Kazusa

Since the song is rich and full of information, I decided to take the opposite approach with the visuals and keep them simple, while still aiming for a sense of expansiveness. The images are monochrome and simple as well, but I produced the piece with a bold structure, using cuts with dramatic handheld camera shake and, in contrast, static shots.

We developed the video around the themes of “freedom,” “deadlines” (breaking away from stereotypes that exist as assumptions), and “summer.” The song itself carries the concept that we don’t need to be influenced by things bound by deadlines as norms, such as summer or youth, so we built the structure in line with that idea. We didn’t want to create a structure that condemns something as an antithesis, so the message is that each person’s free will (or right to choose), which resides within them, does not necessarily have to be bound by social norms. That said, through discussions with the artist, we were basically in agreement that we wanted to make something catchy and humorous, so rather than presenting the concept like a placard, we treated it as something seated within the work itself, while shaping the structure so that it would work well with the song’s sense of exhilaration and tempo. As for the production method, every shot was filmed against a green screen and composited in CG. As mentioned above, we wanted the composition and cuts to feel unique in keeping with the concept, so we combined a noisy retro texture with cinematic shots. We also used bold camera work, including 360-degree cameras.