Media that understands new manufacturing You can co-create even if you can't meet —— Hackathon in the Wiz Corona era

Event report

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by Yoshihiro Asano

2020/06/17 07:30

The new coronavirus is affecting many events. Hackathons, in which multiple people gather to develop products and projects, are one of them. In a situation where it was not possible to gather physically, we covered a hackathon that was held online and fully remotely.

People keep spinning on the Zoom screen.

Here, everyone is doing back exercises.

It's a strange sight, but it's not a play or fiction.

These are all scenes from the competition held online on May 5, 2020 at The 5th Future Yamaguchi Sports Festival. Due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, all the management staff and participants are fully remote events. Although it was the first attempt, it was a great success because of the flexible and tenacious response to the changing situation and the positive attitude of the organizers and participants working together to create the event.

Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM] is an art center located in Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Focusing on the modifiability of media technology, YCAM launched a project in 2015 to create and enjoy new sports using them. The YCAM Sports Hackathon, in which sports are developed over several days, and the Future Yamaguchi Sports Festival, in which participants enjoy the sports that were born there, attract many participants every year from their hometown of Yamaguchi and all over the country.

There is only "Future" in the title, and there are a wide variety of competitions that will be developed. Actively incorporating the latest technologies such as motion capture systems, head-mounted displays, and laser projectors, unique events have been created.

The fifth event was planned for 2020, but due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, it will be held in a fully remote format, in which all the management staff and participants will participate from different locations. Decided to hold. Participants gathered in an online arena set up in place of the physical space, moving virtual avatars and real bodies, and the program proceeded with rapidly changing screens.

Among the constraints of not being able to interact directly, there is freedom of location, such as "Taitori", where you can play with the title of a book you have at home, and "Atsume! A competition was devised that made use of the functions of the degree and video conferencing tools, and the venue was filled with laughter and excitement.

In addition to this, we have accumulated many tools and ideas, such as a web program to tally the number of muscle training in real time, an MC & DJ performance that excites the atmosphere, and communication with viewers using YouTube Live and Twitter. This event is made up of

What was the process leading up to the event being held completely online for the first time in YCAM as a whole? Also, in an environment where it will be difficult to gather people directly in the future, how will hackathons and co-creation be possible? I interviewed people involved in the management of the event.

The interviewees were Mr. Tsubasa Nishi from Undokai Kyokai, who has been managing the event together with YCAM since the beginning, Mr. Daichi Yamaoka, YCAM educator, and Ms. Yurie Hiruma, PR of the same company. , three people. After the athletic meet, we did it online.

——The first online sports day was a blast. Could you tell us how you came to hold the event fully remotely?

——Online athletic meet is unprecedented, isn't it? How did you proceed with the preparations?

——I think the participants of the event were also confused. How did you support them?

——In facilitation, is there anything we should be careful about because it is online?

——How will events such as online sports festivals and hackathons develop in the future?

"I don't want to stop co-creation" --- An unprecedented online athletic meet that started with such a thought. The trial and error of the preparation was supported by the community of creators, and on the day of the event, both the staff and the participants enjoyed development and practice without discrimination. I sincerely hope that the people who participated in the sports day and the people who read this article will come up with the next generation of "making" activities.

Documentary footage of "YCAM Sports Hackathon 2020" and "The 5th Future Yamaguchi Sports Festival" released on YCAM's official Twitter account (@ycam_jp)