Pusan Day 3

We took off at five thirty in the morning.
The typhoon had left, and it was a beautiful day.
We were going to shoot with the five members that were still here – Ryu-san the cameraman, Chief Naka-san, Choi-san the producer, Assistant Director Ota and me. The rest was supported by the Korean coordination team. Kim-Kim, who had become really popular among us Japanese in the past 3 days, is energetic as usual.

A little after six, we arrived at Pugeon. Again, we opened the door of the last car of the 7:05 train, and went into standby for shooting.
The wind was strong, and the clouds were moving pretty quickly. The clouds of Pusan were floating like they were getting tangled with the top of the low mountains nearby. It was as if the clouds were lying right over the sea. Perhaps that is how the name Haeundae （海雲台）was born. Oh, but it is truly fine day.
The train started.

The scenery we saw from the last car was completely different from the previous time. A chain of clear scenery passed before our eyes.
But because the clouds were moving so swiftly, we could not tell whether they would hide the sun or not until a moment before we filmed the scene.
Naka-chan, the assistant to the chief cameraman was having trouble deciding whether he should determine the stop with a cloudy sky or sunny sky.
Depending on the position of the clouds, the blue sea will turn into grey. We can only pray for the best.

When we went past Haeundae Station, which is two stops from Pugeon, the sea waited for us on the left hand side.
The camera finally started to roll.
The sun was on the east side, which meant it was on our backs. Even though we were shooting silently to begin with, everyone was whispering from tension.
“Yes, it’s the blue sea!”
A beautiful blue sea lay before our eyes
We did it! It was a success!
In the scenery far away, clouds trailed, and the town of Pusan spread before us.
It made a fine picture.
This was to be the image for the beginning of the film, where the audience will form their first impression of Korea.
Actually, more than that, if this scene does not start with a fine weather, the impression of the film itself will start on a dark note.
In the very end, we attained victory. God of film, thank you!
A smile lighted everyone’s faces.

We packed our things to get off at the next station, and drove to the airport.
We needed to hand over our shooting equipment to the main troupe.
The load of equipment that we had brought from abroad, and of which we declared the QTY through a carnet application, had to be completely matched when we were going to leave the country.
If we could give them to the team going home, it would make the procedure a lot easier.

We made it in the nick of time, and we were able to complete the procedure without any problems.
The staffs of the main troupe were relieved to hear from us that we were able to film great shots.

”A miracle occurred again!”
This phrase was starting to become a habit, as we continued to talk.

We saw the main troupe off, and the five of us once again returned to our hotel.
For the shooting on the rain date, we had reserved for tickets that enabled us to go from Pusan to Osaka directly.
Everyone is tired out from working from early in the morning the past few days. We can finally rest in peace.
We even gave up shopping, and slept like logs.
In the evening, we went to a spa called VESTA in Haeundae.
We heard that it was a famous onsen from the old days.
The view from Haeundae is incredible.
It is the best resort in Pusan.
And our last dinner shall be barbecued meat!
And that’s final!

(originally posted in Japanese on July 28, 2006)