Tatsuro Yamashita

Tatsuro Yamashita

                                                                                                                                                     (Feb 04, 1953 -age 65)

The ’80s is a time to remember whether you might call it “The Decade of Greed”, or “Yuppie decade, or ”The Reagan decade”. It was a time that had emerged sounds and alternative rock was no exception. Tatsuro Yamashita is a Japanese singer-songwriter who was the king of soft rock/city pop during the ’80s. Tatsuro Yamashita was influenced by several musicians of American pop rock like Brian Wilson, Beach Boys, and James Brown. Tatsuro had a love for genres like Soft Rock, Blue-Eyed Soul, Chorus group, and Sweet Soul. His love had opened a new sound of easternized rooted sounds with western techniques, Tatsuro is, well-known by using the technique of “one person acapella” which overwrites its own vocal,  which is additionally known as “Sound Craftsman”. in addition to vocals and backing chorus, he does recording works all by himself ranging from guitar, driving computer, synthesizer, percussion. He is especially sensible at rhythm cutting of guitar. it's a powerful sort of acoustic feeling, however thanks to the policy to utilize the most recent technology, he includes a big selection of expertise covering from analog to digital.

Yamashita went through so many changes when it came to the technicality of making music, Tatsuro’s journey started as being group member from a band him and his friends Taeko Onuki and Kunio Muramatsu had made called Sugar Babe. Sugar Babe came about in 1973 when they released their first album Songs, the album is a unique take on western music especially how Sugar Babe took western influences and created their own spin to it using versatility in cultures. The album Songs completes itself in versatility, though! Just a bit more city pop by-the-numbers. You got elements of reggae, soft-rock, folk, funk, and hints of classical sounds, all showcased with complete competence. One of my favorite songs in this lp is Downtown, Down Town is one of the many songs on the LP that perfectly represents the unified mix of sounds, such as the clavinet beat with a flow like Phil Spector on the castanets and the cannon accompanied by the several independently parts that perfectly contradict to the melody. Unfortunately, I'm not fluent in Japanese so the lyrics didn't feel mutual but I did feel this intensified connection with the tone of the vocal in Mirage Town. Mirage Town featured Taeko Ohnuki who sang beautifully with the contrast of bringing a more feminine “fragile” sound to the trade-off of Tatsuro vocals. The seamless way that they end up sounding like one person even when they sing distinctive solo parts brings joy to my ear. Although the sales of the record were increasing and had launched the incoming pop music scene that exploded in Japan through the '70s. Sugar Babe had shown so much potential and outbreaks with songs but due to the bankruptcy of their record label, the band had split in 1976. Yamashita and Onuki went on to have long and booming careers and stayed active as artists. Songs were re-released in 1999 on the Planets label to introduce it to a fully new generation of artists and music lovers.

Sugar Babe (1973-1976)

Tatsuro Yamashita had been signed to RCA and launched his own career, with the release of the solo album Circus city. that very same year he teamed up with Eiichi Ohtaki, who was the producer of Sugar babe, and brief Sugar babe member Ginji to release an album titled Niagara Triangle Vol. 1. The collaboration was one of the six Japanese groups that changed the history of Japanese music. once his 1979 triumph album Moonglow gained success that took Yamashita straight to fame.  In 1980, his song "Ride on Time" peaked at #3 on the Japanese Oricon, and therefore the same-titled album flat-top the chart after. As a solo creator, Yamashita has released seventeen studio albums, two live albums, multiple compilations, and over forty singles. He has been one amongst the foremost commercially flourishing Japanese male solo recording artists within the history of the Japanese album chart, selling about nine million albums in total. He has additionally composed for films and tv commercials and worked on records by different artists. Surprisingly his sound has stayed consistently due to the connection that had been kept with the group members of Sugar Babe. Tatsuro was still out there killing it with good feeling groovy tones.

