Our Blog
Sławomir Idziak will lead the Actors Previs Group this year
Information about the Previs Group
The participants are going to receive the shooting script of Gattaca, for which I worked as the director of photography. During the practical exercises – staging with the actors, the participants will create a virtual film (previs) based on the original (shooting) screenplay. The previs to Gattaca cannot be a replica of the already existing film. The participants should “create” an original work based on a different message and told in a different style. That is why the first day of the workshop will be devoted to analysis of the screenplay. In this phase the accent will be put on the necessity of establishing and description of the future film style. Together with the participants, we will analyse how the way of telling the story (the style) influences the essence of the story itself.
We will also examine different work models and discuss the importance of including into the process of screenwriting every person who influences the final shape of the film (the actors, the cinematographer, the composer). We want to stress the significance of such working method by showing how neglecting it may be the cause of a potential failure. On day one of the workshop, the participants will have to formulate their vision of the work, most importantly the message (main idea) and style of the future film and its previs. The participants should not be influenced by what Niccol has done but rather look for new solutions. It is particularly relevant for Gattaca, a sci-fi film then, created over twenty years ago whose reality is now within reach.
From day two, we are going to perform chronologically (with the help of our actors) the most important scenes of the new Gattaca, remembering that chronology in real filmmaking is rarely possible. In this stage, we will focus on the main topic of the seminar: teamwork. We will take into account the polyphony of the filmmaking process: all the elements of the work on a professional film set. In other words, we will try to answer the question of how to translate the knowledge from various fields of the film school education into practical work on set. In the next days, we will stage the most important scenes of the film to show and proof how in the creative process we drift apart from the initial objectives. Sometimes it influences the final work in a positive way, but very often in the negative way. We are going to analyse possible control methods.
Such process of creating a previs – a virtual film in a nutshell – most often without the camera and the technology, will allow the young filmmakers to learn their tendencies and weaknesses. I hope that they will understand how a single idea may be flawed or too limited, and how a partner in the creative process may take just a scrap and turn it into something of bigger, adding new valuable ideas. The emphasis on teamwork and control over one’s ego is often uplifting and open new perspectives. Help to show that a true work of art has a life of its own, which many young artists seem to forget. We want to separate the rules of storytelling techniques from our (often illusory) belief that the viewer has to follow our convoluted ideas. For every scene of the previs, we can refer back to Gattaca and compare our staging with A. Niccola’s staging.
Making a previs will give the participants an interesting material for discussion about how the film message and style defined in the beginning of our mutual work shapes a different way of storytelling and results in something original and new.
Photos from the archive of Sławomir Idziak, taken on the set of “Gattaca” movie.
Auteur cinema – does it have to be this way? Author: Sławomir Idziak
Having worked in filmmaking for over 50 years all over the world, I noticed that in the era of a dramatic change in film technology, the method in filmmaking remains unchanged. It often seems that the system of film production continues to be the same, is if these changes didn’t apply. This very human reflex to stick to tradition and blindness to the ongoing change is clearly visible in the film production system, and it starts in film schools.
In Europe, we cultivate the myth of auteur cinema, with both a local and a wider reach. Artists such as Fellini, Wajda, Kieślowski, or more recently Pawlikowski, Cuaron or Almodovar have a global impact. Young people, when enrolling into a film school, identify themselves with this model completely and the film education often strengthens this belief. I sometimes feel as if this European auteur theory served some ambiguous interests. It is in somebody’s interest to prevent from creating original films that would be also commercially attractive. Numbers don’t lie: just compare the profits of the mentioned directors with the big American blockbusters.
Does it have to be this way? Not necessarily. Video games including the Polish Witcher are great examples. An individual will always lose in a fight against a well-organised institution. I believe that very often the promotion of the idea of auteur cinema is an abuse and often acts as justification for the status quo of a disproportionally divided film market in Europe and in the world. Why is that? When we take a look at a practical definition of the profession of a ‘film director’ (taking into account successful directors), we will quickly see how broad this definition is:
- Film directors are most often also screenwriters, meaning artists with literary skills. It doesn’t mean that some other artist couldn’t direct a film based on someone else’s idea; It’s just that scriptwriters have a much bigger chance to find the money for the film production as the result of numerous candidates for the directing job.
- Money! As we all know, money for filmmaking doesn’t grow on trees. It takes a lot of work for future film directors to find the funds for their scripts. When talking to young directors
- I have taught in different film schools for many years and sadly I notice that people with PR skills receive funds for production of their film much quicker than shy and sensitive artists. It is not enough to produce a good film; now you have to sell it, which means selling yourself.
- And finally: directing. The director is a conductor who has to reshape the material into an emotion-evoking work, regardless of whether they use their own writing or someone else’s script.
In all that chaos, with thousands of tasks, “actions” and “cuts” on set, the director has to carry a vision that in the end will invoke emotions in the audience sitting in the dark screening room.
