Tokyo Sound

As for the second round, of course it’s completely different, but the things from the first round are still there.

With the help of the TV station and theater database as well as the entertainment publishing and media industry, we finally grasped the customers' pain points.

The most popular work at that time was the little black book. Young people were very interested in the story of "if your name is written in the little book, you will die suddenly". The average sales of each volume exceeded 200 million copies, which was really popular. And unlike other mainstream comics with glamorous and bizarre settings, it was not very difficult to adapt it into a movie. No complicated special effects were needed, so Japanese TV stations were invited to participate in the filming.

After the movie came out, it received widespread attention and even attracted some discussion overseas.

Many major Hollywood studios produce local films, which can help them make up for the setbacks in their own films at the local box office and also deepen their operations. After several years of successful investment and promotion, Warner Japan finally decided to start its own business.

Now the overall environment has changed again. The market share of local films is quite gratifying, but stable series, such as TV dramas, theatrical versions and animated films are all controlled by local companies.

I wanted to go up and have a bite, but I couldn't really cut in line.

Warner Japan had been active in the local market for many years at this time. It looked back at the highly successful Little Black Notebook, recalled the past events involving comic adaptations, and thought of the audience for anime here, and suddenly felt something in its heart.

……

Keishi Otomo is from Iwate Prefecture. He joined the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, or NHK, at the age of 24. Eleven years later, after co-directing a period drama, he left his old employer and founded his own agency. In the same year, he signed a film contract with Warner, for a total of three films.

"Ronin Kenshin" is the first one.

At the age of 35, Otomo is at the peak of his physical and creative energy. He was able to receive orders from large companies right after he became independent. His talent is evident in his skillful and personal control over the picture.

However, facing the ambitious Warner Japan and the national-level comic original, and the heated discussions on the Internet, Keishi Otomo has always been cautious.

In fact, it is strange that the objects of comic adaptations are often extremely popular works, but the final results are mostly unsatisfactory. Even comic adaptations are subtly labeled as "inferior products" and "hot topics".

Movies themselves are not easy to make, let alone such a great original work.

It is easy to fall into a well and put it in the refrigerator, but it is difficult to add dragons and phoenixes to a beautiful woman.

In fact, after Warner Japan announced the news of the live-action adaptation, fans did not cheer immediately, but remained calm.

As a director, Keishi Otomo is also very clear that the content of the original story is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and it is almost impossible to achieve a complete restoration. First of all, the plot alone has to be re-arranged and re-edited. Movies are not TV series. Within two hours, everything that should be said must be told clearly, and what can be discarded must be discarded. It should not be too messy and make fans feel offended, otherwise both the original fans and the movie audiences will be unsatisfied.

The second thing is the clothing and style. If Kenshin really had a head of crazy red hair, it would be too distracting. Similarly, other characters with strange shapes and elements also need to be balanced.

In fact, the promotion of "Ronin Kenshin" avoided the controversial "character design" from the beginning, and promoted the movie's biggest selling point - killing, that is, action scenes.

Compared with traditional period dramas, the more entertaining "Killing Battle" is more to the taste of young Japanese audiences.

What is most important is how to turn the various sword techniques in the comics that make readers daydream into reality. To this end, Otomo Keishi kept reading old swordplay movies all night long, and also watched a lot of Hong Kong movies from the 70s.

Coincidentally, he noticed that a Japanese man's name appeared many times in the list of staff at the end of the film, so he decided to go and invite him.

He firmly believed that breathing the air from other places could bring the wind from different regions and inject different boiling blood.

Casting, early preparation, character physical training, filming...

Only when all these were carried out in an orderly manner did Otomo Keishi breathe a sigh of relief.

Only now did I realize that, at some point, the main creative staff seemed to be competing with me. It was just a comic adaptation, but they put a lot of effort into it, as if they were making a masterpiece with some kind of innovative significance and reference value for the industry. Especially the male lead, who said at a young age, "If the filming is not good, I will retire directly."

Oh, he spoke so confidently, leaving no way out, and didn't even add "I'll do my best" to beat around the bush. It's really the willful temperament of young people.

Now that most of the hard battle scenes have been completed, and we are filming the last part of the plot, we can finally take a breather.

——Cross scar.

Like the Oath of Unkilling and the Reverse Blade, they are the protagonist's iconic design elements and the embodiment of the character's complexity, so they must be explained clearly.

Kenshin, a killer sword, killed a young samurai. The next day, he witnessed his fiancée crying over her cold body outside the crowd. He began to doubt the reason for holding the sword for the first time. After that, he accidentally killed Tomoe Yukishiro, whom he fell in love with, who came to avenge his fiancée. Finally, as the old era disappeared, he embarked on the path of becoming a living sword.

