BRODY February 2018 - Ikeda Kazuma x Shinguu Ryouhei "A Dialogue of Keyakizaka46’s Music Videos"

 

“First Dialogue of 2 Directors who are Accomplices of Keyaki’s Revolution”

 
The initial impact of Keyakizaka46, as well as their shocking debut, was no doubt, thanks to their “Silent Majority” music video. Since then, each time they’ve released a music video, it becomes a hot topic in every single direction. The two directors, who directed their music videos, talked to us about the truths of the music videos, as well as the true quality of Keyakizaka46.
 
Unusual approach to draw out their full potential
 
- This time, through the dialogue between the two directors who directed Keyakizaka46’s music videos, we figured there would be many things that could be revealed, thus we gathered the both of you here. First of all, let’s start with Director Ikeda’s “Silent Majority”.
 
Shinguu: I didn’t watch it right after it’s release. After a while, I heard information that it’s an amazing music video, I decided to watch it after that.
 
- What did you think?
 
Shinguu: The location left such a strong first impression. Normally people wouldn’t be shooting at a place like that (construction site near Shibuya Station). I thought “Ah, it turned out to be something awesome”.
 
- So, its strong point is the timing of when the location was used
 
Shinguu: That’s also correct, especially since idol music videos nowadays have become too boring. Though there still are styles like Director Takahashi Eiki’s works for AKB48. However, this music video turned out to be something really powerful. In all likelihood, we can’t shoot at that place for the second time. Shibuya is always reborn to be something new, so shooting at a place that existed in such a short time was the most amazing thing.
 
Ikeda: Thank you very much (laugh).
 
Shinguu: You’re being unfair, by using that place (laugh). Now the people from Tokyu Dentetsu already knew about Keyakizaka46, right?
 
Ikeda: There was a building in development at that place, while on the other hand, there was a group that was going to make their debut, I compiled those things properly into a concept, I was given the chance to make something special.
 
Shinguu: Did you choose Shibuya as a theme from the start?
 
Ikeda: At first, when I discussed with Keyakizaka46’s staffs, they told me to create a group of girls with a strong will and little bit rebellious as their image. Something like “If they were a town, then they are Shibuya”. Because of that conversation, I thought maybe I could use Shibuya as the stage for them. So, it was decided before I even planned the concept for the music video.
 
Shinguu: The CD jackets were also taken in Shibuya, right? I thought “Are they some sort of Shibuya idols?”, that question came to mind once, but this music video turned out to be really amazing. They’re very young, aren’t they? Also, Shibuya was in the middle of a dramatic transformation. It was really like showing people, those girls had been there once, at the town which reformed in a short amount of time. I felt quite emotional from that kind of view. Because it can’t be seen anymore, right?
 
Ikeda: It was a totally different place a year after that.
 
Shinguu: The dirt remaining on their knees when they knelt down were also quite emotional.
 
Ikeda: It feels like a documentary, right? I didn’t put too much perspective into it. It’s their first music video after all.
 
Shinguu: Director Ikeda, you once said that you purposely didn’t cut out the scene where they displayed poor dancing.
 
Ikeda: Yep.
 
Shinguu: “Ah, they were still poor at dancing at that time”, you wanted people to acknowledge such a thing when they look back at the past.
 
Ikeda: I was thinking so hard how to organize things since it was their debut single. At first, I wanted to make the story deeper. But on the contrary, if I shoot their debut moment as it is, I thought it would have a more exceptional feeling. After all, it’s a moment which only happens once.
 
Shinguu: If we look at it now, it was really worth the effort.
 
Ikeda: I didn’t even cut everyone’s tense faces.
 
- As a fellow director, did Director Shinguu ever think “Crap, he beat me!”?
 
Shinguu: I did. Music video is all about concept. Thus, if we want to do a shoot in Tokyo, location selection is an important thing. There is nothing left in Tokyo after all, it’s too boring. Also, we have to match our camerawork to the choreography. Did you draw the storyboard?
 
