With Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete (FFVIIACC) finally launched, Famitsu interviews the core members of the production team. They are director Tetsuya Nomura, co-director Takeshi Nozue and scenario writer Kazushige Nojima. I’m a big fan of the original movie and despite what some have said, I think FFVIIACC is more than just a simple BD conversion. And as the interview would tell you, there are a lot of efforts going into it. Check out my complete translation of the interview based on the Taiwan version of Weekly Famitsu below, Japanese readers should just check out the Japanese version here because my translation skill still has a long long way to go :)

The Slow Start of “Complete”

Famitsu heard that Nozue started works on FFVIIACC immediately after the original version came out. Nozue explains that he was actually removing noises and made lighting correction as part of his post-launched task and to prepare for possible uses in future. Nojima adds that Nomura actually suggested a few new scenarios to him after the film was done but nothing came out of it for quite a while. Nomura says that’s because he was working on something else and the idea was “put to sleep in his computer” (laugh).

Just when Nojima thought it will never happens, Nomura suddenly came to him and said “about that new scenario I told you before…“. Nozue said the decision to produce FFVIIACC was made when they are working on Dissidia Final Fantasy and trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII (FF Versus XIII). With Blu-ray Disc market expanding, Nomura says he thought it was time to start works on FFVIIACC but the original idea was to just add a few new scenes and he never thought it’d take such a long time.

Realism of Geostigma

The interview then move on to the new scenarios, where Famitsu asks Nomura if he had a clear idea of what he wanted to add when he first told Nojima about the project. Nomura says although he had some specific ideas but most of them are pretty general like “add more scenes with children”, the result of which is the final scene with the kids running.

Nojima says he wanted a good contrast between Cloud and kids like Denzel and Marlene because this will also shows how Cloud has grown up as well. When he was writing for Final Fantasy VII (FFVII), he thought that kids and older people are closer to “The Flow of Life”. The former was in it not long ago while the latter is returning to it soon. He find it easier to develop the story of the kids this way and FFVIIACC gives him the chance to properly present this.

Famitsu noted that compare to adult, Geostigma appears to have greater effect on children and asks if this is due to the fact that they were once very close to the meteors. Nojima agrees and says that just like children are easier to be affected by happiness or fears, those who have seen the meteor fall in FFVII will be the easy target of the disease. Geostigma is also more clearly presented in FFVIIACC and Nojima says they didn’t do so in the original film because it might be too powerful for the audience. Nozue says he also had his doubts over the presentation of Geostigma but Nomura says that after Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, he realized people are actually quite acceptable to this kind of realism.

Creativity of the Production Team

Famitsu asks if there are extra scenes Nojima added for visual purposes. Nojima says no because the only thing in his head was how the characters react in the film. As a result, he has to constantly tell Nozue “It’s time to trouble you again” (laugh). Once he received the scenarios, Nozue would discuss with the team at Visual Works and consult Nomura if there are parts that he wasn’t comfortable with. Nomura says he mainly take care of the overall balance of the film, hoping to present his vision for the film to the audience.

Commenting on the battle scenes, which Nozue says are a mix of Nomura and Visual Works’ ideas. Nomura says the highway chase with helicopter scene was Nozue’s idea, to which Nozue says it was Nomura who said he wanted more variety in the helicopter scene and he has to think really hard to come up with a solution. Nomura then says “Oh is it?” (laugh). Cloud has a new Limit Break in one of the fight scenes, Famitsu asks if this is Nozue’s idea too. Nozue says that’s because he wanted to see Cloud performing moves from FFVII in the movie.

Since they have a lot more time for the production this time, some of the musics have been re-arranged based on the visuals. Nomura says it was the other way around in the original film, where visuals are being created based on the music. Reno and Rude, the two members of Turks, also enjoy a lot more screen time in FFVIIACC, Nojima says although he feels both are well-explored in FFVII, Nomura wanted more scenes with them and he himself also think they are useful to provide laughter to the otherwise very serious story. Famitsu mentions the scene with Reno’s nose bleeding and Nozue says that’s Nomura’s idea, but Nomura quickly says that he only wanted some blood on Reno but not nose bleeding. Nozue adds that his nose should still bleeds in the next scene but it was cut because they are worried that it might get too comical.

