Created by Japanese artists Kazue Monno and Takeshi Nagata, known collectively as TOCHKA, PiKA PiKA is an exciting new art form that uses light to create fun and playful animations!
Since 2007, TOCHKA has traveled around the world to animation festivals, museums, and universities, conducting PiKA PiKA workshops, and screening and exhibiting their work. TOCHKA’s goals are to bring joy and inspire people to work together across cultural, ethnic and linguistic differences. Utilizing public video sites such as YouTube, TOCHKA has launched countless PiKA PiKA animations, propelling this accessible, low-tech animation technique into a DIY global phenomenon, and effectively achieving their goals.
This week’s seminar is the Visions and Voices PIKA PIKA event, organized by DADA faculty Lisa Mann, Trixy Sweetvittles and Richard Weinberg. On Wednesday evening, please show up at 6:15pm in the SCA courtyard to pick up your admission bracelet, and return before 7:00 for the event. On Thursday evening, the panel session begins at 7pm in SCA 108. Attendance both evenings is required unless you have another class Thursday evening. Enjoy this amazing experience with Japan’s TOCHKA group, creators of this global phenomenon, and don’t miss their exhibit in the SCA gallery. See you at PIKA PIKA! Read all about it here: http://cinema.usc.edu/events/event.cfm?id=11985
---- CTAN 522: Animation Dept. Seminar ---- Fall 2011 
Pika Pika was very relaxing. I’m really glad we went out to help early. The weather was beautiful and it was fun to sit around in some grass and talk with the other animation students. I was given charge of the right ear, which ended up being populated by a really excited and friendly group of people. I know right ear got some flak from Tochka and had to readjust a few times, but we had a lot of heart. Seeing that many people waving around lights at twilight was pretty beautiful, all of the wiggling lights looked like refracted water on the buildings.
The catered food was delicious and the final animation looked great. I was curious to see exactly how 10 sequential pictures could look animated, but I think I must of misunderstood some of the process, because I think I saw movement in the long exposures. It was a really pleasant evening.
Pika Pika was such a cool experience. I loved the team work element of creating Pika Pika material for the gigantic face! Everyone had to work together– the face, eyes, pupils, mouth, eyebrows and hair people all had to coordinate with each to smooth out lines and make an expression. It was also really run to see the face like a map. We were able to to find where we were and figure out how to work together to improve that area in relation to the whole group. For the posing exercise, it was a little more ambiguous as to what was going on, but in the end it all came together. After being part of the creative process for Pika Pika, I have a lot of respect for all the logistics they have to consider when they plan out their animations. Overall this was a really cool opportunity, and it was interesting to draw and be part of the drawing at the same time. Thank you for coming Totchka!
As you study art, there are many wonderful projects you get to read about ,but never imagine yourself being a part of.
Artists all the way from Japan, hundreds of people animating with flashlights and a giant smiley face. Pika Pika is definitely one of those projects.
I should confess that, even though I was “in charge” of the right eye, I had no idea how the thing was going to turn out. I repeated the instructions given to me, but apart from that, no idea of what was going to happen. I was really worried my eye was going to end up being the wrong eye (pun intended)
And then, as the lights went off and the images started to appear on screen, a very unique energy started to fill the space. Suddenly animators or non-animators knew exactly what they were supposed to do to make the image work. It was a communal experiment that paid off and It was amazing to witness.
The people of Tochka has it figured out. They give the right amount of instructions and trust the people to be able to regulate amongst each other.
If anything, I would’ve liked to spend more time animating the face which was the piece that impressed me the most. But it was nice to see the contrast between the organized piece versus the planned chaos that was the second part.
And thanks to the people who made it possible and Lou who took on the task of editing it in such a short time.
FIGHT ON!
