[CINEMORE ACADEMY Vol.3] Pre-production edition How to make the movie “The Brightest Roof in the Universe”

The importance of ``costuming'', which is the only way to talk thoroughly with the actors

Q: From what position will staff be selected?

Fujii: First of all, let's do the shooting. Once the director of photography is decided, the lighting technician, who the director of photography trusts the most, will be on set.

In this case, I think the order was photography → lighting → recording → art. I made a presentation to Hiroko that I wanted to work with the film mother who raised me, the art director Kyoko Beya, and the sound recording engineer Tatsuhiro Okamoto has worked on both Hiroko's and my films, so... It was decided smoothly.

When it comes to hair and makeup, some actors have their own dedicated people, so it's a bit special. First, we decided on the photography department, then the production department and production department, and then the other members were decided on.

Q: Is it possible to decide on the filming staff early because they also have to do location scouting?

Fujii: That's right. It's usually decided about three months before crank-in. The production department, led by producers and line producers, starts preparations half a year in advance for large production sites, and three or two months in advance for regular production locations, so the first day of the main location scouting is a month in advance. By now, we already had all the staff.

Q: For example, will there be a preparation period for the actors?

Fujii: When it came to ``The Brightest Roof in the Universe,'' Mr. Kiyohara was 17 years old at the time, so I shared with his manager in advance, ``This is what I felt like,'' but basically I didn't know what to do with him. When it comes to speaking, you only get one absolute Being There. It's just a matter of "matching costumes".

Costume matching is a place where we can share our thoughts about the role and any questions we may have about the script. By the time it was time to match the costumes, I had written a ``character sheet'' that said, ``She was born in 1900, her blood type is ○, this is her favorite music, this is her family composition, and why did she become like this in the script?'' I write several thousand words about things that aren't written in the script, such as "What's going on?" and give them to each cast member. There are people who prepare their roles based on that.

Q: Very generous...! I often hear people say in interviews that their images matched by matching the costumes, and that's what they mean.

Fujii: I'm scared of suddenly trying to match costumes on set, so these days, the lead actors have to match their costumes at least twice. I've even heard of troubles such as, ``Even though the actors didn't say anything when fitting the costumes, they still couldn't do it on set.'' This has never happened in my workplace, but it would be a nightmare if it happened (lol).

In `` Yakuza and the Family ,'' Tsuyoshi Ayano is close in age to me, so we call him every night about the script, and we work together on the role while we eat together, and some actors are able to do that. However, it's better not to think that you can do that with everyone, and it feels like you're really putting everything into matching the costumes.

Q: How long before the turn-in does costume matching take place?

Fujii: One month ago at the earliest. This time, if it was Kentaro Ito, he would have to practice playing the banjo, so a month before the start, I called a banjo teacher over and practiced while fitting the costumes.

But you can't collect costumes until you decide on the cast, right? In my case, I often have to coordinate outfits several times over a 14-day period, from three weeks to one week before the event.

Q: Other than costume matching, are there any other places where the cast can talk to each other, such as during reading sessions?

Fujii: I'm the type of person who doesn't want to read aloud. The words spoken in a conference room are different from the words spoken in the field as a person. With my work, there may not be many opportunities for the acting club to meet before the production begins.

Maeda: In the case of ``The Brightest Roof in the Universe,'' Mr. Momoi was not in Japan, so it was physically difficult. However, I think I read more dramas than movies. I've never done it.

“Biuchi” to unify the image among staff