HOME > Information > 2008 > Report on the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008

Information

Report on the Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008

The Tokyo International Anime Fair 2008 was held at Tokyo Big Sight from March 18th(27th) to March 21st(30th), 2008. Blessed with excellent weather, more than 120,000 people, including industry participants, researchers and general consumers visited the event from around the world.

Joint exhibition between Tokyo University of Technology, Nippon Engineering College and the University of Southern California

At the exhibition, Tokyo University of Technology’s media science majors and graduate students set up a joint booth between Tokyo University of Technology, Nippon Engineering College and the University of Southern California. The students’ energetic presentation and lively event attracted the attention of visitors. Prof. Richard Weinberg and four graduate students from USC also participated in the event to promote the USC School of Cinematic Arts and to report on the present state of affairs in their collaborative research with Tokyo University of Technology.

Symposium: “Facts about 3D CG animation production using 4K”

The symposium, “Facts about 3D CG animation production using 4K”, hosted by the Creative Lab of Katayanagi Advanced Research Laboratories, was moderated by Mr. Koji Mikami from Tokyo University of Technology’s School of Media Science. Katayanagi Advanced Research Laboratories' Assistant Professors Akinori Ito and Motonobu Kawashima, with Research Associates Naoki Okamoto, Yosuke Nakamura and Wataru Matsushita participated in the symposium as panelists. Case examples of Tokyo University of Technology’s high-definition image production using 4K standard, which is a cutting-edge technology in the world, were introduced at the symposium.

■Comment from Mr. Koji Mikami
Tokyo University of Technology has been participating in the Tokyo International Anime Fair since it’s inauguration in 2002, and as a university, we have been holding various symposiums from academic standpoints. This year, we gave a presentation on the challenges that we discovered in our test production, using a case example of accommodating the next generation high-definition image production “4K”. We would like to continue this business-academia collaboration and the tackling of new technological challenges and issues that the industry faces. We will continue to present the results at the Tokyo International Anime Fair.

Symposium: “The present situation of plug-in development”

The symposium, “The present situation of plug-in development”, held at the same event, was moderated by Mr. Koji Mikami from Tokyo University of Technology’s School of Media Science. Associate Researcher Kengo Watanabe participated in the symposium as a panelist, reporting the fact that the tool he has developed on his own is being utilized more and more as the existing “smoothing plug-in” that the animation industry uses is being commercialized. The integration of expression and technology by the School of Media Science is helping production support for the animation industry.

■Comment from Associate Researcher Kengo Watanabe
One can argue that image media processing, or image processing, is a new brush or drawing material, or new media. The sensibility of painting by programming acquired through the development of “Yumeiro enogu (dream color paint)” is applied and embodied in the “smoothing plug-in”.

■片柳研究所クリエイティブラボWEBサイト
https://www.teu.ac.jp/clab/

■「ゆめいろのえのぐ」WEBサイト
http://mediatelier.net/