Is that an easy task? And do film schools prepare their students well for such a mission? I often doubt it since I have dealt with educated professionals on film sets and I have observed their helplessness. There are thousands of reasons, smaller and bigger ones. Let me focus on a few of them that I consider relevant. The European film education model is oriented towards the ego of an individual artist who is supposed to fulfill his or her artistic visions. An example of this is many schools offering education programs for directors and experts in other fields: cinematographers, editors, set designers. Future directors are from the beginning considered better than their colleagues even though they haven’t done anything special apart from augmenting their egos. But the work on set is teamwork. In the filmmaking structure a single individual is not able to control the entire process– it is just impossible. A good film is made as creative group work. Yes, there is a need for a conductor, someone who has the final say, but he or she needs a group of artists playing various instruments. They will play the same score provided that they become participants in a joint undertaking. To achieve that, they must share or understand the director’s message. They have to have the chance to participate in the joint process of translating the screenplay into an audio-visual work. A script is just a literary draft. Some of the most important issues are not put in writing at all – I’m thinking about the visual part. Visual dramaturgy has its own rights which are different from verbal dramaturgy.
The work of a film composer usually begins at the end of the film editing process. Krzysztof Kieślowski used to begin the film prep with hours-long discussions with actors cinematographer and a composer. Every one of them had a sense of being part of the creative process long before the beginning of the shoot. The music in his films was always composed before the shooting, which helped to create the cohesive style of the film. There is a multitude of examples but the rule is universal.
The future director may be the driving force in the filmmaking process provided that he or she does not take the idea of auteur cinema too literally. From my own experience I can say that such artist like Wajda, Scott, Kieślowski –always make or made their films in a creative group, making use of other artists’ invention. Furthermore, today we have tools to do a “dress rehearsal” before entering the actual film set: to shoot the previs of the future film
See also
Film Spring Open – Lab of the audiovisual future. Welcome to the 2020 Film Spring Open Workshop!
November 2020
October 2020
- Congratulations to winners of PZU Competition!
- Join CGI and modern editing group!
- Join VFX Group and win Nuke license!
- Check the program of Film Spring Open 2020
- Director Olga Czyżykiewicz will lead Music Videos Group
- Konrad Ziaja will lead Virtual Reality Group
September 2020
- Join Film Music Group
- Adam Suzin and Beata Rakoczy will lead Group Sony Shooting in Rough Conditions
- Bloger Konrad Kruczkowski will lead Internet Creators Group
- Pawel Dyllus will lead Arri Crime Movies Group
- Slawomir Idziak will lead New Green Production Model Group
August 2020
- Florent Pallares will lead Interactive Narration Group
- Canon Documentary Films Group
- Filming on a virtual set group
- We invite you to join Nature Films Group
July 2020
- Contest for a PZU SA preventive campaign
- Jagoda Szelc will lead scriptwriting group at Film Spring Open 2020 online edition
- Film Spring Open – Lab of the audiovisual future. Welcome to the 2020 Film Spring Open Workshop!
April 2020
October 2019
- The Kissinger Twins will lead a masterclass at Film Spring Open 2019
- Join the Video Games Group with Bloober Team!
- We invite to join Sony Xperia Youtubers Group at Film Spring Open 2019
- Andrey Zvyagintsev (“Leviathan”, “Loveless”) will be a guest at Film Spring Open 2019
- Learn about ecology and come to Green Film Open discussion panel at Film Spring Open 2019
- Artur Reinhart will lead the Nikon Movie Close-up group
- Sophia Kyriacou will be a guest at Film Spring Open 2019
- Wanda i Marcin Kędzierzawscy will lead the SFX and special effects make-up group
- Paweł Dyllus will lead the Arri Group – crime movies now and in the future
September 2019
- Gabriel Ziaja will lead Virtual Reality HP Group this year!
- Check the program of Film Spring Open Workshop 2019!
- Kuba Sobek will lead CGI and modern editing group
- Music video contest: win one of a three workshop scholarships!
- Michał Sobociński will lead the Sony Venice Group
- Sławomir Idziak will lead the Actors Previs Group this year
- Agata Nawrocka will lead Nuke The Art of Visual Effects Group
- Wojciech Staroń will lead Canon Documentary Film Group
- Why is it worth to join the contest? We ask the winners of 2017 edition
August 2019
- The Interactive Narration Group will continue the project during Film Spring Open 2019
- Film Summer Masterclass in Görlitz
- Competition for a PZU SA Preventive Campaign: fifteen scholarships to win!
- Dorota Kędzierzawska will lead Family and Children’s Film Group
July 2019
- Jagoda Szelc will lead screenwriting group at Film Spring Open 2019
- Join us at the audiovisual workshop Film Spring Open 2019!
December 2018
- Jagoda Szelc at the Film Spring Open Workshop 2018
- Visual Dramaturgy. Sławomir Idziak at the Film Spring Open Workshop 2018
- „You cannot make better fire than the real fire” – Neil Corbould – the special guest of the Film Spring Open Workshop 2018
- Tough way to debut. An Oscar winner, Ewa Puszczyńska – the special guest of Film Spring Open Workshop 2018
November 2018
- Character and Cartoon Animation in CINEMA 4D: 3 Case Studies – Fabian Rosenkranz at Film Spring Open Workshop 2018
- The 13. edition of the Film Spring Open Workshop has come to an end. Thank you!
