94. Direction Is Fundamental in Film
94. Direction Is Fundamental in Film
The day after finishing the contract with the orchestra, I pulled out a new plan and reorganized the processes necessary for the film.
Whether it was a film or a drama, a video-production team was divided into three departments: production, cinematography, and directing.
The production department handled external affairs, marketing, contracts, and everything else that allowed the filmmakers to focus solely on production.
The cinematography department, led by the director of photography, handled the cameras, lighting, and other filming equipment.
Finally, the directing department handled the creative side of the film, including direction and the script.
The person commonly called the director belonged to the directing department.
Terms such as director, directing supervisor, and executive director were effectively synonymous here.
That raised one question.
Why was I suddenly explaining all of this?
Because what we'd be making from then on was a film.
Magical Mari was a drama.
Unlike a film, a drama didn't have a generous schedule. Production was constantly pressed for time, and the budget was more limited.
As a result, those positions weren't clearly divided, and production was often handled on an ad hoc basis.
The fact that I doubled as the production department's priest and a props team member,
or that Carlos was on the camera team and the lighting team,
or that Ailey was responsible for props, the youngest member of the directing team, an assistant for camera and lighting, and... so on.
All of that was the result of the haphazard drama style.
But a film was different from a drama.
The amount of capital involved was much larger, and the schedule was far longer, so we could not operate on an ad hoc basis.
That was why I was already running around doing legwork myself.
Because we couldn't do things haphazardly this time.
Of course, we could if we had to.
The original studio members could have carried the entire production, and doing so probably would have produced a much higher-quality film.
But that would defeat the purpose of having it made by students' hands.
So this time, we planned to stay in our respective roles as much as possible.
The only ones holding multiple roles would be Nikolai and me, and even then, we would only stay in irreplaceable positions like director and actor, or scriptwriter.
Everything else had to be made by the students' hands.
And once I had things organized to this point, there was one thing I had to do immediately.
Finding a teacher to train the new directing team.
With Ailey, formerly our prop specialist and directing assistant, reassigned full-time as the special-effects director, both the directing and props teams were left vacant.
This meant we could no longer use her alchemy alone to patch up directing and props work.
I planned to entrust the work to students, but I obviously couldn't demand magic-tower-elder-level skills from students who knew nothing.
At the same time, filling this role with outside personnel would defeat the purpose, so I was instead seeking a teacher to teach directing to the rookie directing team.
Of course, I didn't even need to consider who that directing teacher would be.
[Welcome to the Illusion Magic Tower, Allen.]
Before the ramparts of a massive structure that deserved to be called a castle, an illusory hologram greeted me.
Yeah.
It was none other than the Illusion Magic Tower.
In the case of Magical Mari, Ailey and I had been able to manage somehow, so we hadn't needed their help.
That was purely because of Nikolai's and my tendency to emphasize reality, however; it wasn't like we had any sore feelings toward the Illusion School.
On the contrary, generally speaking, for film or drama production, it was the standard rule to hire a wizard from the Illusion School rather than the Golden School because it was cheaper.
In other words, you could think of illusion wizards as CG experts.
I was planning to ask these CG experts to take the role of directing teacher.
Did I have the money to hire an expert from the Illusion School?
I did.
Not exactly money, but I had connections.
"It's been a while, Edward."
"Welcome, Allen."
What needs to be said?
It was none other than the actor who played Ignos.
As an elder of the Illusion Magic Tower with his own private laboratory in a corner of the tower, he magically pushed a chair toward me.
I sat down on the chair he offered and thought about this young gentleman.
He was one of the few battle-oriented wizards in this Illusion Magic Tower.
Magic towers tended to be research institutions and rarely favored practical combat, but this man greatly preferred real fighting despite belonging to one.
When I once asked why he'd joined a magic tower instead of becoming a court wizard or joining a magic knight order, both of which better suited someone who preferred combat,
- If I did, I'd have a boss called the Emperor and wouldn't be able to do as I please.
Once someone became an elder of a magic tower, not even the Tower Master could order him around, so he was effectively the king of the tower.
It was no wonder he was so fond of the role of Ignos.
He liked the role of Ignos so much that he even wore the exact same white suit and fedora in his daily life.
The only thing that separated him from Ignos was his face.
Unlike Ignos, who never revealed his face until the work ended, this man had a face.
My connection with Edward began when he broke into my office.
Some incubus broke into Big Evil Wolf's office, declaring that he wanted to be evaluated on his magic skills, not his looks.
Revealing himself to be of the incubus race at the time, he maintained such a handsome appearance, even at an age when he could be welcoming grandchildren, that passing women would turn to look.
The problem was that incubi, due to their racial traits, naturally had delicate, handsome looks, and there was also a prejudice that their specialty, illusion magic, was lacking in combat power.
Because of this, there was a trend that heroes of incubus origin were only used in romance stories and not in battle scenes.
He had come on impulse, but he was visibly nervous that I might refuse him, which showed that this trend wasn't just a trend but practically an industry rule.
So I created a concept for him on the spot.
I gave him the concept of a long-armed monkey beastkin whose limbs could stretch and shrink, and changed his appearance to that of an old man.