Ikeda: I didn’t draw anything.
 
Shinguu: You matched to their choreography, didn’t you?
 
Ikeda: Of course. If I’m not wrong, the choreography only got completed two days before the shoot. Thus, we decided to use about 50~60% of the choreography.
 
- What was your most favorite scene?
 
Shinguu: I like the opening scene.
 
- The scene where their faces appeared one by one?
 
Ikeda: It’s an introduction. It’s their first music video after all.
 
Shinguu: The pictures just came one after another.
 
Ikeda: Pretty orthodox, right? (laugh)
 
Shinguu: What came to my mind was that you particularly shot Hirate-san in such a thorough way. There were a ton of camerawork that shot Hirate-san only.
 
Ikeda: Because Hirate-san is the heroine. If I had given every member equal screentime, it would have ruined the balance.
 
- Normally it would make the video more balance, but that’s not the case for this one.
 
Ikeda: Like I said before, I decided who the heroine was, and she became the core of this story, I organized everything based on this person, I thought that it would make Keyakizaka be seen as a whole even more. Hirate-san’s amazing performance was one of the considerations though. However, that kind of camerawork was pretty different from Director Shinguu’s way of thinking.
 
Shinguu: It’s totally different. If Kazuma-san stresses the whole picture of Keyakizaka46, then I want to show every single one of them at any cost. In this kind of group, there must be only a few members who can appear on the 4-minute-long-only music video. But, I didn’t want to do it that way (laugh). Everyone has their own charm, so I always took a shot of everyone. Even though in the end not every shot was used after editing process, it’s a relief to do it that way.
 
- Since there’s a lot of people that were attracted by their charm on “Silent Majority”, this kind of presentation was indeed good.
 
Ikeda: In the end, this music video is all about their performance. It feels like they’re going to make a breakthrough from now on, for me it’s really like a documentary. I’m glad that I didn’t make it weird by creating a drama-like music video.
 
- Since it’s a good documentary, there’s no need to add a dramatic element into it.
 
Shinguu: Kazuma-san is a documentary maker after all.
 
Ikeda: Even though there are some bad parts, as long as their expression are good enough, I will use it. On the contrary, Shinguu-san is a perfectionist.
 
Shinguu: I’m the type of person that shows anything above its original value. For example, if there is a member that doing a late turn, I will show it in slow motion.
 
Ikeda: Or to make a messy jump looks better.
 
Shinguu: I’m a visual person. It’s like I just aim for the good parts only.
 
Ikeda: You also do a form of music-related editing.
 
Shinguu: If it’s Kazuma-san, he will definitely strengthen the part he wants to show rather than taking care of the rhythm.
 
Ikeda: That’s right.
 
Shinguu: If there is situation where the contents are less than it’s supposed to be, and they’re going to do nothing about it, I will tell them “This should be this way, this too, this too”.
 
- So, you show them how to deal with it, like “make this in slow motion”. I have an impression that “Director Shinguu = slow motion”.
 
Shinguu: That’s right. On the contrary, Kazuma-san is type of creator that doesn’t like to use slow motion.
 
Ikeda: If you say it that way, I won’t be able to use it from now on (laugh).
 
Shinguu: Kazuma-san used slow motion in “Eccentric” though. When he used it, I became afraid of him (laugh).
 
Running Keyaki, laughing Keyaki, some of the best works
 
- Next, we will discuss about “Sekai ni wa Ai shikanai”. This is also Director Ikeda’s works.
 
Shinguu: I watched “Sekai ni wa Ai shikanai” so many times. I love the chorus. It’s really unique. The first chorus didn’t start with a dance, they were just running. I thought “He did it~!”. He didn’t put a dramatic element into “Silent Majority”, but this time he injected some sort of girls’ youth attributes into it. Moreover, with Showa style (laugh). I highly appreciate his idea of putting a Showa vibe into it, something like a baseball match cut scene.
 
Ikeda: Hahahaha!
 
