In the following interview conducted by Dengeki Playstation Magazine,
and translated into English by Gamespot, Tetsuya Nomura, director of
Advent Children, talks about the film.
Why was a movie sequel to Final Fantasy VII decided for development, and when
was it decided?
About a year back, Visual Works (a company that has developed CG
movies for Square) picked FFVII as the theme for a presentation that they were
going to create. Our research and development department worked with them on its
launch, and I joined the crew after producer Kitase-san called me. It's going to
be released as a sequel, but it was planned to just be a visual presentation in
the beginning. Why is Advent Children a movie instead of a game? Are there any
differences between making a game and making a full movie?
First of all, we started off from the project that Visual Works
was handling, but they can't make a game on their own. We tried to see if we
could make it into a game, but it wasn't possible due to a number of factors. As
a result, we decided to stick with the original plan and work on it as a movie
production. The development isn't too different from the way we make movies that
get used in our games, but our schedule is a bit tight. We need to keep the cost
down since it's not a game, but [we still need to] maintain high quality. Are there any differences between creating movies for games and
creating Advent Children?
There are more efforts put into the textures and the atmosphere.
We usually need to balance [the movie graphics] with the game screen, but there
are no such limitations in Advent Children, so we're going all out on it. What meaning does Final Fantasy VII have for you?
It was the Final Fantasy game that I was most involved in, and it
is also my favorite. It's also where the series takes a radical change [from
past FF titles]. How is production going?
We are at about 10 percent done. Not all the characters have been
created yet, but the scenario has already been completed. Were there any things that you were especially careful about when
bringing back Cloud and Sephiroth to the screen?
What you are seeing now is the result of numerous explorations.
Since it was impossible to bring the look [from FFVII] directly to the new
realistic look (in Advent Children), the characteristics that would allow
anybody to recognize Cloud and the others were left behind on them. What kind of standing does the new character fighting with Cloud
have?
He is an enemy. Were the characters in Advent Children's promotional video
animated through motion capture?
They were animated by motion capture, but that capture was
recently taken for promotional use. It isn't a part of the main movie. Are the battle scenes also created through motion capture?
Many are, but parts that aren't humanly possible are done by hand.
Will the characters have voices? And will it be in English or
Japanese?
The characters will have voices, but I can't answer more. What is the theme of Advent Children?
Nojima, who handles the scenario, says that it won't be something
soft, like healing. It will be about survival. Where, specifically, will Advent Children take place? Will it be
somewhere from the original Final Fantasy VII?
It's hidden in the logo. How long will Advent Children be?
It is planned to run for 60 minutes. Are there any chances for a FFVII sequel to be developed as a
game after the release of Advent Children?
I hope that this project may lead to something, since we woke up
something that was sleeping.
