The "Yoichi Ochiai x Japan Philharmonic Project" started in 2018 with the theme of 'rebuilding an orchestra with technology.' WOW also participated in the '＿＿＿＿ Orchestra,' in other words, the 'Un-Synchronized Orchestra' as a 'video instrumentalist' this year.

In contrast to the past two years of trying to make a place where you can experience a new attraction and value of the orchestra, this year, we were searching for ways the orchestra should be during the coronavirus. In addition to theater performances that had audiences in attendance with restrictions being set, online broadcasting was also done, with the aim of allowing you to be able to experience new attractions from two perspectives.

In theater performances, innovative music that has opened up an era in history and video images were projected on the screen. With online broadcasting, it gave you the actual feeling of being at a concert by using the industry's highest level of sound quality (AAC-LC384kbps) and 2K image quality that includes AR video. We tried to arrange a three-dimensional effect that could only be achieved digitally.

The visual experience of this performance is centered on the AR video of the online broadcast, and images are spread across the theater screen that synchronized, responded, and conflicted with the AR video. Each differed in their own way but were not superior or inferior in the value of the experience we provided. In addition, we aimed for a multiplier effect whereby the performances could be enjoyed from differing perspectives by having the viewers of the theater performances enjoying the online performances that were re-broadcast at a later date. We tried to get you to discover new value in each, by aiming for visual effects that bring you closer to a view of the music world from two differing perspectives.

The concert that was originally planned with the title '＿＿＿＿ Orchestra' that was used up until the performance ended up being canceled due to the coronavirus, and so from there, we searched for a new concert, and in a state of trial and error, each viewer was trying to think long and hard about the words to put into the blank of the title. Just before the end of the performance, the word '＿＿＿＿ ' was revealed, and a new music concert was born that sought out the way a music concert should be done during coronavirus, known as 'Un-Synchronized Orchestra.'

▶WOW magazine Vol. 170 Reconstructing the orchestra using technology: “＿＿＿＿ Orchestra”

▶WOW magazine Vol. 172 Reconstructing the orchestra using technology: “UN-SYNCHRONIZED ORCHESTRA”

The Nissan Pavilion, an experience-based entertainment complex where you can experience the technology and future vision which Nissan Motor is proud of has opened for a limited time at Yokohama’s Minato Mirai. The concept is to “Expand Human Potential.” Out of the numerous experience-based content which illustrates the near future made possible by Nissan’s technology, WOW was put in charge of directing and producing the “THE CITY” area. Here, you can experience installations with the motif of “a city invigorated by the connections created by cars and people or society.” THE CITY visually depicts the 2 Visions held by Nissan.

ROOM1
We placed 195 laser modules and the motor which runs thems in a space with smoke rising. Each laser is controlled independently and while also creating various animations, it is also interactively detecting when visitors enter the area and takes steps to avoid the visitors. It is an abstract illustration of the “Sensing Technology” which is key to achieving Nissan’s goal of zero road accidents.

ROOM2
Here, there are 150 transparent columns of varying heights that symbolize the “city” and 3 columns with mocks on them which symbolize “cars”, and each column emits light on their own. Putting your hand over the car’s mock will start a light animation which depicts “CHARGE”, “SHARE”, and “SUPPLY”, illustrating Nissan’s vision and aim of invigorating the city with the sharing of energy and information. Additionally, putting your hand over all 3 mocks on the columns will activate a special colorful animation. We set it up to illustrate how the connection created by cars and people or society can invigorate the whole city.

In both spaces, we created abstract exhibits that have the goal to allow visitors to experience Nissan's vision of the future.


NISSAN PAVILION
DATE：Sat, August 1st, 2020- Fri, 23rd October, 2020
Address：6-2-1 Minato-Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-Shi, Kanagawa Prefecture
▶NISSAN PAVILION Yokohama

How to enjoy the cool, even in the midsummer heat?
This project revisited Japan’s traditional approaches to cooling down in the summer, paying homage to customs that arose out of the Japanese sensibility, and reconfiguring them into a contemporary art experience. The Japanese of past centuries savored the summer – without relying on air conditioning – by exploiting the possibilities offered by their five senses. Sunsets, traditional gardens, the engawa (terrace surrounding a Japanese house), sprinkling water, cool breezes – these are elements that have always been associated with the Japanese summer. All these elements were brought together at the work’s site in Tokyo Midtown – in keeping with the complex’s aim “to offer the most pleasant space in central Tokyo” – with added dynamism and entertainment factor. Visitors immersed themselves in this space in the middle of the city, which somehow fused nostalgia and novelty, and took in the invigorating ryo – the Japanese notion of coolness that is soaked up through all five senses, regardless of what the actual temperature might be.

