Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 207 You are so good, I must find you

"Golden Days" was filmed in the Philippines because the protagonist of the drama, in real life, fled to Luzon Island to avoid being hunted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and changed his name to "Luzon Sukezaemon".

The ratings were pretty good, with an average of over 25% and a peak of 34.4%.
There are multiple people in the director team, each of whom writes and directs a different episode.

At this moment, Okamoto Yui, one of the directors of "Golden Days", is watching the first episode of Journey to the West.

The huge investment and grand scale made him somewhat impressed.

The opening scene is full of special effects style.

This is not a derogatory term in Japan. As a benchmark for special effects, Bankaya did make the opening as good as possible in that era when special effects were scarce.

In terms of the plot, he actually hadn't read the original Journey to the West. He was just watching the opening plot from a Japanese perspective, and he could completely understand it.

The domestic version focuses on the Water Curtain Cave, Sun Wukong's study, etc., but these are not reflected in the Japanese version of Journey to the West. The game starts at the maximum level and involves various battles.

The Heavenly Palace was shrouded in smoke. At first, Okamoto Yuyu thought that the crew's equipment was broken, but after looking more closely, he found that this misty image was created deliberately.

"Hmm... that's quite an idea. Using this kind of smoke to create the high and otherworldly effect of Takama-ga-hara is truly a stroke of genius."

Soon, the camera moved to the scene of Havoc in Heaven.

At this moment, the camera suddenly moved forward, and after a few cuts, it seemed to present a scene of heavenly soldiers surrounding them.

Although there are no huge troops, it still creates a grand scene. Shooting downwards from a six-story tower, people's faces seem to be blurred, and only the close-up occasionally switches to the actors.

The rotating heavenly soldiers on both sides form a Tai Chi pattern full of profound meaning, and the Four Heavenly Kings fight against the Monkey King.

"hiss……"

Okamoto Yuyu stood up instantly and crumpled the paper cup in her hand.

big occasion!
Directors who can orchestrate grand scenes are rare no matter where they are.

In Japan, only a very few directors, including Kurosawa Akira, can do this, but due to several failures, Kurosawa has now temporarily announced his retirement and no longer meets anyone.

"Could he be a disciple of Master Kurosawa Akira? It's impossible that they really invited Mr. Kurosawa, right?"

Okamoto Yuyu waited until the end, and the credits showed that the director was Yusuke Watanabe.

This made Okamoto Xiyou feel a little confused.

Watanabe Yusuke... I've never heard of this person having such abilities!
Okamoto Xiyou stood up and paced back and forth, finally making up his mind.

He had to find an opportunity and ask his friends to find out how the scene where the heavenly soldiers and generals besieged Sun Wukong was filmed!

Taiga drama is a Japanese historical drama. Although some humorous works appeared later, it is still serious as a whole and requires the creation of various grand scenes. However, even so, for a long time, there are still only a very small number of works in Taiga drama that can reflect such grand scenes, such as the later classic "Takeda Shingen".

Japan is not small in area and has a large population. It has the manpower and resources to shoot large-scale scenes, but creative people are rare everywhere.

Okamoto Xiyou took a few more steps and clenched his fists tightly.

Gotta find this guy!

……

……

Time can be long, but it can also be short.

Two months passed in a flash, and Gu Ming, who had been exposed to the wind and sun, felt like he had become a different person.

During these two months, Gu Ming made a lot of changes, but since he couldn't change the script, he could only focus on the actors and the killing array performance as much as possible.

In particular, Gu Ming tried his best to provide some clever ideas to create traditional special effects.

If nothing goes wrong, the Japanese version of Journey to the West premiered in China in the 1980s, but was hastily withdrawn from theaters due to its unconventional nature. This also prompted CCTV to make up its mind to film Journey to the West itself.

Then CCTV approved several million yuan, leaving the director to figure out how to film it himself. Millions of yuan, starting from scratch, it was hard to even find a way across the river by feeling the stones. He had to find the equipment and manpower himself, and as usual, he had to undergo closed-door special training before filming.

So historically, this amount of money was not enough, so they later found someone to beg for alms, namely Baiyan Zhenren. In this way, the filming was completed.

