From Everyday Life to Events: A Mindset for Learning — CP Fujiwara

Hello! I’m Kasai from GP.

This is the second installment in our series exploring ideas from everyday life that have been—or could potentially be—applied to events.

In the previous GP Journal article, we looked at television programs and their structures to uncover new insights, discoveries, and ideas. This time, once again, I’d like to search for event ideas hidden all around us in our everyday lives.

Let’s Ask Chief Producer Hirotaka Fujiwara!

For this edition, we spoke with our Chief Producer (CP), Hirotaka Fujiwara.

With “Speed is Power” as his motto, Fujiwara specializes in branding and creating distinctive worlds and concepts. He regularly explores a wide range of entertainment, including video content, sports, and live performances, constantly refining his ideas by asking himself, “How could this be expressed through an event?”

When I spoke with Kawamoto for the previous article, he told me, “Hiro-san (Fujiwara) is really good at this kind of thing—you should ask him!”

So this time, I sat down with CP Hirotaka Fujiwara to learn more about how he discovers inspiration for events in everyday life.

How Video Production Shapes the Atmosphere of an Event

Whether an event is online, hybrid, or fully in-person, video content is an important part of event production.

Some videos are created in-house by clients to give an event a warm and personal feel. Others are highly polished productions designed to create a sense of achievement and pride, while some are created to immerse participants in a particular world or concept. Every video has a different purpose and intention behind it.

Movies, TV dramas, sports broadcasts, streaming services—the video content we casually encounter every day contains countless clues that can help take event production one step further.

Ideas for Event Videos and Entrances—Inspired by Everyday Entertainment

Fujiwara regularly uses streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video.

From popular programs and commercials to livestreamed concerts and sports broadcasts, he watches a wide variety of content. Here, we’ll introduce some of the ideas he has actually picked up from these everyday viewing experiences and adapted for events.

Opening Videos and Advertising Content

Turning a TV Show Opening into an Online Event Opening

Fujiwara shared several examples of ideas he has actually incorporated into event production.

One came from a Travis Japan program available on Disney+. When he saw its opening sequence and the way the title appeared on screen, his immediate reaction was, “This looks cool!”

He quickly began thinking about how that style of title reveal could be combined with the concept of an event project he was working on and developed an idea for the opening video.

The resulting video was actually used as the event’s opening sequence and was very well received.

Turning a TV Show Opening into an Awards Video

Another source of inspiration came from the opening of the popular Netflix series “Badly in Love” (Love Joto), which features participants walking toward the camera while speaking individually.

When Fujiwara saw it, he immediately thought, “This is it!”

Inspired by that sequence, he reimagined the concept as an introductory video for award winners at an awards event.

I had the opportunity to watch the finished video myself, and what struck me was how cool everyone looked—even though the people appearing in the video were ordinary people you might encounter anywhere!

It reminded me once again just how important presentation can be.

Rather than simply enjoying programs and videos as a viewer, Fujiwara watches them through the eyes of an event producer. By maintaining that perspective, he turns everyday viewing experiences into a library of ideas for future event concepts.

Finding Inspiration in Athlete Entrance Productions

Streaming services such as Amazon Prime Video also offer a wide range of live music performances and sporting events.

Take an international table tennis tournament, for example. Athlete entrances can be incredibly dramatic.

The venue goes dark. Epic music begins to play. LEDs and moving lights positioned throughout the space flash intensely. Then, as the lights come up and smoke fills the entrance, the athlete makes their appearance.

Rather than simply recreating this kind of production at a corporate event, Fujiwara tunes it for a business-event setting, transforming the idea into an entrance sequence for award winners.

One example is creating a dedicated winner’s entrance gate inspired by the LED decorations used for athlete entrances.

The key is to consider factors such as the event’s budget and overall atmosphere, and then decide which element of the original production can be adapted effectively.

“What Matters Is Always Being Aware of the Challenge”

Fujiwara explains:

“We’re not creators, so we can’t necessarily create something from zero to one. That’s exactly why we need to stay aware of the challenges we’re trying to solve. When you do that, you start noticing things—and those discoveries become ideas.”

Videos and productions that we might normally watch without giving them a second thought can suddenly become sources of inspiration simply by changing the way we look at them.

This way of thinking perfectly reflected the kind of producer I aspire to become.

Conclusion

This time, I spoke with Fujiwara about several examples of how he finds ideas through video streaming services and brings them into event production.

Now that I’m becoming more familiar with my work at GP, I feel that the lessons and ideas I hear from senior colleagues are beginning to resonate with me on a deeper level.

Going forward, I want to keep the challenges I’m trying to solve in mind and continue searching for ideas hidden throughout everyday life.

I also hope to keep learning from my senior colleagues and develop my ability to discover and capture the ideas that are all around us!