We were lucky to catch up with Rika Nakayama recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rika, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I began animating when I took an experimental animation class in my sophomore year in undergrad. I watched some mainstream animation films and shows growing up, but never knew how diverse and exciting the independent animation world was until I learned experimental animation. There are unlimited possibilities and diversities in this medium, where animators invite the audience to their unique universe which operates in its own logic to tell stories and meanings. I liked drawing, painting, building objects, and imagining stories growing up, so if I had known about animation and had access to equipment when I was younger, I would have been obsessed with animating from an earlier age.

To me, process is a fundamental part of creative experience which is often not regarded highly enough. It is the majority of artistic practice where I think, observe, experiment, and solve problems, and learn more about myself, about the work, and about materials I am touching. I go through a lot of trial and error, and that’s what nurtures the work and myself as an artist. The work evolves with me during the making process. When artists go through this process, I believe the end product will have more layers and the audience will feel the depth. That’s why I love experimental and independent films which are more personal than commercial work, and I don’t seek to skip the process to achieve the end product faster.

Making an independent film is definitely a stressful process because it is so personal and there is no right answer or exact formula to follow. We have to develop our own process and personal language over time. I think some of the most important qualities of being an independent filmmaker are to have the energy and motivation to go through the rigorous and tedious creative process, to embrace the emotional rollercoaster, and to find a good rhythm of work and rest to keep up with the long process.

Rika, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a filmmaker and animator from Japan, specializing in 2D animation, experimental films, and a variety of stop-motion techniques. Physical materials and textures are important components of my animated work to express intangible feelings such as memories and sensory experiences. In film schools, we study various ‘film languages’ to effectively evoke emotions in the audience, such as shapes, colors, and camera work, but there is not much discussion on ‘material language’ – how textures and materiality have different emotional effects. Tactile materials like paper, wood, or fabric each contain meanings and have the power to evoke emotions and connect the viewers with the animated world, and by using such tangible materials in animation, I think animation can convey meanings more powerfully. It is interesting to see familiar materials being interwoven in the fantastical world, so I love to use tactile textures both in my stop-motion and 2D animation works.

My creative process usually involves observation, experimentation, and problem-solving to achieve new expressions. I like to experiment with various materials and techniques to expand the possibilities in animation. My early student film “Deciduous” (2018) depicts a little boy who accidentally swallows his milk tooth during a bath with his father, inspired by my absent memories of milk teeth. I combined a physical bathroom set with digital cut-out characters made of photographed textures, blending materiality and realism into the animated world to create a sense of a bizarre dream or memory. My recent film “Under A Shooting Contrail” (2022) portrays a stop-motion puppet who leaves the studio and explores the outdoor world. Stop-motion animation is usually shot in a highly controlled environment, but I wanted to bring uncontrollability and serendipity to this medium by filming a puppet in the outside world where I cannot predict the weather, winds, and lights. The film also highlights the unique relationship between stop-motion puppets and humans who physically coexist in the same space yet perceive different passages of time. Each of my projects has different goals and goes through different processes, and that’s why animation is very interesting to me. I want to keep finding new ways to tell stories, and learning and discovering what animation can do.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think education opportunities are crucial in nurturing a creative ecosystem. This year, I worked at a program that provides free art classes to young children in the Los Angeles area, and had an opportunity to teach experimental animation techniques to middle and high school students – such as optical toys, claymation, frottage animation, pixilation, and cut-out animation. I found it very rewarding to provide young students with resources and opportunities to watch independent films and try experimental techniques in animation. Many children have only been exposed to mainstream animation like myself when I was growing up, which requires a long process and high skill sets (storyboarding, drawing hundreds of frames, learning 3D software, etc.). By learning more diverse and accessible animation techniques, they gain more tools to express themselves and become interested in watching other independent works. Independent animation has become much more accessible than before, both for creating and viewing, thanks to various platforms and free or affordable software. But it is still difficult to find the resources if people don’t know where to start, so if more schools or organizations can provide animation classes as casual and common as visual art classes, more people would be exposed to experimental animation and it would result in more support to independent filmmakers in the society.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I want to keep exploring new possibilities in animation. It is magical to see drawings and objects given life on screen, and we can depict the world through different perspectives or give life to our memories and emotions using a unique visual language. It is a great medium that allows symbolic and subjective ways to tell stories and to visually express abstract concepts. I will keep pursuing my creative journey and hope to be a part of the diversity of this art form.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rikanakayama.com
• Instagram: @rika_stopmotion
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rikanakayama/
• Twitter: @rika_animation