Japan: a Video Essay by Benjamin Norton
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Press the play button to start watching Japan.The Scenes
Introduction
Introduction to the video set. Music is "Girls" by "Death in Vegas". Insight: this the only non-ambient piece, it begins with ambient voices, visual static and a shot of the Frommer's Japan travel guide, then slowly builds up to an intense collage that encapsulates the entire experience into just a few moments at high speed, fitting for the pace of Tokyo. The rest of the video is an explanation of the themes introduced during these intense flash-bys.
Imperial Palace
Around the Imperial Palace in Tokyo and around the Hibiya Park near downtown. The special tour is given by Sakiko Yamada, a native of Tokyo and an expert in shopping.
Music: “Fantino” by Sebastian Tellier.
Shibuya
In the noisy streets of Shibuya then driving across a bridge while looking at Odaiba.
Insight: at the very end the audio fade in with a deep engine sound is taken from a boat ride at a different time, crossing from Tokyo to Odaiba. That audio is used in some other tracks later as a special audio effect.
Music: “Shibuya” by Roger Joseph Manning Jr. & Brian Reitzell
Arcade
Walking through a bewildering arcade near the Ibis Hotel in Roppongi.
Insight: editing the audio took way too long, but I like the final result, Without music the audio is a key ingredient in keeping things moving and overwhelming the senses, so I used up to 3 simultaneous audio clips to keep it exciting.
Urban Tranquility
A special mix that combines the noise of an urban train station (Kyoto) with the tranquility of a TV show featuring a house that has a breathtaking view of nature.
Insight: this one and arcade were the last pieces that I edited. I was starting to get into the quick cuts and emphasis on the audio. This one has the most interesting editing because of the tension build up and the contrast between urbane and rural scenes.
Ueno Park and Akasuka
Around Ueno Park and the temples & market in the traditional area of Akasua. As you might guess this was taken around New Years 2004, the Year of the Monkey. Akasuka is the traditional area of Tokyo and home to many Ryokan traditional hotels.
Music: “Goodbye” by Kevin Sheilds
Shinkansen and Osaka
This piece covers the Shinkansen high speed bullet train then moves to the top of the Umeda Building in Osaka, and finally explores the area round the castle in Osaka.
Insight: this is the defining piece of the entire work. This is what it’s all about. Coming in at over 13 minutes long and I was concerned that it might be hard for people to have the patience to “get into it”. I figured that the position within the entire composition is important because a few tracks are needed warm you up for the ambient experience.
The Shinkansen train section at the beginning is really moving to me, I don’t even know why from an analytical point of view, but I love it. To me it captures an feeling of inescapable loneliness, disorientation, and an intense visual and acoustic drama of traveling at extremely high speeds while standing still.
Music: “2/1” by Brian Eno from “Music for Airports”
Kyoto
This sequence was shot around the Gion district (home of the geisha) and a series of temples near the "Golden Temple". The final set is from Toddai-Ji temple and I am proudest of the photography on this section. This location was also special to me because I had been reading Memoirs of A Geisha. I finished the book on the train and the story was running through my mind while I ran through Kyoto.
Music: “Alone in Kyoto” by “Air, Air Bomb”
Hiroshima
A moving and brief piece assembled from footage taken near the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which is located at ground zero under the nuclear explosion.
The museum is fantastic and sobering, but I did not take any footage inside there. Instead I focused on the eternal flame and one of the buildings that was left scarred from that day.
Music: “Tommib” by Squarepusher
Credits
(this is where you get to make the credits move by slowing scrolling down!)Japan: a Video Essay
is dedicated to connecting
people across cultures
Thank you to...
Clay Elliot - fellow traveller
Tomo Ikeda - Tokyo expert
Gage Copenhaver - ambient mentor
Miki Matsuno - Japanese culture
Paul Wade - music consultant
Wendy McNeill - endless encouragement
Produced by Benjamin Norton
"Japan" was recorded in January 2004 and editing was completed in August 2008.
The music is not used under license. In the order played...
Girls
Death in Vegas
Lost in Translation
Fantino
Sebastien Tellier
Lost in Translation
Shibuya
Roger Joseph Manning Jr &
Brian Reitzell
Lost in Translation
Goodbye
Kevin Shields
Lost in Translation
2/1
Brian Eno
Music for Airports
Alone in Kyoto
Air, Air Bomb
Lost in Translation
Ikebana
Kevin Shields
Lost in Translation
Thank you for watching and please
pass this on to a friend and visit www.BenzBigBadWeb.com for more BigBad video adventures!
-Benjamin Norton