Project highlight: Ike Jime Federation x Embassy of Japan

Back in 2024, Joey produced a five-minute video for the Ike Jime Federation, in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan, to raise awareness of ike jime and what it can unlock for local seafood. The shoot was built around two very different environments: a day on a boat in the Chesapeake Bay, followed by a second day at Cranes in Washington, DC, where a restaurant event brought together Maryland officials and embassy representatives.

The message of the film was practical. Fish that are often overlooked can become high-quality product, including for high-end restaurants, when the handling is done correctly.

Ike jime is a Japanese method of dispatching and handling fish that aims to reduce stress and preserve quality. Advocates describe it as a more humane approach than passive suffocation, with handling steps designed to limit the biochemical cascade that can affect texture, flavor, and shelf life.

In its core form, the method includes an immediate brain spike, careful bleeding, and a spinal-cord step known as shinkei jime, which uses a wire run through the neural canal to stop residual signaling that can drive muscle contraction. The fish is then cooled rapidly, often in an ice slurry, to control temperature and slow decomposition.

That technical detail matters for the larger point of the project. When quality is consistent, it becomes easier to build markets for species that have historically been undervalued, because chefs and buyers can trust the product.

The Ike Jime Federation frames its work around the idea of a “considered kill,” arguing that better handling starts with responsibility for animal welfare and product quality, then follows with method and training.

Maryland has been part of that conversation in a visible way. State reporting has highlighted the technique as a potential lever for producing “world-class seafood,” tied to local supply chains and buyer demand.  The state has also described events hosted with the Embassy of Japan to engage Maryland stakeholders around ike jime and position Maryland seafood as a premium product.

On the water, the priority was to film the technique where it starts. Boat work is unforgiving: wind, engine noise, constant motion, limited space, and no second takes for the moment that matters. We planned coverage around those constraints, captured process footage that would cut cleanly, and recorded audio with the assumption that the environment would fight us.

At Cranes, the brief shifted. The restaurant day needed to show the technique translating into hospitality and policy: a room where seafood handling, economic opportunity, and cultural exchange were in the same conversation. Cranes’ own positioning sits at the intersection of Spanish and Japanese influences, which made it a natural setting for that part of the story. The story also had a built-in proof point. The fish we filmed on the Chesapeake was later served at Cranes in the meals for the restaurant event, nearly a week after the boat shoot. It was still in strong condition at service, which helped make the argument tangible: when fish is dispatched and handled with ike jime principles and kept cold from the start, freshness holds longer than most diners expect.
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The film’s goal was awareness, which means the edit had to stay legible to viewers who have never heard the term “ike jime.” We structured the narrative to do three things in sequence: define the technique in plain language, show why it changes outcomes, then connect that shift to the larger opportunity—elevating species that most diners overlook when quality is handled with discipline.

That last point is where the project lives. It is easy to say “local fish can be great.” The film had to show the practical pathway for getting there, and why technique can change what chefs are willing to buy and serve.‍

This commission was built around multi-day logistics, story structure, and delivery discipline. It required planning across water and restaurant environments, coordinating around an event schedule, and cutting a finished piece that holds attention for five minutes while staying accurate.

If you need a team for larger video projects—brand films, foundation work, documentary-style stories with field production, or event-driven narratives -- this is the kind of scope we can run.