A Month in Tokyo - March 2008

i prefer the pictures as the resolution is better.

I prefer the picture format myself - im quite impatient, and youtube can be an ass at skipping to sections that havent buffered yet. Plus, i dont always bother to have sound on my PC - i like quiet.

Nice coverage though - it makes me wanna go back again real bad!

yup pictures speak louder than words

so does that mean videos are louder than pictures?

but I still prefer pictures, they look nicer and higher in quality, not everyone has super fast internet Dan!

*PS its not like i hate your perverted voice in the GSC vid tours lol

another nice installment of the daily life of our beloved tokyo stormtrooper. ^^;

vidoes are great. we can get to see and hear at the same time.

btw, isn't it dangerous to film and drive at the same time? O_O isn't it better to just put the video cam on the dashboard?

Another amazing video. I enjoyed it very much! ^^ Anxiously awaiting the next one~ XD

I think both pictures and videos are good. Pictures, for one, because they're nice, clear and high in resolution. But videos are also fun as you get the feel of your everyday adventures in Tokyo. Plus, I think videos are more exciting and stuff. So seeing both images and videos on your blog would be nice. ^^;

kinda weird hearing a british accent from an asian, heh.

whats your weapon of choice for recording the video snippets? the quality is quite good.

first off, nice new series - good idea of wrapping the whole month and make it into new series, just as exciting as waiting for claymore manga.

and oh about pictures and video.

pictures pros:
- fast
- crispy clear image
- can use as wallpaper (figure pictures that is)

video pros:
- gives continuity of story
- got sound

conclusion: lets keep a balance between pictures and videos... maybe at a 60:40 ratio??

and btw, i really want that mayu-chan poster...

Woot, another nice new installment to the video section ^^ I think adding videos is great, since it really helps the atmosphere ^^

I vote for both pictures and videos XD

Oh, and if my guess is correct, I think Hector was the one that drive the car :p

Great videos, btw!! d( ^ _ ^ )b

I think the video's are great, especially now youtube allow higher ress, keep them up.

Very British accent also :)

AWSOME AS ALWAYS DANNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is so far the best videos i seen LOL XD KEEP ON THE SUPER EXCELLENT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome video as usual from you Danny.

I love to see all the different places, and your a bit of your house. Look's overall awesome.

Kudos to you for doing this.

(b・∀・)b

videos: office tours, figures, trooper dancing.
keep it up because they prove to be exceptionally entertaining.

I seen a good luck arrow near your gundam shelf
so have you try gave it to any fox at oden shop? xD Nice vid a bit boring at near end but nice any way

Wow Danny, your fame is really getting up there. How do you feel being an internet superstar?

Nice vid again Danny. Always most enviable to see your figure-loaded office; I didn't know you had a Pachira, though ^^

More vids are always cool (like the office tours), but I wouldn't do them if photo's can show just as much, because its much faster to look over say 20 pics than watching 10 mins of video everytime, if you know what I mean.

I prefer a balanced post of videos and pictures. Both have good and bad points, but I enjoy both pictures and videos. ^^

I think the thing with video is that they take more time to digest the message, although they may be more detailed and more in everything else ^^

But maybe because they are more then that's why they take more time.

@ wcloudx, yes maybe u are right. the footage seems to be shot from the left so ya someone else might be driving the car. if not i can't imagine how one is able to film and drive at the same time. O_O

Videos are cool. Just wish my work didn't block youtube. :*(

Danny-san,

I am a bit concerned that I am in the minority here (yes the poll says "more videos, please", but the comments seem to prefer pictures and also think the video was awesome), but as a multimedia major I thought the video was a bit raw and suffered for it. Don't get me wrong, I watched the whole thing, peering at REAL Tokyo, not just "Japan's Television channel's glorified Tokyo", and enjoyed it. I just see so much potential in videos that you could achieve with better camera (something I know you're planning to get) and better editing of the uploaded project.

I guess I just hope one of the position you stated about a week or two ago, the new staff position or internship, will be a media person for camera/video and photo. Leaving you to do what is your strength, Danny-san, which is being the director and voice (text and sound) of dannychoo.com.

Great video, Danny, the higher res version made it very nice.

First some questions:
If the trains in Tokyo finished after 12:30am and the taxi are 3 times the normal costs, what are the other options of getting back home / hotel? Are there still buses? How did you get home that night from Roppongi?

Feedback in regards to the video, hope you don't mind:
1) while it's nice to hear the sounds of Tokyo, there were moments there that were kinda boring like the second automobile sequence. Could have used some nice BGM in those kind of scenes in the future. Maybe share more of your musical taste with us, Danny! ;)
2) There were always yummy and delicious food pics when you did the This Week In Tokyo posts, so I hope future Monthly Video posts will have some of the yummy foods that you eats (and no, that's not a request for before and after shots either).

tatnoshii so!

Ah well I guess the nice thing about photos is they are still better quality than videos :3 Videos is fun in the sense we get to hear you and the surrounding people etc ^^!

Do more videos! I love your accent LOL!

I usually read your articles at work without work.So since now, I had prefered pictures than movies. But today I've just watched your video with a headset and iy's just incredible how much I felt inside Tokyo.
So please, more video!! I will buy an other handset for work.
Cheers.

Extreamly interesting for me since I've never been to japan and would like to go.
Especially the train stations, reminds me of amusement park rides.

I see dark saber!!!...Nice vid...are you driving with a camera on your hand....seem dangerous..

