©NHK

BITWORLD (March 2009 live broadcast on NHK Educational TV), produced by DIRECTIONS, Inc., won the 2009 Good Design Award (Media Category). With previous honors from BANFF and the NHK Production Center, 2009 has been a great year for BITWORLD!

The CG virtual BITWORLD gathers ideas in real time from children throughout Japan, and the interactive TV format enables studio guests to generate the TV show content utilizing the internet. The jury praised the TV program for its innovative visuals, and for creating a new kind of interactivity that pioneers new possibilities for broadcast media. The Good Design Award recognizes the TV show from the perspective of the design world, and reflects the show’s achievements and experimental approach with interactive programming that links live broadcasts with the internet, and builds on know how gathered from the original Tensai Bit-kun that got its start at the dawn of the 21^st century.

Details on the award here. (Japanese only)

What’s the Good Design Award? Check it out here.

©NHK

News in English Conversation focuses on helping people talk about current events in English. DIRECTIONS, Inc. produced Mobile Phone Challenge! News in English Conversation Summer Special, which went on air in August 2008 and has been honored with the 1^st NHK Production Center Award. News in English Conversation distinguished itself from NHK’s many language programs through its pioneering interactive broadcast using mobile phones, which enabled the show to reach a new audience segment.

This live broadcast used a quiz format based on English language news actually aired by NHK’s international division, with vocabulary questions for different skill levels and listening comprehension questions. The show gathered the responses sent from audience mobile phones, and reflected the results in real time on the TV program. The program grabbed attention for the its pioneering content, which allowed viewers to see if their answers were correct, and as well as their national ranking.

©NHK  BITWORLD, produced for NHK by DIRECTIONS, Inc., won the Best Interactive and Immersive Interactive Rockie awards at the 2009 Banff World Television Festival (BANFF). Attracting over 800 entries from around the world, BANFF is the premiere North American competition for television content. In addition, BITWORLD won the NHK 2008 Production Chief's Special Award. The award highlighted BITWORLD's success in involving viewers in creating the TV story via the program website and online games. Website page views exceeded 5 million for the 3 days before and after each live broadcast, and the number of children participating in the website and games increased with each show, exceeding 100,000 participants for the 4th live broadcast on March 6, 2009. BANFF http://www.banff2009.com/media.releases.php?mid=61 BITWORLD (Japanese only) http://www.nhk.or.jp/bitworld/

We held an all night screening to celebrate Yasuhiro YOSHIURA’s “Time of Eve” DVD release (Japan only), held at the legendary Tokyo Theater Shinjuku from midnight March 29. The 200-plus seats in the theater remained packed until the evening’s finish at 5am. The event-packed program included a talk session with director Yasuhiro YOSHIURA, voice actor Kenji NOJIMA, and anime critic Ryusuke NAKAGAWA, as well as a Q&A session with audience members, door prizes and an autograph session with the director. The night also featured works by AC-bu, Tayuta MIKAGE, and other cutting-edge creators produced by DIRECTIONS, INC. Click here for the screening line up.

Fans wait for the screening to begin The packed house Talk session

YOSHIURA chats with fans as he signs DVDs Long line for the autograph session

"Tokyo Nukemichi Girl" music video Click "here" to see a clip. The full album Yestermorrow Village, which includes "Tokyo Nukemichi Girl," goes on sale from Sony Music Direct on 2/20/2008.