Day: February 21, 2022

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おいしそうなCM撮影の話　tasty CM shooting

おいしそうなCM撮影の話　tasty CM shooting

（mediumの記事を再編しています。）
春節連休初日のコマーシャル撮影

Commercial shooting on the first day of the Lunar New Year holidays

映画やコマーシャルのスタジオはおおかた中心部から少し離れたところにあります。今回のスタジオは香港の東、西貢エリアにあるクリアウォーターベイフィルムスタジオ。とても古いスタジオです。あちこちからきしむ音が聞こえそうです。数々の映画、テレビ、コマーシャル作品を輩出してきました。

Most of the studios for films or commercials are located a bit far from the heart of the city. This time the studio was the Clearwater Bay Film Studios in Sai Kung area in the eastern part of Hong Kong. It is a very old studio and you can almost hear the creaks coming from all around. The studio was used for shooting many films, TV shows and commercials.

今回の商品はヘルスケア関連商品

Ad  for healthcare goods

 

ストーリーの中にたくさんの料理が出てきます。俳優さんにもたくさん食べてもらうシーンがあります。長いテーブルの上にご馳走がずらりと並ぶシーンは圧巻です。

There is a lot of food in the story of commercial. There were scenes where the actor eats a lot of food. The scene where the feast is lined up on a long table is a highlight.

The food stylist is a woman who has a reputation for shooting for a popular pizza restaurants, and there are four more staff members in charge of cooking. It was a large studio with a small kitchen next to it. Rather than a kitchen, a small partitioned room was used for cooking. In Japan, a studio with a fully equipped kitchen would be an option.

The small “kitchen” was filled with the smell of cooking. The smell of delicious food stung our empty stomachs, and we all felt full even though we hadn’t eaten at all.

おい、キッチン、餃子はまだか！ピザはどうした！

Hey, kitchen, where are the dumplings! Where’s the pizza!

監督から怒声が上がります。そのたびにアシスタントが”おい、餃子、ピザ。”とキッチンに向かって告げに来るのがコミカルでした。

The director shouted angrily. It was comical to see the assistant come to the kitchen to tell him, “Hey, dumplings, pizza.

It’s tough being an actor. They have to keep on eating the cake, licking their tongues, even though they have to do it over and over. Even in such a situation, when it came time to eat the cake, the actor never forgot to make a professional suggestion, “Wouldn’t it be fun if you put more cream on the cake so that it sticks to the top of my nose when finish eating it? This kind of suggestion can really lighten the mood and can really make a difference.

The contract with the actor is only for 10 hours. Anyway, it’s going to be a problem if we don’t finish his scene in time! This is not the kind of shooting with a lot of time to spare that is often seen in Japan. The budget had been also cut down. We had to shoot stills at the same place in between.

The next scene is the one where the actor takes a big bite out of a huge array of food. Finally, the actor left the scene. Thank you very much.

From here on, it was all about patience. Some of the dishes that were laid out earlier got dried out, or lost their sizzle (the feeling of deliciousness conveyed to the five senses). Sometimes the stylist will add grease or dry ice to create smoke, and other times the food is re-cooked. In the end, it took all of us until midnight, five hours after the actors left the studio, to finish the entire shoot!

　　素晴らしい仕事納めになりました！

          It was a great end to a great work of the year !

We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to finish the shoot in time, but as it turned out, we were able to finish without any problems. The production staff and TYA members worked very well together.

クライアントさんも俳優さんも大変でしたし、世間がお休みに入っている中、制作チームもみんなきりきりと働いてくれました。彼らの現場が好きな気持ちを実感します。自分自身の気持ちも本当に充実します。これが広告の仕事、しかも海外でやることの面白さに違いないです！

It was hard work for the clients and actors, and the production team worked diligently while the rest of the society was on vacation. We could really feel how much they loved the work. It really enriches our own feelings. This must be the fun of working in advertising, and doing it overseas!

