PROCESS NOTES / STORIES
Sound and vision, in progress.
I keep notes on making the songs and videos here, including the things that worked and the attempts that did not.
Back on the road: revisiting Mikansei no Mama and making Left Unfinished
I revisited a song from 2025 and made an animated journey for two backpackers, refining the original yellow palette, the opening city view, and how travel and singing fit together.
Read the storyLatest notes
Follow via RSS ↗
An older song, a romance at art school: making My Only One
I revisited Takane no Uta with a melancholic rock remix and an animated romance between art students. Studio tables, a quiet library, and the walk home became the setting for My Only One.
Finally, It Felt Like Baseball: Making ‘Kono Isshun wo Hanate’
I finally made the baseball-anime opening I had wanted to try. A note on difficult pitching and batting motions, working mostly in DomoAI Relax Mode, and using Seedance for a few cuts.
A Streetwise Black Cat in Tokyo: Making ‘Tokyo Neko’
A game I had seen on Steam, a darker rap track, and a black cat who knows his way around Tokyo. I imagined the song and video together, and this became one of my easiest recent video projects.
Starting SOUND PLAY, a month of songs at a time
I'm collecting songs made and shared on Suno into monthly SOUND PLAY albums. The first brings together 11 tracks from August 2026, with remasters of older songs also planned.
From Work to the Stage: The Making of ‘Barely Thriving!’
Three women work ordinary jobs and keep their idol group going after hours. A note on the song, its softly outlined illustrations, and the MV cuts that needed another look.
One Dance Before the Candy: Making ‘Halloween Apartments’
Halloween was coming, and I hadn't made a comedy MV in a while. That became a story about four monster roommates who spend the candy budget, then try to dance their way out of trouble.
A Live Show Beneath the Surface: Making ‘Chika Jojo’ and ‘NO MORE CHAINS’
Turning an underground casino into a prisoners’ live show, selecting stable video moments, revisiting hands, stairs, and the final door, then editing the story for an English recording.
Going Back to the White Box: Making the ‘Shortcake’ MV
A cake shop, a regular customer, and words that never quite come out. A note on revisiting the chorus, the boxes, and the continuity of the ‘Shortcake’ music video.
From One Round of Applause to the Stage: Making ‘Boku no Oto’
I wanted to tell the story of a pianist who leaves a setback in classical music, moves to Tokyo, and finds his own sound, beginning with one person's applause at a station piano.
Walking, Then Running Together: Making the ‘Oikaze’ Music Video
Oikaze began as a modern ninja anime opening idea. I kept the characters' look and rebuilt the video as one day of walking and running through the city together.
Could I Make a Music Video That Tells a Story?
I have started making music videos again after a break. This is a note on keeping characters and scenes together, and wondering whether a story might run through a whole song.
A Free Evening, Told from Start to Finish | Making ‘Mitei de Ii’
A canceled plan leads to an unplanned evening. I connected the lyrics and story in the ‘Mitei de Ii’ MV, noticed some awkward movements, and thought about why I enjoy making full-length videos.
A Mechanical Beat Beneath Pink Hearts | Making ‘Black Out!’
‘Black Out!’ returns to an idol-band sound. A note on the textures I wanted to try and finishing the audio with ChatGPT/Codex on my own computer.
Letting AI Hold the Reins | Making the ‘クロウ’ MV
From lyric and music analysis to artboards, moodboards, an animatic, and cut images, I let Codex and the ChatGPT app guide much of this MV production—and followed their suggestions to see what kind of film would emerge.
A Wedding Day for a Song I Wrote a Year Ago | Kimi ba Omou toyo
A year after its original release, the Hakata-dialect love song “Kimi ba Omou toyo” returns as a Wedding × Alternative Rock duet. A note on the long-awaited wedding MV and the character sheets that helped keep both families straight.
Fireworks in Daylight: Making the ‘Aozora Hanabi’ Music Video
A production note on ‘Aozora Hanabi’: college romance by the Sumida River, fireworks beneath a blue sky, and the first time a long struggle with character consistency finally felt possible.
A Duet Without an Answer Key: Making the ‘Ano Hi’ Music Video
A production note on ‘Ano Hi,’ a bittersweet male–female duet told through a changed café, two separate paths, and a wish to make slower images carry more story.
It Started with ‘Did We Even Do Summer This Year?’: Making the ‘Sore Natsu Jan’ Music Video
A production note on making a cheerful summer song for a three-member idol unit, and the challenges of character consistency and AI-generated dance scenes.
Let the Yokai Play Again: Making the ‘KAGUYA’ Music Video
A production note about building a yokai rock band for ‘KAGUYA,’ and how the video continues a journey that began with the early long-form visual for ‘Parade of Shadows.’
Returning to Purin-chan, One Year Later
I returned to one of my earliest AI music videos for a Melancholic Remix, drawing out the quiet goodbye that had always been hiding inside its sweetness.
Making the 'Kagura' MV: Japanese Mythology as an Anime Opening
A production note for the Kagura music video, using more scenes and a connected visual world to create the pace of an anime opening.
I made a portfolio site.
The new carpin music portfolio brings the songs and visuals together, with more notes on MV production and small creative tools to come.