The 1980s came around and it was certainly a good time for Japan, so it’s no surprise that the music of the time reflected that specifically Tatsuro Yamashita. The Enka Ballads (Japanese genre that generated after postwar) of the postwar generation, their children were listening to a sound that was bright, funky, and heavily inspired by Western pop. This was perfectly suited to a new generation of the young working class who migrated from rural Japan to the cities to take advantage of job and education opportunities in the booming economy. The recent development of portable car stereos and the Sony Walkman (debuted in Japan in 1979) made it possible for them to take music anywhere. The For You  LP album released in 1982 shaped up Yamashita and fans in a way that was never done before. This album had been the change of Yamashita for better of the generation. I was amazed by the range of new implemented instruments added on this album. The saxophone solos, heavy basslines, gave depth and fluidity with his swift words, this was definitely different from his first album that released with RCA. “Sparkle” is the first song listed in the album, sparkle has an exponential gain brass carrying you along to the amazing sax solo. The second song Music Book easily dissolves with the ending of Sparkle with rolling drums and electric piano this song was influenced by “The Doobie Brothers”. The third song “Futari” is a smooth love song that eases you with a slow dance and carries you into “Loveland, Island,” which begins with the harp easing you into the funk of the electric guitar. To top it all off Yamashita’s vocals on “Your Eyes” had been highly influenced by Paul McCartney’s wings at the speed of sound. For You had been placed in a time that was the most needed and wanted. This album had influenced many experimental artists to dive into a generation where technology was at its baby steps yet forming at a fast rate. Tatsuro Yamashita loved feeding on new sounds and cultures to find his individuality and many people loved being along with him in the process. As he carries himself in the present he carries himself with joy. The consistency of feel-good music in the humanity that is all but consistent he is a gem that keeps on giving.

“For You”  (Air Records, Tatsuro Yamashita (producer), 1982)

Crosswalk

This is my group's action project for my STEAM class, Game Changers. The motive of this elective term was to essentially learn about the origin of board games and the mechanics that make up a game in order to know what makes a game work and what makes a game great. By doing so, our class had spent a lot of hands-on learning getting to play a variety of tabletop games. As we got closer into the term, we talked to some awesome people that play and make games for a living! This worked as a great resource as we discussed certain mechanisms and what makes a game cater to certain audiences. This was a great segway into pitching our ideas by looking at certain foundations we would be curious to look into and build a game for. We then went with our number one pitch and started making it come to life! Enjoy the Behind The Scenes :)

Crosswalk

Crosswalk is an educational game that teaches children with autism how to cross the street safely. My group and I wanted to create a game that will help Autism Home Supports Foundation teach kids how to cross the street. This game allows for a therapist and child to work together in an attempt to learn and recognize how crossing a street works. Although the game was made with the intended audience being kids with autism, this game is very inclusive and can be used by all children into helping all children that are starting to cross streets on their own. This game will teach kids how to cross streets by including scenarios that they will encounter when crossing the street in their lifetime.

GA, "Crosswalk", 2018

How To Play By The Rules!

The Magic In The Making!

Creators Demo!

The making of Crosswalk started with the group making, I wanted to be in a group that is open-minded as it is the most crucial part when collaborating in building ideas from nothing. As I collaborated with VD and CG we were able to hold ourselves accountable as we made the game and had smooth conversations that really just made the whole process fun and calm. It was very easy for us to pitch our ideas and pinpoint it to one idea: crosswalk. Seeing our visual physically on our first prototype helped us see how our mechanics interact within the limited space of the board; this helped us drastically when making the rulebook as clear as possible while keeping it sweetly simple. After playtesting we also noticed the game went by quickly and many suggested including certain challenges to elongate the game. After receiving the feedback, we planned on having two ‘Crosswalk’ street boards one being an easy level and the other being a harder level that would show the progress the kid makes additionally creating more time to the game. After talking about the technical fixes we had finished our layout to perfectly set our final product. In the end, my team was satisfied with our end results and I hope you are as well! 