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It is darkest under the lighting (intern’s note)

It is darkest under the lighting (intern’s note)

（Lighting equipment that had a luminous intensity）

※English version of the last post

Hello, my name is K and I am an intern at TYA (HK) Limited. I recently visited the location of a commercial shooting and I am writing a two-part article about it. This time, I would like to focus on the lighting technology that supports the shooting.

Lighting is basically the key to making a subject look good, but in this shoot, I felt that lighting played a very important role due to the characteristics of the building and the style of the commercial.

　In this article, I will write about my discoveries related to lighting in the location. Some of them are useful for using lighting effectively in daily life, so I hope you will remember them when you look at lighting.

The proverb, “It is darkest under the lighting,” means that what is important is actually very close by and easy to be missed.

Make it stand out

        

In this shooting, the actor wore white and were staged in sunlight. From the picture, you can see the reflection of light on the clothes of the actor in white at the top and middle of the stairs. At this time, the light was shining from the upper right back of the photo, about as bright as sunlight on a sunny spring day.

Compared to the staff member in the striped T-shirt between the two actors, you can see that the actor’s clothes reflect more light. A bright light source is coming from above and to the side, and by wearing white, which is a reflective color of light, and wearing a silky, glossy fabric, a transparent and refreshing image was created.

If the light source is in the same direction as the camera, it is difficult to get a 3D impression, but all parts of the subject are clearly visible. If the light source is from the side, it can express bumps and make use of the material, but the difference between bright and dark is conspicuous, and if the light source is from behind, it creates a mysterious atmosphere. In this case, the image was shot from the side.

The darker parts of a striped T-shirt do not reflect light, nor do the white parts. This is due to the fact that the t-shirt is made of cotton or other matte material, but it looks better in some situations.

This is a free stock photo. The light source is bright, but it’s generally dark, so there are detailed shadows on the clothes (especially on the jeans), and you can feel the mood from each wrinkle. Of course, the fact that the photo is taken from a closer angle is also a factor in creating this mood. As you can see, wearing clothes made of matte material in a small space and in a generally gloomy environment can create a casualness and coziness.

　

Mellow light?

The diffuser like the one in the photo is often seen not only in this case but also in other photo shoots.

By passing through the cloth once before the light reaches the subject from the body of the light, the light will come from the rough surface of the cloth instead of the smooth surface of the light, and shadows that are not clear will appear. In addition to shadows, bright parts that reflect light (such as a person’s cheeks) also become vaguely bright. Light with little difference between bright and dark parts is soft and gentle.

Light travels straight. While the surface of a light body is smooth to a certain extent and only emits light in a certain direction, the surface of a cloth has many bumps, so the light disperses in all directions and is reflected everywhere in the room. Then, the light that reaches the subject becomes visible. As a result, the difference between bright and dark areas becomes smaller.

Some of us may have taken pictures at a photo studio using an umbrella with a white inside. The umbrella also reflects the light from the camera’s strobe or other light, so that less light gathers in bright areas and more light gathers in dark areas than simply using a strobe.

This is another stock photo. This photo was taken on the street, and you can see that the shadows are clear and there is a significant contrast between light and dark. In contrast to the previous photo, when you want to create a cool impression of a machine or a unique atmosphere at night, it is preferable to have the light of the source shining directly, and the light and dark areas are distinct.

Sunlight is distinct

Here is a picture of the floor at the shooting location. It was actually cloudy at the time, but the lighting from the back of the room makes it look like sunny. Notice the leaves of the plant on the right side. The leaves in the lit area look fresh and yellowish green.

This is a picture of the same plant taken from outside through the glass. Even though it was a cloudy day, the plant was placed near a window, the light should have been sufficient. However, you can tell that the green color of the leaves is darker than in the previous photo. Also, the leaves in the previous photo seemed to be more resilient.

Why was it possible to use artificial light to create an expression more like sunlight than real sunlight?
Let’s consider the opposite pattern in solving this problem. Have you ever placed a houseplant in an artificially lit room and felt it was less alive than the plant outside? This phenomenon is related to the difference between sunlight and artificial light. I will not go into the details, but even a single ray of light contains many different colors of light. White light, in fact, appears white because of the mixture of many different colors of light such as purple, blue, yellow, and red.

