A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book

Vocaloid Liveness? Hatsune Miku and the live production of Japanese virtual idol concerts.




AuthorsKärki Kimi

EditorsChris Anderton, Sergio Pisfil

Edition1

Publishing placeLondon

Publication year2021

Book title Researching Live Music. Gigs, Tours, Concerts and Festivals

First page 127

Last page140

ISBN978-0-367-40500-7

eISBN978-0-367-40503-8

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4324/9780367405038-10

Web address https://www.routledge.com/Researching-Live-Music-Gigs-Tours-Concerts-and-Festivals/Anderton-Pisfil/p/book/9780367405007


Abstract

My chapter examines the Japanese concert industry, with a focus on the live concerts by Hatsune Miku. who is, without a doubt, the most successful vocaloid virtual idol in Japan, and perhaps also globally. Vocaloid (ボーカロイド Bōkaroido) is a “singer in a box” voice synthesizer software, developed by researchers in 2000, and commercialized by Yamaha. Hatsune Miku is a Vocaloid software voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media, a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails. “She” uses Yamaha Corporation's Vocaloid 2, Vocaloid 3, and Vocaloid 4 singing synthesizing technologies, and Crypton Future Media's Piapro Studio, a singing synthesizer VSTi Plugin. Miku has played “live” globally since 2008 in concerts that typically feature a projected and animated idol via a rear cast projection on a specially coated glass screen. On the stage with the projection is a live band and sometimes also backup dancers. In my chapter, I analyze Hatsune Miku's concert production details: the technological solutions and the amount of complexity in interaction and synchronization. Production problems can be eliminated by using pre-recorded music and speech, but that would weaken the actual “live” experience.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 21:35