Chapter 9: Set Command
The second rehearsal didn't take long.
Taejun followed the order Geonwoo had explained.
Yura delayed the moment she looked at Minjae.
The actors playing the mourners didn't react until Seorin asked her question.
After checking the monitor, Geonwoo immediately spoke.
"Good. Let's start filming."
Myeongho asked from behind the camera,
"Director, we'll start with the master shot, right?"
"Yes. Let's capture the overall blocking first."
When the camera lowered slightly, the funeral-hall entrance and altar fit into the same frame.
The camcorder beneath the memorial portrait appeared small at the edge of the image.
"Is this enough for the camcorder?"
Geonwoo checked the monitor.
"Yes. It shouldn't be too large. But once the audience notices it, I want it to stay in their mind."
Myeongho shifted the camera slightly to the right.
"It needs to appear before Minjae does, right?"
"Yes."
"Got it. I'll keep it visible enough to bother you."
Geonwoo checked the monitor again.
As expected of a veteran cinematographer.
Myeongho understood exactly what kind of shot Geonwoo wanted.
He's incredible.
Geonwoo nodded.
"Good."
Hyeonsu immediately raised his hand.
"Master shot! Everyone, go back to your rehearsal positions!"
Once the actors were ready, Geonwoo checked the monitor.
"Camera."
Myeongho answered from behind it.
"Rolling."
"Sound."
A junior on the sound team answered.
"Rolling."
Hyeonsu raised the slate.
"Before the Light Reaches, funeral hall master, take one."
Clap.
After snapping the slate, Hyeonsu quickly moved out of frame.
Geonwoo spoke quietly.
"Action."
The funeral hall fell silent.
Minjae stopped at the entrance.
Seorin, sitting before the altar, raised her head.
The mourners remained seated as though nothing were wrong.
Taejun didn't immediately look at the memorial portrait.
First, he searched for somewhere to stand.
He avoided the mourners' eyes.
He avoided Seorin's gaze.
Only at the end did his eyes briefly touch the camcorder beneath the memorial portrait.
Seorin approached him.
"Thanks for coming."
Minjae lowered his head.
"Of course I came."
"Seoyun talked about you a lot."
Minjae couldn't answer immediately.
"Really?"
"Yeah. He said you two still hung out."
A small movement passed through the mourners.
The neighborhood association head raised a paper cup toward his mouth, then stopped.
The supermarket owner turned her head as if looking at the memorial portrait.
Minjae pretended not to notice.
"Just... sometimes."
Seorin looked at Minjae.
Then she tried to move her gaze toward the camcorder beneath the memorial portrait.
But she couldn't quite look at it.
"You know that camcorder too, right? Seoyun carried it everywhere."
"Yeah."
Minjae's answer was short.
Seorin swallowed.
"Then... when was the last time you saw Seoyun?"
The entire funeral hall seemed to become quieter.
Minjae couldn't answer immediately.
He lowered his head.
"I'm not sure."
After a short silence, he added,
"We hadn't seen each other much lately."
Seorin nodded slightly.
"I see."
Then she forced herself to smile.
"Still, thanks for coming."
Minjae couldn't say anything.
"Seoyun would've been happy you came."
Minjae's gaze trembled briefly toward the camcorder.
But he never fully looked at it.
Geonwoo raised his hand.
"Cut."
The tension inside the set loosened.
Taejun immediately looked toward him.
"How was it?"
"Good. I think we can use that master."
Hyeonsu's eyes widened.
"The master passed on the first take?"
"Yeah. The flow was good."
Myeongho reviewed the footage behind the camera.
"Blocking looks fine. You're breaking it into coverage now, right?"
Geonwoo flipped through the storyboard.
Seorin coverage.
Minjae's feet.
The mourners' reactions.
A camcorder insert.
There were many shots left.
But the rhythm of the scene had already been established through the master shot.
"Yes. We'll only take the shots we actually need."
Filming continued without rest.
Seorin's hand remained tense around the incense.
Minjae's feet never fully crossed the threshold.
The mourners' eyes only trembled for brief moments when Minjae hesitated before answering.
The camcorder sat on the black cloth, becoming blurred once through the smoke of the incense before coming back into focus.
Every cut was short.
But to capture those short cuts, the actors and staff had to repeat the same motions over and over.
The seminar room grew hotter because of the lights.
The actors in funeral clothes pulled at their collars whenever a cut ended.
The staff gradually began moving more slowly too.
Taejun asked,
"Hyeonsu, do we have more water?"
"It's in the hallway. But hyung, we're going straight into the next shot."
"I know. I just wish the water would walk over to me."
The actor playing the neighborhood association head laughed while holding his paper cup.
"I've gotten attached to this cup. Pick it up, put it down. Pick it up, put it down."