The makings of this game were balanced between my group members as we took one step at a time as a team. The way I personally contributed to the game was making the final product come to life in the best way possible. When CG had finished outlining the game I had gathered up all the supplies we will need into designing the look, this made it easy for my team to know what will go on the board and how it will be placed. I then measured the finalized prototype to perfectly line the streets with white papered streaks. Luckily I was able to finish one board so that CG could have an example and have an easier time completing the other at home. I also helped in writing the representation/theme of the game. It was fun coming up with ways to describe the board game in a way it's inclusive and fun. All in all, I had a great time being able to work with my group and grow as friends during it. Not only did this game inspire me to a field of creators but it also inspires me to be more around people who enjoy creating in itself. This has to be one of the best experience I had when working as a team and I hope it inspires you to do the same!

Advanced Film Studies, Kurosawa

In our last unit of Ollywood, we found out about the principal components of a film after creation: altering, scoring, and enhancements. So as to comprehend the significance of these components, our class broke down a few visuals showing how altering structures film, how music score sets the mood and the enhancements of special effects. For my propelled investigations of Kurosawa, I was entering during the time spent concluding my capstone. I led my very own Field Experience to YouMedia as an incredible method to use their space for equipment and editing software. Making this film I needed to set an alternate tone from my past tasks, I dove into the aesthetic and make importance into what I place inside the frame. The greatest challenge I faced during this unit must be the detail of sound. I deliberately put myself where I needed to mess around with sound, I needed to feel the befuddled energy I felt the first occasion when I snapped a photo with the camera, and the first time I had made a complicated effect on Adobe Premier and have that equivalent feeling with sound. It wouldn't have been an Akira Kurosawa study without the opportunity to watch his films. For the last unit, I watched Kurosawa last film titled Dreams. Dreams was altogether something new for Akira Kurosawa specifically his editing process. Akira expressed that altering had dependably been so natural for him, he would take an hour toward the finish of each scene that was shot and alter it on the spot. That was unquestionably not the situation for his last film made in the 90s when altering programming started to incorporate shading evaluation and CGI. I took motivation from Kurosawa's exploratory expressive decision by creating something other than what's expected from my typical style. ROLL THE CLIPP!

White Noise (2018)

pg-13 | 7min 44sec | coming of age | 27 January 2019 (USA) |

Director: Genesis Andrade

Writer: Genesis Andrade \ improv.

Stars: Ayana Sterling & Genesis Andrade

Description:  

White Noise follows a girl as she disengages herself from her feelings when shes faced with a significant other she obscures her battle of self-control by concentrating on time.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Dreams. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. DVD. Warner Bros. (United States) Toho (Japan), 1990

Dreams is a 1990 Japanese-American magical realism film of eight vignettes written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was inspired by actual dreams that Kurosawa claimed to have had repeatedly. This film has influenced the purpose of White noise. Kurosawa implements a compilation of shorts that share a common thread of focusing on Humanity. He does this by utilizing a wide shot all through the young man's voyage as it underlines on the on the truth of the fantasy. This led me to believe the audience empathy would focus on the world than the emotions of the fundamental character. I pursued this idea by excluding the audience perception of the main character and including her surroundings inside the frame in order for the audience to build their perception of her by themselves.

2. Kurosawa, Akira, and Akira Kurosawa, and Akira Kurosawa. Seven Samurai: and other screenplays. London: Faber and Faber, 1992.

This book holds the screenplays of three films directed and written by Kurosawa. Ikiru (1952) recounts the excruciating story of a Japanese government employee dealing with seniority and passing. In Seven Samurai (1954) the occupants of a little Japanese town utilize a wandering group of samurai to shield them. In Throne of Blood (1957), in view of "Macbeth," a samurai is urged by his significant other to slaughter his master. I utilized this book for a presentation I conducted to have the students annotate the script as I show the scenes of Throne of Blood.

3. Kurosawa, Akira, and Bert Cardullo. Akira Kurosawa: interviews. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2019.

This book holds several interviews that quote Akira Kurosawa's. I was so interested in getting this book because there are nearly any interviews with Kurosawa on the internet. I wanted to learn more about Kurosawa as a person by reading the way he answers to question so this was a very enjoyable read.   

