Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: First Filming
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Since they were planning to shoot action scenes right from the first day of filming, Na Gang-in had also come to the set on the outskirts of Namyangju.
Gong Ji-hyun, dressed as the warrior So-yeon, spotted him while wandering around and came running over.
"Ah! Teacher! Hello!"
"I'm not a teacher."
"Heehee. You are to me."
Seeing Gong Ji-hyun acting all chummy in her role as warrior So-yeon, the female lead Shin Eun-ha smoothly cut in.
"Hey now. Where do you get off cozying up to the teacher like that? Shoo."
"Huh?"
"You're way too close to Gang-in oppa right now. Next thing you know, you'll be linking arms."
"No, that's not..."
"You just barely escaped that swamp of scandals. You wanna risk another one and lose your mind again? One bad photo and boom—scandal for you."
"I just want to learn more acting..."
Na Gang-in cut in.
"Why are you picking on the kid?"
Shin Eun-ha bristled.
"Me? Whose side are you on, Gang-in oppa!"
"Uh... where's the director?"
Na Gang-in slipped away from the spot.
Shin Eun-ha chased after him right away.
"Where do you think you're going! Stop right there!"
'Fate's Spear' featured a lot of action and swords whenever it was set in the Joseon era.
Swords made of metal—even blunt ones—hit with the force of iron bars. Of course, getting struck hurt, and a bad hit could cause serious injury.
You couldn't just swing those around in a fight without choreographing the movements.
Kim Yu-chan asked Na Gang-in,
"I thought we'd do it live like in 'Sunny Day,' without preset choreography."
"For the CF shoot, we trained in advance, remember?"
"Oh, right. You worked really hard back then."
"Swinging swords wildly at real people is dangerous. Unlike Sunny Day, I can't double for you today, Yu-chan. That means you'll be handling the sword yourself, and one slip could hurt another actor."
"The situation's different, yeah."
Kim Yu-chan gripped the sword in his left hand, his right on the hilt.
"So what should I do? You know my latest nickname's 'Beastly Flower Boy,' right? Just tell me what to do—I'll nail it."
"Good at swinging a sword cool-like?"
Kim Yu-chan smoothly drew the blade and boasted,
"Of course. That's my specialty."
Na Gang-in instructed his AI, Jeon Ji-in.
"Switch to close-quarters combat training video mode, simulating real battle conditions."
"Uh... who's the problem?"
"Can't bench the lead."
"Then... basic recruit training mode."
"Kim Yu-chan and Gong Ji-hyun ambushed by ten masked enemies. 2v10 fight—have the two win."
"Sword-only training, obviously. Sword fights are the focus here. Can't use semi-auto pistols in Joseon era."
AI Jeon Ji-in displayed a few training video mode options as holograms.
Couldn't pick just anything. Na Gang-in was handling the action, but straying too far from Byeon Hyeong-chan's script settings would be trouble.
Na Gang-in selected the one closest to the script.
"This one."
A holographic training video appeared in mid-air.
Na Gang-in called over Kim Yu-chan and Gong Ji-hyun, then explained the choreography using the video.
"Yu-chan, come at me from here and swing. At that moment, Ji-hyun attacks enemies from over there."
Gong Ji-hyun, playing the female warrior, had plenty of fight scenes.
Shin Eun-ha had none yet. Her action scenes came late in the film, scheduled far in the future.
Na Gang-in demonstrated as he spoke.
"I'll attack first, so Yu-chan, move this way and swing cool-like. I'll handle the dodging."
Byeon Hyeong-chan had revised the script to have allies and enemies often wear masks. In this fight, all the ambushers on the protagonists wore them.
Na Gang-in explained the movements to director Byeon Hyeong-chan and the cinematographer too.
After exchanging ideas with them, he re-explained to the actors playing masked foes who needed to fight alongside.
Once done, Na Gang-in donned his mask and said,
"Alright. Let's start."
One actor hurriedly raised a hand.
"Wait. What about rehearsal?"
"We're going live."
"Huh?"
The first fight scene shoot began.
Kim Yu-chan swung mercilessly at the masked Na Gang-in, confident he'd block or dodge anything.
His sword moved freely, chaining the cool moves he'd practiced.
Na Gang-in could easily evade, but dodged razor-close on purpose.
Byeon Hyeong-chan watched and said,
"Whoa. Na Gang-in, as expected. So cool."
Na Gang-in didn't think so.
AI Jeon Ji-in combined surrounding data to show real-time footage of how it looked on camera. He wasn't happy with his appearance in it.
Kim Yu-chan brought his sword down hard. Na Gang-in flicked it aside and said,
"Trying it out... this ain't working."
"With Yu-chan attacking in such big swings nonstop, the other actors can't act safely."
The masked actors weren't stunt pros—they were cast members. Amateurs couldn't reliably dodge Kim Yu-chan's sword. They had no choice but to mill around while Na Gang-in and Kim Yu-chan fought.
"Need to change approach."
