Ryuta Yamada heads the Creative Direction Department at CIC. Driven by his desire to excite people through space, he has achieved outstanding results in the field of entertainment spaces. Yamada says, "There are no borders in entertainment space concept design," and he will talk about what he has always valued and what only NOMURA can achieve.
Yamada belongs to the Creative Direction Department of the Content Integration Center (CIC) (*), which implements spatial implementation based on content. We oversee the entire creative field of space creation.
Yamada: ``The Creative Direction Department handles all types of spaces, but the moment a customer mentions the keyword ``entertainment,'' it's our turn.In recent years, we've been working a lot to implement character content such as manga and anime in spaces. I am working on it.
I see myself as an entertainment creative director, and while I leave concept design itself to the designers, my role is to direct the entire space from a bird's-eye view."
Yamada's specialty is creating production spaces that evoke a sense of excitement rather than stylish spaces. We have aimed to create an impression that goes beyond the imagination of visitors.
Yamada: ``In this day and age, many people have prior information about the spaces they visit through social media and other means.Therefore, if people who actually visit the space say, ``It was just as I imagined,'' it doesn't exceed their expectations.
For example, we make the characters that appear in the story actual size, and we enhance the production with lighting, sound, and moving gimmicks. We strive to create an experience full of emotion and surprise that can only come from visiting a space.”
The key to turning excitement and thrills into reality is track record and experience. Yamada says there are things that only NOMURA can do.
Yamada: "NOMURA has an extensive track record built up over its long history, and employs people with a wide range of experience and sensibilities. When an idea or question comes to mind, such as 'It would be amazing if we added this kind of mechanism' or 'It would be amazing if we could make this, but how do we make it?', we have a designer who is skilled in that field, a production manager, or someone with the experience and skills to help us, which is our strength.
I feel confident that I have many friends who can work with me to accomplish things that I would never be able to do alone.”
What Yamada always values is "experiencing" various spaces himself. As a visitor, I spare no time and effort in providing input from the field.
Yamada: ``I look at the reactions of the people in the room in real time, imagine how they feel, and sometimes even talk to them, and think about mechanisms and devices that will create surprise and excitement.A shortcut to creating a space. is about experiencing space.In order to keep my senses sharp, I spare no time in visiting real places.
The other day, I went to an exhibition and was blown away by a 90-meter-long piece drawn on an iPad. The items displayed in an exhibition are decided in advance, but the way they are displays can greatly affect how the items look and the emotions they evoke. I think that by actually experiencing the space, we can find clues to create excitement and thrills."
*CIC (Content Integration Center)is a creative team within Nomura Co., Ltd. that uses a deep understanding of NOMURA to transform exciting "fantasy" into new experiential value and "implement" it in all kinds of spaces and in society.
▲“Takehiko Inoue’s last manga exhibition”
Yamada spent his childhood overseas. He says that a visit to Disney World in Florida when he was 3 years old was the origin of his creation of spaces.
Yamada: ``I don't have a clear memory, but I do have vague memories of going to fun places.After returning to Japan, I invited friends to go to Tokyo Disneyland almost every week to relive those memories.'' Ta.
I was fascinated by the extraordinary atmosphere, and I would record the background music that played in the park and enjoy the atmosphere of being there even after I got home. Looking back, I think I may have been interested in creating entertainment spaces even back then."
Influenced by his father, Yamada aspired to be an engineer who would create robots for theme parks and studied mechanical engineering at university. However, a turning point came when he learned about spatial concept design in a liberal arts class. Wanting to pursue a career in creating theme parks, he went on to another university and majored in environmental design. At the recommendation of his professor, he chose to work at NOMURA, Ltd.
After joining the company in 2002, the opportunity to realize the passion for entertainment spaces that I had cultivated up until then came along. At the end of his first year, Yamada was selected to be part of the production team for a haunted house attraction in Hokkaido.
Yamada: "I was involved in every step of the process, not just concept design the space, props, and ghosts, but also writing the script for lighting, background music, and dialogue, and then giving it concrete form.
I remember attending the opening of the facility and seeing the children coming out crying in fear, and feeling a definite sense of accomplishment. At the time, there were very few entertainment space concept design projects, but I decided to get involved in creating spaces that would entertain people."
Another turning point for Yamada was in 2008, his seventh year in the business, when he was in charge of `` Takehiko Inoue's Last Manga Exhibition''. Despite facing the difficulties of creating a space based on manga, a lot of dedication was put into creating a space that exceeded fans' expectations.
