Chapter 212. Persuasiveness
The main thing Yeon-woo considered while filming the CF was 'corniness'.
Being a fantasy genre, it naturally polarizes audiences.
The basic visual of wielding swords and wearing armor can be off-putting to some people.
Even though "White Blood" was successful, some people still won't watch it no matter how much others rave about it.
'Even people who haven't seen the drama shouldn't find it corny.'
Yeon-woo nodded as he looked around the filming set.
He could see the cast members who had changed into their "White Blood" costumes.
Corniness happens when viewers can't immerse themselves in the scene.
When watching historical dramas, viewers don't find swords and armor corny despite being the same props.
That's because there's already an implicit agreement between viewers and the historical drama genre.
'Since there's already an understanding that historical dramas depict stories from times when people actually wore armor and carried swords, viewers can fully immerse themselves.'
However, in a short CF, it's twice as hard to achieve immersion.
Two things need to come together perfectly.
Sophisticated special effects.
And powerful acting that can captivate viewers even in a brief moment.
'Director Jung Yu-han will handle the special effects well...'
This wasn't something to take lightly just because it was a commercial.
Rather, because it was a commercial, they needed to give their all in acting to capture viewers' attention in that short time.
"Alright, we're rolling. We'll shoot in slow motion, so take big steps when walking."
Yeon-woo and the expedition team actors nodded at Jung Yu-han's words.
This scene would show the expedition team members emerging from a dark passage into the light.
Though filming was delayed due to makeup, this would be the opening scene when the commercial airs.
That's why it needed more impact to draw viewers in.
To achieve that, the actors needed to work well together.
Yeon-woo made eye contact with the actors standing on either side before speaking.
"Everyone, please act as your characters from 'White Blood' who have completed all their missions and grown mentally stronger, full of confidence."
Everyone looked at Yeon-woo since it was the first time he had given acting direction since starting the CF shoot.
But they soon nodded in agreement.
"A matured Akhenaton... I'll give it a try."
"I'll do my best too."
After Jung Cheol-min and Dong-ha spoke, Han Byul and Jung Soo-yeon nodded as well.
"Action!"
At Jung Yu-han's signal, Dong-ha and Jung Soo-yeon at the ends of the formation walked forward first.
Confident, dignified steps.
It seemed Akhenaton wasn't the only one who had grown - Dong-ha skillfully conveyed emotion through his gait.
Jung Soo-yeon also walked forward with her head held high, taking model-like strides.
'They're both quite good.'
Though they wore their costume robes from the show - red for one and white for the other - their confident expressions and dignified steps reduced any awkwardness from the costumes.
The tunnel-like set they were filming in had intersecting screens on the ceiling, creating areas of light and shadow.
As Dong-ha and Jung Soo-yeon walked, the intermittent lighting enhanced the atmosphere as it illuminated their movements.
After they took their steps, Jung Cheol-min and Han Byul started walking next.
Jung Cheol-min was the oldest member and Han Byul the youngest, but age aside, they had something in common.
Among the expedition team members, they had the best acting skills after Yeon-woo.
The two walked diagonally behind the first pair, showing no signs of awkwardness.
Starting from the outermost positions, everyone had moved except Yeon-woo in the center.
Then Yeon-woo, at the point of the V-formation, took his step.
'Create magnetism with the most powerful performance right from the start.'
He exuded presence while maintaining self-control.
He walked forward while tracking the position of lights filtering through the tunnel's ceiling.
Watching through the monitor, Jung Yu-han's visual cortex was struck by Yeon-woo's image.
Though the final edit would be in slow motion, this was reality, so it shouldn't look slow.
'...But why does it look like slow motion?'
On screen, Yeon-woo was clearly walking slowly with Jung Dojin's charismatic presence.
He emerged gradually from darkness into light.
Starting from his jet-black hair, down to his sharp nose and expressionless lips, to the pitch-black armor and scabbard below.
The advertising director watching the screen beside Jung Yu-han was captivated by his entrance.
'Ah, this is true Jet black.'
The color Yeon-woo represented for this smartphone.
Jet black isn't just any black - it's a pitch-dark matte black.
And Yeon-woo's appearance as he walked out with an indifferent expression was definitely jet black.
Soon Yeon-woo disappeared back into darkness according to the position of the ceiling light screens.
Instead, Dong-ha and Han Byul, who had been mere silhouettes in the darkness while Yeon-woo was visible, were now illuminated.
That's when it happened.
"Ahh..."
As Yeon-woo continued walking forward and came back into the light, his appearance drew gasps from the staff watching the monitor.
In that brief moment between vanishing into darkness and reappearing, Yeon-woo's expression had gradually transformed.
Looking straight ahead with challenging eyes and lifting the corners of his mouth in a smile, Yeon-woo's appearance was enough to captivate everyone watching the monitor.
Hearing those gasps, Jung Yu-han thought to himself.
'If the staff are reacting this strongly to the unedited footage, then with editing and music accompanying Ryu Yeon-woo's slow entrance...'
The commercial's director Jung Yu-han must have had the same concerns as Yeon-woo.
