“We made music for her, and that always brought us together as one.” Seven vampires embark down a dangerous road to stay with the only human who protected them, Chloe. Not even a torrent of bullets can stop them as they get back up each time they fall in order to reach the girl they “made music for,” which “always brought us together as one.” So goes the plot of the concept cinema video paired with ENHYPEN’s second studio album, ROMANCE: UNTOLD, and directed by Lee Choong Hyun. The collaboration marks the first time that Lee, known for movies like The Call and Ballerina, has ventured into directing a trailer in the style of a short film. We asked BELIFT LAB Visual Creative Team head Lee Gunhee for the making-of scoop behind the scenes of the video—everything from working with Lee to how the ENHYPEN members tackled their action scenes.
What led to Lee Choong Hyun directing the concept cinema video for ENHYPEN’s ROMANCE: UNTOLD?
Lee Gunhee: We collaborated with an outside director on an ENHYPEN trailer for the first time when we worked with Yu Kwang Goeng on the BLOOD series, where we were able to add a good amount of the group’s flavor to their fictional world through unique storytelling and visuals. For their latest comeback and studio album, we sought to create a proper “film” with an expanded concept and complete narrative arc. The idea behind bringing in a movie director was born out of the leadership discussing how to show that ENHYPEN are rising stars and how they’ve grown. We were particularly interested in how we could convey the album’s central idea of a romance with a vampire boyfriend without it feeling like a tired old romance story. We wanted to get across the maturity of the members as they have transitioned from being boys to men, as well as incorporate elements of noir for a more dramatic image and story as opposed to strictly romantic vampire themes, and that’s why we thought of Lee Choong Hyun.
What was it like working with him to give shape to ENHYPEN’s vampire story and bring it to life?
Lee Gunhee: Lee Choong Hyun was very open-minded and we had deep talks on how to depict the vampire aspect throughout the process. Having said that, the whole reason we chose him was because we were looking for his distinct style and vision to shine through, so we didn’t interfere too much with the finer details of his direction. We tried to follow the interpretation of the story he came up with from the main ideas of vampires and romance. Our team worked closely with him on points we needed to cover in more detail, like what makes ENHYPEN engaging, their unique traits, and the messages we wanted to convey through the concept cinema video. The area we placed the most focus on for the video was on the group members’ appearances, which people often talk about when talking about the group. They’re all adults now, each establishing their own look and feel, so we did our best to relay that and how much they’ve grown since their last studio album two years and nine months ago in an impactful way. The director also saw music as an incredibly important element of filmmaking. He talked about how unforgettable the opening of the lead single “XO (Only If You Say Yes)” was the first time he heard it. There’s dramatic references to the song all throughout the video, which adds another layer to the fun.
The gunfight scene is particularly impressive. Is there a reason why the group members use guns rather than their usual superpowers like in the DARK MOON series?
Lee Gunhee: The action sequence had to be in there to properly show off Lee Choong Hyun’s skill with noir. We were really concerned that having them use superpowers might make it feel too much like a superhero movie or come across as childish. We looked at that part as the highlight of the whole video and so we put a good amount of thought into how to make it really strong and unforgettable. We ended up feeling strongly that people seeing their favorite idols engaged in a realistic gunfight, like the kind you’d normally find in action movies, would help them feel even more engaged—like they were personally being saved by the idols. But there’s also things that set this scene apart: To emphasize the vampire gimmick in the fight sequence, we gave them things like red eyes and showed how they never get so much as a scratch on their face.
What did the ENHYPEN members have to do to prepare, and how did it go when it came to actually shooting the video?
Lee Gunhee: They focused on their acting more than anything else. The group members were worried about all the dialog at first, since there was more than they were expecting. Given that they’re used to singing and dancing onstage and this was practically their first time acting, the director really focused on making the video engaging by highlighting the emotion behind the boys’ performances, their lines, and their overall delivery. Even though they were really busy with everything they had to do for their comeback, the ENHYPEN members took time to train with acting and stunt coaches and found their own approach to handling action sequences. They even kept practicing their acting while they were touring overseas, going to their own rooms to send videos of their acting practice to receive feedback in real time. You could really catch a glimpse of their professional side, watching how seriously they took their acting, even when they were a bit awkward at times. They were given detailed instructions when actually filming the video on how to hold the guns, and how to show recoil and what kind of facial expressions to have, to make sure it all looked convincing. You could tell how dedicated they all were to putting on a really impressive performance.