I had researched through books and internet about Hayao Miyazaki, his filmography and the auteur theory. This was the biggest challenge I had so far. I enjoyed watching and exploring his films, and I couldn't stop thinking about them including Spirited Away (2001), Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) and My Neighbour Totoro (1988).

I could remember watching Princess Mononoke (1997) several years ago and my first thought, it could be an ordinanry animated film like Disney. However the film turned out to be violent and more suited for adult audiences, I was shocked by the iconic scene where Ashitaka shot the arrow that cut the samurai's arms clean off. I was amazed by the portrayal of women in his films compared to those in Disney films. Miyazaki was the main inspiration of my film and I would call him an auteur of animation.

Take a trip back through Miyazaki's illustrious career over the last four decades. See his final masterpiece, The Wind Rises, coming soon to DVD & Blu-ray. http://www.thewindrises.com.au © 2013 Madman Entertainment

Here were the references and Miyazaki's filmography for the research:

The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Porco Rosso (1992)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Spirited Away (2001)
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Ponyo (2008)
The Wind Rises (2013)
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (Sunada, 2013)
Oxford Dictionary of Film Studies (2012, A. Kuhn & G. Westwell, Oxford University Press)
The Cinema of Hayao Miyazaki (2011, J.M. Robinson, Crescent Moon Publishing)
Understanding Film Theory (2011, C. Etherington-Wright & R. Doughty, Palgrave Macmillian)
Internet Movie Database (IMdB) - Hayao Miyazaki and all of his eleven films
Wikipedia - Hayao Miyazaki and all of his eleven films
The Studio Ghibli Retrospective articles on Miyazaki's films with exception of The Castle of Cagliostro. They were written by Christopher Runyon for Movie Mezzanine.
The Wind Rises reviews - IndieWire, The Verge, The Guardian, Village Voice, Slate, The Telegraph, Paste, The List, New York Times and Little White Lies
Nausicaa.net - Hayao Miyazaki and his biography in detail

Several years ago when I was a DJ at Mercer County Community College, I did a showcase on the works of Studio Ghibli. This recording is a documentary about the studio, its works, and its creators. It's a long story, so I decided to break it up into sections.

I wrote the notes from a sound documentary about Studio Ghibli.

A look at the history and works of the Legendary Animation studio, Studio Ghibli. Correction: Diana Wynne Jones is actually a British Author. Special thanks to +KristyBee59 for pointing it out!

This film, also about Studio Ghibli, was recently released on YouTube this year.

A Documentary on the beginnings of the beloved Studio Ghibli. Part 1 of 3 It was so awesome to stumble upon this documentary when I was younger. Sadly, it disappeared from the Internet a while back. I just NEEDED to upload this.

I had this short documentary on Nausicaa DVD which I would use for the research.

A Documentary on the beginnings of the beloved Studio Ghibli. Part 3 of 3 A must watch for anyone who fell in love with their Animations. Uploaded for Educational Purposes only. Copyright of this video belongs to their respective owners.

In this clip, I used the bit where it discussed about Miyazaki being a feminist.

A rollicking, pre-Studio Ghibli adventure from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Available on Blu-ray & Digital! http://mad.mn/cagbluray Master thief Lupin III a.k.a. "The Wolf" and his right-hand gunman Jigen are hot on the trail of a counterfeiter who swindled them out of a big score.

Miyazaki had directed few episodes of Lupin III series before his debut feature-length film.

A thousand years after a great war, a seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind is one of the only areas that remains populated. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects called ohmu, who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading across the Earth.

This was his first biggest hit, based on his own manga about environmentalism and human survival.

Pazu, an engineer's apprentice finds a young girl, Sheeta floating down from the sky wearing a glowing pendant. Together they discover both are searching for the legendary floating castle Laputa and vow to unravel the mystery of the luminous crystal around her neck. Their quest won't be easy however.

A post-modern version of Treasure Island, featuring his recurring theme of flight and technology.

It is tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon to learn their craft. That night comes for Kiki, who follows her dream and embarks on the experience of a lifetime. With her chatty black cat, Jiji, she flies off to find the perfect spot in a faraway city.

This story portrays a gulf between independence and reliance in teenage girls. This became the highest-grossing film of 1989 in Japan.

A beautifully realized tale of civilization versus nature, PRINCESS MONONOKE is a true epic by Japan's master animator Hayao Miyazaki. While protecting his village from a rampaging boar-god, the young warrior Ashitaka becomes afflicted with a deadly curse.

Inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954), a epic tale about the battle between man and nature, with a love story.

Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. After this chance meeting she is turned into a 90-year old woman by the vain and conniving Witch of the Waste.

Miyazaki combined two of his recurring motifs: a powerful, older woman and a strong younger woman into a character in the film's heroine, Sophie.

Two young girls, Satsuki and Mei, have moved with their father into a new home in the country, while their mother recovers from illness in a nearby hospital. To their surprise, they soon discover that they share this home with some rather unusual creatures and even stranger neighbours - forest guardians that the girls dub Totoro.

