L.S Produ, Production Department Office, Shirobako Production Team.
Lin Zhiyan was discussing the choice of animators for a circus scene with the Production Manager, Production Assistant, and Director of the twelfth episode when Hakuba Yūki, the company's Head of Public Relations, suddenly approached.
"President, I've finally found you," Hakuba said, looking somewhat relieved.
In the past, the Head of Public Relations at L.S had been concurrently held by Nanase Mayumi, the Head of Production. Hakuba Yūki had initially been the Head of the Online Promotion Department. Although he was also a Department Head and his department was theoretically independent, his actual authority was less than that of the Head of Public Relations.
Later, after Nanase Mayumi resigned as Head of Production, she also relinquished her position as Head of Public Relations. Having been the Head of the Online Promotion Department for several years and performing well, Lin Zhiyan decided to merge the Online Promotion Department with the traditional Public Relations Department, appointing Hakuba Yūki as the new Head of Public Relations.
The Head of Public Relations approaching him directly made Lin Zhiyan suspect that there might be problems beyond the animation's quality. He couldn't help but frown. "What's wrong?"
"I just heard that there's a really difficult scene to animate in episode 12, involving a circus, right?" Hakuba Yūki asked.
Hearing this, Lin Zhiyan's heart relaxed. He nodded. "That's right. Why? Do you have someone in mind?"
"Yes!"
Hakuba Yūki chuckled. "President, since it's such a challenging scene, why don't you consider drawing it yourself?"
"Draw it myself?" Lin Zhiyan gave Hakuba Yūki an odd look.
It wasn't that he couldn't draw it. Although he hadn't been involved in keyframe animation for years, he still frequently drew main visuals and promotional illustrations. His max-level drawing skills hadn't faded.
Not only could he draw a herd of horses, but he could also tackle even more difficult scenes if needed.
The problem was his schedule. As animation director, he had to oversee the entire project, review other animations within the company, and regularly receive reports from L.S Games.
Fortunately, the scripts for all 24 episodes had been completed before the premiere, and he had finalized the music beforehand. Otherwise, he might not have had a single moment of rest all week.
The circus scene in Episode 12, though brief, required a massive amount of animation work.
More importantly, L.S Produ wasn't lacking in animators capable of handling that scene. There was no need for Lin Zhiyan to personally intervene; L.S was a company brimming with talent, completely different from Musashino Animation in Shirobako.
Lin Zhiyan was considering who should draw the scene precisely because several people were capable, not because he couldn't find anyone suitable.
Given this, why would Hakuba Yūki suggest he draw it himself?
He even wondered if Hakuba Yūki had lost his mind to make such an absurd proposal.
Hakuba Yūki, sensing Lin Zhiyan's skepticism, quickly explained, "Several people in our company can handle that scene, so you wouldn't normally need to draw it yourself. But if you draw it personally, it would carry different significance. Our Online Promotion Department could then heavily publicize it as a rare instance of you participating in keyframe work."
"I see..."
Lin Zhiyan finally understood Hakuba Yūki's reasoning.
From a resource allocation perspective, there was no real need for the busy President to handle this personally. The animation company had plenty of Key Animators who could draw that segment, and he wasn't lacking in funds. There was no reason for him to take work away from others.
However, from a promotional standpoint, having the President personally draw the keyframe would undoubtedly generate more buzz and spark greater audience discussion.
Therefore, while Hakuba Yūki's proposal might seem outlandish, it was actually perfectly reasonable.
So... should he draw it himself?
It was only a small segment, and he wouldn't be the primary Key Animator. Even with his packed schedule, he could resume his normal routine once this task was completed.
In other words, even if taking on this work would make him busier temporarily, the increased workload would end once the animation for episode 12 was finished. After that, he wouldn't have any keyframe duties to worry about.
Still, it meant adding to his workload.
He couldn't bring himself to accept the task with enthusiasm.
As he was pondering, Hakuba Yūki suddenly spoke again: "President, I'm begging you. We're under immense pressure from the Online Promotion Department. You're directing an animation in this genre, and we need it to succeed. Drawing a scene of galloping horses should be trivial for someone like you... there shouldn't be any difficulty at all..."
He paused, then continued, "The fourth episode just finished airing on TV, but we've already completed production on the ninth. The twelfth episode won't air until the end of the year, so we still have nearly two months. There's no rush at all. If you could just spend a little time each day, you could definitely finish it within a month, couldn't you?"
At this point, Lin Zhiyan found it difficult to refuse. After all, Hakuba Yūki was also considering the promotional efforts for Shirobako.
Moreover, Hakuba Yūki was right. While he wasn't particularly eager to draw it, drawing that one circus scene over two months wouldn't be too stressful.
I'll just draw it then.
He sighed. "Alright, but only because Shirobako is a project to celebrate our company's tenth anniversary. I won't draw anything like this again unless I'm personally interested. I know the promotion department is under pressure, but as its head, you should figure out your own solutions. Stop slacking off and coming up with these crooked schemes."
If all else fails, the Department Head could have the team dress up as women for the promotion. As long as they don't advertise that they're from L.S Produ, the President won't say anything.
Hakuba Yūki naturally had no idea what Lin Zhiyan was thinking. Seeing that he had agreed, he was both delighted and quick to reassure him, "No, this is a special case. Besides, President, I was just being clever. How is that being lazy or coming up with a crooked scheme?"
Lin Zhiyan shook his head, too lazy to argue with Hakuba Yūki.
Once the matter was settled, Lin Zhiyan instructed the Production Assistant responsible for Episode 12 to take notes and then discussed other aspects of the production.
After the discussions were concluded, he returned to his office.
He had a keyframe meeting later that evening, but since it wasn't immediate, he still had some time.
Most people would use this time for other tasks, not keyframing, to avoid interruptions. Lin Zhiyan, however, had no such concerns. As Hakuba Yūki had put it, he would draw whenever he had the chance until it was done.
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