Shinji: Time to Use the Old Trick / 315. Shinji: I Have a Special Way of Recommending Works

Shinji stood on a slightly higher rock in the courtyard and shouted towards the film crew who were adjusting the equipment.

"Camera 1 shoots from a 45-degree overhead angle, and camera 2 shoots from a 60-degree angle to ensure a variety of footage."

Then, Shinji waved to Touko, and when she quickly walked over, he said, "Before the filming starts here, go and set up the ward. The filming here shouldn't take long, and then we can switch to your side."

With the issue of using Heroic Spirit Stand and renting a location involved, Shinji didn't want to stay in Kanabuchi City for too long; finishing filming as soon as possible was the best course of action.

If we really have to endure this for a few months until winter, who knows how cold this wretched place will get.

That's right, Shinji has already defined Kanabuchi City as a terrible place.

Of course, out of politeness, one would only say to him, "This place is suitable for filming ghost movies."

Most of the crew members of <Kara no Kyoukai> are veterans of Fate, so they operate very efficiently and quickly got the equipment and set up.

Touko also rushed over from the set of the hospital room and appeared in front of the filming location together with Ryougi Shiki, who had finished her makeup.

Shinji stood behind the Director's camera.

There was nothing to say before; this was an action scene, and the actors were directed by Master Li.

Heroic Spirit are severely restricted in areas outside of Fuyuki City, except in places like Venice where the magical energy of the Ley Lines is abundant.

In small places like Kanabuchi City, Servants usually stay in specially made Spirit Core storage boxes and are only released when they are working.

This behavior is jokingly referred to by the Servants as "getting some fresh air while in jail."

Shinji didn't really like this kind of tedious filming work, so he remained silent throughout, letting Master Li finish the scene as quickly as possible.

This wasn't Master Li's first time serving as an action director; he knew exactly how to operate the equipment. After leaving the locker room (Spirit Origin Reconstruction took place), he immediately began giving instructions with a powerful voice.

Because Touko and Ryougi Shiki have a weaker foundation and can't perform as well as Servants, their action scenes are broken down into numerous small segments for filming.

This first encounter between the two was no exception; apart from the continuous footage of Touko performing Magecraft, all other shots were cut into small fragments.

Fortunately, before filming began, both Touko and Ryougi Shiki underwent several months of rigorous training and were in good physical condition.

Although filming was done in fits and starts, with constant changes to poses in front of the camera, the first scene went quite smoothly overall.

Aside from the fact that Ryougi Shiki is too excited and often forgets her lines, which is a drawback.

"Seriously... this is the first time I've ever encountered Lead Actor like this."

Shinji slapped his face as he watched Ryougi Shiki freeze again in the Ryougi Shiki of the set.

Chapter 314 Shinji: It's time to use the old method.

Would you like a cup of coffee?

In the trailer that served as a temporary rest area for the film crew, Shinji handed Ryougi Shiki a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Ryougi Shiki held the blanket in both hands, feeling the warmth emanating from it with her fingers, and bowed her head to say thank you.

She knew that her performance on the first day was terrible; she had many NGs in the morning, and most of the blame was on her.

"Sister Shi, you need to calm yourself down."

Shinji poured himself a glass and sat down opposite Ryougi Shiki. "Today is your first official filming session, so it's understandable that you're not in the right frame of mind. Just bring the same energy you had during training and auditions."

Ryougi Shiki listened to Shinji's words, her tightly furrowed brows not relaxing.

Just as Shinji said, she knew that as long as she adjusted her mindset, she could perform to her full potential, but she just found it difficult to calm herself down.

Shinji didn't say anything more. This kind of mental adjustment is something that actors need to do themselves. Too much advice from outsiders can easily put more pressure on actors.

Shinji's own identity as Director makes Ryougi Shiki even more nervous and prone to overthinking.

After the break, the crew resumed filming.

Although the entire sequence takes place at night, the filming was mostly scheduled for daytime.

