人間の皆様、ご機嫌麗しゅう！ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です！
今日はオンライン・ビジネスに動画がどれだけ役に立つか、という久々にちょっとマジメなお話。
オンラインといっても楽天で物を売っているネット・ビジネスだけじゃなくて、実際に商店街でお店を経営していたり、個人事業経営をしている全ての方々が対象です！ Continue Reading…
Just over a week ago, I posted an article that featured some very cool animations by a Stop-Motion animator named Adam Pesapane who is better known as simply, “Pes.” That article featured one animation in particular that is the shortest film ever nominated for an Oscar. It is called, “Fresh Guacamole.” It is a fantastically fun animation and you can watch it and a couple of others here: Need a Break? Watch These Three Fantastic Short Animations! (robot55.jp/blog/need-a-break-watch-these-three-fantastic-short-animations/)
That article was extremely popular (thanks!) so today I decided to give you some more by other well-known Stop Motion Animators. Of course, this isn’t a Saturday morning kids channel matinee, so these video productions are for adults as they are kind of bizarre and, maybe a tad bit scary, for kids… Especially kids who are used to something like Disney Cartoons.
First up is a guy named Dillon Markey. Dillon Markey is known for his work on The Mr. Men Show (2008), Robot Chicken (2005) and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III (2010). Dillon has also worked with many famous animators and even Pes, so I thought he’d be cool to kick us off.
I think if I were a little kid, Dillon’s animation might give me nightmares!
In the late seventies, I used to go to an Art Cinema in Los Angeles to watch movies with my friends. I remember, at that theater, was the first time I had ever witnessed a David Lynch movie. It was “Eraserhead.” Yeah. That was a freaky movie. I saw it several times
One time before “Eraserhead” played there was a short film entitled “Asparagus.” I’ve looked for that animation for years and haven’t ever found it, until today. Alas, this is not with the original soundtrack (which was much more moody and psychedelic) but this new soundtrack also works well for me. This is awesome. It is by a band called, “KR3” who used Suzan Pitt’s animation for their music. Here’s “KR3 Fractures and Sparks.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5q7M7dA24I)
You can see or buy other films by Suzan Pitt here at her personal homepage: (http://home.earthlink.net/~suzanpitt/)
Finally, these artists and their works are all very cool, but what collection would be complete without some sort of explanation or history? That brings us to the “grandfather” of all of this sort of animation who, without him, this stuff might not have ever happened. His name is Ray Harryhausen. You may not know the name, but if you were interested in 50s & 60s Science Fiction, then you definitely have seen his work.
Here’s what Wikipedia says about Ray Harryhausen:
Raymond Frederick “Ray” Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American visual effects creator, writer, and producer who created a form of stop-motion model animation known as “Dynamation.” His most memorable works include the animation on Mighty Joe Young (1949), with his mentor Willis H. O’Brien, which won the Academy Award for special effects; The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), his first color film; and Jason and the Argonauts (1963), featuring a famous sword fight against seven skeleton warriors. His last film was Clash of the Titans (1981), after which he retired. Harryhausen moved to the United Kingdom and lived in London from 1960 until his death in 2013. During his life, his innovative style of special effects in films inspired numerous filmmakers including John Lasseter, Peter Jackson, and Tim Burton.
Ray Harryhausen was even friends with science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury! Wow!
Here is a compilation of some of Ray Harryhausen’s many works. If you are over 45 years old or so, I think you might like this drive down memory lane!
Recently, it seems that animations are all the rage (well, duh, this is Japan!) We at Robot55 are proud to announce that we are working with the fine folks at Ninja Slayer on bringing that exciting new animation to the world! Read about that here: Ninja Slayer Animation Begins April 16th at 11pm on Niconico (http://robot55.jp/blog/ninja-slayer-animation-begins-april-16th-at-11-pm-on-niconico/)
So, until next time! Enjoy the show! I’ll have some more great videos and animations here for your pleasure next week!
