Text by Kate Stone
New York-based artist Zekai Zhang has been crazy about watching anime and animation since he was a kid. After graduating from MPS Directing in SVA, he devoted his love and passion to the animation creative field. Now he is preparing for an upcoming CGI film. We sat down with him for a talk about his childhood memory of animation, his film, and the virtual character NILOOP created by him.
Tell us about yourself. Where did you grow up, and how did you become an animation director?
I grew up in Hebei, China, and spent most of my time watching anime and animation. Things got “crazy” after I watched my first epic movie, The Lord of the Rings. Stories and ideas started flooding into my mind, and daydreaming became a normal thing for me as I was attracted to science fiction movies and cartoons. Even a peaceful playground could become a battlefield for me, as I imagined myself fighting against armies of orcs. Then I began sharing my own stories, based on my imagination and the movies I had watched, with friends and people around me. I also started writing down these stories in a notebook and drawing concept designs, hoping that one day I could bring them to life on the screen.
Could you give us the storyline of your film – PURPLE AND BLUE?
PURPLE AND BLUE tells the story of a middle-aged man who cannot accept the fact that his wife has passed away. Despite knowing deep down that she will never return home, he kept all of her voicemails and talked to her in the voicemail every day, pretending that she is still alive. He struggled to manage his real life and live as a normal person, unaware that an elf lives inside his phone and cares for him just like his deceased wife did. One day, the man’s world collapsed when he discovered that all of his wife’s voicemails have been automatically deleted due to lack of storage space. All the man could do is decide to suicide after embracing his wife’s favorite dress one last time. To save its beloved owner, the elf imitated the voices of everyone around him. Finally, the middle-aged man heard his wife’s voice once again.
Is the film inspired by real-life moments that you would be willing to share?
The story of PURPLE AND BLUE was based on a concept of a voicemail elf I had written in my notebook. I struggled for months and days to come up with a compelling story to fit this concept. One day, I stumbled upon a touching news story about a middle-aged man who had lost his wife years ago. Despite her absence, he wrote letters to her every day expressing his love and how much he missed her. This news story provided the inspiration I needed, and after several rewrites, PURPLE AND BLUE was born.
Besides filming, you have also been working on the virtual character. What can you tell us about your project “NILOOP”?
Recently, I’ve noticed that Bitcoin, NFTs, TikTok, and the metaverse are gaining popularity among younger generations. With the rise of virtual characters and idols, I thought this would be a great starting point to enter the metaverse era. That’s how I came up with NILOOP. She is a virtual girl with her own social media account, personality, voice, and thoughts. Her goal is to become a fashion influencer.
How would you describe what a NILOOP is?
To me, NILOOP is like my newborn child – innocent, lively, passionate, and always curious about the world. As she explores, she’ll encounter happiness, loss, desire, and pain. She’ll make mistakes and learn from them, and experience love and friendship. Right now, she’s just a few lines of computer code, a 3D cartoon character, or a motion image on a screen. But I believe that one day, she could become someone’s lover, speaking sweet words they’ve never heard before, a close friend to share their deepest secrets with, an instructor to teach them how to learn from their mistakes, or even their favorite singing star. She could be anyone in the future.
What is the biggest creative hurdle that you have had to overcome?
I’ve been concerned about the future of animation, and have spent a long time searching for ways to make it more diverse beyond just motion pictures and peripheral products. I’ve been wondering how animation can appear in new and different forms that will capture the public’s attention. I’m also curious about the commercial opportunities that could arise from this kind of diversification, and how it relates to the bright future of NILOOP.
What are your plans for 2023?
After working with so many excellent, superior, and creative people on multiple projects, I’m hoping to find new ways to further develop virtual characters. Also, I’m planning and preparing a short feature CGI film for NILOOP.
Discover Zekai Zhang’s work on ashanportfolio.com