Bad : Commentary with Song Taejong

So!YoON! This track is a pre-release single. It's a ‘Bad’ commentary. All the tracks are very precious and special to me, but I think ‘Bad’ is even more special to me as it’s written in the introduction of the single. To describe this album in one word, it's a story that breaks the ambiguous boundary between virtual and reality. In the process of making this album, I think the track that made me experience a certain dimension and situation is ‘Bad’. So there’s someone very important who helped me visualize the reality that I imagine, or the desires that I imagine. That’s director Song Taejong. We’re going to dig deeper into the filmology of this album with director Song Taejong. Song Taejong Hello. So!YoON! Please introduce yourself briefly. Song Taejong Hello, I’m Song Taejong and I make videos with fashion film. So!YoON! Nice to have you here. Song Taejong Thanks for having me. So!YoON! I think you have a big influence in not just the music video but the character, So!YoON! and this music world. Not to mention the initial teaser videos with So!YoON!s six personas and the track visual in which Jang YoonJu made a special appearance in. From the pre-listening to ‘Bad’. What do we call you in this situation? A visual director or a video director? Song Taejong A video man. So!YoON! A video man. Sure. Then I’m thinking we should look back on your video journey until now. Why don’t we begin with the teaser that we made together? We’ve worked on this from the very beginning stages together. I remember thinking about it a lot. I'm curious how you felt when you first contacted me and how you felt about the meeting. Song Taejong I was really surprised when you contacted me for the first time. I went to Incheon Pentaport Fetival 2 or 3 months ago and with my father-in-law because he’s such a big fan of yours. He asked me if I ever was going to work with someone like you and I said I’d try my best. But then you really reached out to me and that was one of my goals for the year. It was unbelievable. I was so excited I told my father-in-law right away. Sorry, I got sidetracked. So!YoON! That’s okay. This is how we talk about things. Song Taejong I’ve never made such a music video before. But when you called me, I was so surprised. I wondered what made you want to work with someone like me because I didn’t have a portfolio anywhere and just short ones at that. So!YoON! It was a form of fashion film. Song Taejong So when you said you wanted to make a music video with me, I came here for the meeting almost as if I were possessed by something and the rough draft you gave me somehow linked to Youngkyung’s fashion line. That’s when I realized that’s why you wanted to work with me. I knew it was going to be great from the beginning. I thought something good was going to come out of it and I’d never done anything like this before. I knew you weren’t ordinary because you chose to work with someone who doesn’t even have a portfolio. So!YoON! If we look back on that, regardless of the quality of the video, who can match the temperature that we're making with our team? It was a key. I knew we could do something with your short videos. I had some clues but I was also doubtful. You really didn’t have a portfolio but I wanted to have a meeting with you. I thought you were a person with extraordinary energy, so I told you about the ‘Bad’ music video at first I think that's why I got to make ‘IN (Void)’, intro teasers, and my six-owned visualizers. Song Taejong The process of setting the sense was so much fun. I talked with So!YoON! and she sent me a reference of old movies. They’re old but I find them really cool and I actually dig into them like a nerd. I wondered how she knew them. The directions you gave me were really unique and detailed. In the process of preparing for that, I went around Tokyo and found a used bookstore. If I borrow the expression, there was a bookstore with the right sense. I happened to look at the old Six Magazine of Comme des Garcons, and there was this image. It was exactly what So!YoON! was talking about. I decided to expand it and show it to her. So!YoON! What was impressive for me was that while making ‘Bad’, there were certain images in my head. I wondered about how they could be translated into video languages, and I talked about emotions and images to the director. In the next meeting, he really showed up with paper magazines and told me he thought this was what I was talking about. It wasn’t a common method and I realized he was serious about his work. I remember being touched and the sense we ended up with just clicked like fate. The things he showed me and the things I sent him... To be honest, the filming site was more fun than the results of the ‘Bad’. The process itself was so good for me, so I think it'd be good to do it to the people who listen to it. Song Taejong One of the reasons why the site was so much fun was because I wanted to make So!YoON! concentrate as much as she could by not turning on ‘Bad’ as much as possible. So I thought hard about what kind of music could help her today. And as for the kiss scene, I blocked off their surroundings so that it was just them in this world. I thought they’d kiss so beautifully but the water that was supposed to be warm... So!YoON! Was so cold. Song Taejong It was so cold. So!YoON! But that’s okay. The ‘Smoke Sprite’ music video water was even colder so the cold water in ‘Bad’ has been forgotten. Song Taejong That wasn’t even an issue. So!YoON! That’s right. I mentioned that the most. Coincidentally, the day of the music video making of ‘Bad’ was really bad. We left early in the morning and it was so foggy we could barely see ahead. But we made it to the location and as soon as we did, I thought, ‘This could just work’. We used the word ‘sense’ a lot on site and I took that to mean for me to act well. We didn’t turn on the lights once and filmed mostly in the dark. As you said, ‘Bad’ was played only a couple of times. He kept playing nice songs that he selected himself and I remember ordering alcohol. I asked for my favorite tequila and lemon. As expected, the director was drinking whiskey when I got to the site. I felt too excited and I remember going to the dressing room with anticipation. After I got ready, I was completely swept up with the atmosphere of the filming site. It was a first experience. People normally get very edgy when they’re in focus and the same can be said for myself. I easily break out of connection at the smallest stimulation. The stimulation could be light or temperature or even the smallest sound. Anything that can be distracting. But this was the first time I could just engage so comfortably. It was actually very touching as an artist. I think that was a big part for me because I felt the director's consideration of how he wanted me to be immersed and the persistence for a certain level of completion. Song Taejong We started off with a stylish approach, but even though the story wasn't long, there were specific parts that required precise acting, and I believe that's crucial. I really dislike it when people just tell actors to look somewhere with no expression. I think even with blank expressions, there are various nuances to consider. But luckily, Chae and So!YoON! understood well and even helped me during the shoot. Even with the same blank expression, when looking at Bahno, it felt like the gaze was penetrating beyond the pupils, as if seeing something behind me. I felt that they were able to focus well on that aspect, so I didn’t have to film for so long, the take was short. There was hardly any data. So!YoON! I remember filming it twice and afterwards, I kept thinking that it was right. It went smoothly. And I was impressed that there were people who were in front of the camera and monitored it. Our team members, our visuals, Youngkyung, who participated as the director, and everyone kept wowing. All these exclamations came out, so I asked why he wouldn’t give me any feedback and he said “everything was just so good. And I’m usually not the type to just give compliments.” That day, it was a scene where you could already anticipate that something good would come out just by looking at the screen. So he couldn't help but do that. I am also someone who looks at the monitor a lot on set, but that day, I hardly looked at playback and focused on preparing for the next shoot. My goal was to get drunk and take a passionate kissing scene, so it didn't seem like there was anything else to do. Surprisingly, the shoot wasn't that difficult. Maybe It could have been the alcohol. The director blocked off all visual aspects of the environment that day and I was able to engage into the atmosphere with the music. I worried how it might turn out. But it was over in one take. Song Taejong Yes. It only took about a minute for the kiss scene. So!YoON! Right. Song Taejong It was over in just a minute. So!YoON! I’m really curious. Which scene in ‘Bad’ will you pick as your favorite? Song Taejong The kiss scene of course. So!YoON! But there are many of them. Song Taejong The close-up very first kiss scene. The first cut is my favorite. I told you about this before but if you look at it closely, there’s a drop of water trickling down So!YoON!’s chin. That was really cool. The droplet of water that rides down her chin. Once I saw that, that’s all I could see afterwards. At the beginning, the water stream went up the chin and then came down straight, getting stuck in it, and the rest just passed through as if It was possessed. Normally, I don't watch my own videos very well, but the ‘Bad’ to be honest. I think I watched it like seventy-five times. No, a hundred times. So!YoON! Yeah. I don’t know why strangely enough. Maybe it was because I just felt so comfortable. Song Taejong Maybe that’s why. And there was nothing that broke my standard in the middle. So!YoON! While we were editing, the director pointed out the water droplet and said that’s so cool. I didn’t know what he was talking about but when I finally pointed it out to me, that’s all I could see. If you guys see it in the intro... That’s all you’re ever going to see. My favorite is the part where the three of us get mixed up. I remember Movement director Che, Bahno, jibin and I... Stood together for the angle and it was so beautiful. I actually wished it was just that scene for all the three minutes. When we were shooting, we shot for a really long time. Going in and out, adjusting the lighting from bright to dark, it was very challenging to stand there. But despite the trembles in my legs, I stood there and the scene looked aesthetically beautiful. It's a memorable scene that left a strong impression in my memory. Song Taejong In the music video for ‘Bad’ instead of worrying about the parts we did, I think people will think about the kissing scene regardless. There was something I thought while watching the movie ‘Call Me By Your Name.’ While most people might just think, "Oh, it's a love story between two men," I actually thought that, although I don't know the director's true intentions, it was used to show a genuine and truthful love, like using smoke for that purpose. So, when people see the kissing scene for the first time, instead of thinking, "What? Why are two women kissing?" I thought more in line with the artistic intention of the movie, and that it was a means to portray Bad's genuine love. So!YoON! That's right. One of the important aspects we considered during the initial planning phase of the Bad music video was how to continuously erase gender. How can we visually express the diverse relationships of love in a way that is well-represented? And this character's loneliness. And I think I valued some kind of power. That's why I think the kiss scene was the most impactful in the music video, but as you said, it was just a device. I think it’s the sequence that best represents the song ‘Bad’. I think the sequence of sitting on the bridge with leg in the air and staring at the bridge was the biggest video language for ‘Bad’ itself. Song Taejong To express it in one cut, that cut is the most perfect sequence to describe the music video. So!YoON! So we just imagined it. I was sitting on a bridge, but it was so fascinating that the other person was sitting high, the other person was standing, the power that came from a certain height, and the other person's eyes that looked at me. I think you mentioned it well. I didn't mean to reveal my gender in love. So it was more meaningful for me. Let's stop talking about the ‘Bad’ music video and talk about the visualization of our teaser video. I’m curious if there’s anything you remember from it or think is important. Song Taejong The reason why you wanted to work with me at the beginning was to approach this album fashionably, so you can take ‘Bad’ in a storyline way, but instead of putting the teaser or other parts into the storyline, we thought a lot about showing it visually. In the end, I was thinking about what would look the coolest, and suddenly, how did we end up running? So!YoON! I know. We decided let's go back to the basic. So, we decided to use the white horizone. We were thinking about how to make the most impactful appearance. Director Taejong ran together. I saw So!YoON!'s personas moving in various ways. I remember the visual development with the beginning of wanting it to be cross-edited. Song Taejong Since each of the six personas has different characters, I thought this character would run like this. Even if it's running like this, each person's expression and finger shape are different. And you ran exactly like I imagined. So!YoON! It was fun to shoot the visualizer. I think I studied how to move by character. I changed my makeup 6 times a day, so I tried to get into the character while I was changing it. As you said, I think we worked on what kind of attitude this person would have. Since we made the characters together, our style, makeup, and outfits. It was as if everyone already understood what kind of character it was and what to show. I remember filming it was very easily. Jang YoonJu played my character and portrayed various acting performances in line with the music, showed multiple acting expressions in sync with the music, and I found it quite impressive. Jang YoonJu's aura potential and the rhythm that goes well with the music were impressive. How did you feel? Song Taejong I thought it'd be better to show it as simple as possible, so I didn't change a single angle. But from the beginning to the end, that was already enough. Rather than showing off talent in the video Jang YoonJu dressed up in the same outfit and performed actions in response to the track, was already creating content just with that, and there was nothing more to add or remove. Moreover, she understood it very well, even though it was the first time she heard the music. She immediately performed the acting and expressions on the spot. So!YoON! I learned so much and I have so much respect for her. In fact, she was much more free and open during shooting, compared to me who is always on stage. I realized that’s what I had to do and learned from her. The camera didn’t even do anything. Song Taejong That’s right. The camera really didn’t. So!YoON! I remember being amazed by YoonJu. While planning this commentary album, I had high expectations for the ‘Bad’ track. I hoped for people to listen to this. I can't wait to tell you this story. I was so happy to be able to leave a comment like this. I'm so relieved. How did you feel? Song Taejong I was starting to wonder when the work would end and just when I thought it was over... I got a call about the commentary. So!YoON! I know I’m persistent. Song Taejong It’s over but I have a feeling it’s not over. So!YoON! This will be to be continued. Song Taejong I’m happy to hear that. So!YoON! We've met since last fall. Congratulations on ending this spring. Taejong is free now. Anyways, you were always there for me. I am so happy about the process and results of this album. I look forward to seeing more of your work and eagerly anticipate it. With the mindset of "let's keep going" and "let's keep improving", I will also strive to do better. Thank you for your hard work, and I will move on to the next track. Goodbye.