Making Everyone a Player

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity took place in Cannes, France, from June 20th to 24th. How did this world's largest celebration of creativity, held in person for the first time in three years, appear to creators? Creators involved in Cannes from various roles—award winners, presenters, judges—unravel the "now" of Cannes through their unique perspectives.

Part 2 features Naoki Tanaka, Creative Director at Dentsu Lab Tokyo. The world's first live performance by an artist with ALS, a rare disease, which Tanaka launched and captivated Cannes, was honored with a standing ovation lasting over three minutes. Tanaka describes the project's aim as "updating society through the discovery of new perspectives." What is the true meaning behind this?

Artists Confronting Rare Diseases

──The world's first live performance by two artists living with ALS, presented at Cannes, is generating significant buzz.

Tanaka: We connected the Cannes venue with the artists' base via telecommunication lines to make the live performance possible. The artists are MASA and PONE. Each developed ALS, a severe disease, at some point in their lives and are now unable to move their bodies. Using their eyes—the only part they can move freely—they continue their musical activities, such as composing and producing music.

About ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A debilitating disease where muscles in the limbs, throat, tongue, and those essential for breathing gradually waste away and lose strength. It causes muscle weakness while leaving consciousness, the five senses, and intellectual function intact. The average life expectancy after onset is said to be 3 to 5 years. There are approximately 350,000 patients worldwide and about 10,000 in Japan. Currently, no effective cure has been established.
 

MASA／Masatane Muto
EYE VDJ / Communication Creator / Representative Director of WITH ALS
Former advertising agency planner. Diagnosed with ALS in 2013. Under the artist name EYE VDJ MASA, he creates music using eye-tracking technology and performs live DJ/VJ sets. He also founded the organization "WITH ALS" to raise awareness of ALS and support patients.
 

PONE (Guilhem Gallart)
Composer, 73 Beats
Co-founder of the legendary French hip-hop group "Fonky Familiy." Diagnosed with ALS in 2015. Continues working as a composer using eye-tracking technology. In 2019, he composed a full album created solely with his eyes, bringing him back into the spotlight in the music world.

 

This project, titled "ALL PLAYERS WELCOME," aims to create tools and environments where anyone can express themselves, leveraging the perspectives and creative power of people from diverse backgrounds. For its first installment, we teamed up with MASA and PONE. With their collaboration, we developed a tool playable solely with eye movements and presented a roughly 7-minute live performance in Cannes.

 

──What is this tool playable solely with eye movements?

Tanaka: This time, Dentsu Lab Tokyo developed three performance tools in collaboration with the two artists and teams including BASSDRUM and invisi. Each tool was based on existing instruments, redesigned with a UI (user interface) operable solely by eye movement.

First, the "EYE XY PAD". By pre-setting sound and effect parameters to the X and Y axis coordinates, it allows real-time, free performance using only eye movements, producing previously unheard timbres.

Next, the "EYE MIDI PAD". Previous performance tools were designed for able-bodied users, making operations like precise MIDI control difficult with eye-tracking alone. This tool enables real-time, easier track manipulation, much like using a MIDI controller.

Finally, the "SHOOTING PAD." Since we connected Cannes and Tokyo for a live performance, communication latency was unavoidable. To solve this, we motion-controlled the UI itself, calculating the audio playback timing in reverse to overcome the delay issue.

These performance tools are stored on the " All PlayersTool Lab " website and are freely available for anyone to download and use at no cost.

However, I believe that what we do with technology is ultimately just one part of the whole project. What's more important is standing on the same side as them, with their diverse backgrounds, sharing the same perspective, and becoming one team. You absolutely cannot create something good if you're thinking, "This seems tough," or "I'll do it for them." This time too, we agonized over things many times, felt frustrated, and sometimes even argued. That's what's most important.

Creativity is discovering new perspectives society hasn't noticed yet

──Why did you decide to do a live performance at the seminar in the first place?

Tanaka: When I first heard about this seminar, I thought, "Just giving a speech at Cannes isn't really my forte, and it wouldn't be very interesting." So I decided that, in addition to the speech, I wanted to try demonstrating our hypotheses about creativity right there on the Cannes stage.

Actually, this isn't my first time working with people from diverse backgrounds. I directed the opening ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and was involved in developing a tactile viewing device for blind soccer through the "PARA-SPORTS LAB" project.

Let me share a story about a blind guitarist. There's a guitarist named Hiroaki Tagawa, who was born blind and also performed at the Paralympic Opening Ceremony. His playing style is truly wonderful and fascinating. Typically, the left hand holds the guitar neck from below, but he apparently discovered his own way of playing. He plays with both hands from above, almost like playing the piano. Both his playing style and the sound he produces moved Hotei Tomoyasu deeply. I believe this represents Mr. Tagawa's unique perspective and creativity.

When we talk about "creative" or "creativity," I think it boils down to discovering new perspectives we haven't noticed yet. By viewing things from a fresh angle, societal norms, people's values, and behaviors change, ultimately making society better. That, I believe, is the essence of "creativity."

Even when our own perspectives become rigid, people from diverse backgrounds see the world differently. So, by leveraging their strengths, couldn't we make the world better? Isn't their perspective and creativity precisely what we need now to update society? Wanting to prove this hypothesis, I challenged myself with a live performance at Cannes.

Cannes is a place of encounters and opportunities

──How was the response to this live performance?

Tanaka: After the performance, we received a standing ovation lasting over three minutes from the audience. People from various countries approached us saying things like, "Let's work together," "I was truly moved," and "As part of the Dentsu Group, I felt proud."

MASA was deeply moved that he could finally perform live, something he'd wanted to do in real time but never had the means to achieve before. He told me, "I've DJed before, but I never imagined I could freely create sound live like this," and "It was truly the best experience of my life."

Before returning home, I visited PONE's house, located about 5-6 hours by train from Cannes. I wanted to meet him in person and say "thank you." Perhaps because he has an artist's temperament, PONE didn't seem as visibly moved as MASA. But he was clearly excited. We immediately started discussing our next project. I can't say much yet, but if it comes to fruition, it will be a truly exciting project.

After returning home, I received a message from the mother of a fourth-grade boy with a rare disease similar to ALS. She wrote: "I saw the live performance in Cannes on the news and was deeply moved," "My son is incredibly interested in music and wants to join the music club," "Could you all help make it possible for my son to pursue music?" I replied, "I'd be honored to help."

──What kind of experience was Cannes for you, Mr. Tanaka?

Tanaka: We were swamped with preparations right up until the last minute, and presenting in English was tough. But now that the Cannes presentation is over, I feel a clear sense of momentum. The response truly came from all over the world. While Dentsu Lab Tokyo will certainly continue our domestic work, this experience has motivated us to increase our international projects.

Especially for us, starting from technology, unlike advertising like copy or commercials, it's easier to overcome language barriers. I feel a strong sense that it resonates widely, so I want to actively challenge myself with overseas events and client work.

Cannes really struck me as a place where you find new challenges, discover new solutions, share them across borders and languages, update them together, and then say, "Hey, let's do this together."

 

This was realized through collaboration with many teams. I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude once again.

Ableton KK / BASSDRUM / coton / CUBE / Dentsu Creative Cube / Dentsu ScienceJam / invisi / Life hack / Momonga / NTT / PICS / SLOW LABEL / WITH ALS / woo / WOW / y’s connection