Amakusa: I Want to Swear...

Given her Master's incompetent and irresponsible nature, Artoria felt it was hard to say.

After all, doing this in the theatrical release would indeed be considered dishonest, and the magic of the Ley Lines would not allow it.

But if we create a private version and only circulate it among a few people...

Of course, Artoria was well aware that Shinji himself would never admit to this.

"Forget it, as long as the movie is made well, that's all that matters!"

Artoria also knew that this was purely due to her own knightly (and greedy) tendencies.

"Anyway, I'm leaving the crew tomorrow to film another movie project, so you'd better have some self-respect, Master."

"Another project?"

Shinji, however, was somewhat curious. "That's strange. Didn't Alter have a cameo role as Saber in <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya>? You actually have a movie project?"

King of Knights snorted coldly, "Master, have you forgotten? You told your agent that I'm completely free in the second half of the year, and he can arrange my work as he sees fit."

"I thought you were just going to freeload at my house... Ouch! You actually kicked me?"

Artoria calmly withdrew her foot. "This is punishment for you talking badly about me."

[This woman's really something, she actually managed to get a job on a film set.]

Shinji sighed inwardly as he rubbed his calf.

It would be strange if Artoria didn't receive any offers from production teams. After all, she was the leading lady in two blockbuster movies, Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero. How could any Director not want to use her?

However, since the film set in Fuyuki City wasn't finished and there weren't many film crews, Artoria, who couldn't take on roles outside of Fuyuki City, had been doing nothing except for Shinji's projects.

With more film crews shooting in Fuyuki City now, Artoria will naturally have work.

"Artoria, what's the name of your new project?"

"I think it was called <The Phantom Thief>! I played the female lead in it!"

King of Knights spoke with great confidence.

"Master, shall we have a competition to see who finishes filming their FA movie first, yours or mine?"

"Heh, you think you can compare your head to mine?"

Shinji looked at Artoria speechlessly. "FA will wrap up filming this month. Are you planning to finish shooting the movie in a week? Even film crews in Hong Kong aren't this fast, are they?"

"Tsk, I forgot about that."

Shinji shrugged indifferently at Artoria's disappointment.

That afternoon, Artoria left the Fate/Apocrypha crew, while Shinji officially began filming the final battle of Fate/Apocrypha.

Chapter 271 Amakusa: I want to swear...

"That was a really brilliant move, Shinji."

Red A, who had been dragged by Shinji to be the photographer, looked through the camera at the scene about to be filmed, and his lips twitched involuntarily.

On the monitor screen, what appeared to be flames burning on the ground were wisps of pale purple smoke drifting in the air.

However, when Red A observed the set with the naked eye, the set looked perfectly normal, with nothing unusual about it.

"You actually thought of using a barrier as a filter?" Red A retorted. "Should I call you a genius or a madman?"

Yesterday, Red A cooked a big meal for a group of people and originally planned to have a good rest today. However, he was dragged to the set early in the morning by Shinji, who was unusually inclined to sleep in.

Archer (Red A) is extremely dissatisfied with Shinji's behavior of treating people like Heroic Spirit and Heroic Spirit like livestock.

His original boss was a vicious capitalist who never gave employees a break and exploited them with a 007 work schedule— Hall of Heroes had no concept of time and would immediately take on the next task once he finished the previous one.

I was finally summoned to the real world, ready to take a vacation and relax my tense mind, but I still couldn't escape the fate of 996.

Unlike other Servants who can rest except by being celebrities, because he is dressed in red, Red A, like a certain muscle-bound tough guy who only ever gets beaten up, is given the mission of being a chef.

However, after seeing the situation on set, Red A had to admit that only he could shoot this particular scene.

After the Orange Beauty duo improved the camera, enabling it to record magical fluctuations, Shinji's use of Magecraft became utterly insane.

Before the official filming of this scene began, Shinji provided the set with a set of so-called high-tech "filters".

The reason for using "filter" as an excuse is to prevent ordinary people from noticing the difference between the filmed footage and the actual scene.

However, in reality, this was simply because the camera captured scenes that were invisible to the naked eye.

This sounds like a horror story, and it's pretty much like one.

The camera didn't capture "ghosts," but rather the magic that existed on set.

By setting up a protective barrier on set, a subtle magical atmosphere was created, which was then captured on camera.

This ensures both visual quality and avoids the set design being too "unscientific" to be questioned by ordinary people.

However, there is one small problem.

Such a place, overflowing with magic, is not auspicious for people; on the contrary, people will feel uncomfortable due to the magic of the barrier.

Most people won't feel anything special; they'll just notice their bodies becoming weaker.

Magecraft or people who are very sensitive to Magic Resistance would find the film set very uncomfortable.

It's like in FSN, when Shirou Emiya felt the air was sweet and cloying when he sensed Rider's barrier at school.

Thanks to Shinji's meticulous design, the barriers on the film set posed no danger to anyone's life. Shinji wouldn't do something like, "Others make movies for money, but he makes movies for Second Master life."

However, physical discomfort and a irritable mood will definitely affect a person's work performance.

The best solution would be to hire a Servant like Red A to handle the meticulous work on set.

This is a minor, insignificant flaw in Shinji's "atmosphere-building" technique.

Therefore, after understanding the specific situation, Red A was not too resistant to taking on the job of photographer.

Why? Because all the other cinematographers in the crew with better skills than him were just average, while he was the best cinematographer among the Servants.

"Hmph, it seems Shinji still trusts my skills quite a bit~ Wait a minute!"