October 2018
- Neil Corbould, a two-time Oscar winner arrived to teach special effects in low-budget filmmaking and Ewa Puszczyńska, an Oscar winner for Ida gave a lecture on film debut – the third day of the Film Spring Workshop behind us.
- Make an animated music video for Siles, Zuza Jabłońska or Laboratorium.
- Screenings at the Film Spring Workshop.The Lost Town of Świteź (dir. Kamil Polak)
- The latest technologies, talking Virtual Hologram and mind-tripping experiences in VR – our Special Guests: James E. Marks & Chris Szkoda from DoubleMe (London)
- Having a good head for filmmaking – about the mental training in the profession.
- Screenings at the Film Spring Workshop. Dawn and Short Film About Life
- LG YouTubers group. Be smart, use your smartphone to make a film.
- Screenings at the Film Spring Workshop. 7 FEELINGS/ 7 UCZUĆ.
- Framework programme of the Film Spring Workshop 2018
- Canon – Nature Films Group
September 2018
- Make a music video for Tymon Tymański & MU and win the scholarship at our workshop
- Get a scholarship and join our brand new group! Open call for the sports film group.
- Interactive narration group. Only you
- Meeting with an Artist – Jagoda Szelc
August 2018
- The Film Summer Masterclass has come to an end but this is just the beginning of great friendships and collaborations.
- From an idea to a story- from a line to a film. Painting animation group
- Make yourself a movie poster. A film graphics group
- Laila Pakalnina to tutor the documentary group at Film Spring Workshop.
July 2018
- Tools and means of transport in the new model of film production.
- Fantastic worlds of UNIT9
- Crossing the borders. Summer Masterclass
- Borys Lankosz will teach screenwriting at the Film Spring Workshop.
June 2018
- Augmented reality cinematic experience group
- The second team – how to speed work without losing in quality control.
- OPEN CALL for Film Spring Workshop 2018
May 2018
- Film professions. How is it and how could it be? cont.
- Film professions. How is it and how could it be?
April 2018
- Previs – New Workflow.
- Slawomir Idziak will hold a Visual Dramaturgy Workshop with introduction to New Model of Film Production in Bratislava.
- Filmmakers and artists at the Zakopane Festival of Films about Art. Promotion of the New Model of Film Production.
March 2018
- New Production Model. Part 4. All about Previs
- New Production Model. Part 3. Chaos, or how the cinematography is done in the film
February 2018
- Sławomir Idziak with the award for lifetime achievement. Cinebus at the PSC award ceremony.
- New Model of Film Production. Part 2. New is born from the death of the old
- The New Model of Film Production. Introduction.
December 2017
October 2017
- What you should know before coming to the Film Spring Workshop 2017
- The Summary of the Film Spring Workshop Programme 2017
- Internet stars at Film Spring Workshop.
September 2017
August 2017
- The battles, shootings, car chases, explosions – we shoot action scenes
- Revolution in Motion Capture accessible to anyone
- Allegro at the Film Spring Workshop – film project contest
- Make your own video game!
- Boost your technical filmmaking knowledge at Film Spring Workshop
- “Race cars, space jumps and explosions – putting every boy’s dreams into 3D graphics”. A presentation and workshop by Matthias Zabiegly, Aixsponza.
- Interactive Narration Group 2017 is waiting for you!
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
October 2016
September 2016
- Film Spring Open 2016 Daily Schedule
- Juliette Binoche at Film Spring Open-Air
- Neurobiology of creativity. For love of the Brain
August 2016
- Previs Group is waiting for you!
- Audiovisual Workshop „Spirit Possession or Confession” through the prism of the work of the French anthropologist and historian Michel de Certeau.
- Open Call to Commercials Group at Film Spring Open-Air
June 2016
May 2016
June 2015
September 2014
- Equipment at Film Spring Open Air 2014
- Only at FSO! Re-creating workflow of Natalie Portman’s directorial debut “A Tale of Love and Darkness”
- Sławomir Idziak workshops at FSO "The Triple Life of Veronique”
- Actors at Film Spring Open Air 2014
- Graphic of Film Spring Open Air 2014!
- Equipment at FSO – information from technical team
- Recruitment results – Filmspringers 2014
July 2014
- CHIMNEY POLAND supports Film Adaptations of Theatrical Spectacles Group!
- Music Videos Group KAYAX at Film Spring Open Air!
- Join Interactive Dramaturgy Group!
- Polish Society of Cinematographers offers scholarships for Film Spring Open Air!
June 2014
- Commercial Advertisement LOTTO Group at Film Spring Open Air!
- 105 000 PLN for scripts associated with Małopolska – Call for VII edition of the Competition “Three Crowns – Małopolska Film Award”!
- Invitation from Young Artists Set of the Union of Artists of Polish Scenes
- FilmSpringers’ "Your Place" now on VOFF
- Film Spring Open Air nominated for the Polish Film Institute Award!