Seasons Niseko is a private luxury property in Niseko, Hokkaido. It describes itself as six-star, and it comes with its own Michelin-starred chef, bartender, ski instructors and chauffeur. Working directly with Seasons, we have produced resort video in Niseko at the two extremes of the year: a winter brand film and a summer brand film. Both are part of an ongoing supply of video and photography for the property's marketing.
The brief
Seasons wanted content that sells the idea in its name: Niseko in every season. So there were separate winter and summer shoots, each with its own edit. The director/DOP also went back in autumn to capture the foliage, so the property has material for every time of year.
How we produced it
Each shoot ran for two days, with travel days on either side. When a travel day brings a great sunrise or sunset, we film it, even though it is not an official shoot day. We always try to give clients more value than the days they are paying for.
Winter. It was minus 20°C, and about 1.5 metres of fresh powder fell overnight. Hands froze, and even reaching the location was a challenge. We film in Niseko and across Hokkaido often, so we plan for these conditions. The crew filmed while skiing, and flew a drone over the property and the slopes.
Summer. The green-season film follows white-water rafting and a zipline ride at Niseko HANAZONO, home to the longest zipline in Japan. The director/DOP rode the line carrying the camera, reaching speeds approaching 100 km/h while filming a rider on the next line. To keep pace he had to control his own speed in the wind: spreading his legs slowed him down, and pulling them together sped him up.
For these shoots we kept the team deliberately small: a director/DOP, an assistant and a producer. Small teams move fast in the mountains, and for bigger productions in Hokkaido we can draw on local crew from our network.
What we delivered
We delivered two separately shot and edited films, one for winter and one for summer. The photography from the same shoots has its own post: Seasons Niseko resort photography.
See more of our hotel and resort video production across Japan, from Kyoto to Hokkaido.
Client: Seasons Niseko (direct)
Location: Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan
Services: Creative planning, production, skiing and drone filming, editing, colour grading
Crew: Director/DOP Andrew Goldie, assistant, producer
Deliverables: Winter brand film; summer brand film
