Nogizaka46 'Anastasia' MV Location Pilgrimage Part 2
Introduction
I hinted at this in Part 1, but I have finally finished editing the 360-degree video, so I have released it on YouTube.
If you are using a smartphone, please watch it via the YouTube app.
It is a video that proceeds calmly without any special effects, but you can use your mouse or other controls to rotate the viewpoint, so I hope you enjoy the atmosphere of the location.
The 360-degree video has image quality equivalent to 5K, so please set the quality as high as possible when watching. I have kept the ambient sounds like the waves and birds chirping as they were, even though they are quiet, so I recommend using earphones or headphones.
The locations and routes are the same, so please also refer to my previous note Nogizaka46 'Anastasia' MV Location Pilgrimage Part 1.
How to operate the video
I have intentionally created the video to guide your gaze, but you can ignore that and change the viewpoint if you like. However, doing so while there is movement might make you feel 'motion sick,' so in that case, please pause the playback and look around.
You can change the viewpoint by moving your mouse within the screen, or by tapping and dragging if you are on a smartphone. You can also zoom in and out by using the mouse wheel or pinching. You can even see footage that looks like it was shot with a fisheye lens.
If you spin around too much, you might get lost, but I have included my own icon logo in the bottom right, so if you keep that in the bottom right, you can generally keep it in the correct orientation.
There are not many services that allow you to share 360-degree VR videos, but YouTube is actually the most convenient, including the data capacity it can handle, so I decided to release it here.
Shooting information
Please see the previous note Nogizaka46 'Anastasia' MV Location Pilgrimage Part 1 for information on the shooting locations and dates.
I shot the video in almost the same places as the photos, but I omitted the spots for Hori-chan and Kii-chan (where the members take a break on the beach and come to meet them) because I couldn't identify the exact location, and the spot where Zaki-san is reading a book was difficult to use in terms of video length.
About the MV location
Since I have been talking only about technical matters, let me talk about the location from the perspective of a video.
Because I shot the video from early morning around dawn to the morning, there was almost no one around, and the shooting was done in complete silence.
The weather was also very good, and you can hear the sound of the waves, birds chirping, and the sound of stepping on dead leaves, which I would definitely like you to check out on-site as well.
I think the best time to visit is now, in April or May, or in the autumn. Summer is hot, and there seem to be many mosquitoes and centipedes.
The air is overwhelmingly clearer and cleaner in winter, which is probably when the 'Anastasia' location shoot took place, but places like the Meiji Centennial Memorial Observation Tower are built on an exposed cape, so I think it would be quite cold.
When I went to shoot, it was cold in the morning (4°C), so I was wearing quite a few layers, but as the sun rose, it got warmer, so I took off my jacket by the time I went around to the Zaku Head and returned to the parking lot.
At the grassland north of Shinmaiko Beach, which is a location other than Futtsu Cape, I didn't encounter anyone at all. This was also a place where you could only hear the sound of the waves and birds chirping.
Neither location is easily accessible, and especially at the grassland north of Shinmaiko Beach, there is no parking lot nearby, so you have to walk quite a bit, but please prepare for hydration and be careful when you go.
BGM
I used Kail Piano's 'Anastasia (Piano Cover)' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWOFZz6LUEE&t=0s. Thank you very much.
I remember that they uploaded an ear-copy video at an early stage when 'Anastasia' was released. At that time, I was digging through a lot of ear-copy videos, and it brings back the feeling I had when I found this one.
Also, since my video is quite laid-back, I slowed down the pitch just a little bit.
Equipment and software used (for reference)
I used a device called Insta360 X2 for shooting.
I basically bought it because I wanted to use it at the 'Anastasia' MV location. (It took me a long time to actually go there, though.)
I think it's in the same family of models as the one used for bullet-time shooting when Mizuki Yamashita was filming her own 'Jibun Janai Kanji' MV on Nogizaka46 Hour TV (though I haven't confirmed this).
The current latest version is the Insta360 X3, which seems to have better low-light performance, so maybe the opening scene before sunrise could have been captured more beautifully.
Also, when shooting with this, you attach it to the end of a kind of selfie stick and walk around, but it is quite 'conspicuous', so you should choose your shooting time carefully. It's a pain to edit later.
Compared to a DRONE, you can't choose the angle freely, and it inevitably looks curved, but since there are many places where drone photography is prohibited these days (the observation tower is also off-limits), it is convenient for easily taking drone-like videos.
In this video, I also used a long selfie stick when I was at the top of the Meiji Centennial Memorial Observation Tower at sunrise. It was windy, and I had to endure it, and the stick was bending quite a bit.
It's interesting to use it in places where you can take shots while walking. I didn't make a video of what I shot with it this time. It is even more conspicuous, by the way.
Conclusion
This is an ambient video that you can just leave playing. Nothing happens.
Today is April 29th, which is right in the middle of Golden Week, but yesterday Ayane Suzuki's blog was closed, and I really felt that she had finally graduated.
Therefore, I hope you will watch this blankly when you feel a longing for Ayane Suzuki, the 2nd generation of Nogizaka46, and 'Anastasia'.
I would be happy if this makes you feel like going to the location, or if you use it as a reference video before you go.
I sometimes think about whether I should go to shoot at some MV location, and sometimes I don't. If it's in a town or inside a building facility, there are permissions and restrictions, and it's also difficult to deal with privacy if many people are filmed.
On the other hand, it has to be a place that you can immediately recognize as 'That's the place!' when you see it on video.
Above all, it has to be an MV that makes me think 'I want to go on a pilgrimage!'.
I'm imagining it might be something like "Kimi wa Boku to Awanai Hou ga Yokatta no Kana" or "Sabita Compass." I'd love to see another music video like that.
"Ato no Matsuri" is interesting, but it's right in the middle of a big city, and the travel distance is quite short.
In that sense, perhaps Anastasia was perfect for this kind of filming.