I have been working on a new music video for a band Robin's Egg Blue and, now the production is almost done, I want to talk about the previous video, "Big Flower", I did for them. The band is currently New York based, and I was living in New York at the time, so we did all the shooting in New York.
The Next Video "Boule De Neige" will be very different from this one. it's coming soon.
今週末は私の個人作品の写真撮影をしました。土曜日に、撮影場所決めと、モデルになってくれる人との衣装を決めたり下準備をしてたのですが、なんと雨がふりだし雪に変わった、、。12月1日、初雪かな ? in 北関東。きれいな濃いピンク色の山茶花がさいていてそこで撮影をすることに決めてたのですが、さらに夜は零度以下になって、日曜朝には水が凍って霜が降りてまして、晴れて良かったんですが、山茶花の花がすっかりぐったりしてました、、、。泣く泣く撮影をはじめましたが、なんとか花の色はフェードしながらも保たれていたので、良かったです。フィルムで撮ったので今現像待ち中で楽しみですがドキドキです。
I did a photo shooting for my personal work this weekend. I did some prep on Saturday, met with a model, decided a location and clothes and stuff. I find a pretty pink flower which is in a full bloom in this cold winter day. so I decided to shoot with the flower, however it started raining and later switched to snow. I guess this was a first snow in this town. well this is a first day of December, snow can fall, no doubt. next morning the water was frozen, the flower looked it was damaged by the cold last night..
anyway it still managed to keep the pink color so I thanked it for letting me do the shooting. I am waiting for films to be developed. excited....
これは私の初めて作ったビデオ作品で、NYで学生だった2009年制作です。"Private Beach"というタイトルは、私有の砂浜のことではなくて、自分の心の中にある自分だけの場所という意味でつけました。私は内向的なところがあるので、皆で共有する、社会的な世界や価値観だけでなく、皆の話の話題にはならないけど自分にとっては価値のある事を世界にみつけたり、空想をめぐらしたり自分だけの世界をもつことが大事で、それに助けられたりしあわせを感じたりします。でも誰でもそういう自分だけの大事な世界を持っているのではないかなと思うし、私は映像を作る事によって自分のその世界の一部をちょっとだけ皆と共有してみたいという思いもあってこの映像をつくりました。映像には、夏休みで日本に帰っている時に、小さいときからずっとよく滞在している、大好きな自然の多い場所で撮影したシーンが沢山でてきます。それから、雨。私は雨の音もにおいも感触も好きで、雨が世界と自分の間に入って守ってくれているような気がして安心します。
This is the very first video piece I made in 2009 while I was a student at an art school.
The title is not about the private property I own but a private place in my mind.
As I am introverted, it is important for me to find something valuable in the world from my own point of view, as well as something that is socially important or common. Also it's important for me to keep my imaginary world, and it helps me go through the daily life and feel happy.
I think everyone has their own world that they keep to themselves, and I wanted to share mine a little bit by creating this video.
For this video, while I was back in Japan for the summer break, I filmed many footage from my favorite place with beautiful nature, where I often stay since I was a baby. And, Rain. I love the sound and smell and the touch of rain and I feel as if rain is like a shelter from the world and protecting me.
I just finished shooting a music video at a studio in Tokyo for the Japanese band Robin's Egg Blue, who are live touring Japan. They are currently based in NY so this is like their homecoming tour. This video is more of like a collaboration of my video and their music, and I am doing all art-direction and storyboarding and everything on this video. So I am very happy to be able to fully express my artistic view with this song. this song is really good so I am also very pleased to work with them. I have started editing. Looking forward to showing this to the world soon.
I bought a camera! it's an used-pentax middle format. I know these days cameras are almost all digital but I still definitely LOVE films for photography. I've been using 35mm Nikon camera for more than 10 years but I think I want to welcome this as my new regular camera. Yay. As a matter of fact it's been a long time since I started Photography and at the time I started, Film was still very major and I am so used to using them. I want to talk more about my Photography history later in this blog. so keep checking. And I'm so looking forward to taking pictures and share my feelings with this camera, hopefully long long time☆
今日は撮影にきてます。東京から車で2.5時間くらいの、私の大好きな秘密の撮影エリアにきています!!今日はロケハンで、明日、ムービーを撮影する予定。これは相当昔にこのブログで今制作中だとお知らせした、"let go and sleep" というビデオ作品のための追加の映像です。このビデオは、自分にとってかなりパーソナルで心にひっかかる内容なので、制作にすごく時間がかかってしまっています。。
5月のツツジが咲き誇る浮世離れしたきれいな場所みつけました。明日が楽しみ。
I am on location scouting today for my ongoing video project.
I came all over to this my favorite,special area, which is about 2.5hr from Tokyo.
this is an additional footage shooting for the project "let go and sleep", which I mentioned in this blog long time ago. this project is very personal and important for me so it's really taking time for me to complete.
Anyway I found a place with ethereal beauty today.
I'm so looking forward for the shooting tomorrow.
I've been planning to have another website to show my alternative,experimental/commercial-side work that have a little different taste than my main work. I actually started working on this new website but I am sure it's gonna take a while to bring it to a state that I can expose it to the world. so this is just an information to let people know there are more to come from me!!
here are some scenes from the music video I've been working on for the New York based jazz bassist The archi-tet. the production is almost done. I'm hopin' I can show it very soon.
shot in Brooklyn and Japan.
right now I am editing a music video I shot. Yes. it's jazz. this video is for the New York-based Japanese bass player The Archi-Tet. looking forward to showing it soon.
Recently I have re-organized my old works and added to my website as a series called "rainland".
these are mostly photographed while I went to school in Seattle from 1999~2001. some are taken after I got back to japan and around 2001~2002. they are mostly shot with B&W film with my lovely Nikon, or with the Canon I brought from Japan before I lost it..
I am still looking through huge rolls of my photos from the past so I might add some more to this project later..
I just finished 3years of staying in New York and got back in my home,Japan.
I will be based in Tokyo at least for a while. I am very excited about the new life here as I have a lot that I brought within me from my experiences in New York. Sure my way of seeing life and life in Japan would be different from three years ago. these years, I have been very interested in the culture and history of my own country, old and new, and looking forward to be inspired,discover and understand more.
I met The Suzan back in 2009, my second year as an international student at an Art school in NY. I was temporarily staying at the dorm type hotel in Brooklyn, until I find my new apartment. Then RIE and SAORI came in and we talked. they told me they are in a band and they got here to sign with a label in NY. I told them I was a photographer and we did a photo shooting. since then I hang out with them and they are so fun .
I directed a music video. I worked with Robin's egg blue, a Japanese band based in New York.
It's a fun and challenging experience collaborating with other artists. now the video is on post production,
It will be posted in August!! I think this one will come out earlier than my personal video project,"let go and sleep", which I mentioned in my last post on this blog.
It's so hot everyday in New York but right now it's a thunderstorm.
rain is my favorite weather as well as beautiful sunny day!
ミュージックビデオの演出をしました。ニューヨークで活動中のRobin's egg blueというバンドの曲です。今、編集作業中です。他のアーティストとコラボレーションするのは、色々楽しくもあり、いろんな意味で今までの自分だけのやり方から出て行く挑戦でもありますね。8月中に完成予定です。前のポストで"let go and sleep"という作品を編集中といいましたが、このミュージックビデオの方が先に仕上がりそうです。