NIKE / Breaking / Wieden + Kennedy / Editor & producer
It’s official. Breakdancing is coming to the Olympics. Officially named “breaking” by the IOC, the sport will be part of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Breakdancers Ami and Shigekix are among the best in the world. This film is a celebration of their skills before we see them embark on their Road to Paris by competing at the 2022 Breaking World Championships in Seoul. This film showcases our dancers by thinking differently about dancing. We felt that merging existing footage of the dancers and processing it with AI generated images could provide the visual power and unpredictable beauty to the message that we wanted to deliver. We linked with Harald Schaack at Grotesk to produce these mind-blowing AI generated images using Stable Diffusion.
IKEA / What We Can Do Right Now / Wieden + Kennedy / Editor
We released this film in May of 2020 when COVID-19 cases were skyrocketing. We were forced to stay cooped up, and this was IKEA's positive message to the world saying that there's still a lot we can do to enjoy life, even while staying indoors. This film features IKEA employees delivering that message from their own homes, shot on their own phones.
beautiful people / Reheatable Sandals / Wieden + Kennedy / Editor & producer
We have solved the age-old winter problem of cold feet with the Reheatable Sandals.
Tinder / Live Young Again / Wieden + Kennedy / Producer
Although young adults in Japan have a strong desire to meet new people, pandemic restrictions prevented them from making connections and memories during their "seishun" years ("springtime of youth.") We put a new spin on seishun in Japan. Seishun doesn’t end when school does. It’s a feeling that can be seized by meeting new people and experiencing new things. The launch film tells the story of Haru, who escapes monotony and finds that love, friendship—and the occasional heartbreak—is just a swipe away on Tinder.
HP Omen / Moving Forward / Wieden + Kennedy / Producer
Gaming on consoles is nice but it has limitations when we take our sessions online. The world of gaming is rapidly advancing, as are gamers’ needs for faster communication, smoother gameplay, more flexibility and more intuitive interactions. And this is exactly what OMEN PCs are designed to offer. True to NYC director duo, BRTHR’s high-energy style, we created a full CG city populated with a variety of characters to illustrate a virtual world that's accessible only to PC gamers.
NIKE / Nike Juku / Wieden + Kennedy / Producer
Japan's entrance exams are notoriously difficult. In the years leading up to college, kids may study an extra 7.5 hours on top of the school day, often attending "cram schools" (juku). Being glued to their desks studying doesn't just take a toll on their physical health but on their mental and emotional state as well. But multiple studies show that short bursts of physical activity can directly affect academic performance. So we created Nike Juku, a program aiming to help students refresh their brains through short, simple study breaks where they get their bodies moving. The Japanese power group ATARASHII GAKKO! embodied the vibe we were looking for. We collaborated with them on their single "Woo! Go!"
Leah Dou / GSG / Wieden + Kennedy / Producer
To promote Leah Dou’s latest music release, we produced the music video for the title track “GSG” by collaborating with with web comic artist and director James Gamsu Jenkins to create a psychedelic journey of self discovery. We also created the album artwork, merch, social posts and two other music videos ("Orange" and "Cats") from the album, each with their own eclectic style.
Audi / e-tron x Ko Shibasaki / Wieden + Kennedy / Producer
Bosozoku / VICE / Director & editor
The level of awareness in Japan regarding environmental issues and sustainability is still comparatively low. With this mind, we made a film introducing Audi’s first all-electric car “e-tron” to Japan by partnering with actress and singer Ko Shibasaki. This film puts the breathtaking shots of nature on full display to remind you how close we are to losing it. We also collaborated on the composition the song too, now available on all streaming platforms.
Japanese motorcycle gangs have wreaked havoc since the 1970s. Known as Bosozuku, these gangs have a violent history, raging war against rival crews and cops. Gang members roamed the highways, sometimes hundreds at a time, with an array of brutal weaponry, customized bikes, and distinct crew jumpsuits. Youth were recruited from their early teens to join the gangs under the mentorship of an elder. In recent years, with strict laws and police cracking down, Bosozoku have become nearly extinct. Yet for those who were a part of the subculture during its heyday, Bosozoku will always provide a fond memory of the recklessness of youth.
Rising From the Tokyo Projects / VICE / Director & editor
We follow rappers Kohh and Mony Horse into the projects where they grew up, surrounded by drugs, violence, and death. After discovering a knack for music-making, the two rappers, alongside their manager 318 and their crew, make the best out of their situation by becoming the face of Hip Hop. This film helped launch the career of Kohh, arguably the most influential name in Japanese rap today.
The Grindmother Cometh / VICE / Director & editor
What happened when a 67-year-old Canadian woman picked up a mic and started screaming? The very brutal (and very viral) Grindmother was born. Grindmother likes to rage about the death of the environment, human suffering, the mounting population, and whatever else pisses her off. The blistering songs on the now-trio's new album, Age of Destruction, are all under a minute, and come packed with Grindmother’s demonic vocal shredding, skull-wrecking blast beats, and relentless stabs of pulverized guitar noise. VICE follows Grindmother around Tokyo for a day before their show in Shibuya.
adidas x Keiichi Tanaami / VICE / DP & producer
Keiichi Tanaami, born in 1936, is one of the leading pop artists of postwar Japan. He has been active as an artist since the 60’s as a graphic designer, illustrator, video artist and fine artist. He let us tag along for a day to see the world from his perspective and to learn what inspires him. This film was made for adidas who collaborated with the artist for their Spring/Summer “adicolor by Tanaami” collection.
