Netflix EDEN Global Release Special Event
On May 27, 2021, Netflix premiered their original Japanese anime series “EDEN”. The series features a post-human future, in which a pair of robots find and raise a human child. Netflix engaged Empire to help generate additional excitement for the release by producing a one-of-a-kind talk show from within the animated world of Eden with the series’ director, Yasuhiro Irei, voice actors, Marika Kouno, Kentaro Ito, Kyoko Hikami and MC’d by Shinsuke Kasai.
Working with source material from the series and animated models from the Eden game, Empire carefully recreated the look and feel of two iconic scenes from the series into virtual sets that our cast could walk onto and explore. The robotic stars of the series were also animated to integrate into our sets and interact with our human cast.
Filming of the event took place on a green-screen sound stage in Tokyo, using multiple motion tracking cameras each tasked to dedicated Unreal Engine servers, allowing compositing of our cast into a real-time rendering of the Eden environment and the animated characters.
The result was a seamless immersion of the cast into the dreamlike world of Eden, and a captivating talk-show providing fans an additional layer of understanding and appreciation into this new hit series. The Special Event can be viewed here, and a highlight BTS video here.
Empire, a leading producer of live, hybrid, and virtual events across the globe, was honored to be selected by Netflix to produce this benchmark project.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent