Nikon

Thank you all for the kind words regarding the Nikon CM! Am pleased with the great work by the Weiden and Kennedy team and producer Timothy Saccenti.

Today we look at the behind-the-scenes of the shoot but before we do, thought we'd take a look at an interview with Timothy below.

Arrived at the warehouse at about 08:00. The place had been converted into a studio. Looks like staff got there much earlier to set up the equipment.

Was a but cold in the studio which they warmed up with these huge gas burners. They made a roaring noise when turned on and had to be switched off during shooting.

Some malarky going on before getting changed.

The dolly tracks used at the beginning of the shoot.

All windows were covered up to prevent light getting in.

Taking a few shots around the studio with Aoi-chan.

The operations room where we discuss the shoot and photos to be used as backdrops. There are actually three image videos in the series - the first one is with Klein and Dytham who are not only architects but also run Pecha Kucha Night and own Super Deluxe where the last Tokyo CGM Night was held. You can see their bit below.

Then its off to the changing room to get kitted up - but first things first - set up Aoi-chan.

Love this Firefox T-shirt.

Some snacks to munch on while having makeup done.

I was asked to bring along some of my wardrobe for the director to choose. Was initially asked if I had light colored clothing ^^;

That and that.

After changing its time to be made up.

Any make-up otaku here?

All spots and blemishes are gone twenty mins later and whats left of the hair is made up.

Back in the main studio to see whats going on. Was difficult choosing photos for the background as I had to pick out stuff whereby you cant really see recognizable faces, or logos or brand names. I really wanted to feature figures but would usually mean getting permission from the figure maker and then the license holder and then the original artist blah blah.

Luckily the boss at Good Smile is chummy with Crypton and told me that he will sort out getting permission for usage of Hatsune Miku.

Camera set up on dolly track and nearly time to start.

A few words with the director before starting.

Shooting starts. This is the intro to my slot. The camera moves in with lights down and as the camera comes closer the lights come on. This is done quite a few times.

After the first slot is done, the dolly tracks are moved and bits n pieces are re-arranged.

A huge heavy looking lens change.

Lighting is adjusted too.

The second slot is where I sit down and have somebody ask me questions. Here I'm being kitted out with a pin mic.
Completely unrehearsed because they wanted me to sound natural which is why some of my answers sounded cheesy ^^;

The man who was asking me stuff was Shunsuke Iwai who works at Wieden and Kennedy - check out his making-of at his burogu. He is an airplane otaku and can tell you which plane (type and configuration) landed at any given time @.@

The lovely Junko-san from VA Entertainment fixes the balding hair ^^;

A few laughs before we start. The photo here is available in the Uchimizu photo article. Tokyo Hunter was with me on the day at the Uchimizu and took a couple of those shots.

Just noticed Miku's pantsu ^^;

The photo in the background here is in the Tokyo City View photo article.

Some fine tuning for the camera angle.

And Action!

Wifey has a look at the proceedings at the back of the studio.

Here I choose which photos I want to talk about. The key message in the commercial is about finding special moments hence the tag line "Find your next moment."

For the third slot I'm running around behind the screens with a very nice Nikon camera which I wanted to take home with me ^^;
This photo is a fave of mine and you can see it and other similar ones in the Toyosu Photo Walk photo article.

Difficult to get good shots of the next slot. This device had a mirror at the bottom and top.
The inside was filled with water. You can just about make out the projector to the left of the photo - the image is projected onto the bottom mirror, through the water, hits the top mirror and then is projected on the screen at the other end giving a Minority Report type look n feel that you saw in the clip below. Does anybody know what this device is called? Me forgot to ask.

And this is what it looked like - the actual CM will give you a better idea of the end effect.

The projectors they used for the screens were huge!

And the final slot is where I'm standing up talking about my photo memories.

Was asked to look serious ^^;

And thats a wrap for Danny!

Kawaii zo!

And its time for lunch while watching Japan VS Korea Vs Aoi-chan.

A lot of time n effort n resources go into making commercials. "Otsukaresama!" is the greeting used for folks who are hard at work.

Chicken katsu bento for lunch.

Then its downstairs on the first floor of the warehouse for photos.

And a few snaps from the video. Starts off with a pan zoom.

When I take a photo, I usually think about how the viewer sees it and try to ensure there is something in the photo where one can identify the location.

Here is that Minority Report type visuals cut. Ended up with only a few seconds but shot it for quite a while.

A few bumps here n there but all zits have been removed from my ugly mug ^^;

And they weighed this much.

And were really soft n bouncy.

And if you push them they would rebound and hit you in the face.

Name that Nikon camera and lens.

Zettai Ryoiki is...

She only talks to me when people are not around. You must beleive me.

Nikon - Find your next moment.

I would be playing with my oppai all day long if I turned into a woman.

The CM is up at nikonnext.com and short versions may be viewable in your region on TV soon. The official site also has a few other photos of the making like this one.

Another shot of Timothy and myself going over what he needs.

Been looking for a new pair of glasses for a while. Been wearing this pair for a few years now. How often do you change your specs?

nikonnext.com also has the Japanese and I think they got Chinese versions too.

The translation turned out to be a bit different but interesting - "A moment of a day in the life of a figure." (kind of).

And the next CM I'm going to appear in is the...