Interview with a documentary film director ② Mr. Hiroshi Shishido of "Michikusa"
Michikusa, a documentary about people with intellectual disabilities who live alone with a helper. People with behavioral disorders such as autism, intellectual disabilities, self-harm, and harm to others were isolated from the world, kept away from the world, and had limited places to live. The reality is that many people with intellectual disabilities who are considered "severe" live in inpatient facilities, hospitals, or with their parents. The possibility of living alone with a helper has spread. We follow people with intellectual disabilities who live alone with their caregivers on the streets of Tokyo, and through the casual daily scenes of walking with caregivers and walking along the streets, a city where both able-bodied people and people with disabilities coexist. looking for new options for We asked Hirohiro Shishido, the filmmaker, editor, and director, about his involvement in video production, as well as specific filming and editing methods.
Shishido Daisuke
Filmmaker. During his student days, he made the documentary film "Twenty-four Years of Mt. Takao" (2008), which depicts the development of a tunnel to Mt. Takao, a mountain rich in nature in Tokyo, and the local people who oppose it. "Dogs and Cats and Humans and 2 The Great Earthquake of Animals" (released in theaters in 2013) depicts the animals and people affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Let's live" (released in theaters in 2016), and "Momoyo no Shiori Sayama Garden Days and Days" (2016), which depicts the life of a person with intellectual disabilities in an institution.
INTERVIEW
I wasn't originally interested in movies
--Please tell us what made you want to start filmmaking. Among the documentary film directors, there are those who first liked images and movies and started the documentary genre as a style, while there are also those who prioritize themes and make them from a more journalistic standpoint. What about Mr. Shishido?
Obviously the latter. I wasn't originally interested in movies, I didn't want to be a movie director, and I didn't watch movies that much in the first place. Ever since I was a child, I have been interested in social issues, and I wanted to do something about living things and wild animals, so I decided to become a veterinarian when I was in high school. However, I didn't have a scientific mind, so I gave up on veterinary medicine when I entered university, and came to Tokyo at university because I wanted to work to protect the habitats of living things within a political framework. However, I failed the Political Science and Economics Department, and ended up entering the Japanese Language and Literature Department of the Education Department.
I was active in a political circle at university, but when I invited people and held a study session, even if I prepared for the day after two or three months, the weather was bad. There are times when people don't come at all because of overlapping events. When I was frustrated that I couldn't tell many people about something I wanted to tell, I came up with the idea that if I made a documentary film, I could distribute it on DVD and hold screenings anywhere in the country. , There is also the meaning of a record to leave for posterity. That's what made me want to make films.
An acquaintance of mine who makes documentaries introduced me to Mr. Motoharu Iida, who is in a low position. So I went there every month and was taught various things while watching videos, and it took me two years to make a documentary about the issue of Mt. Takao.
ーーI knew from your previous works that Mr. Shishido is a creator with a strong journalistic temperament, but this time there is no narration, and I feel that you are conscious of showing it properly visually. and I think it's been successful. Where did the recipe change?
I met a photographer named Shinji Takahashi at the "Gathering of the Wind" that I talked about earlier. That person is also a cameraman and has also directed films, but for about a year and a half from 2014, I asked him to shoot at Higashimurayama Sayama-en, a facility for people with intellectual disabilities, and we worked together on the production. ("Momoyo no Shiori Sayama Garden Days and Days"). At that time, I received a lecture from the basics of "What is a camera?" I think the biggest experience was that I was always shown the videos Mr. Takahashi shot in practice, and I learned just how powerful videos are.
Until then, I was often asked to shoot and connect by myself, so I was never taught how to shoot. From there, I became more conscious of shooting properly.
ーーThis time it's Shishido-san's shooting, but what did Takahashi-san say about the shooting of this movie?
I was told that I was trying to be cool when I took the picture, and that it was annoying.
ーーThe teacher is strict (laughs). Mr. Shishido lives in Miyagi Prefecture, and the shooting locations are Mitaka and Nerima in Tokyo, so it's difficult to commute from home. how is the shooting?
From April 2016 to April 2018, we rented a room nearby for 2 years, and from January 2017 for about a year. rice field.
ーーThere are three main characters, but did you proceed with the shooting in parallel?
