Japanese production designer Yohei Taneda yesterday shared his views on the use of digital technology in cinematography in a forum hosted by the Taipei Film Festival.
Taneda, the artistic director of Seediq Bale (賽德克巴萊) — an epic Taiwanese film — said he persuaded the director, Wei Te-sheng (魏德勝), not to shoot some of the scenes in the high mountains to help save money.
The designer said he talked Wei into filming the historic scenes of 1930s village street life in a studio in New Taipei City (新北市).
“Wei wanted to take the crew up 2,000m high mountains to stage the street scenes of Wushe village life, but I persuaded him to build sets instead in the A-jung Studio, which is closer to Taipei,” he said.
The decision saved money and created better results, said Taneda, adding that the reason he joined the production was to introduce the Wushe Incident (霧社事件) — the uprising by the Seediq tribe against Japanese colonizers in the 1930s — to more of his countrymen.
The production team then used special effects to add mountains and airplanes into scenes that were shot in the studio.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
ENHANCING DETERRENCE: Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and China’s coastal areas without any logistical difficulties Japan is to deploy extended-range anti-ship missiles at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto to bolster its defenses, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday. The upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, with a range of more than 1,000km, would be capable of striking targets in the Taiwan Strait and along China’s coast. Originally limited to a few hundred kilometers, the Type 12 was recently modernized ahead of schedule. Deployment, initially slated for next year, has been accelerated after the upgrade was completed sooner than expected, the newspaper said. Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu