Mount Fiji: Its Past and Present Relation with Japan - Case Study Example

Proposal for a television program Topic: Mount Fiji: Its past and present relation with Japan LOGLINE: This television programme is proposed to be an hour long travel and human interest documentary that involves the historic, cultural and present day tourism related relevance of the dormant volcanic mountain, Mount Fuji in Japan Introduction: Lying west to Tokyo, Mount Fuji is surrounded on the three sides by big cities. Gotemba city lies to its east, Fujivoshida to its north and Fujinomiya to its southwest. This proposal highlights the reasons for selecting the documentary. It will also describe in detail the production techniques to be used. A brief about the type of shot selection, use of voice overs, sound bites, editing techniques , etc is also given in the proposal. A brief reason for selection of the topic: Mount Fuji is not only a very significant aspect of Japan’s topography, but the dormant volcanic mountain is also embedded deeply in the social and cultural life of Japanese people in the form of folklores and legends. More than being a significant geographical point on the map of Japan, Mount Fiji, a picturesque dormant volcanic mountain is instead deeply related with the culture and history of Japan. This place of geographical and cultural interest is not only close to the heart of all Japanese people, but it also works as a powerful imagery that symbolizes Japan to the rest of the world. For this reason, I selected to document Mount Fuji. A brief description about the production procedure: I propose to document a documentary that highlights not just the geographical and tectonic significance of the area, but uncovers the deep relation of the mountain with the lives of its people in terms of its history as well as its current significance in the lives of Japanese people. Today, it also caters to modern needs of recreation, tourism and site-seeing along with being a spiritual destination. This documentary intends to take the viewer on a visual journey that deals with the socio-cultural relationship of Mount Fuji with its people. We intend to merge sports, tourism, local culture and tourism related commerce (all of which are materials of human-interest) with the story of Mt. Fuji. For these reasons, the documentary shall include information on the historical as well as present day context in terms of tourism and culture that is related to Mt. Fuji. The documentary will also bring to light the ancient connection of the mountain with spirituality, samurai warriors, Japanese poems and literature, folklores with modern Japanese life. The documentary will establish that Mount Fuji, whose scenic beauty has become an imagery to represent Japan the world over is as relevant to Japan today, as it must have been a thousand years ago. Here’s a gist of the proposed programme: GENRE: Documentary (Covers history, culture, travel) LENGTH: One hour NETWORK: KCET, Los Angeles. This programme will fit in the History and Culture section of the channel. Ideal time to air it will be around 9.30 or 10 PM slot, on a weekend (ideally Friday or Sunday) when the audience is comparatively relaxed and in mood of seeing a something refreshing and visually fresh before they head off to bed. SEASON ARC- Since this is a one hour documentary, there would not be a long running season as such. Ideally, it should run full length at a time to maintain maximum viewership, but the documentary may also be split into two parts, with one half and hour part aired on one weekend, and the concluding part on the next. In this case, the first part will cover the historic and cultural significance of Mount Fuji, the second will cover the current day scenario related to travel, tourism and related commerce. Here’s a detailed view of the production procedure: Shot Selection Shot selection will be such that the program captures not just the scenic beauty of Mt. Fuji, but brings forth the human-interest angle of tourism, commerce, spirituality besides its historical significance. A variety of shots and production techniques will be used. This will ensure that the program brings to its viewers a fresh, interesting coverage. Thus, the shots will be such that take the viewer on alternative visual experience of seeing the quiet, picturesque surroundings of Mount Fuji, and also exhibit the hustle bustle of the tourist season between July and August. A scene by scene break up of the places / shots that I wish to cover visually for the proposed program is as given below: 1. A pan shot of Mt. Fiji This will give a panoramic view of the mountain. A series of other shots of the lakes at the foothill, zoom-in shots of its snow-covered peaks, etc. will help establish the picturesque details of Mount Fiji and surrounding areas. 2. A shot of modern Japanese life. This short will juxtapose the quiet natural beauty of Mount Fuji and the rush of modern Japanese life. 3. A shot of the road leading to Mt. Fuji. This shot will serve to add picturesque details to the documentary, will add a perspective, give the viewer a sense of travel himself. 4. Shots of tourists climbing Mount Fuji. This shot will establish that Mount Fuji is a famous tourist destination. 5. A close up shot of a toddler with his mother. This shot will add a human interest angel to the documentary. 