….
•-----[SKILL SLOTS]-----•
» [Slot-1:] Director (Rank – World-Class) [Active]
•------------------------•
For a brief moment, his eyes flicked to the blue screen that appeared before him. The words glowed faintly in his vision.
Then, just as quickly, he dismissed it. Focus.
Whatever this was… It wasn't interfering. And right now, that was all that mattered.
His grip tightened on the mic. "Action!"
….
The pen scratched furiously against the paper.
Ink smeared across Light's fingers, pages crumpled under the weight of his grip. His breath became ragged, his body tensed.
The handheld camera moves erratically, mimicking his spiraling thoughts.
Quick zoom-ins on his face, shaky tilts capturing the manic glint in his eyes.
Regal noticed the slight budding droplet of sweat on Stephen Jr.'s head. He commanded. "...little FASTER."
The dolly grip moved in aggressively, amplifying the energy. Just then, a bead of sweat trickled down from Stephen Jr.'s forehead, catching on his eyebrow.
Then, with one final stroke - the pen snapped.
"Cut!"
A stunned silence followed.
Did they actually capture that? Mathew thought.
Stephen Jr., unaware of what had just happened, let out a shaky breath and dropped the broken pen.
Regal was first to move as he watched the playback on the monitor.
Luckily, they had the shot before the pen snapped.
"We got the take."
As the realization set in, the crew broke into quiet applause.
….
Regal barely had time to react before a head popped up right in front of him, way too close.
"SO? How was it?! Tell me, did I do it right?"
Stephen Jr.'s hands clamped onto his shoulders, shaking him back and forth with way too much enthusiasm.
Regal's chair tilted dangerously backward, for a split second, he thought he might actually fall, but Stephen was too caught up in his own excitement to notice.
"Stephen - stop! He needs his brain intact if you want an answer." Timothée cut in from the side.
Stephen froze, finally realizing Regal might actually need a second to process words. He let go, stepping back, though the expectation in his eyes didn't waver.
Regal exhaled, rubbing his neck just to make sure everything was still attached. Then, finally, he looked at Stephen.
"You did fine."
Stephen's face fell. "That's it?"
Regal blinked.
"Should we go for another take?" Stephen asked, completely serious.
"No." Regal added.
Timothée clapped a hand on Stephen's back. "Dude, that was solid. Actually, probably the best take you've done so far."
There was a pause before he added. "Maybe you're the type who only brings out his best on set."
Regal sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Alright, don't get too proud about it. Some actors are just like that."
Then, without missing a beat. "Now get ready for the next shot."
….
The noise simmered down quickly as they moved to the next shot.
Regal signaled the first assistant director. "Reset for the next shot."
Crew members moved in a well-rehearsed ballet.
A fresh Death Note prop was swapped in, already prepped with scribbled pages to maintain continuity.
The broken pen was replaced.
The script supervisor marked timestamps, checking that Stephen movements would match seamlessly with the previous footage.
The lighting team readjusted. The tungsten backlight was dimmed by 15%, casting sharper shadows along the desk.
The gaffer positioned a flag to create a gradual darkness creeping in from the edges of the frame.
This was the turning point. The moment where Light stopped being human.
….
After thirty minutes, the clocked, 1:40 into midnight, but the filming continued - it was now the sixth shot.
The ARRI Alexa Plus camera was mounted on a Libec JB-30 Jib Arm, six feet above the set.
Regal turned to the jib operator. "The descent should be slow and controlled. Make it feel like someone is watching over him."
He gave a thumbs-up, adjusting the counterweights.
The DP, Mathew leaned in. "Want to use the mist filter? It will give the ink a slight glow."
He thought for a moment. "Yes, but subtle. Just enough to make it feel supernatural."
The Phantom HD camera was prepped for insert shots - it's 1000fps slow motion would be crucial for the moment the ink settled into the paper.
"Okay, boys. Roll sound."
"Speed."
"Camera rolling."(Mathew)
Regal let the silence stretch before commanding -
"Action."
Stephen Jr., now full into the skin of Light, sat completely still. His breathing was slow, almost measured.
Then, like a machine, he picked up the pen and flipped a page.
The jib arm moved, descending inch by inch.
His writing was no longer erratic. It was smooth, unstoppable, and mechanical.
