All posts in “English”

“DATA LOVE” out today!

Hi I’m Ken, the video man and music composer/producer @ ROBOT55 / ROBOT55のビデオ制作&音楽制作担当のKenでございます!

 

My new dance/house tune “DATA LOVE” is out today! / 小生のゴキゲンなノリノリ・ハウス・チューンのニューシングル”DATA LOVE”が本日より配信されます!

 

A super-pop and ridiculously-catchy club tune. This classic, romantic love song is dedicated to the one we marvel at every day and spend more time than with any beloved soul in the world, the binary data.

ポップでキャッチーなクラブ・チューンに乗せて、21世紀を生きる我々がこの世で愛する誰よりも多くの時を共に過ごしているバイナリ・データへの愛を謳う永遠のラブ・ソング。

Continue Reading…

“Crowdfunding”で検索すると・・・驚愕の結果に!

人類の皆様こにゃにゃちわ!お久しぶりです!僕はROBOT55(ロボット・ゴー・ゴー)也。

皆様のお陰でA Japanese Rock ‘N’ Roll Ghost Storyのクラウドファンディングも大成功でした!

感謝感激雨霰で御座います!

ありがとうございました〜♬

 

A Japanese Rock 'n' Roll Ghost Story

A Japanese Rock ‘n’ Roll Ghost Story

 

いよいよ制作に突入しますが、その辺の制作秘話もこちらのブログで逐一漏洩報告しますので、お楽しみに!

 

ェさて、今回のキャンペーンにおいてはSNSや当ブログなど、ネットのツールをフル活用してなるべく多くの方々に僕たちのプロジェクトを知って頂こうと寝る間も惜しんで頑張りましたが、その節はご迷惑もおかけしました。お付き合い頂いて誠に痛み入ります!

実は先日、その副産物とも言える面白い事に気付きました。

さりげなくGoogleで”Crowdfunding”という単語を検索すると・・・ Continue Reading…

日本におけるクラウドファンディング、そしてJapanese Rock ‘n’ Roll Ghost Storyについて

(English version of this post here: You Have to Have Punk Spirit! Notes on Crowdfunding in Japan and A Japanese Rock ‘n’ Roll Ghost Story (robot55.jp/blog/notes-on-crowdfunding-in-japan-and-a-japanese-rock-n-roll-ghost-story/)

多くの方がご存知の通り、ROBOT55では去る6月25日よりJapanese Rock ‘n’ Roll Ghost Storyという映画制作の為のクラウドファンディングを展開中です。

このキャンペーンもいよいよ残すところ一ヶ月を切りましたので、その内情をここで皆様に少しお伝えすると同時に、お陰様で色々なノウハウを蓄積する事が出来ましたので、この場を借りて皆様とその幾つかを共有したいと思います。

現在制作準備中のJapanese Rock ‘n’ Roll Ghost Storyの予告編やメッセージ動画はこちらのクラウドファンディングのページでご覧になれます。

Continue Reading…

A Japanese Rock & Roll Ghost Storyが渋谷のライブハウスHPに! / A Japanese Rock & Roll Ghost Story featured on a renowned music venue’s website!

A Japanese Rock & Roll Ghost Story 予告編のライブ・シーンが撮影された渋谷のMilky WayのHPでクラウド・ファンディングが大々的に取り上げられています!

Our Crowdfunding campaign has been featured on the website of a venue in Shibuya, Tokyo, called Milky Way where the band’s live performance scene in the trailer was shot! Continue Reading…

活動写真史上最高傑作を無料で観よう! / Watch the greatest motion picture ever made – free!

「7人dの侍」、「市民ケーン」、「8 1/2」 – 映画史上最高傑作と呼ばれている作品がなす映像芸術山脈を圧倒的な映像美と壮大なスケールの物語で見下ろすようにそびえ立つ驚愕の作品「KUNG FURY」をご紹介します!

Forget “Citizen Kane”, “8 1/2” or “Seven Samurai” – introducing the greatest motion picture ever made – “KUNG FURY”! Continue Reading…

神田祭のお写真第弐弾! / More photos from Kanda Festival 2015

人類の皆様こにゃにゃちわ、ROBOT55(ロボット・ゴー・ゴー)です!

Hullo, my dear human species! I is ROBOT55!

 

先日神田祭のお写真をこちらのブログで紹介させて頂きました!

We shared some fantastic pics from Kanda Festival, one of 3 great Shinto festivals of Japan, here last week.

 

予想外の大反響にお答えして、先週の神田祭より更に素敵なお写真をアップ致します〜♬

Due to insistent public demand, we decided to upload more photos from Kanda Festival for your viewing pleasure! Continue Reading…

True Prosperity: Grandfather dies. Father dies. Son dies. Grandson dies.

(This article is dedicated to my friend Bevin and everyone who has recently lost a loved one.)

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An ancient Zen Buddhist story goes like this:

A very wealthy family in China bought a large farm and built a beautiful palace upon it. They wished for good luck, health, and fortune, so they decided to ask a famous Zen priest to write a scroll for them to hang in their den. The priest accepted the job and went back to his shrine to pray for enlightenment.

After a few days, the priest returned with the finished scroll and the entire family gathered around in great anticipation to see the words that the priest wrote for them. The priest said a short prayer and opened the scroll and hung it on the wall.

The scroll said:

Grandfather dies.
Father dies.
Son dies.
Grandson dies.

