hello everyone.
My name is Haruka Baba and I work as a coder.
Last time, we created a short film for the project " Monosus Eizouken x Marionette Collaboration Project - "Porta Goes to Town" Short Film " with the help of designer Kawarasaki Taira, who shot and edited it for us.
The video is available on YouTube, so please take a look.
Short film "Porta Goes to Town"
And this video won the Best Movie Award in the January issue of the magazine "VIDEO SALON" that went on sale on December 20th! Congratulations!
Porta is featured prominently on one side of the page, so if you see it in a bookstore, be sure to pick it up and take a look.
This time, we would like to introduce you to the behind-the-scenes of the filming of "Porta Goes to Town."
What to Photograph
When I asked Kawarazaki if he would collaborate with Porta the Marionette, I hadn't yet decided what to photograph.
We decided to work together on the content of the shoot, but a question arose: What kind of personality does Porta have, and what is his relationship with me?
So I decided to think about Porta again.
- boy
- About 5 to 6 years old
- Curious and optimistic.
- I like to eat, but I have a weak stomach.
- We have a relationship like friends or family who live together.
- When no one is watching, he talks to and plays with other stuffed animals and toys, but remains motionless in front of people.
- My dream is to go abroad someday
I compiled all of this information on a single A4 sheet of paper and shared it.
As I thought about Porta's personality, I began to think, "I want Kawarazaki to film a video of Porta wandering the city, filled with anxiety and curiosity, in an atmosphere that is characteristic of him."
So I wrote the story and asked Kawarazaki to create a storyboard.
Other ideas that came up included making videos where we dance around to music, or having people say nasty things like YouTubers, but I hope to be able to make those a reality on another occasion.
schedule
Once the content of the shoot was decided, we thought about the schedule for the day.
It was roughly like this. I had planned to make a 2-3 minute video from the beginning, but when I tried to mix in various scenes, it ended up taking half a day of filming.
On the day of shooting
A typhoon was approaching and we were very worried, but the weather held out and we were able to go and shoot as planned.
I had also asked Mr. Saito from the Monosasu Site Secretariat to assist me and take photos behind the scenes, so the three of us - Mr. Kawarazaki, Mr. Saito and myself - set off.
The first shoot took place at the Puk puppet theatre, which is the closest to Monosas.
On the day, we received permission to take photographs, and were able to capture Porta looking up at Pook and interacting with the puppets in the puppet theater.
During filming, I had the opportunity to talk to some of the members of the theatre company.
The Puk Puppet Theatre is a theatre company with a long history, where the puppeteers wear beautiful costumes and appear outside to perform puppet shows.
I once went to see "Elmer's Adventure" and after the show, a child sitting nearby said, "It's over already? I want to see more!!" It was very memorable. You can see this puppet show in Shinjuku, which has a production that never gets boring and keeps children engrossed, so if you have the chance, please go and check it out.
After finishing filming at the Puppet Theater PUK, we hurriedly headed to Shinjuku Station.
On the way there, I found a spot that looked like I could take a good picture, so I snapped it.
Afterwards, I took a photo of Porta's back as he walked in front of the south exit of Shinjuku Station.
Since the port is small, Kawarazaki seems to be in a difficult position.
Despite this, Porta's legs were swaying in the wind and he had to be reshot several times.
After that we took some photos on the train.
This was my first time taking a train with Porta. There were very few passengers, so I was able to complete the photoshoot without any problems.
After arriving at the station, we headed to the toy store "BANDIT".
On the way, I bought some juice from a vending machine.
I gazed enviously at the restaurant display windows.
We arrived at the toy store "BANDIT". We were given permission to take photos, and we immediately started filming under the watchful eye of the store owner.
Meiji Shrine is just a few minutes walk from "BANDIT", so we decided to drop by there. As we passed some kindergarten children on a walk, we heard them say, "Is that bear real?"
As I walked along the approach to the shrine, I came across a cafe. Since I had walked a lot, I decided to take a break.
The hardworking Porta also takes photos here.
Filming is also in full swing.
A scene where Porta finally becomes exhausted and starts plodding along.
When he sees his good friend Tori sitting alone on the swing, he runs over to him.
The two are happy to be reunited and go swinging together.
At this moment, I heard some foreign children saying, "Amazing..." a short distance away.
At dusk, the filming came to a close with a final scene of the two of them walking home together.
I finished as planned, around 7pm, and when I looked at my pedometer I had walked 18,700 steps.
after that...
A few weeks after filming ended, I was very impressed when I was shown the finished video.
Even though we were shooting together, it felt so fresh and I was surprised at how it turned out. I was also very happy that Porta's emotions and personality were properly conveyed in the video.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who was involved in this work, including Mr. Kawarazaki and Mr. Saito. If I have the opportunity, I would like to create a collaboration video again, so please look forward to the next one!
BABA Haruka