There is one last relaxing fight scene tonight, which is the assassination scene of Kenshin during the Executioner period, and the first cross scar is left.

Even though it's short, even though it's only the first part, even though it's far from the appearance of Tomoe Yukishiro, and even though they hadn't thought about which actor would be used, and they were planning to blur the whole scene with their backs turned, but it's a very important part in the whole story, and this part can't be cut out.

But having said that, Keishi Otomo does not intend to make the film too complicated.

Because as the person who left the first scar on Kenshin's cheek, Kiyosato Akiyoshi is actually very thin. From the perspective of the plot structure, his role is to bring shock and sadness to Kenshin and Yukishiro Tomoe, nothing else.

Simply put, he is just a high-level tool required by the plot. Even the waitress in the beef shop is described in more space than him.

Therefore, even though the actors were not confirmed until a week or two ago, director Keishi Otomo did not say anything.

Anyway, in his expectation, as long as the image is acceptable, that's enough. Apart from that, it doesn't matter whether the actor has acting skills or whether the lines are strong or not. After a few shots, he will become a corpse in the next second.

What kind of acting skills does a corpse need???

Even if your professional quality is low and you can't help but breathe heavily, just cover yourself with a straw mat.

A few days ago, a producer from Warner Japan called and said that they had found a candidate. The other party is not a professional actor, but a voice actor. However, he strongly stated that his image is definitely acceptable and photogenic.

It is said that the actor arrived in the morning and stayed for most of the day. He had lunch with the group. He never left the whole time and was waiting patiently and politely.

The director, upon learning of this, was quite supportive. After all, being professional is always a good thing.

Of course, Otomo Keishi didn't mean to ignore the meeting, or to look down on others. It was because he was too busy and had no time.

Now we just have to wait for it to get dark so we can start shooting. I'll put other things aside and take a look first, mainly to check the costumes and makeup, and then briefly talk about a few things to pay attention to.

The director was in a hurry. He ran for everything on the set, and it was impossible to change. He went straight to the makeup area and lifted the curtain of the temporary shed.

Then he saw—

A young warrior.

It instantly occupied all his attention.

A young warrior with a calm demeanor.

He was wearing a gray-white wide-sleeved top and dark-colored long trousers. He looked thin and emaciated, with a slender figure.

He also had a thin and handsome face, his eyes were like the bright light of the crescent moon, and his cheeks were like snow piled on a flower tree.

His face was too pale without a trace of blood, and his thin lips were also very pale in color. His whole body exuded the coldness of spring snow.

He is as broken as a piece of white paper covered with poems, but he is also as firm as a well-forged knife. Even though he is too hard and easy to break, he does not want to hide in a dusty corner of the old knife maker's warehouse, but wants to strive to capture the light and heat flowing in the air.

The crumbling shogunate, the Ansei Purge, the Sakuradamon Incident, the Meiji Restoration patriots... these long-ago things that have been solidified in history are suddenly within reach. They are all hidden in the eyes of the young samurai. In addition, there is the mirror-like water surface, the blowing sand desert, and an old bamboo hat.

It was as if what was being lifted was not the curtain of a temporary shed, but a door in time leading to the past.

"Excuse me, are you—?"

The warrior asked politely and looked over here. He had a very straight body. Although he was thin, he was as strong as a bamboo, and his back was as straight as a sword.

The sound is also very catchy. The warmer part is like the reflection of the sunset on the clear pond, while the colder part is like the moon shining on the cold river.

"Oh, he is the director of our group, Mr. Keishi Otomo." A makeup artist appeared from the side to spoil the fun.

"Oh, that's so rude." The man stood up in awe, and at the same time, he revealed his left hand which was hidden by his wide sleeves. In his hand, he was clearly holding... an electric hair clipper?

The hair clipper was turned on, and its annoying buzzing sound interrupted the silent picture of history. Otomo Keishi was in a trance and returned to the modern era.

"Who are you?" The director was silent for two seconds, then took a few steps closer and asked directly.

"Hello, director. I'm the actor who plays Kiyori Akiyoshi. I'm very nervous to join the crew at such a short notice. I hope that what's going on..." The man introduced himself very fluently without any fear.

"You, you are Kiyosato Akiyoshi?" the director paused and asked repeatedly.

"Yes, I still have my employee badge hanging inside my clothes..." The man thought the other party didn't believe him and started to take out his ID.

But Otomo Keishi's thoughts had already extended again.

Every director has a set of virtual rendering procedures in his mind.

The film set is both orderly and disorderly. No matter how exquisite and complete the preparations are, everyone knows that it is just acting.

Whether it is the lighting technician, stage manager, pyrotechnician or cameraman, none of them actually knows what the final shot will look like.