The entire family was furious at the priest. They shouted and demanded that he go back to the shrine and rewrite the scroll for them.

As the priest was rolling up the scroll, he sighed and said: “I will rewrite the order of names on the scroll in anyway you wish. But I think there can be no other sequence. If all die in this order, I think that is true prosperity.”

My own mother died in a freak car accident in 1994. Of course, I was crushed. I was in Japan and she was in America.
After the car accident, she was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I understand that she floated in and out of consciousness before she died. Since I was so far away, I had no way of seeing her, holding her hand, and saying: “I love you mom. Thank you for everything.” But at least I can be thankful that my father was there to do so when she went away. Many people who die are not fortunate enough to have a loved one with them, to hold their hand, to whisper in their ear: “I love you. We all love you…. Please rest. You may go now.” And with words like these, my mother “let go” and passed away. I will always regret that I couldn’t be there with my mother in her time of need. I thank God that my father could be.

There are too many people in this world who die alone. Could there be a more woeful way to die, than when loved ones cannot be there by your side to say their last, “Good-bye”?

After my mother died, though, I was angry. I was angry at the world and I was angry at God. For months after my mother’s death I had recurring nightmares and the most bizarre dreams. Many of the dreams involved times when I was a boy. I would be playing in a playground and I would see my mother on the other side of a fence. I would cry out, “Mom! You’re back!” And I would begin to sob uncontrollably. My mother would grow angry at me and she’d start to leave. I’d cry out again, “Mom! Come back!” As she walked away, she would turn around, look at me, and always say the same thing: “I cannot come to visit you, if you are going to cry every time I see you.” And with that, she’d disappear into a field of tall grass.

I would always promise not to cry the next time. But I couldn’t keep my promise. I think I saw this same dream just about every night for at least six months.

Then one night, I had the most bizarre dream of all. My mother, as usual, walked away because I was crying, I was on my knees. I had my head in hands to try to hold back the tears. And then suddenly, I found myself in a huge chamber. It was like a colossal courtroom. I looked up and there was an old man sitting in a chair, looking quite frustrated and irate at me. He was massive in size. He was huge, at least 40 or 50 feet high and he was sitting down! He was brushing his beard and looking at me as if he was considering what to do.

I knew exactly who he was, yet I was not afraid of him; I was furious.

I shouted: “It’s not fair! It’s not fair that my mother died in an accident. My mother was still young and healthy. She should still be alive you bastard!” The old man just stared at me. I continued to shout at him. And I began to cry.
Then he calmly said: “So you think it is unfair that your mother has died?”

“Of course it’s unfair!”

The old man sighed and said, “Very well then, I shall allow you to be reborn and I will give you a different mother, and that mother will still be alive today. Would you find this acceptable?”

“A different mother!?” I said. “No… No, thank you.”

I suddenly awoke from my dream. My pillow was wet with tears.

I pondered this strange dream for many weeks after that. Then it dawned on me: Instead of being angry that my mother died in an accident. I should be thankful for all of the wonderful times we spent together, all the hugs and bedtime stories. All the laughs and the great dinners. All the special times that my mother made me feel special, and all the other times she cheered me up when others did not. I should thank God for all the wonderful memories I received from being the son of this loving woman. She was always there for me when I needed her. And now, whenever I see her in my dreams, I do not cry. In fact the dream I often have with her now is one where I am on her side of the fence and we are sitting in the field and having a picnic and smiling together.

I haven’t seen my mother in a while, but I look forward to the next time I do.

I told this story to a priest who has become my friend. He asked me to show him a photograph of my mother. I did. He said: “Your mother was a very beautiful woman. Always keep this image of her in your heart. You are most fortunate that it is you, and not her, who has but memories and a snapshot.”

“How profound!” I thought. And I have always kept his words of wisdom in my heart. I share these words with my friends whose parents have passed away.

If only I could have been lucky enough to be there to hold my mother’s hand and be able to say, “I love you” when she passed away. How thankful I would be; thankful for that moment that I could be there. But I wasn’t.

But she was there to share and be a big part of my life.

I wouldn’t trade those photos or memories for anything in the world.

Would you?

(The photo at the top of the page is my mother and father sometime in the very early 1950s.)

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At Robot55 we make video productions for businesses and services and products, but we also pride ourselves on making videos for art and music. Our starting price is ¥70,000 and we are sure we can work out something that fits your budget. Oh, and we love making band videos too! Contact us! contact@robot55.jp

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ROBOT55はビジネス、商業、製品紹介動画の制作のみならず、アートや音楽の映像も創っております。ビジネス動画においてはウェブ動画時代の到来に合わせ、お求めやすい¥70,000という格安価格より承ります。ご予算に応じて皆様にご満足のいく高品質動画を制作致します。勿論インディー・バンド向けPV制作も行っております。よ!

コチラよりお気軽にお問い合わせ下さいませ♬

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格安 動画制作, 格安ビデオ制作、ROBOT55, 撮影, 格安, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ, 東京, 撮影, 格安, ロボット・ゴー・ゴー, ビデオ編集, ビデオ制作, 動画, 紹介動画, 格安 動画制作, ビデオ制作, 動画, 紹介動画,

More Exciting (and Bizarre) Animations!〜おもしろい動画をご紹介

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,

Ninja Slayer Animation Begins April 16th at 11 pm on Niconico

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)

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,

This Week’s Top 3 New Artist Videos & Shonen Knife!〜ミュージックビデオも制作

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,