"Me, me, me," Yoshika Matsuoka x Ayumu Omori x Shinichiro Kanagawa Three short films created by CM director [Director's Interview Vol.347]

Differences between commercials and short films, production

Q: What are the differences you feel between a commercial you've made on request and a short film you create from scratch?

Kanagawa: I often hear that feature films are free and interesting, but for me it was the opposite. In movies, the director makes all the decisions on set, but in commercials, many people, including the client and creative director, exchange opinions on set. I think that in terms of creating something, it is actually a great blessing to be able to gather the wisdom of many different people in this way. I was shocked to realize this, and I realized once again that commercials are a great place to work.

Omori: It's the difference between making a video and who is the most serious about it. With a commercial, the client first thinks, "I want it this way!", and then money is generated and various people take responsibility for making it. On the other hand, with a movie, you make it yourself without being told by anyone, so if you don't make it with your own serious "This is how it should be!", it will be obvious when you watch it. That was really scary, so I kept tinkering with the script for about 3-4 months.

When I first created a commercial proposal, I was trembling as I thought there was nothing more embarrassing than showing it to people, but when I made a short film, I felt even more embarrassed. I felt like I was taking off my pants in front of people.

Matsuoka: This time, I paid for almost all the production costs myself, and I was the one who approached the cast and staff. That was a big difference. I wrote letters to Mai Fukagawa and Kanji Furutachi to ask them to appear, and I called cameraman Yoshinori Okamura, trembling with nervousness. I had to tell them, "I want to do this with you!" and persuade them to cooperate and make it together, based on what I wanted to do. That was very difficult. Also, I didn't have the money, but I didn't want to compromise on the image, so the struggle there was also difficult. I think I asked a lot of things of producer Muraji (laughs).

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Q: Have you ever been able to use what you learned from commercials?

Kanagawa: It was a low-budget short film, but the staff was top-notch. That's because they had worked on commercials. The director of photography this time was Norimichi Kasamatsu, but it's not easy to ask someone like that. I've worked with Kasamatsu on commercials before, so we already had a relationship and were able to start filming. I think that's a great advantage.

Matsuoka: CMs need to convey a lot in a short amount of time, and I think I was able to make use of the training I've done up until now. Thanks to that, I was able to pack in the subtle changes in my feelings. The producer of the movie sometimes tells me, "Throw away everything you've done in CMs!", which is frustrating, but I definitely don't want to throw it away.

Omori: I guess being a commercial director makes you the type of person who listens to other people's opinions. But sometimes it's better not to listen to other people's opinions, so I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Script writing by three parties