Saori Watanabe, a stop-motion animation artist, directed and wrote the screenplay for the Idemitsu Kosan 105th Anniversary Special Movie, “Papercraft Movie The History of IDEMITSU,” which is now available. Idemitsu Kosan is a leading Japanese energy company founded in the Meiji era. The released movie is a stop-motion animation that depicts, in papercraft, the history of Idemitsu Kosan—which continued to take on various hardships—and Japan, which achieved remarkable growth in the postwar period. All of the objects that appear are made entirely of paper. We created a film with a flat yet deeply dimensional look. It is a painstaking work shot over 18 days, with thick craft paper cut out by laser cutter and replaced frame by frame, while the camera work, as well as the position and distance of the craft paper, were adjusted little by little. The sunrise scene, a major centerpiece of this work, was also animated by gradually moving the actual sun (lighting) little by little. Please also pay attention to the atmospheric music and sound effects. A making-of movie offering a glimpse into the filming process and papercraft production is also now available. Please take a look as well↓ “The Making of History [Idemitsu Kosan]” vimeo.com/199440756

Idemitsu Kosan is one of Japan’s leading energy companies, founded in the Meiji era. This released movie is a stop-motion animation that uses papercraft to depict the history of Idemitsu Kosan, which has continued to take on various challenges, alongside Japan, which achieved remarkable growth after the war. All of the objects that appear in it are made entirely of paper. We created a video that is flat yet has a sense of depth. Please also pay attention to the evocative music and sound effects.

Idemitsu Kosan is a leading Japanese energy company founded in the Meiji era. The released movie is a stop-motion animation that expresses in paper craft the history of Idemitsu Kosan, which has continued to take on various challenges, and Japan, which achieved remarkable growth after the war, as they have progressed together. All of the objects that appear are made of paper. The film was crafted to create a sense of depth despite being two-dimensional. We hope you will also pay close attention to the evocative music and sound effects.