Smode Tech has solidified its recent growth in the Asian market by opening an office in Japan.
Through a new company, Smode Japan, led by Jamie Goodenough, Smode Tech hopes to capitalise on increased interest among Japanese media, events and virtual production companies.
Since its recent launch, Smode Japan has helped its clients open two new green-screen studios, as well as one large-scale xR studio. In addition, the company also recently helped ecommerce giant Rakuten successfully organise a live-streaming AR content project. Smode, in combination with a green screen, is also being used on a bi-monthly TV broadcast for the upcoming football World Cup.
Looking beyond Japan, Smode is also working with a new partner in Korea, Digitalhurb, to grow the xR (extended reality) market.
Francis Maes, CEO of Smode Tech, said: “Having been active in Japan for a number of years through Jamie’s independent representation, we are thrilled to officially announce a dedicated Smode Japan office. Japan has always been at the forefront of the adoption of immersive and creative technologies, so it is a perfect fit for our real-time compositing platform which is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in an AV or broadcast environment. We can’t wait to work with the talented visual arts community in Japan to help bring their grand designs to life.”
Joining Jamie – whose company Headfull has been a Smode partner since 2019 – is Nagano-based Yasu Tsukihara, who has been appointed head of training and support for Smode Japan.
Maes adds: “Japan’s pro-AV community can be risk averse, and the market is naturally drawn to more established and trusted methods and workflows. We are conscious that Smode can be perceived as a disruptive technology, as it offers new creative ways of working, blending the traditionally separate disciplines of creation and operation. Our goal is to build a high level of trust by educating the market methodically, and through successful real-world use cases. This will set the foundations of our reputation in Japan and will help us to grow and expand faster.”