Shinguu: Also that shoe locker cut scene. It’s a music video that clearly made me understand Ikeda-san’s preference.
 
Ikeda: Yes, I injected my own preferences (laugh). It’s little embarrassing, it feels like I’m an inexperienced director.
 
Shinguu: Why did you use such a dim lighting in the classroom?
 
Ikeda: By making the class darker, indoors and outdoors really started to contrast each other. Since I wasn’t told to create something bright and idol-ish, I decided to make it dark.
 
Shinguu: Kazuma-san, do you like to change the drama aspect by utilizing the weather? It always changes depending on the weather, right?
 
Ikeda: You’re right. Though I cleverly matched it to its lyric.
 
Shinguu: I watched it thinking “It’s showing various kinds of weather”.
 
- On the previous interview, Director Ikeda once commented “I gave it a sort of anime vibe”.
 
Ikeda: That’s right.
 
Shinguu: What do you mean by anime vibe?
 
Ikeda: Different from “Silent Majority”, I aimed to create a painting-like thing for this music video. It feels like visualizing a vague feeling inside the memories.
 
Shinguu: Ahh, I see. Kazuma-san, to what extent do you entrust your cameraman? Do you give a lot of direction? Like “Use telephoto lens on this!”.
 
Ikeda: I only give the general concept when it comes to drawing storyboard. However, the cameraman who has worked for me on this second project is the kind of person that would take such interesting shots if I gave him freedom. For example, I only told him “I want to take a scene as if the camera followed the wind”. Then, he took a scene where members can be seen along with the windmills.
 
- It’s a very wide landscape, right?
 
Ikeda: Yes, it’s really wide. They couldn’t even see the ones next to them. Every member at the corner was 100 m apart.
 
- This location also gave such a strong impression, why did you choose this location?
 
Ikeda: We looked for a place with windmills, then we found it on Hokkaido.
 
Shinguu: Did you plan to use windmills from the start?
 
Ikeda: Yes. Since, the first project took place in Shibuya, so there was a thought to create something with a middle-of-town image for the next work as well.
 
Shinguu: Hey, it’s totally different (laugh).
 
Ikeda: There were white-and-man-constructed windmills standing in nature, I wanted members to do the performance there, in order to create a connection between them. That grassland scene in the chorus was an imaginary realm, so I wanted to create something that really contrasted the scene of daily school life.
 
- On the previous interview, you said you wanted to show the connection to the “Silent Majority”, by using something big and man-constructed, similar to the construction site on the previous work.
 
Ikeda: In the end, the center of this music video were the members themselves. I thought their image wouldn’t be ruined by whatever location we used, as long as we don’t ruin the presentation. Then, in contrast to the real school life realm, if the location for the imaginary realm in the first chorus had taken place in the middle of a town, there wouldn’t be much difference between them. I wanted to give a clear separation.
 
Shinguu: I see. That’s why I had a feeling that I was entrusted with the next work “Futari Sezon”, in order for me to do a shoot in the middle of town. 
 
Ikeda: Hahaha. I think “Futari Sezon” is their best song. With such a nostalgic melody, this is the song that made them laugh.
 
Shinguu: Since it’s a sparkling and elegant song with such a nice rhythm, I could come up with this concept for the music video. I matched their steps, their walk, I matched every single thing to the rhythm, I wanted to show the harmony of their wavelength, their beat. That’s why the number of members kept increasing one by one from the first verse.
 
Ikeda: So, you wanted to shoot them in the most beautiful way.
 
Shinguu: This was about the cameraman’s peculiar preference. If we do a shoot outdoors, the sunlight would steadily change, so the cameraman said that he wanted to shoot at a specific time (laugh). “We will be here ‘till 2 PM, I want to shoot with this amount of light”, he had that kind of preference. By the way, it took place in Chiba’s Makuhari.
 
- How did you feel when you were entrusted with Keyakizaka46’s main track for the first time?
 