Red A, who had been feeling smug for a moment, immediately noticed the problem.

"Why should I take Shinji's side?! Wasn't it that bastard who dragged me out of my rest time to work?!"

Red A snorted indignantly, "After this job is over, I'm definitely going to have a good talk with Shinji!"

Red A harbored resentment over Shinji treating him like a donkey in the production team.

Being a cook for a bunch of foodies at the Matou Family is one thing, but he doesn't even let himself have a moment's peace on set.

Before filming, I had to help Projection various props onto the set. During filming, I had to carry a very heavy camera and move around the set to find the best shooting angles for the scenes Shinji envisioned.

"Tsk, is this kid getting revenge on me? But I didn't have any enemies with him when I was alive?"

Red A sighed. He just hoped that he wouldn't still be busy with all the post-production work.

As for resistance...

"I don't want to be running naked down the street, yelling 'Cú Chulainn is a filthy little dog!'"

Whenever he recalls Shinji's smile that says "[I'm not some kind of demon. JPG]", Red A firmly believes that that bastard Master was absolutely not joking.

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Shinji was unaware that his No. 01 photographer servant was hoping he would order him around less.

He was currently giving Shirou a final check on the set and props.

"Shinji, why did you choose this scene as the opening shot for the final scene?"

Looking at the film set, which resembled ruins, Shirou frowned and asked.

"Is it okay to start with the main course right away? I think we should shoot a couple of other shots first to get a feel for it."

Having filmed several scenes before, Shirou believed he understood what actors were thinking.

In his opinion, it was inappropriate to have the first scene depict the ideological conflict between Amakusa and Joan of Arc, as it would be troublesome if the actors didn't get into character and caused multiple takes.

Don't forget, this series of shots records not only the actors' external performances, but also their inner performances.

"It's precisely because it's important that we need to start filming right away."

Shinji glanced at Amakusa, who was getting her makeup done in the distance, and said to Shirou, "No matter how hard we try to get them into character, they're bound to have to do NGs. In that case, we might as well just shoot the most important scenes first."

"Opening with such a memorable scene will at least help them both get into character quickly!"

"That seems to make some sense."

Shirou scratched his red hair. "But what if we arrange it this way? What if Amakusa and Joan of Arc keep having to do multiple takes?"

"That depends on whether their individual mindset is up to the Ruler rank. I'll try to find the right mindset for them."

Shinji wicked smile, his brows furrowing with a hint of menacing intent.

Seeing Shinji's expression, Shirou, who knew his childhood friend's quirky Shirou of humor well, silently mourned for Amakusa and Joan of Arc.

Of course, Shinji is not the kind of Director who likes to establish his authority by constantly making retakes.

Especially when it came to the Heroic Spirit Actor, Shinji didn't use this to let them know who the Master was.

After all, the relationship between Master and Servant is already delicate, so there's really no need to go to such lengths to influence the Heroic Spirit.

As long as the actors are in good condition and the filming results are satisfactory, it's not impossible for Shinji to get Shinji take.

But there is always a gap between ideals and reality.

To put it in a high-EQ way: Daydreaming of Yang Guifei, waking up to find yourself Bai Jingjing.

A low-EQ way of saying it: Dreams are wonderful, but reality is harsh.

Shinji hopes that Amakusa and Joan of Arc can perform well and try to get the most crucial scenes done in a few takes.

But the truth is...

Just listen to the endless shouts of "Cut!", "Cut!", "Cut!" once filming begins...

I knew Amakusa and Joan of Arc were really out of sorts.

"How can your premonition be so accurate? Shirou, are you some kind of reincarnated jinx?"

Shinji glanced at Shirou Emiya, who shrugged innocently.

"Is it my fault?"

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Amakusa and Joan of Arc were actually aware that they weren't in the right state of mind.

They were unaware that Shinji would record his own emotions during filming, but thanks to Shinji's repeated and patient reminders, they had still studied the script carefully.

But when they actually stood in front of the camera to perform, they realized that they still couldn't grasp the essence of the characters.

Logically speaking, after most of the film was shot, Amakusa and Joan of Arc should have known how to play their roles.

Unfortunately Shinji had very high standards for this scene, requiring the two actors to be completely consistent, which was quite a challenge for them.

To be fair, Amakusa himself was not very satisfied with his performance. He should have shown Grand Duke, a love for saving humanity, and disdain for Joan of Arc of Arc who was obstructing him.

Amakusa always felt that his mindset was not right, that his determination to save humanity was not firm enough, and that his hostility towards Joan of Arc was not decisive enough. He was in a state of limbo.

Therefore, he had nothing to say in the face of Shinji's repeated requests for retakes.

However, after about twenty retakes, even Amakusa became impatient.

"Amakusa, come here for a second!"

Shinji noticed Amakusa's impatience. After giving Joan of Arc a few instructions, he beckoned Amakusa to come to his side.

However, Shinji didn't intend to give Amakusa any acting advice; instead, he simply pulled him to the center of the Magecraft circle on the set.

"In this way, you don't need to worry about anything else. Just close your eyes here, gather your emotions, and when I say 'start,' open your eyes directly and look Joan of Arc straight in the eye."

"Ha!?"

Although he didn't know what tricks Master was going to play this time, the good Servant Amakusa decided to do as he was told.

He stood in the center of the camera, calmly closing his eyes.

At Shinji's request, the other staff and Servants on set had already kept quiet.

Gradually, Amakusa felt her anxious mood calm down.