Method: Risograph printing and stop-motion I adopted “stop-motion animation using risograph printing,” a technique I have been experimentally producing independently since around 2019, as the visual expression method for this work. By handling the footage physically, I was able to introduce a level of flexibility that digital methods do not allow, such as using different types of paper for each scene, which was a major gain from this production. Concept: “Life during the COVID-19 pandemic” In Video Creators 100, which presents representative creators for each year, what kind of year was 2021? I set this theme because I wanted to preserve it as a visual record. One year has passed since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. I am writing this text on May 29, 2021. The third state of emergency, which was initially supposed to last two weeks, has been extended by about another month and a half. In 2021, the infectious disease is still spreading, and the new lifestyle has become more deeply rooted. I think it has become normal for many people to enjoy entertainment through a screen. While continuing to stay at home, meetings, live events, and drinking parties have all been replaced by monitors. The present is what keeps and extends our lives through the screen, and I condensed 2021 into a teaser video with the hope for the future—that one day COVID will subside and we will be able to go বাইরে outside again.

Brand film for the table tennis brand Butterfly. It beautifully intertwines live-action footage featuring rallies between 16-year-old prodigy Tomokazu Harimoto and German top player Timo Boll with CG, tightly synchronized to sharp sound design, depicting the brand’s worldview and the product’s powerful spin. This project began with the brief: “We want a video with an overseas feel that completely refreshes the image of table tennis, which is strongly associated with school club activities.” It was a collaboration with an amazing team, including director Takcom, who has worked with us since the days of W+K Tokyo Lab, the predecessor of JKD, and media artist Nobumichi Asai. Through many discussions with a passionate client and numerous staff members, this work was created with a focus on how to fuse the authenticity of the sport of table tennis with creativity.