Not to mention, after some "personal hospitality" from Nakamori Akina, let alone other things, at least the relationship between Cao Zhiqiang and Nakamori Akina quickly became much closer, unlike the alienation they felt when they first met for dinner.
Thanks to this closeness, the afternoon filming of MTV went smoothly, and many shots were taken in one take.
Of course, this may also be related to the fact that MTV’s requirements during this period were not high.
In fact, MTV during this period usually did not have a truly complete story. It was usually just like shooting a photo, with a few background clips, and at most the theme was slightly different.
Therefore, shooting an MTV short film is very simple. Just like shooting a photo, let the actors wear beautiful clothes and take a few beautiful shots against a beautiful background.
It is precisely because of this that MTV in the 1980s and 1990s rarely had coherent story shorts, and most of them had the same background as photo shorts.
Some MTVs don’t even shoot people, they just shoot some landscapes.
But this time, Cao Zhiqiang insisted on making a short film with a story.
According to Cao Zhiqiang, although MTV is very short and cannot tell too complex stories, it can still tell stories that only take a moment.
Just like the moment of love at first sight.
Or it could be the touching feeling of someone who has been secretly in love with another person for a long time, but couldn't find it, and suddenly looking back, the other person is right behind you.
In short, Cao Zhiqiang believes that since he is going to film an MTV, he should film a short story.
As for the song "As Long as You're Here", the style is cheerful, but the meaning of the words is a little sad.
Therefore, Cao Zhiqiang instantly came up with a story about secret love.
This secret love is a story of mutual secret love.
The story goes like this. When a male high school student was bored, he suddenly found a female transfer student in his class. He fell in love with her the first time he saw her.
It's just that boys are too shy and have never dared to express their feelings. They just peek at each other silently and help each other silently.
Time just goes by in secret love.
Suddenly one day, he found that the female student did not come to school. When he asked, he found out that her family had moved and she was changing schools again.
When he was disappointed, he found a letter written by the girl.
It turns out that girl has always liked him and had a crush on him, but she never dared to say it.
It wasn't until I was about to leave that I mustered up the courage to write a letter of confession to him.
After seeing this letter, the boy rushed out of class desperately and rode his bicycle to the train station.
Then looking at the speeding train, the boy suddenly laughed.
Just like that, the boy smiled and cried while waving goodbye to the speeding train.
The plot is very simple, it's a story about two people who have a crush on each other but accidentally missed each other.
Making a movie is a bit thin, but if you only shoot a few shots and put them together, they can definitely be condensed into a five-minute MTV song.
The only problem is that filming such a story would be troublesome and would require a lot of scenes and extras.
The train is easy to talk about. After all, it’s just a shot of the train leaving, so it’s not difficult.
The key is that this is a school background, and there must be a certain school lens.
Especially when girls first transfer to another school, they must have a classroom with many classmates in the background, which means a lot of extras are needed.
As a result, the budget will increase, and it will not be as easy as just taking a few sets of photos in a recording studio.
Fortunately, the story is really good, and it goes well with the song.
So in the end, Section Chief Tomioka decided to increase the funding and shoot!
It’s not complicated to actually shoot.
Schools are easy to find. Just discuss with a nearby school and just take photos after students get out of school.
Group acting is also easy.
Warner Pioneer Records doesn't have much else, but it has many artists.
Gather together young artists from various departments, plus some younger-looking staff members, and together, you will soon be able to gather a class of students and teachers.
Think about it, small companies that make love action movies in the future can always make classroom series, let alone big companies like Warner Pioneer.
When we started shooting, we first shot the parts that didn’t require a classroom or too many group performances.
For example, the ending part, that is, the scene where the boy rides his bicycle to the train station and then realizes that he cannot catch up, laughs and sheds tears while watching the train leave, can be filmed first.
As for the part where the boys rush out of the class, it can be filmed later and then edited together with the footage of riding bicycles.
Also in the library, the scene where a boy meets a girl by chance and can't help but follow the girl secretly can also be shot first.
Finally, after the students are out of school, go to a nearby high school to shoot the school part.
In fact, it would be better to go to the school to shoot on Saturdays and Sundays, when there are no students during the school holidays, but there are still two days until Saturday, so this will delay several days, which the company cannot bear.
During this period, Japanese companies, especially in the entertainment industry, put efficiency first, and there was no such thing as the later theory of failure.
To put it simply, you want everything to be done quickly, and it’s hard to endure waiting and procrastination.
For this MTV, their original stipulated time was one afternoon. Even if they later added a story, it only added an extra day.
With such a short time, it was impossible to wait until Saturday and Sunday, so we could only shoot quickly and slowly.
Fortunately, the overall story is not complicated, there are not many shots, and there are not many scenes, so it is not difficult to shoot.
