Machines are outperforming humans at a rapidly growing rate. Artificial Intelligence is no longer science fiction; it is in our household appliances, the phones in our pockets. It is learning, improving and calculating at speeds way beyond human capability. It is developing so rapidly that by 2050 machines will outperform humans in virtually every field. To preserve the nobility of human craft, Lexus wants to highlight the talent and dedication of Takumi, Japanese craftspeople who believe it takes 60,000 hours to achieve true mastery of a skill.

We created an interactive video player that lets people witness the time and commitment required to become a true master.

Lexus Takumi is an interactive film experience that gives audiences the chance to discover the dedication and endurance of putting in 60,000 hours of work to achieve true mastery of a skill. This film is a visually-stunning, character-driven portrait of the unique philosophy of Takumi in today’s modern world.

We built a unique video player that showcases the hard work of four Takumi at various stages in their mastery: a carpenter who constructs elaborate temples without using nails, a chef who furthered his craft by finding a deeper purpose, an artist who found creative ways to break the rules of paper-cutting, and an engineer whose ability to detect a flaw in an engine is sharper than a machine’s.

While it might seem like a simple video player, there are a lot of moving parts behind the scenes. Using a combination of React, Redux, Immutable, PIXI, and HLS, we looped through a sequence of video frames to give viewers the feeling they’re fast forwarding through huge spans of time—60,000 hours, to be exact.

With so many large video files and moving parts, we had to ensure the experience could be served reliably and quickly on any platform, and to any number of users at a time. After many challenges, discoveries, and extensive experimentation with new technologies, we found a way to bring our vision to life.