A Genius Director Who Dominates OTT Platforms - Chapter 75

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Director Who Dominates OTT

Episode 75

The origin of the incident was simple.

It started when Director Im Un-jae began filming the game play scenes of the supporting actors that Team B had been handling.

The problem was that the actors were required to perform quite bizarre acting.

“You can all do whatever you want.”

“Those who can play, feel free to play, and those who can’t don’t need to.”

“You don’t even need to pretend.”

“Just express your emotions freely.”

This was Director Im Un-jae’s request after bringing in several upright pianos instead of computers.

At first, the actors didn’t think much of it.

They just thought the director wanted to film a metaphor scene (a scene that projects situations onto specific objects).

Some were even happy since complete freedom in acting was guaranteed.

When someone who could play piano performed, those who couldn’t would ask to be taught.

But that only lasted a day or two.

“Good. Now I’m starting to get the feel for it.”

On the third day of the same filming, Director Im Un-jae’s directing became excessive.

He had the actors sit in front of the pianos and made them express anger.

The actors, annoyed and wondering what this was about, pounded on the keys, but Director Im Un-jae didn’t stop.

“More, get angrier.”

People feel frustrated after just 10 minutes of meaningless repetition, but the same thing was repeated for a full 4 hours.

Though breaks were given intermittently, once they started shooting, they couldn’t stop for even a second.

The actors, who couldn’t bring themselves to complain to the director, finally spoke up the next day.

This time, all sorts of instruments like drums, keyboards, guitars, and bass were set up.

“Now, let’s laugh. Play while laughing.”

The directing became increasingly detailed.

“Why are we doing this? Does it even have any meaning?”

“Dohyeon-u is a genius… Maybe he just picked someone easy to control?”

“Right. Has Director Im ever done anything properly on his own?”

“Even Dohyeon-u doesn’t seem to know what’s going on, he’s just standing there with his arms crossed.”

What added fuel to these complaints was that Min Jae-ryul and Luhan only filmed their scenes briefly before leaving.

At most, it was about 20 minutes.

The next day, when Director Im Un-jae set up the upright pianos again and called for a water truck.

“Excuse me, Director. Could we possibly talk?”

“We have a lot of concerns about the scenes the actors have been filming lately.”

“Since they’re all young actors, they’re having trouble interpreting the scenes…”

The managers of each actor came to find me as if they had made an appointment.

Though they used euphemistic language, their intention was clear.

They wanted me to step in and sort things out.

Whether I explained the scenes to the actors and directed them myself, or restrained the runaway Director Im Un-jae.

To be honest, I had mixed feelings.

I understood the actors’ feelings.

It must be difficult.

It’s not easy to be stuck with scenes whose purpose you don’t understand for nearly a week.

But would such complaints have arisen if Im Un-jae wasn’t in his thirties and wasn’t a music video director?

Weren’t they pouncing on him because Director Im Un-jae hadn’t said much despite their complaints over the past few days?

Moreover, I was partly to blame for this series of problems.

“It seems worse because the Director is neglecting these scenes…”

“If you include me and senior Min Jae-ryul in the filming and take control, Director, I think the complaints would disappear.”

From what Min Jae-ryul and Luhan subtly conveyed, everyone was thinking of Director Im Un-jae as my subordinate.

Objectively speaking, Director Im Un-jae hadn’t been relying on my directing as we passed the midpoint of filming.

He only sought my help for very important scenes or when subtle acting adjustments from the actors were needed.

Just like Director Jeong Hee-su had done.

But what if I stepped in to sort out the situation?

The filming itself would become smoother.

Though it’s embarrassing to say it myself, the actors on set had absolute trust in me.

It seemed to start when Jeon So-ra began frequently bringing scripts to ask about acting direction.

But…

Who would that be for?

The complaining actors?

The director who created noise due to inexperience?

Me, who could establish authority?

None of them.

It would just be an action for the sake of the final product.

I don’t want to become that kind of CE.

I want to see a world that captures even this conflict as part of the drama.

And I believe Director Im Un-jae wants the same landscape as me.

Though I don’t really understand what these scenes are about either…

As I declared to Go Hak-su, I believe in Director Im Un-jae’s talent.

In the end, my choice was to stand back and watch.

“The director is the commander on set.”

“Even so…”

“If you have complaints, speak directly to the director.”

As a result, Director Im Un-jae didn’t back down.

He continued filming while engaging in a battle of wills with the actors, even personally shooting insert scenes that could have been left to Team B.

Even I was confused about whether Director Im was being stubborn, so what must the atmosphere on set have been like?

But that dawn.

Director Im’s post appeared in the notice group that only announced filming schedules.

Asking everyone to gather at noon tomorrow.

* * *

The next day, the morning filming was slightly disrupted.

Everyone was curious about what Director Im Un-jae would say.

Then came noon.

Surprisingly, Director Im Un-jae’s first words were an apology.

“I’m sorry, actors. You’ve all worked so hard.”

The atmosphere on set immediately softened.

Regardless of age or experience, directors tend to think that sets won’t function unless they keep actors in line.

“If I had a clear plan, I would have explained it to you, but as a novice director, it was difficult to express in words. So I prepared the results.”

When Director Im sent a look to the assistant director, an image began to appear on the large beam projector used on set.

However, that result exceeded my imagination.

* * *

-Lee Yeong-han! Lee Yeong-han!

