[신의] 실수 Faith Bloopers/Mistakes/Questionables Korean Drama Min Ho

A rough glance around Google search. I'm the only one doing this.

While others talk about the time travel aspect of Faith, I've been wanting to post about the film's bloopers/mistakes since the beginnning.

For the storyline, I don't think there's anything that requires any deciphering. It's simple and by its simplicity,  wraps itself up without causing any confusion or needing any explanation.

For bloopers/mistakes, there are quite many competing for the Number 1 spot. But right off, there seems only 1 that takes first place.

In  Asianwiki, it says production started on May 24,2012.  And in this latest post on Min Ho's thoughts after filming his final scene on Oct 30th, twice he says that filming has been 6 months. 

If Asianwiki is correct and counting the time period from May 24, it's actually been... 5 months and 6 days.

All along I thought they finished filming before the air date. If so, then from May 24 ~ Aug13, they would only have 2 months to complete filming it. Impossible but do-able, I thought.

Turns out, filming continued even after date of airing, all the way till Oct 30th (as in the above link to Min Ho's thoughts on last day of filming). That last day of filming video is available online, by the way. On the official SBS channel and Youtube.

It must have been a really heavy, crashing schedule where nobody got enough sleep at all, as can be seen from the super-tired look of a woman crew on the last day in the video. As the camera turned to interview her, she looked absolutely collapsing asleep behind her glasses while standing.  That's the most tired person I've ever seen.

Made me wonder how Min Ho and Hee-Sun still looked so good in comparison. Perhaps, the cast got more sleep than the crew?  Possible, because they can sleep during make-up and while waiting around.

As the drama was being aired, they were filming it. Meaning, a very tight race to complete 2 episodes on time every week.

Notice that at the start of the drama, Hee-Sun and Min Ho looked very fresh. But as it progressed, they looked more and more worn out.

Because of the rush, tiredness and the director being more intent on the creative aspects of filming, mistakes will inevitably be made. Obviously, the actors and actresses can't also be watching out for mistakes since they are more intent on watching how they perform.

Still, regardless of whether it was 2 months or 6,  shouldn't there have been the equivalent of a  "proofreader" on the set while filming? Someone who monitors the consistency of different takes and frames?


In a Taiwanese TV drama  called Engagement of Love, the female lead is a young girl with the job called "场记" Chang (3) Ji (4).  Log Keeper/Script Clerk/Continuity girl. Her role is to ensure that everything is consistent and she watches for mistakes on the set.

It would seem that Korean TV drama filming does not have such script clerk/s?

In City Hunter, there is a scene where Min Ho carries Kim Nana on one side of his shoulder. But the position changes to the other side in the next frame. With this, I began to watch if Faith would show up this mistake as well. 

Sure enough, it did.

Overall, while Faith was well-produced/well-directed,  it was also quite sloppily done.

Besides a lot of armpit-killing (swords slid under armpits to kill with CGI blood droplets flying in the air), quite a lot of obvious details have also been omitted/sacrificed in favor of just telling the story or just to look good.

Click on images for larger display.  

#1   In Episode 2, Philip Lee carries the princess out of the smoked out hideout.

Princess's head is on his left side.

As he carries her out of the room, her body changes position to his right side. At first, when watching this scene, something seemed wrong, until I realized it was the change in the princess's position. Caught it.

#2  In Episode 21, Eun Soo mentally counts to three when she predicts Choi Young will turn to look at her.  Listen with earphones. You will hear a background man's voice saying "two".  That should be the cue from the director or someone in the crew so that Min Ho knows when to turn. But they missed out removing the voice.


#3   Episode 21. Choi Young drops his sword from his left hand after talking to the king. Vice-captain also saw it. But it was his right hand that was frozen by KC's power. It was also the right hand that shivered while holding his sword in the next episode 22.

If the director intended that both hands are affected by KC's power, there was no indication of this before or after this scene in the king's chamber.

#4   Episode 22, the Yuan Tansaguan envoy takes out a pocket watch.

Yuan dynasty was until the 14th century. Such a pocket watch like his was made in the 16th century, 200 years later. Moreover, his watch has 2 hands.

Click:  Early watches only had an hour hand, the minute hand appearing in the late 17th century.

I thought the director would be explaining this, maybe the Tansaguan got it from the future, for instance. But it was left as it was.

#5   Episode 14. Eun Soo waits for Choi Young to escape together.  Just before she runs to him on the bridge, her pink cloth pack is tied round her back (the first image shows the cloth tied in front).

But in the next frame when she goes to hug him, her pink pack is gone.

It was likely removed because it got in the way of him hugging her.

