The movie follows the story of two Americans in Tokyo. It's about isolation, experiencing a disconnect from your surroundings and feeling trapped in a relationship. It’s also a movie about finding love (and losing it). I came up with the idea of centering the sequence around an asian supermarket. There, I would easily be able to introduce the audience to the setting of Japan through Japanese food labels. I began filming around the store, but quickly gravitated towards the fish counter they had in the back. Something about the fish struck me. I chose to focus most of my filming on these fish, as the way the fish were stuck in their tank, (with an impending move-out date) really resonated with the characters' stories in the movies. By showing an empty tank at the end, I was able to echo how the characters have to leave their temporary refuge and their newfound lovers at the end of the movie. I gravitated towards the wonky, hand-written lettering from Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove(1964). I was also heavily inspired by the close up, abstract shots used in Saul Bass’sSequence for Grand Prix (1966). I ended up choosing a sound that felt a bit like elevator music. This referenced the elevators in the Japanese hotel that are featured strongly in the movie. I also felt that the idea of getting on an elevator was essentially a microcosm for the whole movie.