Right. Ryosuke-kun and Hiromu-kun have already settled down in their daily lives, but Yuuichiro-kun is not sure what will happen, so Yuichiro-kun took center stage in the second half. I visited each place 10 to 20 times.
I wanted to film the relationship between a disabled person and a caregiver
ーーAre you shooting alone?
I'm alone. Mr. Takahashi, who I mentioned earlier, is the type of photographer who is very active. From the beginning of the shoot, I was thinking of shooting while shooting.
What do you mean by keeping a little distance? "As a camera position?" "How do you feel?"
Both as a camera position and as a feeling. People often use the phrase "getting close to each other to shoot," but I don't really like it, and I think it's just my own preconceptions. I don't know if the other person thinks it's okay.
Also, this time I wanted to take a picture of the relationship between a disabled person and a caregiver. When I enter, it becomes a relationship between three people, so I wanted to shoot the interaction between the two without talking to them as much as possible.
Supporting people with intellectual disabilities is not enough to just be the person's hands and feet. As much as the people who support them cannot talk about themselves, it is necessary to guess their feelings, and it is important to stand between them and connect them with the general public. I wanted to include the conflicts of those people in the film.
ーーWhat did you pay attention to during this shoot?
Ryosuke-kun and Hiromu-kun were calm and easy to photograph, and I was even allowed to take pictures of them, but even so, we didn't suddenly turn the camera around and spent several days together. After that, I turned the camera little by little.
Yuichiro-kun has a delicate side, and I was worried about how he was being photographed by the camera. I don't want to be filmed when I'm going wild or when I can't control myself, and sometimes I'll tell you that. Then I can't turn. It's okay if I just happen to be able to take a picture of a person going wild, but I didn't want to wait and aim for it, so I was worried about how much I should shoot. There are times when I act violently or hurt myself, and unless I capture those aspects, I can't see true support for independence. That's why I thought I had to shoot, but I was worried about how much I should shoot.
After he told me not to take a picture, I put the camera down and then he broke the glass at the convenience store. He stopped with his caregiver, but he was kicked while stopping. I'm sure there are directors running cameras there, but I didn't want to shoot something that would be disadvantageous to the person himself. About 10 minutes later, the police came, and after that, I decided to settle the matter with the owner, but I didn't take any pictures of that. I thought it would not be used even if I took it, and the person himself clearly told me not to take it. There was a movie called "Don't stop the camera", but I stopped the camera immediately (laughs).
What I was most afraid of was that by emphasizing this scene, there would be a backlash that people like this shouldn't come out to the area. People are more conscious of security now, and their tolerance for people who are different from themselves is decreasing. I also thought that it would be bad if it had the opposite effect, even though I was making it with the hope that people would go out into society instead of shutting themselves away in hospitals or other facilities.
I thought it would be nice if there was a place where I could interact with the people in the city
ーーIn the outdoor scenes, the camera is relatively far away, but the conversation is clearly recorded. You're putting in a mic.
That's right. I prepared the microphone and transmitter so that they can't be seen. The room is a gun microphone. I wanted to shoot a scene where two people walk outdoors from a distance, but I also wanted to record their conversation. I wanted to shoot at a fixed point, and I thought it would be nice if there was a place where I could cross paths with the people of the city. It's hard to shoot such a scene when you're close.
The lavalier mic is prepared for the caregiver side because it is usually the caregiver who talks to it. To be honest, I wish I could record a little more of the words I'm replying, so I asked if I could put it on Hiromu-kun once. When I asked, they said they didn't like it. There may be a sense of incongruity there.
How long did you edit?
I was editing while filming, but it wasn't until the fall of 2017 that I started putting things together in earnest. I temporarily edited it to 47 minutes and got an opportunity to announce it around November 2017, but I made a big pile of it and edited it over a couple of months while shooting the second half. went.
ーーWere you worried about editing?
The first thing is what to do with Yuichiro-kun's violent scene. how much should i put in I was worried about it until the very end, and the staff around me was frustrated.
ーーIn the insert cuts, there were many cuts of wild birds, which was impressive. It's a cut that makes you feel strongly about Mr. Shishido's interest in living things.
You are completely sympathetic (laughs). Because I only go to the park in the morning and evening to take only birds. I'm already a birdwatcher.
Title Michikusa
ーーThere are so many bird cuts on purpose, right? "What is its symbolic meaning?"
