Chapter 04
First Shoot (1)
‘Hmm.’
Crossing my arms and closing my eyes gently, I thought.
‘I’m nervous.’
Even though my gender had changed, I was still human. Fear was still fear, and nervousness was still nervousness.
‘I wasn’t like this during the audition.’
To be honest, I had expected to fail the audition. Maybe the mindset of treating it all as an experience worked to my advantage.
“Oh my, Seo-yeon, are you nervous?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m not.”
At times like this, Suah was particularly perceptive about my feelings. When I glared at her with a pouty face, she hugged me tightly with her large chest.
Hmph, whatever.
“Looks like this is the studio. Let’s go in.”
At my father Joo Youngbin’s words, I nodded. I couldn’t quite gauge the size of the studio.
After all, it was my first time in such a place.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
As we entered the studio, CF director Cho Min-tae greeted us as if he had been waiting. While my parents exchanged brief conversations with him, I looked around the studio.
‘Interesting.’
Reflectors, cameras, and various props were placed in a rectangular space. It was quite charmingly arranged, probably by the staff in advance.
It felt entirely different from the audition room, which was just a bit more spacious. It felt more professional, I suppose.
“Hello.”
“Oh, you’re Ju Seo-yeon. I’m looking forward to your performance today.”
I scurried around and bowed to the staff. A child’s deep bow is a very powerful weapon.
When I was my previous self, my nieces’ deep bows made me instinctively open my wallet. Especially now, with my own cuteness added, it was natural for the staff’s expressions to soften.
‘Managing reputation is important.’
Who knows, I might succeed as a Vtuber and make it onto a broadcast. It was important to prepare for any possibility.
“Oh my, how cute.”
“I wish my daughter was half as cute as her...”
As expected, sighs of admiration followed my deep bows.
‘Huh?’
As I greeted everyone, a particular woman caught my eye. She sat in a white plastic chair, looking very anxious and deep in thought.
‘Kim Jung-ha.’
The Kim Jung-ha I knew was a ten-million-ticket-selling actress. Seeing this ‘pre-success’ version of her was quite unfamiliar.
“Hello, Ms. Kim Jung-ha.”
When I greeted her with a deep bow, her eyes widened.
“Oh, are you the child actor in this CF?”
“Yes, that’s right. My name is Ju Seo-yeon.”
The term ‘child actor’ felt a bit awkward, but I accepted it for now.
“Wow, really... people are indeed different.”
“Pardon?”
“...Nothing.”
Kim Jung-ha murmured and then slouched back into her plastic chair, looking very different from the person I had expected.
‘This is the person who filmed that CF?’
Kim Jung-ha, who always appeared bright and cheerful on various shows, now looked like someone who might never leave the house—a hikikomori, a loner.
‘Can we sync up?’
Already feeling nervous, I couldn’t believe Kim Jung-ha was like this. I decided it was best to abandon any hope of relying on her seniority for confidence.
“Ms. Jung-ha! Ms. Seo-yeon!”
At that moment, another staff member gestured toward us.
“It’s time to start filming. You’ve memorized your scripts, right?”
Hearing the word ‘script,’ I remembered the one I had left in the car. After the audition results were out, the script for the commercial shoot had been sent by mail, and it was different from what I had expected.
It wasn’t filled with lines like a drama or movie script. Instead, it was more like a webtoon.
The script had both illustrations and dialogue, directly depicting the scene’s concept and direction.
‘So it’s different from regular acting.’
I had heard that visual and auditory appeal was crucial for a CF director. The direction needed to create impactful images.
At first, I didn’t understand what that meant, but the script made it clear.
‘I should seek some help later when I start Vtubing.’
Having good aesthetic sense would be beneficial in many ways. And Cho Min-tae would later become a highly successful director of ten-million-ticket films.
Considering potential guest appearances, it was important to make a good impression here.
“Okay, let’s start filming!”
At Cho Min-tae’s words, many people began moving. Despite this being a low-budget commercial, a lot of people were involved.
Flash-!
The lights turned on all at once, and the staff moved reflectors around busily. Lighting is crucial in a CF.
Everything, from the props to the actors, needed to appear bright and vivid.
“Seo-yeon, you seem to have a heart of steel. You don’t look nervous at all.”
Watching this, Cho Min-tae smiled and spoke. Unlike in the audition room, he now seemed very much like a ‘director.’
“Well, of course.”
I tried to speak confidently, but my voice must have wavered a bit because I heard my parents laughing as they watched.
‘I’ll have to say something later.’
Aside from my slightly shaky voice, my invincible poker face didn’t falter. Crossing my arms confidently, I noticed actress Kim Jung-ha standing hunched beside me.
“Let’s start with the first scene. Cue.”
The first scene. It was likely the first script I had seen.
“Action!”
With Cho Min-tae’s shout, the filming began.
***
From the moment Kim Jung-ha first saw Seoyeon, she thought, Ah, this is a natural-born actor.
