Web3 video platform Shibuya will host the stop-motion short that lets NFT owners “call the shots.”
After raising $6.9 million in December 2022, Web3 video platform Shibuya has revealed its next web video – a stop-motion animated short where NFT holders can help shape and create, scene by scene, from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, with electronic musician Steve Aoki and actor Seth Green at the helm.
Shibuya, co-founded by digital artist pplpleasr, or Emily Yang, will host “Dominion X: Level 2”, created by Stoopid Buddy Studios, known for creating the Adult Swim series “Robot Chicken.” Dominion X will be a six-week interactive production where plot developments will unfold in collaboration with its NFT holder community.
Each week, NFT holders for the series can vote on how each new scene in Dominion X will end, with the show’s producers filming each part accordingly.
These scenes will then culminate into a single stop-motion animated short film that will be available on the Shibuya platform. Dominion X NFT holders can only vote on how the show progresses, with each holder receiving a reward NFT depending on their participation in the Dominion X project.
Steve Aoki and Seth Green’s project Dominion X was first launched as a series of animated scenes sold as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain network in August 2021, reportedly selling out in a matter of seconds.
In advertising the collection, a three-minute short was produced, titled “Dominion X: Level 1”, featuring the collection’s pink lead creature, Character X, alongside other characters in Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is known for.
In September 2022, Steve Aoki and Seth Green dropped a series of NFT profile pictures (PFPs) based on Dominion X, with each serving as a ticket to being part of a virtual writer’s room that will help shape and create the upcoming Dominion X: Level 2 series. In its original launch, 7,777 NFTs were offered at a price of 0.10 ETH each, worth approximately $170 at the time. Membership was then limited to 4,000 NFTs, and then cost $0.05 ETH apiece, then worth $85.
Dominion X is Shibuya’s second IP launch since its debut in March 2022, and is the first to be developed by an external studio. The new series from Stoopid Buddy Stoodios will be, according to pplpleasr, a different kind of interactive content creation experience for users in comparison to Shibuya’s genesis IP anime series “White Rabbit.”
Anyone who holds an NFT within the larger Replicant X project, which includes Dominion X, can stake their NFTs within the Shibuya platform to vote for any storymaking decisions. Supporters of Shibuya can help out too – with anyone holding Shibuya’s White Rabbit Key NFTs offered the same privileges. Pplpleasr hopes to bring thousands of voters to help decide what may go on with Dominion X’s production process.
“This is really exciting because it’s going to show, as a very first step, where Shibuya is headed,” she said, adding that the collaboration with Steve Aoki and Seth Green has been planned for a long time.
Back in December, Shibuya raised $6.9 million in a fundraising campaign led by Andreessen Horowitz and Variant Fund, and with celebrity angel investors like NBA player Kevin Durant and entertainer Paris Hilton joining the ranks.
Web3 video platform Shibuya is co-founded by pplpleasr and concept artist Maciej Kuciara aims to disrupt how video content is traditionally funded and produced, and invites NFT buyers to be part of the creation process.
The people behind Dominion X collectively have an impressive resume, with everyone involved already having dipped their feet into the NFT industry.
Pplpleasr rose up to fame in the digital art world by creating and selling NFTs based on decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms. She then gained notoriety for designing a cover for Fortune magazine which was auctioned off as dynamic NFTs, yielding over $650,000 to help journalistic causes. Pplpleasr is also a collaborator of Aoki, helping to create and collect NFT artwork.
Aoki has created and collaborated on several NFT projects, and beyond the NFT industry has celebrity status as a popular DJ. Aoki has launched Aok1verse, a membership club for his fans, OddKey, a Solana-based NFT marketplace in collaboration with comics legend Todd McFarlane, and Punx, a cryptopunk-based music project in collaboration with electronic musician Justin “3LAU” Blau.
Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios has plenty in their NFT resume – having received funding from NFT project Nouns to create a float for the January 2023 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California to as part of college football festivities, prior to Penn State and Utah’s match. Green, famous for his role as Scott Evil in “Austin Powers”, is also producing a show based on his Bored Ape NFT, which was stolen but ultimately re-purchased by him for $300,000 to recover his Ape.
“Dominion X: Level 2” will be a testament to see how quality content can still be made, as Pplpleasr has previously said that “content in Web3 right now is just bad.”
With Shibuya’s distinct vision to develop stories in different genres and styles with different collaborators guiding content creation, we may see a huge transformation in the existing film industry very soon.
