The new studio, which has tripled in size and is finally up and running, is “a place where the wishes of the performers and staff can come true.
A magical, new experience. This new series of articles focuses on ANYCOLOR's staff and related personnel to find out what is happening on the frontlines of the virtual entertainment business. ANYCOLOR MAGAZINE editor-in-chief Suzuki will personally visit the site and explore the behind-the-scenes of various projects. In this first instalment, we directly interview members of the Studio Department, who are working in the new studio that has just recently begun operations. We asked them about the appeal points of the new studio, which has tripled in size, as well as the compelling reasons behind the move. They also talked about ANYCOLOR's old studio, as well as the hardships involved in the “famous project” that will be the talk of the town in 2021.
Not enough studio space...18 months after relocating, the search for a new property begins.
Takato Suzuki (Suzuki): First of all, let me ask you why you needed to move to a new studio in the first place. Your previous studio was quite large in scale, but when did you start thinking that you needed a new studio?
Executive Officer Fujita (hereafter, Fujita): The head office moved to its current location in Roppongi in April 2021, but we had already started looking for a place by December 2022.
Suzuki: Even at that time, the studio was quite large from the previous situation, and we had additional space to expand from there, but we had to move rather quickly, didn't we?
Fig: A view of the Roppongi studio.
Fujita: I felt a sense of urgency about the need for a new studio most of all because of the increased need for a 3D studio, but another factor was the increase in the number of cases where sales projects are delivered in a 2D studio. In the past, we didn't have many studios to deliver projects in the first place, but in the past few years, the number has increased dramatically, so I thought, “What? Aren't there enough 2D studios ......?” I was concerned that we were going to run out of 2D studios.
Technical Director Yamakawa (hereinafter referred to as “Yamakawa”): We are getting more requests to use the studio for sales projects, which I mentioned earlier, rather than requests from artists who want to use the studio for their own distribution. My sense is that the demand for the studio has increased several times more than when we first moved to the Roppongi studio (......).
Suzuki: As a result of the simultaneous increase in demand for both 2D and 3D content, there were cases where 2D studios were remodeled to deliver 3D content, and conversely, 3D studios were used to deliver 2D content. In addition to project delivery, we also have a department within the company that creates content, and we need to use the studio to create official programs such as “Ki10! The accumulation of such requests has increased the number of requests for use from within the company, and as a result, it has sometimes been difficult to fulfill the requests of the lifers, hasn't it? We never want to hinder the delivery of the riber's program, but ....... This is how the problem of not having enough room in the studio came to the surface.
Yamakawa: That's right. Also, ANYCOLOR has become more “company-like” compared to the past.
Suzuki: What do you mean?
Yamakawa: I have been working for this company since 2019, and I feel that there has been a gradual shift from an era of “let's have fun with our subscribers and create various new things, and be willing to make some mistakes in order to do so” to a state where we need to ensure safe and error-free delivery.
Suzuki: I think there was definitely a need for such a change as the company grew in size. Rather than a change in our internal situation, I would say that as our distribution has been seen by more and more people in the world, the public's demands have shifted from “innovation” to “safety,” in other words, not to fail.
In the past, there used to be times when a lifer would be in an employee's office before you knew it and you would play card games together. Knowing those days, for better or worse, I think there is a part of me that thinks, “We've become a big company.
Fujita: That was when the studio was in Kanda. The staff, including myself, often slept over at the office. The longer people stayed at the company, the more cots they would have (laughs). Looking back on those days, I can see that the company certainly became more “company-like.
Suzuki: When I joined the company in early 2019, we were still in the red, and we were in a phase where we knew that we needed to make money and grow as a company. It was around that time that we started to think about how to make money and enrich the lives of our drivers, and we definitely changed our mindset that we needed to invest in facilities as a company. At that time, we were not able to hire enough people.
"Let's enhance it all!" Features of the new studio, which also fulfils Liver's wishes
Suzuki: What were the most important conditions for moving to a new studio?
Fujita: The most important condition was that we could increase the number of 3D studios compared to the previous one.
Yamakawa: When we decided to move, I thought, “Let's take this opportunity to strengthen everything! Yamakawa: When the relocation was decided, I thought, “Let's take this opportunity to strengthen everything! It was going to cost a lot of money, but I was thinking, “How many times have we had to move studios? I was thinking, “How many times have we had to move studios? So I decided to create an ideal studio that would make people not want to move anymore. So I went to various exhibitions to look for construction companies, and while I was working with ......, I was able to meet a good contractor.