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ビデオ制作、格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー,
The good news is finally out! The new Ninja Slayer animation begins April 16th, 2015 at 11 pm on Niconico! (What’s Niconico? Please refer to “Japan’s YouTube? It’s Niconico!” (http://robot55.jp/blog/what-is-nico-nico-douga-its-japans-youtube/))
All Ninja Heads unite! The Ninja Slayer comic that has been a boom all over the world, including Japan, will be released as an animation and delivered to you at your home PC, or your smart phone on Niconico! (Nico Nico Douga!)
As a matter of fact, the humans at ROBOT55 have been involved in the production of this cult program, and I think they can deliver an interesting and smashingly funny program for you.
Screen Capture of Ninja Slayer Trailer video (below)
What? You haven’t heard of Ninja Slayer? Well, here’s a quick rundown:
In the distant future at Neo Saitama, some evil ninjas were brought back to life through the use of cybernetic technology and, in a turf war, they killed the wife and children of a Japanese Salaryman, Fujikido Kenji, who escaped death and then his soul melded with that of another enigmatic good ninja. He cheats death and becomes Ninja Slayer a Grim Reaper destined to kill evil Ninja in a personal war of vengeance.
“What?!” Yeah. That’s what I first said. This Ninja Slayer is deliciously ridiculous. I love it!
So don’t forget! Ninja Slayer animation begins April 16th, 2015 at 11 pm on Niconico!
There’s some more very exciting news coming out about the involvement of Robot55 (and the sister company, Universal Vision Ltd. – http://universal-vision.jp/) with the video production about this smash hit adventure.
Get all the inside information here! Stay tuned!
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ビデオ制作、格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー,
人間の皆様、ご機嫌麗しゅう！ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です！
今日本を始め世界中でブームになっており「ニンジャ・ヘッズ」なる言葉まで生み出したニンジャスレイヤーのアニメ版が遂に日本でもニコニコ動画で配信になります！
何を隠そう実はROBOT55もこのカルト番組の制作に関わっているんですが、かなり面白い番組がお届けできると思います〜♬ Continue Reading…
In my weekly chores, I produce and direct and make the playlist for a very popular weekly radio show on InterFM entitled, “What the Funday” (Every Sunday morning from 8 am ~ 11 am on InterFM) so I am constantly checking out about 30 to 40 new artists every week. So, I see lots of great stuff. Why not share them with you, dear reader? Yes! Why not?
This Week’s Top 3 New Artist Videos by Robot55 (pronounced: “Robot Go-Go” 「ロボット・ゴー・ゴー」) will showcase what I think are the best of those artists and their videos. So, without any further ado, let’s get into it, shall we?
#3) HAPPY FANGS – Raw Nights (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRZM0DDGgYo&t=10)
I read a review of Happy Fangs that said, “A raucous force of noisy guitar and anthemic vocals that thrill me like the late-1970s sounds of X-Ray Spex, Siouxsie, & Suburban Lawns.” Boing Boing online zine wrote: “Happy Fangs is a war-painted and wiry rock trio. Rebecca brings her high-energy vocals. Mr. Cobra brings his grit-pop guitar. Jess brings her hard-hitting melodic beats.”
Wow! I like that! I just had to check them out. Glad I did! They are at this week’s #3 on the video countdown!
#2) Jordan Allen – Set in Stone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRkqHK9hErg#t=79)
Some people like to say Jordan Allen is somewhat like Jake Bugg or Alex Turner. I think Jordan Allen has more of that raw sound that I like. The amazing thing about Jordan Allen is that he isn’t signed to an record label! So, since Robot55 is always cheering for the little guy, here he is at #2!
