Compu Movie

Compu Movie

Original name	コンピュムービ
Release date	1994
Format	VHS Tape
Lost?	No

Compu Movie (コンピュムービー) is a compilation of six videos produced by OutSide Directors Company and distributed on VHS by Tierrart. The visuals and editing were done primarily on a Macintosh, something that was heavily emphasized in the tape's marketing. Copies were only available via mail-order, which would later contribute to its elusive status. All songs on Compu Movie were composed by Sato and Shinobu Narita, with the exception of Astor Magic.

Tracklist

Intro (0:26)
Deme Kume Chame-Go (2:41)
The Face (4:01)
Astor Magic (6:16)
Golden Flowers (5:13)
Alphabetical Animals (4:18)
I LOVE YOU (8:53)
Credits (0:54)

Videos

Deme Kume Chame-Go

"Deme Kume Chame-Go" features 3D animations of the "Lady" and "Man" designs from The Art of Computer Designing on the surface of a barren planet.

The Face

"The Face", also known as "Face the Music" is a song by Osamu Sato with several different mixes. It appears to be an early version of The Esoteric Retina's "Face the Music" video, bearing many similarities.

Astor Magic

"Astor Magic" is a song by The Sync off of their album Beat the System. This video is unique in mostly using live action footage, and having a laid back atmosphere.

Golden Flowers

"Golden Flowers" is a song by Osamu Sato, sharing its name with an item in Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong-Nou. Several pieces of imagery in the music video can also be seen in the Tong-Nou Promo Movie.

Trivia

Golden Flowers is the only video that has no clips available before the full discovery of Compu Movie.
The golden head which appears at several points says "おうごんの　はなを　みつけた", which translates to "I found the golden flower".

Alphabetical Animals

"Alphabetical Animals" features animated versions of the letters from the art series with the same name. A text-to-speech 'sings' through the alphabet at various points. At the end of the video a pair of eyes flashes (which also appear in Xia-Che) rapidly on screen.

I Love You

"I Love You" spans a number of moods throughout its 8 minute runtime. The numbers from Alphabetical Animals can be seen in one black-and-white section. Following this is a design from Anonymous Animals, which transforms into a 3D render more closely resembling an insect. It should be noted the same design also appears in Xia-Che. The motif of a spinning Sato portrait appears in this video, which may have partially inspired "The Earth is Round". A morph effect is also used heavily in one section near the beginning.

Community Developments

Advertisement for Compu Movie. The original paper is in black & white; no color information was lost in this grayscale photo of it.

A print advertisement for Compu Movie was discovered by Chia, which contained a list of its contents and screenshots from the film. In left-to-right top-to-bottom order, the screenshots appear to be sourced from:

The Face (Exactly identical to a frame found in The Esoteric Retina version)
Alphabetical Animals (Same screenshot of the letters spelling "LOVE" found in other media)
The Face
Golden Flowers
Golden Flowers
I LOVE YOU
Deme Kume Chame-Go
Astor Magic
Deme Kume Chame-Go
Astor Magic
Alphabetical Animals
I LOVE YOU

In February of 2022, we got our closest ever look at Compu Movie with a 1994 edition of DIG MAG, a digital magazine for Mac. The disc contains a virtual art gallery with work by Sato, Hideki Nakazawa, and others.

In March of 2022, an interview of Sato with a Japanese magazine named Quit was unearthed. In the interview, Sato discusses Compu Movie and his early work. The scans were made by the user beanstalk, and shared by FELON. A transcription of this interview was also made by Chia.

In April of 2024, Sato posted a tweet with the first known image of Compu Movie's cover in full color, claiming to have found it in storage. A copy of Compu Movie was sold in a lucky bag at Sato's April 13 live event in Tokyo. It was purchased by community member Nnnn and the purchase was funded by mav6771. Digitization is complete, and all ripped content were uploaded to YouTube by adam2.

Image attached to Sato's 2024 tweet.

Pre-Upload Clips

Before it was uploaded to YouTube, several clips from Compu Movie were released by Osamu Sato himself. These clips include:

External Links

Art
Graphic Art	Alphabetical Orgasm • Alphabetical Animals • Anonymous Animals • Face to Face • Gradation of Happiness
Books	Corporate Identity and Works • The Art of Computer Designing • Lovely Sweet Dream • Rhythm 'n' Face Supplementary Reader
Videos	Compu Movie • The Esoteric Retina
Other	Homosexual • Aura 20/07/01 • Maru Sankaku Shikaku • Symmetric • Magazines