NFT
decrypt.co
01 February 2023 15:25, UTC
Studying time: ~4 m
Simply two months after elevating $6.9 million, Shibuya—a Web3 video platform co-founded by digital artist Emily “pplpleasr” Yang—has revealed its subsequent net video that NFT holders might help form, scene-by-scene: a stop-motion animated quick from digital musician Steve Aoki and actor Seth Inexperienced’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.
Aoki and the studio behind the Grownup Swim collection “Robotic Rooster” will convey their “Dominion X: Stage 2” undertaking to Shibuya, with a six-week, interactive manufacturing course of that can unfold in collaboration with the group. Every week, NFT holders can vote on how every new scene will conclude, after which the producers will movie the section accordingly.
It can all add as much as a single stop-motion animated quick that will likely be viewable by anybody by way of the Shibuya platform, however solely NFT holders will be capable of vote throughout manufacturing. These holders may even obtain a reward NFT in considered one of varied rarity ranges, relying on how a lot they participated throughout the course of.
Pplpleasr’s Shibuya NFT Video Platform Raises $6.9M to Construct the ‘A24 of Web3’
For Shibuya, “Dominion X” marks its second IP launch because the platform debuted in March 2022, and it’s the primary to be developed externally. Pplpleasr informed Decrypt that it’ll present a unique taste of interactive content material creation for customers than “White Rabbit,” the anime collection that debuted with Shibuya.
“That is actually thrilling as a result of it will present, as a really first step, the place Shibuya is headed,” she mentioned, including that the collaboration was lengthy within the works.
“Dominion X” first launched a collection of animated scenes offered as Ethereum NFTs in August 2021 by means of Nifty Gateway, apparently promoting out the gathering in a matter of seconds. A 3-minute “Dominion X: Stage 1” quick was produced, spotlighting the fuzzy pink lead creature (Character X) and different friends by way of the stop-motion model that Stoopid Buddy Stoodios is understood for.
In September 2022, the collaborators launched a collection of NFT profile footage (PFPs) based mostly on the undertaking, with every serving as an entry cross to a digital writers’ room and group to assist form the upcoming collection. They initially supplied up 7,777 NFTs at a worth of 0.10 ETH every (about $170 on the time), however then reduce the provision to 4,000 NFTs at 0.05 ETH ($85) apiece.
Any holder of an NFT within the bigger Replicant X undertaking that features “Dominion X” can stake (or lock up) the asset throughout the Shibuya platform to vote on story choices. Moreover, any of Shibuya’s White Rabbit NFT holders can do the identical. Pplpleasr mentioned that she expects probably hundreds of voters within the combine throughout every stage of the manufacturing course of.
Shibuya raised $6.9 million in December in a spherical co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Variant Fund, with notable angel traders like NBA participant Kevin Durant and entertainer Paris Hilton additionally onboard. The startup, which pplpleasr co-founded with idea artist Maciej Kuciara, goals to disrupt conventional funding fashions for video content material and produce NFT patrons into the method.

Steve Aoki (left) and artist pplpleasr. Picture: Shibuya
An NFT is a blockchain token that represents a singular merchandise, together with issues like PFPs, digital paintings, sports activities and leisure collectibles, and online game gear. The broader NFT market has yielded about $50 billion value of natural buying and selling quantity because the begin of 2021, per knowledge from DappRadar, though gross sales momentum started falling sharply in mid-2022.
Pplpleasr is a widely known digital artist who got here up within the NFT area creating and promoting tokenized paintings based mostly on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, after which designed a Fortune journal cowl that was auctioned as dynamic NFTs that yielded over $650,000 for journalistic causes. She has additionally collaborated with Aoki to create and acquire NFT paintings.
Aoki, a preferred DJ, has created or collaborated on quite a lot of NFT-driven tasks, together with his personal A0k1verse membership membership, a Solana-based NFT market with legendary comedian e-book creator Todd McFarlane, and an upcoming CryptoPunks-themed music undertaking with fellow Web3 creator and DJ, Justin “3LAU” Blau.
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios has additionally made strikes within the area, not too long ago receiving funding from the Nouns NFT undertaking to create a float for the 2023 Rose Parade and shoot a documentary round it. Inexperienced, the “Austin Powers” actor, can also be engaged on a present based mostly on his Bored Ape Yacht Membership NFT avatar, which was swiped from him final 12 months however in the end repurchased.
Nouns Ethereum NFTs Will Seem in 2023 Rose Parade
Collectively, they’ve assembled one thing of a dream staff of notable Web3 creators constructing round decentralized applied sciences. Pplpleasr informed Decrypt that Shibuya’s north star is creating high quality content material, echoing her earlier feedback that “content material in Web3 proper now could be simply unhealthy.”
“Dominion X: Stage 2” will present whether or not that mission might be sustained throughout genres and types—and with completely different collaborators steering the content material as effectively.
“All of us imagine within the skill for Web3 to rework the preexisting movie business,” she mentioned.