Noboru Eto's live performance delivers emotions that can only be experienced on the spot

Live performances that liven up the venue and bring out the best in the artists. Flapper3 plans and produces performances that match the concept and music of each live show, creating live experiences that resonate with people. Here, director Noboru Eto talks about his thoughts on live performances and stage video production while looking back on memorable projects.

Pursuing "the best thing to see live" to captivate the audience

-First of all, please tell us about the work that you usually do.

We handle a wide range of video productions, including live performances, projection mapping, and corporate PVs.

When it comes to live performances, we produce the video and direct the performance while consulting with the stage director, director, lighting staff, and other stage-related staff. There are some cases where we are involved from the start of the live performance, but for cases where the concept and set list of the live performance have already been decided, flapper3 often makes suggestions such as "How about this kind of performance?"

-Is there anything you keep in mind when performing live?

Our goal is to deliver something that will impress the people who watch the live show at the venue. To achieve this, we imagine what will look best when seen live. For example, even if a stage image looks beautiful on a computer screen, it often doesn't stand out much when viewed at the venue. Furthermore, the appearance changes again when an audience enters the venue and lighting is added.

It's difficult to imagine how something will look at the venue, but I think the knowledge and experience I've gained from the projects I've worked on and the live shows I've attended come in handy. I think it's because I know the scene so well that I can deliver the excitement that can only be experienced at a live show to the people at the venue.

A live performance space with a sense of unity created by taking advantage of the characteristics of the stage

- Mr. Eto, you have been involved in numerous live performances. What is the most memorable project for you?

I was in charge of producing the stage video for YOASOBI's first arena tour, "YOASOBI ARENA TOUR 2023 "Lightning Speed"," which was a memorable project. The unique feature of the tour was the two LED monitors hanging from the ceiling. These LEDs moved up and down and tilted to create the stage, making it a unique stage set that had never been seen before.

Depending on the placement of the LEDs, the images could be difficult for the audience to see, so instead of including text or concretely recognizable images, the images were mainly composed of abstract expressions. Rather than showing "images," the LEDs were used as lighting fixtures to illuminate the artists.

Because it was a special stage, it was difficult to imagine what it would look like on site, but I remember that we continued to make adjustments and conduct on-site inspections right up until the day before the performance.

The stage video for "Idol," the theme song for the anime "Oshi no Ko," which was performed during the encore, was created with the desire to express the intensity of the song and the excitement of the venue in the video as it is. It also expressed the essence of "Oshi no Ko," with animations that pop with light, reminiscent of the work, and plenty of blue and pink, the image colors of the characters. Similarly, the lighting was used to light up the stage in blue and pink at one point, and I felt that we were able to create a live performance that created a sense of unity.

When producing live video, the most important thing to remember is how the entire stage looks. Even if the video is cool, it's meaningless if it interferes with other productions and artists. We are always conscious of integrating all the elements that make up the stage, such as laser production, lighting, and the movements of the artists, to create the best possible space.

Bringing out the artist's unique worldview and appeal to the fullest
A deep approach to music

-What do you think are flapper3's strengths in terms of live performances?

I think our greatest strength is the "high resolution of the sound." Many of our members are music lovers, and we also have many active VJs (visual jockeys/video jockeys).
Each of us has a different favorite music genre, which allows us to approach a wide variety of music.

What we have in common is that we delve deeply into a piece of music and think about the best video and production techniques for it. There are many people who can interpret sounds in ways that I would never think of, so I am inspired by them on the production site. I feel that it is because we have such members that we are able to produce live performances and videos that fully utilize the artist's worldview and music.


-Finally, please tell us if there is anything you would like to challenge yourself with in the future.

We would like to propose effective production methods for "service videos" and "image output." "Service videos" are videos of artists or bands that are filmed and projected in real time on a monitor on stage. Recently, we have been receiving more and more inquiries from people who want to incorporate special effects into the service videos themselves or add processing to them.

In fact, recently, we have seen camera footage converted to monochrome, or projected with a rough texture. However, these effects are currently done on the video transmission side, so cooperation with the video output company is essential. There are limits to what the production side can do directly.

The hurdles of preparing the equipment and systems may be high, but flapper3 has a Tech Team with members who are strong in systems and software development. We hope that if we can utilize the power of technology to propose free production effects for service videos, it will lead to better live performances.