There are more than 100,000 people with intellectual disabilities who live in residential facilities nationwide, but there are dozens of people who are living independently using the severe home-visit nursing care system. There are onlyAlso, about the title Michigusa, I don't think the people I've picked up this time are living with a purpose or a dream in their lives. Living things teach us that life is originally like that. We are neither born with a purpose nor will we die. I live because I was born I feel that the cicadas, grasses, and birds are teaching me that as they are, and I wanted to superimpose that with the scenery of their grasses.
ーーThere is no such narration or telop, but it is shown visually, and I thought that was very cinematic.
Some people might find that offensive (laughs). I like Mr. Shinichi Ise, and in his work, I learned a lot from his cuts, such as the scenery, the moon, the sound of the wind, and the rippling waves of the sea.
When I look at the people who are doing journalism around me, there are many people who are quick to see opportunities and have high instantaneous power. I'm not good at it, so I thought that the way I made it this time would suit me better.
What cannot be explained in words and what should be explained in words
ーーThis work has no narration.
People with intellectual disabilities are not people to explain in words, so I wanted to make it without explaining it in words as much as possible. Also, when Yuichiro-kun gets violent, there are times when I can't explain why. Maybe it's just a change in atmospheric pressure. There are things that cannot be explained by cause and effect. I thought this movie was not suitable for explaining in words. When I told Mr. Yasushi Yoneyama, who was in charge of voicing, that I wanted to go without the narration, he said that it would be better. Mr. Yoneyama is a person who can clearly say what is good or bad, so I thought that was good.
The interview is for caregivers and parents only.
I thought that I had to express in the movie what I was worried about from the point of view of the general public. For example, I would like to ask the caregiver who accompanies a person who screams while walking or riding a train, how they spend their time.
Camera, Microphone and Tripod
ーーHave you been using the camera before?
This is the Sony NX3 that I have been using since 2014. The camera is heavy, so I wanted to make the tripod as light as possible, so I chose the Daiwa VT-551. I've been using this since I was shooting Mt. Takao earlier. The only weak point is that it doesn't show the height.
Mr. Takahashi recommended the camera, but I chose the Road NTG1 instead of the included microphone. The microphone does not fit snugly in the holder, so I put urethane on it and wrapped it with a rubber band. If the wireless receiver is attached to the shoe, it will not be possible to open and close the monitor, so I fixed it to the grip. Everything around here is a style inherited from Mr. Takahashi.
I know the tripod is weak against the camera, but in this shoot, Mr. Takahashi told me not to use meaningless zooming in, zooming out, and panning as much as possible because it would be an explanation. . If it's just to fix it, I decided that this tripod would be fine.
What about the editing system?
I do it at home with EDIUS. Mr. Yoneyama did the voicing, but he also gave me advice on editing.
ーーMr. Kasezawa, who I spoke with last time, also said that he received advice from a veteran voicing person at the time of editing.
I think there are many documentary directors who become directors without having the opportunity to ask for direct instruction. If you are a veteran person who can give advice, it may inevitably become the voicing of the final check. Also, I like Shinichi Ise's tone, so I wanted to hear the opinion of Mr. Yoneyama, who has been working with Mr. Ise for a long time.
What are your plans for future works?
I want to make a movie about a black bear in my hometown of Tohoku, but I'm stuck because I haven't been able to meet a key person who seems to be this person. As an image, it's about 60 minutes, something that children can see, and I'd like to add animation and shadow pictures to make it a story.
I would like to continue making documentary films in my area of interest. I would like to point my camera at something socially invisible.
ーーThank you for joining us today. It's a really good movie, and I'm looking forward to its release.
Work DATA
Production year: 2018 Distribution: Movie "Michikusa" screening committee Screening time: 95 minutes Official site
staff
Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Hirohiro Shishido Music: Itsuki Suemori Gen Nagahara
Public information
February 23, 2019 - March 8, Shinjuku K's Cinema March 9, 2019 - date undecided Nagoya Cinema Colle March 23, 2019 - date undecided Osaka Cine Nouveau March 23, 2019 - March 29, Kyoto Cinema March 30, 2019 - April 12, Yokohama Cinema Jack & Betty March 30, 2019 - April 12, Shizuoka Cine Gallery April 12, 2019 - April 25, 2019 Cine・Lavita
documentary