Why I Made a Documentary on Japan's Deadliest Volcanoes

The volcano documentary is OUT at last!
A massive thank you guys for making this project possible, as an entirely Patreon funded project (like the recent Earthquake documentary & every Journey Across Japan).

We've now got documentaries on just about every disaster Japan has ever faced; Nuclear, earthquakes, tsunamis and now volcanoes.

As I've said before, over the years I've found more serious topics and documentary form content doesn't seem to do well on Youtube. The original Fukushima documentary tanked at release and only through relentlessly promoting it, has it seemed to creep up in viewership over the years.

With each passing year as attention spans shorten, folks want more fast-paced, rapid fire content, no doubt inspired by TikToks, Shorts and Reels.

If we didn't have Patreon, going off for two weeks to shoot this documentary would have been hard to justify given the time, resources and cost that went into research, travel, filming and editing (my god, the editing). Credit where it's due, one of our two wonderful editors, Marcus, did an incredible job with this one. I only have my paw prints on the first 3 minutes, he did the following 25 minutes.

The same can be said for every single Journey Across Japan, which I was delighted to shoot almost entirely ad-free from 2018 to 2024.

I was inspired to shoot this episode after learning the tragic story of Katie and Maurice Krafft, pioneering filmmakers and volcanologists, who captured the most remarkable footage up close of active volcanoes, under perilous circumstances. Ultimately, it was the third volcano in this episode - the absolute monster that is Mount Unzen - that would be their last shoot.

Anyway, for now, less talky more watching.

What Happens if Japan's DEADLIEST Volcano Erupts? | $20 Billion Disaster
🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/Utta2C-ODR0?si=8gw6DgmdhitK-XPQ

And while we don't have a blooper reel for this episode (surprisingly), we do have one little treat here, for after you've watched the documentary...😅

The Worst Opening Ever to a Serious Documentary
🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/gW0OVPB0qt8

For now guys, enjoy this episode and know that thanks to you, a few hundred thousand people around the world will know a lot more about Japan's volcanoes than they did on Tuesday!

Best,

Chris