The video began with Lee Yeong-han receiving cheers after winning the Asian Games semifinal.

But this Lee Yeong-han was about to run away.

He had chosen to disappear before the Asian Games final.

Behind the scene of him rolling up his dedicated keyboard cable while receiving people’s cheers, his anguish spreads as an insert.

At that moment, music came in.

Thump thump thump thump-

To be precise, it wasn’t music, but drum sounds close to drumbeats.

A drum loop that even I, who don’t know much about music, could feel was orthodox.

At the same time, moments of failure from the Seong-hwa Empire players sync with Lee Yeong-han’s pain.

The hand gripping the mouse slips, then strikes the hi-hat of the drums.

The sight of feet stamping nervously transforms into kicking the drum cymbals.

The hands that were tapping the keyboard strike down on piano keys.

The gesture of kicking back the chair and standing becomes the motion of kicking a guitar.

All kinds of discordant sounds pile up.

Sounds that immediately induce discomfort sync with the screen, tormenting the ears.

But at that moment.

A very small melody can be heard from somewhere.

Along with the barely audible melody, Han Guk-yeong laughs, Park Seong-hwa frowns, and Yu A-yeon cries.

The saturation of the screen tone rises, and the players’ expressions begin to change little by little.

Not anger, but effort.

Not blame, but self-reproach.

Not giving up, but persistence.

As the discord is refined, it transforms into a clear melody with Pi Do-seon’s appearance.

A player who was timid under his mother’s control but made a firm decision embraces the courage to be hated.

A player who occasionally played as sixth man grabs the bass, and a player who had been on the team the longest but never received the spotlight strums the electric guitar.

All those moments signify Seong-hwa Empire’s progress.

There was no more discord.

The players on screen race toward victory.

The first victory.

A player on screen strikes the piano with his fist as if expressing the ecstasy of victory.

The second victory.

Another player throws down the bass and roars to the world.

The third victory.

In the face of the actor striking the drums as if to destroy them, you can see the will to never back down.

They probably didn’t really act with such intention.

It was capturing fleeting moments from the countless takes Im Un-jae had them do.

It was the power of direction.

Meanwhile, the sound of Park Seong-hwa shouting and Han Guk-yeong roaring plays underneath.

The promotions team leader throws documents, reporters press shutters, and the audience applauds.

At the end of all that, the screen fades to black.

-Thump! Thump, thump…

A close-up shows the volleyball that Park Seong-hwa threw when he was kicked off the team bouncing on the court.

Narration comes in.

[Even if it grazes your fingertips.]

[There are moments when blocking succeeds, and moments when it fails.]

[But whatever the result…]

[It must reach your fingertips.]

A bright sky pours down in front of Park Seong-hwa as he opens the gymnasium door and walks out.

【Grazing Fingertips】.

Along with the drama title.

* * *

“This is insane…”

The moment the video ended, someone muttered.

I agree.

How should I put it.

It felt like I had heard the perfect theme song for our drama.

It felt like I had seen a music video that could best bring out that theme song.

I didn’t know the scenes we shot with the actors would be used that way, I didn’t know the drama’s noise and discord would combine, and I didn’t know that would create music.

Of course, I had discussed something similar with Director Im before.

E-sports match scenes should be shot at high tempo, and keyboards are pianos and mice are percussion instruments.

That sense of rhythm would captivate people who don’t know games.

But I never imagined that idea could give birth to such a perfect result.

Even though it’s clearly a rough edit, the balance is too good.

The balance of in-game screens that go in here and there like seasoning was perfect.

It’s not excessive so you’re curious about that world, and it’s not lacking so the sense of presence doesn’t drop.

The director who created such an amazing result…

“We can’t make every match like this. But I thought we should put effort into at least the final match. The vision was clear, but the shooting direction was unclear, so the actors had a hard time.”

He was scratching his head as if embarrassed.

At that moment, the actors burst into cheers.

“Wow, Director!”

“It’s so stylish, isn’t it?”

“It’s like, how should I say, I feel like I saw something!”

“So this is how we were going to use the game content?”

“This doesn’t matter at all if you don’t know games, does it?”

Especially the older supporting actors looked so happy.

No matter how much gaming had become culture, it was still unfamiliar to them.

“Director, we’re sorry.”

“We didn’t really understand…”

As a result, the minor supporting actors who had been rebellious all this time apologized to Director Im.

Among them, there are probably people who are truly sorry, but there are also probably people who succumbed to the surrounding atmosphere.

But whatever it is doesn’t matter.

The complaints of one or two actors can no longer bring down the authority that Director Im Un-jae has seized.

While the actors gathered in small groups to enjoy their happiness, I quietly approached the director.

“When did you prepare something like this?”

“I thought about it from the beginning, but I kept putting it off because I didn’t know how to direct it. How was it?”

“It was really good. If I had my way, I’d want to use this for the trailer and start episode 1 with this too.”

“I don’t know about the trailer, but episode 1 is a bit…”

I asked with a smile.

“Are there no lyrics?”

“Not yet. A composer friend of mine made it in a hurry.”

“What do you think about using this song as the main OST?”

“Oh, that’s good. My friend would probably love it too. Then what about the singer?”

Is there anywhere else to look?

When my gaze turned to Luhan, Director Im made an ‘Ah!’ sound.

* * *

13 days later.

The filming of 【Grazing Fingertips】 was completed.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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