The "Perfume Global Site" project makes 3D data of the three members of Perfume—Omoto Ayano (Nocchi), Kashino Yuka (Kashiyuka), and Nishiwaki Ayaka (A-chan)—available as open source, allowing anyone from around the world to use it to create and post their own creations on the site.
"I proposed this project with the aim of highlighting the high level of Japanese creators and their fanbase. We received a large number of works, but aspiring young creators and already professional creators were given a theme (3D data and music) and were asked to present their creations. They were then asked to tinker with the motion capture software themselves, then attend a Perfume concert, and ultimately experience the cathartic realism of real life being the best!" Typically, videos of the members dancing are released, which then inspires fan fiction. However, this project reverses the process: first, the data is released, fan fiction is created, and finally, the members themselves are shown dancing. Paradoxically, one of the aims is to convey the appeal of the members themselves."
First there are the flesh-and-blood bodies as boxes and vessels, and then elements such as dance, music, and costumes add value, just like classic idols who were originally "fantasy devices," but what sets Perfume apart from other idols is what the artists draw inspiration from that.
"First and foremost, the quality of the material is essential. The dance choreography and music are particularly important, and I think it's important that the choreography is recognizable as Perfume's dance, even if it's Gachapin dancing."
Manabe has a track record as an independent programmer involved in performing arts such as contemporary dance and performance, including the masterpiece "True/Honto no Koto" by Fujimoto Takayuki, a key member of Dumb Type, as well as works by Takatani Shiro and Kawaguchi Takao, also of Dumb Type.
"true/ Honto no Koto" is a series aiming to be a contemporary "comprehensive art" by linking the highly trained bodies of dancers like Tsuyoshi Shirai and Takao Kawaguchi with devices such as light, sound, and video via electromyographic sensors attached to their bodies. Manabe, who joined the project early on, was responsible for the system design and programming for the precise synchronization of sound, vibration, and lighting, as well as the composition of the music.
He describes it as "an experimental work in which the dancer is incorporated as a component of a media art installation." However, in reality, in dance performances, the audience's attention is inevitably drawn to the dancer's physical body. Under these circumstances, it must be said that this was a progressive and ambitious work that took on the risk of creating a complex system, and wondered to what extent the "mystery" of subtle interlocking could be conveyed.
"I felt that I had achieved everything with true. At the time, I was in charge of everything from music production to system development alone. (Rhizomatiks members) Saito, Horii, and Ishibashi also joined in and we took on various challenges. I think it's a field that has an affinity with (my own creations). Around that time, I became interested in collaborating in different fields."
It's true that in the world of contemporary dance, the range of choreography is extremely free, and dancers' movements are always pushing the limits of physical expression, resulting in a wealth of diversity.
"What we do often changes depending on the data we can obtain, but when I was working with Fujimoto-san, Kawaguchi-san, and Shirai-kun at true, we used electromyographic data from both arms. The amount of data was small, but it was easy to handle and convert into sound. What's interesting is that if we change the program, the dancer's movements change too. Programs and algorithms create human movement. In Perfume's case, whether it's motion capture data or 3D scan data, I think it's no exaggeration to say that the appeal of the content is already decided just by obtaining it, but that's why how it's used comes into question. I try to approach each project with an awareness of issues."
