Hayao Miyazaki & The Art of Silence — How to Direct Powerful Scenes Where Nothing Happens

Hayao Miyazaki’s Moments of Silence — An exploration of how auteur Hayao Miyazaki has perfected the use of “emptiness” in films like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and My Neighbor Totoro.

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro to the films of Hayao Miyazaki
00:51 - Miyazaki describes 'Ma'
02:40 - Chapter 1: Underlining Themes
04:25 - Chapter 2: Immersive Experience
06:02 - Chapter 3: Pacing
07:47 - Final Thoughts/Takeaways

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HAYAO MIYAZAKI’S MOMENTS OF SILENCE

Beyond his boundless imagination and abilities as a storyteller, one thing Hayao Miyazaki does better than anyone is silence. He’s more than just unafraid to let quietness creep into his films. He embraces those moments and often makes them the most compelling. In this Hayao Miyazaki analysis, we’ll look at these moments of silence in detail, including the Spirited Away train scene, the My Neighbor Totoro bus stop scene, and a midday picnic scene in Howl’s Moving Castle.

HAYAO MIYAZAKI INTERVIEW — ‘MA’

Around the time Spirited Away was released, Roger Ebert sat down with Miyazaki for an interview. After Ebert pointed out Miyazaki’s tendency to include scenes that seemed to exist outside of the plot, focusing more on presenting the character and the natural world around them. Miyazaki admitted that these were intentional decisions based on a concept called ‘ma’ or emptiness. When Miyazaki clapped his hands a couple of times, he explained that the “time between claps” is ‘ma.’ And that storytellers would benefit from utilizing those empty spaces to help tell richer, more immersive stories that capture characters' emotions and empathy instead of a constant drive to resolve the plot.

UNDERLINING THEME IN HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE

One of the benefits of ‘ma’ we see in Howl’s Moving Castle is the juxtaposition of two very different scenes. The first is an idyllic picnic on the shores of Star Lake as Sophie and Merkl enjoy a tranquil and peaceful afternoon. This is followed immediately by Howl soaring over the destruction of a city by airborne bombers. Man’s relationship with war is a major theme in Hayao Miyazaki films, and using these two scenes back to back is a much stronger thematic statement.

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE IN MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO

Another way Miyazaki uses ‘ma’ is to create a more immersive experience for the audience. It can be difficult for any film, especially animation, to transport the audience out of their normal lives and into the film. But in the My Neighbor Totoro bus stop scene, Miyazaki gives us the time and the silence to feel like we have joined Satsuki and Mei as they wait for their father on a drizzly night. The lack of music and the soft patter of rain lulls us into the scene in a way that most films don’t allow us the time to do.

NON-TRADITIONAL PACING IN SPIRITED AWAY

The Spirited Away train scene is perhaps the most famous scene in the movie (and perhaps in the whole of Hayao Miyazaki films overall). Coming in the middle of the third act, when the plot should be hurtling towards the climax, we find ourselves riding a quiet train with Chihiro for minutes as she contemplates everything that has happened to her and what may happen to her friend and parents if she is unable to help them. A film with traditional Hollywood pacing would not take such a break at this moment, which is what makes it so unexpected and resonant.

Hayao Miyazaki is not the first or last director to build a pause into their films, but he just might be the best.

#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking

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♬ SONGS USED:

"Nighttime Coming" - Joe Hisaishi
"One Summer's Day" - Joe Hisaishi
"Evening At The Ironworks" - Joe Hisaishi
"The Merry-go-round of Life (Opening)" - Joe Hisaishi
"Bygone Days" - Joe Hisaishi
"A Journey (A Dream of Flight)" - Joe Hisaishi
"Love of War" - Joe Hisaishi
"To the Lake of Stars" - Joe Hisaishi
"On a Clear Day" - Joe Hisaishi
"Totoro" - Joe Hisaishi
"Addio!" - Joe Hisaishi
"The Sixth Station" - Joe Hisaishi
"A Town with an Ocean View" - Joe Hisaishi
"The Huge Tree in the Tsuka Forest" - Joe Hisaishi
"The Path Of The Wind (Instrumental)" - Joe Hisaishi

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[StudioBinder]

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro to the films of Hayao Miyazaki
00:51 - Miyazaki describes 'Ma'
02:40 - Chapter 1: Underlining Themes
04:25 - Chapter 2: Immersive Experience
06:02 - Chapter 3: Pacing
07:47 - Final Thoughts/Takeaways

[haunsmalauns]

These “ma” moments are actually my favourite moments in Hayao Miyazaki’s films. They just add some much immersion and realism.

