Japanulls AOI Pro Take A NANO/SECOND Snapshot

The Matrix has a lot to answer for. Before 1999 we were all happy with a simple, Peckinpahrian freeze-frame or John Woo-esque slow-mo to guide us through complex action scenes, but after the Wachowski siblings got their hands on a bunch of cameras and computers, the concept of flow-mo and time-slice photography awoke creative minds everywhere. Despite its relative proliferation, when handled well the technique can look absolutely spectacular, and in this nano・universe campaign the smart folk of AOI Pro in Japan achieve exactly that.
 
Ostensibly acting as a fashion film, lookbook and interactive web journey, NANO/SECOND takes the 'frozen time' stylistic device and incorporates it into an at-once passive and reactive online ride. Beginning with a man holding a camera, the action kicks off as he takes a flash photo and time appears to stop. The viewer is then guided through a room 'frozen' in time, the characters therein wearing the newest nano・universe collection. A narrative of sorts is applied through a clever photo relay, whereby each character's camera is pointed at the next. The viewer can at any time pause the film to see the photo that had been taken, see the details of the item and even purchase the pieces that are being featured. 

 
One of the most staggering elements of the shoot is the fact that the models and items had to hold their places when the camera passed them – incorporating stunning levels of attention to detail like  creating an appropriate crease in the apparel. Amazingly, to attain such positioning and precision, the three-minute seamless relay required a staff of 100 working over three days (you can see behind the scenes here).
 
We were blown away by the film and its interactive elements, so caught up with Teppei Yoshihara (producer) and Kei Ohta (director) to find out how they froze a showroom.

 
The new NANO/SECOND campaign is part fashion film, part interactive journey. Where did the idea come from?
 
We wanted to express the collection in an aura of ambivalence.  We therefore came up with the idea of showing a lot of fashion in a brief moment, as in the title, NANO/SECOND. In addition, we added the idea of a photo-relay, figuring that it might be interesting to show a moment of models taking pictures of each other.
 
The film itself is fantastic looking without the interactive elements. Were you worried that people would just watch it as a short and not click?
 
We took great pains to make sure that the interactive element would make the work complete. However, it is true we worried that users may not look at the film as an interactive piece of work. Therefore, we made sure that the film itself was of such high quality that the users would be irresistibly drawn to the interactive element.

 
How did you achieve the shoot? Were there a lot of stiff models?
 
The filming itself was very analog. During the shoot we simply asked the cast members to be very still. Each and every crease in the clothing was held up with wires to portray an alluring flow.
 
The film has a kind-of narrative in the camera pictures leading on to the next model. Was that something that was actively pursued, or were the visuals more important than a 'story'?
 
The visuals were the most important for us. What is necessary for a fashion brand is that the brand's image comes through. Having a story behind the visuals was also an idea we had from the beginning, but we figured that the film may also be viewed in an environment without audio, and therefore we thought that a story that could be imagined from the visuals would be suitable for online videos.
 
What's the technology behind the presentation? Would something like this have been achievable in the recent past?
 
The technology itself has been available in the past. But we were very conscious about adding a little extra to the technology.

 
The client is obviously getting a double dose of content out of the project - a fashion film and an interactive lookbook. Did they take much convincing to go for the idea?
 
We suggested a few other proposals other than Frozen Time. But from all those options the client went for Frozen Time.
 
Would you like to produce more work using similar ideas?
 
Not really. Rather than using the same idea, we are always looking for something new to do.
 
What's up next for you?
 
It's a secret! But we are thinking about something very interesting, so stay tuned!