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Breaking for NIKE.
Role: Editor.
Agency: W+K.
It’s official. Breakdancing is coming to the Olympics. Officially named “breaking” by the International Olympic Committee, the sport will be part of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
Ami and Shigekix, are among the best breakdancers in the world. This film is a celebration of their skills before we see them embark on their Road to Paris by competing at the 2022 Breaking World Championships in Seoul. This would be their first step in the selection process for Japan's national team.
This film showcases our dancers by thinking differently about dancing. We felt that merging existing footage of the dancers and processing it with AI generated images could provide the visual power and unpredictable beauty to the message that we wanted to deliver.
We linked with Harald Schaack at Grotesk to produce these mind-blowing AI generated images using Stable Diffusion.
What we can do right now for IKEA.
Role: Editor.
Agency: W+K.
We released this film in May of 2020 when COVID-19 cases were skyrocketing. We were forced to stay cooped up, and this was IKEA's positive message to the world saying that there's still a lot we can do to enjoy life, even while staying indoors.
This film features IKEA employees delivering that message from their own homes, shot on their own phones
Study Breaks w/ Yuto Horigome for NIKE.
Role: Producer.
Agency: W+K.
Japan's entrance exams are notoriously difficult. In the years leading up to college, kids may study an extra 7.5 hours on top of the school day, often attending "cram schools" (juku). Being glued to their desks studying doesn't just take a toll on their physical health but on their mental and emotional state as well. But multiple studies show that short bursts of physical activity can directly affect academic performance. Even 12 minutes of exercise can improve concentration and reading ability for an hour. 10 minutes can improve test scores by 5.5%.
That's why we created Nike Juku, a program aimed to help students refresh their brains through short, simple study breaks where they get their bodies moving.
This episode of Nike Juku focuses on meditation, starring none other than the superstar skateboarder Yuto Horigome. Shot on 16mm film in Los Angeles.
Live Young Again for Tinder.
Role: Producer.
Agency: W+K.
Although young adults in Japan have a strong desire to meet new people, pandemic restrictions prevented them from making connections and memories during their "seishun" years ("springtime of youth.")
We put a new spin on seishun in Japan. Seishun doesn’t end when school does. It’s a feeling that can be seized by meeting new people and experiencing new things.
The launch film tells the story of Haru, who escapes monotony and finds that love, friendship—and the occasional heartbreak—is just a swipe away on Tinder.
Moving Forward for HP Omen.
Role: Producer.
Agency: W+K.
Gaming on consoles is nice but it has limitations when we take our sessions online. The world of gaming is rapidly advancing, as are gamers’ needs for faster communication, smoother gameplay, more flexibility and more intuitive interactions. And this is exactly what OMEN PCs are designed to offer.
True to NYC director duo, BRTHR’s high-energy style, we created a full CG city populated with a variety of characters to illustrate a virtual world that's accessible only to PC gamers.
NIKE Juku w/ Atarashii Gakko!! for NIKE.
Role: Producer.
Agency: W+K.
Japan's entrance exams are notoriously difficult. In the years leading up to college, kids may study an extra 7.5 hours on top of the school day, often attending "cram schools" (juku). Being glued to their desks studying doesn't just take a toll on their physical health but on their mental and emotional state as well. But multiple studies show that short bursts of physical activity can directly affect academic performance. Even 12 minutes of exercise can improve concentration and reading ability for an hour. 10 minutes can improve test scores by 5.5%.
So we created Nike Juku, a program aiming to help students refresh their brains through short, simple study breaks where they get their bodies moving.
The Japanese power group ATARASHII GAKKO! embodied the vibe we were looking for. We collaborated with them on their single "Woo! Go!" and produced the music video with appearances from Yuto Horigome, Yuriyan, Riehata, and Yuzuho Shiokoshi.
Awards:
CICLOPE Asia 2022: DIRECTION - OVER 180 SECONDS: Winner
CICLOPE Festival 2022：Production: CHOREOGRAPHY: Silver
Berlin Commercial Awards 2022: CRAFT: CASTING: Winner
GSG for Leah Dou.
Role: Producer.
Agency: W+K.
To promote Leah Dou’s latest music release, we produced the music video for the title track “GSG,” by collaborating with with web comic artist and director James Gamsu Jenkins to create a psychedelic journey of self discovery.
We also created the album artwork, merch, social posts and two other music videos ("Orange" and "Cats") from the album, each with their own eclectic style.
E-Tron x Ko Shibasaki for Audi.
Role: Producer.
Agency: W+K.
The level of awareness in Japan regarding environmental issues and sustainability is still low compared to the west,
Knowing this, we produced a film introducing Audi’s first all-electric car “e-tron” to Japan by partnering with actress and artist Ko Shibasaki. This film puts the breathtakingly beautiful shots of nature on display to remind you how close we are to losing it.
We also collaborated with her on the composition the song, which is now available on streaming platforms like Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, etc.
The Past and Present of the Bosozoku for VICE.
Role: Director and editor.
Japanese motorcycle gangs have wreaked havoc since the 1970s. Known as Bosozuku, these gangs have a violent history, raging war against rival crews and cops. Gang members roamed the highways, sometimes hundreds at a time, with an array of brutal weaponry, customized bikes, and distinct crew jumpsuits. Being part of one of these motorcycle gangs was a frantic lifestyle, one that could easily lead to grievous bodily harm, and death.
Youth were recruited from their early teens to join the gangs under the mentorship of an elder. It was of utmost importance to protect the reputation of the gang, to never run from a fight, even when grossly outnumbered.
In recent years, with strict laws and police cracking down, Bosozoku have become nearly extinct. Yet for those who were a part of the subculture during its heyday, Bosozoku will always provide a fond memory of the recklessness of youth.
