The basic concept of Vocaloid, in my view, is to use software to create or personalize a song and let it sung by a computerized voice. Originally not for the purpose of being a commercial project, Vocaloid had its signal processing part first developed in the research led by Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain in 2000. The soundtrack of Paprika is one of the first film scores to use this avant-garde singing voice synthesizer software. The storyboard he drew while trying to visualize a dream, was completed with 1046 shots and 614 pages.Īnother new technology skillfully used in the film is Vocaloid. So he had to juggle multiples tasks simultaneously: drawing storyboards, checking the concept art, continuing writing the script. Many animators have a strong background in drawing and graphic design, for example, Kon, whose storyboards are as spoken highly of as his films. In the case of Paprika, Kon started to work on the storyboard when the script was yet to be finished. “Just because everything can be done by CG entirely doesn’t mean it should be 100% CG.” Most studios follow the ideal of preserving the unique aesthetics of hand-drawing and improving their efficiency by the help of CGI.

One thing their critically acclaimed animations have in common is that human beings or characters are never directly rendered in 3D models. It seems to be a consensus for Japanese animators that CGI should be used subtly without 'contaminating' the genuine art style. Usually in Japanese animated films, it's difficult to distinguish hand drawn image from computer generated ones. For example, in the beginning and final parade scenes, the background and characters are hand-drawn with the countless floating confetti made by computer that can accurately calculate the direction and speed of the items falling down and spreading away. The visuals are fabulous with sophisticated character design and variegated dream sequences embeded with unobtrusive CGI. It's Kon's fourth and final feature film before his death in 2010. Kon experimented this anime with a range of 3D techniques that substantially improved the resolution of image compared with his previous works. Paprika is co-written and directed by Satoshi Kon, based on Yasutaka Tsutsui's 1993 novel of the same name, telling about a psychologist who uses a device called DC Mini that allows therapists to enter the dreams of their patients for cure.

Paprika anime soundtrack