TOKYODV Video Log

One of the shows at Baan Boran in Koh Samui, Thailand. The Baan Boran serves fancy Thai dishes while you watch traditional Thai dances.

This particular routine is called Khon (Thai Classical Masked Play):

“This scene has been picked from the episode of Nang Loi (The Floating Lady); the demon-king Ravana needs to end the battle (Yuddha Kanda). He demands Nang Benjakaya transform into Princess Sita’s dead corpse floating before the royal pavilion of Prince Rama.

But Hanuman is curious and beseeches to test the corpse with fire. Nang Benjakaya cannot stand the heat and attempts to flee, but Hanuman captures her to present before Rama.

This scene is reputed for courting, apprehending, poetry, music, and dance; the entertainment of entrapment between the two characters.”.
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One of the many dance routines at the Baan Boran in Koh Samui, Thailand. An evening of fancy Thai cuisine with traditional Thai dances.

This is clip from the Sri Chai Singha Dance:

“An archaic dance created and modified from the imagination of the Bayon Apsara Dance on Khmer murals; the Cambodian Ancient Era. The women’s style and steps with the music display the grace and elegance of the heavenly damsels (apsaras).”
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Related – baanboran-thaicuisine.com

A good friend had seats three rows from the Dohyo. A great view looking up at the wrestlers. Aside from my aching knees, it was a perfect day. Here’s a video nugget from the event.
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Some sights and sounds at one of the many Samba Festivals in Japan. Why Samba in Japan? Actually, it’s probably a case of cultural backflow from Japanese emigrants; there are more than 1.4 million Japanese descendants living in Brazil..

Feathers, beads, and booties.. Dancing? I guess you could call it that..
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I’ve had my issues with YouTube in the past, but they’ve definitely bumped-up their quality of encoding recently. Not quite Vimeo, but pretty damn good.

I started re-encoding some of TokyDV’s ‘classics’ in 16×9, high definition (well, online HD). But with original 4×3 aspect ratio content, I’m always left with two ‘black bars’ on both sides of the video. This annoys me. I’ve squeezed 4×3 clips into 16×9 before, but it stretches and distorts the content.

To omit of the black bars, I shifted the video content to one side and used the remaining area for something I call an ‘add panel’, or ‘advidisement’. But this space doesn’t only have to be for adds (although, that’s probably what it’ll become); see what I’ve done with the World Trade Center Tribute, or collaboration videos with Tokyo Reporter. There are a number of uses. Although, depending on what’s in the space, it could be just annoying.

TokyoDV Tube! – Check out channel TokyoDV on Vimeo and DailyMotion!

On my way to another shoot in Yoyogi Park, I stumbled upon the Digiko Girls ‘performing’ outside Hachiko exit in Shibuya.

The sun glistened off their shiny black boots as they squeeked out their latest tune..

No one seemed to mind they couldn’t sing since they provided colorful energy on an otherwise monotonous day.
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Two cosplay Japanese girls fight on stage at an ‘erotic’ show in Shibuya. This event was a ‘tame’ show that evening; The nightmares finally stopped a few months ago..

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Music by Jay Berlinsky:
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