Except for the director who was sitting outside the small screen, biting his fingers and thinking.

Through the images presented on the small screen, the director will project his thoughts into the story, forgetting the artificial lighting, forgetting the fake plasma, and forgetting the assistant director sitting next to him wearing modern textiles.

Put yourself in someone else's shoes and make a lie seem true.

The director has to replay the movie in his mind, rehearsing the music, lighting, and emotions. Before a film is finished, he can't help but think about the connection between each scene and shot while eating or lying in bed.

Make a movie in your mind before going into the real world.

Yukishiro Tomoe, the eldest daughter of an ordinary lower-ranking samurai during the late Edo period, wore an immaculate kimono that looked like she was wearing snow-white, and held a blue paper umbrella. She was an unusually quiet, knowledgeable and beautiful woman, who always waited and watched quietly.

But such a person who is as docile as a kitten yet strong, took the initiative to face the turmoil of the times for the sake of her unrelated fiancé, approached the bloody storm, and embarked on the road of revenge.

However, the fiancé who made this woman leave was very thin. Apart from the scene of his assassination, he lived in memories. Even his name was not revealed until later in the story, and others only knew his name.

In the memories, Kiyosato Akiyoshi was his childhood sweetheart, from the same family, and was equally kind and reserved. He went to Kyoto not for the sake of the world, but to protect the happiness of his wife who lived in this world.

Yes.

If it was just an ordinary man... it would never have given a quiet woman like Tomoe Yukishiro who just wanted to enjoy a peaceful life the vicious idea of ​​revenge.

That must be the picturesque man with an unforgettable smile.

'He will die somewhere unknown to me, and my happiness will go with him. I failed to grasp the happiness in front of me, but it's all my fault, because I didn't express my feelings.'

"If I had the courage at that time. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that if I didn't hate you, I would go crazy, so I participated in the plan to kill you..."

This is a line from the 1999 OVA. That cold, struggling, self-confessing voice echoes in my ears.

In order to prepare for the filming, the director of course read all the materials and also memorized her inner thoughts.

His death, his withering like a flower, was like a crack. The regret and hatred could even make a woman like Xue Dai Ba want to avenge him.

Yes.

The man who lives in the middle of the broken relationship between Kenshin Himura and Tomoe Yukishiro.

definitely is--

"What are you doing with a hair clipper?" The director suddenly came to his senses and realized it belatedly.

"My hair is too long, and it's hard to put makeup on it or style it, so I thought about shaving it..." the man explained, holding the machine towards the real hair that was as soft as ink.

"Stop it!"

The director's face suddenly changed drastically. He rushed over and yelled at him, holding his shoulders as if he was trying to put out a fire.

"Just keep your current appearance and don't touch it!"

"..."

Yin Ze felt the roar of his leader for the first time in a long time, and his ears felt numb.

Gan.

Why are you shouting so loudly?

He is a tyrant type of boss.

Is this crew so high-pressure?

Chapter 134: Minor Changes Are Not Considered Changes

In the past, Yin Ze often watched the highlights and behind-the-scenes documentaries of various films, which made him a little interested in the work of the crew.

It was a bit like a collective activity organized by the school for each grade. The regular staff and core members were busy running around, while the extras, although enthusiastic and brave, were powerless and had to stay on the side, playing cards and waiting to be assigned.

Master Yin had just arrived and didn't know anyone, but that didn't stop him from wandering around. He was seen walking around with his hands behind his back and a serious expression, sometimes with his arms folded over his chest, listening to food purchases, sometimes carrying things for the stagehands, and sometimes helping the lighting technician set up equipment. When it was time for lunch, a box of duck leg rice was naturally handed to him.

"You are such a nice person. You come to help us even though you are so busy." The staff said gratefully.

"No, no, it's just a small matter. I'm going to eat first." Yin Ze is not the kind of utilitarian person who does good things for rewards. He waved goodbye and left without leaving a cloud.

"He is really down to earth. He doesn't neglect the people behind the scenes just because he is in front of the stage. He also showed a sense of satisfaction in getting food through simple labor. He is very sincere." The staff sighed, "This is a good actor who is willing to work hard."

"...So who is he?" Another staff member scratched his head and finally expressed the long-standing doubt.

"Why, don't you know him?"

"I do not know."

"Then you asked him to help you check if the set was crooked before?"

"No, he came here on his own initiative."

"?"

……

Yin Ze specially found a lively place to eat. There were many actors who had not taken off their costumes yet, gathering together to enjoy the noon time. They were playing chess over here, guessing dice over there, and in the distance, they were playing blackjack and Texas Hold'em. It was like an open-air amusement park.

I can already smell the competitive atmosphere in the air.

The eyes of the peerless master are trembling!