Production I.G to animate clip for Maaya Sakamoto's Universe
Tokyo, March 9, 2007
Production I.G and Victor Entertainment have teamed up to produce a fully animated music clip for the song "Universe," performed by Japanese pop singer Maaya Sakamoto and included in the artist's forthcoming album, "30minutes night flight," to be released in Japan on March 21, 2007. The video clip will be made available on DVD format in the limited double-disc edition of the album.
The beautifully animated bitter-sweet atmosphere of "Universe," that unfolds like a watercolor-painted picture book, is the creative accomplishment of a most promising duo concealed under the collective pseudonym of Gekidan INU Curry, who designed the characters and directed the film produced at Production I.G's Studio 4 under the supervision of line producer Hidekazu Terakawa ("Jin-Roh," "IGPX").
"Universe" Story Concept : Under the night sky feebly illuminated by twinkling stars, a little girl wanders alone through a magic world that is not today and not tomorrow, inhabited by 6 billion of lonesome souls. What will she encounter in her solitary journey?
About Maaya Sakamoto :
Born on March 31, 1980, Maaya Sakamoto started her professional career
as a singer at 15, when her talent was discovered by world-famous
composer and music producer Yoko Kanno. At that time, she performed the
opening song "Yakusoku wa Iranai" (I Don't Need Promises) for the
animated TV series "The Vision of Escaflowne" (1996), while giving her
voice to the main character in the same series, Hitomi Kanzaki. Her
career as voice actor and singer continued in both animation and live
action productions, her credits including Nathalie
Portman / Padme Amidala in the Star Wars saga, Jessica Alba / Max in
"Dark Angel," and Reika Mishima in "RahXephone." She has
also been playing the role of Eponine for 5 years in the Japanese
version the musical "Les Miserables." So far she released 9 albums (the
second one, "Dive," was voted Best Japanese Pop Album by Music
Magazine)
and 13 singles.
Maaya Sakamoto's 10th and newest album "30minutes night flight" is a just-30-minute musical concept work that the artist herself describes as "a 30-minute night flight dedicated to all the people who experienced at least one sleepless night."
Maaya Sakamoto Official Website: http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/maaya/
Established by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa in 1987, Production I.G is one of the world's leading animation studios. With its cutting-edge works, such as "Ghost in the Shell" (1995), "Jin-Roh" (2000), "Blood: The Last Vampire" (2000), "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" (animation segment, 2003) and "Innocence"(2004), I.G has gained high reputation around the globe, inspiring Hollywood creators such as James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers.
Production I.G Official Website: http://www.production-ig.com
