Filmmaking and the Way to the Village (映画作りとむらへの道)

We, members of Ogawa Productions, made this film,

in order to present some phases of its activities.

This film was shot between November 1972 and January 1973,

when we were about to edit the Narita: Heta Village film.

This struggle must go on.

It must.

They know what they are doing is right.

They're more convinced now after months in jail.

Heta Village

They have no place to go.

They must come back here.

They must for fighting for our land.

There is a growing awareness.

That's only natural.

Now they appreciate their parents.

And grandparents.

And the older villagers.

Now they appreciate the warmth of the whole community!

Back at the lodging after the shooting

It didn't go very smoothly today.

The coordination wasn't very good.

Very inefficient.

It sure was.

Something like that bugs you.

After the day's work.

And the picture itself?

It didn't go well.

The picture itself may be good, though.

Oh, come on.

Yes, I think it is good in its own way.

Well, today I talked with the old man before I came back.

You know Haruo and others come back to the village.

And people are still kept uneasy in the village.

So when they come back and everyone feels relieved,

we can bring the film to a sudden end.

Right.

Or we can put in a conclusion.

That's another way of ending the film.

Or we can end it with an interview with Haruo's family.

Or with some village scenes.

Or we can end it with a scene of people working in the field.

Filmmaking and the Way to the Village

Tape #30-2 ready.

Projector ready.

Start.

Viewing rushes

From the footage shot on the day the village youths were

let out on bail.

This is the Broadcasting Station...

...for farmers at Hishida.

The rescue division in Chiba reported today...

...that the 20 members of the Youths' Action Group...

...who have been imprisoned will be let out on bail.

We have just learned...

...that all 20 of them will be let out on bail.

After 90 long days in jail since their arrest on July 5,

they will be released on bail.

That night the youths came back.

We have longed for this moment...

...as much as the villagers themselves.

Discussion after viewing the film

What was the impression of the rushes?

There was the suspense...

...before the second news reached us.

We could have two different cuts to express that.

The other day I liked the speech which was toward the end.

I guess everyone would agree.

You can see how Fukuda must have felt

as he delivered his speech.

And when the music unexpectedly stops halfway through the scene,

the camera falters for one brief moment,

and a tractor hums in the distance.

That scene gripped the essence of a rural evening.

On the other hand was this feeling of long, exhausting wait...

...until the second news arrived.

To me, both these things overlap with each other.

Maybe it's my own personal feelings.

But to me those two cuts are an excellent match.

I agree.

That's the idea.

The first cut prepares for the second, which everyone likes.

You know there's another cut showing a car coming in.

You hear the tractor booming in the distance.

You half expect the tractor coming into the picture.

But you only hear it. And then there comes the car.

I like the rhythm.

So these three cuts must be combined for the best result.

I don't think even a genius...

...should change the feeling of the time lapse.

We shouldn't change it.

All scenes are connected in the first part of the film.

When the camera moves at the end of the broadcast scene,

That day, the production team from Tokyo joined us.

The villagers don't get bored with that long sequence.

They are so absorbed.

On long sequences Not city people.

Those intellectuals.

They get bored.

Ishige: a young man from a nearby village

It's a difficult matter.

Being from the village, they have lots to think about.

Both Tonojita's father and grandfather were watching it.

All absorbed.

Because they know the people and places?

I don't think so.

And Ishigo.

He is an outsider.

Still he loves and enjoys long, slow sequences.

That really makes me happy.

This tower sequence is also slow.

When I came here to Sanrizuka 6 years ago,

I wouldn't have just shot these two scenes like that.

We wanted to grasp the real feel of the village.

These long sequences are typical of this film.

Early panning would disrupt the scene.

It starts after the broadcast.

Definitely not before.

Once you start doing that, you have to have close-ups...

...of tree tops, roads and everything. Then you edit them.

You just have appealing bits and leave out the rest.

You end up with having a scene that lasts a minute or two.

It gives you an idea.

But something is different.

We don't want to be selective that way.

In principle.

If you select motifs to express the village,

you may lose grip of the reality.

That's probably true.

On the difficulty of grasping the atmosphere.

Often, when you're frustrated and disappointed on location,

with the entire crew feeling the day is wasted,

the resulting footage is marvelous.

There's this strange interrelation.

Mysterious.

But you can tell at times.

Yes, you can, but in most cases you can't.

What disappoints you on location turns out to be good.

The statistics show that.

And, when you're satisfied...

The rushes are also good.

Sometimes.

But it used to be the contrary.

When we're content, the resulting footage proved unsatisfactory.

It all depends on how much you succeed to convey...

...what you actually feel out there.

See Ma Hebe's episode. It feels successful enough.

Because hers is a world easy to understand.

To grasp.

So is Mr. Aoyagi's.

But when it comes to the old man talking about the village,

It is just beyond us. We simply cannot grasp it all.

So we feel unsure and uneasy, but we can be quite sure...

...about Ma Hebe and her world.

For it's easier to understand.

Because an episode like that always has a focal point, a moral.

On the contrary, the tale of the old man and the horse was...

...too big and elusive for us, and it left us confused.

The confusion we feel before something beyond us is similar...

...to the disappointment we feel at failure.

That's why we often misjudge...

...the quality of our work.

Because they are physical sensations.

And they are much alike.

It would be best if we do know how to tell one from the other.

In order to shoot without disturbing,

work was done on shooting equipment.

Various equipments are essential in filmmaking.

They can make or break a film, so to speak.

So we contrived some devices for using them effectively.

So I want our cameraman and our recording engineer...

...to talk about some of the clever ideas they came up with...

...for their equipment.

Yumoto, our recording engineer, speaks first.

I'll hold it.

Nagra III NPH model

When we shoot a film,

most of the work is done outdoors.

So, in order to record sounds in the best condition possible,

I am using some devices.

For example, this is the boom for the microphone.

I made the boom myself,

using bits and pieces I came across.

I used different components, you know.

Is it a water pipe?

Yes, indeed. It's a water pipe.

It's a main pipe?

A smoke exhaust.

Tin?

Yes, it is.

It's very good.

Rubber band?

Rubber band as a shock absorber.

AKG D-202 model

To minimize the handling noise we hang the mic.

This is a rubber band.

I made this to to protect the mic against the wind...

...for outdoor filming.

This machine is what we call...

...a transmitter.

When we record in a quiet place, we can pick up sounds...