NFTs are crypto-assets representing a digital item such as an image, video or even land in virtual worlds, with prices of some rising so fast last year that speculators around the world sometimes "flipped" them within days for a profit.
Seika Huang, brand director of Pili International Multimedia, looks at the models of various "Pili" puppet characters on display at their headquarters in Yunlin, Taiwan, Feb. 18, 2022.
Pili International Multimedia, which makes Taiwan's longest-running television show featuring the puppets at its studio in central Taiwan's Yunlin County, says it wants to use NFTs as another source of revenue.
A make-up artist works on building a puppet character at Pili International Multimedia's headquarters in Yunlin, Taiwan, Feb. 18, 2022.
"The sort of imagination everyone nowadays has for the online world is developing so fast that we are almost unable to grasp it," said Seika Huang, the brand director of "Pili."
Seika Huang, brand director of Pili International Multimedia, looks at designs of characters that are turned into NFT files at their headquarters in Yunlin, Taiwan, Feb. 18, 2022.
"Pili" has thousands of glove puppet characters, a traditional part of Taiwanese street entertainment culture spinning colorful and highly stylized stories of heroic courage and romance, often with martial arts.
Two "Pili" puppet characters battle each other while a staff member lights a fire as a special effect during a demonstration at their filming studio in Yunlin, Taiwan, Feb. 18, 2022.
The puppets are painstakingly created and expertly maneuvered during the filming of the shows, with costumes that are sewn on and strands of hair meticulously put in place.
Puppets are displayed at a film studio belonging to "Pili," a puppet show started in the '80s, in Yunlin, Taiwan, Feb. 18, 2022.
"Pili" said four of their puppet characters were made into digital versions and 30,000 sets have been sold as NFTs. The company declined to reveal the profit-sharing with the market platform but said prices for each set started at $40, translating to generated revenue of at least $1.2 million since their listing in early February.
A staff member of Pili International Multimedia prays at an altar at their filming studio in Yunlin, Taiwan, Feb. 18, 2022.
Marketing technology company VeVe, which is in charge of selling the NFTs, said the stories of the puppet heroes resonate with a younger crowd and could draw in foreign fans of superhero films, such as those based on characters from Marvel Comics.
A cameraman films a puppet-master in action during a filming session of the "Pili" puppet show, which started in the '80s, in Yunlin, Taiwan, Feb. 18, 2022.
"Westerners actually really like our martial arts heroes and kung fu," said VeVe's brand manager Raymond Chou. Huang, who said their initial listings had sold out seconds after launching on VeVe, is now working on transforming up to 50 other puppet characters into NFTs, potentially adding another million-dollar revenue stream for the studio.
Two "Pili" puppet characters battle each other, with real fire as a special effect, during a demonstration at their filming studio in Yunlin, Taiwan, Feb. 18, 2022.