To me, picture is better than video. =]

I second trighap's comments, I think danny-san's photography skill is much more refined than hia videomaking at this moment and that's one of the things that makes me still prefer the photos. By "skills" I mean everything that would make a great photo/video and not how you hold the videocamera (which I think is actually good already). All in all I think the videos have huge potential and definitely needs to be developed =)

Oh and one thing that makes me like the photos here is the funny comments that you keeps making xD This at least right now seems to be absent from the videos.

Danny,
すごい！ Loved the video. Makes me miss Japan even more. You should do the “A Month in Tokyo” as a video from now on.

I had to vote for videos. I get a much better feel for the environment. It is more immersing to see the video over the snap shot second that a picture captures.

I love the photos too :) So do not just stop hehe but more in the video format please!

Thank you Danny!

Danny, while you were walking into that restaurant and about to go upstairs I thought I heard Massive Attack; "Teardrop" Playing on the speakers inside. This may not be exciting to you (or anyone else), but its one of my favorite bands. If you have never listened to them, let me know what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG8eQBSp9Ao

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZsHNkAJBDU&feature=related

Had some bad connections last nite so couldn't watch it till this morning, guess that's one bad thing bout video.

But still a great one. The train ride n sounds brought back some Tokyo memories. Didn't know cab rides were 3x past midnite.

Sweet video. Not much else to say there.

@Dragun, I listen to Massive Attack. Admittedly, I didn't know about them until 'teardrop' was used as the 'House MD' theme. Discovered their music searching for that song.

well in my opinnion i'd say i prefer videos more than pix cuz videos are more detailed than pix but on the other side pix really have a good quality than videos

@FatBastard: Its cool, a lot of people know them from House M.D. (my favorite show b!tches!) They have been in a lot of movies recently, Tha Matrixz for example. Everytime my gf calls it plays "Angel" on my cell phone. Now Im kind of curious what people listen to when they are checking out the DChoo. I have everything from Massive Attack to Johnny Cash, to Audioslave, Vast and so on...
FatB, heres a good one for you if you havent heard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm-kn-XG01k

A balance between pictures and videos would be nice. Pictures for that picture-perfect moments, and videos for documentation. Good mix ^^.

Videos are more detailed(we can hear the sounds all that) while pictures have better quality of view and time-saving to browse =X

So have both of them together!~ ^^

There is just something about seeing everything in motion that makes it seem more lifelike. Tokyo looks like such a pretty city in that video, I really want to move there now.

well this is rude, your accent just kinda unmatched in my ear, i'm kinda lost with it, some i understand, some not, gomen.
any interest to make a subtitled video^^?

i want the arrow at 4:12 for room decoration >_<
btw, at 4:40 why the train stopped? the recent accident/suicide?
can't wait for 2008-03-27 >_<!!!!!! do hector play MHP2ndG?

and as always nice live video from japan
the girl at 1:10^^ is she smiled and leave or just leave^^?

Danny, I _really_ like the video clips (best to be watched during a short break in the afternoon with a good cup of tea ^^), especially as they capture some impressions of the everyday life in Japan in general and cool places like Akihabra, your workplace et cetera in particular.

Regarding the resolution of the video above compared to the photos shown below: While the "hires" version may be as good as it gets using YouTube--did you think about using BitTorrent or other P2P protocols in order to provide clips with an even higher bit rate from time to time (without killing your bandwidth)? In my opinion, clips like "A Month in Tokyo" would make a good test balloon...

I think that the videos are a great addition. And I think like how you're doing it now is pretty good.
Though if you made weekly videos thatd be pretty nice.
And someone else brought up other means of distribution. What about using something like megaupload, and uploading the high quality version, and let them host it so it doesn't take up youre bandwidth?

sooo nice!!!!
its like a summary of the whole month...
should make "a month in tokyo" a regular item alongside "a week in tokyo"...

Well you know me, I like and enjoy the photos. Yes, please do give us some video too. It is very enjoyable and has a nice "being along for the trip" feel to it. Often you think of things to add while taping that you will forget when writing.

Only one small point to make about the video. Sometimes those quick back and forth pans are a little unsettling. @.@ I'm not good at panning scenes myself...

Thanks Danny, I really enjoyed the video!

I enjoy both videos and photos. Photos have great quality but then again videos have more detail. Apples and orange really, and I like both! XD

I like the video idea a lot but I think pictures still fit the "A week/month in...." series better. A combination of both would be awesome.

great video danny ^___^

i will look forward to more of your future a week and a month in tokyo series ^^

The Good Smile offices are aptly named because whoever goes in there turns good and starts to smile.

The train station is surprisingly silent. Off-peak, perhaps?

Akihabara is the ONLY place in the world where they would advertise a "for 16+" anime with a gigantic poster :3

That GM model... isn't on sale anywhere anymore, is it? T_T

The video is easier for me. I know a picture speaks a thousand words, but nothing beats a real commentary.

i find videos interesting depending on the content really. For these kind of posts I think videos are great. So I think you'll just have to mix and match which type of posts are videos ok or pics are ok. :D Figure reviews are better with pics than videos for example. ^^

Nice stuff and pics!
Keep 'em coming Danny!

The only complain I have is... me not having enough time to look through the pics more carefully. :P

danny, you are the best xDD.

i want more videos!

srry danny...but ur video made me motion sickness....*mua*

More Tokyo Live Videos will be nice!

really cool ^^