More than 200 location shoots a year! Chan Kawai reveals the secret behind her rapid increase in work

He goes on location more than 200 times a year!

W-Engine’s Chan Kawai is a regular guest on various location and verification programs. The number of times he has been on location is over 200 times a year, and he has secured his position as a location comedian.

In “Sore wa! In “What’s really going on? As a result, the hashtag “#Chan-thank you” was created on Twitter, and people are constantly thanking and encouraging him.

What is Chan Kawai’s policy on location shooting, which not only provides accurate information but also inspires us?

His debut on location was in “Shinnu! Denpa Shonen”.

–What was your first location shooting job?

Chan Kawai (Chan): About six months after I became a comedian, I did the “Denpa Shonen” episode of “Shinnu! Denpa Shonen” in which I did “Denpa Shonen Interpol. It was a project where four comedians gathered by the program were sent one by one to a dangerous overseas destination, and the rest of the members watched over them from a hideout in Tokyo. The project lasted about half a year, and after that, I joined the “Paving the Road to Angkor Wat” project. This lasted about three months.

–So you had a shocking debut on location. …… How did you benefit after the location shooting?

Chang: That was ……. It seems that “Interpol” was the most unpopular project in the history of the show, so I did my best to complete the project and then returned to the world, but there was no particular response from the people around me.

In my previous work, “Denpa Shonen,” I had a lot of fun. Denpa Shonen”, I had seen the diary written by Saruiwaishi and his friends become a hit, so I wrote the diary while dreaming of such a dream, but I didn’t receive any offer of publication. The only thing I did after I was released was one talk show. After that, I felt like I had properly started my life as an apprentice comedian.

(laughs) — So, when did you realize that you were a location comedian?

Chan: Actually, it’s been 10 years since “Denpa Shonen”. Denpa Shonen,” I didn’t get any location work for about 10 years. During that time, I did my best as a storyteller, appearing on “Bakusho Red Carpet,” but when the Great East Japan Earthquake happened, I lost all my work.

It was then that I was picked up by “ItteQ”. From there, I spent five to six years spending half of the month on location overseas, and gradually began to participate in other location programs. At that time, I was just striving for the work I was given, so I was never aware that I was a location comedian.

It wasn’t until about two years ago that I became aware of it. about two years ago, I got an offer to be a “location reporter comedian” on “Ametalk!”, and when they checked the number of times I had been on location in a year, it turned out to be over 200 times in November, and that’s when I finally became aware of it.

Chan-Kawai’s idea of the role of a location comedian

–What was the reason why you started to be invited to that many location shoots?

Chan: I guess it’s because I’ve come to understand what location work is all about and what my role is.

I had always wanted to work on location, and I had talked to the agency about it, but they hadn’t been interested. At that time, I often wondered, “What is my role? At that time, I often thought to myself, “What is my role? Even if I wanted to be on TV, I couldn’t. But I thought, “I’m going to fall in love with you! “Be careful! phrases are well known. So I thought that the TV staff wanted me to say those phrases, so they would use me.

But this was a misunderstanding. While feeling uncomfortable, I did as I was asked, “You’re going to fall in love with me! I said, “You’re going to fall in love with me!” and eventually I finished circling each program. I thought to myself, “It’s because I’m only known by a phrase.

But with “ItteQ,” my personality came through, and eventually people started asking me for my impressions of Mr. Chang.

There are many different types of shows. There are the types where you only need to say a few words, there are the types where they want you to be free to do whatever you want because they will take care of it later, and there are the types like “ItteQ” where you want to enjoy seeing what kind of words will come out after you’ve slowly cornered them. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I found this out.

Chang: Another thing I thought when I started filming was that it didn’t matter who I was. The script doesn’t say “Cha” for Chan Kawai, but “Re” for reporter, and before the line it says, “I’m going to say a few words” (laughs).

That’s the kind of work I should be doing, right? I’m not on location to have people see me, but to achieve a goal, and a location comedian is a necessary guide. I think there is a big difference between those who understand this and those who think it’s their stage.

In order to get what I want them to say, I have to be creative in how I listen to them, and I have to be humble so that they know what I have to offer. That’s when I came up with the idea of “not showing myself” (laughs).

(laughs) Also, “don’t make a joke out of yourself. I’m a comedian, so it’s right to joke around, but if people don’t understand who I am, even if I joke around, it’s often taken as a joke (laughs). (laughs) I realized that I resonate more with viewers when I’m on location seriously with a good cause, and as I’ve been doing it with the mindset that that’s what location is all about, I’ve started to get second helpings.

Feeling like a member of the production team, not a celebrity

–Since you started working on “ItteQ,” is there anything that you pay attention to?

Chang: Listening to the staff. They have done a lot of preparation before filming, so I try to learn about their hardships so that I can approach the filming with the same temperature.

Each program has a particular shot that they want to spend a lot of time and money on. There are times when I have to cut down on my sleep to prepare for a shot, and then head straight to the location. When I met up with a staff member after a shoot, I didn’t just look at him or her with dark circles under their eyes. By asking them if they had a hard time preparing for the shoot, I can understand how serious they are about the shoot. By asking them, “Was it hard to prepare for the shoot?” I can see how serious they are about the shoot, and it makes me want to do my best to meet their expectations and get the shot they want.

When you know the background of the location, you can see things in a completely different light. In the past, there was a program that requested “I’m falling in love with you! on a food report, I now understand that it was out of love to make use of me. I checked my intentions and said, “Then, on the other side of delicious, how about ‘You’re going to fall in love with your husband! How about that? I was too inexperienced to make such a suggestion.

I guess I feel like a member of the production team, not a celebrity. The end result of that is that now I’m also working as a buyer. It’s beyond the realm of talent work, and it’s scary sometimes, but I’m grateful that I’m needed, and it’s rewarding.

What made me realize that it’s okay to ask for it is “What’s That? What’s It Really Like Section”.

The golden ratio of “rice 6:side dish 4” that was the goal of the completely ad-libbed episode

–In fact, the reason why I wanted to interview Mr. Chang was because of “That’s it! Actually, the reason I wanted to interview you was because of the “What’s it really like?

Chang: Thank you very much. In fact, the reason I wanted to interview you was because of “What’s the Matter? is a program that I love because it is a package that everyone can watch without worry, with a sincere attempt to verify the objective.

The recent “rice 6:side dish 4” contest, which had a huge response, had no predictable outcome and no set goal. It was like there was no script at all, and we had to figure out the answer by testing it together.

When I first heard that they were going to eat four cups of rice, I told them honestly, “I don’t usually eat that much! I told her honestly. But when I saw the actual amount divided by breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I was surprised to see how little I ate. And as a result of the verification on the first day, I lost weight even though I ate 4 cups of rice. I asked the staff if they would like to see the other side of “6 cups of rice and 4 cups of side dishes,” and since I was sure the viewers would be curious about it, I suggested that we increase the amount from 4 cups to 5 cups. It was a complete improvisation as a result of taking the “rice 6:side dish 4” seriously.

–It was a complete improvisation as a result of taking the “rice 6:side dish 4” seriously, and it worked because we had a trusting relationship. Is there any verification you would like to do in the future?

Chang: For me personally, I would like to go abroad soon. There are still a lot of things in the world that I don’t know and wonder about, so I would like to verify them one by one. And one more thing. For a long time now, I’ve been dreaming of doing a “Moshi Moshi Tours” kind of travel location with my duo, and I’d be happy if we could make this dream come true.