“The Disappearance” Director Hiro Kano What is needed is an absolutely unwavering “feeling” [Director's Interview Vol.220]

A special site that goes beyond independent production

Q: David Fincher's name was mentioned earlier, but I feel that he is very particular about the angle of view and image production. Did you draw any storyboards? Also, what did you discuss with Mr. Imura, the photographer, before filming?

Kano: I showed the staff the key visuals and split copies of each scene to convey the direction. Mr. Imura, the cinematographer, and Mr. Keino, the lighting designer, have been working together for a long time, so they are familiar with the lighting and angles of view that I like. The rest was adjusted on site. I'm the type of person who wants to be able to control everything on set, from how the video is shot. The staff are excellent people who accept that and give 120% back, so it feels like that kind of multiplication was happening on site.

Q: Is there only one camera?

Kano: I often took pictures with two cameras. Some scenes were shot with three cameras depending on the location.

Q: I hear that most Japanese movies are shot with one camera (due to budget constraints). Was the director running the other camera? Or did they each have their own photographer?

Kano: Each one had a photographer. The camera department also served as the special equipment, so there were quite a number of people on site from the camera department alone. I mainly used the RED DRAGON camera, and I also used the newly released RED Weapon.

Q: So your commitment was also reflected in the filming system? Also, regarding the angles, I felt that there were a lot of close-ups of faces, etc. Please let me know if that was your intention.

Kano: This time, I consciously made it close to the point where it felt uncomfortable. That's because I wanted to convey the weakness of humans and the pressure they carry in their chests. I think that Japanese films often capture the ``place'' and ``atmosphere.'' Photographing the ``atmosphere'' means photographing the ``human emotions'' that emerge there. While placing importance on that, I also wanted to control that ``atmosphere'' not only through people, but also through ``the way I photographed it.'' In that sense, I was very conscious of the angle of view when shooting.

Q: You mentioned that there were two or three cameras, but what was the scale of the lighting?

Kano: Depending on the scene, I had the lighting done on a fairly large scale. In the pedestrian bridge scene, which was the largest scene, we made it rain and lit the entire area. Also, the scene where the main character runs along the railroad tracks was filmed by moving horizontally, and there was also lighting over the entire range of the character running. And it's raining there too. It was no longer the scale of independent production (lol).

“The Disappearance” (c) “The Disappearance” Production Committee

Q: The scale of the rain was large, so I thought you were shooting on a rainy day. Also, in the night scene, the ground is wet and the city lights are reflected. Are you preparing for that as well?

Kano: That's right. Water is also being sprayed over a wide area. In the scene shot in Shinbashi, I asked permission from the shop in the photo to sprinkle water in front of the shop. We also ask members of the public who were present at the event to perform.

Q: When the street lights are on in Shinbashi, it's the busiest time.

Kano: I was able to take the photo during the busiest time. What's more, we filmed a scene where a man and a woman were both covered in blood walking (lol). Thanks to that, I was able to take the photo at a place where I thought, "Okay! Here it is."

Q: The experience you have gained so far has been put to good use in many ways.

Kano: When I heard from the customers who saw the film at the movie theater, I was very happy to hear that they felt the film had a different atmosphere from previous Japanese films. I felt like I was able to properly bring out what I had cultivated there.

There are some scenes that could not be filmed.