Translator: @seungshinl
Editor: @junebugg
Exclusive Interview of Secret Love Affair PD Ahn Pan Seok
- 취재팀 maxmovie.com 5.20.2014
One question into the interview, PD Ahn Pan Seok jestingly begins with a wave of his hand, “I have told the story in 16 Episodes what more could I say?” We are reminded that he is a man of presentation; to be understood by his exemplary work on screen alone. We get that his involvement with Secret love affair too, was an enduring affair, given that he had encountered the early versions of the script nearly 6 years ago. When his initial dismissal, to speak about his newest sterling production, bounces off, we hear more about the calculated synergies and the intense ‘process’ that went into giving us the Secret Love Affair we deeply cherish today; his style, or the lack of it that he refuses to acknowledge as his own; his partly intimidating obsession to model a scene with little else, but perfection. Lastly, we hear him speak of the stunning details – the absorbing silences, the long shots that drew us to the poetic mise-en-scene - that dictated the microcosm of Secret Love Affair.
What is he most proud about Secret love affair?
I’m most proud of having completed Secret Love Affair while giving plenty of time for the staff to eat, sleep, and rest.
How he got involved in Secret Love Affair?
It’s a long story; it goes back to 2007-2008. At the time, I was under contract with ‘Drama House’ production company. It had been approached by ‘Future One’ production company to collaborate on the adaptation of the novel ‘Tokyo Tower,’ written by Ekuni Kaori. Writer, Jeong Seong Joo was there at the meeting, I was invited to discuss this project. At that time, I concluded that this story could not be dramatized. I felt that a drama adopted from a novel, mostly based on feelings and emotions, did not have enough story to go on. The story itself was too short. If the casting was not perfect, I knew it would be the end of it.
But, ‘Future One’ did not want to let go of the project. They had a lingering attachment to this project. They had consulted other writers, but had returned to Jeong Seong Joo again. Writer Jeong decided that in order to do this right, the script had to be re-written. She discarded all previous versions of the Script and started again from scratch.
Last June, with a new three book script of the story, she asked to see me. When I listened to her, I began to see a possible value in producing the story. I believe Writer Jeong had a story she wanted to tell in a melo format. She had an idea of an imaginary couple in a secret affair that turned into ‘Mil Hwe.’ “
How were the lead actors chosen?
Actress Kim Hee Ae, was already established for the role, from her previous work like “Wife’s Credentials.” When I met with Writer Jeong, Kim Hee Ae was there too, so she was in the project right from the beginning. From there, we had to really think about who the main male lead should be and at top of the recommended list was actor, Yoo Ah In.
How did you decide, if an actor or a professional performer should play Lee Seon Jae?
The problem was that the main lead had to play the piano. If the piano performances did not turn out right, it would have been a shame. Whether the project was a success or not, we could not risk being an embarrassment. Moreover, the pianist had to be a prodigy. And, how do we address this situation? I cannot tell you how horrifying the predicament was. We even interviewed an actor who had completed middle grade level piano training.
However, we realized that was not enough. Even for those who finished high school grade piano training, we could not air their music sound and piano hand movements; not even for 5 seconds. Just after one piano note, the experts in the field would know that the act wouldn’t suffice.
Kim So Hyung and Park Jong Hoon (the pianist who played Professor Jo In Seo,) our piano supervisors for Secret Love Affair, concluded, within seconds of the performance, that they could not tolerate such clumsiness. They were adamant and refused to have it aired.
For example, let’s say there is a scene where the pianist is supposed to make a mistake. It had to be a mistake that viewers could see and detect. However, if it’s the kind of gaffe that the viewers could understand, it would be a mistake that could end a performing career. Then we asked the professional performers what would qualify for a small and admissible blunder? When we saw the demonstration of it, we could not tell it from the well played parts.
The situation looked bleak, as we understood what was being asked of us. But the piano supervisors convinced and showed me the way. And with that, we decided that all the piano performances in Secret Love Affair – from start to finish – had to be of the standard that would be accepted and acknowledged by professional experts.