 
#6   In all the Chinese writing, Faith used modern simplified Chinese words. In the past, ancient Chinese writing was an older form that modern Chinese people would find it hard to read (and is no longer in use).

Based on this website, there had been no more changes to the Chinese writing since the Tang dynasty. In the example shown in that website, that "dragon" word  (in the 5th box)  is still an old form with more strokes than the modern form at the end.

Meaning, in the Yuan dynasty (that comes later than the Tang), the old form of writing would still be in use.

The modern form that Faith used, only started in China in the 1950s.

So, it is impossible for Goryeo-Yuan time period to have such modern simplified writing in the imperial edicts/Doctor Jang's diary/messages (that even I can easily read).


#7  Whose fault is it that Faith's previews didn't match the actual drama?

Scenes that viewers were looking forward to watching or expecting, were missing. Was it out of the director's control? If those scenes were not going to appear in the episodes, why show them in the previews?

Preview for Ep 9  (the start of Choi Young's new hairstyle with headband).
Ep 9 preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw7K4b0jG5Y

In this preview, Choi Young's hairstyle is changed. But this change was missing from the actual episode 9.

Instead,  Choi Young is shown with a different hairstyle than in the preview.

Preview hairstyle:  Looks older and aunty-ish compared to the episode hairstyle below.

Episode hairstyle:  Looks younger and better than the preview hairstyle.

The heart-to-heart talk with Lady Choi (location and dialogue) was also changed.

Preview scene:  She asks Choi Young why he was being so loyal to the king all of a sudden.

Episode scene:  She discourages him from falling in love with Eun Soo.

In the preview for Ep 9, it is this scene with the new hairstyle:   Choi Young asks Deok Man to protect Eun Soo. Deok Man is happy thinking he gets a chance to touch Eun Soo. Choi Young smacks his head. 

 

But in the actual scene that is actually in Ep 10:  Choi Young is in a different uniform, different location with different hairstyle from the preview. When Deok Man is happy that he gets to touch Eun Soo, Choi Young kicks him (instead of smacking). However, the dialogue is the same as in the preview scene.

 

#8  I remember in one of the episodes, at the end, there was a long preview. Included in it, were the scenes of Eun Soo playing the harp and Doc Jang with the needles growing from his hands. But I can't find it in any of the episode previews. Strange.

Maybe it was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fgPb56hJL8

I kept looking forward to seeing those scenes but even until the last episode, they were not shown.

Also, I kept looking forward to Min Ho looking like this (below pic) in a teaser/trailer photo, but it never happened (which I am not happy about). I wondered (and hoped) if he was playing evil here.

But ultimately, I think this scene of him should fit into the part where he was very ill from his stab wound.

It would seem that initially, the creators wanted to give him a soft boyish look. But later, changed it. In the teaser photos/videos of him, he had long, soft hair and a very young look. There is even a photo of him with blue hair. I don't know how that came about.

Viewing all the teaser/trailer videos, Hee-Sun and Min Ho went through quite a lot in getting their parts settled for the final version.

One trailer shows Hee-Sun with a really elaborate and heavy hairdo. And also shows her wearing a hat with a black veil. These scenes never made it into the actual episodes. For the hat, it was changed to just a normal bamboo hat without veil.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzzE0e599w8

Incidentally, the drama was initially called "Great Doctor" or "Divine Doctor". But because the focus was actually on Min Ho and not on Eun Soo/Hee-Sun, the title was changed to "Faith".


#9    In Choi Young's time in the drama, there are sliding doors, doors that swing out by holding onto each side, and doors with a sliding bar across.  The Coex door has 2 long vertical bars down each side. Why would he pull open one side without even a moment's hesitation as to how it might be opened? It felt a little strange watching him pull open it so naturally.

On the other hand, Eun Soo keeps saying she's been watching TV dramas/movies. So, she should have no problem sliding aside that bar across the door when she tried escaping. By the time she figured out how to slide that bar, Choi Young had come to push it back. Perhaps, she only watched modern TV dramas/movies.

Although it was a very good touch to have her struggle with opening the door... I was thinking she should know how to slide that bar. On the other hand, if she easily slid that bar, it might seem less believable, and viewers would have to take it that she had watched it on TV-- less impact compared to her struggling with that door and Choi Young stopping it.  

 

#10  Armor.  While I understand the weight of the costumes and production budget... it is rather hard to ignore plastic, foam and rubber armor.  Eun Soo shouldn't have been able to have pierced through it so easily.

Also, Choi Young's armor folds and buckles up quite often when he sits down or kneels. In the making of the part where he enters court with his men for the first time in their new uniforms to kneel before the king, the front part of his armor actually got in the way when he tried to kneel. He had to stand and straighten it.

In this scene, he sat to talk with Eun Soo, and when he got up, the back part of the "armor" buckled up with creases.