PiKA PiKA has a really fun body of work. I appreciate not just the work it took to get them to USC but how inclusive their visit was. “Here’s our work, any questions?” is one thing; letting your audience make that work with you is totally different. I didn’t know beforehand that it was an event open to everyone outside of SCA, and I didn’t realize anyone outside of animation would be aware enough of PiKA PiKA to show up.
I found the participation of the public interesting. I couldn’t tell what they expected to be doing when they decided to come to the event. It was pretty clear that the people around me didn’t understand the process very well – they were just following instructions, and magically a picture happened. For example, when we were told that the lights should be touching, people on both sides of me wanted the flashlights to make physical contact. They were told what to do but not always why, so it makes sense that the process wouldn’t make perfect sense to someone without a relevant background.
Last year, the light animation in Lisa’s 544 was one of the most fun exercises we did. It got us out of the classroom, moving around, making group decisions … and it looked really neat. Though it was really nice to open up the event to everyone, I wish we could have done a more closed “production” event in addition to the public workshop.
I was not aware of light animation until Lisa Mann introduced our class to the art form a year ago. It was one of those media that reel me in fast and has kept my interested since. Therefore you can only imagine how excited I was when I knew they were coming to USC to do a workshop. The combination of bright colors, loose drawings, simple technique and super satisfying results makes light animation such a fun and approachable art form. For this reason, PiKa PiKa is such a success and sensation. They can grab 200 people with or without prior animation knowledge and create a finished and impressive product all within the same day of making it. In fact the community aspect of this technique was brought up multiple times at the seminar. I could not agree more that this is one of the reasons that make light animation so rewarding. We were able to witness the magnitude of this when Takeshi and Kazue showed us the project for Japan’s devastating earthquake in March 2011. It consisted of hundreds of light animations sent from people all over the world letting Japan know they are in their prayers and thoughts. Super heartwarming.
In addition, I really appreciate hearing Takeshi and Kazue’s story on how they started PiKA PiKA. It was the repetitive and overworked studio environment that made them rethink their career path. Takeshi had one question in mind and it was how to keep the fun he had in college continuous through out his career. After becoming a freelance artist and planning their first light animation event with some friends through Mixi, PiKA PiKA was eventually born.
Comparing the freelance commercial projects with their early studio work they produced for their employer, the difference is huge. One is static and the other: their personal work is bursting with life. I can only imagine how much happier and satisfying their work must feel now.
Thanks Takeshi and Kazue for collaborating with us and leaving such a happy mark on our campus. It was a honor and pleasure. Good luck with the solar energy animation. I can’t wait to see it!
Last Tuesday we went out into the open, away from our desk and seats and played around with flashlights. Why?, because PIKA PIKA were over here all the way from Japan and they needed tons of bodies to fuel the frenzy of their art practice. Using the soft approach of “Maybe you should…” to guide us whenever we strayed from their predetermined path, the distinguished visitors played with us, tickling us occasionally with their large smiley face.
Once the smiling man was done, we walked over to Tommy Trojan and played further with the bodies of each other, this time, barely taking instructions from anyone, resulting in a much more enjoyable experience. I was lucky enough to get to work with the fantastic Mr. Daniel Wilson, who took great care in bringing my glowing body to the screen, unfortunately people were standing in front of me as I took the fighting position of a sumo wrestler, resulting in a No-Einar art piece.
The end was celebrated by heaps of glorious food and I went to bed, satisfied that my body had been of some use to our guests from across the ocean.
What a great event it was! I had so much fun during that Wednesday night for PIKAPIKA. Light painting animation is such a great and fun tool to gather people together. I only started doing light painting since last year, but it was always the most enjoyable techniques I had ever tried. The big smiling face was a very cute idea although the begining was little rough. I was also surprised to see how cooperated the whole hundreds of people were during the event, and how deeply engaged we were. I hope this type of event could go on every year.
