Production Value 2022

An edition under special circumstances

Production Value is known for being the only workshop for ADs and LPs to effectively advance their knowledge, their competences and thus their careers. The COVID-19 pandemic had forced the organizing team to cancel the Production Value Workshop in 2021, which was planned for January. A year later in 2022, many challenges to run the workshop persisted. Indeed, as the deadlines approached many open questions remained such as whether the number of junior applicants and projects would suffice or whether the participants would be able to travel to the workshop’s location. Another issue was related to respecting all the health and safety regulations, while managing to have enough interaction between the participants and to make them benefit from the process.

The most important decision that was to move the workshop from Retz, Austria to Lausanne, Switzerland. Being based in Lausanne, where FOCAL is headquartered, enabled the team to better manage the health issues as well as to better respond to any unforeseen or critical situations. In order for the workshop to take place in a safe as possible setting, the Head of Studies Denis Rabaglia and the General Coordinator Hannah Lichtenstein reviewed the planned organization and workshop program by making adjustments as necessary.

Participants were asked to test themselves prior to their arrival and every single day during the event. The projects were represented by one producer while directors would only be available online. If an attendee were to fall sick during the week, they would isolate in their room while still interacting with the rest of the group via online conferences. A worst-case scenario was envisioned if too many participants were to fall sick over the Christmas-New Year’s Eve period 2021. In this case, the entire workshop would be consequently moved online on short notice.

Luckily, the workshop was able to be held on site. Aware of the importance of the event, selected participants from the previous cancelled PV 2021 edition were highly motivated to join the 2022 workshop and were willing to take reasonable risks in order to attend. Each attendee understood that the workshop was a privileged moment of professional exchange and that even though people had to wear masks, it was an opportunity for close creative collaboration. Fortunately, all 32 participants were healthy over the entire workshop period which allowed for a relaxed and motivated atmosphere.

As well as being one of the most particular editions due to the COVID-19 restrictions, it was also the first year to introduce a seventh project into its very intensive program. This allowed an extra pair of juniors to participate without putting the other 12 participants at a disadvantage. However, it was a challenge for the PV organization team and led to a budgeting and scheduling exercise of its own.

The active participation of our experienced seniors, their expertise and their generosity, were invaluable assets in the PV 2022 edition. The Senior Assistant Directors Stuart Renfrew (UK) and Alberto Mangiante (Italy) and the Senior Line Producers Matthias Schwerbrock (Germany), Kaare Storemyr (Norway) and Malte Forssell (Sweden). Malte joined the workshop for the first time as an expert. He was a PV participant back in edition 2012 as the line producer of the project THE 100-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED (2013), which developed afterwards into a massive worldwide success.

Each senior was assisted by the regular VFX Supervisor Frank Schlegel (Germany) who provided solutions for all projects, either for the entire concept of a film or for a single scene. As part of the radical decisions we had to make in the uncertain time of the pandemic, postproduction manager Neeltje van der Heidjen (Netherlands) was only able to advise the projects online. This was also the case for her colleague Dörte Schneider (Portugal) who oversaw the provision of sustainability expertise on all seven projects. In 2022 edition subject of “green filmmaking “was included into the curriculum of Production Value for the first time.

Limited series are the most prolific format and were introduced into Production Value in the 2018 edition. As limited series cannot be approached like long feature films, it requires a different mindset to scheduling and budgeting series. THE RED FLOWERS was a perfect match for Junior Assistant Director Claudia Aragon Tìrbio (Spain) and Junior Line Producer Remo Pini (Switzerland). The period drama appeared to be an easy project at first glance. However, shooting with children in an orphanage was a necessary “feature” to create a plan, which involved filming in a more affordable location such as Eastern Europe.

Junior Assistant Director Hannah Hendegren (Finland) and Junior Line Producer Julian Berner (Austria) went through much research to approach CODEWORD: RUBICON, a spy thriller series based on the scandal of a cryptographic machines company in Switzerland recently unveiled. The project was brought by Peter Reichenbach from C-Films, who has already been to three Production Value editions with a project. The third limited series was a great challenge for Junior Assistant Laura Ugolini (Norway) and Junior Line Producer Isa Fäldt (Sweden) with HCA: a murder mystery series set in 18th-century Copenhagen. The team had to consider many creative solutions to come up with a realistic production volume.

Complex features were rare during the period of the pandemic, but remained a high priority for young producers. For instance, the German post-apocalyptic RUIDES, a project multiplying effects, creatures and locations required a rigorous approach to problem solving by Junior Assistant Director Ivonne Verbeek (Netherlands) and Junior Line Producer Johanna Trass (Estonia). On the other hand, the Hungarian period drama CHAIN REACTION was an exercise of interaction between scheduling, budgeting and financing by Junior Assistant Director Argyris Zachos (Greece) and Junior Line Producer Raffaello Vignoli (Italy).

Coincidently, two projects from the 2022 edition included heavy puppetry work. The term can feel outdated, but the visual potential cannot be underestimated. However, the interactions between creatures, actors and locations made this project a unique challenge. Our VFX consultant Frank Schlegel was therefore deeply involved in explaining the technique and consulting the teams: Junior Assistant Director Katarina Tomasicka (Latvia) and Junior Assistant Director Kiira Tiainen (Finland) in charge of LEA AND THE TREE OF DREAMS, as well as Junior Assistant Director Sandra Delatron (Germany) and Junior Line Producer Jules Powell (UK) in charge of the project HUNTING JACK.

In each case, the producers were able to achieve appropriate results, combining both creative and financing issues.

Projects

Photo Gallery

Production Value 2022 was proposed by
FOCAL
Norwegian Film Institute
Swedish Film Institute
Finnish Film Foundation
Film i Väst