LED light and sunlight contain different proportions of each color. In general, LED light contains more blue than sunlight, even though they are the same white light.

What was shining more like sunlight than the sunlight at the time of the shooting was actually a special light body that was not LED.

This light is a model M-Series M90 from ARRI. This light has various features, such as a reflector (the part of the light that looks like a mirror and amplifies the light) that is 1.5 times more powerful than other types, but the first feature is that it is an HMI light.

HMI light is an abbreviation for Hydrargyrum Medium-Arc Iodide. It is a light whose system is different from that of incandescent bulbs and LEDs. The color balance of the light is almost the same as that of sunlight, and it is said to be a “portable sun”. It is also used in baseball stadiums and gymnasiums because of its extremely high intensity.

HMI lights are more expensive than others, but very useful. This was the reason why they could replicate sunlight better than reality.

Wear black

Here is a picture of the shooting location. Even without any particular comment, you can see that there are two staff members. The reason is that they wear black.

In Japanese, people who work behind the scenes are often called “kuroko” or “kurogo. This is because in traditional Japanese performance such as Kabuki, there is a rule that anyone wearing black is not supposed to be on the stage, so the backstage staff would appear on stage in black to hand out props and help actors. However, not only here in Hong Kong, but also in other countries outside Japan, it is standard for backstage staff to wear black.

What are the reasons why people behind the scenes wear black? I have personally been involved in production, so I will introduce the reasons, including what was told at that time.

①To minimize the impact on the subject

As I have written, white color reflects light. A white reflector is sometimes used in studios to brighten up faces, but conversely, white clothing can make the subject brighter than necessary. This is the same reason as why equipment such as cameras and tripods are black. If you are taking pictures of people outdoors, white clothes can be used as a reflector.

②To eliminate the sense of life

Black has the effect of making things appear smaller than they are. You’ve probably heard that wearing black clothes makes you look thinner. Since black things look smaller and less conspicuous, they wear black clothes in order not to ruin the atmosphere of the stage or scene. From the actors’ point of view, the black clothes of all the staff, not only behind but also beside and above the camera, make less pressure.

③To identify staff members

This is of course the biggest reason. As seen in judges’ court uniforms and suits, dark colors have an intellectual image and are appropriate for highly specialized backstage staff.  Taking this commercial shooting as an example, there were a lot of people coming to the location, including the actors, their managers, advertising companies like TYA, client of the commercial, and the general public since the shooting was in a public place. By having the behind-the-scenes staff wearing black, they could immediately ask for help each other members in case of equipment trouble or quick removal.

Conclusion

This time, I focused on the lighting, but through visiting the commercial shooting, I learned that it takes more than two months of time, 30 people, countless cameras and lighting equipment, and a lot of patience to make a good commercial, even if the commercial itself is less than a minute.

Thank you for your reading.

