Documentary Update-- Holy shit burst girl!

Hello all.

I was going to do the V-Log thing but no time to set up the camera. Just wanted to throw out some updates...

First, the camera is working really well. I'm actually really happy with the concert footage stuff I'm getting. The interview stuff I'm going to need to work on a bit, as my Sigma Lens is good for low light concert stuff... wondering if it's good for the interviews because I can't get super close with the focus, unless I literally have the camera up in the faces of the girls I"m interviewing and other people I'm doing stuff with. So...  not sure? I have a Canon 50MM lens that is supposed to be super good for interview doc stuff but it's just so much less than the God Lens (Sigma 18-35 art-what I use for everything). I dunno. I haven't really tested it out yet, so we'll see.

Second, regarding the footage I have so far... I was able to snag some Lilii Kaona live footage. Just some quick B-Roll footage because when I went to their show, my whole setup decided to be fucking stupid as shit and I couldn't get anything working. I mean... nothing. It was horrible... and by the time I did get shit going in the right direction, their set was just about over. And yeah... can we say amateur hour? That wasn't my best work for sure.

I did get, on the other hand, AMAZING FOOTAGE, of Burst Girl's last live show with Rei before she graduates. It was at the Shelter in Shimokitazawa, which, if any of you have been there, you know how small and intimate that punk rock venue is. I was onstage with them for their first song, getting really close up with them and capturing some great footage of Miyako slapping somebody and Rei's gigantic T.O. Yakuza looking dude getting in her face while crowd surfing. But the real fun came when I went into the crowd to film their main song (WE ARE BURST GIRL! WE ARE BURST GIRL! You know what I'm talking about). I got lifted by fans and was literally centimeters away from all the girls with my camera, staying in focus amazingly (for the most part), and at one point RIN slammed her mic's end into my lens (Thank God for the lens hood... there's a lesson for all of you camera folk... even if you aren't shooting in the sunlight, KEEP THE LENS HOOD ON! It saved my lens from getting cracked). Also, Yurapico took a gigantic swig of water and sprayed it right into the camera, and I was following them around while all of the girls crowd surfed, and I was surfing with my camera... I mean, I think I captured the insanity of their shows. It was pure chaos, and the best part was that it was super nostalgic and reminiscient of the old Guso Shows, since a lot of those people there were from the old Guso Drop days and knew me pretty well, so nobody had any problem with me filming them or helping me get lifted a bunch for some great shots. Everybody was really excited to have me there... so that was awesome.

Quick side note: I was able to get Nanomoral's merchandise to put up on Idol Underworld too, as they were at the Burst Girl Show. And Miku gave me some delicious Japanese candy to eat. Thanks Miku!

Third, I got an incredible two hour interview with Burst Girl after the show... tears were shed, the explanation about what really happened with Guso Drop was given, and I got them to really talk about the future, including Rei discussing what she is going to be doing next. I think y'all are going to love it. 

And last- The next two weeks are insane, in terms of scheduling... I have Nanomoral interview, Kiss Hug interview with Moe and Oshima San, Burst Girl's final live show with Rei, Necroma interviews, Hanako san live concert footage filming, more Lilii, and interviews with several people who work in the industry. I am going to be going nuts by the end of all this, I'm fairly confident lol.

I'm still not getting much response from anyone else yet, but that's okay. I have a lot of options. I'm focusing on getting these stories wrapped first, and then I'm going to be hitting up the next round, which are a little more difficult (Going for Tanaka San/Migma Shelter and Watanabe San with Pour Lui), plus still trying to get Yanamyu to actually return my emails, and Oyaholo... I was going to have them in the documentary, but right now, getting in touch with them is impossible, and they aren't playing much in the next few months. So... we'll see what happens.

To be honest, I'm getting what I want already with the documentary using what I have now. I have a lot of access to the groups I've mentioned, and I think I'll be able to express my desire in this documentary of showing identity as it relates to idols. This isn't a historical slice of the current idol industry. I mean, some of it relates to that, but really, this is about the day to day grind, if anything, of what it means to be here and work as an idol or in the idol industry. And as I said... mostly about why these girls do what they do. Also-- I haven't even begun focusing on B-Roll Footage either... I will have TONS of that to film, but that's all easy stuff. 

The stuff that's hard for me, is, of course, things like renting rooms and paying my translator. Each one of these interviews, to give you a rough estimate, when I account for all expenses... is around $250 per interview. So... in about a month, I'm out of money for this and will have to start asking people for loans or borrow money or whatever. I've spent most of the money I have on making sure I got all the correct camera equipment. I'm thinking about applying for grant loans for film makers, but... those things might be really hard for me to do and get the money anytime this year... those things take so much time, you know? I still might go that route when filming is done, because then I'll need to hire a video editor to go through what will be probably about a six hundred hours of footage to narrow it down to about two hours, maybe three hours (I don't care if you don't like long documentaries... I LOVE THEM. And who wouldn't want to watch idols for three hours in 4K resolution?). 

So yeah, just giving you a quick update. It's been so much fun. To be on the stage with Burst Girl... I mean, if any of you know my history with that group back in the Guso Drop days... they are the reason I'm here. And for them to open up their lives to me and their stage... which is such a sacred, protected space for idols... I am forever in their debt. And there's SO MUCH more to come, especially with them, as I have full permission to film every component of Rei's final show... which is going to be hard not to cry at the same time while doing it... Rei is an icon, and if I hadn't seen that blog with the video of her swinging that baseball bat with barbed wire (which she had broken some otaku's teeth with and had to retire it afterwards)... I wouldn't be here. Seriously... it's all because of that video of Guso Drop with Rei that I am doing this... so, things have come full circle. Now, I can put out a video of them and hopefully it will bring some other dreamer, Japan-loving artist type to check out the wonderful and beautiful, hidden world of idols in Tokyo. 

Much love to all of you. Please throw me stacks of cash so I don't go broke! Lol... just kidding. Keep doing what you're doing, and I'll keep doing the same. I really can't wait to share all of this with you.

Oh, and here's a quick screenshot from some of the footage, just so you can get a sense of what I'm doing. Please don't share with anyone. But... enjoy.