Toshiba/ NFTS Viral: Production Line

Anna StuartJoana Flor

About us/ about the idea

• We are 2009 graduates from the NFTS now working professionally in the industry

• We were excited at the chance of working with Toshiba and using the NFTS’ resources to push the limits of what we could achieve

• It was our ambition to make a beautiful, high production-value video which is also addictively watchable and hopefully ‘viral’.

First steps• We wanted to understand how Toshiba is perceived and how our

idea should work.• We researched amongst our friends, but also we wanted to take

advantage of the Camileo we were given, and film some Vox Pops.

1. Consumers recognise Toshiba to be a Japanese brand2. Toshiba is not necessarily associated with being ‘cool’ or ‘edgy’.3. Japan is perceived by our interviewees as a country of very strong

traditional values (beauty, integrity, hard work); … but Japan is also identified as leading technology trends.

We established three major facts about Toshiba:

We used these facts to build a syllogism – a way to structure associations with the brand for our audience.

Japanese culture is cool Toshiba is Japanese Therefore, Toshiba is cool

production line. n., A a set of sequential operations in a factory, whereby materials are put through a refining process to produce an end product; or

components are assembled to make a finished article.

• Our idea is for a magical, futuristic, symbolically laden Toshiba laptop production line…the most unique production line in the world.

• There would be no machines in this production line. The tasks of building the laptop are performed by characters. They are both modern and traditional, colorful and visually arresting, meaningful and beautiful.

• We researched standards and icons of Japanese culture, as well as our personal inspirations from Japan.

The Characters: Harajuku girl (standing for: innovation)

Geisha (standing for: beauty)

Origami artist (standing for: detail)

Sumo Wrestler (standing for: strength)

Aikido Master (standing for: technique)

Samurai (standing for: ethics)

The 6 characters were developed from an original 9.Before the final development process, we brought the idea together in a

video ‘sketch’ of what we wanted to achieve.

Making the video: preparation

• Our cast and performers were always going to be diverse – and we went to find them in different ways.

• We organised actors’ castings, went to Aikido Schools, researched Sumo organisations, found consultants - everything to find the right performers

• Japanese Sumo very rarely appear or perform in England. Eventually the right performer turned out to live in Los Angeles, and, thanks to a supportive agent and the kindness shown to us by the Sumo community, we were able to cast and bring to Beaconsfield the two-time world champion fighter ‘Byamba’ Ulambayar.

ConsultantsApproaching a foreign culture, we knew very quickly we needed advice and guidance. We met some amazing, supportive professionals who worked within Japanese culture.

• Tea Ceremony/ Kimono specialist (Akemi Solloway) • Aikido instructor/ stage combat specialist (Chris Diacopolous)• Tokyo-based Samurai dress specialist, who makes replica costumes

(Katchu Japan) • A skilled martial arts practitioner – Akira Koieyama, who was also

our ‘Samurai’ performer• Choreographer, Ayaka Takai

Making the video: preparation

Making the video: the shootMakeup for the Geisha and Harajuku characters

(Haruka and Erica) took several hours each.

Erica’s eyes appear in a very close shot, so had to be perfect

It was important to us that as many as possible of the black material’s magical transitions happened live on set.Preparing the NB200 laptop for its shot are Kassi (SFX) and Geoff (1st Assistant Director)

Making the video: the shoot

Getting the stunts right: Joana and Chris (stage combat consultant) work out the Aikido shot with Satomi (Aikido) and Erica (Harajuku)

Making the video: the shoot

Making the video: the shoot

The Production Line waits for a take of the wide shot

Making the video: post-productionFrom a low-resolution edit where the fundamental decisions about pace and look are made, the process of digital post can commence. To get the scope and feel of the correct scale, we understood that the sparse, minimal, futuristic factory would be digitally composited.

• A digital 3-D model of the factory was built and textured by collaboration between the backgrounds artist and our SFX crew, and will be virtually lit, within the model, by our Director of Photography.

• The model (or the section of it we need to be seeing) is then composited onto each shot. If the shots move, for instance if the camera moves sideways or tilts down, a further layer of complexity is involved

• Only at the point when the finished edit is composited and overlaid with digital effects can the full visual impact of the viral be seen – the creative process continues until the very moment when we deliver it.

Making the video: post-production