Hitoribochi - "Alone"

warau

warau

Active member
Well, my week can't get any worse so I am throwing my hat in the ring. I have been planning to jump in last minute with a film or two but my editor has a new job and may not be available and my cameraman is probably not going to be helping either. Cool, I'm in!

Chances of a film finished by the deadline - %90. Chances of a WATCHABLE film - %50, up it to %70 if the editor is on, %90 if the cameraman shows.(Hey, I am nothing if not an optimist!)

Plot: A "hikikomoro" (see definition below) loses his last friend and makes the first step toward the outside world. Christian theme.

Hikikomori - a term for a person who seldom to never leaves his house, relying on parents for support. Many were victims of bullying or abuse in jr-sr high. This is a pretty large problem in Japan at the moment. One concern is what happens to them when their parents die. Some of them have literally not left their house in 15-20 years.

Equipment: shooting with a DVX100b and letus 35, Rode NTG1 straight to camera

I have never used either so if the cameraman doesn't show...this becomes an "experimental" film. :)
 
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Production Notes

February 8
First day of production. Everyone met for a short rehearsal and to rewrite on scene, then off to shoot the first scene. Major issues with lighting in a small hallway.

February 3
Almost finished with shooting schedule, should finish 99% on Sun, 8th and Wed, 11th. Fumiyoshi Iseri will play the part of Michihiro but is only available to me on the above mentioned 2 days. Cody Permenter will be editing starting the 14th so that is the cutoff for all filming for Hitoribochi. No pressure, just hope this week goes perfectly!

January 25
I have had a difficult time finding someone to play the part of Michihiro. Kumamoto is not an actor's paradise so it ends up not being a filmmaker's paradise either. I do have a few leads and hope to have auditions for the last part by the end of January. Camera and lighting testing has gone well, I think I have decided on the "look" that I will be going for while filming.

January 17
Meet with the first two actors, Kenichi and Yuko. Had a good meeting, they both have a background in theater and commercials so at least they should act somewhat "professional". They are excited about doing their first film. I am hoping to meet with them again to go over the script with the intention of making it "theirs", changing wording, etc to something more natural for them.
Loosing planning to shoot the second week of February, depends on the availability of the 3rd actor.

January 15
Script 4th draft finished. (Third draft in Japanese.)
Based on a quick run through and some wild guesses, it will take 2-3 days to film, never more than 2 actors on set at the same time.
There are 3 lighting setups, one is outdoors. Actors will have 2 wardrobe changes each with one person having 3 changes.



田中small.jpg
Kenichi Tanaka will play the part Teruaki, the hikikomori.

yuuko.jpg
Yuko Nagahiro will play the part of Teruaki's sister.

iseri_small.jpg
Fumiyoshi Iseri will play the part of Michihiro.
 
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Thanks for the offer! I'll keep it in mind, particularly if I can finish shooting soon enough.
 
warau said:
Hikikomori - a term for a person who seldom to never leaves his house, relying on parents for support. Many were victims of bullying or abuse in jr-sr high. This is a pretty large problem in Japan at the moment. One concern is what happens to them when their parents die. Some of them have literally not left their house in 15-20 years.
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I had never heard of this before and it sounds fascinating. Best of luck with the film.
 
Thanks for the welcome! I figure someone has to offer up the bad films to use as examples of what NOT to do. Might as well be me!

Puck, I have enjoyed your podcast! I may do one to show how not to film a short. :Drogar-Evil(DBG):

I am excited about the potential but am thinking I may have bit off more than I can chew this time around. But hey, what's the worst that can happen? I put up a crappy film and get made fun of, my feelings are hurt, my life seems to have taken a turn for the worse, I move back to the states, can't get a job, move in with my parents and play video games for the next 10 years. ...or not.
 
You won't make a bad film. Go in and film it, have fun with it and we'll give an honest critique. You won't get made fun of here. That's one of the coolest things about DVXUser, is that you can get an honest critique about what we enjoyed about your film and how we think you could improve on so you're always progressing in your art.

Besides, forum rules FORBID flame wars. That's not what this place is about.

So knock yourself out, podcast it and have some fun!
 
Thanks, Puck!
I always have fun. I just sometimes lack adult supervision at times when it would be beneficial. (My wife can't be around all the time :Drogar-Evil(DBG):)

I pick up the DVX100b today so I have a few weeks to get used to it just in case Koji, cameraman, can't make it. The camera is his and he gave me a lesson last week. I am not so worried about the camera but I do want to practice with the letus35. I believe he has a 50 and 28mm lens for me to use.

I will need to experiment with lighting setups. I am going to try something different from my past films (all documentary). I hope to use colored lights and a very strong "moody" feel. Not sure that I am up to it , which makes it more fun for me! although possibly more painful to watch the results in the end.... :zombie_smiley:
 
puckthemad said:
just get some BTS footage so we can enjoy the shenanigans and laugh along with you.
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Consider it done!

I am thinking of a podcast including some BTS footage but realized anything including the actor would need to be subtitled! Not sure I want to go that far, but I might...
 
Your story sounds interesting and also exceptional. It looks like an intelligent theme, which makes me very curious. I hope, you will finish this project in time and I am looking very much forward to it. Good work and much luck. :thumbup:

Susanne :bath:
 
Nicely done Norman! And you even remembered to plug lossfest at the end there.
You should also upload it to the Facebook group.

The concept of your film does sound very interesting and I'm lookign forward to see what you do with it. If you need any help with posters or a banner, PM me and I'll set you up.
 
Susanne G. said:
Your story sounds interesting and also exceptional. It looks like an intelligent theme, which makes me very curious. I hope, you will finish this project in time and I am looking very much forward to it. Good work and much luck. :thumbup:

Susanne :bath:
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Thanks! I do think there is a lot of potential but I am struggling somewhat with how to portray the emotional struggle which is the center of the plot. We'll see how it turns out...



puckthemad said:
The concept of your film does sound very interesting and I'm lookign forward to see what you do with it. If you need any help with posters or a banner, PM me and I'll set you up.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer!
 
warau said:
Thanks! I do think there is a lot of potential but I am struggling somewhat with how to portray the emotional struggle which is the center of the plot. We'll see how it turns out...
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I noticed that the emotional side of Asian characters often are showed in a very subtle way. Probably this is the nature of their culture, to be very formal and gentle and to take the emotions under control. One of my favourite films is from Asia - not from Japan, but from Hong Kong. 'In the mood for love' by Wong Kar-Wai. This film was set in the 1960's, but perhaps it could give you some ideas to realize authentic emotions. I had the same sensation of how to express emotions when I read the novel 'Dance Dance Dance' by the japonese writer Murakami Haruki.

Susanne :bath:
 
I forgot to say that 'In the mood for love' has a beautiful soundtrack, which underlined very well the emotional atmosphere and the composer is japonese - Shigeru Umebayashi. :)

Susanne :bath:
 
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