After seeing the Jomon pottery with my own eyes, I could imagine—from the unique protrusions and patterns—the scenery, natural phenomenon, the appearance and movement of living things, the sounds, and their textures. The design that contains various fragments of information felt like a poem by the Jomon people. While they do not depict the living beings that the Jomon people consumed to survive, the artifacts conveyed their prayer and awe for the living beings that imbued them with life and I believe it is that energy that gave birth to the grotesque yet beautiful shape of Jomon pottery. This work was designed and created based on this image.

Telly Awards 2022
Silver on Non-Broadcast: Craft- Visual Effects
Bronze on Non-Broadcast: Craft- Use of 3D Animation

WOW was in charge of the AR and video production for "This is ARASHI LIVE 2020.12.31," the last live-streamed concert before Arashi's hiatus on December 31, 2020. With no audience, we aimed to express the countless feelings of the many fans and members of Arashi over the past 21 years to create an experience that could not be had at a live concert, and above all, to show the gratitude of the members to the fans.

In the opening sequence, real and CG composite aerial footage and AR were used to create a floating device over the Tokyo Dome to convey anticipation for the concert and the energy and thoughts of fans around the world.

For the songs during the live performance, ARASHI members, AR, and background LED images came together to create a single image, with pop colors and rhythmic animations for letters and shapes to express the fun and lively soul of the songs. The Robycam (special filming equipment) moved in all directions around the venue to create a sense of parallax and depth in the AR image, unifying both virtual and real stages.

In the part connecting the final three songs to the ending, ARASHI's dream stage, together with fans, was expressed in AR and LED images mapped onto the dome. The fans' messages to Arashi floated with the dancing aurora in the night sky and surrounded the venue with light. The on-stage progress, cameras, lighting, illumination, real-time CG, and web system were brought together through working together with the lead of ARASHI members, all the way up to the start of the show, to create a graphic story with lyrics expressing thanks, a 21 years long storm ("Arashi"), and a rainbow crowning the blue of the morning sky.

The ending sequence featured countless lights (representing the thoughts of the fans and members) slowly leaving for a new world, as if in regret of their brief farewell.

PLAY ▶ "This is ARASHI LIVE 2020.12.31" Digest Movie

WOW was in charge of planning, direction, and production of “Sky Station Installation” and “Rail Carriage Doors Installation” for the Special Exhibition: A Railway Story in the Sky, currently being held at the Mori Arts Center Gallery & Sky Gallery.

Sky Station Installation
The content for the Sky Station, which appears as soon as you enter the Sky Gallery, was created based on the concept of “encounters and experiences of the railway that transcend space and time.” In the daytime, visitors can enjoy content using AR (augmented reality), where trains of different shapes moving in different ways leap out from a life-sized locomotive. From evening through till night, large images appear on the station building and fantastic trains run around the night sky.

Rail Carriage Doors Installation
We produced content that allows gallery visitors to experience doors opening and closing interactions through the medium of video. When they touch the carriage doors, which cover a wall about 15 x 3 meters, various motifs appear. In the intervals between the interactions, visitors can also enjoy viewing a close to life-sized carriage running right before them.

What is Special Exhibition: A Railway Story in the Sky?
Special Exhibition: A Railway Story in the Sky is a large-scale event of unprecedented scale, held on the entire 52nd floor of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, made possible by the cooperation of all seven JR companies, Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation, railway museums, regional governments, and approximately 50 companies from all over Japan including Tokyo Metro, Odakyu Electric Railway, Keio Corporation, Keikyu Corporation, Keisei Electric Railway, Sagami Railway, Seibu Railway, Tokyu Corporation, and Tobu Railway. Pivotal to the exhibition are items taken from storage in railway museums Japan-wide that are normally not on view, together with other exhibits that trace Japan’s railway culture, bookended by the Olympic years of 1964 and 2020—a recreation of a station and ticket gates from the state-owned JNR era, spaces and installations that look back on history, and displays of items such as headboards, timetables, and uniforms. In addition to the Sky Station, which also appears on the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower at an elevation of 250 meters above sea level, the exhibition features the food, travel, animation, games, and technology related to Japan’s unique railway culture in an experiential exhibition that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

▶A Railway Story in the Sky

WOW25th Anniversary Project | Logo Design
We held an in-house competition to create a logo, to commemorate the WOW's 25th anniversary. The concept on which the design was chosen entailed a circle that represented a group of members each with their own individual personalities. The overlapping of such personalities joins together to create the infinite (∞) power of expression.

To further develop this logo, volunteers within the company created a logo movie. In this movie, each designer provided their own interpretation of the 25 year journey of WOW, either from a group or individual perspective, and presented their works.

▶WOW25th Anniversary Project

Concept
“The logo was created based on the image of a 25-year anniversary logo that was made by collecting together a whole host of different personalities. Within this 25th anniversary logo, a huge number of individuals of various colors, shapes, movements, and features run, build, and accumulate on the endless circle in the logo.” —Hiroshi Takagishi