Hyeonsu apologized.
"Sunbae, I'm sorry. One more time."
"It's fine. But I think this cup deserves an appearance fee."
The supermarket-owner actress fanned herself with the collar of her funeral clothes.
"Director, can we please rest for just a little while? This seminar room is so hot. I feel like I'm at a sauna, not a funeral hall."
Hyeonsu immediately checked the storyboard.
"Sunbae, I'm sorry. But we have to clear this funeral-hall set today."
"I know. I know that. But actors need to stay alive to perform."
Geonwoo looked around.
Everyone was exhausted.
But if they didn't finish the funeral sequence today, the schedule would become a serious problem.
Another class needed the seminar room tomorrow.
The funeral clothes and props also had to be returned today.
Most importantly, the senior actors playing the mourners had to leave within an hour.
Hyeonsu came closer and whispered,
"Hyung, if we rest now, we might not finish all the funeral-hall footage today. We need to finish before the seniors leave or our whole schedule gets messed up."
"I know."
As the director, Geonwoo had to make a decision.
Myeongho quietly watched from behind the camera.
Here it is. One of the hardest moments for a rookie director.
Push too hard, and everyone's concentration would collapse.
Let them rest, and the schedule would collapse.
Geonwoo exhaled slowly.
What do I do...?
Then it happened.
Words appeared before his eyes.
[The conditions for unlocking the fourth sense have been met.]
At this timing...?
[You have simultaneously detected fatigue and scheduling pressure on the film set.]
[The loss of focus among cast and crew has exceeded a certain level.]
[The fourth sense has been unlocked.]
[Ability Name: Set Command]
Geonwoo stared at the message.
More information followed.
[Function]
·
Raises morale and concentration among cast and crew for a limited period of time.
·
·
The director's instructions are communicated more clearly to actors and staff.
·
·
Reduces concentration loss caused by fatigue.
·
[Duration]
·
1 hour
·
[Usage Limit]
·
Once per day
·
Geonwoo quickly read everything.
Once per day.
One hour.
It almost perfectly matched the amount of time they had left.
With this, we can finish today's shoot properly.
Geonwoo was about to activate the ability.
Then a new sentence appeared beneath the status window.
[Activation Requirement]
·
The director must speak sincerely enough to move the emotions of the people on set.
·
Geonwoo froze.
Hyeonsu walked over.
"Hyung, what are we doing?"
Geonwoo swallowed.
He had to say something first.
He raised his hand.
"Everyone, let's keep going just a little longer. We're almost there."
The people around the set nodded.
"Okay."
"Let's do it."
"We're almost done anyway."
They answered.
But the atmosphere didn't change.
The actors still looked tired.
The staff still moved slowly.
Hyeonsu merely counted the remaining shots on the storyboard with his finger.
Then more words appeared.
[Set Command has not been activated.]
[The director's statement did not sufficiently raise morale on set.]
Geonwoo's eyebrow twitched.
What? I told them to keep going.
He looked at the condition again.
[Activation Requirement]
·
The director must speak sincerely enough to move the emotions of the people on set.
·
Sincerely enough to move them...
So ordinary encouragement wasn't enough.
Geonwoo sighed inwardly.
What am I supposed to say to move people's hearts?
He thought about what a protagonist would say if this situation were a scene in a movie.
This is going to sound incredibly cheesy.
But he really wanted to use the newly unlocked Set Command.
Fine. Let's just do it.
Geonwoo looked at the actors and staff.
The supermarket-owner actress leaned against a chair while fanning herself.
The neighborhood association head shook out his wrist after putting down the paper cup.
Taejun rotated his shoulders beside the threshold.
Yura slowly opened and closed the fingers that had been holding incense.
Geonwoo raised his hand.
"Excuse me."
Everyone's scattered attention returned to him.
The moment he saw everyone looking at him, he already felt embarrassed.
"I'm really bad at saying things like this."
Taejun lifted his head from where he'd been leaning against the doorway.
"What kind of thing?"
Geonwoo briefly closed his eyes, then opened them.
"I know today has been difficult. It's hot, you're repeating the same motions again and again, and we're even reshooting something as small as putting down a paper cup."
The neighborhood association head raised his cup.
"This guy is working harder than anyone today."
Quiet laughter spread through the set.
Geonwoo laughed awkwardly too.
"Right. Including that paper cup."
The laughter grew slightly.
Geonwoo used the opening.
"But the scenes we shot just now were really good."
The set became quiet.
"Yura holding everything in with just her fingertips. Taejun unable to cross the threshold. The exact moment the seniors stopped while putting down that paper cup."
He looked at all of them.
"Every one of those moments will remain in the film."
Geonwoo felt his ears heating up.
He wasn't used to talking like this.
But he continued.
