Editing Mothra vs. Godzilla (section)

==Production==
===Crew===
{{Div col|colwidth=27em}}
* [[Ishirō Honda]]{{efn|Credited as "Inoshiro Honda" in the American version of the film.<ref name="Inoshiro">{{cite web|last=Nakajima|first=Shinsuke|url=http://ishirohonda.com/messages/staff/s0020_nakajima002.html|title=イシロウ、それともイノシロウ？|website=IshiroHonda.com|language=Japanese|date=May 7, 2013|access-date=April 3, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513071240/http://ishirohonda.com/messages/staff/s0020_nakajima002.html|archive-date=May 13, 2021}}</ref>}} – director
* [[Eiji Tsuburaya]] – special effects director
* Kōji Kajita – assistant director
* Boku Norimoto – production coordinator
* Sadamasa Arikawa – special effects photography
* [[Akira Watanabe (art director)|Akira Watanabe]] – special effects art director
* Takeo Kita – art director
* Hiroshi Mukoyama – optical effects
{{Div col end}}
Personnel taken from ''Japan's Favorite Mon-Star''.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=354}}

===Development===
After having success with ''[[King Kong vs. Godzilla]]'' (1962), [[Toho|Toho Co., Ltd.]] wanted to pair Godzilla with another popular monster and chose Mothra, following the success of her debut film in 1961.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=103}} Honda and Toho aimed the film towards a general audience due to the rise of television at the time. To prepare for his role, Sahara spent time around "pushy" real-estate agents by posing as a buyer.{{sfn|Ryfle |Godziszewski|2017|p=208}} Tanaka cast the twin sisters Emi and Yumi Itō as the Shobijin due to their popularity as the singing duo [[The Peanuts]], as this would create publicity for the film.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:13:28}}

The story in ''Mothra vs. Godzilla'' was originally intended to pick up after ''Mothra'', with the Rolisicans, the fictional people of the fictional country Rolisica, re-cast as the villains.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=105}} The screenwriter [[Shinichi Sekizawa]]'s earlier drafts have several key differences from the final version: the villain Torahata did not exist; Sakai was accompanied by two scientists, a colleague and a friend's mentor; Godzilla's body washes ashore rather than Mothra's egg; the leads offer themselves as hostages to the Infant Island natives in exchange for Mothra's help; Rolisica was to be attacked by Godzilla; the Frontier Missiles were to be used by the Rolisican military; Himeji Castle was to be destroyed; Godzilla was to move East until reaching close to Tokyo; The artificial lightning tactic is conceived when Godzilla is repelled by electrical towers in Tokyo; Mothra attacks Godzilla when he becomes immune to electricity; Mothra engages Godzilla in a final battle when he stalks the lead characters on a beach. Honda changed much of Sekizawa's original script to accommodate his own vision.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=111}} Sakai's speech about the brotherhood of man was not in Sekizawa's script, but was later added by Honda during filming.{{sfn|Kalat|2010|p=69}} The film marks the last time Godzilla is depicted as the antagonist during the franchise's [[Godzilla (franchise)#Shōwa era (1954–1975)|Shōwa era]].{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=206}}

===Music===
The [[film score]] was composed by [[Akira Ifukube]].{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=209}} Ifukube adapted elements from [[Yuji Koseki]]'s "Song of Mothra" theme from the 1961 film into his score. Honda and Ifukube were regular collaborators and held planning sessions to discuss which scenes would feature music. They had a disagreement over a scene which featured Godzilla rising behind a ridge-line. Honda asked for aggressive music for the scene but Ifukube refused, feeling that it was unnecessary due to Godzilla being "impressive enough".{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=210}} Godzilla's theme was eventually added to the scene, which upset Ifukube.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=210}} The track "The Sacred Springs" was the only track Ifukube wrote for The Peanuts and was intended to lament Infant Island's destruction.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:46:02}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:47:05}} For the 1980 re-release, the Japanese pop and rock band [[Talizman]] recorded a new song simply titled "Godzilla", which was later included as a bonus feature on Toho's 2014 Blu-ray.{{sfn|Nakamura|Shiraishi|Aita|Tomoi|2014|p=169}}

