Modern Day Japan on a 2000’s Camcorder

I brought this 2000's JVC camcorder on our trip to Japan last year. I filmed a lot with it, but I never knew what to do with the footage. After assembling all of the video into a timeline and listening to some music, I ended up making this experimental short film. It’s amazing how this camera seems to subtract 20 years from whatever is recorded and throws everything back to the early 2000’s. I hope you enjoy this short film as much as I did putting it together. Stick around or skip ahead to the end to hear my thoughts about the camera along the Brooklyn waterfront.

0:00 Intro
0:48 Fever Dream
1:57 Future is Now
2:48 Sensory Overload
4:39 Night Owl
8:19 About the Camera

Camcorder: JVC Everio GZ-MG130U
Video Camera/Lens: Sony A1 with Sony 24-70 GM II
Video edited and color graded with DaVinci Resolve

All of this video’s music is from Musicbed.

Music:
Makeup and Vanity Set - Press Play
Tim Mann - Magic in the Air
Blush Room - Dust of Laughter
Live Footage - Computer is Free
John Hayes - Slowed
Smith Beats - Cinnamon
GXNXSIS - Solaris (with Tabi)

#handycam #japan #tokyo #camcorder #digicam #youtubenewwave #analog #retro #nostalgia #2000s
Musicbed Sync ID: MB017QCIO9EKZLV

[illkoncept]

I apologize for the re-upload if you’re seeing this video for the second time! I wasn’t happy with the upload quality/resolution yesterday. I spent all night and morning playing with different timeline & export settings — all I can say is that YouTube compression can be very difficult to work with! Especially when it involves multiple resolutions, grain, among other things. I’m still not 100% satisfied, but I need to move on from this project. Big thank you to everyone who is returning to watch a second time. I also appreciate those who gave me feedback, constructive criticism, and solutions to my resolution problem yesterday during the initial post.

[billypilgrim]

There's something extremely comforting about 2000s camcorder footage that the denuding 4k cameras can't get. It's kinda ironic that 480p offers a more realistic personal experience than crystal clear modern footage.

[acuanette]

Love the nostalgic vibe in these visuals! Thank you for sharing!

[ScytheArashi]

I stumbled across this video yesterday right before it taken down. Glad to see it reuploaded, i lived in JP for 3 years and recently visited earlier this year. This video gives me strong feelings of comfort.

This convinced me to buy a JVC camcorder as well ✨️

[CocoTayo]

Incredible work mate, You've captured how I've always pictured Japan in my mind since I was young. I will definitely look into purchasing a 2000's camcorder to do something similar and try to capture my imagination. Thank you for the incredibke video

[icarusdjr]

Great video man! It's funny you mention how you hated the shake when zooming in, but I actually love the shake. I guess it just feels natural since that's how all the footage was back then. Yes, I'm dating myself too.

[ManoMano-kgol]

Wow that’s crazy I literally just picked up this camera off of eBay, dope video

[NITEFLYTE_]

love the concept.
im japanese and live in tokyo but personally japan looks at finest in the 80's and 90's. nostalgic vibes. i actually tried to make a video like this but couldnt convert the format correctly. so it was cool that you did it.
btw, your first japan video was🔥 can imagine how long that took to edit.

[Chickenbootie]

This is so beautiful I also like your 16mm

[timshearer]

looks great! I feel like being a great shooter and storyteller with a deliberate limitation in tool and look can amplify or magnify the large spirit and savoir-faire of the maker. there's a hamlet quote about being bound in a nutshell and still being a king of infinite space

[TheKarthik]

Love this format! Always a pleasure listening to you explain your thought process behind your videos. :)

[cristobal]

Loved this.

I relate, feels weird referring to 2007 tech as vintage, but alas, here we are 🥲

[edwllcxn]

Can't imagine bringing that many cameras on a trip 😂 incredible work man 🔥

[joseguimaraes]

Amazing! I feel as if I am in my thirties again! Thank's for this great video! Heve a nice weekend!

[rickychu]

Great work. And let's summarize what is the "2000's feeling" video quality / effects:

1. CDAF focusing technology already exists;
2. Maybe 480p to 576p resolution;
3. Since of CDAF, there's no focus-shift issue like the DSLRs;
4. Dynamic range is limited;
5. Highlight area has compression losses, but it doesn't "clipping" too much;
5. ISO noise is not visible, far better than expected, i.e. the video looks so “clean";
6. The "vertical lines" effect at highlighted objects (e.g. lamps), because of the CCD sensors;
7. This camcorder is good, the video seems recorded in Progressive format (e.g. 480p / 576p). There's no Interlaced horizontal scanlines at all.

[adamdueck]

omg this is amazing... you could sell this on dvds or vhss and id buy it 😍😍😍😍

[ChampagneSocialist]

I love it. Great video and cool style. I’m playing around with early 2000s cameras too, mostly the Sony F900R. It’s a beast but delivering super distinct images unlike modern cinema cameras. Next, I’m planning to grab a Panasonic DVX100 and see what it can do 😅 The modern day post-production revives these beautiful old favourites. Good times.

[kyelight]

Great vibes as always! I particularly liked the stuttering moments where you linked the video to the audio - were these in the original audio or did you customise the audio to fit in with the footage?

[CentumWalk]

Awesome ❤❤❤👍👍👍
Thanks for sharing, my friend 😊

[infrontofstrangers]

beautiful man! I need a to buy a camcorder (not that I already ordered one after watching this the first time yesterday)