The documentary RM: Right People, Wrong Place chronicles the making of BTS member RM’s second solo album while also serving as the personal journal of Kim Namjoon, revealing his everyday thoughts and feelings to the world by “capturing all these things happening to me.” Standing beside him throughout the journey was the creative force known as Team RM, formed specially to produce the album Right Place, Wrong Person. Director Seokjun Lee, who came to develop a deep understanding of RM’s inner world as a member of that team while documenting the eight-month journey in closeup, and co-director Subin Im, who combed through hundreds of hours of footage to connect every thread of the bigger story behind Team RM, spoke with weverse magazine to share their insights on the documentary RM: Right People, Wrong Place.
RM: Right People, Wrong Place premiered at the 29th Busan International Film Festival in October, where you spoke onstage alongside other members of Team RM. What was that like?
Seokjun Lee: We somehow ended up onstage without the star of the show, and had to do it without him, just others from the movie and the production crew. I remember thinking, We can’t make any mistakes and sully Namjoon’s name, so everyone either memorized everything they were going to say or wrote it all down before going up there. (laughs) We heard that Namjoon was watching it live and that he laughed when he saw us. Namjoon sometimes calls the Team RM people “bohemians.” He says we’re out in the wild, living life our own way. Maybe that’s why he found it so amusing to see us there in such a formal setting. (laughs) We rarely get an opportunity to get up onstage like that for that reason, so we really appreciated getting to witness the energic response from the audience.
“Right People, Wrong Place” is also the title of the first track off the album Right Place, Wrong Person. What led you to choose that for the title of the movie?
Subin Im: First we cooked up a number of potential titles. Some of them were overly emotional, some felt too far removed, and others were too on the nose. We debated over which title would best capture what the movie’s about. One time Namjoon said, “I think we’re in the wrong place,” and we considered using that for the title since we liked how it sounded, but there was a feeling that it was a bit too long. Coincidentally, Namjoon talks repeatedly throughout the documentary about things not quite being right, so we eventually decided it made the most sense to have it tie in organically to the first track of the album, “Right People, Wrong Place.” Working on the title like that gave us a renewed appreciation for how perfect the names of all the songs were. (laughs)
Seokjun Lee: Even though the titles of the album and the film use different words, the acronym for both is RPWP, which might make people mix them up just enough that it causes them to re-reflect on the meaning. (laughs) Personally, I see Right People, Wrong Place as meaning people who feel they’re not in the right place. We all naturally feel like ourselves within the context of our own lives, but sometimes we feel wrong or out of place in different places, like at work or in a group. There were a lot of times while working on the album that we ended up in unfamiliar places and would talk to each other about how we felt about it. I think the film’s title is fitting since it perfectly captures the thoughts and feelings we had in moments like those.
It must’ve been hard to say what direction the documentary would take at first since you started shooting it in the early days of the album. How did you go about handling that?
Seokjun Lee: Namjoon had a clear vision in his mind right from when the Right Place, Wrong Person songwriting camp started up, and producer San Yawn had already set up most of the guidelines for the bigger picture. When I joined Team RM, Namjoon personally explained to me what the RPWP project was all about and why he wanted to do it. That gave me a level of understanding right off the bat to hit the ground running. Namjoon also gave the same briefing every time someone new joined on, like music video directors and photographers. He must’ve gone through that nearly 17 times by the end. I still remember how incredibly refined his presentation was. (laughs)
How did each of you initially come to join Team RM and become involved in the making of the documentary?
Seokjun Lee: It all started when San Yawn, who was leading the whole project, reached out to me, asking, “I’m not sure if it would even come out or not, but would you be willing to dedicate a year to this film?” He got me curious with that, so we met with Namjoon. Even at our first meeting, Namjoon was really open about his life story, and that made me feel comfortable enough to open up about my own. We kept meeting up regularly after that, almost like it was a job, and we bonded over all our conversations. Thinking back now, I realize Namjoon was putting in a lot of effort to open himself up to create a relaxed environment.
Subin Im: My role at first was to focus on organizing and selecting footage that seemed like it could be important for the film. We shot over a long period of time, so we accumulated an extensive amount of footage. While Seokjun was there on the scene, capturing an intimate portrait in the moment with an eye toward the future, when I came on board the project to sort through all that footage, I had to play catch-up with the past, and later on, I ended up taking part in the filming process as it happened, too. I’d take the footage while it was still fresh and go through it right away. The purpose of me combing through footage was ultimately to make things easier when it came to editing, so I went through it continuously, leaving comments like, “This seems like it could be important, maybe?” As I went through that process, my role on the project expanded and diversified.
The close, open nature of the relationship between the filmmakers and their subjects in the film is unique among documentaries. Was it ever challenging to set boundaries for the sake of the film you were making?