We went so far as to feel that there could be no comprise between the script and the scene when it came to the piano performances. Usually, in dramas like this, the scene goes through iterations of compromises between the PD’s and the advisory experts. It happens all the time. But in Secret Love Affair, with the exception of the scenes dealing with corporate corruption and company (Seo Han) operations, we didn’t have to settle for less, between the actual piano scenes and what was expected of it from the script, and this we achieved with the guidance of our experts.
How were you affected by the need for professional piano performances?
To be honest, I changed during this process. Of course, it is good if the viewers understand everything that is in the story. That’s when its most effective and efficient. I felt it when I was working on the “White Tower” project too. I wondered if we should insert subtitles or captions to provide more information to the viewers. I questioned, if we should provide more explanations of the esoteric subject matter? In the end, though we did not do that, we did compromise. But now, I feel it is ok if the viewers do not understand everything. They can still follow the story without knowing all the details of the subject matter expert.
For some, they may be able to understand everything and get the enjoyment out of it. For others, they may gain new understanding when re-watching the scenes. And that is a lot of fun too.
Your thoughts on the having gone with an actor?
In the end, we decided to go with an actor as the main lead, rather than a professional pianist. It is also then that we had the realization that it would not be easy to produce a sound (and performance) on the screen at the same standard that would be acceptable to the professionals in the field. From beginning to end, there is no performance scene in this drama (Secret Love Affair) where each finger movement and positioning is in a place where it shouldn’t be. It’s 100% synchronization. This project is so complete it makes you want to research and confirm there hadn’t been one such project in the past.
How was 100% synchronicity was achieved?
Every piano scene was performed in exactly the same space (setting) using exactly the same instrument (for actors and professional performers.) For example, if you want to know the secret, there is a scene in the final Episode in which Seon Jae is performing Dvorak’s Piano Quintet. That particular piece is very very long. If one was to listen, learn and perform the entire piece, a year would not be enough to film the whole thing. Normally, a performance scene like that would be filmed in entirety. When you do that, it is inevitable there would be a mistake in the performance.
The reason why we were able to have complete synchronicity, without an error, is because there was total unity between the portions that were aired and the portions that were performed by the actors.
For instance, if we were airing 18 seconds of a performance we only practiced the same 18 seconds. We pre-planned which part will be aired and we practiced that part to death. Even the Inchoen Orchestra (who performed the concert scene,) picked out the portion of the music piece that would be aired and practiced only that portion of the piece.
Once we decided to go take this approach, it turned out that the portions we needed to practice was not that much. Even if the scene had different angles, we only had to shoot18 seconds, in total, for a given piece.
We would first record the performances by professional musicians that would be aired. Next, we recorded the actors to synchronize with the sound in the performances. At this stage, the actors can hear the professional recording while they were playing (synchronizing) and the piano supervisors were to help them with the timing to align their act with the beat. With this arrangement, it was possible to sync the professional performance and the acted parts.
In Episode 2, Seon Jae performs a number of pieces at Hye Won’s home. So only the parts that were aired were played?
We pre-planned and marked off portions of the pieces that would be played, down to the exact second.
Then it must have been difficult to choose a piece of music and decide which parts of that piece to air (and play)…
It was very very difficult. We had to choose not only the parts and pieces of music, but also had to choose the precise length of each piece. We did not say somewhere between 2 – 30 seconds. We had to choose precisely ’22 seconds’ of a piece. It was scary to make such precise judgment. What if we were wrong? But it could not be helped and even then, we had to make that decision.
It was quite unexpected to see Professor Jo In Seo’s part to be played by the pianist Park Jong Hoon, especially when he was not required to do a lot of piano performances.
It was not because I wanted to contrast amateur actors with real actors surrounding him. It’s because I wanted to minimize actors who were imitating professional performers (in the Academy.) That’s why other than the two main leads, I decided to cast real professional performers for the rest of the character roles.
