The 13th Beijing International Film Festival Film Master Class was led by German director and screenwriter Florian Henkel von Donasmark.
As early as 2016, director Donas Marck served as a judge of the Temple of Heaven Award in the main competition unit of the 6th Beijing International Film Festival. With his feature film debut "Eavesdropping Storm", he won several international awards, including Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Academy Awards. His second feature film, "Deadly Companion", is still a box office award-winning double. In 2018, Donas Marque once again premiered his masterpiece in the main competition section of the Venice Film Festival, which also brought him several Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.
Donas Marck is not a prolific director, but every shot must be a masterpiece, so what is the secret of his creation? How far is the distance between a little bit of inspiration and a feature film? In this masterclass, Donas Mark shared his successful experience sincerely and meticulously, and he believes that the greatest talent of a successful director is the belief that he can fully do the job. Directors must have self-confidence, or rather self-confidence as a necessary mode of thinking, and in the master class he leads the audience to dissect the entire process of filmmaking, telling how a new director should make his debut - from capturing the flow of inspiration to realizing a feature film.
Start from the most original spark of inspiration so that you will not make mistakes in filmmaking
In terms of creation, director Donas Marck said that the original intention of the script inspiration is very important, and this enthusiasm has prompted him to complete one script after another, and it has also inspired him to dedicate several years of his life to a film. "I hope that the screenwriters and directors will also have enough courage to believe in yourself, and since you have embarked on this path, you must believe in it."
Director Donas Marck greatly admired director Anthony Mingella, who created "Genius Ripley", "He will go back to the original feeling, Mingla, who fully follows and trusts his instincts, and from the most original spark of inspiration, he will not make mistakes in filmmaking." ”
Directors are walking detectives who need to develop their own skills to detect lies
Donas Marck also mentioned another important ability that directors need to have - lie detection. "As directors, our job is basically walking detectives, and I often watch these scenes very closely. I'm like a detector of lies, staring all the time, and if there is a lie that doesn't feel real enough in their lines, I'll call stop, you know there's something wrong with the movie. ”
If the same thing happens for the third time, the director should start thinking: maybe the problem does not exist in the performance but in the script. While it's hard to honestly admit that a script is wrong, directors need to be vigilant at all times, identify "lies" immediately, and correct mistakes in a gentle way. "If you're a screenwriter, it's easier to do, just change it yourself, if you're not a screenwriter you need some skills, you have to revise some questions, because you have a responsibility to tell the truth, you have to develop your skills, that is, the skill of detecting lies."
Donas Mark also reminded many young directors of the mistakes that are prone to make, "They want to be absolutely authoritative, they are afraid that their changes will be perceived as lacking leadership and judgment, but what they want to remind young directors is that some things can never be determined, usually if you admit what is wrong, you can know what is right, so don't be ashamed to say it, only admit it, don't be afraid to change your mind, even if it is completely different from what you said before." ”
The most liquid movie, with a break every three seconds
Donas Marck shared the editing skills of the film, he believes that the most liquid film is to break every three seconds. "A really good editor wrote a book called 'Blink,' and he came up with a great theory that we need to edit every three seconds and then change the camera. The book says that there is a stop every three seconds in life, just like our blinking, every time we blink and open our eyes again, it is almost three seconds. ”
Speaking about shooting, Donas Marck said, "We can constantly adjust the camera position, find different angles, and if we can shoot 20-30 shots a day, it is very professional. You need about 60-90 shooting days to finish a movie. If we don't have a lot of time and scenes, we can shoot shorter, we can put the camera on a platform that can be moved, or we can adjust the focus and do post-editing work, at this time we can use different shots for the same scene. ”
For many directors who worry that they don't know where to put the camera when shooting, Donas Mark came up with a solution, "I think people just need to ask themselves, if I can predict what will happen in the future now, then what do I think is the best position, and then put the camera in this position, and after three seconds again see where the best position is, and then put the camera in that position." ”
For the scenes filmed, Donas Marck said that the film does not need any boring moments, and there is no excuse for this. All boring scenes should be cut, and when there are only 8 good scenes in a script, throw everything else away. What is missing from the script, and then design some good scenes to put in.
At the end of the master class, Donas Mark once again stressed the importance of the script. In addition to controlling details such as dialogue, the director also needs to grasp the structure of the film. To this end, Donas Mark recommended "treasures" in screenwriting such as "Sid Field Classic Playwriting Tutorial" and "Screenwriter's Alchemy" to young filmmakers. For young filmmakers, Donas Mark said that the Chinese government is happy to support the film industry, and young filmmakers will also have many opportunities, and I believe that the future of the film industry can also be created.