Shinguu: Since Kazuma-san had directed their first two singles, honestly it felt like carrying a heavy load on my back.
 
Ikeda: The vibe was different from “Katarunara mirai wo...”. Probably because this song was completely different from before, he shot such a fresh expression of them. I thought “Ah, he made them laugh!”
 
Shinguu: Yes, I did! I thought they were girls who barely smiled, but they came to the location with such a smile. 
 
Ikeda: They are actually cheerful.
 
Shinguu: I perceived them as girls with the  “Silent Majority” image, so I was surprised, “Huh? They’re laughing naturally”. At that time, I decided the direction I would shoot them.
 
- So that’s it.
 
Shinguu: Although the only thing I had decided on was the last scene where they joined their hands with a feeling of “let’s be together”.
 
Ikeda: Between those stylish dance scenes, you used a portrait-style cut into it, right? The stylishness and clumsiness that contrasted to each other left such an impression on me. What does it mean?
 
Shinguu: Honestly, the thing I liked most was to shoot their cool dance, however, I thought that I had to remain the vibe of idol music video. 
 
Ikeda: That balance is superb. The “cool” vibe didn’t swung completely. It probably became an unique single, by putting those idol-ish elements into it.
 
Shinguu: To some extent, this is a work that I created with a kind of safety measure. However, I didn’t use any close-up shots in this music video, I only used bust shots. 
 
Ikeda: Ah~, I see.
 
Shinguu: I used a lot medium shots and full shots.
 
Ikeda: There is a cut scene where Moriya-san made such a nice expression.
 
Shinguu: While I was looking for the balance, the one thing that caught my eye was Moriya-san’s expression, despite there being a lot of funny ones among the many shots I took. I used it not because I particularly like her. In such a timing, it’s natural to have that sort of expression we like and we don’t, right? And the one I like was Moriya-san’s expression.
 
Ikeda: It was the  “Keyaki Tree” in the last scene, wasn’t it? The part where they joined hands. Did you plan to shoot that from the start?
 
Shinguu: Yes, I did.
 
Ikeda: You were using 2 different types of camera, right? The steadicam and one with a crane.
 
Shinguu: That’s right. The opening didn’t start with the choreography, but their individual scenes. It’s a cut scene which I shot with precision after I had a discussion with TAKAHIRO-san.
 
- Hirate-san’s expression in the last scene was magnificent as well.
 
Shinguu: I wanted to make something scary in the last part. When they joined hands, I wanted to end it with a scene where Hirate realized something. She smiled in the original version, however, I also took a shot where she cried a bit. But, I figured it was too boring, so I didn’t use it. Someday her youth will end, and she realizes that, something along those lines. Then, after the moment she realizes it, I would end it with a scene where she was alone on the bridge. We are happy right now, yet people will be alone at some point, someday we will end up being alone, something like that. Also, it’s because Kazuma-san always ended his work with Hirate-san. You ended “Silent Majority” with a close-up shot.
 
Ikeda: That’s right.
 
Shinguu: That’s why I selfishly created such a weird “End-it-with-Hirate” rule (laugh).
 
Ikeda: Seems like you had a struggle (laugh).
 
Shinguu: It’s a struggle of “how to end it with her” (laugh). That’s why it took about 10 minutes to shoot her face when she was on the bridge. As a result, I decided to use that face. However, which face I decided to use depended on my mood during editing process.
 
Ikeda: That’s right. It’s really huge. It’s not about lyric interpretation.
 
Dynamic line that helps the directors
 
- Next, let’s talk about “Fukyouwaon”.
 
Ikeda: What came to my mind is you used too many seagulls (laugh).
 
Shinguu: Ahahaha! Okay, jokes aside, did it bother you, Kazuma-san?
 
Ikeda: Nah, I think it’s just cool. You really placed emphasis on their performance. A music video that showed Keyakizaka’s performance at its core is probably the most amazing thing. You also didn’t put any unnecessary element.
 