In particular, when I saw Park Jong Hoon’s interview, he came across as being calm and composed. Those types of people make good actors.
Some people have said Park’s acting was warm but awkward, but my evaluation is that he acted very well. Unknowingly, we have become biased from watching TV drama and hence, consider such acting as awkward. What we perceive as good acting, may be superficial acting.
It could be that people are not used to it, but judging by my own criteria, both Park Jong Hoon and Yan Min Young (Professor Kim In Joo) did very well. As I stated earlier, my intention in casting them was not to have a non-homogeneous cast.
Have you seen the writing on Secret Love Affair by Son Yeul Eum?
I have always enjoyed Son Yeul Eum’s columns. Not only myself, but Writer Jeong likes them too and never misses them. We are both her huge fans. We also enjoyed reading her writing about Secret Love Affair.
Perhaps, it is unfair, but really, didn’t Lee Seon Jae “drop out of the sky” just like Son Yeul Eum described in her column?
Seon Jae became what he is through self-discipline and rigorous training. From elementary school he practiced Bach on his own, even if it was in a way that was outrageously uncouth (not using the pedal) for some. But, I don’t think it’s a false accusation. We work within the force of habit when it comes to thinking how a typical prodigy should be portrayed in the Drama world and I am part of that world so I am responsible for that as well.
Putting aside Seon Jae’s prodigious piano skills, his way with words is the characteristic that makes him a prodigy. His sense of justice and about what is right and wrong, his unwavering attachment to the truth comes through in his words. When he speaks, he does not hesitate to speak what he needs to say. He is a man of his words.
Some may think he is a ‘또라이’ (ttorai – a crazy fool). Sometimes, I think that too. He looks at the world through his own eyes and he thinks in his own about what he sees and speaks what he thinks. That is a prodigy. If his seeing, thinking and speaking is intervened by the conventional norm that would no longer make him a prodigy. He as a whole being is a prodigy because he is his own man.
Even when he could be wrong, he believes in himself. What meaning would there be if he was one of many thousands. He has to be one and only. If a person is unique he doesn’t have to jump through the hoops 100 thousand times. He just has to be himself. As long as he is true to himself, he is unique and he is peerless. That is a prodigy.
About Seon Jae’s peculiar way in which he moves his body and the way he hesitates when he speaks – was that Yoo Ah In’s idea?
Yes it was. He (YAI) is a natural born actor. If I were to speak about Yoo’s special quality, he is extremely intelligent and honest. If there is anything at all superficial or untruthful, he is unable to tolerate that feeling even a tiny little bit.
He doesn’t just act with his feelings, but he has a way of pinpointing the exact amount of emotion required and controls and regulates the same when he is acting. At his age too…
How did you come to include Seon Jae’s foot fetish?
If you look at the lectures by Lee Tae Joon on sentence strengthening, he claims that the most difficult letter to write is one without “concreteness”. Even if one were to be a great writer, if he/she is asked to write a general “comfort letter*” to a soldier serving in the military it would be difficult. However, if one is asked to write a letter to his/her father to send money, everyone becomes a great letter writer.
More specifically, Lee goes further. If one were to write a letter to the father returning the money that was not spent, one could say “I have spent the money you sent me very well, I am enclosing the remainder of the money I did not spend,” and it would be acceptable. But, if one were to write “I have spent the money you sent me very well and I am enclosing 3,250 won remaining with this letter,” the reader would get a better feeling about what one is trying to say and it quickly becomes more real.
A reference to the foot fetish in Secret Love Affair is similar to that principle. One can claim repeatedly, “she is beautiful”, “she is pretty,” but it would not go beyond commonplace convention and will remain a cliché. It is hard to get at the actual feeling. But, once you make a mention about the attraction to her feet, you get the sense of it much better. It’s an artistic technique.
