Uhnellys and Shibuya: Under the Gun

So what's new? Let's see...

We've been working hard lately. With only 1 week left of "principal photography" we're under the gun to get all those shots that we know we'll need once we're editing back in the USA. This means not only continuing with the interviews/live show filming, but also filming Tokyo streets, people, landmarks, phenomenon, and interviewing non-musicians and industry experts.

We have a few such interviews coming up in the next week with Japanese-music website founders, and music theorists, etc. These interviews tend to be in English, and thus, we are able to get much more detailed responses.

2 days ago we met a music video director. He has worked around Japan, but is finally trying to make a name for himself in Tokyo. We shot ideas back and forth, and he may be able to get us in contact with a few networks in Japan once we have a cut film ready to distribute.

The next afternoon, we met up with Jonny in Shibuya, and headed to Club Lush to do an interview with Uhnellys.

They are a hip-duo in which the female plays the drums, and the male does live loops using a bass/guitar and a trumpet, then raps on top of it.

He was really skilled at using the loop pedal and would build songs from the bottom up in a matter of seconds. Although I couldn't understand his lyrics (a frustrating problem) he recommended they be translated for the film because they have a lot to say...time will tell I guess.

After the show, Lewis and I hit the rainy streets to film Shibuya crossing. The downpour may have worked to our advantage because while the intersection is normally awe-inspiring in that thousands of people are crossing the street every time the walk signal flares green, it is even more amazing to see when every one of them is carrying an umbrella. We've really made it through the rainy season over the course of the past 6+ weeks, so we thought it was important to show that facet of Tokyo culture.

Today, with no scheduled shows/interviews, we headed back to Shbuya, and filmed the intersection without rain.

We shot it from many different angles, and in daylight and at night.

We shot the surrounding areas, the neon signs everywhere, close-ups of people, the works.

We saw some weird stuff on the way too.

Tomorrow will be much like today. We'll be heading to Yoyogi park, where on Sundays, all sorts of bands set up their instruments and play in the sun. There are bands set up every 15 feet, which makes for some interesting juxtapositions of genres.

Alright, time to make some progress in Shogun (1210 page epic novel about feudal Japan)

Ian

P.S. - This bee was checking out the camera...I think he wanted to be in the film