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Download a QuickTime clip from “Sumo: Dance of the Gargantuans”
Producer John Bredar shares memories from the National Geographic Television film shoot for “Sumo: Dance of the Gargantuans ”: |
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“Because Japan has had a large population in a small amount of space for a long time, the Japanese society has many rules, and, generally, people tend to follow them quite closely. When you are shooting a documentary film, you often need to break the rules to get the shots that tell the story. What we found in Japan was that it isn't the authorities who enforce the rules, it's everyone around you! It was like trying to make a film in a room full of your least favorite elementary school teachers.”
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“In Japan, you can buy almost anything from a vending machine right on the street. T.R. Reid's most remarkable discovery was that he could buy hot coffee in a can (right). When we tried it one morning, we found only one problem: the can was searingly hot! This required immediate juggling at an hour when one doesn't usually juggle. But the coffee was good, to say nothing of the right temperature.”
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| “People regularly came up to us and asked if they could take a picture with our main character, T.R. Reid, a reporter for the Washington Post. Tom is pretty famous in Japan, having appeared on TV many times there, so we were not surprised when a Fuji TV news crew asked if they could interview him. The next day, the Fuji TV producer approached us again. This time, in true Japanese fashion, he was bearing gifts for each of us: cool Fuji TV watches! We found that in Japan, if you do anyone a favor, it is promptly returned with timely interest.”
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