Rising from the Tokyo Projects for VICE.
Role: Director and editor.
We follow rappers Kohh and Mony Horse into the projects where they grew up, surrounded by drugs, violence, and death. After discovering a knack for making music, the two rappers, along with their manager 318 and their crew, make the best out of their situation by becoming the face of the new generation of Hip Hop.
This film helped launch the career of Kohh, hands down the most influential name in Japanese rap today.
The Grindmother Cometh for VICE.
Role: Director and editor.
What happened when a 67-year-old Canadian woman picked up a mic and started screaming? The very brutal (and very viral) Grindmother was born.
The anonymous Windsor, Ontario-based force who goes by "Grindmother" is 67, and stomped into the bloody world of extreme music when her son, Rain Forest, of Corrupt Leaders, casually invited his mother to add a scream to their song “Any Cost.)” That song -— and the resulting four minute, four-song EP with Corrupt Leaders -— went viral, so much that Grindmother even caught the bloodshot eye of the almighty Prince of Darkness. When Ozzy Osbourne heard "Any Cost," he restrained himself by politely tweeting: “What the fuck?”
Grindmother likes to rage about the death of the environment, human suffering, the mounting population, and whatever else pisses her off. The blistering songs on the now-trio's new album, Age of Destruction, are all under a minute, and come packed with Grindmother’s demonic vocal shredding, skull-wrecking blast beats, and relentless stabs of pulverized guitar noise.
VICE follows Grindmother around Tokyo for a day before their show in Shibuya.
adidas x Keiichi Tanaami for adidas.
Role: DP and Producer.
Keiichi Tanaami, born in 1936 in Tokyo, is one of the leading pop artists of postwar Japan, and has been active as a multi-genre artist since the 1960s as a graphic designer, illustrator, video artist and fine artist.
We tag along for a day to see the world from his perspective and to learn what inspires him.
This film was produced as branded content for adidas who collaborated with Keiichi Tanaami for the first time for the spring/summer season release of their “adicolor by Tanaami” collection.
The Food and People of the Homi Projects for VICE.
Role: Director and editor.
The Homi Projects are a massive housing complex consisting of 67 buildings located in Toyota City (where the car company got its name from) in Aichi Prefecture. Of the 7,000 residents who live there, approximately 3,000 of them are South American (mostly Brazilian and Peruvian), making it one of the most unique immigrant housing complexes in Japan.
We follow acclaimed photographer Keisuke Nagoshi, who lived in the housing complex for over three years, on a tour through his old neighborhood as he catches up with various residents and indulges in the food they prepare.
Made in Kawasaki for VICE.
Role: Director and editor.
Kawasaki is home to large petroleum complexes, steel mills, freight railroads and other factories making it the most polluted area in the country in terms of air quality. It's also home to a ten-person rap crew called Bad Hop. Basically the Wu-Tang of Japan.
This film launched the group into the stratosphere and to this day, they are one of the biggest names in Hip Hop.
Yakuza and the Japanese Right Wing for VICE.
Role: Co-producer and camera operator.
"Uyoku dantai" are Japanese nationalist right-wing groups of which there are over 1,000 in Japan with about 100,000 members in total. Well known for their black propaganda vans, they are often seen driving around staging protests with their loudspeakers outside the Chinese, Korean, and Russian embassies demanding ownership of the Senkaku and Kuril Islands to name a few. We caught up with Masaya Kudo, a Right-Wing activist and leader of his own group, "Nihon-no-Kai" as he explained his philosophies and concerns regarding the Right-Wing movement today and their ties to the Yakuza.
The 'Babe' Fan.
Role: Director and editor.
Babe, an orphaned pig, learns to herd sheep after Arthur Hoggett, a farmer, wins him in a contest at a country fair.
In Yokohama, Japan, there is a man obsessed with Babe. This is his story. In theaters soon.
Cooking from Vending Machines for VICE.
Role: Producer and host.
Ty Demura takes us on an inebriated excursion to some of Tokyo’s wackiest vending machines and uses their bounty to make banana milkshakes and a spicy nattō rice bowl. Japan is the vending capital of the world, with machines offering everything from raw eggs to fermented soybeans to Bulgarian yogurt. Don’t forget to bring enough yen!
The Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo Office for W+K.
Role: Director and editor.
A motley group of office workers go through hilarious misadventures at the Scranton, Pennsylvania... ahem, Tokyo, Japan branch of Wieden+Kennedy.
2019 Reel.
Directed, edited, DOP'ed and produced by yours truly for all films shown.
MV
DOCS
LOLZ
The VICE Guide to Parties: Tanakamenbutoukai for VICE.
Role: Director and editor.
Tanakamenbutoukai is a popular underground party thrown annually by the guys behind the Twitter account @T_R_E_A_M_. They change venues every year and the line up always feels fresh. Kumpei Kuwamamoto from VICE gets plastered and tries to talk to girls.
REELS
Reheatable Sandals for Beautiful People.
Role: Editor.
Agency: W+K.
We have solved the age-old winter problem of cold feet with the Reheatable Sandals.
2019 Client Reel
(same as above)
PICS
Overlooking Lake Suwa in Nagano.
A$AP Ferg in front of the Kawaramachi Projects in Kawasaki on 35mm film.
Keiichi Tanaami in his studio in Tokyo during our documentary shoot. 35mm film.
Unintentional art in Daitabashi on 120mm film.
Nana Komatsu in Shinjuku for i-D.
Kamiiso no Torii in Ibaraki.
The Sobu Line, Chuo Line, and the Marunouchi Line in Ochanomizu on 120mm film. This is an NFT.
Mt. Fuji shot from Numazu.
