Shuffle

“Places, everyone! Let’s get this show on the road!” The voice rang out over a megaphone in an open city area. The director of the project was determined to finish the segment before they were to lose daylight. Checking in the crew before noon was the easy part.
All the cameras aligned with the young actors in perfect recreations of the outfits from his favourite anime.
“Roll camera!” Sigurd called. “Action!” The teenage actor began walking. “Music!” Sigurd called. The pop-rock melody and Japanese vocals sounded, cueing the cameras to focus on specific areas and on which side of the actors’ faces.
“Cut!” Sigurd ordered. “Reset. It’s good to have more than one take.” He waited for the teenage actors to return to their starting points. “Action! Music!” The exact sequence progressed, and the boy looked stern this time as he wanted to convey it. “Cut!” The cameras turned off. “Good. Set up the next segment.”
Taking recreation seriously, Sigurd had rented a helicopter and a pilot for a panoramic view across the city streets. His cameraman had taken three minutes' worth of footage, but Sigurd only needed seconds of that panning.
“Everyone in position?” Sigurd called on the megaphone. The actors shouted in agreement so he could hear them.
“Action.” The cameras panned quickly, focusing on the solitary actor, and then on the numerous screens on the tall buildings that were already pre-planned with the same picture for post-production. “Cut. Reset.” Sigurd wanted another take for later comparison. “Cut. Next sequence.”
The others got called for their shot and had simple directions.
First tricky shot, Sigurd thought. “Position. Action! Cue music!” Thankfully, the complex piece of plastic worked on the first try, and the actor inserted the deck perfectly, as if it were second nature. Then, the camera panned to capture the whole group.
“Cut! Moving on.” That surprised the others, given his mentality. Having seen what the cameras caught, he doubted that any take could top it.

That was the time to head to the set. Green screens had already been set up. The aspiring singer and her band waited on the stage.
Aiko showed up looking like a punk-rock homage. Her shoulder-length black hair still had its red and blonde stripes, but now was shaped into spikes. She sported a red leather suit with a magenta bodice. Her drummer, guitarist, and keyboardist had narrow brown eyes and black hair like hers, and also displayed their British punk influence.
“We’re busy today,” Sigurd told her.
“Why shuffle between scenes?” she asked. “Why not finish the city sections now?”
“Because I believe in shooting a project in order of its sequences.”
“I hope you don’t stretch yourself too thin,” she advised.
“I care more about the well-being of the performers than myself,” he pointed out. He then turned to call, “Henry!”
Within a minute, another slender man with whiskers showed up.
“You’ll need to rethink your lighting plan,” Sigurd told him. “Red and violet are out of the question.”
He only needed to look at Aiko. “I understand,” the slender man answered. “I’ll have them replaced immediately.”
“Thank you,” Sigurd responded.

“My operator is ready,” Henry called ten minutes later.
“Places, everyone,” Sigurd ordered on the megaphone. Aiko and her collaborators prepared to play.
“Lights off.” The stage was dark. “Roll camera. Action!” Green, cyan, and blue lights came on in unison, perfect timing with the drums and electric guitars starting to play.
“’Koeraranai’, ‘Ira-Ira suru’,
“HURDLE o kowashitatte
“Nanni mo kotae wa denai shi
“Chikara toka aijou nunnun
“BALANCE o mamoranai to
“Jibun o miushinatte shimau yo”
“Cut. Reset. Cameras two and three, stand by.” The operators gave their “okay” cues. “Action.”
Aikou sang the same verse with the same light pattern. She and her partners had the same energy and made the same subtle motions in the process.
“Cut,” Sigurd announced after the last word of the verse. “Band, stand by.”

He and the crew shifted their attention to a green screen, where an actor idled, awaiting his moment. This actor also wore a perfect copy of a supporting character’s outfit. His moment was only of his eyes closed, drawing a card calmly from the deck in the machine on his arm. This time, Sigurd relied on three takes before moving on.
“Aren’t you tired already?” Aiko asked when seeing Sigurd return to the area with the stage.
“It wasn’t a long walk. Please, focus on yourself, Aiko.” He turned on the megaphone. “We pick up from where we left off.”
The lights were set to where they were at the very last word sung.
“All cameras roll. Action.”
“Me o tojite
“Kokoro de kiru,
“JUST LIKE CARDS, kitto
“Kiseki o hiki ate yo”
Aiko and her guitarist looked like they shredded their instruments, and Sigurd could smile at their display of energy. He could never get in the way of other people’s art. It was a matter of how much could make it into the editing. Her breath control was evident by how she sang the second verse.
“Honki dashite
“Ikite itara
“Taisetsuna no
“Mono ga fuete
“Iya no koto wasurete itanda
“Mienai kizuna koso
“ON THE FIELD, daremo ga,
“Hitsuyou na, IT’S THE POWER, dakara
“Hitori no samishisa tsurasa o shitte
“Itami o wakaru ima
“Jibun ni osoi kakaru donna koto no
“Nigenai de seoeteru”