Seokjun Lee: Namjoon made it clear what he wanted from the outset. He said, “I want this project to be undertaken by a small, tight-knit team so it really comes across how deep and authentic it is.” That’s why Subin was there by my side with plenty of advice on what to do, given we were mostly shooting groups of people who already had strong relationships. Sometimes I was so immersed in the moment that I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. At times like those, she would tell me to take a step back and suggest the kind of questions I could be asking at certain points. The way she provided guidance like that here and there was incredibly helpful.
Subin Im: For example, the more we filmed, the more their voices all overlapped with each other since they were all such close friends, which could’ve made it hard for the audience to follow, so I suggested adjusting that. It was a little tricky at first since I was just watching the Team RM people on the screen, but after we met in person and all opened up about our thoughts and what we’re aiming for, we all got to understand each other a little better. Because of that, while I was going through the footage, I wasn’t just trying to condense it but to think for myself how it could be edited together in such a way that it would result in a better direction for the documentary.
The special bond between the Team RM members, yourselves included, plays a crucial part in what makes the documentary feel so unique. I think that’s the reason viewers find themselves so deeply immersed in the film.
Seokjun Lee: You can see how a lot of documentaries look for the beauty in the still moments, but there’s an awful lot of talking going on in this one. (laughs) So I thought, rather than that, why not take the most impactful lines and memorable conversations from all that and stitch them all together into a collage, and build a story out of that? When we were filming in Bisugumi in Hwacheon County, for instance, somebody would say something, then I’d dream up what piece of dialog or location that could connect to next. To compare it with the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, I was thinking about what kind of universes were available to us.
You also included interviews with producers and artists who worked with RM along the way, suggesting you found it important to have the film show him through the eyes of those who know him.
Seokjun Lee: The interviews needed to be there to take a step back and give it something that could provide foreshadowing. I had to find the right tone for the interviews because they were all deeply involved with the RPWP project and had strong feelings about it. I remember trying to do a ton of different interviews. (laughs) I also had a clear vision for the tone I wanted from each of them. San Yawn had this great way of expressing his feelings on Namjoon, JNKYRD played the part of commentator providing insight on the project, and Sehoon, who worked on the A&R side of things, had this deep, calming voice that I felt paired well with the more laid-back parts of the film.
Subin Im: We even filmed interviews with Team RM on the day Namjoon enlisted. Namjoon had written something to each of them personally, and while they started by saying, “Okay, nobody force out any tears,” everyone was crying as soon as they read them. (laughs) That emotional rawness carried over into the interviews, which made their unwavering sincerity about Namjoon that much more palpable.
Along with the more intimate looks we get through the Team RM interviews at the man Kim Namjoon behind the idol, you also show the performer RM at BTS’s 10th-anniversary FESTA event and his guest spot at the D-DAY concert. Why did you include such contrasting scenes alongside those that take place during the making of Right Place, Wrong Person?
Seokjun Lee: The reason for that is that the documentary isn’t focused solely on the making of the album but on the emotional journey Namjoon underwent throughout that period. It starts without diving especially deeply into his character, so it was absolutely critical that we show who he is when he’s performing as a member of BTS. I figured that, the more contrast we set up between RM and Namjoon as individuals, the more attention the whole process of him trying to find himself through RPWP would receive.
The frequent jumps in the film between faux-vintage shots and more realistic scenes create a strong sense of contrast.
Seokjun Lee: We shot it over a relatively short period of time, especially for a documentary. The depth that makes Namjoon who he is comes from a whole lifetime of accumulated emotions, but the audience only gets a context window of about eight months of that, which was something I had to grapple with. I felt like viewers had to get a sense that his emotions arose from his past in order for them to properly feel their depth and progression, so I gave some images and video an old film grain to make them feel like flashbacks and memory fragments, which is one of the ways I gave that collage of images a kind of kick. And I contrasted the vintage film scenes and the moments of producing the album side by side to add to the sense that the emotions during filming ultimately originated in the distant past.
The scene at Bisugumi where RM lies down in the grass is amazing. It’s obviously real, but the colors are so beautiful that it almost feels like it isn’t. What kind of vibe were going for with that?
Seokjun Lee: Bisugumi was honestly even more beautiful in person than how it looks in the film. (laughs) We tried to keep the visual aspect as authentic as possible when we were editing. When I first met Namjoon, he said, “Sure, I chose this life for myself, but now it’s hard for me to experience just blending in no matter where I go. I want to find a place completely surrounded by nature where I can try focusing on myself completely.” We thought it’d be a great experience for him to try going somewhere no one could ever recognize him, so we ended up going to Bisugumi. It’s a remote place with absolutely nothing but nature in every direction, so it was a way to focus entirely on the moment in a way that was almost meditative. Thanks to that, the tranquility he and Team RM experienced can be felt in the film, too.
You included animated sequences in the documentary as well. What led to that decision?