Na Gang-in gathered everyone and declared,
"I'll handle every hit."
Director Byeon Hyeong-chan asked,
"You mean one-man army?"
"Yes. I'll change outfits between takes and take the hits. Editing can make it look like multiple foes."
"Uh... yeah. Tricking the audience that convincingly ain't easy."
Na Gang-in quietly instructed,
"Ji-in, in training video mode, isolate each moment enemies get hit."
AI Jeon Ji-in instantly split one video into multiples.
Na Gang-in sketched them on a large whiteboard.
"One comes in like this and gets hit. Another from there. Third this way, fourth from here—I'll take the sword each time."
Byeon Hyeong-chan asked,
"How to make each look like different people?"
"Change clothes and reshoot each hit. Vary camera angles too. Good editing turns it into multi-foe chaos from all directions."
The cinematographer asked,
"What about the others during your fights?"
Na Gang-in checked the hologram again. Each split clip marked masked actors' paths.
"While I fight Yu-chan, others circle behind or target Ji-hyun."
People visualized it and tilted heads.
Na Gang-in drew every masked actor's path on the whiteboard, explaining.
"Everyone hustle along assigned paths. For this first scene, exactly like this."
The hologram also marked camera positions.
"Cameras here and here make it look like they're rushing your back, Yu-chan."
He sketched paths for the second fight too.
"This'll show some going for Ji-hyun."
Byeon Hyeong-chan, the cinematographer, Kim Yu-chan, Gong Ji-hyun, and the masked scene actors gathered, listening.
Na Gang-in was using a reconnaissance skill to draw on the whiteboard—just like when he'd sketched the arsonist's composite sketch before.
His drawings were detailed and easy to grasp. Even with a dry-erase marker, every fine point was captured.
The actors marveled at the sketches.
"Dude draws like a pro."
"How's a marker making that?"
"Quick strokes, but looks CG-printed."
Na Gang-in split the Yu-chan-vs-masked fights into four, explaining each.
Byeon Hyeong-chan imagined combining them. He could picture it—and grinned wide.
"Wow. If we nail the shots, this could work."
Lead actor Kim Yu-chan never doubted from the start.
"Gang-in's got it. I'll trust him and swing free."
Gong Ji-hyun's eyes sparkled.
"I respect you!"
Na Gang-in added a condition.
"Also, grind Yu-chan's sword on a grinder—sharpen just the tip."
"Huh?"
"Needs to slice clothes. It's too dull now; won't even tear fabric right."
Cameras positioned as Na Gang-in specified, shooting resumed.
First fight scene.
No hesitant actors around Kim Yu-chan this time. Everyone hustled their paths.
Kim Yu-chan swung big. Na Gang-in dodged a few, then lagged just a bit on the last.
The blade sliced his upper chest clothing. Tip already sharpened.
Na Gang-in's outfit split wide. Fake blood pack inside burst perfectly.
Red paint sprayed like real blood.
Na Gang-in staggered back, fell.
Kim Yu-chan felt the solid cut. Tense, he asked,
"You didn't actually get hit, right?"
Na Gang-in rose, eyed Byeon Hyeong-chan.
"Director?"
Byeon scanned the set wide-eyed, then stammered with a raised hand.
"O-OK! Great take! Whoa, thought you really got cut."
Na Gang-in told staff,
"Changing outfit, swapping blood packs. Oh, and for this spot."
He picked one masked actor.
"Lie here exactly as I fell."
"Huh?"
"Dead guy vanishing mid-screen turns it into horror."
"Ah! Got it!"
"Swap outerwear with me. This one's nicely torn, blood looks good."
Na Gang-in swapped jackets with the actor. Staff helped to avoid paint on hands.
Na Gang-in stuffed a new blood pack inside, saying,
"This time, from this angle. High-speed cam here?"
Cinematographer nodded.
"That angle, yeah."
Second scene started.
Kim Yu-chan, relaxed, swung flashier.
Na Gang-in dodged once, hit on second. Blade nicked only clothes and pack again.
Multiple cameras rolling, including two high-speed.
One caught hand, blade, slicing cloth. Other framed blade and Kim Yu-chan's face.
Second scene done. Na Gang-in rose from "hit."
He pointed another actor.
"Swap jackets with me, lie here. Others, tweak run paths."
Na Gang-in took Kim Yu-chan's sword four times. Each hit different spot, different move. Cameras shifted each take. Four "bodies" on ground now.
Script: Ten ambushers. Five hit, five flee.
Kim Yu-chan grinned, sword up.
"Heh heh. One left. Take my blade!"
Na Gang-in shook head.
"You've done plenty, Yu-chan."
"Huh?"
"Last one's for Ji-hyun. Warrior So-yeon needs at least one slice for impact."
Director Byeon Hyeong-chan agreed.
"Right. Audience needs to see she's a pro."
Gong Ji-hyun's eyes lit up.
"I'll do my best!"
Na Gang-in said,
"Bump the level. Pull up Earth Union close-quarters training footage."