#1) Findlay – Greasy Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JwqRHE1Q2E)
Findlay is from London. Findlay is now getting a buzz about her and this great video. She was the opening act for Jake Bugg and performed to a sold out crowd at Dot to Dot 2013. This is Pop Music with an edge…. Because I’m such a wimp (and this is a family web site) I didn’t link to her other video, “Electric Bones.” See that one here: Findlay – Electric Bones (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEWt2-3AO_M)
And finally, this week’s giveaway is Shonen Knife. This was shot in Tokyo and Osaka and the total budget was well under $1000! The girls were thrilled with the video and so were their fans!
Extra! Shonen Knife – Ghost Train (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyt6A1oefq0)
At Robot55 we make video productions for businesses and services and products, but we also pride ourselves on making videos for art and music. This video was made by the team at Robot55. Our starting price is ¥80,000 and we are sure we can work out something that fits your budget.
Contact us! contact@robot55.jp
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ビデオ制作、格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー,
Many friends in the west ask me about YouTube in Japan. Well, YouTube is popular in Japan, but when it comes to junior and high school students and the youth market in this country, YouTube has stiff competition and may even be lagging. Arguably the biggest and most popular video sharing platform in this country is Niconico. So this short article is a primer on Niconico, which used to be called Nico Nico Douga. But, even today, just about everyone still calls it “Nico Nico Douga” – even people I know who work there!
“Niko Niko” in Japanese means “Smile.” So, I guess the creators of Niconico wanted to make a play off that word and hence, “Nico Nico”…. Smile!
Alexa lists Niconico as the 8th most visited site in Japan. And here is a list of The Top 10 Most Visited Sites in Japan:
#1 Yahoo.co.jp (Japanese version of portal site) Yes, Yahoo is huge in Japan!
#2 Google.co.jp (Japanese version of portal site)
#3 Amazon.co.jp (Japanese version of portal site)
#4 Fc2.com (a free blog service)
#5 Google.com
#6 YouTube.com
#7 Rakuten.co.jp (Online retail shopping)
#8 Nicovideo.jp
#9 Facebook.com
#10 Twitter.com
Did I just hear your jaw drop to the table? Yeah, that’s right; Niconico is more popular here than Facebook or Twitter!
Niconico started out as Nico Nico Douga; a sort of hi-bred mix of YouTube and Japan’s Denpa 2 Channel. Denpa 2 Channel is a bulletin board system (BBS) that is hugely popular in Japan; especially amongst young people.
While YouTube allows viewers to add comments below the videos, Niconico allows viewers to chat and comment on the video they are watching while they are watching it! It’s pretty neat and definitely a “Japanese Thing.” The comments appear on the screen as viewers watch and they can chat back and forth while watching.
For me, I find the comments on the screen as an interference, but the Japanese kids like to watch and chat at the same time…. It’s somewhat similar to today’s games like Minecraft where one can play while chatting with friends at the same time.
The curious thing, I reckon, about Niconico is that you must sign up to view it, yet it is still hugely popular. I hate signing up for anything! At Niconico , there are two types of registered accounts at Niconico ; Free membership (that’s me!) and Premium-membership. The Premium-membership fee is ¥540 yen a month.
You’d think, though, that few would actually pay to watch videos. Think about it; would you pay about $5 (USD) a month to watch YouTube or use Facebook? Nope? Neither would I. But, in Japan it is different! As of January 2012, Niconico had surpassed 1,500,000 premium members! As of October 31, 2011, Niconico had over 23,690,000 registered users, 6,870,000 mobile users!
Another interesting thing about Niconico is that almost everything on it is User Generated Content whereas YouTube has tons of content that are old TV shows, etc. In fact, due to very strict copyright laws in Japan, it is forbidden to upload TV shows on Niconico.
Niconico users are often making music or remixing existing items with their friends and uploading the finished songs to the website.
Have you ever heard of Hatsune Miku, the Vocaloid? Well, she, uh, her, uh…it? Hatsune Miku became big in Japan through Nico Nico Douga. She is still huge on the site.