The part around Tommy trojan was very difficult to do, and i saw our amazing volunteers working really hard to get things done. It is very challenging idea to move in the camera through people, but I appreciate how much effort they had put in to complete the task. I also have to admit, the lack of preparation on the area of Tommy Trojan is a pity, as many of our light paintings were not able to be seen. However, I think this type of event had already given a spirit, an attitude and a momentum from PIKAPIKA to our Trojan’s family.
Congratulations to everyone who participate in PIKAPIKA!
By waving the flashlight, Pika Pika creates an idea of making animation. It not only echoes that an animation should be done by team work but also underlines the concept of connecting people. Every flashlight held in one’s hand was important. We were responsible for certain parts of the big face. Light by light, our lights were joined together and so did our hearts. When finishing the work, we marveled our masterpiece with one accord! Although the face is simple, I can feel it is full of power and pleasure. Also, the preparation might be tedious, but as I ran through the process and enjoyed doing it, I got a sense of accomplishment. For animation, the material is always changing but the attitude remains the same. So this time, drop your pen and paper and computer, go outside and pick up flashlights to do PiKa PiKa with others.
PIKA PIKA was really a new form of making animation which I had never been involved. It needed participants who wave the flashlight to finish it together. It was really fun and extraordinary!Everyone sitting on the grass waved the different color flashlights to make the responsible part better. I was given the part of face. Even though it was a circle, it was not easy to make it smoother. What we had done was to collaborate with each other and adjust our positions. Finally, when the screen displayed the image of smiling face, everyone cheered for it! PIKA PIKA was not only an art of light but also an art of interaction. It made everyone come together to finish an artwork .It was really cool!
Besides, the day before it started, many animation students and I, as the volunteer, helped TOCHKA to position the shape of the face in order to make it easier for the participants to find their positions. Even if it needed more time to adjust and fix the shape in the process, I thought it was worth when we saw the big smiling face the next day! Thanks for PIKA PIKA to allow us to join this interesting event! I hope TOCHKA will come again to bring more surprises to us!
Pika Pika was very fun, and I enjoy it. But in my opinion, maybe with less people involved it could be awesome. We had a really good time work together and help each to completely an common goal, I m truely glad we create an really cool and stylish gigantic face. During the process, I especially love people who do the hair part, they gethering together and then fast spead away. I was kind of worried at that time, but the result proved it was an really successful ideal for capture the flash light, also it brings an vivid movement for our “cute face”. I was really enjoy to paticipant this activity with friends and be able to create soemthing with the flash light which it is my first experience. I hope in the future we can do some awesome stuff like this together and be able to make an amazing short aniamtion out of it.
Thanks everybody ( especially Volunteers) who devote their energy and love into it. Thanks Richard and Lisa who brought us this great opportunity to join this fantastic event.
The PICA PICA show was fantastic. It was interesting to create art by using the flash light. I like the finish looks a lot. In Fact, me and some of my friends helped PICA PICA people to prepare this before the show. It was fun. Because there were only seven of us, so we actually running around the smiling face trying to make the light effect and waiting for the camera to catch it. However, the PICA PICA picture on Wednesday was awesome. It was way better than the one we took on Tuesday! So, we did the smile face and draw the outline of the people and we had BBQ in the end. It was a good show.
Tochka, the group responsible world famous light animation PikaPika, came to USC to host an animation workshop and seminar. The group is made up of Kazue Mono and Takeshi Nagata worked with the cinema arts student body to create two animated sequences, one in front of the Tommy Trojan statue and the other in cinema arts courtyard.
The day after the PikaPika animation workshop, the two graduates of Kyoto University of Art and Design gave a seminar presentation of their early work. The presentation covered the group’s pre-PikaPika work. After graduation, Takeshi moved from Kyoto to Mitaka, Tokyo, the art of the animated television industry. He participated on such mega-titles as Gundam Seed and Metal Gear Solid. It was after working in the fast paced, high stress atmosphere of the Japanese television industry that he came to the concept of PikaPika.
