THE TEACHINGS OF IJSBRAND

There were two strands to my personal life now: my friendship with IJsbrand and my involvement with a colourful circle of Japanese friends in Kyoto.

When I did not visit Kyoto, an hour away by train, I was studying cinematography with IJsbrand. He taught me many aspects of filmmaking, from script writing, lighting and sound recording to actual shooting and editing. Terms like splices, rushes and magnetic striping flew across the room as he put together a documentary from exposed material. On some days we visited harvest festivals, open-air theatres and Buddhist temples to shoot footage for more documentaries. We filmed devout Buddhists hardening their resistance to temptation by delivering long prayers while standing, naked but for a loincloth, under the icy-cold waterfall of Mino-o near Osaka.

A visit to Awaji Island to shoot a performance of authentic and then already rare rural puppet theatre was particularly memorable. After the noisy and relaxed outdoor performance, which lasted the better part of a day with the local farm and fishing community for an audience, we were invited to take close-ups of the gorgeous puppets in the studio of a puppet maker.

Once I had become somewhat familiar with the Bolex, IJsbrand told me he wanted to make a film about his daily life, not a straight reportage, but a spoof, and after drawing up an outline, we went to work, with me behind the camera. IJsbrand was the only actor in the film, a clumsy clod playing multiple parts, sometimes simultaneously, with the help of photographic tucks invented on the hoof. We filmed in the office, on Kobe's streets, in shops and restaurants, and at IJsbrand's home. It was huge fun, and the result, a 30-minute black-and-white movie with sound, proved a success with all who got to see it.

During breaks IJ sbrand helped to fill the abysmal gaps in my knowledge of classical music by introducing me to Romantic composers such as Franck, Smetana and Rimsky-Korsakoff, in addition to the classical German and Austrian titans. Thanks to the quality of his hi-fi gear, his large living room became a virtual concert hall when he played his LPs.