===Special effects===
''Mothra vs. Godzilla''{{'}}s special effects were directed by [[Eiji Tsuburaya]]. [[Teruyoshi Nakano]] served as the assistant special effects director.{{sfn|Kalat|2010|p=67}} Mechanical props and puppets were built for both monsters.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=107}} The Godzilla suit was constructed by Teizo Toshimitsu two months prior to filming, with input from the actor [[Haruo Nakajima]] whenever he visited the workshop. The new suit was lighter than previous ones and allowed Nakajima to make more fluid movement. Reinforced heels gave Nakajima freedom to roll and flip without losing his footing.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=108}} The 1962 Godzilla suit was recycled for water scenes and a shot with Godzilla tumbling off a cliff.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:18:57}} For Mothra, a new prop was built, similar to the 1961 prop, with Y-shaped braces attached to the back that allowed the wings to flap. High-powered fans were used to create wind for Mothra's wings.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=108}} The wing-span for the new Mothra prop was 15 feet.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:51:55}} Mechanisms were added that allowed the prop's head and legs to move via remote control.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:52:06}}

The larvae were a combination of hand puppetry and motor-driven mechanical props. The larvae's web was made of liquified [[polystyrene]]. When the web was shot off-screen, it was poured onto a cup stationed at the center of a heavy industrial fan. The cup was sealed with small gaps around the edges.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:23:56}} To shoot the web out of the larvae's mouths, [[compressed air]] was run into a sealed tube of liquid polystyrene. At a high pressure level, the liquid polystyrene was forced through a tube that ran through the back of the larvae and into [[nozzle]]s in their mouths. As long as the nozzle was small, the solution vaporized when first emitted and solidified into the web.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:24:42}} Gasoline had to be used to remove the webbing and the suit had to be thoroughly dried to prevent it from combusting.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:25:23}}

The larva movements were designed by Soujiro Iijima and used a [[conveyor belt]] with rotating gears that allowed the bodies to move up and down.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:19:12}} For the scenes with the Shobijin, furniture eight times their size was built to make the Shobijin appear to be 30 centimeters tall.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=107}} Honda originally intended to depict the wasteland part of Infant Island with more realism and graphic imagery but this idea was dropped due to budgetary issues with the art department. Honda later regretted this decision, saying he should have been more stubborn.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=211}}

Tsuburaya had Toho purchase an [[optical printer|Oxberry 1900 optical printer]] which was used to remove damages in [[composite photography]] shots. The optical printer was also used to create Godzilla's atomic breath. For a scene where Godzilla destroys [[Nagoya Castle]], Nakajima was unable to completely destroy the model of the castle. He attempted to salvage the shot by having Godzilla appear enraged by the Castle's strong fortification, but the filmmakers chose to re-shoot the scene with a rebuilt model designed to crumble more easily. For a scene where Mothra drags Godzilla by the tail, the Godzilla suit was used for medium shots and a prop used for long shots.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=108}} A sequence featuring the [[United States Armed Forces|United States military]] attacking Godzilla with frontier missiles was filmed for the American market, but omitted in the Japanese version of the film.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=209}}{{sfn|Iwabatake|Ono|1992|p=74}}

The Mothra prop used for the New Kirk City scenes in ''Mothra'' was recycled for the Infant Island scenes. This prop was smaller compared to the prop built for the new film's adult Mothra. The 1961 model had a motor built into it that flapped the wings at a rapid pace.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:51:02}} For the scenes with Godzilla near the cliff face, part of the set's support structure was hidden by using matte painting.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:53:35}} The miniature tanks used in the film were purchased from Ihara models rather than typically custom built. The tank models were built to a 1/15th scale and were constructed from aluminum. The antennas were used for remote control.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:54:14}}

For the scene where Godzilla destroys the incubator, the scene proved difficult for Nakajima and the wire staff, which required coordination. Close ups of the tail were done with a prop that was operated by two people due to the heavy weight of the tail.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=00:58:47}} The scenes with Godzilla thrashing wildly at Mothra were shot at high speed, then projected at a quicker speed. The end results have been compared to the movement of [[stop-motion animation]].{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:03:11}} The scene with Godzilla thrashing from the nets was shot with different cameras at once and as a result, the same scene plays over from different angles.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:12:16}}

A second egg was produced for the hatching scene. A styrofoam egg was molded and a [[calcium carbonate]] substance was mixed with glue and added on top. The styrofoam egg was removed from its interior with a heated wire, which left a hollow form.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:16:29}} For the opening typhoon scene, Iijima built a shallow water tank to create the illusion of violent waves. Wider water scenes were filmed at a massive pool at Toho's studios.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2007|loc=01:19:37}}

Rubber glue was blown onto Godzilla's suit by an electric fan for the scene where Mothra's larvae entrap him in silk. In the process of filming, the rubber glue hardened, making it difficult to remove afterwards.{{sfn|Mamiya|2000|p=97}}