Digital Content Expo, 25 – 27 oktober 2012 | Netherlands Innovation Network

Originally published on the site of ~~NL Agency~~.

Digital content technology is one of most important domains for Japan. Digital Content Expo (DC EXPO), the major international digital content festival in Japan, aims to promote the Japanese digital content technologies in collaborations with foreign digital content-related fairs. DC EXPO 2012 will be held in Tokyo on October 25 -27, 2012, organized by Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Digital Content Association of Japan (DCAJ). DC EXPO expects Dutch creators and researchers to join their events this year.

A virtual singer Hatsune Miku

Hatsune Miku may be the most popular Japanese female singer in the world. She is a virtual singer who is 158 cm tall, sprightly and pigtailed. When she had a first overseas concert in Los Angeles in July 2011, some 5,000 fans were gathered. A Japanese company Sega Corp. put her on stage by projecting her on a transparent screen. Hatsune Miku was created by a Japanese company Crypton Future Media Inc. in 2007. She is an avatar for software based on ‘Vocaloid’, a speech synthesizing technology. Vocaloid has been developed by a Japanese music company Yamaha Corp. Most of her songs are composed by armatures. More than 10,000 fans have been involved in tunes and created videos etc. The success of Hatsune Miku has influenced U.S. advertisers. Google Inc. and an American unit of Toyota Motor Corp. have casted her in a commercial. Hatsune Miku is one of the most Japanese successful digital contents developed by the above mentioned Japanese companies. The Japanese government has supported the nation’s creative industries under ‘Cool Japan’ policy, aiming to promote the Japanese pop culture exports and services in Japan and abroad.

DC EXPO – a gateway to Japanese digital contents

Digital Content EXPO (DC EXPO) is a major international digital content festival in Japan. DC EXPO introduces the state-of-art technologies in the field of computer graphics and virtual reality. These technologies are expected to improve the application of games, movies, visual communication, life science and environmental science. DC EXPO aims to promote the Japanese digital content technologies in collaborations with foreign digital content-related fairs such as French ‘Future en Seine’, Korean KOCCA, SIGGRAPH in Hong Kong, and Laval Virtual in Europe. DC EXPO organizes a symposium attended by internationally-active creators and researchers. DC EXPO 2012 will be held on October 25 -27, 2012, organized by Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Digital Content Association of Japan (DCAJ). Last year, 20 symposiums & seminars and 15 stages were organized with DC EXPO 2011, which was joined by 56 exhibitors from companies and universities. One of the stages demonstrated a new virtual Vocaloid singer (picture 1). It has been co-developed by three Japanese companies, Premium Agency Inc., Imagica Corp., and Yamaha Corp. The total 20,000 people visited DC EXPO 2011. The organizer of DC EXPO 2012 expects Dutch creators and researchers to join their symposiums and seminars. The deadline to apply for DC EXPO 2012 is the end of August 2012.