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灯「体」もと暗し（撮影見学後記②）

灯「体」もと暗し（撮影見学後記②）

（際立って光量が強かった照明機材） ※English version will be released  in a few days  こんにちは。TYA（HK）LimitedでインターンをさせていただいているKです。先日CMの撮影を見学し、記事を全２回に渡り書いています。今回は撮影を支える照明技術に注目します。 照明は基本的に撮影において被写体の見え方を左右する鍵ですが、今回の撮影はとくに、建物の特徴やCMの演出上照明が重要な役目を演じていると感じました。   　この記事では、現場で見つけた照明関係の発見を書いていきます。日常生活で効果的に照明を使うときに役立つものもあるので、みなさんが照明を見るときに思い出していただければと思います。   タイトルは、ことわざ「灯台下暗し」をもじったものです。照明機材のことを灯体というので、いつも視界を照らしてくれる照明にこそ、映像・写真表現の大事なポイントがあるのではないかという意味をこめました。 映える、映やす          今回の撮影では、役者さんが白い衣装を着て、日光の中で撮影する演出がありました。写真から、階段の上と途中にいる白い服を着た役者さんの服に光が反射しているのがわかると思います。この時、写真右上奥から、よく晴れた春の日の日光くらいの明るさの光があたっていました。   二人の役者さんの間にいるストライプのTシャツのスタッフと比較して、役者さんの服でより光が反射しているのがわかると思います。外の光が入る環境である、つまり明るい光源が斜め上、横からあたり、光の反射色である白色でかつシルク調のつやのある素材を着ることで、透明感が出てさわやかなイメージになります。   光源は、同じ斜め上でも、カメラと同じ方向にあると立体感が出づらいが被写体のすべての部分がはっきり見えます。横からだと凹凸を表現して材質を生かせますが明暗の差が目立ち、後ろからだとミステリアスな雰囲気になります。今回は横から当てています。   ストライプのTシャツの暗い色の部分は光を反射していないのはもちろん、白い部分も光を反射していません。これはTシャツがコットンなどつやのない素材で出来ていることによりますが、その方が映える場面もあります。   こちらはフリー素材の写真です。光源は明るいですが全体的に薄暗いため、服（とくにジーンズ）に細かく影が落ちていて、しわの一本一本から雰囲気が伝わってきます。もちろん被写体に近づいた寄りの写真であることも雰囲気を作る要因です。このように、狭いスペースで全体的に薄暗い環境で、つやのない素材の服を着ることで生活感、こなれた感じが演出できます。 　 やわらかい光？ 今回に限らずCMなどの撮影でよく見かけるのが写真のようなディフューザーです。   灯体から被写体に光が届くまでに布を一度通すことで、ライトのつるつるした面ではなく布のざらざらした面からの光となり、はっきりしていない影が出るようになります。影だけでなく、光を反射する明るい部分（人の頬など）もぼんやり明るい程度になります。明るい部分と暗い部分の差が少ない明かりは、やわらかい、やさしいイメージを伴います。   光は直進します。灯体の表面はある程度つるつるしていて光が一定方向にしか出ないのに対し、布の表面には多くの凹凸があるため四方八方に光が分散して、部屋のあちこちで反射し被写体に届いたものが目に見えます。そのため明るい部分と暗い部分の差が小さくなります。   内側が白いアンブレラを使って写真館で撮影をしたことがある方もいると思いますが、アンブレラもカメラのストロボなどの光をより多くの方向に反射させ、単にフラッシュを炊くより明るいところに集まる光を少なく、暗いところに集まる光を多くしています。   こちらもフリー素材です。これは路上での写真ですが、影がはっきりしていて明暗の差も大きいことがわかると思います。先ほどとは反対に機械のかっこいい感じや夜特有の雰囲気を演出する際は、灯体の光がそのままあたり明暗がはっきりしているほうが好ましいです。   日光は特別 こちらは撮影現場の床を撮影した写真です。実際にはこの時は曇天だったのですが、奥の方から照明の光が当たって日光のように見えます。画面右の植物の葉に注目すると、光が当たっている部分の葉はみずみずしい黄緑色に見えると思います。   こちらは外からガラス越しに同じ植物を撮った写真です。