Swing Girls (and a boy)

bmwracer wrote:
Another satisfied Apple user. :beaten:

I do like Apple stuff, but there are some things about them that bugs the heck out of me. In this case though, I don't know if the problem is with iTunes or something Subler doesn't do properly.

For example, there is a menu item in Subler that says, "iTunes friendly groups". I can click on it, but can't really be sure what it is doing. Only thing I see is that it unchecks the "chapters" item for the file I'm working on.

Nothing about it in "Help". Looked online and only a few references - all but one looked like something a programmer would understand, but not helpful. One gave a list of things, but it did't really make much sense to me.

But I guess I'll save a new copy with that change and see what happens. Doesn't seem to me that it would make chapters if it is unchecked, but maybe it is just really bad user interface stuff. Have to wait until tonight.

Well, looks like I finally succeeded. I essentially started over, opening up the file I was adding the chapters to. This time I did the automatic "add chapters every 5 minutes" thing, but then edited a little differently.

It had 21 chapters so I deleted the last one. Then I wanted to make sure the order of the chapters didn't move (I noticed before that if I changed a time and it then had a later time than the automatically created chapter after it, they'd move.

Now, I would think that as I changed more as I went on, it would still come out right, but since clearly something didn't, I worked from the end towards the beginning (except for the last few where I had to work from the front to avoid that issue.

And, of course, I was not adding any chapters later so that was another potential problem avoided.

Saved it and it looked fine in Quicktime (even the first image was correct this time) and then I checked in in itunes and it was still fine.

Hassle to have to type in all 20 things from scratch though. Still have no idea how to keep that stuff from one version of the video to another.

Right now I don't think I'll bother to add the chapters to the other versions. I did it with the Apple TV3 version which takes the most memory (5.22 GB). Seems to work on my iphone and I have room for it so I really don't have to keep the other versions and add chapters. I will keep them in itunes on the computer just in case I want them in the future to add chapters.

I got to say I admire your tenacity, I don't quite understand all that you are describing but it is interesting to read anyhow. Question (and admittedly a dumb one) when you speak of chapters are they the same as some DVD's have where you can view portions of the video? I did a Google search on the 2 software packages you mentioned and they are not for the light user. Good luck with your project.

I did go back and review your previous postings and you cleared up a lot of my questions. If they do ever offer a Masters Degree in The Swing Girls you are the leading candidate. Good show.

pete08757 wrote:Question (and admittedly a dumb one) when you speak of chapters are they the same as some DVD's have where you can view portions of the video?

I don't really understand the programs either, but I finally found enough info to at least get what I specifically wanted done. That's actually how I do mos things on the computer, even when programming in machine code, basic, etc. I could never just sit down and help someone with their program, but if I need a specific thing, I research until I get the help I need. Then I find something else I can't do.

The chapters are just like on a DVD. As I understand it, if you are ripping a dvd with chapters, you can have handbrake include them (and edit them, I think), but my problem was there were no chapters to begin with.

I did find two things that are still small problem. Was i that the movie I made won't load into the iphone 4, but will on the iphone 5. Don't really need it on the 4, but I guess I'd have to add chapters to a version from Handbrake that is actually designed for the 4.

Also tried it on the ipad Mini. Works, but the chapters always start a bit early - usually about 7 seconds, but I've seen it vary from 10 to nothing. Not a big deal and I suspect it has more to do with the mini than what I did. I' sure not going to take the extra step to make a different chapter set for each device!

The chapters line up fine on the 5, though sometimes it will catch a spot just a bit early and instantly jump to the right spot.

I was looking at the Tokyo video and noticed a few things that got me thinking. At 14:50 into the video the SG are doing Sing Sing Sing (what a surprise) and the trombone solo was done by Yuika Motokariya (Sekiguchi) and it was quite rough. Later on at 31:00 they are again doing Sing Sing Sing and this time the 2nd trombone is doing the solo and she does a great job (she is the one that did it in the final concert). In the same Tokyo video Shihori Kanjiya (Yoshie) was having big problems doing her own bits (I felt sorry for her actually). Now I remember seeing somewhere (and I can't find it again so maybe I was seeing things) where the 2nd trumpet did the Sing Sing Sing trumpet solo and did a good job. It has been established that the SG did their own playing and their own over dubs for the movie. What isn't said (or at least I think anyhow) is that each girl did her own playing 100% of the time (the solos you see in the movie). If the better SG players were used for the over dubs it would not waver from the directors statement that the SG, as a group, played their own music. Anyone think that this could have happened or are what we are seeing in these live videos is just a result of too much off time and a lack of practice? I suspect it didn't happen and that each one did his/her parts but you never know.

In the first "making of" vid, at about the 22:28, the director is talking to the trumpet player, who is apparently having problems, and says:

"We would use your own sound to dub your part, OK?"

So seems safe to say she played it. Plus if she couldn't play it then, I don't think they would have had her try months after they would probably have been in their best shape. Of course, it is possible they thought she might be able to do it and then decided she still couldn't. But while I haven't tracked the dates of all the various performances, doesn't the star play almost every time? Typically missing the high note though.