PikaPika, an onomatopoeia for flashing lights, is the group activity of capturing light in sequence. The idea came about at a party in the park. Takeshi took the technique and put it in a public space. He organized large group participation through Mixi, the Japanese facebook. Workshops attracted a growing number of participants in the PikaPika projects.
Since the start of PikaPika, the group has won awards at numerous animation festivals and media arts conferences. This international exposure has also spread the low cost technique to animation enthusist around the world. PikaPika-inspired animation has popped up on Youtube.
I attended PIKA PIKA as a volunteer on Aug 8, this is the first time I participate in producing the experimental animation. Actually, I helped PIKA PIKA preparing the flashlight on the previous day. Through that, I knew the basic principle of PIKA PIKA working. Also we fixed the feature we would described next day and tested the effects.
When I saw the PIKA PIKA video, it looks like there is a genie in that video. I think our volunteers afford different creativities you can’t imagine that. Every idea or shape of light is unique, but when we saw a combination of our creativity, all of our action organized a amazing rhythm. I think that’s the charming of PIKA PIKA. Also the team spirit is an important part of this experience. Also most of us are strangers, but through three hours working, we made a video together. I hope I can have more experience about this.
Pika Pika was quite the experience, I am in awe of Tochka’s ambition to organize so many people into their giant animation. I was impressed by Tochka’s ability to think creatively on the large scale with a mass of untrained volunteers. I also imagine some the fun of their work comes from the unexpected ideas that come from the participants. During the process I could not but help to think of ourselves as individual pixels in a giant TV screen, or as the little colored rods in a tremendous Lite-Brite; a single point of light trying to be a part of something greater. By being a small component in a larger composition I learned to empathize with the small lines and shapes that are in my animations, and how carefully we must work with each one.
Overall my only regret was the short amount of time that we had to work with Tochka. It seemed that by the very end of making the face we were finally understanding how to make the face look good, and improvising techniques that would look better. For example, at the end the people in the hair thought to move throughout the exposure in a path so that it streamed out of the head. Also I feel little more trial and error would have caused for some really great Trojans soldiers at the end. On the bright side I feel proud of all that we accomplished all that we did in two hours.
Pika Pika was a really fun, lets hope the come back.
From far away, it is so difficult to see the good in this world when
it is plagued by so much evil and corruption. However, our individual
struggles in life say otherwise. Tochka’s Pika Pika is a prime example
of good; it is a shared experience that attempts to capture light in
the world. I had the chance to ask Takeshi what his message was and he
had one word: “Happiness”. It felt simple at first, but I later
realized this simple message had a much more complicated meaning. Happiness
seems like such a rare thing and so many people are struggling to for it when
it is right outside their door. There is too little happiness because it is often ignored in midst of all the bad things that happen. However, Tochka is clear with its huge happy face light art and fun and happy gatherings of light; you can’t help but smile when seeing these beautiful images and simple messages of peace, love, etc. Tochka also emphasizes the importance of communication. Many of us fail to go out and tell their story whether it be a single word or something much greater, but Tochka’s light graffiti is one of the many great ways to do that. I’m glad that this humble couple is traveling to the world to spread their wonderful message!
So what can be said that hasn’t already been written about. I was asked by the department to document the night’s activities in stereoscopic 3D, so my experience of the evenings activities may be different than most. For this reason I was unable to participate in the drawing itself but I did get a unique view of the event as a whole. The impression of the event that I got was that it was a lot of fun. That’s great in my opinion. Not all art has to be deep, meditative, and brooding. Sometimes, image-making can just be an enjoyable pursuit. That is something that seems more and more common in the internet age. Though it may be the case that “fun” image making is more easily forgotten because it lacks the so called gravitas of some of the darker image-making topics. That may or may not be the case, but it seems likely. However, when something interesting like the Pika Pika techniques is combined with the overall atmosphere of enjoyment, there seems to be a more enduring quality to the work.
