Michael Arias, born 1968 in California, is an award-winning filmmaker, spanning the worlds of live-action storytelling, visual effects, computer graphics, and anime. He graduated from the Webb School of California at age 16 and attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut, before eventually dropping out to pursue a career in the film industry.
Arias got his start at Dream Quest Images, working as a camera assistant on the motion control stages of effect-heavy films such as The Abyss (1989) and Total Recall (1990). In 1990, Arias was asked by visual effects godfather Douglas Trumbull to program ride vehicle motion for Back to the Future...The Ride, which is considered a milestone in immersive entertainment. He then moved to Tokyo for stints at post-production behemoth Imagica and game giant Sega, until returning to the United States to co-found effects boutique Syzygy Digital Cinema.
At CG innovator Softimage, Arias developed and patented tools for combining traditional animation and computer graphics, working closely with Studio Ghibli to add a distinct visual flavor to Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. In 2000, Arias arranged Studio 4C to produce The Animatrix, which subsequently broke home-video record sales and won numerous awards. Arias had since become Eiko Tanaka's right hand man.
In the wake of his The Animatrix success, he was given the prestigious role of Chief Director of Tekkon Kinkreet (2005), after Kouji Morimoto abandoned the project. With this, Arias became the first non-Japanese director of a major anime film, which attracted much attention during the initial screenings of the film.
His approach to the film was unorthodox; storyboarding duties were broken up on a scene-by-scene basis, with many of the film's major animators directing their own scenes. Another unique quality Arias brought to the production was the simulated handheld camera effects that suffuse the film, a creative decision he maintained despite protests from art director Shinji Kimura. Arias' short for Ani*Kuri15 also featured subtle rocking of the frame, erratic depth of field, and other handheld film artifices.
Arias is an active member of the Visual Effects Society, and has co-authored papers for and, at one time or another, served as guest editor, presenter, panelist, and juror for ACM/Siggraph. He is also a frequent writer on Japanese culture, animation, and manga.
sources: imdb | camonte