Translated by @seungshinl
Part 2
Exclusive Interview of Secret Love Affair PD Ahn Pan Seok
-취재팀 maxmovie.com 5.20.2014
“Oh Hye Won’s” Character:
When you compare Oh Hye Won with the main characters in “Ajumma”, “White Tower” or “Wife’s Credentials”, more so than any of them, she is a leading lady in a “grey” zone. In contrast, the characters around her in “Secret Love Affair” are role models of the diverse colours within their own little world.
Artistically speaking there can only be one main lead in a drama. We have to deal with one life. And if we save one life, we save the entire world. There is a saying in “Book of Poetry” by Aristotle, “even though a drama is about telling a story of one’s life, you can not tell a story from when one is born to when one dies”. You have to tell a story about an event in one’s life that causes an enormous pressure, a compression.
When you create a main character like this in a Drama, you have to draw out the thoughts embedded in her mind. And you have to ask “what kind of characters would draw those thoughts out of Oh Hye Won’s mind, one by one?” So the secondary characters around her are built and placed in a way that would most effectively accomplish this task. If the main character’s thoughts are simple and straightforward, the secondary characters are easy to build as well. But when it’s so grey like Oh Hye Won’s, you need to include more clever and adroit characters to draw them out of her.
Even if the secondary characters around her are “traditional” it is not always so black and white. In most instances there is an emphasis in a drama like this to show the contrast between the “decay” of the Jae-Bul (the wealthy) with the healthy, upright lifestyle of “every day” people. But when you look at the people in the Teachers’ office in Seon Jae’s High School or the Village Office where Seon Jae served his civilian military duty, they also were all wrapped up in their own prejudices and shortcomings.
The Challenge of telling the Love Story:
The reason why I thought it was impossible to produce this drama was because a story about a 40 something woman truly falling in love with a 20 something man is too fantasy-like. I did not have confidence that I can make this love story understandable and acceptable. So how was this to be done?
We had to get the viewers to feel they have fallen into a small world that seems very real, by surrounding Oh Hye Won with people who are as real as people we see around us in everyday life. The story itself does not lend itself to such reality but we had to take the necessary time to show it on the Screen. It was in our strong effort to display that reality that we were able to get the acceptance of this fantastical love story. Clearly, it was going to be a challenge but I thought if we were able to accomplish that in Episodes 1 and 2, the task would become easier going forward.
The most important scene in “Secret Love Affair”:
So what specifically were those scenes? The scene when Hye Won and Seon Jae meet for the first time and get to know one another, I felt that was going to be the most important scene. Producing a scene of a 20 year old man stealing looks of a 40 year old woman seem as natural as possible.
The piano scene in Episode 2 was not simply about Seon Jae becoming attracted to Hye Won’s female charisma. It was also about Seon Jae’s desire to be recognized for his talent being satisfied by Hye Won that would make it possible for the love story to begin to unfold. Yes, That’s right.
I remember talking to Writer Jeong about that part of the Script and saying this to her. I had a university friend named Yooha who is now a poet and a movie director. One day in class we were sitting side by side and he was drawing in his scrap book. I wasn’t paying attention to the class so I was looking at his drawings and noticed writings on the side of the drawings. When I looked at them carefully, it was a poetry. It was very well written.
I was a student of Literature, so I was familiar with the language of literary criticism. Barely 23 years old it is embarrassing to think that I used such serious literacy language but I spoke to him in that way. For this and that reason it was well written and such. He turned bright red and confessed he had been writing poetry since he was in middle school and showed me other poems he had written. It was a singular moment. By giving him my sincere thoughts on his poetry our relationship changed just like that and it changed his life.
Blown away by Yoo Ah In’s acting in Episode 2:
In Episode 2, after he plays the piano for Hye Won in her house, there is a scene where Seon Jae is walking and running down the street with his heart full of emotion. Even before we filmed the piano scene, I wanted to shoot that scene first. I was worried. Yoo Ah In is still a young actor. How would he think of this scene? I thought it would be better to just spring it on him so I went about 100 meters up the hill to speak to him.