#11  Language. King Gongmin ruled Goryeo in 1351. We are now in 2012. This is 661 years difference. Even comparing the English language now to the 19th century (200 years' difference), there is a difference in speech. Yet everyone speaks normally with Eun Soo as though they are in modern-day Korea.


#12  Bowls. Are empty.  Empty drinks break the spell of the make-believe. At least, the characters must have wet lips when "drinking" for a real effect.

Scene where Eun Soo is in bed and the Suribang woman is squeezing herbal soup. Choi Young is supposed to bring the bowl to Eun Soo and feed her.

In the making of it, the bowl actually has dark liquid, which Min Ho brings to Eun Soo/Hee-Sun. But along the way, he spills it. Also, instead of feeding it to her slowly, he forces it down her too fast. The repeat takes must have delayed them quite some, so that the director must have decided to keep the bowl empty.

Scene where Eun Soo needs to drink a big white bowl of poison.  It's obvious there's nothing in it as she drinks and then her lips are completely pale-dry.


#13  Shoes. Same as armor, I can't help noticing that the shoes look modern with rubber soles.  Choi Young's shoes: flat soles with no grooves for grip (worn away?).



#14   Heart CPR.  Ep 5 where Eun Soo pumps her body weight into Choi Young to resuscitate him.

Notice his chest is larger/higher than normal for his lying down position.  They must have put something inside his shirt to allow Eun Soo to pump him with her body weight and hands. Without an airbag (I assume), Min Ho would have hurt from all that pumping.

Compare this to the last episode, where she pumps his chest while he lays on the grass. It's obvious she isn't really pushing down on his chest. Just making the action of it.  Assume they didn't put an airbag inside this time. His chest looks normal/flat considering at least 2 layers of clothing that he's wearing.

 

#15  Last episode 24. Ki Cheol's injury.

Choi Young throws his sword through Ki Cheol's back. And it has penetrated quite inwards towards the middle of Ki Cheol's body. So, it is not just a side graze.  (Which also means he fell back on the sword which should push in further through).  

However. There is no wound at the back of Ki Cheol.  

 

#16  Peeling sticker. Why did the director have to film this part of the pillar? Obviously pasted, not painted.  I would think a real ancient palace would have hand-painted designs, real gold layering etc... Even if faded or damaged, they would repair it.

Perhaps, the director thought the peeling "paint" would give it an authentic feel. But it's an opposite effect. It's in fact, embarrassing to show a palace neglected like this.

This is the scene where Eum Ja is eavesdropping on Choi Young for the last time because Choi Young realizes and starts chasing.  Choi Young has dragged out Eun Soo and asks her to shut up. But she has just realized that the boy she saved would kill Choi Young in the future. Ep 10.

#17   Eun Soo's wrist watch.  None of the Goryeo characters even once mentions her watch.  This is a time-piece that is so small that it can be worn on the wrist, and nobody mentions it? This is too much of an oversight.

Plus, the fact that her watch is so shiny and eye-catching on her wrist. Not even Choi Young who is so observant ever expresses any curiosity about it. Not even Doctor Jang. Or Ki Cheol.

Also, at some point, her watch disappears, just like her green handbag. ^_^ Of course, we know what happened to her handphone. Dumped on the straw some place where she was held hostage in Ep 2.


#18   Philip Lee. At the start, I thought he was going to be a rival love interest for Eun Soo. Turned out to be not. Not only that, his scenes became fewer and fewer until his part was totally extinguished suddenly and unconvincingly in Ep 21. We didn't even get to see his face after so long of his absence. Eun Soo is just told that he died.

The reason? He died while protecting her antidote.

Although we have never seen him fight against Eum Ja and Soo Inn, he is after all, an accomplished fighter with his fan and a smart man.  It is highly unlikely he would have just died like that, even if he was protecting the antidote.

Ah ha. I see. http://www.dramabeans.com/2012/10/philip-lee-injured-drops-out-of-faith/

Dropped out because he had to go for scheduled eye surgery. But why was it scheduled to be at such a time? And how did he get injured if it wasn't on the set of Faith?

While reading the article, I kept agreeing "Yeah, yeah, yeah!".  Exactly what I said above.

How could this be Goryeo's greatest doctor when his character was so bland, he had nothing to say and just sat back while things were happening around Eun Soo?

I thought he had few lines because it was hard for him learning the pronunciation etc..? Or was that in the past that he learnt Korean and is now fine? (I read another article some time back, that said he is American but insisted on returning to Korea and learning the language from scratch).

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There you have it. 18 bloopers/mistakes/questionables that I didn't even have to sweat picking them out.  I'm sure there are more that I missed. If so, let me know.