‘Inori’ by Nobumichi Asai and Eiji Tanigawa

“Inori (Prayer) is a piece that combines high-speed face-tracking and high-speed (1000fps) projection mapping. The project is achieved as a collaborative work between AyaBambi, TOKYO, Ishikawa Watanabe Lab, The University of Tokyo, and WOW, responding to the call for collaboration by Nobumichi Asai (WOW).”

Making-Of Video

More about the making of the project:

The director, Eiji Tanigawa (TOKYO) made a proposal for the theme of “Life.” First, the soundtrack was composed according along the theme. The creative director (WOW’s technical director) Nobumichi Asai and the cg director, Shingo Abe, were inspired by the music and then made face mapping work. Aya Sato designed choreography. The crew of TOKYO, which Tanigawa directs, completed the project by making the video work.

The music brought Asai the image of “the radioactive.” The destructive force of the radioactive could cause “death,” “suffering,” and “sorrow.” And “prayers” could overcome them. These subjects infuse AyaBambi’s powerful performance. Their performance crushes and conquer black tears, skulls and the Heart Sutra. We built up the concept during the production and Abe designed animation for face mapping.

There was a big challenge in technical aspects. We realized the new mapping system that allows us to follow intense performances by using the latest 1,000 fps projector, DynaFlash and a super speed sensor. It is very new and it had not been done before. Projected images become part of their skin and they transform their faces.

At the beginning of our development, there was an issue, AYABAMBI would lose freedom of performances if we accelerated the tracking speed. Asai, Yoshimura (WOW), lecturer Watanabe and Teshima (EXVISION) explored how we could keep the tracking speed securing the freedom of performances, taking three months of trial and error to reduce a few milliseconds. And we finally developed this system.

CREDITS
Creative Director, Technical Director, WOW: Nobumichi Asai
CG director, WOW: Shingo Abe
Programmer, WOW: Atsushi Yoshimura
Director, TOKYO: Eiji Tanigawa
Editor, TOKYO: Eiji Tanigawa
Director of photography, TOKYO: Senzo Ueno
Choreographer: Aya Sato
Cast: AyaBambi
Music: Setsu Fukushima/Ryosuke Taniguchi, Ongakushitsu Inc.
Music composer: Yosuke Nagao
Colorist: Yasuo Fukuda
Online editor: Ryota Abe [Online Editor]
Mixer: Mizuki Kawano, Taiyo Kikaku Co., Ltd