【English version】SIGNALS Creative Research

Publication Information SIGNALS Creative Research No. 01 Explores the Future of Entertainment The Creative Center, the design team of the Sony Group, published the English edition of SIGNALS Creative Research No. 01. This publication is a trend report compiling what our designers and researchers learned through field research and interviews conducted from a creative perspective to explore the future of entertainment. As touchpoints with entertainment become increasingly diversified, creators are devising an increasing number of approaches to deliver a single intellectual property (IP) from various perspectives and via multiple forms of media. This report discusses such trends in “transmedia entertainment” based on an interview with Takashi Yamazaki, a film director, screenwriter, and visual effects producer known for his work on Godzilla Minus One, which won Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards, along with a wide range of storytelling approaches seen around the world. We also zero in on the concept of “worldbuilding,” which involves the construction of a coherent and compelling world, and explore the topic through interviews with various key players in this field, including Liam Young, a speculative architect working on the themes of design, fiction, and the future and the director of the Master of Science program in Fiction and Entertainment at SCI-Arc. As Sony’s design team, the Creative Center is expanding our scope beyond products to cover entertainment, finance, mobility, and more. As a result, much of the design and branding work done across Sony now falls within our domain. To provide sources of inspiration for these activities, every year, the Creative Center researches the latest societal trends, examining everything from the social landscape to public attitudes in order to develop insights and forecast future trends from a creative perspective, and distilling key insights that we share with the rest of the company. This publication presents for the first time the results and insights from our latest research to the general public. We hope it will spur conversations on new values between Sony designers and all sorts of people whose interests fall under the wide umbrella of creativity and entertainment while inspiring collaborative storytelling that brings us closer to a brighter future. Index Introducing SIGNALS Opening Special Tripartite Talk Reaching the subconscious̶the seat of emotion Takashi Yamazaki, Daisuke Ishii, and Satoshi Akagawa Part 1 Transmedia Entertainment Borderless media and expanding entertainment ・Transmedia 101 What exactly is “transmedia”? Akinori Nakamura (Professor, College of Image Arts and Sciences at Ritsumeikan University) ・How to Tell a Story The many ways to tell a story Art Project｜Les Machines de l’Île Immersive Art｜Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart Animation Series｜Arcane Gym｜BragMen Shared Reality｜Cosm Card Games｜Trading Cards Video Game｜ Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! Museum｜Nintendo Museum Novel｜New Horizon: Seishun Hakusho Musical｜2.5D Musicals Board Game｜Jujutsu Kaisen: The Cursed Spirits Escape -Shibuya Incident- Music｜YOASOBI TV Series｜THE LAST OF US ・Column China | Web novels as a paradigm for success Pop Zhang Middle East | A content strategy based on investments and acquisitions Akira Takatoriya Part 2 World-Building ・The World Calls for the World The surprising ubiquity of world building ・Interview 1 Liam Young (Speculative architect) ・Interview 2 Shihei Lin (Manga editor)