The Virtual International Creative & Design Masterclass organised by The One Academy returned with its fifth instalment, featuring esteemed industry professionals from the film illustration, visual effects, advertising, digital media and fashion industries. With participation extended to secondary school students, The One Academy students and alumni, the event had taken place virtually over two consecutive weekends.
Masashi Kawamura is the co-founder and chief creative officer of Whatever Co., Japan.
During a live video conference from Tokyo, Masashi Kawamura – the co-founder and chief creative officer of Whatever Co. was invited to present his talk titled “Creating New Ways to Create”. Known for his innovative creativity, Masashi or Masa for short, has over a hundred international awards to his name, such as Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, One Show, NY ADC, Adfest and many more. He was chosen as one of Creativity magazine’s ‘Creative 50’, Fast Company’s ‘100 Most Creative People in Business’ & AERA magazine’s ‘100 People Breaking Out of Japan’.
Founded in 2018, Whatever Co. is a hybrid of a creative agency and a production company that does both the ‘thinking’ and the ‘making’. Their name comes from their love for creating whatever that moves the audience. They produce a wide range of creative projects such as brand campaigns, AR/VR contents, installations, apps, space designs, music videos, and many more.
“It’s interesting to be able to do a lot of different stuff that hasn’t been done before, and because the field is changing and becoming more medium neutral, there are different mediums that can be used to really reach the audience in a fruitful way,” said the creative director when asked on his diverse work portfolio.
“One guiding principle that I always refer to is – to create new ways to create is the simplest method to achieving something new. We’re not restricted to a certain medium, we love to explore our ideas and think about how we can bring that to life in all sorts of different shapes and sizes.” He gave the audience a better idea of this concept by sharing some case studies and some of the works that he has created recently.
The first was the “Hibi no Neiro” music video for the Japanese band called SOUR. He came up with the idea to film a music video using his webcam via Skype, where the cast are actual fans of the band from all over the world, recruited through social media. Filmed in 2008 with zero budget allocated, the music video turned out to be very successful and won many awards, a turning point for his career that paved his way to becoming a film director too.
Masashi presented case studies of his works – “Hibi no Neiro” music video and “Hidari” stop-motion film.
“The technology doesn’t have to be the latest. Using it in an unprecedented way is the creative jump. Technology doesn’t always have to be the VR, AR or XR. It could be something that’s existing for a long time but you just figured out a new way to use them,” explained Masa.
Fast forward to 2023, the second case study is an ongoing project – “Hidari”, a stop-motion samurai film that he is trying to make into an original feature-length film. There are multiple layers when it comes to making a stop-motion film, such as creating characters with 3D printed models, use simple camerawork and create a pitch deck to find investors. The Whatever way was to create characters out of wood and film with anime-inspired camerawork, creating a pilot film through self- and crowd-funding to pitch to investors for the actual film. Watch it here at YOUTUBE.
HIDARI (Pilot Film) – The Stop-Motion Samurai Film
He also shared a few examples of his work, such as the RakugakiAR – an app designed to make something we imagined a reality, an answer to the question “what if my drawings came to life?” By drawing a doodle and scanning it with the AR app, the doodle comes to life as a virtual pet that you can feed, poke and play with. The reception took off when manga and cartoon artists started using the app to bring their characters to life, leading to more people downloading the app.
Other examples of his work, the RakugakiAR app and Nike Unlimited Stadium.
Next was the Nike Unlimited Stadium, a digitally-enabled running track built in Bonifacio Global City in Manila, Philippines. It is their biggest project to date – the world’s first full-sized LED interactive running track where you can compete with yourself. Hyper-accurate RFID tracks your first lap time, and on the next lap, your avatar appears, running your previous time. The goal is to beat it and record your new best time, challenging you to keep bettering your best.
At the end of the session, Masa took the time to answer questions from the audience, including his take on AI (artificial intelligence), and advice to students.
“I think AI is super helpful. I think some people are afraid that it’s going to take over the world, and I think to some extent it will, because it’s very powerful and useful. I think of it as not a replacement of the creative process, but more of a research support to kick-start the creative ideation process.”
On what qualities do employers look for when hiring, he said, “Generally speaking, the portfolio that gets me personally excited is not about having the best, perfect designs, but more about unique perspectives. It doesn’t have to be polished, but we want to see unique and fresh concepts. If you can make the company feel like you can bring in new ideas and perspectives, that would mean much more and attract more career opportunities.”
The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programmes and continues to nurture its students passionately through its “Masters Train Masters” coaching philosophy, which has been practised for over 30 years, by providing diploma and degree courses in Advertising & Graphic Design, Digital Animation, Digital Media Design, Film Visual Effects, Interior Architecture & Design, Illustration, Fine Arts, Paris Fashion Design & Pattern Making, Computer Science & Game Design. For more information, visit www.toa.edu.my or call 03-7875 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to [email protected].
Online Education Fair 线上教育展
The One Academy of Communication Design
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