A short vignette of Yoshi Masuda–a coffee enthusiast who is sharing his passion for coffee with victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.

Directed/Edited/Shot by Mackenzie Sheppard

A tribute to Ridley Scott and Vangelis, whose atmospheric work on Blade Runner has been a huge source of inspiration in my shooting time lapses, as well as for entire generations of filmmakers. I hope this will make many of you want to revisit (or discover if you haven’t yet) this genre-defining movie.

Shot roughly over a year in Tokyo with a Canon 5dmk2, mainly in the Shinjuku area.

Music: “Main Titles” and “Blush Response” from Vangelis’ haunting score. It still sends chills down my spine every time I listen to it… my favorite soundtrack to this day. The new 3-cd remaster is well worth getting: itunes.apple.com/​us/​album/​blade-runner-trilogy-music/​id274024314

Japan has always been on the forefront of cutting edge robotics. Its roots can be traced back 200-300 years during the Edo period when skilled craftsmen created automata (self-operating machines). Using nothing more than pulleys and weights they were able to make the Karakuri (Japanese automata) perform amazing tasks.
Japans modern day robots can be traced back to the Karakuri. Today Hideki Higashino is one of the few remaining craftsmen who is determined to keep the history and tradition of Japanese Karakuri alive.

I know it has been days since the earthquake and tsunami, but after the call of worldwide main NGOs there are people leading deceptive sites and email campaigns.

So I want to point out 2 of the “true” NGOs worldwide available that are going to help Japan in case you didn’t know where to donate safely.

1. Save the Children http://www.savethechildren.org/ http://www.savethechildren.net/ (International site – you can go to your country from here) I am associated with them in my country Spain http://www.savethechildren.es/

2. American Red Cross / Cruz Roja en España / International Committee of the Red Cross (You can go to worldwide delegations from this page)

I hope this helps.

Dedicated to my sister who dreamed, when she was a child, to own a Loire valley Castle.

Geisha (芸者), Geiko (芸子) or Geigi (芸妓) are traditional, female Japanese entertainers, whose skills include performing various Japanese arts, such as classical music and dance.