Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 8: How to Perform Giant Creatures
The people of Keml probably would never know in their lifetime that this delicate creature, the masterpiece of Narita Toru, would be stuffed into the shape of two big men.

By the way, as the art director, Toru Narita has his own unique ideas and design language in leather case design.

That is, Narita Toru's three principles.

Monster does not mean a demon, so the suit he designed must have a human shape. Monsters with multiple arms, legs, and heads are absolutely not acceptable.

Monsters must have their own unique design ideas. If they are simply a magnified version of an animal, such a monster will definitely not work.

It is absolutely unacceptable to have monsters that derive various ferocious appearances from their original appearances, thereby instilling fear in people.

Therefore, the Keml Starman can be said to be Narita Toru's masterpiece. Its humanoid appearance is not scary at all, and its design incorporates the idea of sea tentacles.

But at this moment, the Keml star that Narita Heng was most proud of was tightly packed by two big men.

Both Gu Ming and Fujioka Hiroshi have strong bodies from years of exercise, which is a bit too full for the slender leather suits of the Keml people.

"Well……"

Narita Toru stared at Fujioka Hiroshi opposite him for a while, and felt inexplicably unhappy.

In fact, Narita Toru admitted that Fujioka Hiroshi's height is indeed more suitable for being a suit actor, and the posture he displayed is not much inferior to that of Tani Akira.

But like most people, Narita Toru likes what he likes at first sight.

Even if Fujioka Hiroshi has many good qualities, in the eyes of Narita Toru, only Tani Akira is the best.

"You've actually worn my suit like this! It's such a disgrace to the suit I carefully designed!"

Narita Heng secretly complained and became more and more annoyed.

The staff of Wangu gathered together again.

Although this is considered an audition, there are not many rules. As long as they think someone is suitable, they will use him without hesitation.

However, Wan Gu Ao and Narita Heng are both very important figures in Wan Gu at present. If two people make recommendations at the same time, then there is something to consider.

Wang Guyi cleared his throat, concluding the matter. "Then, I'll let you two show us your ideas. Remember, you're not wearing suits; this is who you are. Right now, you're a fifty-meter-tall giant!"

Gu Mingqie didn't care what other people were thinking. He looked across at Fujioka Hiroshi who was also dressed as a Keml alien.

Of course, you can't see any eyes or other emotions from the monster's suit.

But Fujioka Hiroshi's complacent and relaxed attitude was conveyed without any concealment.

It was very hot in Tokyo in July. Gu Ming had only worn the leather suit for a short while when he started to sweat like in a sauna.

"Then... I'll go first."

Gu Ming was not polite to the other party.

It's too hot in the leather case, so finish it quickly and take it off quickly.

Seeing that Fujioka Hiroshi didn't seem to have any objections, Gu Ming staggered to the front of the crowd and spread his arms.

Gu Ming lowered his hands and calmed down.

Narita Toru was secretly sweating.

"Move, move... why not move!"

He wanted to see Gu Ming perform the same cool somersaults in a leather suit as before, so that those who doubted him would open their eyes.

However, Gu Ming did not move.

He is thinking.

Suit actors cannot be treated as ordinary actors.

When filming Armor Hero, the domestic actors were not used to the existence of the leather suit, which repeatedly delayed the filming progress.

At that time, Tsuburaya's suit actors gave some advice and experience.

The mobility of the leather suit is not as good as that of a real person, so when performing movements, the amplitude should be as large as possible so that it will not be distorted when reflected on the appearance.

If you want to make the holster movements look good, you can use some bold and dramatic moves.

The actor's facial expressions and eyes can show a lot of emotions, but the suits don't have that much expression. Therefore, it is necessary to use exaggerated body language as much as possible.

Many of the performances that are exaggerated and bizarre for real actors are just right for suit actors.

In addition, there is the most important point.

About how to interpret huge creatures.

This is the best way to play a giant creature, which was taught by Tsuburaya's suit actors themselves and passed down from generation to generation in Tsuburaya.

Gu Ming looked at Wan Guyi, thinking about what Wan Guyi had said.

Imagine yourself as a giant creature fifty meters tall, and then perform in the form of a giant.

Gu Ming finally moved.

……

……

After being busy for the whole morning, it was not until this time that Eiji Wangani finally returned to Wangani Company.

He went to meet an old friend from his Toho days today.

This old friend currently works at TBS. Normally, Mantani Eiji, a Toho alumnus, would have turned to Toho first when faced with difficulties, but during the recent Ultraman production, he relied heavily on TBS and recommendations from his friends for actors and equipment.

the reason is simple……

Because Toho and Fuji TV, with which they had a past relationship, unilaterally broke off relations with Eiji Mantani.

