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Japan’s Local Show by Don Schwartz
Robert Wakamatsu is production coordinator for Duo Creative Communications, the San Francisco-based company that's been producing the narrative portion of the hit Japanese TV show The World's Astonishing News! (WAN) in the Bay Area for the last five years. Japan's national network, Nippon Television, plays one pre-recorded episode per week, and the shows are not repeated.
Born and raised in Orange County, Wakamatsu grew up bilingual, speaking both Japanese and English. After receiving a BA in International Relations from SF State, Wakamatsu eschewed corporate opportunities and headed in a different direction by joining the Duo Creative team in the company's early days. While the dual threats of runaway production and rising costs continue to block the TV and film production that the Bay Area once enjoyed (and currently hopes for), Duo Creative has produced a small but welcome silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud.
Working long hours on set six or seven days a week, Wakamatsu is hard to catch, so we conducted our interview 'on the run' over the phone. Wakamatsu's tone is consistently warm and friendly, reflecting a positive attitude about his work and aspirations.
I'd love to approach this interview as somebody who knows nothing about The World's Astonishing News!, but having performed in ten episodes, that's simply not possible. To begin, how long has WAN been on the air in Japan, and how long have you been producing in the Bay Area?
About 5 or 6 years on the air, and we've been producing the show's re-enactments here for about 5 years.
What is your job in the production process?
I'm production coordinator. I do many tasks during pre-production and shooting - including interpreting between the English-speaking actors and the Japanese-speaking directors.
Are the episodes you produce here the exclusive material for the show?
No, they produce around the world using other production companies. They do the re-enactments anywhere from China/Hong Kong, Europe, New York, Los Angeles as well as here, of course.
Is the network the producer of the show in Japan, or is there a separate production company?
There are several production companies involved, and there's a producer for the network as well.
Does the San Francisco crew work exclusively with Duo Creative?
No. There are about four companies, and we work for all of them.
What is the show about?
The World's Astonishing News! is a variety program that features re-enactments, and they can do it about anything. It could be a murder, it can be anything - a camel who sits on a lady, for instance - anything that seems interesting that they chose and research. They take the re-enactment footage we produce and show it in a studio setting, with an audience and panel. It's a light-hearted show even though a lot of the subject matter can be very serious.
Would you say that WAN mocks the origins or the contents of the stories?
Not necessarily mocking. The stories can come from anywhere - including Japan.
Who makes decisions about what stories your company in San Francisco is going to produce?
They'll throw a story at us - "this is what we researched" - and we help them with further research (articles, footage, etc.), and then they go ahead and decide which production company does which story. We also look at the proposed story to see if its production is feasible.
Ultimately, who writes the scripts?
The scripts are written in Japan, but they also go into the hands of the producers and directors - so it becomes more of a collaborative effort.
How many re-enactments a year does Duo Creative produce in the Bay Area?
Anywhere from 25 to 30 episodes, with budgets ranging between $50,000 and $100,000 - sometimes more, sometimes less.
Are you shooting in HD?
Not for the re-enactments.
Are WAN episodes available for rent or purchase in the United States?
I don't know. Technically I don't think they're supposed to be available. There may be some things online, but generally they're hard to get here.
How is it working between the two cultures and languages?
We record the actors' performances on both video and audio, giving the actors English lines which they may or may not remember at any one take. The important thing is that their facial and physical expressions match the meanings of the lines. The dialog is over-dubbed in Japan by Japanese-speaking voice-over actors. Sometimes my communication between actor and director requires filtering. It helps to be a native here, to be American, to be able to speak English well and understand how to communicate - not just translate the words, but how to smoothly get what we want on film. The communication would sometimes be a little bit more abrasive if it was just the Japanese language verbatim. And sometimes it can be confusing to the actors because the Japanese crew will be laughing, and the actors may think they're laughing about them. Or the director might think the actors are laughing about him or her. Basically, signals are occasionally misinterpreted. But, overall, it's fun working with a bi-cultural environment.
As production coordinator, you've been doing this a long time, you have a lot of experience - do you do any work outside the show?
Our company does all kinds of Japanese television and media - music videos, documentaries, promotional videos, corporate videos, Japanese commercials. I've done a lot of those, and many are produced here in the Bay Area.
Do you have any personal long-term goals in the worlds of production?
I do want to be a film director. I'd like to take this experience to the next step and be a director.
Have you written or do you want to write your own pieces?
I do write, and I collaborate with my brother as well. We're currently writing a short film which I will be directing.
It seems as if you've been working in the Bay Area non-stop for 5 years. Is there anything you want to say generally about your experience here?
I love the Bay Area, and I feel very lucky that I don't have to move to LA to do what we do. We work with a ridiculous deadline to film the most absurd stories, and the local filmmaking community has been a huge asset by working around our schedule. I am very grateful for that. Posted on Dec 04, 2008 - 01:33 AM