曇天だったとはいえ、植物は窓際においてあったことから明るさは十分なはずなのに、先ほどの写真より葉の緑色が濃いことがわかります。また、先ほどの葉のほうがハリがあるように見えました。   なぜ撮影現場では、人工の光で本物の太陽光より太陽光らしい表現ができたのでしょうか。   この問題を解決するにあたって、逆のパターンを考えてみます。人工光があたる屋内に観葉植物をおいても、外にある植物より生気が感じられなかったことはありませんか。これらの現象には、太陽光と人工光の違いが関係しています。細かい説明は省きますが、一筋に見える光にも様々な色の光が含まれています。特に白い光は、紫、青、黄、赤などたくさんの光が混ざりあって白く見えています。   LEDの光と太陽光では、各々の色の光が含まれている割合が違います。一般に、同じ白い光でも、太陽光よりLEDの光のほうが青い光が多く含まれているといえるのです。   撮影現場でその時の太陽光より太陽光らしい光を発していたのは、実はLED照明ではない特別な灯体でした。     このライトは、ARRIという会社のM-Series M90というモデルです。この灯体には、リフレクター（灯体の中の、鏡のようになっていて光を増幅させる部分）が工夫されていて光量が他の種類より1.5倍大きいなど様々な特徴があるのですが、第一の特徴がHMIライトであるという点です。   HMIライトとは、Hydrargyrum Medium-Arc Iodideの略で、光が発されるシステムが白熱電球やLEDとは違う灯体のことです。光の色のバランスが太陽光とほぼ変わらず、「持ち運べる太陽」と言われています。さらに、非常に光量が大きく、野球場や体育館でも使われています。   HMIライトは、値段は他より高価ですが、とても有用な灯体です。これが太陽光を現実以上に再現できる理由だったのです。   撮影現場の黒   こちらは撮影現場の写真です。とくに説明がなくても、機材スタッフが二名いるのがわかります。理由は他でもなく、黒い服を着ているからです。   よく、日本語で裏方の人を黒子、黒衣といいます。これは歌舞伎などの日本の伝統芸能で、黒い服を着ている人は舞台上にいないものとする決まりごとがあり、裏方が黒い服で舞台上に登場し役者小道具を渡したり役者を助けたりしたことから来ているそうです。しかし、ここ香港だけでなく、日本以外の他の国でも裏方は黒い服を着ることがスタンダードです。   裏方が黒い服を着る理由はなにがあるのでしょうか。個人的に照明演出に携わらせていただいたことがあるので、その時に言われていたことを含めて理由を紹介します。   ①被写体への影響を最小限にするため 他の部分で書いてきたように、白い色は光を反射します。スタジオなどで人の顔を明るくするために白いレフ板を用いることがありますが、逆に白い服が必要以上に被写体を明るくしてしまうことがあります。カメラや三脚などの機材が黒いのも同様の理由によるものです。逆に人物の写真撮影を屋外で行うときなどは、白い服を着ていくとレフ板代わりになるとも言えます。   ②気配を消す 黒には、その色のものを収縮して見せる効果があります。黒い服を着ると痩せて見えるという話を聞いたことがあるのではないでしょうか。黒いものは小さく見え、また目立ちにくいため、舞台や現場の雰囲気を崩さないために黒い服を着ます。役者さんの立場にからしても、カメラの後ろだけでなく横にも上にもいるスタッフたちがみんな黒い服を着ていることで圧迫感が軽減されます。   ③スタッフであるとわかりやすくする 一番大きな理由はもちろんこちらです。裁判官の法服、スーツなどにも見られるように知的なイメージがある暗い色は専門性の高い裏方スタッフにふさわしいだけではありません。今回のCM撮影の現場を例に取ると、役者さん、そのマネージャーさん、TYAのような広告会社、CMのクライアント企業さん、また公共の場所での撮影だったため一般の人たちなどたくさんの人間が現場を行き来していました。そこで裏方スタッフが黒い服を着ていることで、機材トラブルや迅速な搬出・撤収のときに瞬時にスタッフ同士助けを求めることができます。 まとめ   今回は照明についての発見を取り上げましたが、CM撮影の見学を通して、1分に満たない時間のCMを作るのにも2か月以上の時間と30人ほどの人手、数えきれないカメラと照明機材などたくさんの手間と、いいものを作るという根気が必要なことがわかりました。   これで全2回の撮影見学後記は終了です。ご覧いただきありがとうございました。