After all, Cao Zhiqiang had experience in making movies, and Akina Nakamori also had experience in making commercials. In addition, the characters in this story were not difficult to play, especially the woman. Therefore, it only took one afternoon to shoot all the scenes. Finished.
All that's left is to edit it into a film.
At this point, I also heard that the company plans to work overtime and edit all night long.
Cao Zhiqiang was shocked by this, and found that the Japanese social animals in the 1980s were also a group of overtime dogs, not much worse than the Chinese in 2023.
But forget it, if you like to work overtime, that's their business, not Cao Zhiqiang's business.
Anyway, Cao Zhiqiang has finished shooting all the scenes and recorded the songs. The rest is basically nothing for him. He just needs to go back and rest.
However, just when Cao Zhiqiang found Masashi Sada and planned to go back together, he found that Masashi Sada didn't want to leave either and wanted to stay and edit the film and do post-production.
In addition to editing, Masashi Sada also plans to continue polishing the mixing of the music.
The reason is that after watching the original video of this MTV short film, Masashi Sada was not satisfied with the original arrangement and wanted to rearrange it.
Okay, they are all a group of people who want to work at the risk of their lives. Cao Zhiqiang can only go back alone.
Anyway, after being in Tokyo for so many days, it’s hard to say where else it will go, but when it comes to going home, Cao Zhiqiang is quite confident.
Unexpectedly, just when Cao Zhiqiang was about to leave the Warner Japan Building alone, he was suddenly stopped by Akina Nakamori, who was chasing from behind.
"Zhiqiang-kun, wait for me!"
Cao Zhiqiang stopped and turned around, looking at Akina Nakamori who was running over quickly, with a puzzled look on his face: "Miss Nakamori?"
"Hi!" Nakamori Akina ran out of breath, ran to Cao Zhiqiang, bent down and said, "It's me."
"Is something wrong?" Cao Zhiqiang asked.
Akina Nakamori straightened up, took a few deep breaths, then smiled and shook her head: "It's getting so late, where are you going?"
"Go home." Cao Zhiqiang said.
"Going home?" Nakamori Akina asked in surprise, "Are you alone?"
"Yes." Cao Zhiqiang nodded.
"Are you going back by yourself?" Nakamori Akina frowned, "Aren't you afraid of getting lost?"
Cao Zhiqiang shrugged: "How is that possible? I'm not a road idiot."
"But you are a foreigner." Nakamori Akina shook her head, "You are not familiar here, how can you go back alone? Where is Sada-senpai who is with you? Why doesn't he go back with you?"
Cao Zhiqiang smiled: "Ya Zhijun still has to stay to compose music. He might have to stay up all night. I'm afraid he won't be able to go back with me. As for not being familiar with the roads here, that's not a problem."
After a brief pause, Cao Zhiqiang continued: "Don't worry, I will take a taxi back and get off directly at the community where I live. Generally, you can't go wrong.
If that doesn't work, I can still call.
Whether it was Warner Bros.'s phone number, the police station's phone number, or the embassy's phone number, I remember it clearly, and there was no problem.
What's more, the security here is very good, so I'm not worried at all. "
"That's right." Akina Nakamori nodded.
Suddenly, Akina Nakamori clapped her hands:
"Ah, I remembered, I have been busy until now, you haven't had dinner yet, right?
Otherwise, should I treat you to dinner? "
"You invite me to dinner?" Cao Zhiqiang asked in surprise.
"Yes." Nakamori Akina smiled, "Why, can't you?"
"It's not impossible." Cao Zhiqiang frowned, "But why?"
"Of course I'm hungry." Nakamori Akina smiled softly and smoothed the hair around her ears that was blown by the wind.
"That's not what I meant." Cao Zhiqiang looked at Akina Nakamori, who was smiling, "I mean, why do you have to come to me for dinner?"
"Because... I'm afraid of eating alone." Nakamori Akina smiled, "It's boring to go back now, so why not eat with you, and drink and chat by the way."
"Drinking?" Cao Zhiqiang frowned, "Are you old enough? It seems that you must be twenty years old or older to drink?"
"Hehe." Nakamori Akina stuck out her tongue, "As long as you don't go out to drink and just drink a little secretly at home, you'll be fine."
Speaking of this, Akina Nakamori took the initiative to take Cao Zhiqiang's hand: "Let's go to my house, my house is nearby, very close!
I have wine at home, let’s have a drink together and celebrate! "
"Drinking to celebrate?" Cao Zhiqiang was pulled by Akina Nakamori while walking, "Ms. Nakamori, are you asking me to drink? Isn't this inappropriate?"
"What's inappropriate!" Akina Nakamori said carelessly.
“I’m tired and happy today, and I really want to find someone to have a drink with.
But today's son said that he has an appointment today and cannot drink with me. I am so bored by myself.
After much deliberation, I might as well just let you go.
Although I have not known you for a long time, I absolutely trust you and you are absolutely reliable.
