Wise Advanced

Videographer Tomoaki Yui On the Importance of Shooting with Gear He Trusts

Director / Videographer

Tomoaki Yui was born in Tokyo and raised in Kanazawa city, Ishikawa Prefecture.

Aspiring to be a hairdresser, he moved to Tokyo at the age of 18. After attending a beauty school, he worked at a hair salon in Tokyo for 3 years. After that, he entered a four-year university and majored in philosophy.

While attending the university, he studied abroad at California State University Monterey Bay, USA. He majored in Cinematic Arts & Technology at the university and learned the basics of video production such as directing, producing and editing.
While studying abroad, he promoted himself to a major Japanese travel agency and had the opportunity to make a brand campaign video for them.

Since then, he built a career as a videographer. He returned to Japan in August 2017. Currently, he works as a freelance director / videographer based in Tokyo. (Credit: The Tomoaki Yui website)

“Freelance directors like me need to do all the work ourselves. We need to operate the camera, direct, transfer data, backup the video data, etc. With so many jobs to do during the shoot, having a fast and reliable recording media I can trust to handle the pressures of the shoot is paramount.”

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Equipment

Memory Cards

Wise 512GB CFexpress Type B

Wise CFexpress / SD (Card Reader)

Cameras

Canon EOS C500 Mark II

Camera Setup

5.9K Cinema RAW Light 59.94 fps

This January before the coronavirus outbreak, videographer Tomoaki and his partner flew to Hawaii for five days shooting well-known cosmetics brand Bobbi Brown. “During this shooting period, I had many changes in weather and temperature due to a rare large cyclone in Hawaii, so I am always fighting against weather conditions,” says Tomoaki.

When it comes to recording media for tough shooting environments, Tomoaki emphasized that what he cares about is “a sense of trust” about the brand instead of transfer speed that most reviews compare. He often asks himself “Is this a card I can trust or not?”

“I want to use recording media from the brand I trust sincerely. The most challenging situation I have ever experienced was to shoot at a scorching hot beach, then at a snowy mountain the following week. With my Canon C500 Mark II and Wise cards, I was able to finish the project without any thermal or recording issues.”

“Freelance directors like me need to do all the work ourselves. We need to operate the camera, direct, transfer data, backup the video data, etc. With so many jobs to do during the shoot, having a fast and reliable recording media I can trust to handle the pressures of the shoot is paramount.”

The run-and-gun situation was never unfamiliar to Tomoaki, so when he tried the CFexpress / SD two-in-one workflow solution, it changed the game for him. “The two-slot card reader which is newly introduced from Wise is really useful for me. The C500 Mark II supports simultaneous recording function from main cinema RAW Light to CFexpress as well as a from proxy files to SD card, so I can insert both cards to this single card reader and transfer the data to PC directly without bringing two different card readers. This is one of the most impressive products I have been introduced to this year because I can reduce one card reader just by having this.”

Tomoaki adds, “The reader is small and compact with all the functions that I need. The push-pull design avoids the risk of hooking my cards as products from other brands have this problem. I feel confident about Wise products and appreciate their thoughtfulness for the users in their designs.