Breaking the Norms of the Animation Industry with Cutting-Edge Video Streaming Technology, Achieving Production in Two Bases, Tokyo and Kochi

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Noovo Inc. is an up-and-coming creative company that plans and produces animation. While many animation companies work offline, Noovo is leveraging online technology to produce animations between Tokyo and Kochi, locations over 600 kilometers apart. What has made this possible is the video platform "BlendVision" provided by KKCompany Japan. We asked Hideo Uda, the CEO, about the background that led to the trial introduction and how it is being utilized in the production field.

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A New Animation Production Company with Diverse Backgrounds

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BlendVision team(hereafter referred to as BV): First, please tell us about your company's business.

President and CEO Hideo Uda (hereafter referred to as Uda): 

We are a creative company that plans and produces a wide range of animations, from short works to commercials. Although we are a young company established in January 2020, I used to run an animation studio, so we were able to start our business by fully utilizing our previous experience.

Our team consists mainly of members from diverse backgrounds, such as marketing and branding, which is uncommon in traditional animation companies. As a result, we are not just focused on planning and production, but are also actively working on constructing new business models in animation and streamlining the production process.

Personally, I have been in the animation industry for a considerable time, and I take advantage of the connections I've built over the years by collaborating with external creators. This enables us to constantly challenge anime production in innovative ways, which is one of our strengths.

Animation is, in a way, a comprehensive art form. While it is a given that we cherish every aspect of the story and audio, I am always thinking about creating an environment where animators, who form the foundation of drawing, can freely immerse themselves in creating their works.

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Challenge to Animation Production Beyond Distance

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BV: Could you please tell us what prompted you to test introducing "BlendVision"?

Uda: 

Our company has offices in both Tokyo and Kochi, so it was to realize remote animation production.

Even for short animated films, a diverse group of staff is involved, including animators, designers, directors, scriptwriters, producers, editors, and sound engineers. Securing such talent naturally tends to be limited to urban areas. As a result, the animation industry has become concentrated in Tokyo, making anime production in regional areas challenging and considered impractical in the conventional sense.

However, the animation industry is currently at a major turning point. With the rapid advancement of technology leading to digital transformation and diversification of work styles, more and more companies are using online tools to produce animations in local areas outside of Tokyo.

During our exploration of ways to conduct creative work at both Tokyo and Kochi bases, we were introduced to BlendVision by an acquaintance. That was the trigger for us to start seeing a new form of the animation industry.

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Realization of Anime Editing and Review Work in Region Areas

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BV: What was your impression of introducing BlendVision in practice?

Uda:

To be honest, the quality was beyond what I had imagined. Generally, when creating an animation, there's a process called "preview work" where all members check the progress of the work in production. Traditionally, all staff would gather in the studio and perform this task face-to-face, but with BlendVision, everything can be completed online between Tokyo and Kochi.

The challenge with remote preview work using regular online meeting systems was the large data size of animation files, leading to video interruptions and audio disruptions, making remote preview work less smooth. However, with BlendVision's key feature, "high-resolution and ultra-low-latency live streaming," the video is played seamlessly in high resolution, and troubles like audio cuts are almost non-existent. I was surprised to see how comfortably preview work could be done remotely.

Also, the "chat room feature" was very useful. As we check the animation during production, comments like "let's correct this part" or "I'm concerned about this part" are left as logs in the chat. Because there is always a risk of miscommunication with verbal-only exchanges, the ability to archive each person's statements is a major advantage.

It is reassuring for us that such processes, which greatly influence the quality of the work, can be carried out equivalently to face-to-face.

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Envisioning the Future of Anime Production with BlendVision

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BV: Finally, could you tell us about your future prospects?

Uda:

Going forward, we aim to create a work environment for animation production regardless of location, not just in Tokyo and Kochi. I would be delighted if this, in turn, leads to the development of the animation industry.

As a future trend, I believe we will see an era where the number of animation production companies in regional areas will continue to increase. That's why I feel the choice of infrastructure tools for animation production, like BlendVision, will become a significant factor that influences the quality of the work and speed of operations. Furthermore, as a greater ambition, I want to create worldwide works that move people's hearts together with creators not only from Japan but also from overseas.

We want to continue being a company that supports all animators by constantly improving the environment for creators to flourish. That is the future we at Novoo are aiming for.

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