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Creative agency in all creative era　　 (intern’s note)

Creative agency in all creative era　　 (intern’s note)

（Air shower before entering the room.) ※English version of the last post  Hello, my name is K and I’m an intern at TYA (HK) Limited. The other day, I had the opportunity to visit the location where a commercial was shot. Not only was it a valuable experience, but it also made me realize how difficult the actual creative process of an advertisement is. I had been interested in the visual aspects of advertising, such as technology and video editing, but now I feel that I should focus more on the creative aspects, such as conveying a message and making sure that everyone involved is satisfied with the final product.   This experience changed my impression completely. Before, I wondered what would happen to the work of advertising agencies because now anyone can easily produce creative work (even the client can do it on their own).  I would like to share three of my insights with you.   From a perspective of creative agency  （A monitor to see what the camera is shooing.） 　 On the location, there was the client for the commercial, the production company who sets up the camera and lighting and is in charge of the production side of things, the actors and their offices, and TYA who designs the entire ad, including the story and copy. They were all discussing the creative process to make the creative even better.   　 The first thing that surprised me was that so many perspectives are involved in a single video. In a live-action video, there are an infinite number of perspectives to improve quality, such as the brightness, the focus of cameras, the visuals and acting of the actors, the balance with subtitles, the appeal of the product, and the screen layout. When working with production companies who are professionals in the field of production, which perspective the advertising agency side would focus on when working on a commercial?   　 The advertising agency considers the strategy of the advertisement. They conduct benchmark research on the product, such as consumers’ impressions of the product, what they find appealing, and what they are looking for, and design the story of the commercial through consultation again and again with the client.  TYA, which designs the entire commercial, including who is actors and what kind of actions they take, has a different point of view than the production company that underpins the quality of the video. 　 To answer my question, my current view is that TYA, as an creative agency, is responsible for “getting the message across. It is TYA that accepts requests from clients and holds discussions with them, and that takes care of research and analysis of products. TYA is responsible for the crucial process of sublimating this research and analysis into a message that is conveyed to consumers. 　 Of course, the way that TYA is involved in commercial production is to consult with production staff if there is anything we find necessary to change.   However, as an entity that is involved in the production of commercials together with the client from start to finish, I felt that the focus should be on whether the creative is able to be “conveyed”.     In order to keep watch over everything (A staff adjusting the light.）　   　 It was only after I visited the location that I learned about the position of project manager at TYA. It is a position that oversees everything from product research, conceptualization, consultation with clients, and schedule creation including shooting and editing. It is not easy to organize a job that involves a lot of people from a lot of companies.   　 One of the most impressive things that the project manager said was that she always does image training.  The filming site in particular is full of sudden changes in the weather, technical problems, and other things that require a flexible response. However, the need to complete a commercial with a improved perfection within the allotted time remains unchanged.   　 I believe that it is the imagination of the project manager that holds the balance between the ever-changing situation on the ground and meeting the never-changing expectations of the client. I strongly hope to be able to imagine problems in advance and develop countermeasures through my own experiences and lessons learned from others.   Professional and amateur (A staff who operates a light on a crane. )   　 Fortunately, I have the experience of producing PR videos for others at my university. Even though the others gave me an outline of each scene and a specific order of how they wanted it to be organized, I was conscious of not only following the order but also thinking about what they wanted to convey and putting feelings into the video.     The video production that I experienced in university was more of a production aspect, and not the same as this commercial shoot. However, there were many things I could learn from the professionals through this visit.   　 The most useful lesson is to focus on one aspect of the product and concentrate your resources on that. There are many reasons for a product to be purchased, but to effectively express them, you need to focus on one of them and construct a story only for it. In addition, while discussing with the client, we create an advertisement that not only pleases the client, but actually contributes to sales.   　 Looking back, I tended to focus on a lot of aspects of the group because I was so passionate about supporting them. This often made it difficult for me to create a video that is easy to convey.   　I found professionalism; as a special position between the consumer who views the advertisement and the client, the advertising agency provides the client with the appealing points and the message that conveys, and provides the consumer with an easy-to-understand advertisement.   Conclusion   　 What I can say through these experiences is that the advertising agency is still necessary, even now that video and still image production is popular among many people, as it is a valuable position between the client and the consumer.     　It has been more than a month since I started my internship at TYA. In Hong Kong, where the culture is different from that of Japan, I am grateful for the opportunity to gain experience at a company that is on the side of sending out advertisements, instead of receiving them.   Thank you for your reading this post.  Next post will be about the video creation technology.

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