Cars × Videos

My husband has long been watching car test drive reviews on YouTube and occasionally uploading videos as unlisted. About six months ago, I started thinking, “I’d love to try posting videos on YouTube someday.”

When I think of car-related YouTube content, the first thing that comes to mind is “test drive review videos.” But for me to do test drive reviews is pretty much out of the question—for three main reasons.

First, I don’t have enough knowledge or experience to do a proper test drive review myself. Someone once said, “A female perspective on test drives sounds interesting and I’d love to see that!” which made me consider it for a while, but ultimately, I don’t think I could deliver a review that’s worth showing others. Even if I tried making a video, I’d probably run out of things to say and it would end in about a minute, haha.

The second reason is that “there are already tons of test drive videos out there.” From former racers to professionals to everyday people, covering everything from imported cars to domestic models… there are countless test drive videos available.

Looking overseas, there are also incredibly high-quality, beautifully shot test drive videos everywhere. With so many amazing creators already out there, I felt it wouldn’t make much sense to jump into that crowded space.

The third reason is “the huge effort required to shoot test drive videos.” A simple in-car shot is too monotonous, so you need footage of the car driving, engine sounds, body shots, fixed camera angles, and more.

That means you need at least two cars to go out filming.

Also, shaky footage is no good, and you need microphones that capture sound well. So, you have to gather a lot of equipment.

Maybe I don’t have to go all out, but if I’m going to do it, I want to do it properly…

On a related note, I’ve watched videos by female YouTubers who review driving the Nürburgring in Porsches and supercars, and

“The footage is fun, the editing is great, they speak well, they speak English, they’re cute—more than three perfect qualities, it’s like six or seven! There’s no way I could do that.”

I thought, haha.

Before I knew it, about half a year had passed.

Let’s Shoot a Video on the Royu Driveway

About a month ago, my husband introduced me to a YouTuber named Casey Neistat.

Do you know him? He’s a world-famous YouTuber and his videos are super interesting.

At first, I thought, “Who’s this shady-looking guy with sunglasses… (Turns out he’s almost my age, haha),” but after watching his videos…

…Wow…! His videos are insanely cool!!!

I instantly became hooked on Casey Neistat’s videos and thought,

I want to make videos like this!

(Whether I can actually do it is a whole different story, haha)

Casey Neistat is more of a video blogger (vlogger) than a typical YouTuber. His video concepts and storytelling are incredibly engaging, and the visuals are stunning. In less than 10 minutes, his unique world is packed in, making you watch intently.

By the way, his channel currently has 11.45 million subscribers. Checking Wikipedia’s list of world populations, that’s almost the entire population of Greece. Amazing…

So moved, I told my husband, “I want to make videos like this too!” and he said,

Well, making videos like that right away is impossible, haha, but we have all the gear and editing software, so if you want, you can do it!

“Alright, no time like the present, I’ll give it a try!” So I decided to shoot a test video while out in the BMW 320i.

…but once I held the camera, I wasn’t sure what to film, and I had no clue where to start with editing. I managed to make one video, but it was definitely not something I could show others.

After thinking it over, I decided, “The first video release should be about the Royu Driveway.” I planned the story outline and jotted down the shots I wanted to capture, then went out to film. There was an accident where the GoPro battery died (and I forgot the spare battery at home), but I managed to get footage and returned home.

Watching the footage at home…

“Wait!? Is this really how my voice and way of speaking sound? That’s so creepy (；ﾟДﾟ)!!”

My husband said,

No, it’s always like that, haha.

I was a bit shocked and stunned, but pulled myself together and resumed editing.

However, editing was hundreds of times harder than I imagined.

My computer didn’t have enough storage, so I had to get an external hard drive. Four hours of editing disappeared mysteriously. There were so many places needing mosaics that it felt endless, and the finished video looked like a police undercover investigation with almost everything pixelated.

After many retries, I spent about 40 hours over two weeks, but it was still far from finished.

Continuing the work, after about three weeks and 50 hours, I finally completed a 7-minute video. Although, after all that time, it’s still just “meh.” But if I waited until it was perfect, it might take a year, so I decided to upload this first video anyway.

Still, 50 hours for 7 minutes… (-_-) haha

YouTubers are amazing. Casey Neistat’s videos must be genius-level, god-tier. There’s no way I can do that. You really don’t know until you try it yourself.

I Want to Shoot Touring Videos

For future videos, I can’t upload frequently, so I want to work on them little by little when I get the chance. What I’m thinking now is:

“Going on tours around Japan with my husband, capturing the beauty of Japanese roads in stunning visuals.”

Like the video I made this time, with minimal talking, I hope to create videos that even people overseas will watch and think, “Japan is wonderful, beautiful, I want to visit.” It would be great to cover roads all over Japan and share its charm.

I recently started the Meidou Map project, so linking that with videos would be fun, though it might take a lifetime to complete, haha.

By the way, here is the video of the Royu Driveway I made. If you’re interested in future video projects, I’d be happy if you subscribe to the channel.