In contrast, when collaborating on the Japanese version, huge amounts of money were spent, with the cost of a single episode reaching 4000 million yen.

After that, something well-known in China happened. They found Liu Xiaolingtong and paid him 1,500 yuan for several years. Liu Xiaolingtong kept saying that he was the highest paid person in the crew and often felt embarrassed.

Then Wang Bozhao made a cameo appearance in half an episode, which was more than what he earned in a whole year...

Out of respect for the respected, many people have not faced up to a problem with CCTV's Journey to the West.

That is, only the first part of CCTV's Journey to the West is the best produced, the second part is actually very shoddy, and the plot arrangement is far inferior to the first part.

In this well-made first film, a large number of shots borrowed from the filming style of the Japanese version of Journey to the West.

There are many videos analyzing this point, so I won’t go into details here.

Gu Ming couldn't interfere with other matters, and domestic productions wouldn't call him from Japan to act as a combat choreographer. But knowing that China would eventually borrow shots from the Japanese version, Gu Ming naturally did his best to create shots that were easy to learn and effective, thus indirectly influencing the film.

If the Japanese version is well made, it will also help his development in Japan, and it will also help the neighboring works. There will be a reference point, so he won't have to fly in the dark. It's a win-win situation.

As for the use of the Four Generals of the Demon Family instead of the Four Heavenly Kings, it is not to integrate the world view, but because Japan itself has the setting of the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhism, and it is different from the traditional Buddhist setting. The status is simply epically enhanced.

The Japanese version of the Four Heavenly Kings is as powerful as Tathagata Buddha.

If the Four Heavenly Kings are used, it will be no different from the local culture in the minds of the Japanese. The Japanese side cannot accept that Sun Wukong can defeat the Four Heavenly Kings. They do not have the concept of Fighting Buddha. From this side's point of view, Sun Wukong defeating the Four Heavenly Kings is basically equivalent to the second part of this year's Conferred Gods, where Yin Jiao drained the magic power of Yuanshi Tianzun. Even Tomato's Honghuang novel does not dare to write like this!
Japan does not have the Investiture of the Gods. If the story of the Four Heavenly Kings is used, it will not only have the desired filming effect, but also be easier for the audience on the other side to understand. Moreover, Japanese audiences will not be confused about why the Four Heavenly Kings are so weak.

After all, the Japanese have never read either Journey to the West or Investiture of the Gods. They are more familiar with the guardian gods in Japanese Buddhism.

By using the Four Generals of the Demon Family, the audience will naturally discover the connection with The Investiture of the Gods, and then read and understand the work, as well as the myths and legends behind the work.

The most important thing is that if Gu Ming participates, he will have some say in the filming and can change some of the shooting styles.

After all, adaptation is not random writing, and parody is not nonsense. No matter which version of Sun Wukong it is, you can't just swing a broken stick around.

"I'm really worried sick..."

Gu Ming shook his head secretly, looked at the field, raised his hand and waved the flag, indicating that the formation should be changed.

The two months of running-in have not been in vain. These actors have begun to get used to the scheduling and are no longer so dependent on the arrows posted on the ground.

JAC has completely given up on it. Let Tani Mingai try her best to make such a big scene. Even after filming it, we have to admit that they really can't do it.

Chiba Shinichi is currently in the Kyoto studio, filming "The Yagyu Family Conspiracy." This is entirely under the responsibility of the JAC Club. Without Chiba Shinichi, they wouldn't be able to snatch the final word from Gu Ming.

It’s just that the director is sometimes more skeptical.

I'm the director! Why are you, a master of formations, always messing with my camera crew?!

After the final shoot, many people rushed to the toilet immediately.

"Brother Tiandi!"

"Why don't you say thank you, Brother Tiandi..."

Gu Ming spread his hands.

What to do? He's used to it!

"Brother Gugu!"

It was rare for someone to call him by his real name. Gu Ming turned around and saw that it was Zhen Xialong who handed him a letter.

"A letter from Tokyo said the Cat's Eye lens had run out. Mr. Jissoji Akio said that if you don't go back, he'll film Utsumi Toshio getting hit by a car in the next episode!"

(End of this chapter)