Admittedly, the day Pika Pika was held I was in a bit of a funk. Celebrating my 30th birthday in class while my wife was on the other side of the country had me in emo’sville. Not to mention I didn’t know my classmates as well as they knew each other due to some traveling I did. Which brings me to my point: being placed in a cooperative setting with other people who were generally happy brightened my mood. I met some nice folks: a graduated animation student, a biology student, and an engineering student. It felt good to work together without too much pressure and create something fun. Not to mention I haven’t had kimchi in five or six years which worked out as a perfect 30th birthday cake. A little sour and bitter, but ultimately a good taste, much like being 30.
The workshop and presentation by PiKA PiKA was a great experience. The delight on everyone’s faces and their enthusiasm for something that may have been so foreign to them was a testament to the ability of the process to reach people. I think the worshop brought many together in a way that would be difficult otherwise. Even more impressive was where TOCHKA came from as arists and how they developed this PiKA PiKA approach so recently. I loved hearing about Takeshi’s work on Gundam Seed and I’m glad to see that he’s had significant influence something I enjoy. I hope their experiements with sunlight find them well and I look forward to the next big thing from their duo.
-Gregory Jones
Okay, so I was very unsure about whether or not I was supposed to comment not this, but better safe then sorry. Anyway, I had a lot of fun at the pika pika event, but the main thing it brought to my mind is how similar seemingly disparate forms of art can be, because this past Wednesday ended up feeling more like shooting a live action production again to me than pretty much anything I’ve done since coming to USC. Now, this might not be true for everyone, but I was recruited by way of Matthew Steidl and Arliss Gammil to help out on the people herding and instruction screaming side, a handy position for me as I am one of the animators with the ability to project their voice when necessary. The experience greatly reminded me of being an AD on live action shoots as an undergrad. Screaming out hold counts, getting people to be in the right place at the right time. These things are not necessarily what you would expect to be prevalent in the realms of experimental animation, but when you consider that both mean getting a lot of people to do the right thing for the camera at the right time it isn’t really all that surprising.
In conclusion, it was a lot of fun, but by the end of the night I had basically forgotten how to count to ten, and it took about a day for my voice to come back.
The Pika Pika event was a fun and inspiring example of how art can bring people together. To me, light animation is just as much about the process as the end product. Seeing the gigantic lit up smiley face take shape in the footage was very rewarding, but sitting down in the grass and waving around flashlights was just as fun. But, like with any animation process, the lively event wouldn’t have been possible without careful planning. As a student worker at the event, I was fortunate enough to get a peak at the detailed planning and design that Kazue and Takeshi put into the event. Yet since the participants are all independent people, there still remains a spark of spontaneity found in the light animations, a trait that I think makes light animation differ from many other types of animation.
Kazue and Takeshi presented a very informative history of both of their art practices the following night. To hear the spontaneous origins of the Pika Pika techniques as well as the stories of how their light animation has brought them around the world was very inspiring. Their art not only took them around the world, but it brought people around the world together, and is inspiring changes in the world as well! I can’t wait to see what projects and techniques they will come up with next!
PikaPika was a great example of animation existing in the world of performance and improvisation, much less available to everybody regardless of experience. That’s a pretty rare space for animation to work in, being the fact that live, improvisatory, and inexperience are all pretty much the opposite of what animation’s associated with. I really appreciate this whimsical, fun, and community aspect to animation! People were really transfixed seeing how waving a flashlight around can create something unique, and that energy really transformed the atmosphere of the whole night.
