Bye Bye Yoko

View on ExposureRoom

A farewell video...need I say more. The poor video quality in the middle is because I was using the GoPro HD in very low light.

The Maestro

This is a favorite film of mine. They do an incredible job of incorporating time-lapse in their video. I just love this and had to share.

Tomoyuki // Rena

Shot on the Canon 1Dm4 with the Canon 100mm f2.8L and Canon 70-200mm f4L. This was a difficult shoot. I was the minister at their wedding and had to setup cameras as well. I brought my HV20 and GoPro for some B-Roll but didn't have time to set everything up. During the wedding I had a guest 'point' the camera down the aisle. Unfortunately, with the lighting and lack of time, the footage was not as high-quality as I would have liked it to be. Of course, I wasn't sure what the quality would be until I actually got home and put on the footage on my computer.

I joined the party and with beer in one hand and a shaky hand on my the Canon 1Dm4, I shot little bits and pieces. This was all done for fun of course. It was only AFTER the wedding that I thought 'Well, I could've put THIS camera THERE and THAT camera HERE'

Some Great Talent

It's always nice to work with talented people, it makes my job a whole lot easier. On this day, knowing that I would have very little time to set anything up (We were working), I brought my 1DM4, Rode Stereo/Video mic and Zoom H4n. I knew Kawasaki kun would be there that day and as far as tenors go, he's one of the most talented I've had the pleasure of working with. I'm constantly asking him to do the 'higher' version of Nessun Dorma. Usually, in order to keep his voice clear and 'safe' for work, he doesn't perform it that high, but he did on this day. The violinist, another amazing talent, was kind enough to play a variety of musical scores, my favorite one being the theme song to Totoro. A great animation and must see, if you haven't already. Once we got some of the 'main' stuff down, the two did a bit of Mario Brothers for me.

I wasn't able to get everything on the Zoom, and I was going hand-held on everything. Exposure was hard to get right because it's basically a small chapel on the 23rd floor with window walls. It can go from blindingly sunny to dark (Literally takes a couple of clouds to make a world of difference).

Here are the videos I've edited so far and will add the rest as they are processed.

Tonari no Tottoro // となりのトトロ from Jason McDonald on Vimeo.

Nessun Dorma // Kawasaki Kun from Jason McDonald on Vimeo.

Vanity and the New Year

I decided to be vain and do a self-portrait to send out as a response to the wonderful New Years cards I got from family, friends and students. Nothing says Happy New Year like vanity!

Harmonie Embrassee Wedding Hotel - Christmas dinner

My wife and I enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner (On December 23rd mind you) at this nice hotel. While I wasn't able to eat everything that was put in front of me, it was a pleasant experience. It went a little something like this: champagne to start, appetizers that ranged from raw fish and small portions of duck, to some rather delicious pate of sorts. Next, the soup. I have to admit, my tongue couldn't really tell the difference between this soup (Which was suppose to be 'expensive') and soup that I make at home from water and soup mix. Then we had a half a quail, which is pretty tiny. It was stuffed with some sort of rice and bread. Then came the fish dish which was lobster. Very nice, although I'm not much for lobster (I really should've looked at the menu before ordering). After the lobster came some flavors ice, a kind of break between the main dishes. The next big dish (My favorite) was the beef and Foie Gras (Fatty duck liver). The portion size was small (I could've finished it off with a single bit) but instead I took the time to savor the taste. My wife, not being the biggest fan of Foie Gras, gave me her portion. The beef was so soft that it almost melted away when you put your knife to it.



And just when you thought it was all over, the cheese cart made it's way to our table. The waiter kindly asked us what our preferences were and cut us each our own plates of cheese. All of this of course was with a bottle of the cheapest wine on the list (About 4000 yen). I managed to sneak in a beer near the end.

The evening ended with the desert tray and choosing from an assortment of different deserts. A nice cup of tea with that and we were already wishing we could just lay in the hotel lobby for a couple of hours.

A nice dinner...here's hoping that next year turkey is on the menu!!

A Room with a View

Here is a picture taken from entrance on the 10th floor of my apartment. You can see all the little houses, mountains and a pond named Bentenike Pond. This photo is taken from the 10th floor of my apartment. A wonderful view of the Nigawa area in Takarazuka City. I also put my Canon HV20 outside one morning to capture the sunrise again. I find that I'm using my HV20 far less these days unless I'm going for some time-lapse and I don't want to worry about leaving more expensive gear in the open. The total recorded time was just over an hour and was compressed into 39 seconds. Some color correction was done in Adobe Premier Pro using Magic Bullet Looks.

Sunrise Time-Lapse from Jason McDonald on Vimeo.