And so, the filming started.
The name of the title song of KK’s 4th full-length album was ‘Continue’.
What message could KK, who had now risen to the number one spot in the country, send to those who liked them and had been with them throughout their journey?
The members, including Do Wook, and the album production team put a lot of thought into that question.
Since their debut until now, KK placed importance on the kind of message they could convey to people in their late teens and early 20s, who were around the same age as them and listened to their songs, rather than on simple love songs that singers in the music world often sang about.
Free and wandering youth. They sang about those peoples’ dreams and passions.
However, it wouldn’t be right if KK, who had already achieved their dream to a certain extent, continued to sing about the free and wandering youth.
That was why the message they decided on was ‘It goes on’.
“We still have a passion to aim for an even higher place, we’ll continue to be with you until we reach it.”
“We’re not over.”
“Even if we’re knocked out, even if we fall, even if people tell us to stop now, we’ll continue running.”
Depending on the interpretation, the lyrics could be about KK’s aspirations towards the world, or it could be about the relationship between KK and their fans.
If one looked at just the lyrics, it could also be interpreted as a love story between two lovers who have hit the wall of the world.
The bridge of ‘Continue’ started to play.
The sound was very grand from the beginning. However, unlike the sound in the song, the sound actually playing was very quiet.
If they were shooting at the studio, they would have filmed with the music blasting loud enough to shake your eardrums.
However, there was no way the sound equipment they had brought to the desert would be good quality. They would be overlaying the music anyways, all they needed was for the members to be able to hear the music as they did the choreography. It would be a waste if they brought an expensive speaker, sand got in it, and it broke.
In that regard, the filming crew had packed plenty of protective gear for the equipment even before they departed so that the equipment wouldn’t get damaged.
Although the music was barely audible, when the song started, the members got in formation and looked at the camera without blinking even once. It was hard to believe that they were coughing because of the sandstorm earlier.
As promised during the rehearsal, the Filming Director began to capture each member in order, starting with a facial close-up of Do Wook standing on the far left.
The Production Director strapped the camera and support onto his chest to capture close-up images while moving, because they came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to use otherwise.
The goal of the shoot this time was to get through it with as few mistakes as possible.
They were limited in time because they had to capture the group choreography scene during sunset, but also, if they made a mistake it wouldn’t only be the members who suffered. The music video shoot this time was very hard on the staff, just as much as it was on the members.
“Good, your expression is good! That’s it! More, more, close up!”
Director Choi, who was monitoring the filming screen, yelled.
The Filming Director, being a music video veteran who had worked with Director Choi since a very long time ago, was able to capture the movements without error exactly as during the rehearsal.
From behind him, the Filming Director’s assistant stuck to him like glue and instructed him which way to move so his foot wouldn’t sink in the sand and cause the camera to shake.
The members and the staff worked on the shoot as one mind and with one goal.
The scene they were currently filming was the intro. Their intention to start off with a strong impression was getting captured just as they wanted.
“Your looks are strong to begin with so this is child’s play~!”
He was the one who came up with the music video content, but Director Choi smiled with satisfaction when he saw Do Wook’s face with the desert in the background, thinking to himself that it was an excellent choice to have that as the opening scene.
“Cut! Just once! Let’s do it just one more time~”
As he yelled, he gave each of the members more directions.
“Tae Hyung, I think it might be good for you to have a slightly stronger expression. Also, Leader! Can you move your head to the right a little, that’s perfect! Turning your head like that makes it look more sleek on screen!”
The filming started once again.
Next was the group shot just before the intro moves onto the next part of the song.
Equipment-wise, they brought out the drone as well as a four-wheel-drive convertible.
From up high, the drone filmed the vast desert scenery and the KK members who were in it. Then, the Filming Director, who had gotten into the four-wheel-drive car, quickly filmed the KK members’ surroundings and shot the members being in the desert.
Even after filming only the intro, the members could grasp just how grand of a scale the music video was this time, just as Director Choi had guaranteed it’d be.
‘It’ll become a music video that stays around for a long time,’
Do Wook thought.
The members just had to stand there, pose, and make the right expression for the shoot but their outfits were still getting drenched in sweat even though they weren’t moving much.
The Filming Director, who was moving around with the camera in hand, was already feeling symptoms of dehydration. They had a brief break.
Still, you could say the shoot up until the intro had gone smoothly.
The filming that followed soon after was for the chorus of ‘Continue’ with the group choreography. The filming equipment was set up in front of the members. It was the shot of the members doing the choreography that had to be filmed in one try.
Even when shooting the music video at their usual studio, filming the group choreography got more mistakes than filming individual scenes. If even one of them messed up, they’d have to do it all over.
‘We can do it.’
Do Wook reaffirmed his determination as he thought about the preparation that went into doing the choreography scene on the sand.
Although it was for a short time, the members found a way to at least somewhat synchronize their movements to the music while dancing on the sand during practice.
Park Tae Hyung had put in a lot of effort.
Park Tae Hyung, who was worried about whether they’d be able to dance or not, realized that they would have to speed up the song 1.2x to match the beat.
Even if they danced to the beat, since they’re dancing on the sand the speed of the dance inevitably is slowed down. The problem was that each person’s reaction speed was different so the group choreography became off.