The Food and People of the Homi Projects / VICE / Director & editor
The Homi Projects are a massive housing complex consisting of 67 buildings located in Toyota City (where the car company got its name from) in Aichi Prefecture. Of the 7,000 residents who live there, approximately 3,000 of them are South American (mostly Brazilian and Peruvian), making it one of the most unique immigrant housing complexes in Japan. We follow acclaimed photographer Keisuke Nagoshi, who lived in the housing complex for over three years, on a tour through his old neighborhood as he catches up with various residents and indulges in the food they prepare.
Made in Kawasaki / VICE / Director & editor
Kawasaki is home to large petroleum complexes, steel mills, freight railroads and other factories making it the most air polluted area in the country. It's also home to a rap crew called Bad Hop, essentially the Wu-Tang of Japan. This film launched the group into the stratosphere and to this day, they are one of the biggest names in Hip Hop.
Yakuza and the Japanese Right Wing / VICE / Co-producer & B cam
"Uyoku dantai" are Japanese nationalist right-wing groups of which there are over 1,000 in Japan with about 100,000 members in total. Well known for their black propaganda vans, they are often seen driving around staging protests with their loudspeakers outside the Chinese, Korean, and Russian embassies demanding ownership of the Senkaku and Kuril Islands to name a few. We caught up with our friend Masaya Kudo, a Right-Wing activist and leader of his own group "Nihon-no-Kai" as he explained his philosophies and concerns regarding the Right-Wing movement today and their ties to the Yakuza.
The 'Babe' Fan / Director & editor
An orphaned pig named Babe learns to herd sheep after Arthur Hoggett, a farmer, wins him in a contest at a country fair. A man in Yokohama, Japan is obsessed with Babe and this is his story.
Cooking from Vending Machines / VICE / Producer & host
Ty Demura (me) takes us on an inebriated excursion to some of Tokyo’s wackiest vending machines and uses their bounty to make banana milkshakes and a spicy nattō rice bowl. Japan is the vending capital of the world, with machines offering everything from raw eggs to fermented soybeans to Bulgarian yogurt. Don’t forget to bring enough yen!
The Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Office / Director & editor
A motley group of office workers go through hilarious misadventures at the Scranton, Pennsylvania... ahem, Tokyo, Japan branch of Wieden + Kennedy.
The VICE Guide to Parties: Tanakamenbutoukai / VICE / Director & editor
Tanakamenbutoukai is a popular underground party thrown annually by the Twitter handle @T_R_E_A_M_. The fresh musical line ups and venue choices every year made us want to send VICE reporter Kumpei Kuwamamoto to find out what the hype was all about.
beautiful people / Paris Fashion Week “Side-C Vol. 7 MULTIPLICITY” / Wieden + Kennedy / Producer
During the pandemic, beautiful people wanted to unveil their 2022 Spring/Summer collection remotely through film during Paris Fashion Week. The aptly-titled “MULTIPLICITY” refers to the multiple ways in which the clothes could be worn, and we conveyed this in a few different ways over a beautiful score composed by Kyo Acerbis Kitayama.
HP Omen / We Don't Care / Wieden + Kennedy / Producer
This HP OMEN campaign shines a light on social and income inequalities of South Korea. OMEN doesn't care about who your family is, what school you went to, what you look like or how much money you have because none of it has to do with your gaming skills. In the world of PC gaming, “define who you are by your skills.”
Home video / Executive Producer & director
Here’s a home video of my niece.
Photos in order from top:
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A$AP Ferg in Kawasaki on 35mm film.
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Unintentional art in Daitabashi on 120mm film.
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The Sobu Line, Chuo Line, and the Marunouchi Line in Ochanomizu on 120mm film. NFT.
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Nana Komatsu in Shinjuku for i-D on digital.
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Keiichi Tanaami in his studio in Tokyo on 35mm film.
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Windows95Man in Shibuya on 35mm film
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Overlooking Lake Suwa in Nagano on digital..
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Kamiiso no Torii in Ibaraki on digital..
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Kamiiso no Torii in Ibaraki on digital..
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Mt. Fuji shot from Numazu on digital.
About:
From sharing bottles of sake with pinky-less yakuza to melting blocks of ice shaped like human feet, Ty's experience is diverse. Originally from Tokyo, Ty had a hands-on start in filmmaking, shooting and editing documentary films. He landed a job working as a director and editor for VICE before producing and editing films for Wieden + Kennedy. Combining techniques from both scripted brand films and non-fiction, Ty's work features big cultural moments and laugh-out-loud humor. He is currently developing a feature script on the side and writing bio’s about himself in the third person.