Visual Arts Major Kenji Yamamoto Seminar Collaborates with Aikawa Town and Government-Academia to Produce 'Aikawa Brand' PR Video

Our university's College of Performing and Visual Arts Visual Arts Major Kenji Yamamoto Seminar produced five commercial videos as a government-academia collaboration project with Aikawa Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, aimed at promoting the Aikawa Brand.

This project evolved into a collaborative effort between Yamamoto's seminar and Aikawa Town, starting with Specially Appointed Lecturer Yamamoto directing three films in the "Hundred-Year Journey" series introducing the history of Aikawa Town. It was implemented to raise awareness of the "Aikawa brand" and to provide students with practical video production learning, allowing students to experience a series of processes simulating actual video production sites.

In this initiative, under the setting of Aikawa Town as the 'client' and Yamamoto's seminar as the 'contractor,' students handled everything from interviewing to planning, filming, and editing to produce the PR video.
Five third-year students from College of Performing and Visual Arts participated. The students selected "Aikawa Brand certified products" that interested them and conducted interviews with certified businesses and photographed the manufacturing site and work scenes. They explored not only the appeal of the products but also the dedication and thoughts of the businesses behind them, expressing them through videos from each perspective.

In April, officials from Aikawa Town visited the university for an orientation session where they explained their expectations for the video production from the perspective of the client. Then, in May, students visited local businesses such as Oya Koshu Brewery, Miyagase Lakeside Cafe, and Tashiro Wooden Pottery Workshop to interview them about the manufacturing process of the certified products and their thoughts on their work. After the interviews, they developed video plans based on the information gathered and presented them to the Aikawa Town officials. Once the plans were finalized, filming and editing took place in June, resulting in the completion of five promotional videos.

In July, we held a preview screening at the Aikawa Town Hall, inviting representatives from the Aikawa brand certified businesses who cooperated in the production. The students took the lead in planning and production, considering how to convey the appeal of the products they learned about through interviews with actual businesses and the feelings of the creators through the video.
The five completed videos will be widely used as promotional content to showcase the appeal of the Aikawa brand. Through this project, the students had the opportunity to practically learn the planning, interviewing, and expressive skills necessary for video production while interacting with actual local communities and businesses.

Kota Yasuda
We focused on expressing the phrase "Personality, cow pattern, rice husks, good" in a catchy and memorable rhythm, and by keeping each shot short, we captured the moment that best conveyed the product's appeal within the limited time. While actually visiting Aikawa Town for interviews and filming, we were able to experience the warm personalities of the townspeople, and we enjoyed working on the project from start to finish, with the primary goal of bringing joy to the people of Aikawa Town through this work.

Takuma Nakanowatari
In the scene where the invitation becomes vividly colored, we paid close attention to the nuances and tones of the colors, from the camerawork to the editing, to express the world of the work. We also pursued ideal lighting and realistic depiction of raindrops, shooting many times to capture the beauty of that fleeting moment. This was our first time working on a sake commercial, and by combining a calm atmosphere with fantasy elements, we were able to create a memorable piece. We realized the importance and enjoyment of creating a video with attention to every detail.

Miyu Ikemori
To convey the charm of each handcrafted piece of pottery, we personified the pieces and expressed their individual personalities. We also focused on the handles and incorporated the process of how artisans carefully create them into the video. Visiting Aikawa Town for the first time, we were able to experience the town's charm, such as its rich nature and the warmth of its people. While being mindful of conveying not only the brand but also the town's appeal, we went through a lot of trial and error with the movement of the pottery and other elements, making it a valuable experience to learn practical video production.

Nakatsuka Fuka
By using the same background in the photos, we incorporated a clever device that viewers can notice along with the characters, and we also focused on creating a fantastical experience where the blueberries act as a springboard to the farm. Through our research, we learned that the goal was not only to enhance the taste of the product, but also to encourage families and friends to create lasting memories amidst the nature of Aikawa. We expressed the theme of "blueberries taste even better because of the happy memories they evoke" in the video. We learned about the challenges of bringing a project to life, as well as the joy of exploring expressions unique to video.