This project was the theme of this joint project between Hakuten, a creative agency that specializes in producing real live experiences, and Tokyo-based visual design studio WOW inc.


About the Exhibition
The theme of “staying cool in the Japanese summer”
Roppongi is an area in the heart of Tokyo, which is always full of life and packed with a diversity of people. Our task was to design a spot in this area that would offer a new way to enjoy the summer. We approached this task by focusing on the rich traditional sensibility of the Japanese, which seeks ways to appreciate even the sweltering summer heat as fuzei, as part of the scenic ambiance.

Sitting on the engawa* facing the garden to listen to the insects, to watch the fireworks, to spend summer evenings with those near and dear. The challenge was to reconfigure these quintessential elements of the Japanese summer into something fresh and contemporary, creating a whole new seasonal sight.

The setting was a spacious lawn in the heart of the city, measuring over 2,000 square meters. On this lawn we set up a large rectangular engawa, 20 by 40 meters, to serve as a stage and a frame. We filled this space with mist that changed from moment to moment, creating sights that each lasted but a moment.
And finally, there was a digital lighting system showing fireworks, comprised of around 6,000 LEDs.

Visitors relaxed on this engawa, watching the image of Japanese summer unfold beneath their feet, and experienced the summer coolness. The elemental, ever-transforming mist and the digitalized lights of the fireworks produced together a sight of which eye could not tire. Blending in with the summer evening, the work offered visitors an experience that refreshed both their minds and bodies amid the heat.

*The engawa is an architectural feature distinctive to traditional Japanese houses. It is an intermediary space between indoors and outdoors, and a place that is almost emblematic of a good life, where one can sit and take in the outdoor ambiance or chat with loved ones.

These installations were created in collaboration with SHISEIDO’s Team 101. Taking ideas from neuroscience, we worked to interact with the senses and awaken the possibilities of the viewer, expressing the philosophy behind SHISEIDO’s new skin care series. NEURO SURGE was a large-scale monument that pierces through the atrium between the first and second floors of the Shiseido Ginza building. Created from advanced-material fibers and standing nine meters tall, the work displays changing expressions of light.

Meanwhile, INTERACTIVE WALL is a nine-meter wide, five-meter tall screen of stretch fabric. Touching and pushing the screen creates a visual image of self-activation. With delicacy and boldness, these installations expressed the complex way everything was intertwined—different kinds of information, human relationships, social structures, infrastructure. They were a visualization of the information transmission carried out by the sensory nerves of consumers / ordinary people, exposed to human emotions on a daily basis.

WOW was in charge of the planning, production, and creation for the opening party of “Amazon Fashion Week TOKYO 2017 S/S,” which was held in Omotesando Hills on October 17, 2016. We aimed to create a performance in line with Amazon Fashion Week TOKYO’s idea of “a performance full of surprises the likes of which has never been seen.”

With one of the key visual elements of fashion shows, White Cube (=white boxes), as a motif, we arranged 125 boxes on the wall above the stage in a geometric pattern. We began with projection mapping onto this wall of boxes and, in the middle of the event, used other devices and programming to animate the opening of their lids. We utilized the illusionary effect produced by combining projection mapping, box animation, and lighting. We believe that we enlivened the event by our creation of a space and experience full of surprises.


Award
“ADC 96th Annual Awards”
Design: Environmental / Museums / Gallery Installation ▶For more detail

“THE ONE SHOW”
Design: Branding / Brand Installation▶For more detail
Design: Immersive / Environmental / Indoor Spaces▶For more detail

“London International Award 2017”
Design: Digital Installations▶For more detail
Design: Art Direction▶For more detail
Design: Experiential Design▶For more detail
Design: Innovative Use of Design▶For more detail
Design: Branded Content▶For more detail