Mateja, Karlo and Leo: ‘A few months of work is what it sometimes takes from concept to realization of a 20 seconds long quality promotional video material!'
Team from Blank Film Incubator made promotional video materials for this year's 20th YFF and 8th Four River Film Festival. The young and talented filmmakers, cinematographer and photographer Mateja Ilijašev, animator Karlo Pavičić Ravlić and director and producer Leo Vitasović revealed the way how they created the promotional materials. How to realize the ideas? How to make the final product as good as possible? How important is it to have a good team on set? These filmmakers spend every free moment on set, editing or thinking about ideas for new projects, and their answers give us good guidance that are essential for a quality film.
Where did the idea for this year's promotional videos come from and how much time did it take to make the trailers?
Leo: We made four promo videos for the Youth Film Festival and Four River Film Festival in the Blank Film Incubator production. In previous years there has always been one trailer, and this year we decided to take a different approach. The idea is that each of these trailers covers one part of film production, and one video is in the form of animation that Karlo made.
Karlo: I can say that the process of animation was the most complex. Although I have a lot of experience because I made the animated movie Antuntun which has won several awards, and afterwards I enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts, department of animation, each project is still challenging in itself. Given that the main motive of the festival is a banana, we created animations in this concept.
Leo: It took us half a year from concept to final promo video. We approached it meticulously because we wanted good quality materials.
Mateja: Although I actually recently joined the team, I quickly understood how they worked and I must admit that I am thrilled with their concept. In the trailers the idea was to show the process of creating a film as something really fun and we wanted to show our creativity.
The main actor in the promotional materials was Filip Mayer. This famous young actor has had a number of successful roles and he acted in the film 'Koko and the Ghosts' directed by Daniel Kušan. On the 12th Youth Film Festival, Filip was a member of the jury for the 'Yellow Flag' award which is given to a film that promotes nonviolence.
How important is pre-production and good preparation before shooting of the promo materials and films?
Karlo: Preparation is extremely important. We went with topics that are close to us. We had Filip Mayer, who has quite a lot of acting experience since he starred in big budget films. We did a lot of research and when it comes to animation, we wanted examples of how a planet of bananas would look like or how the bananas would move. Although each video lasts for only 20 seconds, we were well prepared and we wanted those 20 seconds to be special, to stay in people’s memory.
Mateja: If you prepare fully and in detail, there is no doubt that any material will turn out quite well, but as nothing is perfect, there can always be some unexpected situations that can disrupt the entire process. Therefore, it is essential to have a well-developed idea, theme and really great organization. I think the director and producer have an important role.
Leo: I agree. After a well-developed idea, and a script, the most important thing is actually to have good cooperation between the director and the entire team on set.
How do you maintain good cooperation with the team on set?
Leo: The director should have equally good cooperation with all members of the team. The film is not only a director, editor, actor and director of photography, it's the whole team, and if, for example, the whole team is demotivated, then there is a big problem in production, and thus also in the realization of the film. So I think the director should be sincere with the whole team because that way he motivates them. He should to motivate the rest of the team with his work and enthusiasm, and confidence is the key. We all hang out privately after the film set.
Mateja: Although I joined the team later, I think I have shown enthusiasm and everybody took me in. They are so positive around me, and they know what they want and how to do it and that's the only thing that, in my opinion, is really missing here in Croatia. Young people, who want to work in film, should be able to see their future in the film industry. We have to pick colleagues who are compatible because teams spend days and nights on the film set, and if you are just doing your job, while privately you cannot communicate with your co-workers, then, I think, you will not get a good product.
Karlo: Leo and I have entered the film world together. I'm on my first year of the Academy in Zagreb, and previous experience and work on film has helped me gain confidence. Cooperation is extremely important, and through it we can learn a lot about ourselves. For example, after several film sets, I have gained enough experience to show my will and desire to work and to constantly learn. That, I think, was the most important for my enrollment into the Academy. Together with talent, the professors appreciate effort, the effort that the person is willing to invest in his/her work.
Mateja, Karlo and Leo agreed that the subject of media culture should be introduced to schools, so that high school students would learn about the art of film, but they should also be informed and educated on how the media affect consumers.
What would you say to your peers who would like to make their first film or the promotional video, but do not know which is the first step?
Mateja: Although will is extremely important, for me the most important thing is to choose quality people to collaborate with. I had million ideas that I wanted to realize, some I managed to, some I did not, but what I realized in the process, is that if you cannot work with people for 12 hours on set, you cannot get a good film. The most important thing is to find a team where you'll feel comfortable and then you can give your best.
Karlo: I used to do exclusively animation, but over time I realized how much cooperation with other people is important because you need more elements to make a good project. Everyone wants to make a film, but also everyone wants to be a director or an actor, they do not want to do the sound or assist and they don’t realize that it’s imperative for all the participants to take their roles seriously because every man is important.
Leo: Since I was in the second grade of primary school when I decided I wanted to work on film and I didn’t know how, I went step by step. The most important turning point occurred in the 5th grade when I went to the first workshop organized by the Croatian Film Association. There I found people who share my enthusiasm and who want to make films. Therefore, specific advice which helped me is to go to film workshops as often as you can because that’s how you will gain experience. Send the films that you make at the workshops to festivals. If the film does not enter the competition, visit the festival nevertheless and spend time with people. You will not find a film crew if you're sitting at home or walking around the neighborhood. You should be in touch with people who are part of the film industry.
20.05.2015.