While the lights were on and the camera was on standby, I told Yoo Ah In about Yooha’s story. He understood immediately. Perhaps he was interpreting the scene this way as well. I was blown away by his acting of the scene. At that moment, I saw that this love story could be told.
It is not that Seon Jae was totally unaware of his own talents until Hye Won brought it to his senses. It’s just that he didn’t know to what extent his talents measured up to the rest of the world. His internet ID was “genius” as we know and he was right about that. Whether he was formally educated or mastered the techniques by himself, when someone gets to that level, he has to be aware of his own ability.
It’s just that he could not articulate it himself. He wanted to talk about it and hear about it from others but because of the environment in which he lived, he was not around people with whom he could. So basically in Episode 2, Oh Hye Won “pressed the button” and something burst from inside of Seon Jae and opened up the flood gate. That is the backdrop, a beginning of their love story.
A Complicated Love Story:
When you look at it this way, we see that compared to “Wife’s Credentials” the arrangement of the love story or the operational pattern of the love story in “Secret Love Affair” becomes very complicated. The love story in “Wife’s Credentials” was straight forward. A man and a woman in a similar age group falling in love with each other is something any one can understand.
Because the love story in “Secret Love Affair” is much more complicated we needed a more exquisite interpretation and elaborate apparatus to explain it to the viewers. But once established, the explosion was going to be greater and its passion much more intense.
We needed the meticulous detail not only of the relationship between the lovers, but things like the scenery in the little restaurant downstairs of Seon Jae’s apartment, the small everyday discussions among the teachers at the school etc. All the feelings and expressions had to build upon neatly, one by one, culminating in the maximum effect of the fantasy around the two lovers playing the piano together. That’s right. It is on such a foundation that the love story could be understood and accepted.
Writer Jeong Seong Joo is highly skilled in creating a reality within a brief space in the Script. The conversations in the Teachers’ office at the Music Academy? They were only a few exchanges but even by hearing a few words, we are immersed into the reality of the world being created.
The Music Choices in “Secret Love Affair”
Why Rachmaninoff:
Let’s talk about the music choices in “Secret Love Affair”. It is easy to surmise the reasons for Schubert’s Fantasie which Seon Jae and Hye Won played together or Beethoven’s Piano Sonata #23 (“Apassionata” Sonata). Dvorak’s Piano Quintet and Mozart’s Rondo which appeared later were also explained in various conversations.
However the choice that had quite a significance in the drama, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was not given a particular comment. Writer Jeong is a classical music maniac so she chose a number of pieces herself initially and then wrote them into the Script. She used them where it was pertinent to create the ambience in a scene or provide relevant history in the drama. Where she was uncertain, she would consult with one of our piano supervisors, Kim So Hyung, and they would choose the pieces together.
However, no matter how able a performer is, no one can play all of the important classical pieces at the level expected of a “prodigy”. One can be very good with one piece or one composer but he or she may not have the suitable style or technique for another. It is not possible for one pianist to have a full repertoire of Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Liszt…
In “Secret Love Affair,” pianist Song Young Min played all the piano music for Yoo Ah In. We could not have different pianists for each piece even if one pianist might play a piece better over another. Experts would know when they heard it. They would know if Lee Seon Jae was not playing all the pieces as one person. That would have been intolerable. So we had to choose a repertoire Song Young Min was comfortable with and that was why Rachmaninoff’s Paganini was chosen. Song Young Min is a Russia trained pianist.
Park Jong Hoon played Mozart’s Rondo for Yoo Ah In:
There were two scenes where we went against this principle. First was Mozart’s Rondo toward the end of the series. Going through all the life changing events he did in the drama, Seon Jae had become more mature by this time. Accordingly his musical sound had to be mature as well. Song Young Min played very well but he could not produce a sound that was markedly more mature in later Episodes than he did at the beginning. That made sense since it was not Song Young Min who had gone through all those experiences.
