The biggest challenge for this project, though, was definitely the filming!

Who came up with the idea first?

Ro: I visited Japan recently and snagged a lot of perfectly-preserved N64 games for my collection, and one of the games was Pokémon Snap. I remember renting that game a lot as kid so I felt inspired and began to brainstorm. A music video that incorporated the game's premise—taking photos of Pokemon—could make for a really cool, ambitious video! I wanted to film it at locales resembling the game's levels with lots of scenery and action. It just so happened I was visiting Washington anyway, and Carlos shared my vision for the same reason.

What were some specific challenges that you had to face with this particular cover?

Carlos: I arranged this project, and I typically write out the whole thing in notated sheet music which isn’t a format that’s typically preferred by guitarists in the VGM community. Luckily, Ro is familiar with sheet music to some extent, so I was able to convey the information through a mix of MIDI files and sheet music.

The biggest challenge for this project, though, was definitely the filming! I put myself in charge of finding locations for the shoot. Creating a timetable was also challenging as well since a long drive needs to be broken up with time for breaks and food.

How did you split up the workload? What was the planning involved?

Carlos: I handled the arrangement, choosing locations, and editing, while Ro handled playing his parts, a lot of the videography, and VFX work at the very end. We had a document that listed all the shots we needed to get at each location, as well as all the gear we’d need to pack for each leg of the trip. Having a master document like that made the filming plan super easy!

Ro: We both have worked together so much that we naturally fall into what we trust each other with doing. I spent a lot of time testing VFX, integrating Pokemon into test shots. Along with playing guitars, I took on the task of filming B-Roll (scenery, additional footage) and Behind-the-Scenes footage. The way I see it, this is the kind of music video we knew only WE would be crazy enough to try.