Subin Im: Namjoon expresses himself through abstract ideas a lot of the time, so we ended up using animation to add a visual dimension to his thoughts and ideas.
Seokjun Lee: The documentary doesn’t have a typical story arc, so I felt it needed to be the kind of film where viewers can piece together the dialog themselves as they watch. Then I felt like we needed to put in animation that could act as a kind of tail end to fully bridge the space between each chapter. The animator, Lee Gyuri, did an incredible job, even despite the countless experimental things we were trying for. If you watch the movie closely, the animated parts basically sum up the overall feeling of the scenes that came earlier before moving onto the next one and helps add to that sense of flow.
It’s fascinating to see how your effort to fully capture RM onscreen shaped certain creative decisions, like how his voice is the only thing you can hear in the recording studio scenes.
Seokjun Lee: I was shooting music videos at times too, and I’ve seen a lot of behind-the-scenes videos from in the music field. I think there’s a certain way of creating them that people typically adhere to, but I wanted to steer away from that a bit for this particular movie. The most important thing was to keep it candid. I think the main reason we watch behind-the-scenes content is because we’re curious how the stars actually work, so even though we used background music to keep most parts from sounding too flat, we left it out whenever Namjoon sings and focused entirely on highlighting what he sounds like.
I’m guessing you gave careful consideration to how to use music in the documentary given that it revolves around the creation of RM’s solo album.
Seokjun Lee: The most important thing about a music video is that the music sounds good, but I think it’s important for a film to function as a medium that properly conveys its visual aspects. Three people wrote music for the documentary, with JNKYRD and glowingdog, who also worked on the album, making 10 new songs for the film, plus working with Dajung on the song for the ending. When you include the album tracks too, there’s a fair bit of music in the movie. The Team RM members really like ambience, and they wanted neutral music for the movie that didn’t try for any particular genre or emotion. They wanted music that was less about creating emotions and more about propping up and supporting them. The musicians got to see the film as it was being edited, too, and we’d ask them if they could create a certain kind of feeling and then make changes.
Subin Im: A wide variety of different sound sources go into making a film, so one of the main challenges while editing was figuring out how to position the shots, the audio, and the music. With digital, film, and camcorder shots, on-site and interview audio, and songs and sound effects for music, there’s so many elements making up a movie to consider. We worked together to discuss the best arrangement for things and what parts we should emphasize.
Even though you had a lot of things to keep track of while making the movie, what would you say was the single most important consideration?
Seokjun Lee: Authenticity. That was something that Namjoon, Team RM, and I all valued. The main goal wasn’t to focus on directing them or follow a theme. We tried to keep it as real as possible, even if some of the scenes were things people didn’t necessarily want to see. Stuff that’s polished has its place too, obviously, but I wanted to capture the moments that I found engaging. (laughs) My feeling is, if I enjoy making it, the final product will turn out well. That’s why I wanted to make it a movie full of simple, fun things—candid moments that would make us smile.
As someone who got to observe Kim Namjoon up close for this documentary, how would you describe him as a person?
Subin Im: I could tell he was a kind person. The questions Namjoon asks shows how much he cares about others, and he’s the kind of person who opens himself up to others no matter what they might think or even if he might kick himself later for doing so. Watching him made me think I should be that sincere in my own life. I think that’s what I learned from him. I got a lot of good influence from him, and so I tried really hard to make this documentary something that would have a positive effect on him, too.
Seokjun Lee: I think he’s an incredibly brave person. Namjoon’s image is all over the media, and there’s a lot of times where he has to meet people who know that whole side of him, or believe they know exactly who he is, but the way he keeps on revealing who he is with so much sincerity takes a lot of courage, I think. He’s extraordinary, but he’s also an ordinary person at the same time. He’s just like us, with highs and lows every day. (laughs) I think that’s what makes him so special. To be honest, when you work in the same field for a long time, it’s really easy to lose sight of what you once valued, but Namjoon maintains a reverence for his craft. As someone to work with, he’s an amazing influence, and he’s a great friend, too.
Before we go, is there anything you’d like to say to the viewers of the film?
Subin Im: I think the questions Namjoon grapples with in the film aren’t just his—they’re ours as well. I’d love it if people who watch the movie can get back in touch with the parts of themselves they may have forgotten about along the way. Movies are the landscapes to everyday life, and it’s ultimately up to the audience to make a path and trod down it.
Seokjun Lee: I’m already incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to come out and see it. It goes to show how much people love RM. Like the lyrics to “ㅠㅠ (Credit Roll)” go, “I’m so grateful for everyone’s time / Hope you all had such wonderful night.” I hope after watching the movie that people have a nice dinner and a wonderful evening chatting about the movie, even if just for a little while.
*Release dates and ticketing information for the film vary by country. Please check the official website for details.