Another reason was because even though the Mozart pieces sound simple, in reality, only those who have received that particular training can perform them well. It is not something you can play with just a feeling or a different style. It requires a very difficult technical training. Different from that which Song Young Min had received. So for Mozart’s Rondo and Ah! vows dirai-je, Maman (‘twinkle twinkle little star’), pianist Park Jong Hoon (Professor Jo In Seo) played for Yoo Ah In.
Why Ah! vows dirai-je, Maman (‘twinkle twinkle little star’)?:
According to pianist Kim So Hyung’s interview, Ah! vows dirai-je, Maman was chosen by PD Ahn. There was no particular reason for that. Seon Jae was playing all kinds of different music for Hye Won. I did not want to see all the pieces be ones that only avid fans of classical music could appreciate. We thought we needed to have him play something different. Something that was played well but an ordinary person could hear on the main street and recognize. That’s how we came to choose Ah! vows dirai-je, Maman.
The process is more important than the result:
It appears that given all the music performance scenes, “Secret Love Affair” would have taken many more hours to produce than previous dramas. Not necessarily. Normally a drama series like this would take 60-80 days, sometimes rotating with additional teams (Team B, Team C) and so on. But I don’t like producing that way. In producing a work of art the consistency of the “same eye” is important. I think one PD should complete the project from beginning to the end. And for me the process is more important than the result.
Furthermore, every art project exists for humanism, so it is important to me that we do not ignore the individual rights of actors and staff or their daily happiness on site. This is more important to me than the quality of the project, whether it be success or failure. So I made sure everyone was given the time to rest, sleep, wash and play. My first goal is to protect those needs. I was careful about making sure there was time for all of that. That is always my first goal. I feel I have done a good job in protecting that and I feel boastful about it. We slept very well, ate well and had a lot of fun with each other right till the end.
PD Ahn’s way of production:
What were the reasons for making all that possible given that it was a project that required a lot of devotion to all things? As I stated earlier, when I get asked “how much music should we put on the Screen?” I don’t say “approximately 2 to 30 seconds”, I say “exactly 22 seconds”. We could go off a bit sometimes but when that happens we all feel it acutely. When we need extras on the set, I don’t say “approximately 2 to 30 people,” I say “we need 22 people.”
If you decide in one way and it is too much or too little you will never forget it, it gets imprinted in your memory…Ah, 25 people is right. I have been trained from seeing the results of making judgments precisely, whether it be the length of music performance, the number of people on the set or location requirements etc., these are ingrained in me. There are not too many ways things can go wrong anymore, nor the need for more time than planned. The work gets done rather quickly.
This kind of elaborate and detailed pre-planning way of doings things must have been achieved through years of experience. I have done it for 27 years. It is something I have done since my days as an assistant PD right up to today. If from the beginning I started by estimating “2 to 30 extras” on the set, or made decisions on approximate terms, I would never have improved in 10 years or even in 100 years. But if you make decisions once and take responsibility for the result in a precise manner than you would not make mistakes next time. You can imagine how complex a drama production can be. If you work on every part one by one this way, you would become very precise. Perhaps I will still improve next time.
Translated by @seungshinl
Part 3
Exclusive Interview of Secret Love Affair PD Ahn Pan Seok
- 취재팀 maxmovie.com 5.20.2014
Let’s move on to production. I remember talking to you about an overexposure from too much sunlight coming through the windows on the set of “Wife’s Credentials”. At the time, you said you could not make those scenes perfect so you had to go with the next best choice. There seems to be similar scenes this time around as well.
We had similar issues this time. There was limited space on the set and we had a number of sets to build so there was no unused space once we were done. We could not possibly have done more than what we did with the space we had.
Inevitably that seemed like the style you had to settle with.