[enigmawstudios]

"If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it's just a Michael Bay film"

[madhavkrishnan]

He is seriously one of the best directors, wish we get more of it

[AtlasBlizzard]

I never knew that word "ma" before, and it makes perfect sense. These "ma" moments are so strong, making the world and characters even more real to the audience. As a scriptwriter, it must be intimidating to fill a page with stuff that doesn't advance the story. Yet often, that's exactly what the characters and the audience need. No wonder Miyazaki's movies connect so much with people.

[dyslexicstoner]

Miyazaki's writing skill is insane. In Whisper of the Heart, a grounded movie that he wrote but didn't direct, I found it to be one of the best written movies I had ever seen. It wasn't until later that I found out he wrote it, and I realized the insane range of ability, because it was nothing like his other movies.

[solezeta]

He's made only 11 movies so far and yet he's made such an impact on audiences outside of Japan.
I feel like composer and Miyazaki's longtime collaborator Joe Hisaishi deserves 50% of the credit. I have yet to see another director and composer who can create such power, emotion, complexity and interaction in scenes where nothing really happens.

[senseiquickbooks]

A Miyazaki film transports you to another world... A Miyazaki evokes a sense of hope, of happiness, a chance to dream of adventure.. A Miyazaki film is something you recommend to a friend who hates anime because a Miyazaki film stays in your memory.. forever.. 😄🤗

[rohit__kumar]

He truly know the art of evoking emotions through his storytelling and his characters and I think nostalgia is his most powerful weapon which he uses to connect audience to his stories.

[kaiserwilhelmii]

These videos deserve way more attention. Studiobinder is providing us with amazingly helpful and educational filmmaking content for free. That's insane and it's something I'm extremely grateful for. The production quality is sublime as well, so props to the people working on the visuals, audio, editing and everything else.

[innocentujah]

Please Studio Binder, never stop making these videos. And may God give the narrator long life, he's simply the best

[AllThingsFilm]

Hayao Miyazaki is one of my favorite directors of all time. I don't know why others would compare him to more recent directors. There is no director like Miyazaki.

[makanimemafia]

A Miyazaki film is an experience like no other. It is just so balance. You feel like you are in the movie and the very next minute you are outside. Overall Mr Miyazaki is a maestro at work!

[creator_yo]

Yes! Our best Japanese film director (and animator) of our time. His story telling is truly amazing. Thank you Studio Binder for analyzing his works. “Ma (間) is an important aspect which not only is utilized in story telling but in comedy, as well as in our daily conversations, here in Japan.

[msclrhd]

I wouldn't say that the moments of ma are where nothing happens, I would say that they are moments where we get to know the characters better (e.g. Mei is inquisitive and restless, while Satsuki is patient and protective of her little sister). It's also where we can relate to the characters and share/remember parts of growing up, such as lying on the grass looking up at the sky. As noted with the train scene in Spirited Away, by not voicing Chihiro's throughts, it allows the audience to contemplate them with her and put the pieces together, thus giving a greater connection with the character -- in other words, you can see her worry but also her determinism, so you don't need to tell it or spell it out to the audience.

Another great scene in My Neighbour Totoro is where the family arrive at the house and the children are running around and playing. This moment helps make them more real and alive, gving you (the audience) time to connect with them so that what happens later has more weight.

It is like how in good twist stories they take some time before the reveal to let the audience catch on and have that a-ha moment. Even if that is flashbacks of some key scenes, or the shots of the police wall in The Usual Suspects interlaced with previous dialog. That then makes the reveal all the more satisfying.

[ghiblirelaxmusic]

It's wonderful how Studio Ghibli gives us nostalgia for a place we've never been.

[baslatz_]

this is by far the best assessment + breakdown i have ever seen

[hii]

Quentin Tarantino's films also keep "ma" moments, like having long funny conversations between two characters before the start of gruesome fighting scenes. Similarly, In Coen Brothers movies like Fargo, David Fincher's the fight club, Michael mann' the collateral, I found many "ma" moments in everything everywhere, all at once.

[dmdcykey]

This very quality of 'ma' is what hooked me into anime many years ago, without knowing what it was. The marvelous action sequences were amazing to behold, but those pensive, quiet, reflective moments executed so well by some directors/animators/musicians are magical like nothing else in all of media, for me.

[blownupfishnchips]

Even before Miyazaki, the idea of slowing things down can be seen in Kurosawa's films. Hell, this IS integral to the films of Ozu too.