The Campaign

Anyone can become a star on YouTube. The platform gives anyone a chance to reach everyone, and we wanted to showcase this exact phenomenon that brought PPAP global fame with a concept that celebrated the power of community on YouTube. We wanted to remind people of the excitement YouTube brings and celebrate the global influence of PPAP, by designing a performance with elements of surprise that audiences around the world could experience. ‘Remixing remixes’ - The song PPAP had gained its popularity through various remixes (tribute videos) by numerous YouTube creators and fans. The idea was to have PPAP add an original twist to the remixes and make a mashup for the stage performance. With augmented reality technology, we composed a dynamic live visual performance synced with cameras to capture real-time motion, creating a first-ever live stream AR experience on YouTube for the audience be fully immersed in the show.

Creative Execution

For the stage and performance design, we wanted to visualize PIKOTARO's worldview for PPAP. Upon multiple discussions with PIKOTARO himself, we developed the overall visual concept and applied that to the design of the special effects and performances. To present a culmination of creativity inspired by PPAP, we also reached out to the YouTube community to gather over 100 PPAP-inspired videos to feature in a giant montage during PPAP's live show performance. To track in real-time the camera positioning and PIKOTARO’s movements, we used “OptiTrack,” an optical motion capture system that is widely utilized in various fields including robotics, virtual reality, and entertainment. With the tracked data as basis, we used the method of matchmoving to composite in real-time CG animations such as apples and pineapples on the virtual 3D stage we had constructed beforehand, into live action footage of the stage performance, and live streamed that on YouTube. Special effects were also visible on both the main screen and sub-screens at the venue. In addition, we conducted real-time image analysis of the glow sticks that had been distributed to the 5,000 people onsite to composite elements so that online viewers could see the audience waving pens that have apples and pineapples stuck on them. Through these methods, we ensured both onsite audiences and live stream viewers fully enjoyed the show. Timeline (Nov. 1~Dec. 20, 2016): ? Early~Mid-Nov.: Ideation and planning, CG modeling for venue, storyboarding, technical direction and system building. ? Mid~Late-Nov.: Stage construction, obtaining usage permission for tribute videos, developing elements for special effects, planning live streaming logistics. ? Late-Nov.~Early-Dec.: Finalizing designs for special effects, developing CG footage, test-run for portions using augmented reality technology. ? Early~Late-Dec.: Editing and finalizing soundtrack, completing opening sequence footage, final test-run for portions using augmented reality technology, dress rehearsal, event day.