"I won't let today's hard work end as nothing more than suffering."
Yura raised her head.
Taejun stopped joking around.
Geonwoo continued.
"So please give me one more hour. I know you're tired, but if you can stay focused just a little longer, I'll make this sequence into one of the best scenes in the movie."
A short silence followed.
Geonwoo thought even he had sounded painfully cheesy.
Then Taejun spoke first.
"Sunbae."
"Yeah?"
"That was a little cheesy."
Geonwoo immediately answered.
"I know."
Taejun laughed.
"But you convinced me to keep going."
The neighborhood association head raised his paper cup.
"If the director is saying all that, I guess this cup has to survive until the end too."
The supermarket-owner actress fixed the collar of her funeral clothes and stood.
"Fine. Let's do one more hour."
The atmosphere that had been sinking from exhaustion gradually began changing.
At that moment, words appeared before Geonwoo.
[Morale among cast and crew has increased.]
[The director's statement moved the emotions of the people on set.]
[The activation requirements for Set Command have been met.]
[Set Command has been activated.]
[Effect Target: All cast and crew currently on set]
[Duration: 1 hour]
[Remaining Uses Today: 0]
The moment the ability activated, the atmosphere changed.
Actors who had been leaning against chairs straightened their backs.
Staff members who had been moving slowly returned to their positions.
Hyeonsu opened the storyboard first.
"Organizing the remaining shots. Camcorder insert, Seorin's hand, Minjae's foot, mourners' reactions. We'll also take the funeral shots needed for the later flashback while we're in the same setup."
Geonwoo immediately sat before the monitor.
"Don't move the camera too much. Let's do the camcorder and incense first. Yura's hand shot stays in front of the altar. Taejun's foot stays at the threshold."
Myeongho answered immediately from behind the camera.
"Possible. I can cover almost everything from this angle."
"Good. Let's go."
"Cut."
Everyone looked at Geonwoo.
He checked the monitor briefly, then spoke.
"All funeral-hall footage is complete. That's a wrap for this set."
Applause exploded.
The actors playing the mourners laughed and stood first.
The supermarket-owner actress fanned herself.
"Finally. I survived."
The neighborhood association head raised his paper cup.
"This guy is going home too."
Laughter spread through the set.
Only then did Geonwoo finally smile.
Myeongho quietly watched from behind the camera.
This director has a strange kind of charisma.
There was something about the young director that made actors and staff move with him.
It wasn't as though someone had ordered them.
They had genuinely looked like they wanted to try one more time.
"This shoot might actually be fun."
Filming continued over the following days.
Geonwoo didn't use Set Command carelessly.
It could only be used once a day for one hour.
He needed to distinguish between moments when he should use it and moments when he should save it.
The fact that every activation required him to say something that genuinely moved people was also troublesome.
Hyeonsu started calling it the Director's Curse.
The curse that made you want to keep filming even when you wanted to rest.
Geonwoo found the name embarrassing.
But he didn't dislike it.
And so the shoot continued according to plan.
Several nights later.
Professor Kim Dohyeon and Im Myeongho sat across from each other in an old bar near the university.
Two empty bottles of soju sat on the table.
Kim Dohyeon filled Myeongho's glass.
"So how was the shoot?"
Myeongho picked up a piece of tofu kimchi with his chopsticks.
"Interesting."
"Really?"
"Honestly, because you asked me, I only planned to help out casually."
He chewed before continuing.
"But the kid surprised me."
Kim Dohyeon lowered his glass.
"How?"
"That rookie director has a good eye for cuts. But that's not all."
"What else?"
"He can move people."
Kim Dohyeon's eyebrows rose slightly.
Myeongho drank some soju and put his glass down.
"The script is interesting and the storyboards are detailed, so filming is easy. I'm actually enjoying making a movie for the first time in a while."
Kim Dohyeon smiled faintly.
"I'm surprised to hear that from you."
At that moment, the bar door opened.
A man stepped inside with the cold night air.
It was Professor Moon Taeseok.
He stopped when he saw the two men at the table.
"Oh? Professor Kim Dohyeon?"
Kim Dohyeon stood.
"Professor Moon Taeseok. It's been a while."
Moon Taeseok waved a hand.
"Sit down. We're drinking. There's no need for formalities."
He looked between them.
"What were you discussing so seriously?"
"I asked a friend to help out on one of my student's film shoots."
"Which student?"
"Baek Geonwoo. You know him, right?"
Moon Taeseok smiled very briefly.
"Of course. I know him well. Though he hasn't contacted me once recently."
"He seems busy with his film. He said he's planning to submit it to the Vision section of the Busan International Film Festival."
Moon Taeseok's eyes changed slightly.
"Really? Interesting."
"What is?"
"I was invited to serve as a judge at this year's Busan International Film Festival."