Niconico has a huge fan base of “Nico Chuus” (Nico Nico Douga junkies). Kids who watch a huge volume of content on Niconico everyday.
The service is now available in Japanese, English and Chinese so it might seem the company has its expansion plans set up for Asia where BBS is much more popular than in the west. Anyway, next year will be Niconico’s 10th year and she is still going strong. When it comes to a user generated video sharing platform, then I doubt that Niconico is going to be crushed by the competition anytime soon; especially since Niconico has a tight grip on the Japanese youth market.
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Here is a Hatsune Miku video that I captured from Nico Nico Douga for you a while back (it is on YouTube because I figure if you are reading this (in English) then you don’t have access to Niconico!)
ビデオ制作、格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー,
人間の皆様、ご機嫌麗しゅう！ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です！
明日は人間の世界ではHINAMATSURIという女の子の健やかな成長を祈るお祝いの日なんですね！〜♬
雛に代表される人形を祀ったり、災厄を人形に身代わりさせるという伝統も如何にもアニミズム的で神道の香りが立ち込めていて、日本古代文化の悠久の時の流れのドラマも感じてしまいます。
またロボット的には「人形」というもの自体にも他人とは思えないシンパシーを強く感じる訳です。ええ…
ところで皆様！最近（って程最近でもないですが….）facebookで勝手に再生が始まる動画が増えたと思いませんか？ Continue Reading…
人間の皆様、ご機嫌麗しゅう！ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です〜♬
皆様のご好評に支えられてこのシリーズも既に第４弾！
今日はちょっとしたポイントを押さえた構成台本を用意するだけで観る人を飽きさせず、大事な事が伝わる動画が作れるようになるというところをお教えします。よ！ Continue Reading…
A few years back, there was a movie about the early Punk Rock movement in New York, called “Blitzkreig Bop.” I thought it was a terrible movie.
A few days ago, while discussing with a friend some video production, our Japanese Rock & Roll Ghost Story, and creating a Rock & Roll boom in Tokyo before the 2020 Olympics, he mentioned that the 1978 film “Blitzkreig Bop” had been made with Japanese sub-titles and was available for free on Youtube! Wow! I checked. He was right!
So, without further ado, for your Sunday morning viewing pleasure, here is “Blitzkreig Bop” the 1978 CBCG’s documentary. Enjoy!
Here’s what Dangerous Minds has to say about this movie:
Three aspiring musicians: Richard Hell, Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd were looking for a place “where nothing was happening” for their band Television to play. If nothing was happening then the bar owner had nothing to lose. One day, down in the Bowery, Verlaine and Lloyd spotted a place initialed CBGB-OMFUG. They sidled across, went inside and talked to the owner a former singer and musician Hilly Krystal. As Lloyd recalled in Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain’s essential oral history of punk Please Kill Me, Hilly wanted to know what kinda music they played.
They answered with a question: ‘Well, what does ‘CBGB-OMFUG’ stand for?’ He said, ‘Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gourmandizers.’ So we said, ‘Oh yeah, we play a little of that, a little rock, a little country, a little blues, a little bluegrass…’ And Hilly said, ‘Oh, okay, maybe…’ In fact, the only real stipulation for appearing at CBGB’s was to play new music, and although Suicide and Wayne County had already appeared at CBGB’s, it was not until Television, Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads and The Dead Boys started taking up residency that CBGB’s changed from something where nothing happened to somewhere it all happened.
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A HUGE thanks to Alex Kish of Wassuprockerradio! Please go “Like” his FB page
https://www.facebook.com/wassuprockerradio/
ビデオ制作、格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー,
こんにちは！ROBOT55（ロボット・ゴー・ゴー）です！
「志は高いが予算は低い」方々にスマホを使ってDIYでウェブ動画を制作する為に少しでもお手伝い出来ればと不定期に行なっているのがこの「上手な動画撮影のコツ」シリーズ。
今日はよくありがちな「やってはいけない事」を２点。 Continue Reading…