A next-gen LED display system from Hibino Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Teruhisa Hibino), the "Immersive LED System" was featured at ZEPP TOUR 2024 "POP OUT," a concert tour by the musical act YOASOBI affiliated with Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

The tour, which wrapped up on Saturday, March 9, delivered a novel immersive experience to the roughly 25,000 fans who attended a total of 12 shows held at six Zepp venues across Japan, enveloping them in 3D content intertwined with the music.

The Immersive LED System is created by U.S. company Liminal Space (*1), for which the "Ghost Tile," a three-dimensional LED technology, is licensed by Hibino Corporation to use in its operational activities. This concert tour fused the live music performance, 3D scenery, and 3D effects into an immersive entertainment experience by leveraging the combination of the Immersive LED System with real performers, objects, lighting, and other physical and digital elements.

Hibino Corporation’s hibino visual Div. provides large-scale video services, including the renting, installation and operation of large-scale video display systems, such as LED display systems for concert events. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we began offering video services that seamlessly fuse virtual elements with physical reality, such as virtual production (*2) directed by Junichi "IMO" Imokawa, Director and Managing Executive Officer, and stage production for online environments using XR technology. As it is expected that "Mixed Reality (a fusion of the physical world and virtual world)" and the resulting "space with a sense of immersion" will become a key feature for large-scale video services going forward, in November 2023, we established "Hibino Immersive Entertainment Lab" an R&D center for pursuing entertainment experiences filled with a sense of immersion. Initiatives are underway to create "Mixed Reality" through combining the new Immersive LED System, which is expected to feature in commercial productions from this spring, with other technologies.

The concept of "POP OUT" was used for YOASOBI's concert tour. YOASOBI, which started out publishing its music in the world of the internet, aims to express "a wish to jump out from various frameworks" in a multitude of elements, such as expressing YOASOBI popping out from the internet and performing in real life at the Zepp venues, which offer up-close experiences. By their nature, these live music venues already boast an up-close sense of distance. But to make this an even more intimate experience and to create moments where YOASOBI could be felt up close, YOASOBI paid a visit to the "Hibino Immersive Entertainment Lab," which pursues immersive experiences using the latest technology, and a decision was made to conduct a pilot introduction of the Immersive LED System, which enables revolutionary expression in 3D spaces. This led to the realization of the novel immersive-type entertainment experience to provide that popping-out expression for the debut performance in Japan.

The Immersive LED System has impressive dimensions with a width of 14.4 meters and height of 4.8 meters (width 3,840 pixels × height 1,280 pixels) and a pitch (distance between LED elements) of 3.75 mm. This system was installed across the full width of the stage, matching the line of sight from the audience area, and was curved inward to create a shape that gently surrounded the stage. Three kinds of 3D glasses were provided: adult size (standard type), child size, and a clip-on type for glasses-wearing audience members.

The 3D show was adopted for five songs in the middle of the concert, and Hibino Corporation participated in the content production. For two of those songs, "Biri-Biri," which was the first song of the 3D show, and "Kaibutsu (Monster)," which was the following song, Liminal Space and Hibino Corporation worked together under the direction of Junichi "IMO" Imokawa, Director and Managing Executive Officer, in order to produce a thrilling immersive experience that demonstrated the maximum limits of the Immersive LED System’s 3D effects that were possible within the limited production time, and Hibino Immersive Entertainment Lab tested and fine-tuned the 3D effects.

A majestic book emerged within the stage space. As its cover, inscribed with "POP OUT," unfolded, the world of YOASOBI, based on a concept of "novel into music," exploded into a 3D space. The audience was drawn into the POP OUT world alongside the artists. "Biri-Biri" drew its inspiration from fantasy realms and from the upbeat electropop that captures the essence of a video game soundtrack. It was a well-executed live performance on a virtual stage set within a voxel art world.

The song "Kaibutsu (Monster)" skillfully melded the imagery of a monster baring its fangs with abstract objects in time with the rhythm to convey a world of momentum and darkness. The sense of depth in the 3D space was further accentuated with fog effects.

On social media, the 3D show elicited comments of surprise at "such amazing dimensionality," likening it to a "real pop-up book" and expressing awe at "how lifelike the show’s 3D objects seemed" and "what a powerful impact the performance had." There was also praise for the "synergy between the performers and the technology," and it was even heralded as "the future for live music venues."

Until now, the use of 3D at events has been limited, but the Immersive LED System has overcome certain problems of traditional stereoscopic imaging technology, such as narrow field of view. Through such advancements, over 2,000 fans were able to share in the experience, fostering a sense of unity among the audience.