I do not think style is important. I believe it is only right that the Script determines the style. If a style stands out, then the parts that are awkward or clumsy would look like a style. So I find it embarrassing when I hear such things. A really well made project has to be one where the style completely disappears. I try repeatedly to achieve that but due to the inadequacy in my skills I do not succeed completely.
During “Wife’s Credentials”, you revealed your decision to use distances to create screen aesthetics in order to take advantage of Kim Hae Ah’s acting style, which uses her entire body so effectively when acting. I find this time when some objects or the background are hidden, the acting really seems to come to the fore.
That was also not a style but an effort to draw the viewers’ attention by making things appear less visible. That really was not anything extraordinary. If you use close ups, things do become automatically larger so the viewers have no choice but to pay attention to the things they see.
But if you use waist shots (from the waist to the head) or knee shots (from the knees to the head) viewers can not see things in as much detail. In order to ask the viewers to pay maximum attention to the scene, or a situation when things are not so visible, many artists all over the world use all kinds of equipment. Lamps, lanterns, and lightings are used for this purpose for example. It was my desire to cleverly draw the attention of the viewers that I filmed it that way. When things are covered a bit, people want to see more. Wouldn’t you agree?
In Episode 2 there was a scene where Hye Won notices that Seon Jae is playing a Bach piece without using the pedals. Seon Jae said, “I like the sounds ending short.” “I feel like this piece is written to be played like that. Between the Notes.” Then Hye Won said, “I’m asking for your interpretation, not your preference.” What is the meaning of this scene?
About that Scene, pianist Kim So Hyung told us that pianists normally use the pedals to perform. There is a side point to the reason why Seon Jae was not using the pedals. The writer wanted to show that his attitude toward music is not conventional and that he approaches it with his own thinking. It is not just a feeling but a conscientious interpretation of the music to end the Notes short.
In Episode 8, finally the scene where Seon Jae and Hye Won had their first physical relationship. It was so unique it’s became a story event.
I really liked that scene. Originally the Script description said “sizzling heat, all the objects in the room have gently closed their eyes. Below, only audio, no video to be used.”
When I read the Script and saw, “objects gently close their eyes,” I imagined those inanimate objects coming alive like you see in Disney animations where the objects become human-like and peek around the room. So I filmed it as though they were giving the couple side glances, sneaking a peek at them. I didn’t want them to completely close their eyes and not be able to see, unlike what was written the Script.
In truth, it is not easy for a man and woman to have their first physical encounter. In everyday, life even if someone was doing business in a washroom he/she is startled when someone comes near by. Even among lovers, it is not something that works all the time. Whether we know it or not, it happens at that very moment when the world around you helps you along. Even the inanimate objects have to help you. It is that difficult.
That Scene in Episode 8 was the last filming of the day. I said to the actors that we would take care of it. I sent them home with a round of “end of the filming day” applause. And the editors did such a great job. They had the right lighting and filmed the objects found around the room: spice bottles, shoes, electric meters, and such. When I saw the scene all put together later I was pleasantly surprised. It was exactly in order of what I had imagined in my mind. I realized then that when people focus and think about something really important, they come up with similarly minded results. It was such a fun experience.
Something unexplained in the “Secret Love Affair” narrative that I am curious about is the story of the marriage between Oh Hye Won and Kang Joon Hyung. In the past, Joon Hyung was probably not the snob that he is today. But still, why did Hye Won choose him as her husband? I would think, even in her 20’s, she would have given herself the supreme task of ascending to high society. If so, would she not have chosen a partner who was more useful to her?
Writer Jeong writes a very meticulously detailed synopsis before we go into production. It is the“core” of the Drama so to speak, and it is something that we endlessly refer to while filming. Included is an intimate detail of the circumstances of Oh Hye Won’s past. Basically she thought of her marriage as a way to get in to high society but her family circumstances were such that she could not have become a daughter-in-law to a jae-bul (high society) like the Seo Han family.
