I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director (Type-Moon Fanfiction) - Chapter 3: Since You Have a Sweet Mouth, Eat More Candy

Some things are only truly challenging when you attempt them practically.

Especially for the fusion of industry and art like film, every outstanding movie embodies the hard work of the crew that others can hardly imagine.

Even with the experience of two lifetimes, even after studying in Hollywood, and even using legendary Heroic Spirits as actors, in order to capture the perfect scenes he envisions, Shinji had filmed these few minutes of footage over and over again.

During every break in filming, Shinji would make adjustments based on the issues from the previous takes.

The dozens of crew members had been busy for half a day, finally achieving the shooting effect that Shinji had been longing for.

“It’s finally done.”

Looking at the footage on the monitor, Shinji finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The warehouse scene involved not many action sequences but was one of the most crucial scenes in the entire movie.

This was the first formal appearance of the female lead, and it was vital for her character.

In Shinji’s previous life, countless Type-Moon fans – including Shinji himself – were amazed by the beauty of the knight girl under the moonlight. It was this that pulled them into the Type-Moon rabbit hole.

To capture the audience’s attention at first glance, Shinji had spared no effort, even using soft lighting.

This technique was frequently used in film production to emphasize a character’s sanctity. The most common example could be seen in the “Lord of the Rings” series with the elf characters having inherent visual effects.

Of course, Shinji’s approach was different from traditional filmmaking; he had Arturia activate her magical energy in front of the camera, causing her armor to emit a silver-white holy light.

By coordinating this with the other set lights, a knight girl radiating a holy radiance, with shining eyes full of determination and a sacred aura, was born.

This was also a significant reason why Shinji chose magus and Servants as actors – they could enhance their own performances with magecraft during filming.

This allowed many scenes that usually required post-production effects to be captured directly during filming, at a lower cost.

After filming the video material, Shinji also took several close-up shots of Arturia with his camera, preparing promotional material for the film.

In the photos, Arturia looked like a Valkyrie descended to Earth, perfectly blending beauty and strength, two seemingly incompatible traits.

Shinji paid particular attention to her eyes – elegant, clear, and revealing unwavering determination. They seemed capable of piercing through a person’s soul and stealing their very essence.

Only a seemingly perfect young knight like this could stir the emotions of the audience, captivating everyone’s hearts, right?

Although the scenes with the female lead had been completed, it didn’t mean that the rest of the work for the Fate/stay night crew would go smoothly.

In order for this movie to become a benchmark and model for magus films, and to preserve the core secrets of magecraft, Shinji employed a significant number of magus crew members, particularly for the cast, almost entirely comprised of the “original team” from Fate/stay night.

This also meant that the crew was filled with newcomers.

Especially for Heroic Spirits like Arturia, summoned to the modern world, they couldn’t immediately adapt to the demands of movie production.

Action scenes were one thing – as long as the fight stayed within the designated camera angles and props were preserved, it worked. The rest was about ensuring the camera captured the exciting moments of the Servants’ battles.

For the Fate/stay night crew, the main challenge was the dramatic scenes. Blocking, lines, expressions, actions – almost every take came with various errors.

Like the current scene – Arturia and Cu Chulainn fighting in the courtyard of the Emiya residence.

Arturia’s performance in the combat part was decent, but when she faced off with Cu Chulainn, her facial expression and tone of voice changed.

To be more precise, Arturia’s emotions were too overt, leaving strong traces of acting.

“Cut!”

Shinji shouted to stop the entire crew. “That’s about enough. Take a break, everyone, and we’ll continue in an hour.”

After all the turmoil, even someone as energetic as Shinji needed a breather.

He sat directly in the living room of the Emiya residence, and Sakura quickly brought him a cup of coffee.

“Thanks, Sakura.”

Tasting his little sister’s pride and joy, his tense expression began to relax.

“Sorry, Master…”

Arturia lowered her head and sat on the tatami mat.

She knew it was her fault that caused multiple retakes, and she felt guilty.

“It’s my fault; I didn’t do well enough.”

Shinji waved his hand casually. “It’s okay. Taking it seriously is a good thing. Don’t blame yourself too much.”

Though Shinji did feel a bit frustrated, seeing Arturia’s adorable expression of guilt and distress immediately lightened his mood.

‘New expression unlocked√, feels a bit like gradually unlocking a heroine’s CG in a game.’

Setting down his coffee cup, Shinji glanced at this composed beauty with a sideways glance.

