On Wednesday, I went to the classroom and found only a few girls hanging out…is there no class AGAIN!? O_o I asked the girls if there is class there with Asao-sensei, but they said they don’t know. So I headed to the student office and met with Mamiya-san and Hisano-san. They told me I had to go to the ATC building, so that day was ATC day? Hisano-san helped me out and contacted Asao-sensei and told me the directions to get there by train. Thankfully the way to get there involved the way by subway, which I already tried before =) There were 2 more transfers though =X Anyway, I had Hisano-san’s business card so in the case I get lost, I’d contact him with one of those green pay phones. So off I went, and this time took the school bus to get to the station. I took the train station like normal but I had to transfer to a different line and then transfer again to “New Tram Line” or something like that and get off at “trade-center mae”. On the way I saw a humungous ferris wheel and a really huge dome/arena. This ATC place is super far since it took a while to get here and we’re already near the ocean. The place was pretty big and impressive though, especially the elevators ^_^

I found the imedio studio (where Asao-sensei and the crew were) using the store guide signs, but I don’t think I could just walk in. So I tried to look all around for another pay phone in the building (I already called Asao-sensei when I arrived at the station, but I had to find a better place to call so that he could find me)

One of map signs lied, saying there would be pay phones here only to find the above. So I went back down to the floor I was on and finally found a pay phone just in front of this store that was selling 10 yen skirts! @__@ Why didn’t I buy one for the hell of it?… well I guess I can see why no one was buying it, it looked like the material was made out of window curtains =/ I called Asao-sensei and came down and found me. Then we walked together to the imedio studio. (there was a receptionist and they let us through to another door with a small hallway, and another door which led to their editing room !! =X Asao-sensei introduced me to some of the students and staff there. The room was divided in two parts, one half had a mini living room setting with a large plasma tv and sound system on the wall and some seats and a couch where the actual editing station is. It had several computers and a main computer where Asao-sensei sat. That windows computer had the Avid editing software and system (there were a couple of other machines for monitoring). What was awesome was that sensei was using to a large touch tablet to do all the editing actions! Now that I think about it, it would be a pretty fast method of editing. At one of the other computers, a student was making text credits on photoshop. Asao-sensei suggested maybe I could help since I mentioned that I know how to use photoshop (although that was the Japanese version of photoshop =X )They were editing the drama that the OUA grad students were filming (the same filming that was going on at that Junk & Antiques place near OUA). I mostly sat down with the other students and watched them edit. Other teachers there gave advice on whether a cut was too quick or if there are any other mistakes. It was funny when I noticed a continuity error in one of the scenes, the main character is talking with a teacher and he takes out a flyer. He accidentally rips it a little bit (not part of the script I bet) and puts it down flat on the table to read. Cut to a close up of the flyer, and the rip is not there. Cut back to the wide shot and the rip is there again. I guess they didn’t have a spare flyer to re-shoot it hehe… (reminded me back to when I shot the FTS08 video I made two copies of the prop photo in case one gets lost or destroyed) Even though with some minor mistakes I felt like the overall production of the episode I saw was broadcast worthy up to quality of a typical drama. I later asked Asao-sensei what the name of the drama is: “Broadcast Asuka” 「ブロードキャストASUKA」and it was airing on several Kansai area tv stations, but ironically I can’t even watch the show from my place since the tv won’t receive those channels =(
Broadcast Asuka website

It’s a story that takes place at Osaka University of Arts campus about a student in the broadcasting department. You’ll also notice that the drama has a white guy as one of the characters, he’s the Canadian grad student that Mr. Hisano mentioned before. His japanese seemed really good from the episode I saw and what’s funny is that he wears a red maple-leaf printed kimono in one scene.

When I headed back to Kishi station those green public buses were bugging me for a while so I asked at the bus window if I could take the bus from there to Osaka Geidai, and turns out I could! She directed me to bus stop number 3, I just had to get off at Higashiyama Geidai-mae. Before I hopped on I asked the bus driver to confirm. So I rode the public bus for the first time. There was a announcement system and when you wanted to get off at the next stop, you’d have to hit the button that says とまります “tomarimasu” on it. This is definitely the way to go, especially since I live pretty far, takes me 40 mins to get there by walking, and my bike is out of commission =X When I got off I had to pay at the coin drop machine near the bus driver (in America we pay the toll first), first time so I asked how much it was and it was a 200 yen fare.

Now I realize I could have taken the bus back with my heavy ps3 the other day instead of walking it =X But it didn’t matter actually, since an unfortunate thing about the bus is that it stops early at around 8pm on weekends. (10pm on weekdays)