saw the making of, the original plan called for the main character to be a high school boy. The characters, including those around him, were similar in age to those in First Gundam. The story itself was designed for junior high students and older. So, the story was about an ordinary boy taking a stand against an evil ruler as part of a Side 4 defense force.
Takashi Imanishi and his team came up with this setting in anticipation of a series, attempting to make it something that could catch on quickly in the U.S. Although it wasn’t shown in the making, actors also appeared in this trailer version. However, once plans on the movie changed entirely, that portion couldn’t be released due to the contract. So, the only scenes from the trailer that were used in the film were basically the CG parts.
The production cost of this trailer was almost 200 million yen. In addition to the net production cost, this budget also included the 3D modeling of the mobile suits that appeared in the film. This modeling data was reused in the main story of the film as well.
FROM STAGNATION TO THE START OF PRODUCTION
End of March 1997. The trailer, having taken more than a half a year to complete, is finished. This year, production was temporarily suspended as considerations on how to use the trailer and research on staff and cast for the actual production began. Incidentally, the possibility of releasing the work as a film was discussed. The downside is that there is a huge gap in quality between a television CG movie and a theatrical release. Plus, the production costs would catapult into the tens of billions for a theatrical version, so the decision was made to produce it for TV (something much more reasonable in terms of cost and scheduling).
Even with all this, the purpose behind G-Saviour was about to undergo a dramatic change. It was decided to produce it as a one-shot work for the 20th anniversary of Gundam. All of this coupled with the fact that American TV was undergoing major changes as well. High-target dramas like the X-Files and ER led to an absolute flurry of productions for the same demographic, so this meant that the production of the film should target those over twenty who had watched First Gundam. So, G-Saviour was to be produced as a high-target drama aimed at a higher age demographic than originally planned.
For that reason, the story was designed to focus on environmental issues that were gaining momentum across the planet, so this led more realism to the story than the good-versus-bad action story. So, G-Savior shifted course and a new proposal was created. So, the remainder of 1997 came and went, and 1998 quickly ushered itself in. Following the newly approved direction of the film, research on a production company and staffing for the film was in full swing.
At the time, Inoue had only one condition for the staff: they had to be people who knew nothing about Gundam. In the case of those that know, they must like some part of it. If that part was acceptable to Japanese fans, there is no issue. But, there was no guarantee that Japanese fans would accept Gundam made by staff like that.
Now, it is already May. It was decided that the film would be produced by Polestar. The staff was assembled and production on the film kicked off right away in June.
Up until that point, Inoue had been traveling back and forth from Japan twice a month at most, but now he had to stay at the production site. While some other trivial work came up, he finally started a year-long business trip in July seeing that he’d been spending most of his time in the U.S. At the same time, he started lecturing about Gundam to the new staff members who joined the production of the main story. He also gave a lecture to Syd Mead, who was assigned to design the Turn A Gundam.
SCREENPLAY PRODUCTION
While all of this is going on, screenplay work was getting underway. Based on the sample story that had already been drafted for the proposal, a screenplay was ordered from the writer. Somehow or another, the screenplay that Stephanie (Pena-Sy) came up with was immediately rejected. Why? There were no mobile suits in it. As such, a complete overhaul of the screenplay had to be done on the spot. What’s more, Inoue had to stress the importance of mobile suits in the world of Gundam. He also had to explain the importance of space colonies (Space Settlements in the film) to them as well.
In the minds of Americans, they tended to think of a space station orbiting the planet, so they had to convey the message that more than half the population, billions of people, were living in space. So, it took another two weeks about lecturing on Gundam to convey this point. As the screenplay work was being carried out, two new mecha designs were created. One was the MW-Rei, a newly designed enemy mecha suitable for the antagonist. The other was the MMS Guppy, a suit that Inoue suggested appear in the film. Both of these designs were made by one of the local staffers (Kevin Ishioka).
Inoue had proposed the Guppy as a way to explain the worldview. In a sense, showing the mobile suit at the beginning doing work illustrated that this is a world where huge humanoid machines exist as a matter of course and also demonstrated that they not only weapons, adding depth to the world. As we all know, the Guppy uses its manipulators to rescue a pilot from his military mobile suit that crash-landed at the bottom of the ocean in the beginning of the film. This is really something that only a humanoid machine could plan. Interesting sidenote: although not depicted in the film, the Gyppy has a transformation mechanism, which can be seen in the setting notes.
Roughly halfway through the production of the screenplay, casting and location hunting had begun.
COMPLETION IN ONE GO
The end of October 1998.
Production had finally reached its climax. First, Inoue and the film crew moved to Canada where the film was to be shot. Then, in November, CGI production started at a studio in Santa Monica. Since work on the film and CGI production were to proceed simultaneously, Inoue communicated with the studio in Santa Monica through email. It was a hectic process issuing detailed correction instructions.
In Canada, preparations for filming were underway, with set construction, props and costumes being made, and staff continuing to work over the non-Christmas days. Work wouldn’t be completed before months end, but until the beginning of January. The first checks of the CG began in December as well. Then, on January 11th, filming finally began. After a hectic work schedule, shooting was completed by the end of February. At the end of filming, a wrap up party was held with the cast and crew. At the party, the trailer and some CG shots were shown, and when the mobile suit was launched from the catapult, everyone clapped and cheered.
