"Hold on for a moment let me take another look."
Nanaya signaled for the extras to stay in place, then stepped out from behind the director's monitor.
The first scene they were shooting was of passersby gathering around the body of a high school girl who had jumped from a building. This scene wasn't part of the original Kara no Kyoukai movie; it was something Nanaya added himself, intending to use this seemingly minor shot to help the film crew develop better coordination.
Even so, Nanaya had no intention of taking things lightly. Besides, it wasn't impossible to weave this bit into the final scene of Kirie Fujou's suicide, so he still needed to treat it seriously.
Nanaya paced back and forth several times in the designated area in front of the abandoned building, then checked the setup again through the director's monitor.
"That's it, Ryougi!" Nanaya shouted to the prop master following behind him. "Bring more fake blood spread the bloodstains out wider."
"Okay, Director."
Using "Director" instead of "Senior" was something Nanaya insisted on. He understood that his inexperience made it hard to earn people's respect.
The crew itself wasn't an issue. Half of them were from his teacher's Film Studio, people who had worked with Nanaya for years and were used to following his direction. The rest were staff brought in from Rinpo. With full cooperation from Rinpo's manager, Kaiuchi chimu, there was no need to worry about anyone refusing to listen.
But the actors were a different story. When they saw a complete newcomer sitting in the director's chair while they had to obey his instructions, who knew whether that imbalance might affect their performance? And worse actors are the face of a film. Their performance is the most direct measure of a movie's quality. You know how it is: when a movie is bad, the first thing audiences complain about is the terrible acting.
Nanaya wasn't anyone's close friend, nor did he have time to comfort every actor individually. So he chose the most straightforward approach establishing the director's authority on set. As long as they followed his instructions and the film turned out well, Nanaya didn't care how much they complained behind his back.
"Let's try this first."
Once the prop blood was arranged, Nanaya first stood aside to observe, then checked again through the camera.
Some shots might seem trivial at a glance, but once captured on camera they can look strangely awkward that's the issue of "camera presence." So Nanaya needed to repeatedly compare the image on site with how it appeared through the lens to get the effect he wanted.
Fortunately, Ori and Nanaya had worked together for a long time before this project, so Ori immediately understood what Nanaya was going for and adjusted the props exactly as needed.
"Very good!"
Nanaya gave Ori a thumbs-up, then turned to Shonan Rintaro, who was operating the second camera.
"Shonan, focus on shooting from knee level downward especially the bloodstains on the ground."
Rintaro nodded to show he understood.
"Alright, continuing. Action!"
As soon as Nanaya called for action, he emptied his mind of all distractions and focused solely on the footage. On the monitor, passersby gathered around the body of a high school girl who had jumped from a building…
But the extras' faces were blank. They just stared at the corpse prop with zero reaction.
Realizing the issue, Nanaya immediately shouted, "Stop!"
"Are you all dead inside?! Would a normal person stay this calm when they see a corpse?!"
"Use your brains! Extras are actors too. Even if you're just passersby, each of you should have a story in your head! I'm giving you three minutes figure it out! And if you really can't act, then just think about what you would do if you came across a dead body!"
Seeing their confused expressions, Nanaya added one last line.
It seemed his shouting finally gave them something to think about, as the extras began reflecting seriously. Nanaya, meanwhile, sat down and rubbed his temples, forcing himself to calm down. His so-called "building up the emotions" wasn't just for the actors he needed it too. Otherwise, he really might start smashing things.
Filmmaking is definitely way harder than I imagined. Even with all the preparations I made, the moment we actually started shooting, problems still popped up…
At that moment, Nanaya felt genuinely relieved that he chose an unimportant scene for the team's first coordinated shoot. If this had been a key scene, he might've been completely destroyed.
"Alright, reset. Action!"
After a brief break, Nanaya dove back into work but unfortunately, these extras really were hopeless. It took several more takes before they finally managed to capture even a fraction of the emotional tone needed.
There's a reason these people can only play background roles…
As Nanaya stared at the group of actors who were flailing around like clueless monkeys his patience, nearly at its limit, led him to have one extremely unethical thought…
However, it was at least barely usable.
Nanaya finally let that take pass, but the scene still wasn't finished. Because of budget constraints, the entire crew only had two cameras. To make sure they had enough footage for post production editing, Nanaya decided to shoot the scene several more times from different angles.
"That take was good. Please stay where you are. I'll adjust the camera position and shoot a couple more angles. I hope you can maintain the same focus as before."
Just as Nanaya said this, a somewhat good-looking extra immediately protested, "Director, can we take a break?"
The atmosphere on set froze instantly.
Nanaya's face darkened to the point of turning purple. Asking for a break wasn't the main issue this guy's tone was. He used Kansai dialect.
Speaking in a regional dialect in such a formal setting? Did he think they were filming a movie set in Osaka?
Nanaya wasn't inflexible. If they were shooting in Kansai and the whole team was from there, using Kansai dialect would be normal. But here, in a crew where almost everyone spoke standard Japanese, suddenly throwing out a dialect especially when speaking to the director was blatant disrespect. It wasn't just casual rudeness; it was a direct challenge to authority.
"Pfft…"
Several extras close to him couldn't help laughing. The tense atmosphere on set instantly collapsed. More people began whispering, and the noise grew louder. The dark aura around Nanaya's expression deepened.
"Please don't joke around."
Ryougi Ori spoke up, his voice cold as ice. Given the situation, he was the first to step forward as Nanaya's junior.
"The director asked you to film a scene, and this is the attitude you show?! Be serious! You're not students anymore do you still need someone to remind you to behave?!"
His delicate willow-leaf eyebrows lifted slightly, giving him an aloof, striking beauty like a true "ice prince."
The entire crew was stunned into silence by Ori's cold reprimand. No one dared to speak.
(As expected, Ori is perfect for handling this…)
Nanaya pushed the thought out of his mind almost instantly. He surveyed the people in front of him, then made his decision.
"You. And the rest of you." Nanaya pointed directly at the guy who spoke Kansai dialect and the few who had laughed with him. "Get out."
"What?"
The man looked shocked, unable to believe Nanaya was being so ruthless. He glared at Nanaya with resentment.
Nanaya didn't flinch. "Get out. My crew doesn't need actors like you."
"Who do you think you are, talking like that?!"
The extras who were called out turned toward Manager Kaiuchi Utsumi, believing that Rinpo's representative would be disgusted by Nanaya's strict attitude and intervene on their behalf.
But to their astonishment, Utsumi didn't object at all.
"Even as extras, actors should have basic professional ethics," Utsumi said calmly. "Unfortunately, yours are lacking. Please leave."
Though his tone was polite, his words sealed their fate. The leading extra's expression twisted, turning an ugly shade of green. He threw his hat to the ground and snapped, "This is a garbage production crew anyway! I don't want to work here!"
He gathered his friends and prepared to storm off, but Nanaya stopped them after only a few steps.
"Hold it."
The man turned back with a smug expression, clearly assuming Nanaya had changed his mind and wanted to ask them to stay.
Instead, Nanaya said coldly, "Your hat ruined the bloodstains on the ground. Pay for it before you leave. And what are you staring at? You're no longer part of this crew. If you damage the set, you pay for it."
Now, the other person's face has completely turned red from anger