salyu x salyu
For salyu x salyu, a project by Keigo Oyamada (Cornelius) and Salyu, we created a music video in the form of an interactive iPhone app.
Instead of a fixed video, the app transformed the listener’s everyday surroundings into a real-time music video, fully synchronized with the song. Point your iPhone camera anywhere—your room, a park, a city street—and visual effects would blend seamlessly with the environment, making each play unique.
With the “surround mode,” listeners could even alter the track itself by moving the camera in different directions—blurring the boundary between music, visuals, and reality.
The project was recognized at the Japan Media Arts Festival, earning a Jury Selections award.
Test movie
To fully understand the structure of the track, I created a test video mapping out exactly when each instrument played. The goal was to ensure that the visual effects—complex and tightly timed—could be perfectly synchronized with the song.
It may look simple, but making it was painstaking: I listened to every part of the track and added text markers frame by frame. This process also helped us feel where synchronization would create the most satisfying impact in a rhythm as complex as this one. We discovered that the key lay in the timing of the bass, snare, and kick, and then programmed the visuals to align with those moments.