Inspired by Final Mix

Famitsu asks where did the idea for the sword battles came from. Nozue says it was inspired by the secret movie in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. Besides, he always wanted to create a battle that’s humanly impossible. Nojima then talk about the original idea behind the film, which Yoshinori Kitase (FFVII director) proposed that it should be a compilation of all the movies in FFVII or FFX, but Nojima says that it probably won’t work. Nozue says he also know about plans to make a movie based on FFVII but didn’t hear anything about it for a long time. Nomura says that’s because nobody really want to touch FFVII. Nojima says that’s because a sequel to FFVII is always challenging and no matter what it turn out to be, they will become the villains. As a result, Nomura says he offer himself for the project and thought “Let me be the villain” (laugh).

So is Nomura a very tough director? Does he always want the production crews to redo their stuff? Nozue says that’s never the case and think Nomura will still approve things even if he don’t quite like them. But normally in these situation, the staff will realized that they have to redo stuff. When the team was on location at Hawaii, Nomura even packed food for them. Something Nomura quickly says that’s because he just happened to be with the food caterers.

Memorable Scenes

The trio was asked to talk about their memorable scenes. Nozue says during production, he always cares about how much blood was bled in the movie, he even asked Nomura “Is it okay to bleed so much?“. For Nomura, his favorite scene is the final scene but couldn’t tell why. He also think the scene where Denzel breaks a fire hydrant with a pipe quite touching. Nojima says that’s not in his original script but was surprised how touching it is after the changes, which was requested by Nozue, who says that’s because Nomura said he wanted Denzel to use something that can be found on the scene. Another memorable scene for Nojima is where a little girl with Moogle carrying her brother on her back. It was a scene that he always wanted in and when he finally get to see it in motion, he feels touched. Nozue says the moment he saw the script for that scene, he already has the visual in his head.

Completing “Complete”

Nozue says that since FFVIIAC, the tools to make CG movie like this, especially for rendering and shading, have changed considerably. During production for FFVIIACC, he tried to incorporate as much as possible the techniques used in FF Versus XIII. This is especially true in the highway chase scenes.

Famitsu asks what has changed for them since the released of FFVIIAC and FFVIIACC. Nomura says more and more people says they hope to see more FFVIIAC-like battle scenes in games. Nozue says being part of the project means he has more chances to meet the audience and it makes him more aware of the feedbacks they give. Nojima says compare to games, the messages one can squeeze into a movie are really limited and it will be great experience for his future projects. He would also like to write a “tidier” scenes next time. To which Nozue quickly adds that he would like to be in the next movie project if there is a chance.

So is everything that can be done in FFVIIACC have been done? Nozue says they have done everything they could to FFVII and Nojima says it’s probably impossible to have any new big events in the game’s world again. Even though he still has a lot of ideas for the it, Nomura think it’s time to put it to rest for now.

FFVIIACC will gives you a completely new impression no matter how many times you have watched FFVIIAC or are first time viewer according to Nozue. For those who can’t really follow the story in the original movie, FFVIIACC should be a lot more clearer, says Nojima, who also encourage everyone to check out the novel “On the Way to a Smile“. Nomura says although it has been a long time, he think the film should be satisfying and want everyone to watch it in HD.

Fabula Nova Crystallis Status

Obviously, Famitsu won’t let them go without asking the status of Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy XIII projects. The interviewer begins by saying “The three of you also work on FF Versus XIII right?” and the first words from Nomura is “Nojima san…this subject is a bit…” (laugh). Nojima says “It is. I was worried if the interview will touch on this” (laugh). However, Nomura says Roen, the designer behind the costumes of the characters, has completed the design of the main character and his partners. And the coolness will be like nothing before. Nozue says they are also very difficult to recreate in game, Nomura says this is due to the materials these costumes used and they also accidentally made a pair of shoes that don’t match each other.

Famitsu quickly follow up with status of Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII. Nomura says voice recording for FFXIII is at the final stage and due to the amount of characters the game has, four designers are working on Agito.

Posted in News on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 7:26 pm |
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