Oh My! The Final Final Final Chapter ☺️

Well blow me down (new expression which I learned recently ☺️). I thought the story was over but... note I am committed to this being the last post on the Japanese Camino Documentary. If tempted to post again I will seriously consider contacting MailChimp myself to see if they will revoke my blogging privileges 🤣.

Hopefully you will understand why this post was absolutely necessary...in my own little world at least 😀.

In my March 10th...The Final Chapter blog posting I said the following:

"As it turns out this Japanese Documentary is the 3rd and final 60 minute segment focused on the Camino San Salvador and the Camino Primitivo routes which are the two Caminos I walked in Oct 2022. The first instalment was the Camino Mozarabe from Almeria to Merida. The second instalment was the Via de la Plata from Merida to Astorga. In total the 3 instalments total ~ 1,500 kms.” 

Ok so I couldn’t help myself and contacted Ryota (my documentary friend) asking if it would be possible to receive the links to Parts 1 and 2 of the 1,500 km Camino documentary.

This morning I received these links with the following message...

"You guys appear briefly in those parts as well, but you are focused more on the Part 3 which featured Camino Primitivo.”

WHAT! There’s more...this is the gift that never ends! So I immediately cleared my busy calendar and watched the two 60 minute Camino documentaries.

Before getting to what I saw... a few thoughts on these documentaries and an image that will be important later on 😂.

The two documentaries are again exceptionally well done showing very different terrain from any Camino I have walked. Desert, scrub, mountains, dry, hot...incredible architecture are all prominent in Southern Spain. Clearly walking the Camino Mozarabe and Via de la Plata is a much more solitary experience than more Northern Caminos. Snake country for sure 😱. Speaking Spanish...or being with someone who can...would seem quite important!

I don’t believe I have commented on the music enhancing the Documentary visuals...very evocative...one song in Part 1 is Pilgrim by Enya...one of my favourites on my Spotify playlist (yes I like Enya...also cry at the drop of hat...ok maybe I wouldn’t have been the 1st pick for the Marlborough Man commercial ☺️).

I will include only one screenshot from the two Camino Documentaries...in Part 2 on the Camino San Salvador which I walked in 2022 ...

Of the 8 Camino routes walked this is the most incredible section of Camino walking I have ever done. The exposure to the right of the path is like...forget it...toast country! Somehow...in spite of my lack of enthusiasm for heights... I am somewhat comfortable in this type of situation...just keep telling myself to stick to the path...focus and enjoy! 

One last thing before I spill the beans on Parts 1 & 2 Documentaries...serious question. Is anyone reading this aware of software available where one could play a Vimeo movie and English captions for Japanese and Spanish would be produced? I suspect the English captions have to be set up when the Vimeo movie was created however never hurts to ask! 

Why this blog posting was absolutely necessary

Numbers are interesting as they can mean many different things depending on the context and how one frames them ☺️. In my first work assignment as an Actuarial Student (still had aspirations however found out I didn’t quite have the smarts 🤔) I went in to see my Manager (an Actuary) and proceeded to tell him the results of product pricing where I had used an existing financial model with umpteen inputs.

“Ted the Rate of Return on XYZ is 15.34567%” I was pretty proud of myself. He looked at me and said “Guy how many assumptions have you made in the model...hundreds I think...so maybe simply giving me a range say 14 - 16% would have been accurate enough”. A lesson I have never forgotten.

Yes...I am getting there! Here is the scoop!

All three 2022 Japanese Camino Documentary movies have the exact same 2 minute opening. Within the 2 minute opening there are 3 speaking roles...% of 2 minute opening in brackets!

    - Mine 12 seconds (10%) 

    - Paulo’s 6 seconds or (5%) 

    - Spanish peregrina’s 10 seconds or (8%) 

Now 10% is a whole lot more impressive than the .33% mentioned in my March 10th blog posting. The power of a new perspective!

Doing a quick Google search on what is critical in the very early part of a Documentary to engage the audience...either they like the start or they go away...

"The most important thing to consider when starting a documentary is the subject of your story. You need a compelling narrative with interesting characters and, when possible, conflict and drama. This is what keeps the reader hooked."

So clearly our Japanese Camino Documentary roles were seen as HOOKS for the audience...hence very, very, very important ☺️

Reflecting on my initial feelings about my own 12 second performance...in the light of a new day...maybe it was waaayyyy better than I thought!

    - The look...Tilley Hat, Clooney glasses and hand expressions were seen as significant positives by the Camino Director. So instead of thinking of myself as Elmer Fudd...maybe a Harrison Ford comparison might be more realistic. ☺️

    - While I thought that perhaps what I said was total utter gibberish...likely it was seen as well thought out deep thinking. 🤔

    - My interrupting Paulo was not seen as rude but introducing conflict. 😇

Although I am a bit confused by Ryota’s comment that “you are focused more on the Part 3 which featured Camino Primitivo.” Hmm 🤔 Part 3 = Part 2 = Part 1 😉

So once again I believe what I want to believe and WHAT A PERFORMANCE...36 seconds total in 3 separate Japanese Camino Documentaries. Japan’s population is 125.7 million...conservatively estimating Documentary viewership at 40% that’s a little north of 50 million people viewing each of the 3 Documentaries.

Holy moly if I ever get to Japan for a 4th time I am going to have to ditch the Tilley hat, Clooney glasses...maybe for the baseball hat look...otherwise I will be mobbed!

Finally and the Oscar for Best Actor in the Opening Hook Segment of a Foreign Camino Documentary Film goes to....

An added bonus to the day...Island Passport for stamps obtained along the walk and the Island Walk cloth badge received...

Island Walk Passport and Badge