Director Na Hong-jin: "'The Wailing' was shot without a plan… I decided how to film it every morning" [31st BIFF]

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Director Na Hong-jin reflected that "The Wailing" was a work in which he filmed freely on set, focusing on space, characters, and light, without being bound by storyboards.

On the 8th, the master class "Na Hong-jin: He Is the Genre" for the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) was held at Shinsegae Centum City in Haeundae-gu, Busan.

Regarding his criteria for selecting actors, Director Na Hong-jin said, "I think very hard about which actor I should make this film with."

He explained, "Even when filming a single character, you can capture their full body, fill the frame completely, or go into more detail with close-ups. I believe that within all elements of a film, each character requires a different role."

He continued, "Some actors need to blend best with the space, some may require close-ups to be important, and others come alive in full shots. I start looking for actors by considering these aspects."

He also stated, "An actor's temperament and acting ability, as commonly understood, are naturally prerequisites. After that, I look at space and light," adding, "I constantly think about what kind of character will do what in what kind of space."

Regarding the film production process, Director Na said, "There is so much to do that it would be impossible to explain each task one by one. Even if you stay up all night and prepare for several months, time is still insufficient," adding, "I always feel that after making a film while being chased by time, a certain form of the movie has already taken shape."

He emphasized that excessive preparation can actually harm flexibility. He said, "If you prepare too much, you can lose your flexibility and get trapped in a framework. It can also become stifling."

Recalling specifically the filming of "The Wailing," he explained, "I barely looked at storyboards and filmed with plans minimized without sharing them on set."

He continued, "Every morning, I started filming by discussing with the cinematographer how to shoot that day. If we saw a good scene or light on set, I would grab the camera and rush over to film that first," recalling that it was "a film shot with that much freedom."

He added, "Looking back now, it seems like those were the moments when I filmed most freely. I could focus entirely on space, characters, light, and the scenario, and I think that was ultimately not the filming method I wanted most."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original