NHK explained that the changes are in a bid to reduce the amount of filming needed which will in turn lessen the workload on the cast and staff. During a recent press conference of "Idaten", one of the cast members Beat Takeshi commented on the one-year-long filming period and expressed his wish for the TV station's management to "do something about it".
Another key change introduced from next year onwards is that all filming in the studios are supposed to end by 10pm daily. From 2019 onwards, this time limit will be brought forward to 9pm for Taiga dramas while the same will apply to morning dramas from 2020 onwards.
Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Oricon
I'm glad to see this reform, but why did it take them four years after Miwa Sado's death to apologize and initiate any changes?
ReplyDeleteTo look on the bright side of things, better late than never although I would have preferred them doing this before their employee died due to overwork.
ReplyDeleteThe working conditions for making dramas have indeed changed quite a lot over the years. In the past, the dramas were usually shot as the season progressed so it was common to hear that filming was completed just days or even hours before the broadcast. The so-called rationale for this system was the ability to adjust the drama's content depending on how the ratings went. That's why there were dramas which got cut or extended depending on their popularity.
Nowadays, there are more dramas which are filmed before the season starts and some even go to the extent of being completed way before the first OA. This will probably reduce the likelihood of the cast and staff having to rush and overwork just to meet deadlines. In NHK's case, since the Taiga and morning dramas take as long as a year to make, I'm glad that they started doing something about these dramas albeit the changes will not be entirely immediate.