Yamada: ``In order to convert a two-dimensional manga world into a three-dimensional space, we need to carefully extract the elements from the story and incorporate them into the space one by one.
In "The Last Manga Exhibition," the back wall of displays room was mirrored to give the space depth, dynamically conveying the long continuation of the story, and the works were displayed on a folding screen-like wall to express the rhythm of turning pages. We took measures to synchronize the action of reading manga with the movement in displays space.
Additionally, in the scene where the main character in the manga looks back on his childhood, by painting the curved walls black and dimming the lights, we attempted to reflect the state of his mind when he looks at himself.
In the highlight room of the exhibition, Mr. Inoue came up with the idea to place a wooden sword that the main character in the manga dropped from his hand in the actual displays space, and I still remember how he raised one side of it and paid particular attention to the moment it hit the floor."
▲“Jeddah Events Calendar 2023 -Anime Village at City Walk”
After that, Yamada continued to be active, taking on the role of overall direction for a haunted house in a Korean theme park in an international competition, which was well received. In 2014, I was involved in the "Attack on Titan Exhibition."
Yamada: "In the original artwork displays I used red lighting to depict the brutal scenes in which humans are attacked by titans, and I set the frames at an angle to express the dynamism of the battle. I generously incorporated the entertainment concept design I've developed since joining the company.
We also created an immersive opening theater because we wanted people who don't know the manga to feel the real fear of being attacked by a giant. In addition to sound and light, we also incorporate wind and movable mechanisms to create a performance where you can feel the presence of an attacking giant."
At that time, the manga "Attack on Titan" was at its peak of popularity. Although the project was fought under great pressure, the exhibition ended on a high note. The great response it received led to later overseas projects.
Yamada: “As a result of working on the Attack on Titan Exhibition, I also became involved in the Attack on Titan Exhibition FINAL, which expressed the worldview of the story afterward.Not only in Japan, but also in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, It is touring Taiwan, Indonesia, and South Korea.
The fact that it was well received by people all over the world who love Attack on Titan made it a very memorable and important project for me."
In 2022 and 2023, he provided creative direction for the entertainment event "Anime Village at City Walk" held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Yamada says that his success in the Middle East, which was previously an unknown world, gave him great confidence.
Yamada: "Even if we're from different countries, we all share the same desire to be excited and thrilled. I was deeply moved to see that by sticking to the entertainment concept design I believe in, I can make people from different cultures happy, just as I was enchanted by American theme parks as a child.
I feel that there is still a lot of potential in spatial implementation of Japanese manga and other content outside of Asia. Making people smile across borders while also taking into consideration each cultural background is exactly what I want to do. When people are smiling, there are no conflicts. I feel that this is very rewarding, in the sense that it allows me to see how far the entertainment concept design skills I have cultivated up to now can be applied."
Yamada says that he would like to continue working on creating spaces that are exciting and exciting. Let me draw a picture of the future like this.
Yamada: "Entertainment concept design knows no borders, in the sense that it can be communicated even without speaking the same language. I would like to continue to deliver spaces that make people feel excited and thrilled without the need for explanation to as many people as possible, both in Japan and overseas.
I would like to become a person that people will talk about, such as, "There seems to be a person named Yamada who works in entertainment concept design in Japan."
Yamada will mark his 22nd year with the company in 2023. From the perspective of a veteran employee, he talks about the appeal and potential of NOMURA as follows:
Yamada: "I heard that the founder of NOMURA, who was once in charge of stage props, surprised and moved the audience when he used a trick to make a fake horse shed tears. Since then, the desire to 'entertain and amaze people' has been passed down through the generations at our company. I believe that I have firmly inherited that DNA.
And to reiterate, I think the appeal and potential of NOMURA lies in the fact that people with a wide range of knowledge can pool their strengths to create spaces that one person could never have created alone. That is also the reason why I am still with this company."
In order to pass on the DNA of NOMURA to the next generation, Yamada will continue to do his best to create exciting spaces, centered on his unwavering desire to "entertain and amaze people."
*The contents are as of December 2023.
-space creation that excite and thrill people all over the world. - Ever since visiting Disney World in Florida as a child, he had dreamed of creating entertainment spaces, and joined NOMURA in 2002. Since then, he has worked on entertainment spaces mainly in Japan, and in recent years has expanded his field overseas, delivering exciting spaces to people all over the world.
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