Chapter 13: Please? Why?

“Do I really have to call you ‘Uncle’?”

“I can’t keep avoiding it forever. And it’s a pain to explain. Or you can explain it.”

“It’s a bit awkward…….”

Since we were in the middle of filming, we whispered to each other in very low voices.

It’s best to be quiet on set, but all the voices that go into the recording are captured by the pin microphones attached to the collars.

If a person far away speaks softly, the sound will not be picked up at all.

“I understand for now. Un, un, unclllle….”

“It sounds long?”

“……Later. I need to get used to it.”

It seems that calling Mister ‘uncle’ will have to wait.

No matter what, the word ‘uncle’ didn’t come out when I looked at Mister.

“Anyway, what’s this program about? I heard the senior mention <There Is No Country for Geniuses>.”

“Senior?”

“Ah, there’s something like that.”

There’s no need to bring up the story that happened in the waiting room.

“Really? The gist of the program is this. To find hidden geniuses and give them various kinds of help…, I guess. Well, that purpose is gradually disappearing, and it’s just becoming a program that promotes popular rookies these days.”

“Hmm…, is that so? Then Senior Bom must be quite famous?”

“Senior Bom? Are you talking about Choi Bom? She’s famous, yeah. Didn’t you know? She’s very popular in dramas right now.”

“I don’t watch TV. U-un-unc…, did Mister know?”

“I knew, yeah. But her acting isn’t my style. It’s just good for a child, I guess? Well, it’s talent.”

Mister said with a disinterested expression.

That meant she was someone who didn’t meet Mister’s standards.

Too bad for you, Senior Bom.

She seemed like she wanted to be on Mister’s show……..

“Still, she’s probably the highest-paid among child actors. Moreover, it’s her first variety show appearance, so it must have been hard to cast her. I wonder how they managed to cast her.”

That’s because Senior Bom mistook it for Mister’s program……

Let’s just stay quiet.

When we entered the room, I saw Senior Bom looking at us for a moment, so she’ll probably handle it well.

“So, what am I supposed to learn here? You said you brought me here to teach me production assistance.”

“Ah, right. I did, huh.”

Mister reacted as if he had completely forgotten.

Did I make a mistake asking him to buy me a microphone as a condition?

It’s too obvious that he just made something up on the spot.

As I glared at him with squinted eyes, Mister finally explained the set.

The role of the PD on set.

Camera adjustments.

The importance of lighting and reflectors, and so on.

He talked about various things, but they were things I could understand without an explanation.

“In fact, there’s not much to worry about in this kind of interview shoot. The camera shot is just straight on, and since it’s not outdoors, there’s no need for a Jimmy Jib microphone. At most, you might pay a little attention to the lighting.”

In an interview shoot, only the interviewee appears on the scene, so the focus is on them.

Because of that, interviewees often put on makeup to clearly show themselves.

However, no matter how well the makeup is done, if the lighting is bad, the face size may look different, and the tone and color may be ruined, making a bright image look cold, causing a big difference in image.

‘Certainly, Senior Bom had fair skin to begin with, but with the lighting, her skin looks completely milky white.’

As I was understanding the importance of lighting, Mister asked.

“So, how would you edit this scene?”

“Hmm…, I don’t know the style of this program well, but since it’s an interview video, it’s important to focus on the questions and answers, so I’d use easy-to-read subtitles. You can also adjust the subtitle animation according to the interviewee’s image or the content of the answers. To make it a little lighter and more fun, you can cut off the interviewee’s slightly excited answer and go to black, then immediately show the interviewee’s calm and composed appearance.”

“Right, if you do that, the viewers will think, ‘The interviewee went crazy and is now acting modest again’ from the cut clip, which can make the atmosphere lighter.”

“Or, you can completely reverse the situation and show a modest interviewee who gets excited after receiving a filtered question, which would also be fun.”

“And also, in a situation like this—”

Together with Mister, I edited the video in my head, thinking about how to make it more delicious.

It’s just one interview video, but there are countless ways to direct it.

Most of the conversation was about knowledge I already knew, but I felt that Mister’s experience in correcting things I hadn’t thought of in the middle was also amazing.

The production talk continued until the end of the shoot.

We seemed to have talked about almost all the directing and editing techniques that can be used in an interview scene.

Then, at the same time, the lights turned off, and Senior Bom’s interview ended.

Just as I was about to get up from leaning against the wall, thinking we were going back now.

“Well, that’s enough, right?”

