TOKYODV Video Log

Skin, skirts, boots. Gawkers, hawkers, iPods, and telephoto lenses.. Gull-wing doors, independently-wheeled steering, and non-stick gas pedals (maybe)..

“The latest in Toyota’s family of ‘Fine’ fuel cell show cars, the Fine-X is a small, four-seat minivan concept with massive gullwing doors. It features a compact fuel-cell hybrid powertrain, which drives electric motors in each of the four wheels.

Besides the exotic propulsion system, the Fine-X is also unusual in that each wheel can steer independently, through as much as 90 degrees, for extraordinary maneuverability.

But the Fine-X’s biggest party trick is that it can rotate on its own axis a full 360 degrees…” from here.
Watch in stand-alone page with 720×430 video; W A T C H – B I G G E R !

Fuel-cell, yoke controller, swivel chairs, high boots, short shorts.. Toyota-roulette accelerator not included.. (hopefully)

“… The Fine-N’s overall package consist of a low-flat floor with the length of a Corolla, but with a cabin even more spacious than the luxurious sedan Lexus LS430. The vehicle employs four in-wheel motors in an innovative “cabin on wheels” configuration. Key to the fresh proportions of this ground-hugging, long-wheelbase-to-length design is Toyota’s fuel cell hybrid technology, which allows freedom from conventional power train layout constraints so that individually electric-powered wheels can be positioned nearly at the vehicle’s four corners. With a spacious interior cabin, a cockpit fit for your driving environment, interactive controls and gauges, and a large multi-information display, and a video camera, the Fine-N is truly designed with focus on driving requirements.

As a pioneer in making practical fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHV), Toyota now shows the way to an even more advanced fuel cell hybrid system… Electric power from the Toyota FC Stack and a lithium ion battery drives a motor to power the vehicle, delivering acceleration on a par with a gasoline engine vehicle.” from here.
Watch in stand-alone page with 720×430 video; W A T C H – B I G G E R !

Silly little commercial for the KOMADORI Bros. t-shirt..

Woman looks seductively into camera, wanting, needing something. Woman gets startled, grabs to protect her most cherished possession(s); the t-shirt.

Unfortunately, I only have one medium t-shirt left in stock. The quality is great and design original. If interested, order here.
Watch in stand-alone page with 720×430 video; W A T C H – B I G G E R !

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.”.
Watch in stand-alone page with 720×430 video; W A T C H – B I G G E R !

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).”
Watch in stand-alone page with 720×430 video; W A T C H – B I G G E R !

Related – baanboran-thaicuisine.com

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..
Watch in stand-alone page with 720×430 video; W A T C H – B I G G E R !

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!