Shinguu: This song was compared to “Silent Majority”, so I thought “Crap, this is difficult~” (laugh). This is about my equipment, I used 7 axes gyro stabilizing head called Maximus 7 for the first time. This equipment is probably not useful in an idol music video. However, I zoomed everything and took such close shots in the beginning of first chorus. Since I used crane shots, it became pretty fast.
 
Ikeda: The movement was really fast.
 
Shinguu: Korean music videos are really good at using the zoom shots. They used up to 4K resolution. After I watched it, I also wanted to implement it in Japan. Then, I used it for the first time to take close-up shots of members’ lipsync scene, maybe about the half of them. At first, I planned to only shoot the front row members, but I shot even more members in the end. Also, I shot their lipsync scene in a thorough way.
 
Ikeda: It’s pretty simple compared to the previous works, so you carefully placed emphasis in the camerawork and editing. You used it only once, but I like the scene where you used high-angle shot. The camera was moving while shooting from the gaps in the fence.
 
Shinguu: It’s the second chorus, right? The cameraman said he wanted to shoot from above. Also, when it comes to this 4th single, the accuracy of their dance was completely different.
 
Ikeda: Yep. It’s cool.
 
- Okay, let’s talk about “Kaze ni Fukaretemo”, Director Shinguu’s third consecutive work.
 
Ikeda: It completely felt like the second chapter of Keyaki. 
 
Shinguu: That’s right. I talked about it with Kazuma-san when we went to see their Makuhari Live. When I saw them, I thought that Keyaki already arrived at the end of their first chapter. That’s why we wanted to shoot them with a style that wasn’t related to their styles so far.
 
Ikeda: The first chapter closed with the “Getsuyoubi no Asa, Skirt wo Kirareta” music video in the most beautiful way.
 
Shinguu: That’s right. “Getsuyoubi no Asa, Skirt wo Kirareta” beautifully brought them back to “Silent Majority”. 
 
Ikeda: That’s why the first song that is able to use any kind of formula was “Kaze ni Fukaretemo”.
 
Shinguu: The whole team were thinking to bring something different to Keyakizaka that we knew so far. However, it’s a difficult task to retain the Keyaki-style somewhere (laugh). 
 
- Where did you retain it?
 
Shinguu: The truth is I had a little bit of difficulty with this song at first. However, I turned it into a music video that showed the dance of the chorus.
 
- So that’s it.
 
Shinguu: That’s why I took shots in various places, from school, middle of town, till the conference room, however, I wanted to be apart from those things. There are so many places prepared for us in this life. And it happened in the exact moment when “La La Land” became popular. 
 
Ikeda: It’s more musical actually.
 
Shinguu: That’s right. Actually, it should have been something like “musical drama of life”. But, I ended up only using the scene where Hirate-san was lifted with wires (laugh).
 
Ikeda: It was a funeral, right?
 
Shinguu: That’s right. It was a funeral actually.
 
Ikeda: It’s an ascension.
 
Shinguu: “What a good life it was”, it conveyed something like that. It’s something like “A dog of Flanders”. However, everyone was much better compared to “Silent Majority”. Their performance was really cool. Habu-san even came to me and asked for something.
 
Ikeda: Ah. She is really good.
 
Shinguu: I decided not to use her scene, but she came to me and asked, “Isn’t there another chance for me?”.
 
- She must be really serious, if she came to ask directly.
 
Shinguu: I said “I will consider it!” (laugh). She even created a kind of pose by herself, I think she has a high level of professionalism.
 
Ikeda: In “Getsuyoubi no Asa, Skirt wo Kirareta”, there was moment that made me touched. One of my cameramen, he didn’t really know about Keyaki, so he selfishly shot members with good performance skills, in that case, he shot Ishimori-san and Habu-san.
 
Shinguu: Ishimori-san and Habu-san! When we were working on editing, we always wanted to use their scene at any cost! I called those two “Dynamic Line”. Then, there is “Power Dynamic Line”, consisted of Saito-san, Habu-san, and Ishimori-san!
 
