Editing Ultraman (1966 TV series) (section)

==Production==
===Development===
Due to the success of ''[[Ultra Q]]'', [[Tokyo Broadcasting System]] (TBS) requested a similar themed show from [[Tsuburaya Productions|Tsuburaya Productions Company]] (TPC), this time filmed in color and with the hopes of continuing the series with TPC.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=113}} TPC founder [[Eiji Tsuburaya]] and writer Tetsuo Kinjo decided to recycle the barebones idea of ''Ultra Q'' about civilians and center the show on a team, tentatively dubbed the "Scientific Investigation Agency" (SIA), specifically designed to deal with monsters and supernatural phenomena. Tsuburaya and Kinjo repurposed unused ideas from ''Ultra Q'', as well as the rejected outline for ''[[Bio Planet WoO|Woo]]''.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}} Tsuburaya had spent significant studio money to build his miniatures for the ''Godzilla'' films, and TPC was seeking a new project to repurpose and monetize those miniatures.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}} 

The first iteration of Ultraman was named "Bemular" and had a human host in his late 20s named "Officer Sakomizu", described as a "tough guy" in early drafts. Captain Muramatsu would have been the only SIA member to know his secret identity,{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}} and a female SIA member was added late in production.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=117}} Pre-production and story layout began in December 1965 as ''Bemular: Scientific Investigation Agency''. Writer Masahiro Yamada completed a sample teleplay titled ''The Birth of Bemular'' that featured an unused scenario originally written for ''Ultra Q''. TBS producer Takashi Kakoi demanded that Bemular have a metallic complexion and be distinguishable from similarly designed monsters to avoid confusion. As a result, Tsuburaya and Kinjo discarded Bemular's original design in favor of a humanoid appearance.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}} The name "Bemular" was dropped for the hero but given to Ultraman's first foe in the debut episode "Ultra Operation No. 1".{{sfn|Asahi Sonorama|1982|p=43}}

In January 1966, the production's title was changed to ''Redman'' to reflect the hero's color scheme and was unanimously approved for production a month later. In this version, Redman lands on Earth as a refugee after invaders destroyed his home planet. Redman fuses with Sakomizu and together protect the Earth from giant monsters and alien invaders.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}} This version also featured the "Flashbeam", an early version of Ultraman's transformation device the Beta Capsule, however, the Flashbeam version resembled a futuristic fountain pen.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=116}} During the casting process, TBS suggested actors with Western appearances in order to appeal to overseas markets, however, most of the cast came from [[Toho]]. On March 22, 1966, the copyright offices approved the shows's registration, now titled ''Ultraman''.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=117}} Each episode was produced on a budget of {{JPY|20-30 million}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nakajima |first=Junichiro |date=December 10, 2008 |title=｢ウルトラマン｣は迷走から脱却できるのか |url=https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/2536 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629165828/http://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/2536 |archive-date=June 29, 2015 |access-date=September 8, 2022 |website=Toyo Keizai Online |publisher=[[Toyo Keizai]] |language=Japanese}}</ref>

===Design===
The early Bemular version was originally conceived by Kinjo as an intergalactic reptilian creature that would enlarge itself to {{convert|164|feet|meters|sigfig=3}} and come to the SIA's aid. The early design was a cross between [[Garuda]], a mythological Hindu/Buddhist guardian bird, and [[Tengu]], a Japanese folkloric crow-goblin.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=114}} Eiji Tsuburaya found the early designs to be "too alien and sinister" and requested that production designer [[Tohl Narita]] continue drafting additional designs as teleplays were being written concurrently. Narita took inspiration from the Greek concept of cosmos (order and harmony), in contrast to Narita's monster designs for ''Ultra Q'', which were rooted in the Greek concept of Chaos. Narita also drew inspiration from classical Greek art, ancient Egypt, the European Renaissance, and Miyamoto Musashi. Tsuburaya and Kinjo also gave their own input on Narita's designs. To reflect Ultraman's cosmic origins, his silver skin symbolized steel from an interstellar rocket and the red lining represented the surface of Mars. Narita's assistant, Akira Sasaki, sculpted clays, but became concerned about the nose and mouth looking too human. They eventually decided on a brim-like nose that runs from the mouth to the top of the head like a dorsal fin, and applied flexibility on the mouth for speech. Early outlines had Ultraman capable of spitting fire and a liquid called "silver iodine", but these ideas were dropped. A three-minute warning light called the "Color Timer" was added at the last minute due to the filmmakers feeling that Ultraman was too invincible, and also believed that it would invoke suspense and cheers from viewers.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=117}}

