South KoreaOutcome summary
For the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2017 MAMA), held on 1 December 2017 at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, we designed and built Cuore, a 4-metre LED puppet. Cuore stood still in the main stage scenography for the whole show, then came to life during Wanna One's performance: Cuore stood up, walked to the artists, and its heart lit up.
Starting situation
MAMA is the music awards show of CJ ENM's Mnet channel. The 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2017 MAMA) were held at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong on 1 December 2017, with 'coexistence' as the stage concept. The show needed a stage character that could be part of the scenography and then perform with the artists, live, in front of the hall and a television audience across Asia.
The system
Cuore is a puppet about 4 metres tall: a light frame wrapped in LED lights, moved by puppeteers with rods. Its heart is a separate light that can be switched on at a precise moment of the performance. We designed and built Cuore in Korea, then shipped it to Hong Kong in a crate.
Implementation
Cuore was built and rehearsed in Seoul in November 2017, then crated and shipped to Hong Kong for the show.
Results and evidence
On the night of 2017 MAMA, Cuore stood still in the main scenography for the whole show. During Wanna One's performance of 'Beautiful' it stood up and walked towards the members; when Kang Daniel, left alone on stage, took its hand, its heart lit up. The show was broadcast live in 13 countries: South Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, the United States, Norway and Australia.
After launch
Cuore came back to Korea and kept performing. Where it has performed:
- 1 December 2017: 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards (2017 MAMA), Hong Kong: Cuore as the concept puppet, with Wanna One
- From 19 January 2018: “Puppet Cuore” exhibition and puppet show at the Gapyeong Culture and Arts Center, which we planned, produced and performed
- 7 April 2018: Opening performance at the Let’s Run Park Seoul Night Cherry Blossom Festival, Gwacheon
- 4 September 2018: Special cultural performance, National e-Festival for Students with Disabilities (National Institute of Special Education, Netmarble Cultural Foundation, Korea Creative Content Agency)
- 8 September 2018: Night performance and parade, Goyang Haengju Cultural Festival
- 13–14 September 2018: Cheonan Heungtaryeong Street Festival
- 13 October 2018: Opening performance of the 15th Jarasum International Jazz Festival with Cuore, which we planned, produced and directed
- 2019: Opening performance, Suwon 70th Anniversary of City Status Citizens’ Festival
- 2019: Opening performance, Chuncheon Puppet Festival
- 2019: Opening performance, Gwangju World Kimchi Festival
- 2019: “March of Cuore”, finale stage of the Gwangju Asia Fringe Festival, which we planned and performed
- 2020: Icheon International Illusion Festival, finale: “Human being of light”, with Cuore as the giant puppet and 200 drones by Uvify, next to “Network Globe”, the illusion performance of the illusionist EG (Lee Eun-gyeol), who produced the show
- 2021: Buyeo Seodong Lotus Festival
- 2023: Opening of the Yeongju Seonbi Festival: Cuore in seonbi costume, street march
- 2023: Opening of the Ulsan Whale Festival: “Leap into the future” performance
