We’d be lying if we said we didn’t completely admire the picturesque Italian scenery in Vincenzo. Parading through the bare streets, the majestic vineyards, and the impeccable mansions of the locale, it definitely also helped that Song Joong Ki, who played mafia consigliere Vincenzo Cassano, looked as if he truly belonged there.
Over the course of the K-drama’s initial release, however, viewers were caught off guard by the news that the backdrop for Vincenzo’s introductory scenes, presumably taken in Italy, were made possible solely by computer graphics! We have to admit, upon hearing of this, all our awe immediately transferred to Joong Ki and his impeccable acting chops. That said, while he made it seem effortless and real, did you know that the hallyu star actually found this part of filming extremely challenging?
In a post-show interview with Joong Ki himself, he shared that after working with VFX on Space Sweepers, he had initially expected a similar experience for Vincenzo. He soon realized that it wouldn't be the case, though, seeing as the K-drama required him to act out emotional scenes in front of a green screen, as opposed to the Netflix film. “Space Sweepers involved a lot of technical aspects, but Vincenzo has a lot of emotional scenes in the first part,” he explained. “I felt a lot of pressure for the emotional aspects to match well with the CG scenes once edited.“
Joong Ki also admitted in the interview that he thinks he could have done a better job had he actually gotten the chance to shoot in Italy. ”I do feel a bit wistful. If I had been able to act in Italy, I could have gotten more energy from the actual place,” he said. “I felt a bit anxious that it could have been better. Those kinds of scenes with those feelings were the hardest.” Channeling the right emotions before plain green walls is already a struggle in itself, let alone doing so all while perfecting the Italian lines in his script. Needless to say, Joong Ki did great regardless!
Check out how they employed CGI on Vincenzo below!
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