What the pictogram “people in the middle” said Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony August 4, 21:19
"Continuous performance of 50 pictograms" at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, which has attracted a great deal of attention both at home and abroad.
The mysterious pictograms are made up of three world-renowned pantomime artists.
In the interview, he talked about his intention as a performer in the performance.
And there were a lot of surprising facts that I couldn't understand just by looking through the screen.
(Yuki Takuma, Reporter, Network News Department)
Pictogram echoes in the world
Due to the corona storm, the Tokyo Olympics were once threatened by the event itself.
The opening ceremony was held with no spectators in response to the re-spread of the infection, and it was the performance of "moving pictograms" that was praised not only in Japan but also all over the world on SNS.
"I laughed the best" (Japan) "It's best to
do it in analog" (Japan)
"Olympic version of the costume award" (China)
"The whole family laughed so much that I was angry" (Australia)
"History of the Olympics" One of the most creative and interesting concepts in the world. Applaud Japan! ”(Indonesia)
The identity of the pictogram
The 27th of last month, four days after the opening ceremony.
HIRO-PON of the world-famous pantomime performer "Gamarjobat" who is active in more than 35 countries while acting as a director, and "GABEZ" of "disciple" who stood on the stage together Two people responded to the interview.
Q. What role did the three play at the opening ceremony?
A. (HIRO-PON)
"It seems that there are some misunderstandings in the world, but the blue pictogram that posed for" land "at the very beginning is not me. The main pictogram is" MASA of "GABEZ", the white pictogram that helped behind was hitoshi of "GABEZ". It wasn't transmitted much to the other side of the TV, but I was actually a cameraman. "
"Actually, I didn't intend to appear on the production side, but there were some things that I couldn't do without three people, so I made it so that I could enter as needed. The fact is that the staff helped and the total number of people was five. "
Must be done live
When asked when the offer came in, HIRO-PON answered that it was around February.
The pictogram was born at the last Tokyo Olympics 57 years ago, and this time it was decided to make it one of the performances at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, which has returned to the origin as a legacy, and the production was entrusted.
Q. How did you proceed from receiving the offer to bringing it to the finished product?
What did you struggle with?
A. (HIRO-PON)
"When I received the offer, I just wanted to express the pictogram, so I started by thinking about" how to make it a fun corner. " I decided to do all the competitions. ”However, the time given was only 4 minutes. When I played 50 competitions, I had to express it in about 4 seconds per event, which was quite difficult. I asked him to increase it to 5 minutes, but the time is still very short, so I had a really hard time. It's a pretty reckless project. Normally, I might not forgive you. "
A. (Mr. hitoshi)
"For example, in the cycling competition" BMX Freestyle ", you have to put on a mask, pick up the tools, and support the flipped MASA. Actually, you can't do it to the last minute. could "
A. (Mr. MASA)
" I first I could not be in a long time laugh. for example, I'm not really possible? the do "
A. (HIRO-PON's)
" recorded all if you try to do There is also a way to show it, but I am very grateful to the people who said that my proposal that live is absolutely interesting is interesting, and I completed it with the spirit that I should do it live. I did it. "
"There can be no event that you don't do"
Q. Why did you include all 50 events in a short time of 5 minutes?
A. (MASA)
"Isn't there one competition for the players? So I have to take responsibility. There was a lot of how the players would see it."
A. (HIRO-PON) )
"There was no choice for athletes to see at the venue, but there was an event they didn't do. From the player's point of view, I thought it would be impossible to omit the competition because it was" difficult to express. " "
We continued trial and error to find out in what order and how to move so that it would fit in time and be expressed in an interesting way with the dynamic feeling of the competition.
A. (HIRO-PON)
"If you look closely at the 50 pictograms, you can divide them into categories. For example, those that can be expressed only by the upper body, those that use bicycles and tools, and those that only have a ball. It's difficult because this pictogram doesn't follow gravity. Then, why don't you try sleeping? You can do it by tilting the camera. "
It took about three months to solidify the composition by repeating the work of cutting the time of a few seconds like an athlete until the position of the props and the improvement of the clothes that are easy to put on and take off.
Analog moves people's hearts
Q. After a lot of trial and error, what did you want to convey and what was your particular production?
A. (HIRO-PON)
"Technically, it was possible to make pictograms look like they were alive, and there must have been such a production method. The original purpose of pictograms is what kind of competition. However, I thought it would be great if people could express their emotions because people dare to play pictograms that do not have two-dimensional emotions and make them three-dimensional. Even without it, there must be emotions, flow of heart, compromise and affection, so I thought it would be interesting to be able to express the drama that emerges from it. "
"I think analog is what moves people's hearts. Pantomime doesn't use words, so our job is to move people's hearts by moving their hearts. I think that the analog feeling that allows you to see the performance that makes full use of the human body in front of you is necessary and the best to move people's hearts. "
Pressure not to be infected
Q. Have you ever experienced performance difficulties under a state of emergency?
A. (HIRO-PON)
"I couldn't do the scheduled practice due to the state of emergency, and there was a fight against the practice time. The practice is quite irregular to prevent infection, and when I can't get together and practice , was devoted to the time to think about the idea, "
A. (MASA's)
" since the Olympics were in the air sense of the world that do not know or really do while placed in a corner of the possibilities head, began the physical strength It's made. There was a lot of self-management fights, not to get caught in the corona, not to get sick. "
So that the morale of the players will increase even if there are no spectators
Q. The opening ceremony was held without spectators due to the re-spread of the infection.
How did you take it?
A. (HIRO-PON)
"At the beginning of the offer, it wasn't decided at all whether it was an audience or a non-audience, so it was made on the assumption that there were customers on the spot. Shin. After the opening ceremony, I heard that the reputation on the other side of the TV was good, but in fact it is a composition that you can enjoy watching on the spot at the venue. Although it is not shown on the TV, we are on the stage I made a set change hard and showed that I was warm, and the busyness was also a production. But in the end, I became unattended. About two weeks before the opening ceremony, I realized that I was unattended. However, I did not change the production even if the non-audience was decided. There are players from all over the world at the venue. The performance will make the players excited and motivated for the competition. I wanted to
I want to move my heart and connect to hope
Q. Regarding this tournament, there were discussions about the pros and cons of holding it.
Immediately before the opening ceremony, the person in charge of directing and composing was forced to dismiss or resign.
How did you feel when you stood on the stage of the opening ceremony?
A. (HIRO-PON)
"The only thing I can do is performance, and I didn't have the option of not doing it. It's our" living "to do each given job. I think that living hard thinking about what you can do will lead to something for someone. Of course, there are people who are suffering from the new coronavirus and those who have died, so after all those people. Of course, there are people who agree with and disagree with the Olympics, and I understand that there are various opinions, but there is no doubt that I attended the opening ceremony and was there. I was impressed. At least I think it was meaningful to me. "
"In the present world, the situation may be dark, or it may be difficult to see the future, but by moving your own feelings, the future will definitely change. Anyone I think it would be great if people could move their feelings, have fun, and enrich their lives. As a person involved in entertainment, I think there is no more joy. "
* The interview will be broadcast on Thursday, August 5th at 5am and 6am on NHK General TV "Good Morning Japan".