Though I have to confess that I didn’t participate in the event myself (priding myself on my munificence, I donated my admission bracelet to a bare-wristed PIKAPIKA enthusiast and opted instead to help tote around equipment), I very much enjoyed watching how the crowd of attendees — ranging from children-turned-light-graffitists to mild-mannered graduate students – gradually emerged from their respective shells of semi-self-consciousness under the auspices of artistry (and one of a rather unexpected type, to boot). From the colored flashlights clenched firmly in their fists to their almost haptic enthusiasm, the nearly two hundred people who volunteered to be part of this exhibit displayed an amazingly intense ardor for this increasingly popular form of animation. Due to a class, I couldn’t attend the reception the following evening, but I wish I had been able to – and can only hope that the number of people who attended the screening rivaled the turnout of the night before!
Now, don’t get me wrong, if there’s anything I appreciate more in my animation than anything, it’s the usage of light and color and the transcendent quality that it can bring both in luminescence and in hue. If it was a more personal collaboration I likely would’ve had the time of my life. Just seeing their prior work, a million ideas sprung into my head in regards to implementing the same technique.
“What if you used a glow stick?” I wondered. “How about a laser pointer or even a toy lightsaber?”. There’s a world of possibilities and the level of imagination they’ve used encouraged my own level of creativity in using light.
However, I think that to have gotten a more rewarding experience with PiKA PiKA, I honestly believe it should’ve been kept amongst the animation students or at least the more creatively minded individuals of SCA. Trying to tell a classroom how to do an experiment like this would be a tricky experience; trying to tell what must’ve been over 150 students, including a lot of impatient and uncoordinated undergraduates, was close to impossible.
The face was definitely charming yet there was such potential in the Fight On sequence. If they had just chosen a few of the students and really laid out the choreography, it would’ve been an amazing result. As it was, it boiled into chaos of light and uninspired poses.
I appreciate the exposure to the process though as I would love to explore it on my own terms. But for future endeavors, it really should be kept to a small group, or at least limited to the animation department, so as to create a more memorable experience, both artistically and scholastically.
I attended/volunteered at the PIKA PIKA workshop and had a blast. It was great meeting Tochka before the animation workshop. When I was volunteering the night before the event, watching them work and figure out the logistics of the smiley face was an eye opener. At the gallery, some of their early works were displayed. “Steps” was my favorite because of the cool animation of the stick figure, and the funny story about the figure trying to sabotage the main character’s early morning ritual. Both participating animators and guests were amazed by the shapes created from waving their colored flashlights. I find the technique of capturing lights innovative and fun. In addition, one could see their work and love it without even knowing their language; their work is universal. Now I’m wondering the possibility of creating shapes using more than 200 participants. Hope to see what Tochka does next!
The TOCHKA event was a great way to bring people together to create a single piece that many can experience and enjoy. I really appreciate the spirit of collaboration and community brought to campus thanks to Kazue and Takeshi. I also enjoyed the presentation they gave on the history and projects of TOCHKA.
It is fascinating to experience an art form that is so inclusive, where no one person can claim ownership or proprietary rights. The PIKA PIKA technique can be enjoyed and experienced by anyone and everyone.
The PIKA/PIKA workshop event was wonderful. No matter how much light animation I have done and seen in the past, nothing compared to attending the actual event to see light animation done on such a large scale. All of my expectation were exceeded when we got the opportunity to see the animation live on the large screen.
The animation was also significant because it was a great representation of the many global collaborations that are emerging in this day and age. Global interactions have gone so far beyond sending poses overseas for completion. Through PIKA PIKA’s work I was able to actually feel connected to a greater international community by gaining a small look into the lives of young people across the world. Thank you PIKA PIKA for this awesome opportunity….
and sorry for the late post :(
I really loved taking part in the PiKA PiKA event and getting the chance to meet and talk to Kazue and Takeshi. They are both amazing artists and I love seeing their vision take form and come to life. I’m not sure if everyone who attended realized exactly how difficult it is to plan something like this and actually pull it off. I was so interested to see how the animation would take place. By participating in the tests before the workshop I found out that Kazue and Takeshi are very detail-oriented. I think their craft allows just the right balance of planning and improvisation.
