Profile

Kei started working for MTV Japan in 1997, after winning an award in the MTV Station ID Contest the previous year. He also worked for P.I.C.S before becoming a freelancer.

During this period he was involved with the making of adverts and music clips, with his role ranging from visual direction to art direction, creating motion graphics and music scores. His high reputation comes from creating videos that make viewers feel the sound.He won the Asian Television Technical & Creative Award for Best Direction in 2003. He then joined KOO-KI in 2012.

“Tomorrow begins”, the PR video he directed to promote Tokyo as a host to 2020 Olympics, won K-ADC Members Prize for Movie, Digital Communication in 2013. In 2015, his work “Sporting Spirit”, one of the largest scale projection mapping works in Japan, was exhibited at TOKYO BIG SIGHT.Uehara seeks to keep breaking the boundaries in visual art, going beyond screens. In recent years, he has won several awards both in and outside Japan, including the Gold Medal at FUKUOKA AD ASSOCIATION PRIZE, LIA and Telly Awards for Web Movie with "KA・TA・O・RI・HA" a celebratory film made for Hakata-Ori textile's 777th anniversary. Directed the opening Movie for The Netflix Series "Sanctuary" (release date: May 4, 2023). It garnered attention alongside the popularity of the main drama.

Opening Movie

Sanctuary”

“Sanctuary”

Netflix Japan

Web ads

TOKYO2020 “Tomorrow begins”

TOKYO2020 “Tomorrow begins”

The Tokyo 2020 Bid Committee

PHV 「driving the piano」

PHV 「driving the piano」

TOYOTA

KA・TA・O・RI・HA

“KA・TA・O・RI・HA”

Hakata-ori Textile Industrial Association

The Greatest Showman

“The Greatest Showman”

20th Century Fox

Yakult

YAKULT 400 LT “INTESTINAL REVOLUTION 21”

Yakult

Everyone’s Paralympics “About Impossibility

Everyone’s Paralympics “About Impossibility”

NHK(Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

TV ads

Lowest price

“Lowest price”

Rakuten Mobile, Inc.

DRY ZERO

“DRY ZERO”

Asahi Breweries, Ltd.

Sakura Mochitto Donuts

“Sakura Mochitto Donuts”

Mister Donut

Forest of Home Appliances

“Forest of Home Appliances”

EDION Corporation

Q10 yogurt

“Q10 yogurt”

Kaneka

Music Video

Teacher Teacher

“Teacher Teacher”

AKB48

AWARDS

  • “KA TA O RI HA”/Celebratory film made forHakata-Ori textiles’ 777thanniversary

    • FUKUOKA AD ASSOCIATION PRIZE forWeb Movie/GOLD

    • TOP SHORTS (JUNE 2019)/Best Microfilm

    • TOP SHORTS ( JUNE 2019)/Best Commercial

    • SHORT to the Point (JUNE 2019 )/BEST MINI SHORT

    • rolling idears/WINNER

    • Moondance International Film Festival/SHORT FILM WINNERS

    • London International Awards (2019)/FINALIST

    • Telly Awards 2020/Craft:Directing Gold

    • Telly Awards 2020/General:Fashion&Lifestyle Gold

    • Telly Awards 2020/General:Branding Silver

  • “Tomorrow begins” / Tokyo's candidacy for the Olympic Games in 2020

    • K-ADC AWARD (2013)/Members Prize for Movie, DigitalCommunication

  • Short film “Japan. Tomorrow starts here.” /Japanese Cabinet Office

    • featured in Lürzer’ s Archive Vol. 6/2012

  • Music video “UN ROCKSTAR” /ORANGE RANGE

    • Edinburgh International Film Festival/Special Entry

  • Music video “Jiyu ni aruite aishite” /Asia Engineer

    • The Asian Television Technical & CreativeAwards(2003)/Best Art Direction

    • Edinburgh International Film Festival/Special Entry