In May 2019 LAUKLI&LAUKLI were invited to FUJIKINA in Tokyo to perform a live shoot video to a song by Swedish artist Karin Park, using the then unreleased GFX100. We assembled a great team of people and got on a flight to Tokyo.
Bringing our whole team to Japan was great. Everyone knew their role in the project and we were very tuned in on a common objective. Very important when filming in front of a live audience.
We had many ideas before the shoot, with a pretty clear script and a tight plan. Being confined to one room was of course a challenge, but instead of seeing the audience as an obstacle, we let people film, and also included some shots of the crowd in the video. The only real trouble we had was when the fire alarm set off from our smoke machines and I had to apologise to everyone who had evacuated the building:-) We brought a GFX100 outside and let people try out the camera while waiting to be let back in. Quite a few people were happy about the alarm.
Working with a strong artist like Karin Park kept us on our toes. No time for doubts or misunderstandings. Karin’s rawness, coupled with dancer Hannahs softer side made the film into a nice mix of light and darkness. Change of wardrobe, redressing the set and changing lighting in front of a live audience was one worry i had before we started, but it all went smoothly. The crowd and the crew from Fujifilm were amazing and the whole process turned into two joy-filled days. We were also treated to a magnificent floral installation by renowned flower artist Makoto Azuma and it was an honour to share the stage with such a great artist.
Throughout the shoot, the video was edited in front of the audience and shown live on a powerful projector. Shooting with the GFX100 was an absolute pleasure. We had tried a pre-production for stills before hand, but the two days at FUJIKINA was our first opportunity to shoot film on it. The camera lived up to my expectations. Being able to switch between film and stills is effortless, and it’s incredibly intuitive, smooth way to work. Some of the shots we did during filming were done in very low lighting, but without exception the files looked fantastic.
Having used the smaller -sensor cameras from Fujifilm for several years, I was beyond excited to shoot film on the large format GFX100. It is hard to explain the difference such a sensor makes, but it really is something special. The viewfinder, the screen and the files! Those glorious files! Today we are shooting a combination of the X-T3 and the GFX100 on a daily basis and I really think that the fusion of the two systems is the ultimate combination for our style of shooting. We can all agree that this shoot was one of the highlights of the year for us. Those two hectic days, with an amazing crowd being part of the whole shoot, is something I will always remember. The hospitality and generousness showed us by all the Japanese we encountered was truly special, making memories our whole crew will carry with us forever.
Artist: Karin Park (@karinparkofficial)
Dancer: Hannah Sophie (hannahsophi)
Direction and Photography: Pål Laukli (@plaukli)
Assistant and B-reel: Casper Nielsen Strand (@caspernis)
Art Direction: Trude Laukli (@laukli8laukli)
Styling: Afaf Ali (afaf.ali1)
Hairstylist: Torunn Raunedokken (@torunn87)
Producer: Tina Holth (@tinagent)
Behind the scenes video: Steve White (@swhiteii)
Edit: Mathias Ingvoldstad (@mathiasingvoldstad)
Behind the scenes photography: Jonas Rask (@jonas.rask) and Kunio Aoyama