Based on all that, I'd guess that when she didn't play it, she was having a lip problem and knew she couldn't do it that day.

I have a couple of questions that maybe you guys maybe could comment on. In the movie after the brass band comes back from their "illness" and the SG are dismissed there is a shot where Tomoko is standing at the practice room door looking in. The brass band teacher came up and tapped her on her shoulder and asked her if she wanted to join. She says no but then enters the room only to find Sekiguchi sitting there. Tomoko seems to be upset at seeing Sekiguchi there and I was wondering why she would.

My second question is about the final concert in the movie. Is Tomoko's family in the audience? I don't recall seeing them there.

pete08757 wrote:I have a couple of questions that maybe you guys maybe could comment on. In the movie after the brass band comes back from their "illness" and the SG are dismissed there is a shot where Tomoko is standing at the practice room door looking in. The brass band teacher came up and tapped her on her shoulder and asked her if she wanted to join. She says no but then enters the room only to find Sekiguchi sitting there. Tomoko seems to be upset at seeing Sekiguchi there and I was wondering why she would.

I think Tomoko sees Sekiguchi as betraying the band by (possibly) wanting to joining the brass band.

My second question is about the final concert in the movie. Is Tomoko's family in the audience? I don't recall seeing them there.

Nope, they're at home. :)

I don't think it could have anything to do with betrayal - after all, she seemed to have some interest in joining herself, though it isn't clear.

In any case, my impression from the start is that it was because she looked down on Sekiguchi. Consider her treatment at other points of the movie. Making fun of her when she knocked over the record albums, how quickly she was cut off when she tried to give the mushroom suggestion originally, etc.

I think she was viewed as a nerd and thus Tomoko didn't want to join the band if Sekiguchi signed up first. Even when learning the instruments and doing the breathing tests, at first Tomoko seemed to think that she couldn't let Sekiguchi do something better than she could. The boy even played that psyche game.

That attitude probably didn't change until the mushroom idea worked out, earning her respect.

I agree that Tomoko never held much respect for Sekiguchi. After the mushroom affair Tomoko did seem to treat Sekiguchia a bit better but then later on as they were warming up on stage to play Sekiguchi was trying to tell them the instruments were cold and Tomoko brushed her off. Sekiguchi does look younger so maybe she was a grade or 2 behind the rest and was considered a little kid. Oh well.

I remember in past posts the question came up on what did the MC say to Tomoko that makes her jump up so quick. I recorded the bit (using Audacity) and listened over and over to it. He clearly says "to do" (romaji) which is pronounced as "toe dough" ( ‚Æ‚Ç ) and I used 2 Japanese/English dictionaries and came up empty handed. Maybe it's a local saying, who knows. Maybe I'll ask my teacher if she can figure it out, but then again I don't know if I want to get into explaining the Swing Girls to her at this stage of the game.

Anyone see the movie "My Secret Cache"? It has the same director as the SG and the girl who played the stand up bass in the music studio is the star. Netflix has it. Not as funny as SG but entertaining.

Everything about Sekiguchi fits the nerd stereo-type, right down to the glasses. I don't think it is an age difference - and nothing in the movie seems to show there is one. The only place I recall age being dealt with is that the summer start of the movie was right before the boy would be a senior.

I don't think the on-stage stuff had anything to do with respect for Sekiguchi. I think that was all about nerves and only Sekiguchi was able to keep her emotions under control.

The student in my class that speaks Japanese gave various interpretations of what the MC said, but ultimately all had to do with turning things over to the band. Based on that, and my own experience in entertainment, the "It's all yours" seemed to be the best fit for an American audience. I added that in the subtitles I created for the movie (along with correcting a typo and removing all the swear words).

Yeah, you're right now that I think about it, I shouldn't read more into the move than is really there.

I would still like to know what ever happened to Yukari Toyoshima (drummer), there is not much available on her even on Google Japan. There are a few photos of her on line and it looks like she was in a band for a while. Who knows, she may be married with 2 kids by now (and there is nothing wrong with that). I just liked her dead pan humor and her priceless facial expressions.

For whatever it's worth my Japanese teacher says that the MC told Tomoko to "go ahead". That fits the general definition already mentioned. I assume she jumped up because she wasn't ready and she was unsettled.

In the final concert video where they give the mike to each band member so they can say a few words I would really love to know what the drummer said.

Yep, "Go ahead" was one of the options I was given. But I opted for, "It's all yours" for a couple reasons. For one, it fits what is commonly said to performers after an introduction. "Go ahead" is too bland.

And that difference also, I think, makes it more likely that Juri would jump up in reaction more so than with the bland "go ahead" version.

But then we have cultural differences in play so who can be sure. I just used my culture since that's what my translation is for!

My translator also has the concert video and, supposedly, she was to do that too, but it is taking so long to even get the second "making of" video results, I don't know if it will ever be done. I'm worried I won't even get the three making of videos done. It's been 3 months since I got the first one sent to me.