A light-heartened dramedy about strong girls and forest spirits. This gave a lot of energy and humour to kids and adults alike.

When "Porco" - whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a mysterious spell - infuriates a band of sky pirates with his aerial heroics, the pirates hire Curtis, a comical rival pilot, to "get rid" of him. On the ground, the two pilots compete over the affections of Gina, a beautiful cabaret singer.

His hommage to aviation history and Hollywood. This was the first time Miyazaki introduced an adult protagonist instead of a recurring young hero.

From Hayao Miyazaki, one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animated cinema, comes the Academy Award winning masterpiece, Spirited Away. Spirited Away is a wondrous fantasy about a young girl named Chihiro who discovers a secret world of strange spirits, creatures and sorcery.

An Oscar-winning film is the most acclaimed and most successful of his filmography. I admired everything about this film.

In a small town by the sea lives five year old Sosuke, high on a cliff overlooking the Inland Sea. One morning while playing on the rocky beach below his house, he discovers a goldfish he names Ponyo, her head stuck in a jam jar.

A post-modern adaptation of The Little Mermaid, featuring another recurring motif; water which is prominent in his films.

Coming to Australian cinemas February 27, 2014 Check for cinema locations here - http://mad.mn/windcin Academy Award nominee - Best Animated Feature More info: www.thewindrises.com.au Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni.

The trailer states The Wind Rises is his final masterpiece, a fictionalised biopic about Jiro Horikoshi, who designed Zero fighter planes. This is one of his films that reflected his childhood especially growing up during WW2.

Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUn Subscribe to INDIE & FILM FESTIVALS: http://bit.ly/1wbkfYg Like us on FACEBOOK: http://goo.gl/dHs73 Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness Official US Release Trailer (2014) - Hayao Miyazaki Documentary HD Granted near-unfettered access to the notoriously insular Studio

Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUn Subscribe to INDIE & FILM FESTIVALS: http://bit.ly/1wbkfYg Like us on FACEBOOK: http://goo.gl/dHs73 Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness Movie CLIP - The Last Scene (2014) - Studio Ghibli Documentary HD Granted near-unfettered access to the notoriously

I had an idea about a documentary The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013), about the insight of the founders of Studio Ghibli over the course of a year as they were about to release The Wind Rises and The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2014). At first, I thought it mainly focused on the production of The Wind Rises however I later decided to watch it because it was too early for writers to analyse The Wind Rises and not enough information about it. When I watched, I was amazed that there were several hints about Miyazaki's childhood, the production side and his artistic control over his films.

Miyazaki is a life long Mitsubishi Zero admirer. Just don't call him an Otaku. Segment from 2013 feature-length documentary "Yume to Kyōki no Ōkoku" ("The Kingdom of Madness and Dreams").

This clip would be useful for my film. This was about his love of planes, a recurring motif in his films.

Netflix - http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/The-Kingdom-of-Dreams-and-Madness/80025391?trkid=222336 - iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/kingdom-dreams-madness/id937800313 - Amazon Instant - http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Dreams-Madness-English-Subtitled/dp/B00PEJ1948 - Amazon DVD http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Dreams-Madness-Hayao-Miyazaki/dp/B00OHLR4JS - Also streaming on Netflix. Excerpt from Mami Sunada's documentary on Hayao Miyazaki, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness. Here, before a press conference regarding his retirement, he looks out an open window onto a city.

From 01:10, there was a montage of Miyazaki's films while he mused about the possibilities in animation. This would inspire the montage at the end of my film.

Hayao Miyazaki winning the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature for "Spirited Away" at the 75th Annual Academy Awards® in 2003. Presented and accepted by Cameron Diaz. Introduced by Steve Martin.

This clip would be used for my film.

September 6, 2013, Tokyo, Japan Kichijyoji Dai-ichi Hotel Banquet Hall "Tenpei" Studio Ghibli Director Hayao Miyazaki Press Conference on His Retirement [English]

I would only use "I'm quite serious" bit of this clip.

The part of John Lasseter's speech, the one at the very end of the clip below, would be for the montage at the end of my film.

John Lasseter speaks as part of the award presentation to Honorary Award recipient Hayao Miyazaki at the 2014 Governors Awards in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, CA, Saturday, November 8.

I had been doing the pin-board on Studio Ghibli long before I started the film. Here is the image of the pin-board from Pinterest below.

Une étude approfondie, à travers plus de 200 classiques modernes, qui se penche sur le phénomène du teen-movie. Le film se concentre sur la période allant de 1995 à 2004 et revisite des comédies telles que Clueless, Dangereuse Séduction ou encore Lolita Malgré moi.

Beyond Clueless (Lyne, 2014) is another inspiration for my film and I talked about this film in my blog. This was edited in Final Cut Pro X, the editing software I used for my film. Throughout the film, it only featured clips from over 200 teen films and the narration. As I came to see the preview screening and Q&A, Lyne revealed that he and his small team watched the films, and wrote down time codes and scenes. This led to creating several montages he edited, and they inspired the montages in my film, including the water montage. The way he and his team worked on pre-production was also the inspiration for my research and watching the films.