Her parents presented her with possible marriage prospects of those not so well off but on their way up. It would not have been bad for her to choose that path because she might have become affluent. However, she would have had to endure the negative chatter and scorn behind her back because of her less advantaged circumstances. She also might have been able to marry a professional like a lawyer/prosecutor, but she would not have been satisfied with the situation. It would have been difficult for her to do what she wanted to do with her life after marriage.
Kang Joon Hyung was someone she would have chosen gradually. His family was not well off but he was from a music (cultured) family. So, from the outside, they would have been looked upon favorably. There was nothing about him that would have disqualified him from being a part of an “ideal picture couple”. Therefore, we could conclude that her marriage to Joon Hyung was Hye Won’s bowing her head to snobbish affectation. In the final analysis, she would have had that in mind from the beginning of her marriage.
Writer Jeong had several images in her mind when she was writing the Script for “Secret Love Affair.” Oh Hye Won with the terrible hair cut being called “wickedly sexy” is one of them. That image and those words were on our minds.
The fact that the identity of “Makqui Hyung”, who Seon Jae met on the Internet, was Hye Won was never revealed.
That was fun material to work with, and it was I who suggested we do not reveal the identity. During the series, there was a number of occasions when it was almost revealed but for some reason I wanted it to be concealed to the end. From the regular viewers’ points of view, “Makqui Hyung’s” character was very likeable. He was curiously reliable, and for Seon Jae who did not know his true identity, it was someone he wanted to meet at least once. In the world where there seemed to be so many people who seemed less than human, “Makqui Hyung” seemed to be the most humane of them all. For that reason I wanted to leave him alone.
Fundamentally there was this premise. Hye Won knew the identity of the “Genius” but Seon Jae did not know the identity of “Makqui Hyung”. Regardless, I trusted that Hye Won would not use “Makqui” to her advantage even when she might have needed to, so I wanted to leave him alone. She lived a life of immorality and lack of justice but she had that small touch in her where she could be trusted as “Makqui Hyung”, and that might have been what saved the identity of “Magui Hyung” from being revealed.
Where did you get the idea that the people of high society played Majong?
It was really a matter of convenience. When the drama begins, all eyes focus on the people within and around President Seo’s family circle. We had to emphasize the “out of ordinary” quality about this group. We thought playing Majong could show this effectively within a very short space of time.
It is a game that ordinary people do not engage in, but it appeared to be such a regular ritual to them. It seemed grotesque in one way, but showed how President Seo spread his wealth and influence around. The people sat around him to collect the “crumbs” he handed out. The idea came from Writer Jeong of course. She really is someone who has vast knowledge about so many things. When you see her bookcases, there are books about all things imaginable. Of course there is a book on Majong too.
Looking at the Director, the Script, the main leads, and of course the world philosophy of “Secret Love Affair”, it almost seems like an extension of “Wife’s Credentials.”
As I told you before, I did not have “Wife’s Credentials” in mind when I began this project. At the most, I might have thought “since the sequence went like this before, let us go in this different direction” while producing “Secret Love Affair.” That would have been the extent of my awareness of the previous project. The reason is that it is such a difficult task to create the manufactured world of a Drama. To have the story structure in mind first, and then to try to fit this or that subject into it, is not an easy thing to do.
First you have the main character, then the first event that moves that main character. When you have this, you touch your heart and begin. Whatever happens after that is something you leave to fate. I am not saying you vaguely go along with things but that you follow the internal direction of what is in the Writer’s mind. I believe that is the most important thing. When you keep following that internal direction, inevitably, you will have created a world.
pianoconversations.wordpress.com
09.03.2014, 22:42
Тайная любовь / Secret Love Affair (Корея, 2014 год, 20 серий)
Все, блин, сбылось, что каркала...Закономерно...
Режиссер-ним, Сценарист-ним, Ю А Ин, Ким Хи Э - Камсахамнида, Аригато, Большое русское Спасибо!!!
Пацталом)))
Награды вроде бы вполне справедливы присудили...те, что присудили)))
Линейный вид
