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In
this issue of Neo-Tokyo 2099 Mega-Zine, we interview John Sirabella,
the
founder of Software Scultpors. The company behind the
anime screensavers and also a company who has joined the Japanese
animation (anime) industry by releasing subtitled/dubbed
versions of popular anime in the US.
In April, Software Scultpors will release the "Record of
Lodoss War" multimedia CD which is the first anime on cd-rom.
The CD will include three episodes from the popular D&D like
series.
Also, to be released by Software Sculptors is "LA Blue Girl"
known to anime fans as an adult, perverted animation. and
following is the queen hentai anime of them all, "La Blue
Girl".
NT2099:
How and why did you create Software Sculptors?
JS:
Software Sculptors was originally a group of computer consultants.
In 1992, Software Sculptors was formed and consisted of Henry
Lai, Sam Leibowitz and myself.
NT2099:
How did you get interested in Japanese animation?
JS:
One day we were at a Star Trek convention and I saw something
that caught my eye. It was called "Outlanders" and I
fell in love with anime then.
NT2099:
Do you think it would be a big risk of starting a company based
on Anime? Do you think that animation will hit a major drought
in sales and popularity similar to what happened in the 1980's?
J.S.:
No, it has a good shot going mainstream. It is getting more popular.
More anime dedicated stores are popping up. Even in my area (New
York). Also, with Sailor Moon coming out on Fox, I get a feeling
that anime will continue to be popular.
NT2099:
Where do you get your information on anime and in pursuing the
licenses?
J.S.:
From Animerica, Protoculture Addicts, Anime U.K. and also the
Japanese animation magazines such as Newtype and a few others.
We look in the magazines and look at what is popular in Japan.
NT2099:
What is the most difficult part for Software Sculptors?
J.S.:
Getting the licensing is very difficult.
NT2099:
What is the average budget of producing a screensaver and how
long, if I may ask?
J.S.:
No problem. It costs around $60,000. It takes around 6 months
to a year to make a screensaver. That is including getting the
licenses and everything involved.
NT2099:
Looking at the Project A-Ko screensaver. I would imagine making
the music videos to be quite difficult. Who had to do those?
J.S.:
Henry is the one who did the music videos. He is creative. He
goes through a big process and it took him 3 months.
NT2099:
I would imagine that Henry would have to watch a certain anime
many times in order to select the perfect scenes for the music
video.
J.S.:
Yes, and he did a good job.
NT2099:
Some of our users have asked why the sound is in mono and not
in stereo?
J.S.:
The reason why they are in mono is that some were made in mono.
Also, to let those who don't know this, the music taken from a
movie or an OAV must be licensed and if it was taken from television
their is no license. So, when you get a license to a certain anime,
you get the license for the animation and the music. Licensing
is trick and it is a slow process but you learn to be patient.
NT2099:
What is in store for the otaku's
in the future from Software Sculptors?
J.S.:
We are looking into doing anime video games on the PC.
NT2099:
Like Megatech? (which has received a lot of criticism from anime
gaming fans)
J.S.:
Yes and better. Also, we plan to get the licenses of certain anime
(Note from writer: We aren't allowed to let the public in on the
titles of that certain anime but trust us, these guys have
got their eyes set on very good title).
NT2099:
In the first issue (1995) of Anime U.K., Monkey Punch (creator
of Lupin III) mentioned that he sees in the future, animation
going into computer through multimedia. So, it's nice to see Record
of Lodoss Wars and La Blue Girl coming out on CD-Rom. Does
that mean Software Sculptors is here to stay? How long do
you think you will be doing this?
J.S.:
I will keep doing it forever. No reason in stopping.
NT2099:
What would you like to say to fans who have dreams of starting
their own anime business?
J.S.:
Cool. If you really like anime...put a lot of heart into it.
NT2099:
Thank you John and to the people of Software Sculptors for
helping
anime break through the mainstream. Good luck in the future.
J.S.:
You're welcome and thank you to our supporters out there.
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