Chapter 89

When Itō Shūichi returned to the studio at noon,

he found that Nagayama Naoki and Yoshimura Daisuke were editing something in the control room.

"Naoki-san, Daisuke-san, what are you doing?"

"Ah, Shūichi-san, you're back!"

The crew had been very busy these past few days, and Itō Shūichi rarely returned to the studio, only coming back occasionally to pick up some equipment. "We are editing the footage we shot over the past two days."

"Footage? What kind of footage?"

Nagayama Naoki explained, "The other day, Daisuke-san didn't believe I had completed my apprenticeship, so I wanted to shoot a short film to prove it."

"Haha, after a preliminary edit, it turned out to be over an hour long. It's practically a movie now~"

"Nani?!" Itō Shūichi was shocked. "I haven't seen you for three days, and you guys secretly shot a movie without me?"

Yoshimura Daisuke quickly said, "No, no, we just wanted to shoot a short film, but it ended up being a bit longer."

He actually didn't know the difference between a feature film and a short film, thinking it was just a matter of length. In reality, shooting a feature film required significant differences in plot, camera work, and even editing.

In simple terms, the difference between a feature film and a short film is like the difference between an adult and a child.

Itō Shūichi leaned in to take a look. "Long shots? Or fixed shots?"

"Actually, there are 3 fixed shots and 2 long tracking shots. We originally wanted to shoot something like a documentary."

The concept of a mockumentary had been around for a while, but at this time, it hadn't really caught on in the film industry. The earliest mockumentary, "Cannibal Holocaust," had only come out last year, so the style Nagayama Naoki used looked very novel to Itō Shūichi.

Once Itō Shūichi started watching, he couldn't stop.

"Oh my~"

That afternoon, Itō Shūichi didn't return to the set to continue shooting.

It was said that he let the assistant director take over and shoot some scenes, which delighted the young assistant director. In the relatively small Shōwa film industry, the assistant director was usually just the on-set manager and rarely got to direct.

Meanwhile, Itō Shūichi hunkered down in the studio with Nagayama Naoki and Yoshimura Daisuke to work on this long "documentary."

...

A professional director is different. After Itō Shūichi understood the basic plot, he started giving editing advice.

"Naoki-san, the tracking shots are too close!"

"Naoki-san, the transitions here are too abrupt. Use other clips to smooth them out."

"Naoki-san, the pacing here is too slow. Shorten it. If there's no story at night, you can speed it up."

"Naoki-san..."

Before he could finish, Nagayama Naoki interrupted, "Shūichi-san!!"

Then, with a puzzled look on Itō Shūichi's face, he laughed and said, "Shūichi-san, come on, come sit and edit..."

"You should have said so earlier. I was getting anxious just watching!"

As a professional director, how could he let such a novel film style slip away?

Switching places, when Itō Shūichi sat down, Nagayama Naoki was sure he heard a satisfied sigh.

This guy had been eager to get his hands on it!

...

While Itō Shūichi took over, Nagayama Naoki started thinking about the subsequent promotion.

Although the mockumentary horror film was a spontaneous idea, similar shooting techniques had achieved great success in the future, even leading the trend of mockumentary horror films. The famous "Sadako" series also borrowed many elements from video tapes.

However, the promotional methods were somewhat unique. Could they be replicated in Japan?

The film they shot, although set in Japan, only changed the main characters, keeping the basic plot largely the same. The less advanced cameras of the time and the less professional actors actually enhanced the realism of the mockumentary.

Even if it didn't lead the trend, making a decent profit should be possible.

In the Shōwa era, the film industry was still dominated by a few old-school film companies. To get a wide release, they would inevitably have to deal with them. If they didn't avoid it, how could they promote it?

After thinking for a long time without coming up with any ideas, Nagayama Naoki called out the all-purpose Yoshimura Daisuke.

"Daisuke-san, do you know anyone in the cinema industry?"

"Naoki-san, I've had this feeling before. It seems you always think I know a lot of people?"

Yoshimura Daisuke seemed to be developing some self-awareness.

"Even the nightclub manager and the publisher's editor were like that. It seems every time you can't find someone, you come to me?"

"Well, after all, Daisuke-san has a lot of experience!" Nagayama Naoki flattered him. "You even made it to the department head level in the external affairs department."

The Japanese entertainment industry is small, and the power structure hasn't changed in decades.

After being in the industry for a long time, you get to know everyone to some extent. Even if you don't know them personally, making connections isn't a problem. Otherwise, how could he have had drinks with a department head from Fuji TV before?

"Since you put it that way..." Yoshimura Daisuke was easy to persuade. He was just joking with his friend. "I do know a few people in the cinema industry. Naoki-san, are we planning to release our film in theaters?"

"It's only an hour long, isn't that too short~"

"Ah, it looks short now, but that's just our initial edit. Once Shūichi-san uses the other shots, it should be enough."

"In that case, Naoki-san, we really did shoot a movie!!!"

Yoshimura Daisuke was excited. A playful idea had actually turned into a real product, something he had never imagined.

"Ah, you can say that."

"Also, Daisuke-san, it's already mid-September. We expect the film to be completed by the end of September.

In October, Halloween is coming. Our film is a horror movie, and if we can release it during Halloween, the effect will be much better."

Everyone knows that making a movie is a high-risk, high-reward business. The risk is partly in the quality of the film, but mostly in distribution, especially in the Japanese film industry, which is tightly controlled by a few major production companies: Toho, Toei, Shochiku, Kadokawa, Nikkatsu...

Without the backing of a major company, it's almost impossible to get a nationwide release for a new film.

And if the distribution isn't done well, even the best film will struggle to succeed.

Yoshimura Daisuke nodded. "I understand. I'll try to secure some resources in the film industry, but a nationwide release might be difficult."

"Don't worry, we're just aiming for a limited release initially. Once we gain some popularity, the big companies will come to us for distribution."

The first mockumentary horror film is destined to be a long-running hit. As time goes on, its popularity will only grow.

A horror film with no investment, no stars, no director, and even non-professional actors—what kind of impact will it have on the film industry?

Nagayama Naoki was very excited to find out~

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