Walk through Shibuya and Harajuku feels like a stroll through a future past.
How long does it take for media to become nostalgic? Once upon a time, even taking those super fuzzy sepia-toned photos, the ones that have become such an accepted visual shorthand for “old timey” that you can partially hear ragtime piano when looking at them, was the newest, coolest imaging technology available.
Likewise when Japanese Twitter user @discyurion bought his Victor GR-D350 digital video camera on a shopping trip in Tokyo’s Akihabara electronics district, it must have felt pretty high-tech. That was all the way back in 2004, though, and from the vantage point of today, the video he shot with it has a hazy, dreamlike quality, steeped in the bittersweet feelings that can come from looking back at a bygone era that ended recently enough that it’s warmth hasn’t entirely faded from your heart, and really probably never will.
…wait a second. @discyurion’s video, which stars his friend Kotomi Amai walking through Tokyo’s Shibuya and Harajuku neighborhoods, has the distinct atmosphere of a stroll through yesteryear. But when Kotomi stops to sit on a bench and sip her Starbucks, she’s clearly in Shibuya’s Miyashita Park, which only opened last summer.
That’s because while @discyurion’s camera is 17 years old, the footage is much, much newer. That “’21.2.23” time code in the lower right corner is genuine, and the video was shot less than a week ago, on February 23, 2021.
The combination of brand-new footage and such an old camera makes for an entirely unique effect, applying a layer of perceived emotional significance to mundane activities and everyday locations long before they’d ordinarily feel nostalgic.
▼ An extended version of the video
@discyurion surprised even himself with the results, musing “My brain keeps generating memories of ‘back in the day’ that it shouldn’t actually have” he mused, and reactions from others online have included:
“I totally thought this was shot 20 years ago.”
“It’s so beautiful and sentimental-feeling.”
“It makes today feel like back in the day…or back in the day feel like right now…so mysterious.”
“You couldn’t get this emotional quality with a new camera.”
“’Right now’ looks so nostalgic!”
▼ @discyurion’s camera, plus video of the Shinjuku neighborhood
▼ By the way, here’s how Amai, who’s also a singer and lyricist, looks (and sounds) with more modern cameras.
@discyurion pseudo-retro video is an understatedly affecting demonstration of how we’re building memories each and every day, and that it’s important every now and then to take a moment to appreciate the joyful parts of “the good old days” while you’re still experiencing them.
Source: Twitter/@discyurion via Jin
Top image: Twitter/@discyurion
Insert images: YouTube/ディスク百合おん, Twitter/@discyurion
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