If you’ve been reading my travelogue you may be wondering why I decided to test the Canon C100 Mark II in Japan. Or maybe you’re wondering why this is my second trip to Japan and what brought me there in the first place. Well, my first visit was to meet with an artist named Salome MC . She’s known as Iran’s first female rapper, but Salome is much more than that. She’s a talented artist. And that’s what I set out to show the first time I visited Japan; to film a documentary about her life. Currently in the post-production phase, the documentary will show why she moved to Japan, talk a little about her past, and meet some of the wise people she’s come to know. One of those people is Shin-ichi Kato, whom I came to call Kato San.
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| Kato San showing photos to Salome MC | Looking at photos in Kato San’s home |
In 2011, when the earthquake hit Japan, Kato San was in his Sendai home very close to the ocean. It was his quick thinking that saved him and a few of his neighbors lives. They narrowly escaped the tsunami, but a lot of his neighbors were not so lucky. You can read a full article with his story here. Kato San is a man who works with his hands. And many years ago he built his home to withstand any earthquakes. After the the 2011 devastation in Japan, he was still surprised to find that his house had survived both the earthquake and tsunami. His neighbors didn’t have homes to come back to like Kato did. And many feared rebuilding so close to the ocean where another tsunami could cause more death and damage. Kato San did the unexpected – he fixed his home and moved back. Kato San tells Salome MC in the documentary, “Although most of my properties were swept by the tsunami, my feelings were not swept at all. I wanted to build this place again and make it my home. And because it is a home, people come here.”
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| Canon 7D / Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 lens | Photograph filmed on Canon C100 Mark 11 / Canon 70-200/2.8 |
People did come. He continually opened up his home to visitors, including people like Salome MC and me. And most departed his home feeling changed and inspired. Two and a half years after the tsunami wiped out a town, it was hard to imagine this place once had any other inhabitants. I couldn’t even fathom that at one point tall trees blocked the sky and the sun here. And here I was filming in a man’s home, whose optimism and perseverance was not only admirable, it was infectious. You can see why on a personal level I’d want to visit Japan again and reconnect with the deep and wise people I had filmed during my first trip. But on a professional level, I needed to go back to Japan to film again, this time using a professional camera with better lenses. For my first trip, I filmed on a Canon 7D and used a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 lens. It wasn’t bad, and I was able to film enough to complete a music video for Salome MC.
For the documentary, I felt I could have achieved better looking shots. So, in the fall of 2015, I took the optimism and perseverance that I learned from Kato San, and traveled back to Japan. This time I came with a Canon C100 Mark II, and two lenses: Canon 24-77/2.8L II USM Lens and a Canon 70-200/2.8 L IS II. My aim was not to film any other story elements, but instead to film some pick up shots for B-Roll purposes. The Canon 70-200 lens was perfect for this and I was able to create some obscure shots that I’ll be using for cutaways. I visited Kato San again and filmed some of his memorabilia and photographs. It was too dark when I arrived to film any exterior shots, but the town was changing. The government was rebuilding. Construction of a canal from the ocean to where Kato’s house was seemed nearly completed. As you can see from the comparison photos below, the C100 was able to get the obscure artistic cutaways I needed.
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| Canon C100 Mark 11 / Canon 70-200/2.8Canon | Canon 7d / Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 lens |
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| Canon C100 Mark 11 / Canon 70-200/2.8 | Canon 7d / Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 lens |
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| Canon C100 Mark 11 / Canon 70-200/2.8 | Canon 7d / Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 lens |
I’m very pleased with the decision to use this camera for my second trip to Japan. I only wish I had the opportunity to film the story with the C100 originally. While in Japan I did run into a few problems not related to the Canon C100 and these two lenses. My Macbook Pro crashed and with it, so did my Final Cut Pro 7. I’m now learning how to use Adobe Premiere and will have to continue editing the documentary using this software on a new laptop. Two years after meeting Salome MC and meeting Kato San, this project is probably one of the most fulfilling films I’ve ever worked on, even with all of the obstacles to get it completed. I remain optimistic that I’ll get closer to doing the story and the people who entrusted me with their story justice. Thanks to the C100 and the Canon 70-200 lens, the audience may never realize this was filmed in the span of two years time.
