Entertaining Wedding Proposals

There has been a large influx of so-called "greatest" / "best" / "most-amazing" wedding proposal videos floating around the Internets as of late. And not surprisingly, most have been total cheese-fests (proposal videos don't really make for great films as you already have an idea about what's going to happen before you load the video).

However, there is one video that was recently released which I must admit is quite impressive among all aspects. The video quickly draws you in, is full of interesting content, and is filmed, edited, and narrated extremely well.

It's quite a piece of work for what it was intended to accomplish. Was it merely a proposal video or was it done purely for the sake of entertainment? Check it out for yourself below:

LUCK - NYC Wedding Proposal from Aria Melody DJ on Vimeo.

Miku coming to America!

On a similar note to the previous post, it was announced last Thursday that Hatsune Miku will be performing a concert in Los Angeles (Miku-Fes) as a special guest for Anime Expo (AX) 2011 in 7 weeks time. This news is very exciting although I have a small amount of apprehension. This is because the last concert that Miku performed on March 9th, 2011 (Miku-pa) was a big let-down to all her fans as the concert was effectively 30 minutes long and instead of the transparent projection screen used in Miku's first concert last year, she was played on a fairly small-sized flat screen display. Fans were outraged for being led to believe that 2011's concert would "out-do" last years'.

Regardless of this quality aspect, I think fans in America are very excited and happy that Sega and Crypton Media are bringing Miku to the states for a first-ever vocaloid concert in America--I know I am.

^_^. Though I'm a little saddened by this: No cameras or recording devices allowed. (No photography or video recording.)

Edit: Did some research and evidently a group (5pb. Inc.) other than SEGA put on the last (bad) Miku concert and that SEGA will be putting on the upcoming concert in LA so high-quality entertainment should be had!

What... American Hatsune Miku

Today I found out about the new marketing campaign for the Toyota Corolla which revolves around the theme: Big Dreams. That's fine and dandy, except the big dreams they're referring to involve Hatsune Miku, the virtual diva program by Crypton Media/SEGA. This bothers me quite a bit because what I didn't mention is that this is a new marketing campaign in the United States of all places--there's even a TV ad. This bothers me because practically nobody (relatively speaking) in America even knows who / what Miku is and now that she's being introduced, she's becoming Americanized.



I don't really understand what Toyota is trying to accomplish with this campaign. My understanding is that Toyota realizes or has noticed the rising popularity of Miku-related videos on Youtube and is trying to ride on the coattails of Miku's virulent potential--hence the comment, "With big dreams in a compact package, both the Corolla and Miku are driving straight to the top." Perhaps it was also in Crypton Media's interest to break out into the American market as they have expressed interest in creating an English-speaking vocaloid.

Whatever the case, the way everything is being presented doesn't sit well with me--but that's irrelevant because I probably will never buy a Toyota in my life if they continue to maintain their "boring, lifeless, disconnected econobox" business model.

American-style Miku doesn't really match her image also, but I won't go into discussing the "Americanization" of popular non-American media this time. The real Miku is below:

Sakuracon 2011: Final Release

Here it is, the last vid. Each of the 3 vids has a pretty distinctly different feel I think, aside from the fact that the music is different in each one. Editing completed, time to relax. Enjoy:

Sakuracon 2011: Second Release

Video number two is done and ready to go, check it:

Sakuracon 2011: First Release

Took a little while but my first Sakuracon 2011 cosplay compilation / montage video is finally out! This video was pretty fun to make, hopefully it's as much fun to watch as well! Check it:

Sakuracon 2011

Just got back from Sakuracon 2011 in Seattle, WA--the northwest's biggest Japanese culture / anime convention evidently. It was a pretty crazy experience, I found out I'm not as much of an otaku as I thought I was. The people there were insane with their anime / cosplay character knowledge, definitely way out of my league. The convention was a weird experience also as I spent the entire time shooting video. I don't even know what the insides of the exhibition hall / gaming area look like. I probably should have actually dedicated some time to relaxing and hanging out instead of making it feel like I was working the event. Saw lots of crazy stuff, took tons of video--around 20gbs of 720p video.

Feeling pretty tired and sore after lugging around the ~15lb camera setup all weekend... but, now it's time to sift through the clips, start editing, and get out the first release. Should be a fun time.

JSA Matsuri 2011

Yesterday I went and checked out the Spring matsuri (festival) that was hosted by the Japanese Student Association (JSA) at UW. I attended their last matsuri two years ago and it was pretty fun--lot of little game things, samplings of Japanese food, and some Japanese (or rather Asian in general) performances. I arrived towards the end of this year's event but still managed to shoot some video to hopefully capture a small segment of the festival's feel.

It seemed to be a good time with people dressing up in colorful outfits (Yukata, etc.) and having their pictures taken, learning origami, calligraphy, and playing a variety of small festival games which can be seen in my video below. This year there was a big effort toward fund-raising relief money for Japan, it seems to be going fairly well.

Meanwhile, Seattle's weather is getting pretty tiresome, It was pretty cold out there--this month may as well be in the middle of winter / December in terms of how rainy and cold it's been. It might get better next month...

Spring is here

Finally had a day where the sun was visible for a least most of the time--only to disappear again tomorrow for a few weeks. With some decent light out I snapped a few shots of the cherry blossom trees (Sakura) on campus which are in full bloom right now. The trees essentially serve no other purpose than to look good for a few weeks, provide a nice atmosphere, and that's it.



The cherry blossom image is held very dearly by the Japanese as it represents / symbolizes many things such as life, beauty, death, etc. The short, yet vibrant life of the blossom encompasses some aspects of human mortality. Historical use of the imagery dates back nearly 1800 years. Representations can be seen in samurai and yakuza culture as well.

There are many Sakura trees that can be found in America with a concentration in Washington, California, and Washington, D.C. The majority found their way to America as gifts from Japan although there have been many private imports as well. However, the trees have a lifespan which is nearing its end for the ones I capture in Seattle.

The man that can do anything--Genki Sudo (須藤元気)

Genki Sudo recently posted his group's latest music video entitled "Machine Civilization" in which he closes with his well-known phrase, "We are all one," likely an effort to provide support following the recent disaster(s) in Japan.



His groups' excellent choreography and dancing skill is featured in this video once again. It's never a dull moment with Genki Sudo.

The guy is also a quite successful ex-MMA/UFC fighter, writer, musician, actor, and dancer and is currently working on his master's degree. It seems like there's nothing he can't do / be successful with.

If you haven't seen the group's most famous video (there are several versions filmed in various cities world-wide), check out the following (filmed in NYC):