It was a real honor to work with TOCHKA and all the participants in the workshop. It was such an enjoyable and creative event to experience. I hope everyone who attended realized how the process of animation takes a great deal of patience, planning, and time. Thanks so much to TOCHKA for being such open and wonderful guests!
Pika Pika!!!
Projects that require mass cooperation and coordination leave me in awe every time. As a tango dancer, I have been apart of a few large scale flash mob projects. As a consequence of being introduced to this new and innovative use of lights, I am inspired to rethink conventional flash mob tango productions to incorporate light installations on the shoes of every tango dancer participating in these flash mobs. I can envision all the beautiful cyclical shapes being swung around in air and on the ground. What a crazy experiment that would be! An undertaking I would love to be involved with someday.
It is too bad we did not have a microphone for the second scene. I feel the first phase of making the face was a more cohesive effort because participants had a higher level of awareness of what was going on. The final production, both phase one and two, were extremely interesting ventures. For me, a memory I will never forget.
I can’t help but wonder, how did customs let them through with all those flashlights? I bet they had a field day trying explain that!
The PiKa PiKa event was super awesome because it generated a lot of buzz which was evident in the number of people who made a presence at the event. People came to see PiKa PiKa not only because they are well-known artists, but also because the event itself promoted participation from the attendees. The collaborative process that took place was truly beautiful to see as the crowd would “ooh” and “ahh” at sight of the near-immediate results. Furthermore, the gallery showcased some rather strategic light animations (such as the boxes in the room) and it just goes to show how effective the technique can be in a variety of setting/environments. I am glad that PiKa PiKa came to USC and I hope that there will be more interactive events in the future.
It was such a pleasure having PiKa PiKa during seminar! I had a wonderful time helping lead the
‘mouth’ group. The thing that I found particularly interesting about the experience was the highly collaborative element. I spoke with many other people who were drawn to that element of the production as well. Light animation provides such a unique mode of entry for animators, as it really lends itself to a group effort. I found the entire experience very inspiring regarding my own work. Thanks to Lisa for organizing everything!
I was really amazed at the huge turn out for the Pika Pika event. Despite the huge crowds, the event was a success. Light animation is such a deceptively easy art form. Anyone can do it and achieve results, but to make a successful one is difficult, especially with crowds! The Pika Pika workshop drove home the idea of animation as a group activity. I was the leader of the “Hair” group, which was initially pretty confused as to what to do. However, one of the light holders got excited after realizing how the technique was achieved and organized everyone to make a radiating hair shape despite Tochka’s order for us to spread out. We all cheered when we saw how awesome the hair turned out. I love the simple joys in life and this event was one of them.
I think the PIKA PIKA workshop event is the best event experience I have got in USC so far. I dont want to talk about the technique, it is easy to do. But the emotion it gave us really brought me into my childhood. It is like I experienced my innocent child period again. At night, hundreds of people get together on grass, make a light animation… Is there anything more sweet and lovely than that?
Pika Pika was really a fantastic event. I’ve always admired their animations online and to actually see them in action was great. The fact that it involved people outside of our small school was also a great way to introduce others to animation. It’s ability to unite such a massive group for the goal of animation was definitely fun. The final film came out better than I had even hoped.
The mass of people that showed up to the Pika Pika event was amazing. A little to large, but they said that it was going to be. To choreograph the whole light animation project was grate and a challenged for all. To be part of this event was very memorable for me, and the animation community in Los Angeles. I glad that they came.
It’s a great experience to participate the preparation of PIKA PIKA as a volunteer.
Before I even didn’t know we can do animation by the light in the dark. What surprise me more is the way how Kazue Monno and Takeshi Nagata make it. In the post card, I thought it will be a very high tech stuff, but later when I were there I see the secret of making it is so simple, flashlights, a camera and a laptop, and the dark night, that’s all elements for this magical light animation.
I learned a lesson that simple but grea idea is more important than the complecated skill during PIKA PIKA .