“Yes?”

I tilted my head at Mister’s sudden words, but his gaze was not on me but beyond me.

I turned my body and followed his gaze, and there was Lee PD diligently writing something in his notebook.

“I can’t help you directly, but I showed you all the directions with this. Try editing with that in mind.”

“…Thank you, sunbae.”

“If you’re thankful, buy me a drink later.”

What he was writing in his notebook were the directing techniques and editing ideas that Mister and I had talked about.

I glanced at it, and it was already densely packed, filling two pages of the small notebook.

He said he would help with the directing.

So this is how it’s done.

While I was thinking that, Lee PD hesitantly opened his mouth.

“I will. By the way, sunbae..”

“Hmm?”

“Can’t your niece appear on my program?”

Suddenly, I was being pointed out.

“No way.”

“She fits the purpose of our program. From what I heard, she’s a genius…. Can’t you make it work?”

“She’s already a kid I’ve got my eye on. Don’t try to take her away. If you really want her, ask her yourself. I won’t stop you.”

Hearing Mister’s words, Lee PD looked dejected, then his eyes lit up.

And he immediately bowed his head, smiled, and asked me.

_”

“Do you, perhaps, want to be on TV-“

“No.”

“But you could become very famous—”

“I don’t want to.”

“……Okay, I’m sorry.”

Being on TV, having your face known, and becoming a celebrity?

For me, who has the shut-in gene, that’s nothing but torture.

I absolutely will not be on TV.

“I’ve been rejected harshly too, so don’t be too discouraged.”

“No, I can’t see any of sunbae’s genes in her looks. How did she inherit that talent?”

“You wanna die?”

“Ah, seriously! The world is so unfair! I want to find such a talent and broadcast comfortably!”

“This punk has gone crazy.”

Bickering Lee PD and Lee PD.

Of course, I don’t mean that he has multiple personalities, but rather the junior PD and Mister.

Even though Mister has a harsh tone, he takes good care of people.

That’s why a junior can be so comfortable with a senior.

While the two Misters were having their back-and-forth, Senior Bom, who had finished filming, approached me.

“Ah, sunbae. Good job on the shoot.”

“Wait, follow me for a second!”

With a somehow urgent expression, Senior Bom took my hand and ran to the waiting room.

I couldn’t resist the urgent Senior Bom and was quietly dragged along.

Bang, the door closed roughly.

When the outside noise could no longer be heard, Senior Bom grabbed my shoulders with an expression I had never seen before.

“S-sunbae?”

“Ah, earlier. I heard you call Lee Seongbeom PD ‘uncle’….”

“Uh.”

She heard me even though I spoke in a small voice that wouldn’t even reach the camera.

“You, are you perhaps…… Lee Seongbeom PD’s, niece… were you?”

“Uh…, uhmmm…. uh, yes.”

Since we talked about being uncle and niece to others, I had to go along with it, but it’s still awkward.

It’s like getting goosebumps.

I barely swallowed the words of denial and nodded my unmoving head.

Then, Senior Bom’s face froze with a bright smile.

“…What’s your name?”

“Seo Sua.”

“Okay, Sua…. What happened earlier is a secret, okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“The complaints I laid out to you here.. Got it?”

“What did Senior Bom say? Ah, are you talking about how you came because it was Lee PD’s program, but you were annoyed that it wasn’t Lee Seongbeom PD, or how you want to be on Lee Seongbeom PD’s program,

or how Lee Seongbeom is a genius of the century, or how Lee Seongbeom PD is kind of handsome, or how he’s your type…. Something like that?”

“Y-yeah, you have a good memory…?”

“I’m a bit smart.”

“Then you understand what I’m asking of you…?”

Senior Bom said, trembling as if appeasing a child.

This is probably what she wants to say.

‘If you spread this around, you’re dead.’

Actors are a profession that lives on image.

That applies not only to viewers and fans but also to broadcasting officials like PDs.

They have to show their image and appeal to be able to appear on similar broadcasts.

In that sense, if the complaints Senior Bom made to me reached Mister’s ears, it would be a big blow to her image.

But that.

“I don’t know.”

It’s none of my business.

“I’m too young to understand what sunbae is saying.”

Honestly, I was a bit annoyed when we talked about internet broadcasting earlier.

This is a bit of revenge.

‘Don’t get angry, sunbae, I’m scared!”

“Aaaak! I’m sorry! I don’t know what it is, but I’m sorry! So please!”

Please?

Why?