Afterward, a few additional scenes set in America were filmed.
Such as the scene of flying to San Francisco on a steam airship or the scene of crossing over to Japan on a steamship.
We quickly went over the scenes that relied entirely on CG.
Among these, the most impressive scene was the airport battle scene.
It’s the scene where past grudges reappear, this time on steam cars equipped with machine guns, ambushing Violet.
Violet counters by drawing her signature black Gatling gun and completely annihilates them.
Despite turning the airport into a chaotic mess by wildly firing her Gatling gun, she smiles cheerfully and hands the compensation responsibilities off to Arcane Goldberg Company.
It’s a scene that explicitly shows why Scarlett harbors ill feelings toward Violet.
And within this scene, there’s a rather striking moment.
It’s when she swiftly draws her prized weapon, the ‘Black Dragon,’ from a massive case. This scene feels like a dramatic drum roll and will likely leave a strong impression on viewers.
How can one resist such a golden-haired beauty wielding a massive Gatling gun?
Upon reflection, Yang Yuli truly excelled at crafting compelling characters.
“Can we make the movements bigger? I don’t feel the weight of the Gatling gun at all.”
“Oh, 5kg? But why does it feel so light… Yoo-a has better strength than expected.”
“OkOk. That’s great.”
The director, Mr. Bang, who had been calm until now, became highly enthusiastic upon transitioning to action scenes.
What can I say… he seems like the type who gets particularly excited by his preferences? It appears he doesn’t get motivated unless it’s an action scene.
“Sigh, it’s frustrating. We’re only filming such minor things with Yoo-a. If only we could showcase her skills so she could later take on modern actions or action period dramas…”
While muttering something to himself, it felt like Steam Punk action scenes weren’t satisfying his craving.
Indeed, our drama frequently features action scenes, but the focus is mostly on gunfights and firepower battles. Thus, it’s understandable that Director Bang, a pure action enthusiast, feels somewhat disappointed. Given that even someone like Tian Yuah, who is highly regarded as an action actress, isn’t performing the kind of actions that fully satisfy Director Bang.
“Fortunately, we have White Siwoo. Phew, I’m excited for tomorrow.”
In this production, the only pure action scenes are exclusively on my side.
Although Tian Yuah uses a giant Gatling gun to crush her opponents, the number of close-combat scenes she has is limited. On the other hand, Lee Myung, who uses a sword in this steampunk world, delivers more of a martial arts movie feel, slicing through enemies.
This scene seems to be receiving a lot of attention from the director. I should also prepare thoroughly for the filming.
“How was it?”
“Hmm, it was good, but the atmosphere didn’t quite come through.”
“That’s true. Scenes like these don’t fully come alive until the editing is finished.”
“But since the director approved, it’s probably fine, right?”
“Yes, it’ll be fine. We won’t skimp on the CG budget. The quality of CG improves as we invest more money.”
On the way back after finishing the shoot, Tian Yuah asked me how today’s filming went. Honestly, I could only give a standard reply.
Though I thought Tian Yuah and the other actors’ performances were quite high caliber, without the CG, it was hard to imagine how the scenes would be presented.
Especially the action scenes. When Tian Yuah fired her ‘Black Dragon’ (Black Gatling Gun), the action double actors would scatter everywhere. However, with only white and blue props as the backdrop, it wasn’t very engaging.
Even shooting toy bullets to simulate gunfire didn’t help much. Frankly, I thought it was impressive that Tian Yuah and the stunt actors maintained their concentration throughout the shoot.
In a production where most of the work is CG-based, delivering excellent acting is no easy feat.
“Was I ever familiar with it from the start? It gets better with practice.”
“That’s true.”
“More importantly, is Siwoo filming tomorrow? At the Namyangju set.”
“Yes, fortunately, it’s not full CG.”
Tomorrow is my first day of filming.
The location, a late Joseon-era set in Namyangju.
There will be some CGI-related touch-ups, but unlike today, we won’t be filming completely inside a barren studio.
Which is somewhat relieving.
Luna, Senior Kang, and our young actress are also joining the filming tomorrow.
“I’m worried about Miju. Of course, I’ll be there too, but it’s not like I can focus solely on her.”
“The writer has a lot to look after, so it’ll be like that. I’ll keep an eye on her too, so don’t worry. And the company has decided to assign a manager specifically to her.”
Yang Yuli, the young actress’s guardian, looked a bit uneasy about her being on set.
Partly because she’s still young, but this is likely more due to it being her first experience.
After going through this a few more times, she probably won’t be so worried.
The company has also sent staff, so nothing too serious should take place.
Still, Tian Yuah was worried about the young actress for a different reason.
“Given that Miju is shooting on the same day as Moon Suyeon… I’m a bit concerned. What if something strange gets passed on?”
“…I’m not sure what you’re worried about, but I think she’ll be fine. Senior Luna also adores children, doesn’t she?”
“You started to say something, then changed the topic, didn’t you?”
“…Since when did I?”
Oh no, I accidentally slipped.
Hao Moonzhu has always been fond of children.
