"Missing Child Videotape" Director Ryota Kondo x General Producer Takashi Shimizu: The Sense of Shooting a "Scary Atmosphere" [Director's Interview Vol. 466]

The short film "Missing Child Videotape," which won the Grand Prize at the 2nd Japan Horror Movie Awards, has finally been made into a feature film. This film marks the commercial directorial debut of talented director Kondo Ryota, whose TV Tokyo drama "Looking for Isinagakikue" drew much attention. This film can be said to have written a new page in Japanese found footage horror, and is filled with a suffocating, "unpleasant" atmosphere.

How did director Kondo Ryota create "Missing Child Videotape" with the support of horror movie master Shimizu Takashi, who served as the chairman of the award's selection committee? We spoke to the two of them.

"Missing Child Videotape" Synopsis

"That videotape shows something that shouldn't be on it..." Keita (Sugita Rairin) has a past where his younger brother Hinata disappeared while they were out in the mountains when he was a child, and now he volunteers to search for missing people. Then, one day, his mother suddenly sends him an old videotape. It shows the moment Hinata disappeared. Keita's roommate Tsukasa (Hirai Amon), who has psychic powers, senses an ominous atmosphere in the tape and advises Keita not to get too involved, but Keita sets out to trace the horrible past that has followed him for a long time. Keita is accompanied by Mikoto (Morita So), The Journalist who has been pursuing Keita as a subject for an article, and the three head to the "mountain" where Hinata disappeared...

Index

• Qualifications as a Commercial Manager
• The ability to capture a "scary atmosphere"
• Influenced by "The Invisible Man" and "Loveless"
• The editing check went so smoothly I was worried
• Commitment to analog noise

Qualifications as a Commercial Manager

Q: This is your debut feature film. What do you think of the finished product?

Shimizu: I had seen Director Kondo's work, including the short film "Missing Child Videotape," which won the 2nd Japan Horror Movie Award, as well as the short film "If You Hear That Sound" (21), which he submitted in the first competition. I felt that he definitely had a knack for filmmaking, and I felt that he had a knack for putting that knack together into a film. I had no worries about him making his commercial film debut.

When I saw the finished work, I thought it was amazing, and it was a work that allowed me to fully enjoy the Kondo world, including developments and depictions that were not possible in a short film. As with the first Grand Prize winner, director Yuta Shimozu's " Happiness for All " (24), he created something I could not have imagined, and the content was very scary. If I praise him too much, it will just become a self-promotional insider thing, but as someone involved, I felt relieved (laughs).

Kondo: It was my first experience with a feature film and a commercial film, so I didn't really know what I could do and there were parts where I was feeling my way around. Once production actually started, various people got involved and it became possible to do things that would never have been possible as an independent production. They found some nice ruins and even negotiated with me so that we could shoot there, and the color grading and sound were on a completely different level than if I had done it alone. I also discovered that "one small sound can change the expression so much." I wish I had started making films with this kind of structure sooner (laughs).

Shimizu: That's how I felt at first too (laughs). The staff in each department would expand on what we said and suggest all sorts of things. I really felt like a "professional" who takes responsibility for what they do and receives money. That being said, it's not just about doing it because you're paid, but whether or not you can be inspired to "do your best for this director, for this project" depends on the director's personality. Director Kondo was good at that too. Personality and communication skills are really important, and I think they're also part of directing.

"Missing Child Videotape" ©︎2024 "Missing Child Videotape" Production Committee

Q: Do you feel that you are good at communicating with staff?

Kondo: Not really (laughs). Well, we're adults, so we just communicate normally.

Shimizu: There are some directors who just yell and show off their own worldview and narcissism (bitter smile).

Kondo: I see. In that sense, I don't want to do things that I wouldn't like to have done to me. I've been an assistant director before, so I know that feeling. For the main staff for this film, including cinematography, lighting, and sound, I asked people who went to the same school as me and have been with me since the short film. They're all good and we have a relationship of trust. If anything gets tough, I can just complain to these people (laughs). And then we had veteran production and directing staff on board, so we were able to film with peace of mind in a rock-solid environment.

The ability to capture a "scary atmosphere"