CoFesta Day 2: NHK Studio Park

Rise and shine, the next day was an early morning at NHK Studios.

We were given a tour by the staff and the first thing introduced to us were the Super Hi-Vision.


The Screen spans 8 meters wide and boast amazingly clear images that is 16 times more than High Definition. According to my research, they say that’s 8K in resolution or 7,680 x 4,320 pixels. As we watched the videos of Fashion Catwalk, it felt like you were there sashaying down the runway with them xD Unfortunately, we are not allowed to film so, no videos for you guys.  

There was also a domo-kun mascot !!  

Here’s my video vlog of the day ^_^


We were then brought to their recording studio where the news caster work! Yup it's the actual news broadcasting studios xD 


We were also allowed to sit in the Newscaster's chair and read out a script in English LOL


I look terrible on the seat –__________-; There was also a green screen for the weather report ! 


And here's the command room. Ok I don't really know what's the name of the room but I roughly know it's for the producer to see all the cameras and decide which to use. It's a stressful place lol!


After the studios we were led to the conference room to meet some of the guests and producers. They gave us a presentation on the different programmes airing on NHK that was suitable for a global audience. 
The first program we were introduced to was J-MELO.

J-Melo (NHK TV Program) : http://www.nhk.or.jp/j-melo/nhkworld/

“ J-MELO is the only Japanese music show in English. It’s packed with hits, exclusive performances and interviews, and lots more on every imaginable kind of Japanese music. ”

Joe Inoue: https://www.facebook.com/joeinoue

The first guest we met was Joe Inoue from J-Melo. He is a musician who sang one of the Anime Naruto's opening song; CLOSER.  We got him to sing acapella for us xD 


And at the end we even managed to get a group photo with the star XD. The producer of Kawaii International presented their program to us next. 

Kawaii International (NHK TV Program) : http://www.nhk.or.jp/kawaii-i/next/index.html

“ From Japan, home of Kawaii culture, we bring you the latest trend of "Kawaii" captured in Tokyo.
Up to the minute info on Kawaii 'people', 'experiences' and 'items', everything that "Kawaii" followers around the globe are craving to know is packed in this program!
Every episodes sets a different theme.”

The Kawaii International program also welcomes content submission and holds regular contests from fans all over the world so check out their facebook and official website for more information.
They also introduced us to this worldwide singing contest that NHK is holding. Anyone can take part in it with just a video submission.

We Love Japanese Songs!: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/songs/

“ This is our special New Year TV/Radio program where people from around the world sing Japanese songs and vie with each other in their passion for the music. In advance of next year’s show, we are calling on everyone to send in your videos of you singing and playing Japanese songs through the website!
The deadline is December 1st. To participate, go to our special website.”

I think I’m going to take part in this contest too! I’m still in the midst of editing my video (or rather, selecting the right performance >.<;;; ) . When I’m done and they uploaded my video, please vote for me guys haha!!!

Tokyo Fashion Express: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/tokyofashion/index.html

“ Discover Japan's hottest fashion trends as TFX takes you behind the scenes to meet with Japan's leading designers and creators.”

The producers of the Tokyo Fashion Express program also came on to introduce the program to us. Unlike Kawaii-International, this program focus on the fashion design industry from a Japanese perspective.

NHK World : http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

The final presentation was to introduce the NHK World TV Website. NHK's website have a wide array of programs available for streaming and all primarily presented in ENGLISH!!!!!!!!!!!

Japanese Lesson : http://www3.nhk.or.jp/lesson/index.html

There's even videos/podcast to learn Japanese! 
This website is the crux of it all because this is THE PLACE to watch and listen to all the NHK programs we have just read above.
Having been so immersed in a ‘free viewing’  internet environment where we download everything (oops :X) and being so away from Mainstream Television ( I can’t remember when was the last time I turned on my TV at home!)  it took me a while to fully comprehend the objective and operating model of the website ^^;;
To help you avoid the mental block I had with this, let me explain things to you as simply as I can.


So all the programmes I mentioned above ( J-Melo, Kawaii-International, Tokyo Fashion Express ) and all the programme listed in NHK World’s TV schedule/Programs page can be viewed online for FREE!

BUT! They only allow streaming and NOT downloading. You cannot rewind nor fast forward, you can only let it stream on your screen like normal TV.


In short, you …

(STEP 1) Find out the air time of the program you want to watch. You can find it either at the official website of the program or you can find it from the TV schedule/ TV program guide here.

(STEP 2) Go to NHK World’s website ( http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/) at the stipulated timings and  

(STEP 3) Wait for the program to load. You can choose the size of the screen by clicking the resolution (128k, 256k and 512k) on the top of the player. Selecting 512k allows full screen playback.



Don’t worry if you are not free during their air time because there are multiple repeats through out the week.


You can also watch the programs on your smartphone with NHK’s free App. Yeah! Now you’re less likely to miss your favourite show xD


Hope you liked this blog entry. Leave me a comment and tell me which program on NHK World you intend to camp for xD!