Chapter 13
Chapter 13
The Camera That Only Chases Rookies
【WeTube viewers are accustomed to short-form videos.】
【It is not considered appropriate to upload a long-form feature-length animation from the beginning stages of the channel.】
Now that I thought about it, that made sense.
Even I rarely watched videos over ten minutes long on WeTube.
I usually ended up stopping midway.
Even sketch comedy channels tried to finish most videos within just a few minutes.
‘But if we split a 130-minute animation into several parts, wouldn’t the screenplay need some revision?’
I might be a beginner,
but if we just awkwardly chopped it into ten-minute pieces and uploaded them separately, the transitions would probably feel clunky and irritating.
Even dramas structure each episode with a beginning, development, climax, and resolution before ending with a hook for the next episode.
【I can refine the screenplay so the transitions feel smoother.】
‘You said story creation was outside your capabilities.’
【Minor adaptation work that does not qualify as pure creative writing is within my permitted range. It does not violate production ethics.】
Perfect.
The 130-minute feature animation was reborn as a six-part series.
I watched it using accelerated time perception mode.
And honestly, all I could do was stare in admiration.
How could such absurdly high-quality content be created instantly through thought alone?
21st-century AI tools struggled just to generate a single desired still image without endless prompt manipulation.
“As expected, space opera belongs in animation.”
Even from my perspective, the art quality was insane.
Naturally, there was no such thing as off-model frames.
To explain the quality level—
it felt like someone took limited-edition collectible illustrations worth millions of won each and animated them at twenty-four frames per second.
Images that would normally require months of work and enormous budgets were being generated twenty-four times every second, across six full twenty-minute episodes.
I hadn’t watched huge amounts of animation in my life,
but no animation I’d ever seen could even approach what the video app created.
The quality was genuinely insane.
I could already picture the subscribers’ reactions.
‘Before releasing it, I should market it properly first. Make a killer teaser under three minutes.’
【Teaser production completed.】
This really is ridiculously easy.
I watched the completed three-minute teaser from beginning to end,
then uploaded it to the 30THC channel with a refreshed mood.
[Journey of the Green Star]
[Sequential release begins in one month]
To the aspiring writer who sold me the screenplay,
the production speed would probably look utterly impossible.
But wasting time trying to avoid suspicion would be meaningless.
I’d obtained a video production app from a thousand years in the future.
Might as well use it properly.
└What is this teaser???
└30THC is finally making original content?
└The teaser alone gave me chills
└Space opera animation wow wow wow
└You can already tell from the teaser this quality isn’t from this world
└Don’t overhype yourselves just because the teaser looks amazing. The actual series could still flop hard
└Stop exposing your jealousy and baiting already
I’d become fairly accustomed to the absurdly expensive camera supposedly worth more than a midsize sedan.
I didn’t need the manual.
Because I already had the greatest expert possible: the video app.
【Do not adjust the gain manually. Keep focus set to automatic for now. AF refers to autofocus. Aperture settings should…】
When I said I got used to handling it,
I never said my actual camera knowledge improved.
I simply operated it exactly as instructed.
Sometimes when the video app became frustrated, it would politely ask permission and control the camera directly itself.
【At the very least, it is beneficial for others to perceive you as a skilled professional.】
The footage itself was being recorded by the video app anyway.
My physical camera was basically just an empty shell.
Still, it was probably better for Hwang Hyejin if I looked like an experienced veteran cameraman.
“Doyoung, are you nervous?”
“No, not really.”
“That’s good then. Your expression barely changes, so I always have to ask directly to know what you’re feeling.”
“Am I really that expressionless?”
“Yeah. You didn’t know?”
“People in the military used to say I looked like a stiff machine all the time.”
Today was Hwang Hyejin’s script reading day.
Meaning her first time meeting the other actors.
It was also my first time greeting the stylists and coordinators.
“Hello. I’m Cha Doyoung. Please take care of me.”
“I-I’m one of the coordinators. Nice to meet you.”
“P-Please take care of me too.”
Both of them sounded nervous.
Since this was Hwang Hyejin’s first official acting activity, even the staff seemed tense.
Hwang Hyejin sat inside the van intensely studying her already ragged script.
Beside it were the sketch images I’d drawn for her, which she kept flipping through one by one.
Technically, the video app drew them.
“Doyoung oppa, are you really not an art major?”
“I never went to college. I just doodled a little as a hobby.”
