Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1532695
o c t o b e r • n o v e m b e r • d e c e m b e r 2 0 2 2 c g w 7 F irst beginning as a passion project for writer/director Shannon Tindle over twenty years ago, Tsuburaya Pro- ductions and Netflix's Ultraman: Rising is an epic new chapter in the saga of an iconic Japanese superhero. The film follows all-star baseball player Ken Sato (voiced by Christo- pher Sean) as he takes on the legendary mantle of Ultraman, a title previously held by his own estranged father. While protecting Tokyo from a devastating new threat, Ken rescues an orphaned newborn kaiju—the offspring of his sworn enemy—and decides to raise her as his own child. Tindle and co-director John Aoshima joined forces with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to cra dynamic visuals that breathe new life into the beloved franchise while celebrating its heritage and mythos. Merging classic Japanese manga and anime aesthetics with cine- matic camera movements and realistic lighting, the film is animated in a brilliantly immersive style that pulls the audience directly into the heart of the action. At VIEW Conference 2024, director Shannon Tindle and ILM visu- al effects supervisor Hayden Jones—who previously collaborated on the acclaimed miniseries Lost Ollie in 2022—gave us an inside look at the process of bringing Ultraman: Rising to life on screen. DIRECTING CGW: Can you tell us a little about how you launched your ca- reer in filmmaking? Shannon Tindle: I grew up in rural Kentucky where nobody does what I do. I never remember a time when I wasn't drawing, but it just didn't seem like something that you could do. I was a biology major—I thought I wanted to be a doctor for a while. My parents are both nurses. My dad said, "You know, you're doing well in school, but you don't really seem to be into it." I was going to the University of Louisville. I said, "Well, I want to get into animation, I want to get into film." And so he said, "All right, well, let's see if we can figure it out." I applied to CalArts, and I never put a portfolio together. I was re- jected, but then I tried again the next year, and I got in. I was there for two years, and my first job was working on a show called Mickey Mouse Works. I was working on that my second semester of my sec- ond year at CalArts, which was great because I had no money—I'd used it all on school. To have a little bit of money in my pocket and actually getting to do character design on that show was pretty in- credible. So that's where it all began, and I just kind of worked my way up from there. CGW: How did your background in character design influence your approach to directing? Shannon Tindle: I always approach character design from the per- spective of story. Like if you have costume design, you want to tell things about the character without them speaking—how they stand, how they fix their hair. Do they wear makeup? Do they not wear Director Shannon Tindle first worked with ILM on Lost Ollie (2022).