🎨 Restriction vs. Freedom in Creative Crafting

There are many types of creative hobbies—filmmaking is one of them. But filmmaking differs from other forms of creation in a key way.

In fields like writing, painting, or traditional crafts, creators often impose limitations on materials or techniques and find joy in working within those boundaries.

Take novels, for example: they rely solely on text. Even if words alone can’t fully capture a vast landscape, authors don’t switch to photos or illustrations mid-story. Occasionally, mystery novels include floor plans or coded symbols, but these are rare exceptions.

Similarly, in painting, artists don’t mix techniques. A sumi-e painting uses only black ink. You wouldn’t find oil paint flowers in a watercolor piece. Crayon art uses only crayons; colored pencil art uses only colored pencils.

Crafts follow the same principle. Bamboo crafts are valued for using only bamboo—even for nails or string. Paper crafts are praised when every part is made from paper. Even if wire would make a steam locomotive model more realistic, it’s avoided to preserve the purity of the medium.

In short, many creative disciplines celebrate the challenge of working within strict material constraints.

🎬 Film Is a Comprehensive Art Form

Film, however, is inherently multidisciplinary. It blends photography, theater, music, and more. Even when focusing just on prop-making, filmmaking demands a flexible, integrated approach—using whatever materials and techniques best suit the task.

I personally love tokusatsu (Japanese special effects filmmaking). Even in standard drama productions, I often sneak in tokusatsu techniques to recreate scenes more affordably than traditional methods allow.

For example, if I want to depict a vintage reception room inside a village office repurposed from an old wooden schoolhouse, finding and filming in such a location would be costly. Instead, I build a miniature set that matches my ideal image and composite the actors into it.

Half of my filmmaking energy goes into miniature set construction. And unlike traditional crafts, I don’t restrict myself to one material or method. I embrace a “use whatever works” philosophy.

🧪 Recommended Approach: Hybrid Techniques

Miniature set materials vary widely. I prioritize cost-efficiency and use anything that seems useful.

• Wood: I use thin boards and small lumber from hardware stores, but also everyday items like toothpicks and bamboo skewers. BBQ skewers are especially handy—stronger than cypress sticks and great for window frames or beams.
• Paper: Though often seen as a children’s material, paper is incredibly versatile when painted. It can mimic wood, metal, or fabric textures. Top creators like Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi used paper to build tanks and planes in their amateur tokusatsu films.
• Plastic: Ideal for curved surfaces. I often repurpose plastic containers specifically for their shape.
• 3D Printing: For detailed realism, I sometimes use 3D-printed parts. In my current project, the miniature tobacco shop includes a red public phone printed and painted by my modeler brother. While some may see this as “cheating,” it’s a highly effective tool for filmmaking—even if it lacks the charm of traditional handcraft.

🧩 The Goal: Invisible Craftsmanship

In film, the best compliment isn’t “That’s a great miniature!”—it’s “Wait, that was a miniature?” The goal is to make the model invisible.

To achieve this, I blend high-precision 3D prints with hand-built miniatures and composite them naturally with actors and sky footage. This fusion of elements is what makes film such a compelling, comprehensive art form.

If you’re curious, I’ve documented the process with photos on my MVG Latest News page.

Hope this inspires your own creative journey.