I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director (Patreon)

Chapter 91: Don’t Break The Props

As a visual novel aimed at youngsters, school scenes are essential in Fate/stay night (FSN).

Even though FSN has fewer school-related plotlines compared to typical school romance games, it still occupies a significant portion of the storyline in the first half.

However, Shinji didn't linger in the school for too long. After filming several dialogue scenes in the morning, he led the crew out of the campus.

With summer vacation over, the production team could only rent the school for filming for two and a half days per week.

Fortunately, Shinji's shooting schedule was quite flexible, and unlike other TV dramas that air while still being filmed, Shinji planned to finish all filming before airing on television.

So, the progress of filming at the school could be slower as long as it didn't affect the overall schedule.

The end of the morning shoot at the school didn't mean the crew could rest and go home. In the afternoon, Shinji immediately started filming action scenes, including the classic first battle - the schoolyard fight between Lancer and Archer.

Despite Fate Unlimited Blade Works (UBW), and Fate Heaven's Feel (HF) being different routes of the same story, Shinji couldn't change the fact that the beginnings of the three storylines were similar.

This raised a question: how to prevent repetitive content for the audience, especially to ensure high initial viewership and ratings for the first few episodes of the series?

Particularly, the most repetitive parts are crucial for the early episodes of the TV series.

Although the "schoolyard night battle to Caster's ambush" segment has been portrayed countless times by animation studios, the effect didn't satisfy Shinji.

You can't blame the animation teams for not faithfully reproducing the original, but directly copying it into a live-action series just doesn't feel right.

Especially with two versions of UBW, they didn't provide much reference for Shinji.

The two anime versions of UBW were almost extremes: the theatrical version rushed through the story, while the TV series version crawled along.

Of course, the TV series version of Fate/Zero also suffered from slow pacing issues.

This was mainly due to limited budget constraints and the need to fill 20+ episodes, forcing the production to slow down the pace.

Shinji didn't have this problem; he had ample funding for his production, and his series was only 13 episodes, so there was no need for filler.

So, Shinji's TV series version of UBW wasn't just a live-action adaptation of the anime; it was a completely new production based on the game script, with references from both anime versions.

But Shinji also knew that with the major plot unchanged, he could only focus on the details to give the audience a different experience.

In terms of dialogue scenes, Shinji could include more details due to the advantages of a TV series.

But for action scenes, Shinji needed to come up with some new tricks.

Shinji believed that fans would compare his version with the movie and the two TV series.

So, the different versions needed not only significant stylistic differences but also to maintain a high standard.

Like the movie versions of FSN and Fate/Zero, the two TV series versions of FSN also didn't have action directors; the specific design of the fight scenes was all handled by the Servants themselves.

After the baptism of the two FSN and Fate/Zero movies, the fighting styles of the Servants had been completely accepted by audiences worldwide.

Different from traditional movie fights' clumsiness or Hong Kong martial arts film's weird and slow moves, the combination of speed and power displayed by the Servants' fighting styles was simple and swift, and left a deep impact on the viewers.

Moreover, because these martial arts were honed through countless battles by the Servants, they were more ruthless and direct compared to performance-based martial arts.

In Type-Moon's studio, Shinji stood in the filming location set up as the schoolyard, giving the final instructions to Cu Chulainn and Hercules before shooting.

"You've filmed this scene before, so you should know that this opening action scene won't be edited for long."

"So, you must show all the highlights of your martial arts in the shortest time possible, and it must be completely different from the first time you filmed it!"

Hercules nodded heavily, assuring, "Don't worry, Master. We've rehearsed it many times. There won't be any problems."

"It's because you're saying those things while pounding your chest like a gorilla that I'm more worried!" Shinji glared at the guy and added, "Don't damage the filming props; they're worth more than your salary."

"Master, you're making me sad..." Hercules pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears.

"I don’t hear the promise."

"Yes, I promise to not damage any of the props."

Hercules quickly straightened his posture.

The filming props Shinji referred to weren't cameras but a fist-sized crystal ball.

Of course, this wasn't an ordinary crystal ball but a prop specially made by Medea for filming.

To make the fight scenes between the Servants feel different, besides their own actions, the filming techniques and editing are also crucial.