“Cut. Reset. We retake from the start of the verse.” The lights had to be angled back to that point. “Action.” Aiko jumped back into singing, her partners following suit.
“Cut,” he spoke after the second chorus. “We do one more take. Cameras two and three, slowly pan across throughout. Lights, reset. And action.” That was when Sigurd noticed the slight differences in the guitarist’s motions. Aiko’s partner made Sigurd think more of the punk-rock influence.
“And cut,” he announced after the second chorus. “Let’s take a break, everyone.”
Aiko, her band, and most of the crew used that break for lunch. Among Sigurd’s investments was the catering. Among the selections were sushi, stir fry, ramen, and the makings for sandwiches. As if the cooking had completed on cue, the noodles and fried items were warm. Even the performers had something to eat. They deserved it along with their pay, given Sigurd’s intentions. He anticipated the hardest parts to come before long.

“We are barely halfway done,” Sigurd announced. He retrieved his megaphone. “Let’s shoot the next city scenes before we lose daylight.” He was certain that the shootings could be completed in one day.
They were in a city street, five men in black robes with the same contraption on their arms.
“Action.” Their moment was nothing, but it was to look grander in post. Sigurd recorded three takes to be sure.
Then, the crew headed to a park near a bridge above a lake. The primary actor had already been there, awaiting the orders.
“Let’s do the close-up,” Sigurd announced. “Action.” The actor only drew two cards. “Cut. Again. Action.” The action repeated. “Cut. Next. Camera one. Action.” Following was the two cards being placed. Sigurd ordered another take, and that was it. That was where the pilot on standby came in again. The camera operator captured another three minutes of good footage, panning across the city.
Sigurd returned to the set, the drive being longer this time, but it was worth it. He had already informed the crew of his arrival. So, other actors idled, bottling up their keenness to finish their moments as their complex costumes were irritatingly uncomfortable.
“Monsters first,” Sigurd announced. “Places. And action.” They only had to look menacing, if their costumes didn’t make that happen already. The same couldn’t be said for the two people wearing checkered pajamas with motion-capture dots. “Cut. Again. And action.” That was when Sigurd noticed the gestures. “Cut. Next shots. Split up.” He had each performer filmed their flying and reactions to attacks.
“Cut,” Sigurd said after the second take of the last monster actor reacting. “I have all that I need. Thank you.”
That was where two more people came in, wearing complex robes and wielding sceptres. They needed wires as Sigurd imagined their flight to be more complicated. No one understood it when he had said that.
“Fans. Action.” The actors assumed their stances and then leaned forward. Sigurd cared a lot about the man’s sash and the woman’s skirt causing distractions. So, he called for five takes per segment to compare more closely. 
“Thank you. Your patience will pay off.” He focussed once more on the stage.
“To think you would keep shuffling scenes,” Aiko remarked.
“I still filmed in order of sequence,” Sigurd remarked. “We take it from after the second chorus. Only cameras one and two, stand by.” He paused for confirmation. “Action.”
Aiko vocalized in the build-up to the guitar riff, and her partner shredded on his guitar. Sigurd knew just the last note by ear. “Cut. We can continue from there. Cameras two and three, stand by.”
So, the final chorus was sung, but it was not the end. There was still one more take to do with only camera one. Aiko and her band still had the energy as the final chorus progressed. They cut once more before panning across the stage during the final riff.
“Cut. That’s a wrap!” The crew applauded the musicians. “Well done, everyone.”
Aiko hugged her partners and accepted handshakes from the lighting producer and camera operators.
“This is such a big investment,” Aiko told him.
“It could appeal to only the fans of the game and anime, but it’ll still be appealing. I didn’t do this to gain recognition. I have faith in your career. Covers are a good start.”
“It’s still a lot of dedication. You must have a lot of faith.”
Sigurd smiled, taking Aiko as down-to-earth. “It’s a big commitment, too.”
“And I am committed.”
“Just like cards, I’m sure, there will be a miracle.”
Aiko chuckled.