Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 528 I'm going to become a complete idiot who can only take pictures.

Filming for Satomi Hakkenden has been going on for over half a month, and the crew is working together very quickly. Especially after Kinji Fukasaku discovered that he didn't need to worry about personnel changes, the filming of the dialogue scenes has been progressing even faster.

Kinji Fukasaku only needs to make movies, while Akira Furuya has many more things to consider!
Judging by the timeline, there's still some time before the Demon King's castle is completed, and the film is already in one of its most important phases.

Village battles.

In this chapter, because Princess Satomi once stayed here, the Demon King's army, who had followed her, slaughtered the entire village.

It was only after witnessing such inhumane scenes that Inue Shinbei changed his mind, shifting from initially yearning for the life of a samurai to facing his responsibility as one of the Eight Dog Warriors.

Princess Satomi also realized that simply running away would not end the war.

Among the enemy, Inukai Genpachi realizes his identity as one of the Eight Dog Warriors and decides to infiltrate the enemy camp to provide covert assistance...

It can be said that although this scene only occupies less than five minutes of the film, it is an extremely important plot point.

In particular, although there are not many action scenes here, there are scenes that resemble war.

Kinji Fukasaku is not worried about the actors' performances.

After working together for the past few days, he realized that he didn't need to worry about Hiroko Yakushimaru; the girl's acting skills were outstanding.

Other actors, such as Daigo Ryudo who plays Genpachi Inukai and Tsz-Dan Yen who plays Shino Inuzuka, also have their own strengths.

Donnie Yen's acting skills are really lacking, but his outstanding appearance makes up for it! Besides, his role only requires him to be noble and aloof, leaving women with no chance.

Fukasaku Kinji only had one thing on his mind.

"Tomorrow we need more than just a village battle! We need a lot of people. Are there enough extras here? And if so, can we meet our needs?"

Several pairs of eyes turned to Gu Ming.

Akira Furuya, Doraemon, quickly use your unbeatable connections to think of a solution!
Gu Ming held the teacup and took a sip.

Ah... Howl~ Ptooey!
Gu Ming wiped his mouth.

It's a little hot!

"This problem is easy to solve. First, for the Demon King's army's samurai, we can find professional martial artists from the Extreme Action Agency. The killing formation masters there are all trained, have dangerous stunt licenses, and can all ride horses. As for the villagers, we can just let them play themselves."

Everyone except Kinji Fukasaku showed expressions of relief.

As expected, there is still Doraemon.

Kinji Fukasaku frowned, unable to hide his nervousness.

Having villagers play themselves is certainly a good idea, but he only has one thing on his mind.

Can untrained villagers really minimize the waste of film?
Even if all they have to do is play the role of the villagers who are being slaughtered.

……

……

The next morning, preparations for filming were complete. This scene was entirely shot outdoors, so lighting was especially important. Fortunately, the weather was fine that day, with clear skies and perfect sunlight, which was sufficient for the filming needs.

Several ponies were brought to the filming location.

These horses are native Japanese breeds. They are not tall, but they have great endurance and can easily traverse mountains and valleys.

A Portuguese merchant, after witnessing the might of the Takeda cavalry, once praised them as "monkeys riding dogs."

The dog mentioned refers to this native Japanese horse breed.

"Be careful, be careful of my horse!" The horse farm owner followed them all the way, repeatedly reminding them, "You must be careful of my horse."

The production assistant could only reassure them, "Please rest assured, the director of this play is Kinji Fukasaku."

"I don't care who it is," the horse farm owner said, somewhat annoyed. "The point is, my horse is not allowed to get hurt!"

The production assistant said, "The lead actor is Akira Furuya."

“Gu Gu, you Gu Gu…” The horse farm owner paused, frowned, but finally waved his hand: “Be careful! I’ll be back tonight to get my horse!” The farmhand hesitated, wanting to say something but then stopped.

Surprisingly, in the Nara region, Tani Akira's name was more useful than Fukasaku Kinji's.

The horse was ready and, as arranged beforehand, had been affixed with paper stickers.

The exterior is coated with a layer of silver paint to create a metallic feel.

This was done to create the effect of armored cavalry.

All the actors, including Daigo Ryudo, are ready.

Gu Ming gestured from the sidelines: "In a moment, you will run over there along the pre-arranged route. Practice your positioning a few more times beforehand, and don't stray from this area. You are all experienced actors, and you know where the camera is."

The camera is overhead!
While there aren't yet high-end options like aerial photography and drone shooting, you can still take aerial shots by finding a tall building or using a height-adjustable tripod.

The crew used a fire ladder lift for this shoot. The ladder lift was placed on a track with pulleys underneath. During filming, the crew would push the pulley lift to create a bird's-eye view effect.

Although there were only a few cavalrymen, the effect was good, which may well demonstrate the strength of a large army.

Besides, there were infantrymen following behind!
The more Gu Ming talked, the more worried Fukasaku Kinji became.

Are those villagers even capable of giving a good performance?
Film is very expensive!
"Director Fukasaku, everything's fine here!"

Gu Ming gave a thumbs-up towards Fukasaku Kinji.

Shinji Fukasaku stared with his eyes of different sizes.

oO
Let’s start!
He stood on the ladder, observing the scene below with the photographer.

From the outskirts of the village, several cavalrymen charged forward, brandishing their samurai swords and reaping heads. Behind them, infantry advanced, breaking into any decent houses they found.

In the blink of an eye, flames erupted, creating an apocalyptic scene.

The villagers scattered and fled through the alleyways, but were eventually driven to the village square by the cavalry and slaughtered one by one.

During the filming of the scene, apart from one or two NGs due to positioning issues, what Kinji Fukasaku did not expect was that...

Surprisingly, none of the villagers encountered any problems.

It's better than he imagined!

Although the village scene was only five minutes long, it was of great importance, involving multiple camera angles. As a result, this scene took three or four days to film before it was finally completed.

Fortunately, no major problems occurred in the middle.

As filming ended and the crowd left, Kinji Fukasaku felt a strong sense of relief, but couldn't help looking at Akira Tani.

"So, Furuya-kun, how exactly did you manage to get those inexperienced villagers to obey you so obediently?"

Gu Ming shrugged.

“I did nothing, I just found them a leader.”

Shen Zuoxin repeated: "The lead sheep."

"Yes, all the running scenes were actually done by professional actors from the agency. I just told the villagers to follow the professional actors. Everyone has a fixed group, and if there are too many mistakes during the group's filming, the pay for the day will be reduced. So no one wants to make any mistakes, for fear of not getting paid enough. Besides that, we also ensure basic benefits. A bento box is a must, along with hot barley tea. Even extras need to eat and drink well!"

Fukasaku Kinji: OO!

This effect is even better than the Emperor's education!
Looking at the crew and janitors cleaning up the set, Kinji Fukasaku felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

He has directed many works, including quite a few large-scale ones.

However, this is the first time I've ever had such an easy shoot!
It's as if Gu Ming has arranged all the work; all he has to do is come and film.

"Damn it!" Kinji Fukasaku secretly slapped his forehead.

If this continues, he'll become a fool who can't think and can only make films!

At this rate, there's no way I can go back to Toei and continue being that director who has to worry about everything!
(End of this chapter)