In most movies, those scenes that appear to be at night are actually filmed during the day and then replaced with nighttime backgrounds during post-production.

Because the lighting environment at night is too complex, especially when shooting in the city, it is easily affected by external lights.

Instead of spending time and effort creating the desired lighting environment for the shot—which may still not turn out as expected—it's better to simply adjust it uniformly in post-production.

"Filming with Shinji isn't complicated or difficult at all; you just need to be yourself."

While Shinji was directing the staff to adjust the set design, Touko spoke to Ryougi Shiki.

"Miss Ryougi, Shinji and I have worked together for so many years, and he has never regretted the actors he chose. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

These were words that Shinji asked Touko and Ryougi Shiki to say.

For an actor, landing a lead role right away is both a stroke of luck and a source of pressure.

Without the experience of working as an extra on a film set, it's easy to develop all sorts of mental issues.

Although he hadn't anticipated that Ryougi Shiki would run into trouble due to excessive excitement, Shinji had already foreseen the poor performance of the new actress.

Having Touko act as a caring older sister was one of Shinji's pre-planned strategies.

"Two Elements, do you know them?"

Touko took a drag of her cigarette and looked at Shinji's retreating figure, saying, "A few years ago, I never imagined I'd end up in the film and television industry. Life is full of surprises."

"Sister Touko, you're doing very well in this industry," Ryougi Shiki chimed in. "You're a well-known prop maker now."

Touko smiled at Ryougi Shiki, but said nothing.

Compared to so-called prop designers, Touko prefers to study Magecraft.

The reason she stayed by Shinji's side was not only because he paid her enough money, but also because it provided her with the best conditions for researching Magecraft.

After all, where else besides Fuyuki City could you find so many Magecraft from the Age of Gods?

These Heroic Spirit are the most priceless treasures in the eyes of Magecraft.

After finishing the set design, Shinji glanced at the sky, then clapped his hands and said to everyone, "Everyone, let's get to work. Let's try to finish this scene before dinner."

There's only one scene here: Touko and Ryougi Shiki's discussion about the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

"<Painful Remnants>, Scene 8, Act 12... Action!"

Under the moonlight created by artificial lighting, the silver blade was drawn.

Even though there was no blood on it, Ryougi Shiki still shook the dagger in her hand, as if trying to shake off any "dirt" on the blade.

Shinji stood behind the main camera, observing the two actors' every movement and expression.

Because <Kara no Kyoukai> provides more detailed character portrayals than Fate, it demands a higher level of acting skill from the actors.

This is also an important reason why Shinji was lenient with Ryougi Shiki's performance. As a novice, it was unrealistic for her to have an outstanding performance; she could only take it slowly.

"You promised to teach me how to use these eyes, didn't you?"

Ryougi Shiki said to Touko in a firm tone.

The red-haired female Magecraft nodded with a satisfied expression.

"I will teach you, but there are prerequisites."

Touko said in a slightly languid tone, "I'll teach you how to use the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. In exchange, you'll assist me."

At this point, Touko deliberately adopted a melancholy tone. "I've run out of Familiars, and I happen to need someone's help. What a coincidence!"

Ryougi Shiki did not turn to look at the Magecraft, but quietly uttered words that seemed to be asking a question.

"So... can you kill someone...?"

Touko was somewhat surprised by the girl's question. She looked up at Ryougi Shiki and slowly nodded.

"Certainly."

"Then I'll do it."

Ryougi Shiki seemed relieved, and she gave Touko a desolate smile.

"Please use it as you like. Anyway, I don't need it for anything else."

Sadly, Shi slowly collapsed to the ground.

"Cut!"

Shinji called for a stop, then waved.

Touko helped Ryougi Shiki up from the ground, and the two walked up to Shinji.

Shinji said to Touko first, "Senior, your expression is a bit over the top. You're not playing a bad guy, but an elder who seems like a villain but is actually gentler than the average person."