6. People skiing on Mount Fuji This shot will establish Mount Fiji as a popular destination for adventure sports like skiing, paragliding, hiking, etc. 7. Families hiking up to Mount Fuji 8. People who have stopped for lunch en-route 9. A view of the lakes at the foothills Voice Over (VO) Voice over (VO) is a recorded voice of the narrator which plays simultaneously with a visual. It is meant to provide information corresponding to the visual, in such a way that what is being said in the VO adds meaning and direction to the documentary. Voice-overs played will ensure that the viewer gets varied information in a lucid manner. Complementing the shots, voice-overs will tell the viewer of Mt. Fuji’s history, the nature of its volcano in brief, the relation of the mountain with tourism and sports like hiking and skiing. The producers of the program intend to concentrate on making the program very innovative by incorporating many trivia in voice-overs, and by using a range of shots. This will help retain viewer attention. Following are the kinds of Voice overs (VO) that will be used to complement the shots: A simple story board will help understand the program proposal better: VO 1- Japan is known the world over for its industrious people and its phenomenal technological development. Life is busy, but the Japanese maintain a fine balance. VO 2- Mount Fuji last experiences its last volcanic eruption in 1707-08. It has been dormant ever since. At a height of 12,388 ft, the astonishingly symmetrical conical shaped peak of the volcanic mountain is covered with snow all throughout the year. VO 3- Since ancient times, the mountain was has been considered to be sacred. Since its last eruption, the ancient myth regarding Mount Fuji’s divine origins became reinforced. Mount Fuji has been persistently associated with myths, folklores, resident deities and spiritual powers. The peak is thought to be the abode of a fire god, the residence of the Shinto goddess of flowing trees and since Buddhist times, the home of Dainichi Nyorai, the Buddha of All-Illuminating Wisdom. VO 4- The connection of Mt. Fiji with Japanese history is indeed very old. The ancient Samurai tradition of Japan also has its links with Mt. Fiji. It is believed that ancient Samurai used the remote foothills (located near present-day Gotemba) as their training base. VO 5- At its foothills, lie five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. The lakes offer a breathtaking views of Mt. Fuji. VO 6- Today, Mount Fuji is also famous for the hiking and skiing opportunities it provides. According to early Shugendo myths the mountain was first climbed by the wizard-sage En no Gyoja around 700 AD. Women were not allowed to scale the mountain until the time of the Meiji restoration (1868). Today, however, almost half of the 400,000 climbers are women. The official climbing season is from July 1 to August 31. Sound bites: Sound bites are very short audio-visual interviews, that serve to bring an original view to the audience. Sound bites also serve to increase the credibility of the documentary and add a local, or personal touch to the program. The proposed program also intends to take sound bites tourists, shop-keepers, local residents. Sound bites brings to the viewer first hand information and in this case, can provide insights about the experience of tourists, their description of the beauty of the region, the interview of shopkeepers will give an idea about how tourism boosts the economy of the region, etc. Given that the locals may be able to provide a sound bite only in their native language, the production team will entail the use of translators. The translation will be narrated either by means of a Voice over that overlaps the sound bite (i.e. the audio of the bite will be sufficiently lowered while retaining the visual), or the translation will be given in English text, in subtitles. Editing techniques: The latest editing techniques will be used to ensure a high quality product that proceeds very smoothly from one shot to the next. The sequence of shots, voice overs, sound bites, will be arranged such that the viewer gets a comprehensive understanding of Mount. Fuji. Given that the program duration is only half an hour, the editing by an expert team of technicians will ensure that the viewers get a lucid, crisp presentation of the story. Thus, this documentary will serve to give the audience a detailed account of Mount Fuji. This program is relevant not just to the locals, but in fact more so to foreigners. Sitting in their drawing room, they would not just get to know about a distant land, but the quality cinematography will ensure that the breath-taking views of Mount Fuji give them a refreshing experience after a hard day’s work. Tourism programs are also highly popular these days and fetch high TRPs. In this sense too, producing a documentary on Mount Fuji is a profitable option. Word Count 1726 excluding references (The above proposal has been written based on the research from the following sites: 1. ‘Introduction to Sacred Places of Japan and Mt Fuji’, viewed on April 25, 2008, URL: http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/japan/introdution_sacred_japan.html 2. Accessed on the World Wide Web, on April 25, 2008, URL: http://www.sacredland.org/world_sites_pages/MtFuji.html 3. Accessed on the World Wide Web, on April 25, 2008, URL: http://www.artelino.com/articles/views_mount_fuji.asp 4. Accessed on the World Wide Web, on April 25, 2008, URL: http://www.mars.dti.ne.jp/~d-sano/indexe.html 5. Accessed on the World Wide Web, on April 25, 2008, URL: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/mt-fuji.htm) 6. Accessed on the World Wide Web, on April 25, 2008, URL: http://www.japan-zone.com/omnibus/fuji.shtml Read More