Yeah, stop talking, anyway, come with me, let's have a good drink and relax! "
Cao Zhiqiang frowned, but one of his hands was always being held by Akina Nakamori, and since this was still on the street, it was difficult to forcefully get rid of him.
Of course, this is not the main reason. The main reason is that Cao Zhiqiang also wants to drink a little now.
But if he goes back now, he will definitely not be able to drink.
Not to mention the age limit here, just say that Xu Chun and Anping at home would not let him drink.
So, half-heartedly, Cao Zhiqiang left with Nakamori Akina.
"What kind of wine do you have at home?" Cao Zhiqiang suddenly asked.
"Sake, beer, both." Akina Nakamori said.
"That's not bad." Cao Zhiqiang nodded.
"Oh? It seems you like drinking too?" Akina Nakamori asked with a smile.
"That's right." Cao Zhiqiang curled his lips, "There is no rule where you can't drink before you are twenty. I started drinking when I was sixteen."
"Hahaha, that's really good." Akina Nakamori smiled, "What kind of wine do you like to drink?"
"Beer." Cao Zhiqiang said, "I just like drinking beer."
"Ah, that's no problem." Nakamori Akina smiled, "I have a lot at home, enough for us to drink."
Speaking of this, Akina Nakamori let go of Cao Zhiqiang's hand, and Cao Zhiqiang smiled and did not run away, but continued to walk side by side with her.
On the other hand, Akina Nakamori suddenly felt a little embarrassed and did not dare to look directly at Cao Zhiqiang.
When passing by a convenience store, Zhongmori suddenly suggested going in to buy some food tomorrow, saying that there were not enough ingredients at home.
Cao Zhiqiang had no objection to this. He was the guest anyway, and he was not the one paying the bill.
After Akina Nakamori went into the convenience store and bought some ingredients and snacks, she followed Cao Zhiqiang out again.
Sure enough, after walking for less than ten minutes, they arrived at the apartment building where Akina Nakamori rented.
Cao Zhiqiang made preliminary calculations and found that the total distance from here to Warner Pioneer's headquarters building is less than two kilometers, which is still very close.
Of course, Nakamori Akina is now considered a singer and has released several hit songs, so her income is quite good. At least it is more than enough to rent an apartment nearby.
Soon, the two came to Nakamori Akina's home.
Nakamori Akina's home is an apartment building without an elevator. It has a total of six floors, and her home is on the third floor.
Although you have to climb a few stairs, the third floor is not too tiring.
Moreover, Nakamori Akina's home is not small in size, with two bedrooms and one living room, covering an area of more than 70 square meters.
Even though it's not that big at more than 70 square meters, this is the actual usable area. There are no public stalls. If you include the public stalls in later generations, it will be more than 90 square meters.
The most important thing is that this is the center of Tokyo!
Being able to live alone in a house with two bedrooms and one living room here means that the financial resources are beyond the reach of ordinary people.
He asked as soon as he thought of it, and Cao Zhiqiang soon asked about Akina Nakamori's income.
Akina Nakamori was not shy and told Cao Zhiqiang directly about her situation.
It turns out that Akina Nakamori’s current income is based on salary plus commission.
That is to say, you usually get a fixed salary every month, but if your records sell particularly well, or if you do well in advertising, movies, TV, etc., you will also receive bonus commissions.
The specific commission depends on the artist's specific performance.
Although Akina Nakamori is not as red and purple as she was later, her income is not low.
She currently earns at least 500,000 yen a month, which is much better than the average office worker who just joined the company.
Generally speaking, a Japanese office worker who just joined a company only earns 100,000 yen a month. Akina Nakamori's income is five times that of an ordinary office worker!
If we convert it to RMB, according to the current exchange rate of 116:1, 300,000 yen per month is more than 4,300 RMB, which is already very high in this era.
After all, housing prices in Japan at this time were also low. Even a house in the center of Tokyo only cost over one million yen per square meter.
Cao Zhiqiang remembered that Akina Nakamori spent 80 million yen in her previous life to buy a house for her boyfriend.
Let’s not talk about anything else. Just the fact that 80 million can buy a house shows that housing prices in Tokyo are not high.
You know, the RMB had not depreciated significantly at that time, and the exchange rate between China and Japan was 120 to 1. At that time, converted into RMB, it was only 660,000 RMB.
For 660,000 RMB, buying a house of more than 80 square meters in the center of Tokyo would make you laugh to death.
If this were the peak of the bubble in the 1990s, the same house would have cost at least 14 million yen per square meter, an increase of more than ten times.
However, once this real estate bubble bursts, the price will fall really badly, but no matter how bad it is, it will not fall below the 1983 price.
In short, being a well-known artist in Japan in the 1980s meant that your income was really high.
No wonder Akina Nakamori can rent such a separate apartment in the center of Tokyo at the age of eighteen.
This is really rich!
