A fast-paced edit I made for an event at OT301, Alteration #5, that served as a Fundraiser for Gaza. It highlights the general atmosphere of the event as well as the music that was played.
Brief footage I took of a Subbacultcha event at OT301 featuring Ear, an electronic music duo formed in 2024 that have gained international appeal.
Back in Amsterdam, Chris shows how these machines are brought back to life. From workshop to game night, it is the final step in a cross-cultural arcade resurrection.
Chris meets his (anonymous) Japanese supplier and have a short conversation with him. They talk about games that he grew up with, his trade and their relation.
Chris explores Japan’s surviving arcades, searching for iconic machines such as Vewlix, Egret, and Blast City, that helped shape his Amsterdam arcade. It’s a trip into the heart of a still-beating culture.
In the second episode of the documentary, Chris Blok travels to Japan to meet the people behind the machines. He begins a journey to reconnect with the roots of his business and find new treasures and inspiration.
I produced and directed a 5-part, hour-long documentary series for Blast Galaxy, an Amsterdam-based retro arcade and cultural space dedicated to preserving Japanese arcade gaming history and culture.
The series explores the origins of Blast Galaxy, the influence of Japanese arcade culture on its founder, and the process of importing, restoring, and maintaining authentic Japanese arcade cabinets in Europe. Through interviews, documentary storytelling, and stylized retro-inspired visuals, the project highlights the intersection of gaming history, preservation, and cross-cultural exchange between Japan and the Netherlands.
I handled the project independently from start to finish, including pre-production planning, interview development, cinematography, lighting setup, audio recording, editing, motion graphics, and post-production. The visual direction drew heavily from vintage arcade aesthetics and 8-bit culture, incorporating retro-inspired graphics and documentary-style storytelling to match the identity of the brand.
The final product consisted of five fully edited episodes created for online release and social media promotion, designed to strengthen Blast Galaxy’s brand identity and document an important niche gaming culture for a broader audience.
This first episode tells the origin story of a cross-cultural arcade dream.