The camera reached its lowest position. The shot framed Light's body hunched over, his shoulders squared, his head angled downward - like a worshipper at an altar.
"Cut!"
Regal checked playback - the overhead angle really made it feel inescapable, like fate itself had taken over.
Immediately he moved onto the next shots.
….
One more hour passed.
It was shot 10 for the day, and most of the crew were slowly getting exhausted.
However, everyone knows there is still work to continue.
Now, the ink had to come alive.
Regal had the DP set up the Phantom HD camera, lens fixed at 150mm macro, so close that the notebook filled the entire frame.
He had already verified with the VFX supervisor present on set, whether they could enhance the ink spreading in post, and luckily they could. But they had to make the initial absorption real.
"Gaffer, we need pinpoint lighting on the paper." Regal commanded, and immediately the lighting team placed a 500W fresnel light, angled so the ink glistened as it spread.
"Ready, Steph?"
He flexed his hand, rolling his shoulders. "Yeah."
"Rolling… Action."
Light's pen pressed down. The ink bled out, expanding in slow motion. Every droplet seemed alive, sinking into the paper like veins feeding a monster.
It was breathtaking.
"Cut!"
….
And just like that, the rest of the filming for the day wrapped up in the early hours of the morning, [04:08] to be exact, only after Regal was fully satisfied with all twelve takes.
There was no doubt about it; even the most seasoned crew members on set agreed that this had been one of the toughest sequences they had ever worked on. With each minor slip-up forcing a complete reset, the pressure had been relentless.
However, they all knew this was just the beginning of the week. There were still many long days - and even longer days and nights - ahead of them to tackle.
….
[Two Weeks Later]
[November 2, 2010]
….
The first schedule was completed.
And right after a three day space, the second schedule had begun.
The atmosphere on set today felt different, especially in one particular corner.
That's where Ross Oakley sat, comfortably settled in his chair. His work here was done. He had finished filming his segment, meaning he should have been on his way out by now. But instead of leaving, he decided to stick around.
Standing beside him was Danny Foster, his assistant. If anyone remembered, he was the same guy who caused a stir during the auditions.
The reason behind Danny Foster's presence today?
Well, it had a lot to do with a certain actor in the cast, Timothée Chalamet.
It turned out that both Ross Oakley and Timothée Chalamet were from the same agency - Angle Agency.
Or rather, Timothée had joined Ross's agency.
So as his 'manager' Danny has to be on the set with 'his' actor.
While the process of feeting Timothée cast in this film wasn't exactly a smooth process.
There had been complications, mainly from the Angle Agency's side.
At one point, Ross had to step in behind the scenes just to get things moving. Regal wasn't aware of the full extent of it yet, though he had his suspicions.
The agency itself hadn't been entirely convinced of Timothée's abilities. And they saw a high-budget film like this as an opportunity to 'train' their other actors instead.
But Regal wasn't having any of that.
If things had dragged on any longer, he might have gone as far as convincing Timothée to break his contract, and he would have been willing to pay the penalty himself.
Of course, none of that would have mattered if Timothée wasn't interested in the role to begin with.
But he was, very much so. His support for Regal's vision had been clear in whatever small ways he could contribute.
In the end, everything worked out.
Now, Ross had other reasons for staying.
He wanted to observe.
Two actors in particular - Stephen and Timothée.
One was connected to an acquaintance of his. The other was a trainee from his own agency.
Ross had been watching them closely, studying their methods.
Stephen's acting was purely - Instinctive.
He approached every scene like a blank slate, never premeditating his delivery, never settling into predictable patterns. It was this element of surprise - even to himself - that made his performances feel real and alive, impossible to replicate.
Timothée, on the other hand, was - Introspective.
His process was meticulous. He sought to understand the depth, intelligence, and emotional nuances of his characters, internalizing their conflicts until they became his own. Every movement, every glance felt deliberate yet natural, as if he had deconstructed his character down to its essence and rebuilt himself into someone entirely new.
But the most striking difference between them lay in self-awareness.
Stephen performed without fully grasping the extent of his own abilities, while Timothée acted with the precise knowledge of what he was doing - and the unwavering confidence that it was right.
They are quite parallel if one were to differentiate their approaches… but they effortlessly complement each other.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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