American Justin Leach (right) lived in Japan and worked for Production I.G for almost three years. Among the projects Justin worked on was the basset hound in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. Photo credit: Kazunori Suga. All GITS2 images courtesy of Go Fish Pictures.

While I was working for Production I.G in Japan from 2001 to 2003, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, the president of the company, asked me to keep a production journal of my experiences. The entries excerpted below are from Oct. 2002 to Dec. 2003 while I was in production on Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.

Sometimes I look back at my journals to reminisce about all of the amazing learning experiences I had there. Those years spent in Japan really changed my point of view on many things and gave me a new appreciation for the craft of Japanese animation. It was so inspiring to see the work of the talented staff there. People like Atsushi Takeuchi, a prolific Mecha designer (Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell 2, Yuki Kaze), and Shuichi Hirata, the art director responsible for the beautifully detailed hand painted backgrounds (Ghost in the Shell, Metropolis, Ghost in the Shell 2), and all of my co-workers on the CG team. Also, while I was there I had the chance to meet Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otomo, not to mention Mamoru Oshii — my boss at I.G.

As 3D CG creator, my CG team and I were responsible for delivering all aspects of the shot from modeling, rigging, texturing, animation, lighting, rendering and pre-comping. For GITS2, I created several shots, including grenades falling down stairs, an arowana fish in a glass bowl, a basset hound mechanical toy (music box) and a Togusa doll dangling from a rearview mirror.

In many ways, I can honestly say that it was an opportunity I never expected, and at times my experiences in Japan felt like a surreal dream. But I will always be thankful to Production I.G for allowing me to be a guest at their wonderful studio. The future is bright for Japanese animation and for the folks at Production I.G.

Justin’s first big challenge at Production I.G was to create the Togusa doll that hangs from the rear view mirror in GITS2.

Oct. 3, 2002
Today, once again was another typical busy day. After updating the I.G English Website, which I do every weekday morning, I spent most of the day modeling for a full CG shot that involves a Togusa doll hanging from a rearview mirror. It finally seems to be nearing completion (at least I hope so). Oshii-san is supposed to come by today to take a look at the shot I have been working on. I hope he likes it.