- Is it a power-up version? (laugh)
 
Shinguu: They have such supple movements after all.
 
Ikeda: Saito-san is always included in the difficult dance parts. She is super cool.
 
Shinguu: Their performances really help us in the editing process. If we also shoot Suzumoto-san, the rest would be much easier. She is awesome after all. I will shoot any member who dance perfectly and guarantee their places in the editing process.
 
Expression that completely surpassed their expectation and gave them goosebumps
 
- Now, I will ask about your impressions toward them. I want to hear about how you felt after doing your shoots with Keyakizaka46.
 
Ikeda: I probably shot them without thinking they were idols.
 
Shinguu: I see. You thought that from the start.
 
Ikeda: I think members and staffs who were involved in the music video production were working together as a crew. Normally, when I direct a music video, I will discuss it with the artist before I draw the storyboard, I think it will be better if there is a good discussion, like I will say “I want to shoot this way”, and they will say “I want to make this kind of expression”. If I have the chance, I want to try it.
 
Shinguu: I also see them as artists, but I probably see them more as idols than Kazuma-san. Like I said in the beginning, the world of idol music video is already complete, so I want to do some sort of experiment on how to escape from that thing.
 
Ikeda: You’re looking for a method.
 
Shinguu: Yeah. In that sense, I was given the chance to shoot the shape of this group.
 
- Ah, I see, I see.
 
Ikeda: I want to show people how I imagined the way of life and the concept of this group as a whole. It’s not about showing the real Keyakizaka46, I wanted to convey to the audience that the role they played in my work is the reality. When those things were established, I think it will be something completely original.
 
- If you can depict their way of life, it won’t be an imitation. How do you think about Hirate-san?
 
Ikeda: She is interesting, she has a consistency. In “Silent Majority”, I was thinking of creating something based on her.
 
Shinguu: Basically, I entrusted everything to her. I explained to her what I aimed for, and what I needed is to see how she was going to answer it. It was up to her.
 
Ikeda: She always does something unexpected. I always ended up grinning the moment she did that.
 
Shinguu: Aahhh~! Me too!!
 
Ikeda: On the second part of “Getsuyoubi no Asa, Skirt wo Kirareta”, she made an expression that completely surpassed my expectation (started at minutes 02:56). It gave me such goosebumps. Discovering these kind of moments is really fun.
 
Shinguu: I really understand that feeling. It’s only a blink of an eye, but it left such an impression.
 
Ikeda: About this scene, we didn’t have much time, so we only shot it 3 times, but suddenly an amazing thing came out of those 3 only chances. 
 
Shinguu: It’s like a gift from above. It’s close to contemporary dancing. She was throwing herself, and dancing like someone else. She also gave me goosebumps in “Fukyouwaon”, when she laughed with such a scary face. (They’re watching the music video, stopping at minutes 03:54) Look! It surprised me.
 
Ikeda: It’s beyond logic. I couldn’t think of that.
 
Shinguu: That’s why after we finished shooting, there was a moment where she just staring into space. It’s interesting to see what kind of style she’ll show us with the setting we prepared.
 
Ikeda: She must be still nervous in “Silent Majority”.
 
Shinguu: But, it feels like she begun showing herself little by little since “Sekai ni wa Ai shika nai”. I think it’s not something dark, but something more pure.
 
Ikeda: Yeah. Not many idol can give off such goosebumps.
 
- We’re looking forward to your next work for Keyakizaka46! Thank you very much for today!

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Ikeda Kazuma is director of Silent Majority, Sekai ni wa Ai shikanai, Otona wa Shinjite kurenai, W-KEYAKIZAKA no Uta, Eccentric, and Getsuyoubi no Asa, Skirt wo Kirareta.

Shinguu Ryouhei is director of Katarunara Mirai wo..., Futari Sezon, Fukyouwaon, Kaze ni Fukaretemo, and Glass wo Ware!.
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*special thanks to: toomuchidea (Raw & QC) & Seri (QC)