DIGITAL PRODUCTION CHALLENGE II
2018 Edition
General Introduction & Summary
Meeting the Challenge
The 10th DPC II Challenge (Athens) closed November 1 2018 after 3.5 days of intense discussion and analysis of production workflow needs. The meeting comprised four fascinating case studies on how to overcome specific production difficulties through better workflow decision-making, a series of top-level technical presentations on issues ranging from digital imaging to shooting on 2K or 4K to architecture of cameras and previsualisation, and expert workflow analysis of eight new and ambitious international projects. In 2018, more than 50 (post-)production professionals attended from 14 countries (including 35 participants).
“The idea of DPCII is to offer guidance, to trigger your curiosity, to make you understand that technical elements are changing all the time and to give you the tools to help you to progress in your production workflow,” stressed DPC II Project Manager Sophie Bourdon.
In the first case study case, Swedish producer Jessica Ask and DP Peter Mokrosinski discussed how to maximise workflow to provide creative solutions in low budget production, with reference to their new feature Halvdan Viking (which was itself presented in embryonic project form at DPC II in 2016). The second workshop, led by legendary Greek sound mixer Kostas Varibopiotis, addressed post-production sound workflow. Later, editors Alexandre Westphal and Alexandre Donot discussed the use of low budget VFX on the brilliant French mockumentary Guy (Alex Lutz), while German producer Arne Birkenstock discussed post-production strategies and workflow on his campaigning documentary The Congo Tribunal, as well as marketing strategies to maximise audience engagement and impact.
Commented Swedish producer Ask of her 2016 experience when she received workflow advice from the DPC II experts. “They asked me all the right questions, and they also asked me why I wanted to do this project. When you see the movie in front of you, what do you see? Why do you want to go this way and not another way? What does your gut feeling tell you? Also I think that having people [on the production] to make me understand how complicated all these [choices] are, from choosing your camera, how to do your post and everything, made me directly hire a post-production co-ordinator and producer that could take all of that, but with whom I could work very closely.”
The eight projects up for analysis at DPC II this year were diverse in terms of nationality, content and stage of development/production. Three projects were from Greece and there was one each from Romania, Germany, Georgia, Iraq and Sweden. On the closing day, each production team received in-depth workflow analysis from cinematographer Philippe Ros and held one-to-one meetings with Martin Hagemann (producer), Miga Bär (prod tech specialist, Netflix), Florian Rettich (DIT) and post-production expert Tommaso Vergallo (CEO, Noir Lumiere).
Line producer Georgiana Constantin of Romanian Saga Film, attending with her project Metamorphoses, commented at the close of the workshop: “Now I am going to have a discussion with the director regarding the camera choice and the format he chose, and I think we could apply this [suggested] workflow… but I am also going to question the whole workflow that is usually done in my production company because now I have found out there are things that could be really improved.”
Producer Hagemann was particularly impressed by the 2018 participants. “I liked a lot the Greek input, and the energy they put into their projects despite the problems they still have with finance and the despite the low funding they have here,” he underlined, adding, “With the case studies and with the projects, this event is constantly adding this very practical aspect to the workshop. We have experts to talk theoretically to people who have very practical problems, and that gives us a very good structure.”
The DCP II workshop is a FOCAL Resource initiative presented with the support of FOCAL, Creative Europe and, in 2018, the Greek Film Centre.
- Programme
- Participants projects
- Case studies
- Digital distribution
- Technical presentations
2017 Edition
General Introduction & Summary
Thirty top professionals from 11 countries were in Amsterdam November 28 – December 1 to get to grips with production workflow, and to understand how excellent planning can save a lot of time – and a lot of money. The production community was represented at DPC II by editors, DoPs, production managers and directors, VFX and DIT directors, campaign strategists, sales supremos and producers alike.
DoP Annegret Sachse (Germany) summed up why she was there: “On lower budget projects without post-production supervisors, the DoP is often the only one who brings any reasonable amount of post-production knowhow to the table, and detailed knowledge is necessary in order to be able to advise the production properly and secure our control over the final image output.”
The 3.5 day event underlined the principles of post- and workflow, from the capture/rendering of HDR to pre-visualisation, shooting in 2K/4K, aspect ratios, delivery destinations, choice of lens and ACES architecture, through to a masterclass on digital cinema distribution given by Tommaso Vergallo using a set of colour balloons to illustrate new delivery possibilities.
Four case studies put the business of production and post- into sharp focus. Gary Beach and Paul Miller highlighted the role of VFX both in creating effects and solving defects, while Filmmore’s Miga Bär, together with Sylvain Lagrillère of Memento Films International, made the minefield of deliverables seem less hazardous. Two further case studies embraced the world of documentary. François Dupuy of Noir Lumière explained the complex workflow on Barbet Schroeder’s acclaimed 2017 doc The Venerable W (Cannes Special Screening) while marketing guru Ben Kempas illustrated ten ways to generate wider audiences for campaigning documentaries. Production manager Kyveli Short joined him to discuss her ground-breaking campaign on the ecologically-themed Greek doc Dolphin Man.
As in past editions of DPC II, core to proceedings was a detailed assessment of future workflow management on seven projects (three documentaries) given by experts Martin Hagemann (producer, Zero Fiction), Florian Rettich (digital workflow expert, ARRI), Philippe Ros (cinematographer, digital imaging supervisor), Tommaso Vergallo (post-production expert, CEO Noir Lumiere), François Dupuy (post-production manager, CTO Noir Lumière) and Paul Miller (producer, Escape Pictures and DPC II Head of Studies).
Delegates commented on the effectiveness of the 2017 event.
“I don’t expect that producers actually understand every technical issue which is discussed here, but they get to learn the new ways that camera people think, how post production supervisors think, how special effects people think now in this new world with its new possibilities, and on the other hand how it changes the way we produce and distribute films. We analysed all of that this year in Amsterdam,” commented producer Hagemann.
UK producer Klaudia Gainza agreed: “The more you know as a producer, through the workflows, from the beginning of the process to the very end, and even down to the granual information, will make your job much easier, and you will understand where frustrations along the way come from – and how to avoid them. It is an incredible advantage to know about how things are made and built, and all the [associated] technical details.”
Miga Bär (DI Supervisor at post-production/VFX at Amsterdam-based Filmmore) argues that all sectors should continue to be fully represented at future editions of DPC II. “Because having an interest in post will make you think about things that will happen down the line, how it can impact stuff that you can think about even years ahead.”
For Italian director Giordano Bianchi, it was important to assess and re-evaluate once again the wider production process. “Knowing about post-production is also important to start the project in the right way and to save a lot of time and money. There is less compromise if you start your project in the right way. If you have a small company you have to know a lot of technical things, post-production, distribution and so on, so you must understand as much as you can, and even more if you have a small budget. This is what makes the difference between just a video maker and someone really working in the production world.”
- Participants' projects
- Case studies
- Digital distribution
- Technical presentations
2016 Edition
- Participants' projects
- Case studies
- Case Studies Summaries
- Film Details
- Workflows
- Digital distribution
- Technical presentations