Jellyfisheyes

Today is The 17th Day of Shooting. Of the total 27 day shoot, we’ve plowed through 17. In order to reinvigorate everyone, Shiozaki-san finally made his move! That’s right, it was time for the legendary breakfast by the food delivery company Popeye to make its appearance. Japanese fried chicken, grilled pork chimaki rice balls, grilled cod roe rice balls, and two slices of takuan – that’s the Popeye boxed breakfast! I had been hearing about this for so long – “The Popeye breakfast is a must!” “You can’t call your self a film industry insider until you’ve had it” – and for some reason, my mind had been playing a game of associations between “Popeye” and “Hotdog Press,” the publishers of the young male fashion magazine Popeye, so that I had somehow convinced myself the Popeye breakfast was a hotdog. Thus, when I first saw it, I was a little disappointed. Even so, the grilled pork chimaki rice balls were delicious.

The breakfast choice of the Japanese film world! Popeye! It’s said they appear on film sets in Tokyo every morning!

Here it is, the Popeye Breakfast!

Location shoots need a lot of equipment, so work always starts with unloading.

This summer, we traveled to the world of Jellyfish Eyes.

VFX staff Tsuyoshi Kazuno. Everytime he shows up on set, I hear the words “Noone told me about this!” It’s said we’ve already gone double the number of composite scenes than what we had planned.

Line Producer Uchiyama-san. He was once a secretary for a politician!

Photography apprentice Megumi Kobayashi. Working hard!

Nishimura-san! “Do you….believe in….God?” – just kidding. He’s explaining the plans for a particular shot.

“It used to run when we used it more but who knows if it runs now…!” We fitted a car with cameras to create a film shooting Supercar. The key is in the battery under the hood (we use it to power monitors and cameras).

Watching the setup of the super-special Supercar.

Japanese summers! Chiba Summers! On this day, we witnessed a record amount of isolated rainfall in Tokyo! The cumulonimbus clouds floating by reminded me of the dragon’s nest from Laputa.

Today is our first break in shooting for a long while. Ten days to be exact… but even there’s no footage being taken, there’s still no time for the main players to rest. This afternoon, I will be meeting with Nishimura-san as usual.

With that said, this is the first time in days that I’ve made it back to my Moto-azabu office. I may be on shooting a movie but the gallery below the office and our gallery in Taipei are still in full swing. In fact, there’s actually a large art fair going on in Taipei. I have a lot of paperwork to take care of…

On the second floor taking care of administrative work that’s been piling up. Sigh. Time just keep on slipping away.

This is what Producer Kasahara’s Moto-azabu desk looks like. Half bent over and still giving orders!

Legal staff Daisuke Murakoshi. Now employed here for two years. A rare Kaikai Kiki survivor.

Yusuke Nakaya creating these web diaries in HTML.

Third floor: Modern visual information research wing.

Maintain a consistent visual identity throughout many locations. Be it rain or sunshine, take care of each scene, one by one. That is the daily life of a live action film crew. Building on that shared vocabulary, we continue to make adjustments in the cuts and progression of each scene.

Asking questions about the schedule with Toru Mizuishi, head of VFX Studio Buckhorn. Post production will be the key to the entire work!

Summer clouds. Nagano-san is sure to shoot them.

Production staff Yuki Nakajima speaking with Assistant Director Shiozaki.

Me, working on this very production diary…. During the lunch break, you’ll find me slogging through! No! That should be charging…. right?

Lights

Lights Fluorescent lamps)

Chargers for headsets. On set, everyone communicates via headset throughout the day.