Back at film school this week, kicking off the final semester with absolute boredom stardom. Poet and documentary filmmaker Jørgen Leth showed us clips from some of his many films and talked about his method. Leth is quite the celebrity in Denmark, both through his films but also as a commentator during Tour de France, […]
Master Class
Film School Confidential: THE 8 SEQUENCE APPROACH
Well, I wasn’t physically assaulted on the last day of the semester at Film School. But I sure felt like a punching bag, pitching my story to a teacher who was shaking his head and saying “No. No. No”. At the National Film School of Denmark they teach the three act structure, as a rule. There […]
Film School Confidential: HOW THE DIRECTOR WORKS
Another intense week at film school almost over. Hopefully I won’t get punched in the nuts today! For the past three days we have been in sessions with director Kaspar Munk, who is educated at the alternative Danish film school Super16. We watched two of his shorter works, both coming-of-age films with more sensory images and […]
Film School Confidential: ALL GREEK TO ME
This week has been a hotch-potch of different tutors and input. Tuesday we talked about loss and watched the first half of the Belgian thriller Calvaire: The Ordeal. Loss can be a powerful motivation for characters, as we tend to yearn for what we used to have or something we at least have had a […]
Film School Confidential: MAN AND MYTH
It’s film school week again, and I’m here early so I can get some work done. Yesterday was an all-day seminar with Ingolf Gabold, former head of national tv channel DR’s drama department, where he was responsible for developing series such as Borgen, Sommer and Forbrydelsen (aka. The Killing, remade in the US). Gabold took […]
Film School Confidential: 5 GREAT STORYTELLING TIPS
I’m not really at school this week but I went today anyway. Kim Fupz Aakeson (ex-cartoonist, screenwriter) was speaking and I didn’t want to miss that. Aakeson is usually smart, funny and very hands-on in his approach. Sure enough, quite a few nuggets fell into my notepad. Here are some of them: Story structure in […]