Devil’s Music - Chapter 86: Visual shock

A few days later, at the music video set.

Geon arrived at the set a bit earlier after receiving the concept of this song from Manson in advance. He sat in the makeup chair, looking over the concept bundled with information about the song.

<Sad Devil Gamagin>

There was a boy in a rural village.

In the small village where the boy lived, only a few people were living harmoniously. However, one day, a band of thieves invaded the small village, and everyone in the village died. The boy, seeing a cold blade plunged into his mother’s warm chest right before his eyes, trembled as he hid in the barn his mother had tucked him away in.

As the thieves retreated, a flock of crows descended upon the bodies of the village people, tearing apart his mother’s corpse. Around the same time, the boy emerged from the barn and retched. With despair mixed in his eyes, just then, an angel with radiant golden wings descended before the boy.

The angel reached out to the boy, and as the boy held the angel’s hand, they departed to a place filled with light.

The boy, who blindly followed the angel that saved him, grew up to become a proud warrior guarding the sacred Eden. But more devoted to the fallen than the creator who made him, the boy eventually fell to hell following the corrupted one.

Amid an unavoidable battle, the angel perished, and the boy’s rage turned toward the one who killed the angel. With his soul banished, he wandered the land of sin beyond the threshold of death. Endless cycles of battles and the perpetually dull right to immortality made the boy endlessly weary.

Only later did he realize that the entity who saved him wasn’t an angel but the owner of the place he once lived in. Dreaming of returning to the place filled with light, the boy, now turned into a high-ranking demon of hell due to the eons-long war, yearns to return to the place where the trumpet sounds echoed.

Geon nodded thoughtfully.

“A sad story indeed. Gamagin, the demon.”

“You’re here early.”

Geon turned in surprise at the voice coming from behind.

“Director Tim Burton? What brings you here?”

Tim Burton, clad in a grey suit and brown trousers, sat on the adjacent chair.

“I’m here. Why, should I not be? Why’d Manson hire a different director for his music video when there’s no one better suited than me? So, I volunteered,” Tim replied.

“Oh, really? So, this time, are you acting in the director’s movie instead of providing music?”

Tim smirked.

“I wanted to shoot you too, as Kay mentioned. Manson boosts your fame, and I film you. Win-win, right? Haha.”

Geon chuckled as he held up the papers he had.

“Did you also see the concept, Director? It’s about the Great Demon Gamagin.”

Taking the papers from Geon’s hand, Tim replied, “Of course. I’m the director here. I’ve got the entire concept planned out. Just do as I say; I’ll finish it in six hours.”

Geon exaggeratedly flopped to the side.

“Whew! Six hours?”

Tim raised an eyebrow at Geon.

“Some directors shoot for a week. Six hours is pretty significant, you know?”

While Geon and Tim bantered, a petite, freckled redhead woman approached.

“Hello, Director.”

Tim furrowed his brow in a questioning manner.

“I’m Catherine from the special effects team. I’m here for Kay’s makeup.”

Tim finally smiled and stood up from his seat.

“Ah, yes? Then, please. Don’t forget to add a bit of red around the lips and eyes,” he said as he moved away to check the location.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Catherine, the one who’ll be doing the special effects today. Heard a lot about you. Turns out, the rumors were true,” Catherine said, admiring Geon.

“Rumors? What kind?” Geon asked, slightly amused.

“Rumors about how Kay, the music director, is an incredibly handsome man,” Catherine replied, touching Geon’s slightly raised eyebrow.

“Such rumors? Haha, that feels good,” Geon chuckled.

Looking at Geon’s reflection in the nearby mirror, Catherine said, “I’ll definitely transform you into a beautiful angel.”

Raising one eyebrow, Geon asked, “Not a devil?”

Brushing his hair while taking out the brush, Catherine replied, “The first scene will be before Kay becomes an angel. Just an ordinary but incredibly beautiful boy. That’s your role in the initial shooting.”

A moment later, the costume manager brought a faded green outfit resembling what poor peasants wore in medieval times. Geon checked the clothes; they seemed worn out, with frayed ends. After wearing the outfit, he searched for shoes.

“Uh, no shoes?”

The costume manager, scratching the hem of Geon’s top with scissors, replied, “Yeah, you won’t be wearing shoes, Kay! I’ll do makeup on your feet too!”

“Catherine rushed over to Geon’s feet, heavily made up as if covered in dirt. After a while of makeup, Catherine stood up and shouted, ‘Here, K.C. #1? Makeup’s done!’

A man who seemed like an assistant director immediately approached, ‘K.C.! Come this way.’

As Geon followed the assistant director, a bustling set filled with numerous cameras and lights came into view. It seemed like the first shoot took place on a grassy hillside, with no elaborate sets in sight. As Geon pushed through the crowd, female staff members who saw him murmured in amazement.

“Wow, it’s really him?”

“See? Catherine mentioned it when she went to get coffee. It’s no joke.”

“He looks so handsome. How can a guy look like that?”

Geon, caught up in the busy atmosphere of the shoot, didn’t pay attention to the people around him. He just approached Tim Burton, who was checking the shot from the main camera, and said, ‘Director, I’m here.’

Tim Burton, who had been talking with the main camera director, turned to look at Geon and blinked, then shook his head slightly, saying, ‘Wow ~ with that makeup, you really look like an angelic youth. Do you always look like this?’

Geon grinned, ‘Do I? Hehe.’

Watching Geon, surrounded by bright smiles from Tim Burton and the crew, Tim asked, ‘… Cut.’

Geon stopped smiling and looked at Tim Burton, ‘Was it okay, Director?’

Tim Burton got up quietly, ‘Maybe we won’t need CG. Wait.’

Sitting near the main camera, Tim Burton shouted, ‘Getting ready to go! Lighting director! Angle the light over K.’s left side! There! No, a little to the left! That’s it! Ready for the shoot. Camera OK? Ready, action!’

After Geon finished his scene, Tim Burton stood up without a word, ‘O.K. Moving on to the next #1? #2! We’ll shoot immediately at the cabin studio, so all camera crew, move! Lighting director! Adjust the light through the gap in the wall where K. is looking outside. We’ll shoot in 5 minutes, hurry!’

Geon observed Tim Burton’s directorial skills, always swift and efficient, with a new sense of appreciation. Catherine, who had approached hurriedly, fixed Geon’s slightly messy hair due to the wind and whispered, ‘Amazing! I’ve never seen a director say “O.K.” in one go.’

Geon asked casually while walking, ‘Oh, is it not usual to shoot multiple times?’

Catherine replied casually, ‘Not multiple times. When I was in Pirates of the Caribbean, they shot Keira Knightley staring at the sea on the dock for three hours. It was a three-second scene in the movie. This kind of quick scene is unprecedented.’

Geon shrugged, ‘Ah, it’s a music video, not a film, so it makes sense. It’s not a very crucial scene.’

Catherine followed Geon, continuing to fix his hair, ‘Hmm, I have a feeling today’s shoot will break records in terms of speed.’

Catherine’s hunch was spot on.

That day, Tim Burton wrapped up the shoot at the fastest pace in his life. Of course, scenes with Manson singing were yet to be shot separately, but as Geon had the lion’s share of scenes, over 70% of the music video was completed.

Ironically, despite spending over an hour and a half on makeup to transform into an angel or demon, Geon ended up spending the entire day sitting in the makeup chair. There were even rumors among the crew that in the scene where Geon, turned demon, raised his hand to give battle commands in front of a green CG background, instructions were given to lessen the makeup and reveal Geon’s original face.

As these stories circulated and gained traction, they were embellished and relayed to the press.”

>

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