Tokyo, JapanFootball SubcultureLower Block MagazineKei
Lower BlockWhere Japanese otaku culture meets the beautiful game
Set against the backstreets and floodlit skyscraper pitches of Tokyo, this short documentary follows Kei Chisaka — footballer, brand ambassador and community leader, as he redefines his relationship with the game through Japan’s alternative football culture. Blending coffee, fashion, music and street art, this world sits closer to skating or a creative expression than sport as we know it.
Shot with a raw, analogue-inspired aesthetic, the film captures the rhythm of Tokyo. Where identity, friendship and self-expression meet. Created in collaboration with Ear to the Ground and Lower Block Magazine, it’s a portrait of passion, where one man is using the beautiful game to build connection in one of the world’s most isolated of cities.
Details
Specs.
10k
2 Days Pre
4 Days Prod
10 Days Post
Schedule
Director
DP
AP
Crew
Sony FX 6
16:9 Ratio
Cooke SP 3
Sony G Masters
Budget
James Copson
James Stier
Karin Sugiura
00:02:50
X-AVC I
Full Frame
ROIOutcomes
Audience growth
Lower Block’s audience is built around hardcore football culture; people who care as much about identity and story as the sport itself. By entering Kei’s world, the film carried the magazine into a foreign subculture that sits perfectly within its editorial DNA. This helps the publication reach new communities while reinforcing its reputation with existing readers.
Footballco’s Global Fan Report notes that spotlighting fan-led stories drives significantly higher share rates among ultra-engaged audiences, turning niche content into global discovery pathways.
Consistency in craft
Lower Block entrusted us with a very specific visual identity — analogue-inspired, character-driven and editorial in tone.
Delivering that overseas required a deep understanding of the subject matter and a sensitivity to how Tokyo’s street culture should look and feel. By choosing the right camera package, lenses and diffusion, and handling the grade and edit in-house, we ensured the final film matched Lower Block’s expectations and our signature analogue aesthetic.
YouGov’s 2024 Brand Trust Index shows that consistent visual language across territories increases brand credibility by over 30%, reinforcing why craft-led filmmaking matters for culturally aware brands and their fans.
Cultural positioning
The film places Lower Block directly inside Tokyo’s underground football scene.
Rather than observing from a distance, the documentary embeds the brand within a community that values authenticity above all else.
According to Nielsen Fan Insights, content grounded in a genuine subculture can generate up to 3× stronger emotional resonance than mainstream sports media. Thus giving Lower Block a credible foothold in a cultural space few outside of Japan ever reach.
Mixed media
The partnership allowed the magazine to blend written editorial with documentary storytelling — a mixed-media approach proven to increase reader engagement and dwell time.
Reuters Institute reports that pairing video with long-form written features can boost audience retention by up to 60% and deepen emotional connection.
The film enriched the magazine’s article, giving readers more than images and text; it provided a cinematic window into Kei’s world, turning a written profile into a more immersive story experience.
www.lowerblock.comKei Chisaka
In the backstreets and pitch lights of Tokyo, Kei Chisaka isn’t just playing football — he’s re-shaping what it means to play it. Blending sport with streetwear, community and creativity, he lives at the intersection of Tokyo’s alternative football culture, where “the game” is as much about identity and expression as it is about winning.
While mainstream pathways might expect one kind of ambition, Kei’s is different: he leads grassroots groups, challenges conventions and invites others into a world where fashion, music and football overlap. He isn’t an outsider looking in; creating from the inside out.
For Kei, the pitch isn’t just ground to stand on—it’s a platform for belonging. And in a city as fast-moving and image-aware as Tokyo, that kind of authenticity stands out.