Regarding how to shoot in a more innovative way, Shinji thought long and hard, even mentally reviewing countless fight scenes from movies he had watched before.

In the end, Shinji decided to shoot this fight scene from a low-angle perspective.

When it comes to low-angle shots, most tokusatsu fans would first think of Koichi Sakamoto, while fans of special effects films might think of Michael Bay.

Koichi Sakamoto doesn't need to be mentioned. The low-angle shot is one of his unique skills besides color grading—although the term "low-angle shot" itself is quite risqué.

As for Michael Bay, although his low-angle shots might not be as famous as his explosion scenes and slow-motion shots, they still have a certain degree of recognition in the industry.

The characteristic of low-angle shots is to emphasize the enormity of objects in the frame. However, under the application of these two directors, people have seen another use of low-angle shots—to increase the sense of immediacy.

Especially in Ultraman Z, the scene of Ultraman Z and Juggler fighting against Kaiserglas in the sunset has become the best video material to introduce newcomers to Ultraman Z.

However, it's not easy to achieve the desired effect, especially for Shinji now.

The biggest enemy limiting Shinji from turning his ideas into reality was the issue of filming equipment.

Anyone who has watched the behind-the-scenes of Ultraman Z knows that the fight scene was performed by actors wearing suits, while the cityscape and skill effects of the fight were done through CGI in post-production.

CGI post-production wasn't necessary, and the location for the fight was an open playground.

The problem was how to capture this fight scene.

To avoid interfering with the actions between the actors wearing suits, Sakamoto used a selfie stick to extend the camera under them and film around them.

But in 2004, Shinji didn't have compact high-definition cameras. If he were to put the bulky camera under two people, not to mention achieving agile camera movements, the height limitation of the camera would probably only capture the upper bodies of the two people, and their lower bodies would definitely be cut off like eunuchs.

Fortunately, Shinji had developed a path dependency on such issues. If he couldn't solve the problem, he would leave it to the technical team to figure it out.

Shinji didn't care whether they used scientific methods or magic to achieve the filming effect, as long as they could achieve it.

The person who ultimately solved the filming problem was Medea; she specially created a crystal ball that could record and playback images.

After EMIYA and Cu Chulainn fought through it once on set, they would then let the crystal ball play back the recorded footage.

With the help of the Age of Gods magecraft, the process of playing back the recording was like a 3D projection in science fiction movies, and it was a 100% lifelike projection from all angles.

Because it was a projection, there were no obstructions from the actors, allowing the cameraman to freely move the camera towards the recording. Even if a phantom stepped on the camera, it wouldn't be a problem.

However, this filming method also had its drawbacks. The prop crystal ball was expensive, and the recording time was limited.

Only occasionally could a few special shots be used; if the entire fight scene was filmed this way, the crystal ball would clearly not be able to handle it, and it would be better to use a camera directly.

Actually, if this scene wasn't the opening scene of the entire TV series, Shinji might not have been willing to let Medea create a prop crystal ball.

Just like writing an essay, the opening scene was absolutely the most important.

This was also why in Shinji's previous life, whether it was in Hollywood or Hong Kong films, as long as it was an action movie, there would always be a captivating action scene to attract the audience's attention.

The same principle applied to TV series; the first episode was crucial, and the action scenes in the first episode were even more critical.

"UBW, Act 16, Scene 24, Action!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The continuous sound of blows echoed.

The twin blades in EMIYA's hands were repeatedly knocked away by Cu Chulainn, but no matter how many weapons were knocked away, he could always summon a brand new one.

Because the filming was of the UBW route, Shinji focused on depicting EMIYA's Projection ability, allowing him to project various weapons when his weapons were knocked away by Lancer.

Bang!

Another long sword was shot away by EMIYA, piercing the ground near Shinji's feet.

"Cu Chulainn, that annoying guy forgot my warning again." Shinji complained helplessly, "I just hope he doesn't break the crystal ball."

Medea, who was beside him, fanned herself and said, "Oh, Master. You can't expect a dog to do what it can't. Besides, even if it breaks, don't I still exist?"

Shinji's reply revealed his capitalist nature: "But I would still feel sorry for making you create it again! And it's not even hot today, why are you fanning yourself?"

Medea beneath her robe smiled faintly. "I just want to."