“That’s such a waste. You seriously seem unbelievably talented at drawing. If you’d gone to art school, you probably would’ve become an amazing artist.”
How could someone think and speak so beautifully all the time?
Still, thanks to the video app, I was now apparently being treated as some tragic genius who failed art school despite overwhelming talent.
‘Getting CG commission work is harder than I expected.’
I thought the Cha Seoyoon polar bear video would become a black hole pulling in endless commission offers.
Or maybe every worthwhile CG project was already locked under contract somewhere.
We arrived at the studio.
Inside the van, Hwang Hyejin received one final styling check.
Meanwhile, I followed around behind her pretending to film with the expensive camera.
In reality, I was only pretending.
The video app handled all actual filming and recording onto the memory card itself.
If only I were capable of writing great screenplays too, this combination would’ve been absolutely perfect.
‘Video app, don’t you ever think it would’ve been better if you’d installed yourself into some famous PD or director instead of me?’
【That is not a matter within my authority to judge.】
We entered the script reading room.
The desks were arranged neatly in a U-shape, with bottled water and snacks placed neatly in front of each seat.
Each table displayed an actor’s name.
Hyejin’s seat was near the outer edge.
Well, she only played the younger version of the female lead, so it couldn’t be helped.
‘Those must be the other actors’ managers.’
Several managers carrying small handheld cameras were filming behind-the-scenes footage.
Suddenly, the massive camera I carried felt incredibly reassuring.
—Do you know why people buy large sedans instead of awkward compact cars?
I completely understand Team Leader Jo Woonseok’s feelings now.
The other managers were mistaking me for a production-company cameraman.
The rookie managers nervously filming their actors with phone cameras while watching the seniors’ reactions almost looked pitiful now.
The PD and writer arrived.
“Hello everyone. I’m Son Jingu, the PD directing Winter Castle.”
“And I’m Lee Sihyang, the writer.”
The actors applauded.
Hwang Hyejin also smiled brightly and clapped enthusiastically.
“Since this is our first gathering, let’s keep things relaxed. Don’t be too nervous. Loosen up. And remember to act just enough for the behind-the-scenes footage to look good— hey, hey. Why are you filming even this?”
The behind-the-scenes cameraman ignored him completely and kept filming anyway.
I also occasionally pointed my camera toward the PD and writer whenever I wasn’t filming Hwang Hyejin.
‘Video app, you’re recording this entire script reading too, right?’
【Correct.】
‘Show me.’
I asked out of curiosity to see how it recorded things—
and nearly dropped the camera after witnessing the holographic replay floating before me.
‘Holy shit. Don’t tell me you’re recording the entire three-dimensional space itself?’
【Correct.】
So that’s why it said physical cameras weren’t really necessary.
Cameras can only record limited angles and fields of view.
But the video app was recording the entire reading room itself as complete 3D data.
【After recording the 3D raw data, suitable angles for later 2D viewing formats can simply be extracted afterward.】
Hollywood directors spending fortunes on 3D films would probably lose their minds over a feature like this.
‘I heard drama productions sometimes install dozens of cameras from multiple angles and film simultaneously.’
Then editors piece together the best shots afterward.
But with the video app recording the entire 3D space itself, none of that was necessary.
“Who asked you to stay beside me? That was all your choice! Your decision!”
“How can you say something like that now?!”
“I told you to leave! I begged you not to stay near me, but you kept forcing yourself beside me anyway!”
The actors balanced intensity and restraint while delivering their lines.
Whenever PD Son Jingu finished reading scene directions, he gave occasional feedback to the actors between scenes.
And the actors diligently wrote every piece of feedback directly into their scripts.
The heating wasn’t even that strong,
yet the room still felt hot from the sheer energy radiating from the actors.
Several managers quietly began feeling dissatisfied with the reading session.
“Isn’t that behind-the-scenes cameraman favoring the rookie actress way too openly? He’s been filming only her this entire time.”
“Even if it’s just behind-the-scenes footage, this still feels annoying. Why isn’t he filming the other actors too?”
“Is it because a team leader personally came to support her? Feels like favoritism.”
The large cameraman continued chasing only Hwang Hyejin nonstop.
Whenever the PD read stage directions,
when the writer gave feedback,
or when Hwang Hyejin’s scene partners delivered dialogue—
except for those moments, the lens remained fixed on her.
“He’s really not even trying to hide the favoritism.”
“Guess that rookie actress is his type.”