Since the setup could easily become corny, he had planned to rely on editing with dramatic music.
'But with such a powerful impact from the very first scene of the CF, we can really grab their attention.'
The sheer force of his presence provided 'persuasiveness'.
Making viewers accept that this short CF belongs in the fantasy genre.
'I feel like I've seen this kind of impact before in the show...'
Jung Yu-han tilted his head before his expression showed recognition.
'Right. That courtroom scene.'
That was also Yeon-woo's first appearance as Jung Dojin in "White Blood".
When Director Hwang Mingwon had asked Yeon-woo to walk in powerfully like a tiger about to pounce, he had dominated the scene with his presence even while bound in chains.
'This actor already knows how to make his first appearance convincing enough to sell what comes after.'
He wasn't just good at acting - he was cleverly utilizing everything on set.
You could tell he had mapped out all the spots where light fell from the ceiling and was deliberately using the set to maximize his presence.
This scene probably wouldn't need another take.
Though they'd need to check it in slow motion to be sure, Jung Yu-han was confident.
"Okay, cut!"
Jung Yu-han gave the okay sign and immediately played back the footage in slow motion.
The actors gathered around Jung Yu-han, curious to see.
Though actual editing would involve breaking down scenes more precisely and adding various special effects, even with just slow motion applied it was already quite good.
The actors watching the monitor were amazed when Yeon-woo, who had started walking last, appeared.
They hadn't been able to see how the person behind them was walking since they were walking in front.
"Wow, Yeon-woo really owns the camera. Who taught you? Who's your master?"
Yeon-woo smiled at Jung Cheol-min's playful words.
Then Dong-ha added:
"When I debuted, our company's producer always told us to 'eat up the camera' on stage, but we didn't know what that meant so we just opened our eyes really wide. But this is what it means to eat up the camera..."
Han Byul, who had been quietly thinking while watching the screen, suddenly raised her hand.
"Director! Could we reshoot that second scene from earlier one more time?"
"Hmm? You mean the scene where you adjust your bag and stand up?"
"Yes!"
The scene Han Byul wanted to reshoot was where she fixes her school bag in her home's entryway while wearing her uniform, and it transforms into Ella's oxygen carrier basket as her appearance changes.
Jung Yu-han grinned looking at Han Byul's eyes.
He had thought she was just young, but among them all, she seemed to have the most passion for acting after Yeon-woo.
'Her eyes are absolutely burning with passion. She must have realized something watching Ryu Yeon-woo's performance just now.'
He nodded with satisfaction.
"Well, you're already in costume and we finished the group scene faster than expected, so we have time. Let's reshoot that scene."
And so, as the passion spread, it reignited the energy on the set that had been winding down.
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After finishing the CF filming that had stretched from morning until late evening, Yeon-woo returned home.
"I wonder if he's gotten off the ship by now."
Yeon-woo went into his workroom and put on his headset.
"I'm here."
- Ah, Team Leader. Your timing is perfect. Kim Su-hyeok just got off the ship.
"Right. The ship arrives at Okinawa port around 7 PM."
Yeon-woo had deliberately instructed Kim Su-hyeok to take a flight to Kagoshima and then travel by ship to Okinawa.
As a result, Kim Su-hyeok had to endure seasickness for 25 hours on the ferry.
'But this way, even if those Baeksol guys investigate thoroughly, they won't be able to find any connection.'
Ships heading to Okinawa only require simple identity verification, with less strict passenger management than airports.
There was no issue even if the identity used for the flight from Korea to Kagoshima differed from the one used for the ship from Kagoshima to Okinawa.
- Team Leader, did you also conduct operations in Okinawa?
Yeon-woo nodded at Han Hae-woon's question.
If this had been his previous life, he wouldn't have been able to tell even his NIS colleagues due to confidentiality, but now he was no longer with the NIS, and Han Hae-woon was the only one he could share secrets with anyway.
"It was when I had just started working on overseas assignments, about ten years ago from now. At that time, when North's missile provocations were at their peak, we received intelligence that Japan's Self-Defense Forces had deployed missiles near the U.S. military base in Okinawa."
Han Hae-woon responded as if remembering something.
- Ah, I think I saw that in the East Asian international affairs training materials.
"Since it was an investigation of strategic weapons placement, we had to send in black operatives to handle it secretly to avoid violating agreements."
- So that operative was you, Team Leader.
At that time, he had infiltrated under the guise of a Japanese-American documentary filmmaker covering environmental pollution.
He remembered practicing meticulously even the smallest pronunciation differences since he needed to speak Japanese and English perfectly enough to fool locals.
"So I stayed in Okinawa for quite a while. The infiltration period lasted more than a year, I think."
The video feed from Kim Su-hyeok appeared on the monitor.
It was a familiar sight of the harbor to Yeon-woo.
And Kim Su-hyeok, unaware that Yeon-woo and Han Hae-woon were discussing old memories, got off the ship while clutching his queasy stomach.
Then through the headset, Kim Su-hyeok's soft whisper could be heard.
- I've arrived in Okinawa. I'll begin the reconnaissance operation immediately.