SBS Inkigayo Pre-Recording [2014.03.02]

Okay. I wanted to write this fan account in a blog format so that I am able to explain everything that happened fully. Instead of one particular tweet being retweeted out of context. 

I would start off by saying that the boys are EXHAUSTED. They've had early morning prerecs that have lasted anywhere from 1 ~ 2 hours this entire comeback weekend. Also, this dance is INTENSE. The more I see it, the more I realize how technically difficult it is.
Plus for MuCore yesterday, not only did they do a prerec, but they also did a postrec. And they weren't able to catch up on sleep because they had to be AT Inki by 3 am for makeup and possibly sound check.
So, the boys are tired and stressed.  =(

This prerec took 8 takes and last an hour. It was also the worst experience I've ever had at a music show.
The day started off normally enough. We came on time for 1st check in at 3:30 am, then had our official numbers, and we thought that we were going to go into the studio really soon. No. Everyone stood out in the cold for about 1 hr and a half waiting for SBS. Most likely because they were still building or were having problems with the set. It was freezing and the fans were getting more and more frustrated.
I mean, normally when something like this happens, they will let us leave and tell us to come back at a certain time. But we had to stand there while the SM and SBS staff discussed it.
We were standing in line for so long, the SM fan staff eventually made a line for people who wanted to go the bathroom.
But FINALLY, we were let in.

The set was really gorgeous. It looked like a golden & white hall. It had a wheel of fortune and double stairs. The dancers wore black leather overalls with a white shirt.
The boys were so sexy-- black pinstripe suits, white shirts, and black ties. Changmin wore a pinstripe vest and pants. Red kerchief on his arm.
 Yunho wore a 3-piece suit, white kerchief in pocket, and a black cuff on his arms with silver chains.

The boys and dancers organized the cards. CM then walked around humming and YH sang a bit.
Before the 1st take, Yunho had us clap for the camera staff.

Then a screen came down with a gold TVXQ sign on it. The screen came down all the way to the floor. So it essentially created a box out of the set.

At first we thought that the screen was only for the intro or the first couple of takes, but the screen was down for the majority of time. Only the last take was without the screen. Take 1~7 were full run throughs or scenes where the screen would go up and down. So sometimes we could see and sometimes we couldn't. The fans were very vocal with their displeasure.

SBS didn't think this all the way through from the fan's perspective. Inkigayo typically always has the coolest, elaborate sets. So they wanted to do something cool for TVXQs comeback weekend, but they didn't realize how it would effect the fans. Because everyone waited to see the boys, but couldn't see them do most of the recording. Only a small number of fans who got into side standing were able see the boys from the side of the set where there was a plastic window.
During the filming, they prob realized how limiting the screen actually was-- it was a good concept, but the reality just made everyone's job harder.

Through the filming of the music show, the staff got a sense that the set was not a good for the fans. So, they complimented us and told us that we were doing a good job cheering. One of the cameraman was filming through the window so that the sitting section could see what was happening inside the set on the monitors.

Yunho and Changmin were also having a difficult time. They did many long one takes and they were dripping with sweat and breathing hard. A whole bunch of coordis came on stage to fan them and wipe away their sweat after most takes.
 The boys had a long discussion with Jaewon about the camera position during their partner dance scene. Yunho and Changmin both insisted that the camera should be in the center and move from Changmin to Yunho, but Jaewon didn't agree. I couldn't hear what he said back to Yunho, but he kept shaking his head in the negative. Everyone was stressed and tense. 

When the screen came back up on one of the takes, Yunho and Changmin were disagreeing over CMs move to get out of the camera frame. So Yunho asked Changmin to practice it again with Jaewon. At first, Changmin shook his head but then he ended up doing it. Then Yunho wasn't paying attention to his practice with Jaewon, so Changmin went over to Yunho, tapped his shoulder, and  said "Watch". Jaewon and Yunho didn't seem to get what he wanted, so he walked away to another part of the stage and back, frustrated.

After take 7, Yunho all the sudden said, "Bathroom. I'm going to the bathroom." The fans kind of chuckled a bit because it was so unexpected. When Yunho came back, he showed how annoyed/frustrated he was about the situation to the PD. His voice was raised and his frustration was so clear in his eyes, voice, and body language. Then we all realized that he said that he was going to the bathroom to leave and calm down. He seemed frustrated with the difficulty of the shoot due to the set, but he was also angry on the fan's behalf. That the set was preventing the fans from seeing them and the boys from seeing us. And maybe like us, they thought it would only be a few takes, as opposed to the entire prerec.
Im sure Yunho got angry because it involved the fans. He gets angry when things happen to others (especially fans) and lost his patience because its something that could have been avoided if SBS just thought about it a little more.

He walked away from the PD breathing deeply and you could tell he was agitated. A coordi noona rushed in to massage Yunho's back to get him to relax, another came to fix his hair, and Jaewon & a few SBS staffers came and patted his shoulders. When he sat on the table and got into position for the next take, he looked embarrassed that he lost his cool and you could also tell how sorry he was to us about the situation.

We all screamed FIGHTING! and Yunho responded with a slight smile and said, "Aja, aja, fighting!"

Take 8 was a full run through without the screen down so it was the first time that day that we were able to see the whole performance. PD called ok!
I'm pretty convinced that take 8 wasn't actually a take or filmed. It was just to make sure that the fans saw one performance from them before they left. 
Changmin and Yunho bowed and shook hands with the camera staff. Bowed to us and said thank you. But after bowing and waving to us, they quickly went backstage. You could tell how frustrated they were and how sorry EVERYONE was about the situation.
SBS staff felt sorry to the fans and HoMin, the boys felt sorry for us, we felt sorry for the boys... just no one came out happy at the end of that prerec.

But then to make it up to us, the boys signed the bottom of coffee cups to give to the fans. Awww~~~ these boys. They are the best. They think so much about us.

After watching the live, I realized that they had the screen there so that the sitting audience wouldn't be in the shot when they did the one take following the boys in the choreo. That's prob why the boys were having so many tense discussions about where the camera should be to film them. They were trying to find a way to put the camera somewhere so they could film the one shot and still let the audience see them without the screen.  ;_;
Why is the editing and camera work so sloppy on the broadcast perf?
 
A few memorable, cute things happened. 
The SBS staff asked the boys to tell the side standing sections to wave their balloons during the filming. Yunho just got side standing excited so that they'd wave their balloons. Changmin, on the other hand, went into a long explanation on how they'll be on camera so it'll be good if they wave their balloons. Changmin even got down on his knees, begging.Yunho smiled and snickered. What a cutie!

The camera kept doing really hot close ups of the boys on standby for take 8. We screamed hard core several times before the boys seemed to figure out that they were on the monitors. Then Changmin flicked the cards in his hand over so we could see the top picture. It was his hat picture from mirotic era. ^^

Jaewon stood behind the camera man for every take and put his hand on his back to move him toward the boys in the right direction. 

During his solo trumpet scene, Changmin was so cute. He shaded his eyes with his hands while looking into the camera, another time he saluted.^^