I’ve Started Shooting Video

Recently, I’ve started shooting more video.

At AEDI, video projects have traditionally focused on motion graphics and animation created using tools such as After Effects. It’s not that we’ve never used footage shot by ourselves, but it hasn’t been something we’ve actively pursued.

Interestingly, the first video I ever made was something like a music video, edited in Premiere using footage I’d shot myself. That was back in 2001. I believe it was one of the assignments at the school I was attending in Australia at the time.

There are several reasons why I’ve decided to start shooting video again.

One is to gain practical experience as part of my preparation for making films. Another is that I came across a video on YouTube that really impressed me. And finally, I bought a new camera.

I can’t remember the title of the YouTube video or who made it. The video itself might not appeal to everyone, but you could really feel the creator’s eye and sensibility in the images. I remember being so impressed that I even left a comment praising the work.

My new camera is the Sony α7 V. I spent quite a while deciding between Sony and Panasonic’s LUMIX cameras. One of the things that really appealed to me about LUMIX was its strong image stabilisation. In the end, though, I decided on the α7 V because I already own Sony cameras and lenses.

Another reason, perhaps a more personal one, is that I want to escape my desk work for a while and get outside to work.

The video above is a project called Muishizen (無為自然), a Japanese expression associated with the idea of living in harmony with nature, without forcing things.

I shot the footage on Sunday, October 18, 2026, in Takahashi and Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, including the area around Ikura Cave.

I didn’t have any particular locations in mind when I set out. I simply stopped the car and started filming whenever I came across a place I liked, whether it was somewhere I needed to visit or a spot that caught my eye while driving. I then brought the footage together into a single video.

The clips are relatively long, and the video consists of simple, uninterrupted views of the landscape. In a way, this might go against some of the conventional principles of filmmaking.

In fact, this is also part of my process of gathering footage for AEDI’s brand film. For this video, I’ve kept the clips largely as they were shot and simply put them together.

The video below, Uno Port, is another piece of footage collected for the same project. Filmed on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, it shows a ferry returning to port at Uno Port in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture. It’s a simple, static shot, filmed from a fixed position.

Some people might find these videos boring. In fact, I’d guess most people probably would.

But I like them. I like just sitting back and watching a landscape, letting my mind wander.

You don’t need to concentrate particularly hard to watch these videos. There’s nothing to figure out, no story to follow. You can simply watch the landscape as it is.

I think there’s room for videos like that, too.

Come to think of it, back in 2013, I also attended a filmmaking workshop at UPLINK, which was located in Shibuya, Tokyo, at the time. I remember buying my first camera, a Sony NEX-6 with a kit lens, for making films.

I was already working on motion graphics alongside my work in web design and graphic design, but looking back now, I realise that my desire to make films has never really changed.