Tian Yuah and Nam Hyun-ho both retain similar personalities from the Martial Forest era, so it’s possible she feels the same way.
Attempting to reassure her, I realized just in time that this was the first meeting between me and Senior Luna.
“Besides, Senior Luna will be busy, so she and the little one will hardly interact. I’ll take care of her, so don’t worry.”
“…This seems weird somehow, but alright. Let’s make sure there are no strange vibes passed on to her.”
“Trust me, Mr. Baek!”
I barely managed to finish speaking before Tian Yuah’s expression started to change.
I’ll need to be more careful.
Furthermore, the additional mission I’ve inadvertently taken on — guarding the child due to my careless talk — is not a minor blow.
Although, taking care of the child isn’t really difficult, and the possibilities of Luna appearing earlier than her shooting schedule are slim.
…
That’s what I thought.
“Isn’t Senior Luna scheduled for an afternoon shoot?”
“You can call me Moon Suyeon at the shooting site. I’m not acting as Luna, after all.”
“…Understood, Senior Moon Suyeon.”
“I came out a bit earlier to check something. It’s the day when Arie Wolhee’s character starts filming.”
“…Ah, okay.”
Early in the morning at the start of the shooting, at the Namyangju late Joseon-era studio.
Contrary to the people from the company who wanted to keep Luna’s shoot as short as possible, she arrived at the set much earlier.
When I casually asked why she came so early, she answered:
“There are some flashback scenes involving Arie and my scenes that overlap, so to avoid any awkwardness in my performance, I need to evaluate the child actor’s acting and adjust accordingly.”
“Ah…”
In other words, in order to prevent viewers from comparing the young Wolhee and adult Wolhee and feeling any sense of discomfort, she aims to adjust her acting accordingly.
She plans to observe and replicate the child actor’s small habits while dancing or singing.
One could question whether she needs to go that far, but that’s what makes a high-quality performance. Just like how Tian Yuah instinctively shakes her right hand fingers and pointer finger before drawing the Black Dragon for a detail that matters greatly.
The saying that details make perfection is apt, even in acting.
Watching her, it seems like she is genuinely dedicated to her craft.
“Again. Your fingertips should move dynamically.”
“Again! Like an elegant butterfly.”
“Again! Pay attention to your smile, down to the corners of your mouth and lips.”
On the set, Gyuhwa (played by Kang Ji-woo) is teaching young Wolhee (played by Yang Miju).
Moon Suyeon is carefully observing the young actress’s movements.
After watching intently for a while, Moon Suyeon softly exclaims:
“Isn’t this child from Flame Enter?”
“Yes.”
“She’s truly talented. Perhaps it would be better for her to become a singer rather than an actress. At this age, she already has lively dance moves. Although… forget it, never mind. Please pretend I didn’t say that.”
“…”
While I find the dancing young actress endearing, it seems that her movements aren’t ordinary in the eyes of this industry expert.
Could the comment she retracted have been an attempt to suggest that the child could consider idol training at Moon Entertainment?
But then she remembered Moon Entertainment’s current state and retracted her words.
Upon reflection, she isn’t completely thoughtless.
“So, isn’t your name Bai Siwoo?”
“Ah, yes.”
“You work for the same company as Tian Yuah.”
“That’s correct.”
“Flame Enter also has ties with the investors.”
“…Yes.”
As we were watching the set together,
Her eyes stayed fixed on the scene, but she began speaking.
Her intro was unnecessarily long, it seemed unclear what she wanted to say.
What exactly is this?
It was somewhat curious, but I listened patiently.
“Could you relay a message to Tian Yuah for me?”
“What kind of message?”
“Moon Enter might try to pull some tricks. The disruption at the script reading was, upon careful thought, an attempt to revoke my casting.”
“…Trickery?”
“In Moon Enter’s best interest, it would be best if I didn’t appear in this drama, preferably sooner. The person involved is surprisingly troublesome and will definitely try some stunts.”
I couldn’t understand her words easily.
Why would a company cause trouble for its own artist’s drama?
“For the sake of time. As I decided to take on this position arbitrarily, the only way to exit without penalties is if there are problems on set.”
“Time?”
“The money earned from this drama is equivalent to appearing in just two events.”
“But isn’t Senior’s schedule quite harsh anyway?”
“Without this, I might be squeezed even more.”
As I investigated further, more eerie tales emerged about that company.
“Why are you telling me this…”
“Because you seem to be the only person on set who would take me seriously. Can’t you tell from the atmosphere?”
Indeed, both the actors and staff were quite hostile toward her during the script reading.
She seems to have good intuition if she could notice that so quickly.
So, is she also considering leaving ‘Moon’?
“I’m telling you because I don’t want other actors to be affected. You should prepare for various contingencies. I won’t go into any more details.”
After she finished what she needed to say, I asked her one last question:
“Senior, you’ve been in the business for seven years now. Are you looking into other companies?”
“…That would be a bit difficult, given my circumstances. I’ll head back to the waiting room now.”
“…”
My goodness.
This woman is living quite irresponsibly too.
Something feels off. It seems I need to keep a closer watch on her activities.