Park Tae Hyung’s opinion was that they’d barely be able to make the dancing synchronized if they tried to make their movements 1.2x faster to match the beat.
It was Do Wook who built on Park Tae Jung’s idea.
If you try to move at 1.2x speed, your physical strength will naturally be very strained, and it can be difficult to emphasize the details of the dance.
So Do Wook suggested the opposite, dancing to the song playing at 0.8x speed.
The important thing was the accuracy of the dance.
If they film at 0.8x speed, with a little effort from the members, they’ll be able to do the movements accurately even when they’re on sand.
With Choreographer Noh Tae Hyung, who had come with them, and Park Tae Hyung leading the efforts, the members practiced matching the song at 1.2x, 1x, and 0.8x speed and researched what would be the best way matching the dancing to the song even on sand.
As expected, when they danced at 0.8x speed, the accuracy of the movements increased.
Of course there were times when their arm movements would move at a faster speed, but all they could do was be cautious when filming this part.
Synchronizing it with the actual song after filming at 0.8x speed was a problem they could deal with in editing. Director Choi readily gave the green light and told Do Wook not to worry about that part when he heard Do Wook’s explanation.
“How about 3 times?”
“Huh?”
Ahn Hyung Seo, who was next to Do Wook quietly getting his makeup fixed, asked what he meant.
“I thought it’d be fun to make a bet…”
Do Wook said as he smiled softly.
It was true that he was also feeling a little anxious when thinking about trying to get through the choreography successfully. Do Wook felt that the other members were feeling the pressure just as much as he was, if not more.
So he wanted to lift the spirits of the members who were probably each drowning in worry.
“A bet?”
Jung Yoon Ki asked, interested in the mention of a bet.
“A bet to guess how many takes it’ll take to finish the shoot. The person who guesses the furthest away from the actual number loses.”
“I don’t back down when it comes to bets.”
Jung Yoon Ki, who quickly grasped Do Wook’s intentions, actively expressed his intention to participate in the bet. Ahn Hyung Seo’s expression also brightened.
“Oh nice, nice! What should we put on the line?!”
When Ahn Hyung Seo expressed that he wanted to participate, Kim Won, who was practicing his arm movements behind him, smoothly stretched out his arm and held out his hand.
“Me too!”
With Kim Won participating, Park Tae Hyung and Suk Ji Hoon automatically also participated.
“Then the loser…has to buy snacks for rehearsal?”
Do Wook suggested. When they had late night snacks during rehearsals, they didn’t just get chicken. Even when the members ate at the dormitory, one chicken per member was a given, but during rehearsal they included the dance team members too. Therefore he suggested it, thinking that it was a reasonable bet.
However, Suk Ji Hoon, the youngest, crossed his arms and shook his head.
“That’s too weak.”
“Uh…uh? Is it?”
Do Wook asked, briefly taken aback.
“Something else. Let’s pick a weird photo from our private photos in our phones and post it in the fan cafe.”
The youngest was definitely brave.
It was clear that he became stronger amid the numerous entertainment penalties he had done while filming ‘Camping 48 Hours’.
The other members also felt more of a mental burden over a weird photo getting posted on the fan cafe than over buying late night snacks. A feeling of regret even started welling up.
Once it’s posted, it would be a weird photo that would follow them forever.
“Good, good, I like it!”
Kim Won yelled. Do Wook also nodded his head. Ahn Hyung Seo was the first to say a number.
“I think…mmmm…within 5 takes!”
“Man, you can’t purposely mess up so you’ll win the bet.”
“Seriously, what do you take me for?”
Ahn Hyung Seo glared at Jung Yoon Ki.
“A man needs to be resolute. I’ll bet that we finish it in one take!”
“Hurr. You’re dying to lose…you want to post a funny picture!”
While Ahn Hyung Seo and Jung Yoon Ki bickered, the other members also picked a number one by one. The stylist who was helping fix their makeup wrote down the information on her phone.
[Kang Do Wook(3), Ahn Hyung Seo(5), Jung Yoon Ki(1), Kim Won(2), Park Tae Hyung(6), Suk Ji Hoon(7)]
The members, who hoped the shoot would end quickly regardless of the bet, all gathered and yelled their chant.
Along with the chant, the shoot resumed.
Director Choi, who was standing behind the camera, yelled,
“Even if one of you messes up, we’ll do everything we can to fix it in post-production! Don’t worry too much!”
The KK members, who were striking a pose for the shoot, laughed dryly at Director Choi’s nonsensical internet slang.
The sun that had been floating right above them slowly started to come down and the sand was covered in red to a certain degree.
The chorus of ‘Continue’ started to play at 0.8x speed from the simple speaker.
They were able to perform high-level choreography in any situation like this because they rehearsed.
The KK members had prepared for the comeback, putting in their blood, sweat, and tears, without skipping even a single day from when the choreography came out until now.
It was a period of endless work.
***
KK’s dormitory with one week to go until the comeback. The members were all gathered around the living room computer.
They planned on posting the concept teaser video in 2 days at midnight. The members had agreed to post the weird picture from the bet before that.
“Ok then…we will now post the picture.”
—
Next chapter: There’s a lot of buzz for KK’s new album