She instinctively felt that Seo-yeon was someone the heavens had destined to be an actor from birth. And when the actual filming began, Kim Jung-ha could vividly feel it. The previously expressionless child’s face suddenly bloomed with liveliness.
The soy milk in her hand seemed as sweet as nectar from the heavens. More importantly, it wasn’t just about creating such an atmosphere.
[ Is this milk or soy milk, big sister? ]
The smiling child wasn’t Seo-yeon. It was as if the character from the script had come to life.
‘ Method acting.’
It didn’t make sense, but Kim Jung-ha instinctively thought of that term. It was as if Seoyeon had become someone else.
If this wasn’t method acting, what was?
Seoyeon’s acting was so captivating that Kim Jung-ha had no choice but to try and match it.
“Hmm.”
Watching this, Cho Min-tae frowned. It meant he wasn’t satisfied.
“Cut, cut. Let’s do it again. Ms. Jung-ha, try to be more natural.”
“Yes, okay.”
Usually, child actors’ performances were the issue during filming. But now, it was her.
‘I’m not confident in static acting.’
Actors shouldn’t be picky, but for now, that was the case with Kim Jung-ha.
‘Especially with a child prodigy like her.’
Her confidence plummeted. Maybe acting wasn’t for her after all?
“Cut! Again!”
They shot the first scene several more times, but the situation didn’t improve. The atmosphere on set became heavy, and Cho Min-tae’s brows furrowed more and more.
‘I feel bloated.’
Even the little soy milk she drank started feeling too much. Or maybe it wasn’t just the soy milk.
“Um, Director.”
At that moment, Seo-yeon, who had been acting quietly, raised her hand.
“I liked the second scene better.”
Her innocent comment made the staff burst into laughter. It was unusual for an actor to make such a suggestion.
Despite that, they laughed because she was still a child and her acting was so excellent that it could be taken lightly.
“Oh, the second scene?”
Cho Min-tae looked at the script for the second scene. He had wanted to create a more familial atmosphere, so he wasn’t entirely fond of this scene.
‘It’s too lively.’
He glanced at Jung-ha.
‘Can she handle it?’
Static acting has its challenges. Lively acting can easily become overly childish.
Kim Jung-ha, who struggled with static acting, handling a lively role...
“Okay, let’s try it.”
They weren’t making progress with the first scene anyway. The biggest hurdle in filming food commercials is the eating part. Even though it was just soy milk, it was easier for them to bring out emotions when eating.
So they began filming again.
“Huh?”
“This is good.”
The staff’s eyes filled with surprise. As soon as the acting switched to lively, Kim Jung-ha began to shine. Her once gloomy performance now brimmed with energy.
In fact, her energy was almost overwhelming.
‘And she matches it perfectly.’
In this commercial, Jung-ha and Seo-yeon were playing the roles of sisters. A cheerful older sister and a lively younger sister.
Seo-yeon’s performance was exceptional, embodying the lively younger sister perfectly.
‘This is it.’
While the staff were merely impressed, Cho Min-tae felt chills. This performance was exactly like what Seo-yeon had shown during the audition.
‘How can it be so identical?’
It didn’t make sense. There was no way the script had been leaked.
Lost in watching the performance, he forgot to call for a cut.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Cut, cut! This is great. This will work.”
Despite the previous struggles, they got an okay sign in one take. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Kim Jung-ha couldn’t believe it.
‘One take? Really?’
Having confidence in lively acting, she had desperately tried to bring the scene to life. But she hadn’t expected an okay sign in one take.
‘Did she know this would happen?’
Seo-yeon’s suggestion to switch to the second scene now seemed incredibly insightful.
‘It must be a coincidence, right?’
If it was intentional, it would be terrifying. How could she have known?
“Okay, let’s review the footage. Ms. Jung-ha, Ms. Seoyeon, come over here.”
Jung-ha and Seo-yeon approached the camera to review the footage. On the small screen, the scene they had just filmed played back.
“Big sister, it’s soy milk!”
The lively cry from Seo-yeon started the video. Watching it, the staff were impressed, and Jung-ha blinked in awe.
‘Wow, it’s so clean.’
Is filming supposed to be this easy? She wondered, glancing at Cho Min-tae’s face.
‘Huh?’
Cho Min-tae’s expression was slightly furrowed. And it wasn’t just him.
Seo-yeon also seemed deep in thought.
“This is strange. This seems quite good…”
Cho Min-tae replayed the video several times, scrutinizing it. Kim Jung-ha’s acting was flawless. Seo-yeon’s performance was excellent.
Or was it? Was this really okay?
“I think we should shoot it again.”
Before Cho Min-tae could say anything, Seo-yeon spoke up.
It was her first time filming a CF. It was also her first time reviewing footage like this.
But even without much experience, she could tell if something was off.
Especially if it was her own fault.
“I didn’t do well.”
Jung-ha couldn’t understand what Seo-yeon was talking about. What was wrong with the last shoot?
‘Oh.’
Then she realized why Seoyeon suggested redoing it.
Footnotes