"Deep down, your attitude towards Ryougi Shiki is more one of sympathy than research. You need to express this inner complexity, rather than simply pretending to be ruthless."

Next, Shinji turned to Ryougi Shiki.

Ryougi Shiki trembled slightly when Shinji spotted Ryougi Shiki. At this moment, she had long lost the composure she used to have when she could pat Shinji on the shoulder and call him "Shinji -chan" with a smile.

"Sister Shi, you didn't forget your lines this time, very good."

Shinji, however, still retains his nickname for Ryougi Shiki.

"But your emotions aren't quite right; you're too fixated on the lines, which actually drags down your Acting Skills."

"What I see on camera is just a blank-faced puppet, not a soulless and aimless Ryougi Shiki! I don't see the empty soul I'm looking for in your performance!"

Losing one's soul and being dull are two different concepts. The former possesses an ethereal beauty that is difficult to describe in words, while the latter is merely a lifeless puppet.

"Feel sorry."

Ryougi Shiki lowered her head and said sincerely, "I need to find my rhythm again."

Shinji stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then sighed helplessly.

"I never expected that after so many years, the teleprompter would be used again. Rin has finally found a successor."

"What?"

Ryougi Shiki tilted her head, not knowing what Shinji was talking about since she hadn't experienced FSN filming.

Chapter 315 Shinji: I Have a Special Way of Recommending Works

For most viewers, while invincible protagonist stories are enjoyable, just like fighting, once the excitement is over, all that's left is emptiness.

This is why most invincible-themed online novels are difficult to write long, because most readers are satisfied after experiencing a burst of excitement and then leave.

The number of readers who remained was too small; the author could only rely on them to survive, so the story had to be hastily concluded.

Movies have the same problem. If you take a movie out of the box and create an invincible protagonist, you can basically only make one movie.

Creating a series is very difficult; audiences don't have much tolerance for this kind of empty farce.

In terms of movies, there are two best ways to create a series of stories with an invincible protagonist.

One type is like One-Punch Man, which mainly focuses on creating various supporting characters and treating the protagonist as a special being who solves all problems like a deus ex machina.

However, such a story is quite difficult to tell in a movie, since movie length is limited and long stretches of the main character's storyline would significantly impact the viewing experience.

This model is more suitable for stories that can be serialized in long series, such as TV dramas, comics, and novels.

The film takes the second approach in this regard—making the invincible protagonist no longer invincible.

Most superhero movies follow this pattern: either the protagonist has a physical weakness—like Superman's Kryptonite—or the protagonist has a psychological problem—like Iron Man.

In any case, Tony Stark's mentality has never been normal throughout his ten years in Marvel. He's either mentally broken down or on the verge of breaking down.

In the Kara no Kyoukai series, the protagonist Ryougi Shiki's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are undoubtedly an extremely powerful ability. This kind of bug -G-rated combat power, where one touch can kill, is in a sense invincible.

Since this character is invincible in combat, we need to create weaknesses for them elsewhere.

The most effective way is to make Ryougi Shiki, like Iron Man, have psychological issues.

This isn't Shinji changing the setting; after all, in the original novel, Ryougi Shiki's experience after waking up from the car accident is a process of constantly filling the emptiness in her inner self.

Although the fake monk Araya Souren did nothing right, the opponent he found for Ryougi Shiki was, in a sense, her mirror image and opposite.

Through characters like Asagami Fujino and Kirie Fujou, Ryougi Shiki personally experienced all aspects of human life, gradually transforming from an empty shell into a complete person.

As viewers experience all of this alongside Ryougi Shiki, they will feel closer to her and develop a sense of familiarity with this seemingly aloof young lady.

If Ryougi Shiki from Nasu's novel were adapted for the big screen exactly, most viewers would probably see her as a sexually apathetic, emotionless girl.

After all, the inner thoughts of many characters in the original work are difficult to express through acting.

It's not that it's impossible, but it requires extremely strong micro-expression Acting Skills. For an actress like Ryougi Shiki novice level, to do that...