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SCIENCE FICTION TOUR
HIKARU UTADA
VISION
Hikaru Utada’s Science Fiction Tour 2024 was a visually immersive arena production celebrating 25 years of her groundbreaking music. Centered around nine monolithic video columns, the show blended futuristic worldbuilding, cinematic visuals, and emotional storytelling to create a powerful live experience across 18 sold-out performances. Working with FragmentNine and JAW Studio, I helped bring the tour’s expansive sci-fi atmosphere to life.
Design and animation work was developed for key moments including: First Love, Keep Tryin, Dareka, Naniirodemonai Hana, Kimi ni Muchū, and Automatic. The show’s unique configuration of nine monoliths presented a creative challenge, while also providing an exciting canvas that enabled unique perspectives and a distinctive visual language. This unconventional format inspired new approaches to composition, motion, and storytelling throughout the performance.
EXECUTION
PROCESS
Unreal Engine 5, Cinema 4D, and After Effects were used extensively throughout the project to develop and refine the visual content. The project leveraged workflows including Unreal Engine’s nDisplay and some motion capture technologies to develop perspective-based animations. The opportunity to work onsite in Japan offered valuable insight into the production and made for an incredibly rewarding experience.
FIRST LOVE
KEEP TRYIN
DAREKA
NANIIRODEMONAI HANA
CREDITS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Teruzane Utada – U3MUSIC
PRODUCER: Hikaru Utada
PRODUCER: Akira Miyake – Allegro Moderato / U3MUSIC
CREATIVE DIRECTOR & PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Jason Ardizzone-West – JAW Studio
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Jeremy Lechterman – F9
VIDEO DESIGNER: Jackson Gallagher – F9
SHOW DIRECTOR (JP): Tomokazu Yamada
ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Sean Sanford – JAW Studio
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING & VIDEO DESIGNER: Sydney Asselin – F9
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING & VIDEO DESIGNER: Alex Talbot – F9
VIDEO PROGRAMMER: Michael “Hank” Hankowsky – F9
LIGHTING PROGRAMMER: Erin Anderson
ART DIRECTOR: Pablo Beckett – F9
ART DIRECTOR: Ally Munro – F9
ANIMATORS: AOK Visions, Liangel Castellanos, Ricky Runfola, George Hurrell, John Erickson, Cora Keene, Andrew Gange
PROJECT MANAGER: Rob Kuhn – F9
RENDERING & PREVIZ: Evan Alexander – Cite & Site
STUDIO ASSISTANT: Marissa Todd – JAW Studio
STUDIO ASSISTANT: Anton Volovsek – JAW Studio
STUDIO ASSISTANT: Mehula Singh – JAW Studio
F9 & JAW STUDIO PRODUCTION MANAGER: John Lewis – Lightning Japan
OFFICIAL TOUR PROMOTER: Yuji Okamoto, Takayuki Endo – KYODO TOKYO
OFFICIAL TOUR PROMOTER: Mitsuo Kurano – YUMEBANCHI
PRODUCTION PRODUCER (JP): Ken Ishizaka – M Tres
STAGE MANAGER: NAX Nakata – Ahny Global Link
HEAD OF VIDEO DEPARTMENT: Masa Mochizuki – AVC
HEAD OF CAMERA DEPARTMENT: Satoru Terao – KYORITZ
HEAD OF STAGING: Hirokazu Ikuma – SHIMIZU OCTO
STAGE / RIGGING COORDINATOR: Risa Uemura – SHIMIZU OCTO
HEAD OF LIGHTING: Tomokazu Takahashi – KYORITZ
LIGHTING INTERPRETER: Michiko Rowson – KYORITZ
SFX: Satoko Sakabe – SPARK
STAGING: Shimizu Octo
AUTOMATION: Tait Japan
LED & VIDEO SYSTEMS: AVC
CAMERA: Kyoritz
LIGHTING: Kyoritz
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