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2011年03月 アーカイブ

2011年03月10日

また来ました/Back in Japan

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やはりいつかはそうなると思っていました。毎週ブログを更新する予定だったけど、二週間も更新しませんでした。すみませんでした。実は更新しなかったのは、数日前まで日本で仕事をしていたからです。まあ、確かにインターネットが使えたから、しようと思ったら向こうでも更新ができたけど、毎日の撮影と翌日の準備とそれなりに大変な時差ボケで仕事以外の事をする余裕があまりありませんでした。

でも、久しぶりに日本で仕事ができたのは良かったです。もう三年以上も日本で仕事していなかったけど、やはり六年間の映画、テレビ、そうしてテレビゲームの経験がある御陰でそれなりに信頼されている気がします。ロスではそうとは言えませんね。こちらの方はまだまだ新人に近い存在で、毎日頑張らなければなりません。それはそれでいい事なんだけど、かなり疲れます。

残念ながら今回日本に行って撮って来た作品名がまだ言えませんが、その内発表します。上手くいけば、今後もこういうような日本で撮る仕事が続きます。そうなったら皆さんにも伝えます。

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So it was bound to happen, but I must apologize for missing a couple of weeks on my blog updates. The reason for this was that I up until a few days ago I was working in Japan. Alright, yes, I did have an internet connection and could have updated from there, but I'm afraid that between a full shooting schedule, preparations for upcoming shoots, and a healthy dose of jet lag I didn't really have the energy to deal with much else.

All complaining aside, it really was great to be back in Japan working again. It had been over three years since I had worked on a project over there. One thing that I can definitely say is that it feels really nice to work in a place where you have a substantial body of work to speak for you. With six years worth of movie, television, and video game experience, most people that I work with in Japan have a pretty clear idea of what I have done and what I can do. That really isn't the case here in LA. Here I am still very much trying to break into the industry, and while it is good to not just sit back and become complacent, it can definitely be very tiring to have to prove oneself all over again.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you what I was working on while I was in Japan, but stay tuned and eventually I will be sure to let everyone know once it is released. I am also hoping that this trip might lead to similar work in the future, as I have always wanted to work in both America and Japan. I will be sure to keep everyone updated on those developments as well.

2011年03月26日

私の古里/My hometown...

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東日本大震災発生から二週間がたちました。気持ち的に大変な期間で今までブログで何か書こうと思ってもなかなかできませんでした。今回の写真は私が撮った物ではないけど、産まれた都市の陸前高田です。

二週間前の木曜日の夜に帰って来て、仙台の近くに地震があったと聞いたら、「いつもの事じゃない」と思いました。若い時に日本で地震があれば、必ず母が向こうの親戚に連絡を取ろうとしたけど、いつも「皆は大丈夫だから心配しないで」という返事がきました。ただ今回のテレビの映像を見たら、全然違いました。仙台の近くの津波が玩具のように車と建物を流しているフッテージを見て、何となく仙台に住んでいる叔父の家の周りに似ている場所だと気付いて、怖くなりました。

その後に破壊された都市の名前も聞き始めました。武蔵家の実家は宮城県境と岩手県境の近くにある福伏というとっても小さな村です。その北と南にある都市もそこまで大きくなくてあまり聞かないです。なので、ニュースで気仙沼が火の海で陸前高田がほぼ壊滅状態だと聞いて驚きました。

地震発生からの最初の数日は情報収集でテレビとパソコンから全然離れませんでした。関東に住んでいる叔母に連絡して、仙台に住んでいる叔父の無事が確認できたけど、陸前高田の方が連絡が取れませんでした。そのあとの火曜日に近い親戚の全員が無事だとやっと確認できたけど、避難所が大変な状態で原発もどんどん悪化し続けていました。この時からは逆にニュースを見れなくなりました。日本がどれだけ大変な事になったか聞いても、自分が何も手伝える事がなくて、聞くのがいやになってしまいました。親戚と連絡を取り続けたけど、それ以外は日本の事を考えたくなかったです。

あれから一週間ぐらいがたったら、あまり何も感じなくなりました。ロスでの生活はいつも通りで、東京でも皆さんがいつものように仕事に戻りました。それから私がまた新聞を読むのを再開して、たまに福島原発の状態も確認しました。やはり日本にいる皆さんの事が心配だったけど、耐えられないほどではなかったです。

東日本大震災発生から二週間がたって、まだ直接に陸前高田にいる親戚とは連絡が取れませんでした。もし自分ができる事があったら、やりたいけど、今はただ待機しています。できれば、今年の夏ぐらいに向こうに行って何か手伝いたいけど、今できるのは遠くから見守る事しかありません。

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It has been about two weeks now since the 9.0 earthquake hit off the coast of Japan and triggered the tsunami which caused so much damage and loss of life. It has been a real emotional rollercoaster and it has taken me a while before I really felt comfortable talking about it. The picture attached to this post was not taken by me, but it is an aerial picture of the town that I was born in, Rikuzentakata.

When I came home that Thursday night and heard that there was an earthquake near Sendai, my initial reaction was, "Big deal, they happen all the time." When I was young I never really understood why my mother would call my relatives in Japan after each earthquake, because the response would always be that everyone was safe and there was no need to worry. Then I started seeing the footage of the tsunami coming in to Sendai and watched as buildings and moving cars were swept away like they were toys. I realized that the landscape that was shown was not so dissimilar from the area around my uncle's house in Sendai and suddenly the pictures on the screen looked much, much worse.

Then I started hearing the names of cities that were destroyed. My actual family home is in a tiny village called Fuppushi which is right on the boarder between Iwate and Miyagi prefectures. The cities to the north and south are far enough off the beaten path that you would rarely hear anyone mention them in conversation. But now Kesennuma to the south, where one of my distant aunt's lived, was a city engulfed in flames. And Rikuzentakata to the north, the city that is on my birth certificate, was "wiped off the face of the earth."

For the first several days, I spent every free moment in front of the television or computer trying to get more information. I was able to reach one of my aunts near Tokyo who informed me that my relatives in Sendai were safe, but there was no way to reach the folks in Rikuzentakata. By Tuesday all of my close relatives were safely accounted for, but things still looked pretty grim at the evacuation centers and the nuclear threat was getting worse all the time. This is when it started to be too much for me. For several days I couldn't stand to watch the news anymore. The details of the damage were bad and getting worse, while I couldn't do anything except listen and wait. I would still get updates from my family, but for the most part I just didn't want to think about what was happening in Japan anymore.

After about a week I think I just started to feel numb about the whole thing. Life here in LA was pretty much the way it had always been. Even things in Tokyo seemed to be back to business as usual. I started checking the front page news again and occasionally reading the details of the state of the nuclear reactors in Fukushima. I was still worried about everyone in Japan, but it wasn't so overwhelming anymore.

Again, it has been two weeks now, but I have still to get in direct contact with my relatives in Rikuzentakata. I stay in touch with my relatives elsewhere, in case anyone needs anything from me, but for now it is mostly a waiting game. My hopes are to find some time this summer to go and help with the rebuilding, once the infrastructure will allow for that. Otherwise, it's just a matter of hoping that things that are out of my control don't take a turn for the worse.

About 2011年03月

2011年03月にブログ「マークブログ(仮)/ Mark's Blog (beta...)」に投稿されたすべてのエントリーです。過去のものから新しいものへ順番に並んでいます。

前のアーカイブは2011年02月です。

他にも多くのエントリーがあります。メインページアーカイブページも見てください。

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