Filming a Music Video in Tokyo with Eto

I first met Tokyo musician, Eto, back in 2019 while taking photos of his then band, (the) ocean and i. At the time, I knew him only as a drummer, but eventually came to discover that he is a talented singer and songwriter as well. We had discussed the idea of filming a music video early in 2020, but not long after, the Coronavirus pandemic kicked into full swing, cancelling any plans we had made.

Thankfully, we eventually found a window of time where infections were relatively low. With a little careful planning and plenty of health precautions, we managed to film this music video in a single afternoon.

Working with a small window of time and extremely limited resources, we settled on a simple concept: an uptight, overworked salaryman who finds an escape through karaoke. With no chance to meet and rehearse before the shoot and everything captured on the fly, it was textbook guerrilla filmmaking. In the end, I think it added a sense of realness to the story being portrayed in the video.

Overall, it was a great learning experience. We’ve made several music videos together since then, and there are many more to come. If you’re a band or artist in Tokyo that wants to promote their work with a video, get in touch with me to discuss the details of your project.