[01]How we built MV sets for Japanese idol <hana>

Hello, my dear grandson.

Time has flown by so quickly. How was the jump rope competition last week? I wonder how many times you were able to do the X-jump. I tried jump rope at the gym last week, but now I can't even do 10 jump ropes without getting tired. It must be because the rope was too short. I'm not making excuses, but it really was too short. If I had your blue rope, maybe I could have done 20! Please don't laugh at me.

Now that it's March, the weather has really warmed up. I heard a lovely weathercaster on the news say that this summer will be long. You'll probably hear the saying, "This is the hottest year ever," a lot. It seems that only winter and summer will remain, and spring is becoming shorter. So I think I need to enjoy this weather as much as I can while I still can.

Now that spring is here, it feels like everyone is busier. Last week, a music video production team from Japan came. There was someone there who helped translate, so we didn’t have any trouble understanding what kind of sets we needed to create. But it was my first time working on a set with both Korean and Japanese being spoken at the same time, and it was really fascinating. Everyone was looking at the same scene, but they were all talking in different languages. It was impressive.

The group was called <Hana>, I think. I met a person named Ryosuke at the set, and he said he worked at Sony Music. I use a good Sony camera, but I didn’t know there was a company called Sony Music. He said they do a lot of music video production. Korean production companies also go abroad to shoot a lot, and they usually collaborate with local set companies. They often shoot in Thailand because it’s cheaper, and the quality is really good. But apparently, the additional costs outside of the filming are quite high. Things like hospitality or entertainment costs, I suppose. I’ve never been there myself, so I can’t say for sure.

I’ll show you a video of the set we made. It was a day with a lot of dust, dirt flying around, and cars constantly passing by. By the way, do you know that you can make a mudflat set using the flour that’s used for ramen? When mixed with dirt, it looks just like a real mudflat. You should try making it next time. Although, your mom might give you a little smack for it!

Today is the 1st of March. You might have learned about it at school. A hundred years ago, Japan ruled over Korea, and we resisted. It’s a day to honor that. But today, a Japanese production team and Korean staff filmed together on the set we created. A hundred years later, here we are, creating together in the same space. It was such a meaningful day.

Well, I’ll write to you again next week. I’ll be waiting for your reply.

-Grandpa