Suzuki: In a sense, the basic premise of the project was to create a “final home. The floor space had to meet our expectations and be expandable, and we decided on the current location from various perspectives. Of course, we want the Leibers to be free to create projects based on their own sensibilities, but there is also work that needs to be done in order for the company to grow. In order not to give up on either of those two things, we had to secure the number of (rooms). By the way, roughly speaking, how big has the scale become?
Fujita: The floor space has tripled. But the number of rooms has increased more than three times. Compared to before, we now have enough rooms to meet the needs of our subscribers and our in-house staff. We have also created a new studio with individual distribution booths that can be used by up to four people for distribution. The individual distribution booths have improved soundproofing compared to the Roppongi studio, and the air conditioning has also been improved to make it more comfortable.
Fig: Individual distribution booths at ANYCOLOR's new studio.
Yamakawa: The number of our drivers has greatly increased, and the use of individual distribution booths for project distribution has also increased. In the past, many of our performers would deliver projects at home, but as the company has grown, we are entrusted with more and more large projects, which increases the complexity of the planning and requires more stability in the progress. For this reason, requests were raised for staff support in the studio.
Suzuki: In addition, there are more and more overseas-based lifers coming to Japan for work. (Livers) will not be able to distribute while they are in Japan, so we wanted to improve the number and quality of individual distribution booths to solve that problem. We felt that their work in Japan should not interfere with their activities, so we were finally able to create that environment.
Fujita: That's right.
Suzuki: I also feel that the use of the studio has been expanding recently. In the past, there were few projects that specialized in dance, but recently, due to the influence of live music performances and the YouTube Shorts/Tiktok trend, I have the impression that the number of performers who want to dance has been increasing. What are some of the facilities that can accommodate this trend?
Fujita: When we moved to the new location, we heard requests from performers, and one of them was to install a mirror in the 3D studio, so we have responded to that request. Now you can practice while checking your dancing image.
Suzuki: Before, you had to check the rendered data of the 3D model through a monitor, so it will be much easier to check the choreography.
Fujita: Yes. When you try to check the data, there is inevitably a lag, and if you dance while watching your own movements reflected in the data, which are reflected in the data after a delay, you are inevitably distracted by the lag. So I decided that a mirror was necessary in order to check the data in real time.
Fig: Motion capture area of ANYCOLOR's new studio.
Lotion that doesn't slip? A story about the hardships of a “famous project” born in an old studio.
Suzuki: Overall, I feel that the atmosphere in the Studio Department is a little different from that of the Head Office. To put it in the context of what I said earlier, the Studio Department is more like a laboratory than a “company,” where people are always thinking, “What if we try something like this? I think we can do something if we try it this way. I remember that the staff, who are still active as core members, took the initiative and did a lot of things.
Yamakawa: It was the same with the lotion curling project.
Fig: The 1st Niji-sanji lotion curling championship 1st ROUND
Suzuki: I remember when we were leaving the Akihabara studio, we did it. I said, “I'm going to restore the place to its original state later!” I'll do it!
Fujita: That's right. We had tried a lotion project once before that, but when we moved to Roppongi, we were told that they wanted to do a project using lotion. When we thought about doing something bigger than that, we talked with the performers and said, “Well, wouldn't it be fun to do curling with lotion? That's how we came up with the idea.
Suzuki :That's right. I remember telling them to be careful not to injure themselves.
Fujita: But it was tough. Even though we were pouring lotion, it didn't slide. We made a set of shoes in the shape of a slide, but they did not slip, partly because 3D shoes have a good grip. So, what did I do? I put boards on the soles of the shoes. “Oh, it was slippery! I'm slipping, I'm slipping! We were all happy.
Yamakawa: (Raising both hands) “Yay! Yamakawa: (Raising his hands) “I did it!
Suzuki: (laughs). During that period, the head office was determined to work hard as a solid company, which was definitely the right approach, and that is why the company is growing today, but the studio was determined to pursue entertainment. I think that remains a core part of the staff's approach to this day.
Fujita: Yes. We want to enjoy our work, and I think we should do so. If we are not enjoying our work, the people who are watching us will not enjoy it either. This is what Yamakawa-san says, and I think it is what the past staff members have also been thinking.