The proud Arturia, tormented by the thought of holding back the crew, would certainly be unwilling. If she got caught in a downward spiral, the subsequent filming might become even more challenging.

For a girl like this, Shinji had his own ways of comforting her.

“Saber, you should be more natural, don’t keep thinking about the camera. Just treat it as if you’re really encountering Cu Chulainn in the Holy Grail War, and perform as yourself.”

“The main issue is when reciting lines…” Arturia said intermittently, “I always unconsciously want to recite the lines.”

Shinji looked at Arturia, hearing her efforts and determination in the knight girl’s words.

Even if it’s not for the Holy Grail, this Miss Knight is still the reliable partner who faithfully fulfills her duty in the Holy Grail War.

“Master, I think—”

Arturia looked up at Shinji, seeing his encouraging smile.

“Arturia, you’re already doing great.”

Shinji lifted his chin, a playful expression on his face. “I think someone like you should have even more room to shine.”

“Huh?”

Arturia furrowed her brows slightly, not entirely sure what kind of game her Master was playing.

Strictly speaking, Shinji wasn’t Arturia’s ideal Master. Even though Arturia admired his talent in magecraft, Shinji’s personality was too frivolous and unconventional.

This reminded Arturia of her former knight, Lancelot.

That Knight of the Lake was similarly powerful but had some issues with his lifestyle. He was skilled at charming girls.

‘No, he’s much more frivolous than Sir Lancelot.’

Arturia’s emerald eyes gazed at the blue-haired youth before her.

Shinji didn’t know that his Servant was silently criticizing him. He suggested an idea that had just come to his mind.

“Here’s the plan. I’ll hang cue cards on both sides of the camera with important information written on them. That way, you only need to improvise based on this information during the scene. You won’t need to memorize the fixed script lines separately.”

“What?” Arturia widened her eyes, finding this a bit unbelievable. “Can this really work?”

Before the movie started filming, she had attended a short-term acting training. Even with limited acting experience, Arturia knew the difficulty of performing without a script.

“Of course it can,” Shinji’s somewhat mischievous face showed an indescribable sense of delight. “The characters in the original script are essentially you. For this movie, being yourself in front of the camera is the most perfect ultimate form.”

“That… does make sense.”

Arturia’s initially melancholic expression finally brightened.

“I just need to be myself in front of the camera! Master, you truly are a genius!”

“Just call me Shinji,” Shinji gave a thumbs-up. “We’ll be spending a lot of time together in the future, no need to be so formal.”

In his previous life, Saber was Type-Moon’s cash cow; in this life, she was his cash cow and ace in the hole.

Shinji always had a friendly attitude towards such high-quality employees.

Of course, if she could show a shy expression like a girl, that would be even more perfect. Shinji was looking forward to the moment when Arturia would fully open her heart to him.

“Well then, I’ll go talk to Lancer about your suggestion.”

Arturia stood up eagerly.

“Thank you very much, Mast-Shinji.”

“I’d prefer if you called me the director.”

“Indeed, director.”

Though it was a subtle change, Arturia did indeed smile.

Shinji, who had been about to pick up his coffee again, froze in place, maintaining his posture holding the coffee cup.

“Truly a terrifying charm, I almost got lost in it. This proud knight is truly worth pursuing.”

Shinji murmured under his breath.

“Speaking of which, this should be the true essence of acting, letting the actors be themselves. If possible, let’s promote this throughout the entire production team.”

Typically, what’s known as true essence acting refers to actors performing roles that are very similar to their real selves, allowing the audience to feel the most natural connection. Tony Stark portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. is the best example of this.

In the Fate/Stay Night production team, each main actor portrays themselves in a parallel world. By not imposing strict requirements, they bring out their most authentic selves, which often shines even brighter than with explicit demands.

“Onii-sama, you really are a genius.”

Sakura praised sincerely.

Shinji proudly puffed out his chest, “Well, that is a given, do you forget who your beloved brother is?”

Little did he know, Sakura’s expression darkened instantly, “Indeed, it’s a given that the famous playboy of the Clock Tower can seduce girls so naturally, it doesn’t even feel out of place.”

“Wait! Sakura, what are you doing?”

Shinji’s eyelids twitched rapidly.

Turns out, without him noticing, Sakura had put too many sugar cubes into Shinji’s cup, and the undissolved sugar cubes had formed a pyramid-like shape in the cup.

“Since Onii-sama’s mouth is so sweet, he must really like sweet things. Here, have some more sugar, so your mouth won’t lack sweetness when you flirt with Miss Saber later.”

“You little brat, are you trying to kill your own brother?”