Osaka Day 2
Another Sunny Day
It was just a bit cloudy in Osaka, which made it tolerable when we were in the shade. Fortunately, most of our shooting was to take place inside a building. Which was also a lucky thing!
The first menu for today was the scene where Soo Hyun and his friend goes to visit a friend of his late grandfather. This setting is based on the truth, as Lee Soo Hyun’s father was actually born in Osaka, and the whole family had lived in Japan until he was five.
Ever since we came to Osaka, over two days, Teru (Yamazaki) and the art team were adding last touches to the set. He happened to meet a local monk at the site where we were about to shoot, and after he explained about our film, they hit it off really well
and the monk helped him out with many things.
When we came to Osaka for scenario hunting (the process of doing preliminary location hunting for the purpose of writing a scenario), we were drawn to an apartment built in the early Showa era. That was where our shooting was going to take place. Every one of the staffs lauded the place – it truly gave the perfect touch to the film.
In the apartment, there is an old lady’s room – and our art team had arranged it in the bon festival setting. What a great idea! Who would have imagined it.
Another great job by the art staff we should be proud of.
The actress who gives a passionate performance opposite Lee Tae Sung and Marky is Yano-san. She is a first generation Korean in Japan who has been giving solo performances on stage for many years. We had gone through a long search looking for someone who was suitable to play this role in this particular scene, and we finally found her.
She plays a white-haired old lady who speaks in a way peculiar to first generation Koreans, mixing Japanese and Korean, and in an earnest tone as if she is praying. In this scene, I have embedded another theme of this film which is important to me. I wonder what the audience will feel when they see this scene.
The summer sun that shone on the court created deep shadows in the rooms and the hallway. It was almost like a picture. This old wooden apartment will be torn down in September. The aged plate that was attached to the entrance had instructions written on it in both Hangul and Japanese. This of course is not something the art team prepared – we had left it as we found it. Perhaps, this building itself is a witness of an era. Maybe it was not a coincidence that it was going to be shot in film, leaving its last form.
We finished shooting by early evening, and moved to Nakazaki-cho near Umeda.
We were going to shoot at “Amanto”, a place owned by my friend of many years. This part of town is an interesting place. There is a row of two-storied wooden houses lined up against modern buildings in the back, and we could even see some remains of the old roads of the Edo period. In one corner, there also remains a small shrine of the my favorite dragon god (Hakuryu Okami). On the other hand, there are quite a few fashionable shops for young people in the residential area. Small live houses reformed from wooden houses, many art galleries, shops of Asian taste, organic food restaurants… such places are scattered in this area.
If one was bored with the monotony of daily life, it would be the ideal place to take a casual walk. There may be an unexpected encounter. Not just with people, but you may hear the Indian sitar, the Mongolian matouquin, or the sound of a flute from the Andes. Jazz goes well with this area, too. The place has a sense of spirituality, and it is a place I love.
For the last cut, we were to shoot the front of the shop. Because it is a residential area, we tried to go about the preparations as quite as possible. And finally, when we were ready to shoot, something unexpected awaited us.
I hope you sill read the rest of the story at “Ren’s Midnight Connection” (laughs)
It was a day our beer tasted just great.
(originally posted in Japanese on July 31, 2006)
It was just a bit cloudy in Osaka, which made it tolerable when we were in the shade. Fortunately, most of our shooting was to take place inside a building. Which was also a lucky thing!
The first menu for today was the scene where Soo Hyun and his friend goes to visit a friend of his late grandfather. This setting is based on the truth, as Lee Soo Hyun’s father was actually born in Osaka, and the whole family had lived in Japan until he was five.
Ever since we came to Osaka, over two days, Teru (Yamazaki) and the art team were adding last touches to the set. He happened to meet a local monk at the site where we were about to shoot, and after he explained about our film, they hit it off really well
and the monk helped him out with many things.
When we came to Osaka for scenario hunting (the process of doing preliminary location hunting for the purpose of writing a scenario), we were drawn to an apartment built in the early Showa era. That was where our shooting was going to take place. Every one of the staffs lauded the place – it truly gave the perfect touch to the film.
In the apartment, there is an old lady’s room – and our art team had arranged it in the bon festival setting. What a great idea! Who would have imagined it.
Another great job by the art staff we should be proud of.
The actress who gives a passionate performance opposite Lee Tae Sung and Marky is Yano-san. She is a first generation Korean in Japan who has been giving solo performances on stage for many years. We had gone through a long search looking for someone who was suitable to play this role in this particular scene, and we finally found her.
She plays a white-haired old lady who speaks in a way peculiar to first generation Koreans, mixing Japanese and Korean, and in an earnest tone as if she is praying. In this scene, I have embedded another theme of this film which is important to me. I wonder what the audience will feel when they see this scene.
The summer sun that shone on the court created deep shadows in the rooms and the hallway. It was almost like a picture. This old wooden apartment will be torn down in September. The aged plate that was attached to the entrance had instructions written on it in both Hangul and Japanese. This of course is not something the art team prepared – we had left it as we found it. Perhaps, this building itself is a witness of an era. Maybe it was not a coincidence that it was going to be shot in film, leaving its last form.
We finished shooting by early evening, and moved to Nakazaki-cho near Umeda.
We were going to shoot at “Amanto”, a place owned by my friend of many years. This part of town is an interesting place. There is a row of two-storied wooden houses lined up against modern buildings in the back, and we could even see some remains of the old roads of the Edo period. In one corner, there also remains a small shrine of the my favorite dragon god (Hakuryu Okami). On the other hand, there are quite a few fashionable shops for young people in the residential area. Small live houses reformed from wooden houses, many art galleries, shops of Asian taste, organic food restaurants… such places are scattered in this area.
If one was bored with the monotony of daily life, it would be the ideal place to take a casual walk. There may be an unexpected encounter. Not just with people, but you may hear the Indian sitar, the Mongolian matouquin, or the sound of a flute from the Andes. Jazz goes well with this area, too. The place has a sense of spirituality, and it is a place I love.
For the last cut, we were to shoot the front of the shop. Because it is a residential area, we tried to go about the preparations as quite as possible. And finally, when we were ready to shoot, something unexpected awaited us.
I hope you sill read the rest of the story at “Ren’s Midnight Connection” (laughs)
It was a day our beer tasted just great.
(originally posted in Japanese on July 31, 2006)
posted by hana at 4:49 PM
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