I never gave subtitles much thought before, I always took it for granted that they were exact translations. After reading about your experiences and then seeing the many ways that one simple line could be translated I now see how difficult the process really is. I take my hat off to those who do translations for subtitles. I agree with you that the subtitles should reflect the culture that will be reading them and that "It's all yours" fits better for the US viewers even though it may not be exactly what was said (and like you stated we may never really know). My teacher seemed to give me a facial expression of not understanding when I suggested "It's all yours", it may not be an expression she has experience with (and if she is not a musician she wouldn't). The bottom line is whatever the Japanese expression really was it is the human reaction to it that really matters and "It's all yours" fits Tomoko's reaction perfectly.

I wish we could obtain transcripts (even in Japanese) of the various videos the SG did. I would be more than willing to try to translate some of it. Too bad there isn't a magic machine that can take spoken Japanese and print out an English translation. If there was one out there I'm sure I couldn't afford it.

Good luck with your project, I will be following your progress.

It seemed natural, since Tomoko essentially seemed to be the unofficial leader of the band, that a comment of "It's all yours" would be taken as being directed at her - thus her reaction. What surprises me the most though is that there was nothing translated there in the official movie subtitles! Considering her reaction, I just find that to be a huge omission!

There are apps for translations, but there are severe problems with them. There is the question of clarity, of course, but also context. I've had Google tranlate some web pages and the results are often best described as just weird!

And holding up an iphone to the speaker for a translation is even worse because there are usually other sounds going on, not just the voices. So even if the app could do a good translation, the situation makes it impossible.

But I don't think they do very good translations anyway. At least not the ones I've tried.

Good news - I just got more of the translation for the "making of" videos. Remember, I had combined all these into one long video which takes about 1 hr 37 minutes (I think each portio is around 27 minutes). Based on my quick scan of the file I got, this takes us up just over 1 hr 15 min. I'll post any key details after I go through the movie while following the translation.

Ok, from about 27 min to just past 38.

Not a lot - at least not big enough to relate in detail here - but one point was about the dialect they wanted and, within that, getting just the right version. They picked one and found an area it was spoken, then commenced translating the script into that language.

Turns out the girls couldn't understand parts of it! Apparently their dialects can vary a LOT! So they found another town with a different version of that dialect and used that.

Next thing had to do with how long to teach them. When first asked how much time was needed to get them ready to perform the music, the teacher said, "about a year". They didn't have that much time so he was asked if he could do it if they started three months before filming. He didn't know, but said he would. I doubt anyone would "know" since people just don't teach with that kind of a time limitation so they were definitely covering new ground.

They seem to have started auditioning, looking for actors who could play some. Apparently (I guess to hopefully get the job) many said they could play sax or trumpet, etc, but in reality they coudn't.

They also weren't able to find anyone who could play who seemed appropriate for any of the 5 main characters in the band. So they just tried to find an actor and forget about the playing part.

They were thinking they failed when Juri came in. While others came in talking about their musical skills, she talked about only playing on a little Casio keyboard.

Details in next post.

Here is the text from my file about all that auditioning stuff for Juri (references to "Girl1" is Juri):

Director
35:01 - 36:03 (63)
We decided to change our approach. We began to look for those who had fun personality that matched the roles in the movie. We disregarded any acting and music experience. It was my great challenge to find an actress for the role, Tomoko Suzuki. Tomoko was a rascal, mischievous and lazy girl. She would not initiate anything positive was a total brat. We couldnft find the best match for this role. We couldnft find the main characters when the requirement involved the experiences with musical instruments. Even after disregarding the instrument part, we still couldnft found them. Then suddenly Julie showed up in our audition. I remember asking her about her favorite instrument.

Girl1 & director
36:04 - 36:26 (23)
Recently I started to play the Casio illuminating keyboard that my father bought for me. I connected it with my cell and tried to download music. It cost about $2. I thought itfs too expensive. Since I can follow the lights on the keys, my sight-reading doesnft improve. (Director: gYou canft sight-read?!h)
(laughc)

Director
36:26 - 36:34 (9)
Julie was so honest and carefree that she kept giving us the negative information about herself.

Unknown man
36:35 - 36:46 (12)
Julie was totally indifferent about what other people might think of her. She kept talking about the fun memories she had had.


Girl1
36:47 - 37:16 (30)
When I was about to leave the room, the director said, gGood bye.h I thought this was the last time we saw each other. Other two people at the audition were eloquently telling their experiences with instruments and favorite things. Compared with them, I was not interesting at all. I regretted for not having prepared better for the audition.

Director
37:16 - 37:45 (30)
Juliefs innocent and natural character was Tomoko herself in the movie. Until then, my staff and I were feeling depressed about not having found the main characters no matter how hard we searched. Then Julie showed up. When she left the audition room, we all went, gWe found one!h

Unknown man
37:46 - 37:52 (7)
gThis is the one!h At that moment, everyone agreed and nodded to one another.

Director
37:53 - 38:22 (30)
Julie was Tomoko Suzuki herself. It couldnft have been possible to find that character among hundreds after that day. After we found Julie Ueno, finding the rest of the main characters went smoothly, Yuta Hiraoka, Shihori Kanjiya, Yuika Motokariya. Yukari Toyoshima was the last one.

^ Julie?? :headscratch: