Digicon6 Special: Keynote by South Korean filmmaker Kwak Jae-yong

November 20, 2010 - 12:00 AM IST

If you thought that Sanjay Leela Bhansali was the only one who gave a lot of attention to the film's music, think again. The acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Kwak Jae-yong discusses the use of music in his films at DigiCon6 Asia Contents Forum in Japan. Excerpts from the keynote...

I have never made any films with a particular market in mind. As a child, I loved reading Japanese novels and comics and have been influenced by them. The most important thing about writing a screenplay is that one has to be true to the story.

I love conveying my character's emotions through the music pieces to my audience. Also while choosing the kind of music; I try to share the common feelings with audience. I think that is why my films are accepted. People start learning how to talk through emotions. Love, hate, pain all is communicated through the use of emotions rather than words. I loved listening to overseas music; I have been influenced a lot by pop music and Western content. When I try to communicate, I use emotions.

I get actors to listen to the music, thus we try to share emotions. In My Sassy Girl (2001), I controlled the speed of music. When actors nurture real feelings because of the mood created, I consider my job done. I use music as a tool to express our feelings. If you see my movies you would understand that I try to use actors who are like general people.

When I was a child, I loved Japanese Manga and animation and consumed a variety of Japanese content. Across South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, there is a lot if diffusion of content. In My Sassy Girl, people's reaction to the music was similar across countries. In that sense, I think that the people are the same. People are after all, people, when it comes to emotions.