Yamakawa: (nodding)
Suzuki: “Playing” and “having fun working” are two completely different things. The bar for “fun” within the inner circle is quite low to begin with, so I don't think it is possible to get people in the world to think something is fun if you put it out there that they don't think it is fun within their own circle. In that sense, I think it is important for studios to have an atmosphere where people, including the performers, can seriously discuss, “Is what we are doing now really interesting? There was an atmosphere in the studio where we could seriously discuss the question, “Is what we are doing really interesting?
By the way, when you moved from the Kanda studio to the Akihabara studio, you had no money to hire a contractor, so you moved in and out by yourself.
Fujita: I have already been to ....... It was a traumatic experience for me.
Suzuki & Yamakawa: (laughing)
Suzuki: We packed our own stuff and rented a truck from .......
Yamakawa: I was at another site at the time and couldn't participate in the work, but when I came back to the office, I was surprised and said, “Wow, he's driving a truck. I was surprised to see one of our employees at .......
Suzuki: That brings back memories.
Fujita: What should we do about the moving company? Fujita: When I consulted with the bigwigs, they said, “There's no way we can hire a moving company with the amount of money we make. We have to do it ourselves.
Suzuki: I was shocked. Well, it is definitely true that we wanted to cut all the costs we could, as our finances were really tough back then. Mr. Yamakawa, what do you think you would say if you saw the new studio today as you were then?
Yamakawa："Really ......?” Yamakawa：I think he would say, “Really, ? I think it would be turned upside down.
Suzuki & Fujita: (laughs)
Will a 100-person offline collaboration be possible someday? A studio dedicated to AR distribution will also be created
Suzuki: As I mentioned earlier, the new studio has more rooms and is much more convenient. What do you two hope to be able to do at the studio in the future?
Yamakawa: A 100-person off-site collaboration. The current studio can accommodate 25 to 30 people in one room, and the coordination of images between studios has become smoother, so I think the first hurdle is to see how far we can go while making various adjustments.
Suzuki: It has been proposed for some time that we would like to do an All-Star Thanksgiving-like program at Niji-sanji. What about you, Mr. Fujita?
Fujita: First of all, I would like to do AR distribution in our in-house studio, and we have built a beautiful studio for that purpose. We did an AR program with a band at Nornis once, but that was in an outside studio.
Fig: Nornis 1st Anniversary ~Acoustic Mini LIVE~ #Nornis_1st Anniversary Live 【Toko Inui / Chima Machida / NijiSanji】
Suzuki: I see. I feel that the new studio has brought back the “let's experiment” spirit that I had in the past. I may fail a little at times, but I have to try new things, don't I?
Fujita: Yes, we have to keep challenging ourselves!
Suzuki: Until now, the studio and employees were really working at full capacity, and there was little time for research. Now that we have more rooms, there are days when one of the studios is free, so we can experiment with new techniques there. I would like to hone a certain kind of entertainment venture mindset even more in this new studio.
On the technology side, we are preparing to do something that no one in the industry has ever done before, and the lifers are coming up with interesting plans for the lifers, so I expect that the multiplication of the two will produce something that no one has ever seen before.
Fig: ANYCOLOR's new 2D distribution studio area.
People who enjoy their work will make the company grow.
Suzuki: We have a larger studio, so we need to increase the number of people working there. What kind of people do you both want to work with?
Fujita: This is something I have been saying since our old interviews, but I would say “people who can have fun while working. It comes down to this. It is not limited to the Studio Department, but there are many employees in our company who enjoy their work and take on various challenges, and I feel that these people have helped the company grow significantly. I feel that people who truly enjoy their work are no match for them, and since they don't think of what they do as work in a positive sense, they are constantly proposing new things to us. I want people who have the mindset of “It's work, but we're going to have fun doing it.
Yamakawa: “Fun” is something you make yourself.
Fujita: I want people who say, “I'm in the VTuber industry now. What you can't do where you are now, you may be able to do at our company. So if you want to do something that you can't do in your current environment, and if you enjoy working with us, I would love for you to come to our company.
Fig: The editing booth in ANTYCOLOR's new studio.
Suzuki: Many of our decisions are made from the bottom up. Suzuki: Many of our decisions are made from the bottom up. I often do things like ......, where the upper management of the company collects money for things that the people on site have said they want to do, so if there is something you want to challenge, you can do almost anything. So if you want to take on a challenge, you can do almost anything.
Fujita: Yes, there is a high degree of freedom there as well. People with a mindset of “I want to challenge myself! I would like to make this new studio an environment where we can create new things, and create a lot of good things.