4. Prince, Stephen. The warrior's camera: the cinema of Akira Kurosawa. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1999.

This book discusses Stephen Prince study of Kurosawa's films. Prince discusses how Kurosawa had influenced well known Hollywood directors some being, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and George Lucas. Most importantly it talks about Kurosawa's visual symbolism that touches on the post-war Japan dynamic systems. I used this passage to understand the easternized influences in western culture.

5. Wilde. Dir. Brian Gilbert. 1997. https://youtu.be/l4x3ADf0eBo. 9 May. 2009 <https://youtu.be/bcIClng5K94>.

Wild is a documentary on Oscar Wilde touching on his complex creations and sexuality. Wild had discussed a specific quote that stuck to me, “Does Life Mimic Art or Does Art Mimic Life”. As I looked into what it means for art to mimic life or life to mimic art I had seen it as anti-design v.s modernism. This brought the question of art taking its shape or art being modified. I then compared this to the irony of the film Dreams and how it builds collective dreams into reality. Which I then used as inspiration on forming my scenes.

6. Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro. Kurosawa: film studies and Japanese cinema. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019.

Yoshimoto starts off mentioning Kurosawa's films immense impact on the way the Japanese have viewed themselves as a nation and on the way the West has viewed Japan. Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto definitively analyzes Kurosawa’s entire body of work, from 1943’s Sanshiro Sugata to 1993’s Madadayo. Yamashita then argues the tension Akira had stirred with his works. He discussed the “problematic” image Kurosawa portrays and the effects that have on japan's image and the West image on Japan. Yamashita then analyses the cliches of Japan's social-cultural and Institutional dilemmas being shown in every piece of Akira’s work. He then goes to reflect on the larger issue of Japanese film history by seeing the recurring negative patterns of national and cultural identity. Although Yoshimoto had strong opinions towards the works of Akira he acknowledges Kurosawa achievements. The biggest reason I read this was because I wanted to. I wanted to get a different perspective on Akira's work and the negative effect his films had caused towards the “partnership” of Japan and America.

In conclusion, this has been one of the most influential experiences that changed me in many different ways. The feeling I got when I read articles, books, and videos about Akira Kurosawa forming eastern and western cultures had made me love film even more. I had really enjoyed the internal investigation as it led me to absorb the external investigation more profoundly. By knowing the history I was able to pinpoint Kurosawa's metaphorical stylistic choices and build better analyses. I was always the type of person who learned more on hands-on experiences to perform an understatement of a subject it was very interesting how I had felt otherwise in my Independent Study. I've never felt so driven to learn more about the history of anything! ever! but having the opportunity to dive into my passion in an annotative lens changed the way I see myself as a leaner. I can only really thank Brent for allowing me to have me in his class again and work with my discoveries along the way. 

Advanced Film Studies, Kurosawa

Advanced Film Studies, Kurosawa

In this elective I have chosen to continue the studies that I previously had in Ollywood as a freshman to dive in deeper into the art of pre-production what's, is, does, and if's. By doing so I had chosen Ollywood as the best way to flourish my curiosity into an independent study in order to connect my passion inside and outside my class. My independent study focused on the realm of one of the most influential filmmakers of all time Akira Kurosawa. My goal was to dive into the three main units: pre-production, production, and post-production and use it as a foundation to create an end result of how had Akira Kurosawa influenced me as a global citizen and as a person who loves the art in itself. If you want to know more of Akira Kurosawa himself followed by my personal journey simply keep on reading and watch his films! a definite 100% Rotten Tomatoes.

In pre-production, I watched "The Throne of Blood" directed by Akira Kurosawa. This film worked as the stepping stone into the guiding question, " How do you Critique the element of Pre- Production?" In order to have analyzed the Throne of Blood, I had to learn the history of its time period to critic what was being shown to me as the audience.  So before I touched on the elements being screenwriting, storyboarding and production design I had conducted my own personal research. Akira Kurosawa took a lot of his inspiration from plays and novels so it was no surprise that Throne of Blood had been an adaption to Shakespeare play Macbeth.