That was how he stepped into the ring, taking his real name, Edward, directly as his ring name.
There were wrestling fans who protested, asking how an incubus could convincingly play a monkey beastkin.
But after watching just one or two of his matches live, they quickly became Edward's fans too.
On top of that, when I advised him to use a fire-breathing technique from his mouth called 'Monkey Fire' whenever he got bored, the fans absolutely loved it.
Even now, more people knew Edward as a pro wrestler than as Ignos.
But I digress; as a wizard who emphasized combat, he surpassed even the Tower Master of this tower when it came purely to combat power and directing ability.
So, naturally, he was the perfect fit for the directing teacher position to instruct students for this film.
Accessing the academy would be inconvenient for an outsider, but I also told him I would work something out.
Edward, after listening to my proposal to the end, elegantly sipped his tea and asked me,
"If it is about academy access, there is no need for you to do anything, Allen."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You may not realize it, but I am already a visiting professor at the academy. I have no real need for an access pass. I received the title around 120 years ago, so it's understandable you wouldn't know."
...Just how old was this man?
I remembered him half-joking that a great-grandchild had been born. Apparently, it hadn't been a joke.
I still couldn't get used to otherworldly ages blindsiding me whenever I let my guard down.
"In any case, let's discuss the specifics."
With a benevolent smile, Edward began reviewing the contract details.
As we adjusted the contract terms one by one, the topic of Edward's schedule naturally came up.
Edward could spare some time on weekdays, but on Fridays and weekends he had preparations to make before entering the ring and could not supervise the students.
Since the students needed to rest on weekends anyway, that was fine, but his inability to come out on Fridays was a bit of a problem.
On top of that, there was another issue: there were too many students.
The directing team alone exceeded 100 people, and there could be additional personnel.
If this were a lecture-based class, he could just stand at the podium and recite the content, but since this film was practical in nature, he needed to carefully watch over each individual.
And no matter how exceptional a wizard Edward was, it was too much for him to look after all those people.
Those were the two main problems we were facing for now.
After discussing these two issues, we came up with a solution.
"Couldn't I simply bring my direct disciples along as assistant instructors?"
Professor Edward—no, Elder—calmly conscripted them.
A direct disciple who had been listening to our conversation from the other side of the door collapsed onto his knees in an OTL posture.
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like just moments ago they had been celebrating with a mood of 'The Elder's going on a business trip!', but unfortunately, they were mobilized for that same business trip.
Just as graduate students had no choice in any world, direct disciples had none either.
They were the rightful property of the Elder, and the only legally recognized slaves in the Empire, which otherwise forbade slavery.
The ruthless Edward, without giving any consideration to his students' feelings, laid out their personal details in front of me and called them into the room one by one.
It was to select the slaves to take on the business trip and the slaves to leave behind in the laboratory.
I could practically feel the disciples waiting beyond the door praying at me.
Their desperation to be at least exempted from the thrilling business trip with their professor reached even me.
Unfortunately for them, I needed that labor too, so I coldly began selecting my slaves.
Every time my hand pointed to someone's photograph, their expressions changed from moment to moment.
And after they left the room, I could belatedly hear sighs of lament or cheers of relief depending on the result.
What was this, an audition show?
Unfortunately, you would be coming with us.
That sort of thing.
Leaving the wicked incubus who was thoroughly enjoying the situation, I refocused on selecting the direct disciples.
While I was absorbed in the selection process, an interesting name caught my eye.
- Riv Karamzin.
'Wow, it really is a small world.'
Diane had said he was preparing for the magic tower's direct-disciple course, so this man was his master?
I didn't expect to meet Diane's older brother here.
When he opened the door and entered, I was about to acknowledge him out of gladness, but I changed my mind.
Thinking about it, I was currently a merchant picking out slaves to load onto a slave ship.
There was nothing to gain by letting on that I knew him.
I fixed my expression and indifferently left him assigned to the laboratory.
I felt like I could even sense his gratitude from his expression.
"Oh? What about this gentleman?"
That was, until Edward recognized him.
"Why aren't you taking Riv with you?"
The moment his name left Edward's lips, my heart and Riv's sank simultaneously.
I erased the brief bewilderment from my expression and answered indifferently.
"It says he hasn't been at the magic tower long. That's why I excluded him."
But my desperate defense didn't seem very convincing to Edward.
"All the more reason he should learn directly in the field. Such experiences are rare, and since he's the youngest, even more so."
Out of Edward's sight, Riv shut his eyes tight.
He seemed to have roughly guessed what was coming next.
"This man will accompany me. He has far more to learn from me than the others."
Congratulations.
You have won the position of the professor's 24-hour close aide on this trip.
Riv's expression curdled when he was appointed to a position so moving that any graduate student would want to bite their tongue.
Regardless, Edward kept talking in a cheerful voice.
"Come to think of it, Diane played Dina, didn't she? That works out perfectly."
As he said that, a wicked smile spread across Edward's face.
Seeing that smile, I realized.
This bastard. He was planning this from the start.
No matter how I thought about it, his portrayal of Ignos in the Isis Abuse Episode didn't seem like acting.