Gunpla were presented (which proved to be very popular). For those who played the role of mobile suit pilots, they were given MG GM, Gundam and Zakus and were told that they were prototypes of the suits they piloted. The heroines were given the same. Director Gram Campbell was presented with a PG Gundam and he remarked that he’d never seen such a serious model before. And so, the three month stint of live-action portion had come to an end. But, the CGI work was just getting started, and data from the film was sent over to Santa Monica. During this time, modeling and textures were being finalized, and data was all being rendered. The finished footage would then be sent back to Canada, where it was edited and synched up to the video. In other words, the editing work was still being done in Canada. Inoue was unable to leave Canada, which continued to put a strain on the relationship with the CG Studio. It should be noted that music was also being worked on while all this was going on.
Still, there was a problem that meant they had to speed up completion of the film.
ONWARD, TO OKINAWA, G-SAVIOUR
April 4, 1999. With G-Saviour so close to completion, Inoue returns to Japan to participate in the Gundam Convention held at Tokyo Big Site. Some of the staff there had learned about his project and reached out to him. They wanted to debut the film at the opening premiere of the Okinawa American Short Shorts Film festival on June 18th. The only problem: the film wasn’t scheduled to be completed until the 25th, so in order to show it on that date, they’d need to be finished ten days earlier. So, he’d have to cut off 16 days of holiday during the last eight weeks of production. He said he’d look into it. After consulting with people back in the U.S., he found that it was doable, although that meant the budget increased. However, due to various union contracts, G-Saviour couldn’t be released theatrically, but they could release it at a charity event at the film festival.
Then, the schedule became even more hectic.
It was the night of June 11th when the complete version was finalized. Inoue immediately asked for a copy of the master, which was completed on the 14th, and he immediately started adding subtitles. After two days and nights worth of work, the film was finished and he was on his way back to Okinawa. Interestingly enough, the tape that Inoue was carrying was the one and only complete version, so if there were to be a plane crash, it would disappear along with him.
And so, on June 18th, G-Saviour debuted for the first time at the charity in Okinawa. Even before it was decided that it’d be shown at a charity viewing in Okinawa, there was a U.S. debut planned. So, on June 23rd, just five days after the Japanese release, it was also screened in the U.S. Both screenings were very well received, especially in the U.S. where the audience commented that it was the first time they had seen huge, humanoid machines colliding with one another or that it was a scientific movie.
CHARITIES AND MONITORING
By July 1999, Inoue was finished with the production of the film, thus putting an end to his year-long business trip overseas. But, there would still be some time before the film was aired on television. So, in the meantime, he took advantage of the time to start charity promotions that he started in Okinawa. There’s a paragraph here about Amerasian schools in Japan, but it’s not entirely relevant for this.
August 1999 marked the second charity event, and a special report was shown on JAL domestic flights, with a charity dubbed version shown on flights back from Hawaii. The dub that was done featured voice talent such as Masato Hagiwara and Mirai Yamamoto with narration by Ken Ogata. So, since it was produced for charity, it’s likely that this version will never be seen again in the future. Some places claim this is the “Special Edition” version, but it’s from this special charity showing. There would be other showings on June 3 and August 6, respectively. While there was no major reaction after the JAL screenings, by the end of 1999, more information had been released and people started talking about it.
In November 1999, the official website went live and a monitoring project was carried out by some volunteers. The idea was to let volunteers participants see the current version of the film and based on their reactions, he’d find a way to make a broadcast version out of that.
FINALLY, BROADCAST ON TV
June 2000. It was finally confirmed that G-Saviour would be televised by years end. So, production on a Japanese version coincided with that decision. Inoue tapped Spiral director Joji Iida for help. Inoue requested that the composition of the film be changed, increasing the tempo and that dialogue be altered so that people unfamiliar with Gundam could enjoy it. It was clear that the film would be given an evening timeslot, so while the original film allowed for leisurely viewing, it was hard to follow.
Along with this, they decided to develop a pre-story as a radio drama entitled “Sound Cinema” to promote the film. The cast of the TV version was also decided upon at this time. To make this entire process easier, I’ll be adding a timeline below to understand the events.
At the years end, the TV broadcast became a reality. This was just one version of the film made for TV. The original film was 90 minutes, so it was cut to 60 minutes for broadcasting along with an opening and ending added. What’s more, for the DVD release, the subtitles were changed to be a direct translation of the English. For the VHS version, though, the subtitles from the Misawa American Day were used.
SO, WHAT IS G-SAVIOUR?
Wrapping up this summary are a couple of interesting points. The production cost of the trailer was 200 million yen, so how much was the main film? It ran about 800 million. So, the total cost for this production was about 1 billion yen total. This is an unbelievable cost, even for an American TV movie. This is evident of just how unprecedented G-Saviour really was.
Now, let’s talk a little about the title.
You may not find the word “SAVIOUR” in your dictionary, but that doesn’t mean the spelling isn’t correct. The word means exactly what it sounds like, savior, and it’s a pretty special word. In short, it’s a religious term. The American team thought the name G-SAVIOUR was pretty cool. After all, the G stands for GOD in this instance and “Savior of God” would’ve been entirely too strong.
As it would happen, a nun was sitting next to Inoue on a flight in the U.S. and the subject came up. When he was asked what the G stood for, he stated “Gaia, among many other things.” The nun was relieved, saying she was glad it wasn’t God since it carries heavy connotations in Christian culture.
So, there you have it. One account of the drama that is G-Saviour. This is just one such instance, and I’m sure others have their versions, but those stories remain to be seen. I hope this clarifies the scope of just what Sunrise and the others were setting out to do and how this really was a remarkable project for the times, all things considered. I doubt it’ll sway people on their position when it comes to the film, but the information is out there nonetheless.