===Filming===
To keep production costs from going over budget, the series was filmed on 16mm stock and optical effects on 35mm. This met the network's requirement for making new episodes on a fast-paced production schedule, due to filming starting in March 1966 for July premiere. The production crew were separated into three teams, subdivided into separate live-action filming and special effects filming groups. TBS and TPC originally agreed to air ''Ultraman'' on July 17, but TBS delayed it by one week in order to cover the spot originally intended for the final episode of ''Ultra Q'', which was pulled from the broadcast schedule due to not featuring any monsters. TBS also wanted to beat the release of Fuji Television's  similarly themed ''[[Ambassador Magma]]''.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=120}} Though production on ''Ultraman'' was proceeding well enough, it was falling behind to meet the premiere date. After meetings between TBS, Tsuburaya Productions, and sponsors, they decided to produce the ''Ultraman Eve Festival'', a live TV special intended to introduce Ultraman to viewers that would air on July 10. This was also done to help the crew catch up and finish the premiere episode. The special was retitled ''The Birth of Ultraman: An Ultraman Premiere Celebration''.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=124}} Kunio Miyauchi, who composed the music for ''Ultra Q'', was brought back to compose the music for ''Ultraman''. The lyrics to the show's opening theme music were written by [[Hajime Tsuburaya]] (credited as Koichi Fuji).{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=120}}

===Monsters===
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Production designer [[Tohl Narita]] designed all of the show's monsters, and sometimes deviated from their original descriptions. A majority of the time, the writers did not include any specific descriptions in the teleplays and left most unnamed. The names of the monsters were decided via staff meetings, where it would also be determined if the writer had created a creature that was capable or incapable of being filmed with the special effects technology available at the time. The monsters were sculpted and fabricated by Ryosaku Takayama, Akira Sasaki, and Ekisu Productions.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=127}}

[[Haruo Nakajima]], who played [[Godzilla]] for the first 12 films in the ''Godzilla'' franchise,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/world/asia/godzilla-actor-haruo-nakajima-japan.html|title=Haruo Nakajima, the First Actor to Play Godzilla, Dies at 88|first=Russell|last=Goldman|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 8, 2017|access-date=September 10, 2022|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|archive-date=September 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911022522/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/world/asia/godzilla-actor-haruo-nakajima-japan.html}}</ref> choreographed all the monsters' battles with Ultraman performer [[Bin Furuya]] and even played the monsters for episodes three and ten. Nakajima also had two cameos, one in episode 24 and one in episode 33 as a police officer.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=128}} ''Ultraman'' featured new monster suits, as well as recycled suits from ''Ultra Q''. Two Godzilla suits were recycled from Toho for the monster Jirahs, with the head taken from the Godzilla suit from ''[[Ebirah, Horror of the Deep]]'' and placed upon the body of the Godzilla suit from ''[[Mothra vs. Godzilla]]''. The dorsal fins and parts of the suit were sprayed yellow and a large yellow frill was attached to disguise the connection of the head with the body.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=119}} The show also marks the first appearance of ''Ultraman Zoffy'' in the finale ''Farewell, Ultraman''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/ultraman/256859/the-complete-history-of-ultraman-part-1-1966-1987|title=The Complete History of Ultraman Part 1 (1966-1987)|last=Harber|first=Stephen|work=Den of Geek|date=January 8, 2017|access-date=February 15, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=April 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422042934/https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/the-complete-history-of-ultraman-part-1-1966-1987/}}</ref>