This is a long story, so to cut to the chase.

Because Eiji Mantani bought a top-notch special effects device.

The so-called top-level means that there are only two of them in the world.

One is in Disney's hands and the other is in his hands.

The optical synthesizer Oxberry1200 cost a huge amount of million yen!

Able to synthesize the world's top optical effects!
Of course, Wan Gu didn't have that much money, so he had to borrow money.

Toho and Fuji TV were so scared that they ran away.

It’s too damn expensive!
Forty million yen!
Forty million!!
At present, even Toho cannot easily take out 40 million in liquid funds.

When writing the contract, Eiji Mantani actually set Fuji TV and Toho as Party A and Party B, with the two parties coordinating with each other.

Naturally, no one would be the scapegoat in such a mess. Fuji TV was the first to run away, followed by Toho.

Apart from director Eiji Mantani who has no hesitation in spending money to pursue perfection, no one would spend so much money to buy a piece of equipment just to create the lighting effects of Ultraman.

But that's what Eiji Mantani did.

Because Toho ran away, the equipment was temporarily stuck at the port and could not be sent back.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. Eiji Mantani contacted TBS TV station through an old friend. The TV station was willing to use money and other conditions to solve the equipment problem. The condition was that Ultraman must be broadcast on TBS TV station. TBS would also participate in the production of Ultraman and provide some assistance, such as personnel, equipment, and financial help.

In short, TBS came for Eiji Mantani's reputation as the god of special effects, and Eiji Mantani also needed assistance from TBS, so the two sides used Mantani as a medium to exchange what they had.

After a busy morning, I finally got the special effects equipment done.

It was already afternoon when Eiji Mantani returned to Mantani Company.

Unexpectedly, there were quite a few people in the yard, all gathered in the shade of the building.

"Well... it's great to be young."

Eiji Mantani shook his head slightly and sighed.

Although he was old, he was still in good health, so he put his hands behind his back and prepared to go back and take a nap.

With a slight flick of his earlobe, Eiji Mantani could hear the sound from the other side.

The slightly hoarse voice is unique to Narita Toru.

"Aming! What are you doing? Now is not the time to be modest. Show us your true abilities!"

Eiji Mantani tilted his head slightly and looked over there.

He was shouting so loudly, it seemed that Narita Toru was not very happy.

There were two actors wearing Keml suits, seemingly undergoing an audition.

Eiji Mantani stood with his hands behind his back and watched for a moment.

The punches and kicks that should have been powerful seemed to have slowed down a lot, as slow and unhurried as an old lady getting up.

The movements are exaggerated and the postures are extremely weird.

There was a hint of concern in Mantani Eiji's eyes.

interesting.

Are your movements out of shape? Are your postures exaggerated? Are your reactions slow?

Of course it's impossible!
Eiji Mantani, known as the God of Special Effects, has his own unique understanding of special effects!
Although the action seemed strange, Eiji Mantani gave it high recognition in his heart in an instant.

How to perform the characteristics of a giant creature through interpretation?
Eiji Mantani’s method is to slow down the motion!
The slower the movement, the more it reflects the characteristics of a giant creature. Due to the creature's huge posture, the speed of nerve conduction must be much slower than that of humans, so the reaction speed must be slower.

Therefore, by slowing down the video, the characteristics of giant creatures can be reasonably expressed.

And what if slow motion isn't possible? Of course, that depends on the actor's own abilities.

If you can notice this, it means that you are paying attention to it in your daily life.

In the past, Eiji Mantani rarely emphasized this point because works such as Ultra Q and Godzilla feature monsters as the protagonists, and the fights between monsters do not require special slow motion.

Eiji Mantani originally wanted to apply this point to the filming of Ultraman, but unexpectedly, someone has already observed it.

Eiji Mantani stopped and watched for a moment, and the approval in his eyes became more and more obvious.

Then, Eiji Mantani walked over quickly.

　In fact, all the action movies in the 1970s used slow motion and fast forward because the camera equipment could not capture the fast speed.

　　It wasn't until the 1980s that photographic equipment was able to capture faster speeds, allowing for various high-speed actions, and high-speed cameras capable of capturing ballistic trajectory would not appear for a long time.

　　However, when I wrote about slow play before, many people questioned it, thinking that slow play would not be logical. I was tired of explaining the reasons one by one, so I simply changed it to fast play and slow release.

　　Let’s just assume that the photography equipment in this world is more developed.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)