yearbook 2004/05 - The European Film College

never been questioned, because nobody would
have protested.
{ana * thesis }
*ana or ana, stands for from bottom
to top, as in “anatomy”
A producer has to exert judgement all the time
on each project. If you are making a slapstick
comedy, but you don´t find slapstick entertaining,
how will you determine whether your film
is funny or not, whether the scenes and editing
works or not, whether it will have a chance
of reaching its target audience or not? It is my
opinion that a producer can only do films well
that they relate to in one way or the other, and
I guess that is bound to result in some kind of
transversality. It is also a fact that the competition
in this business is harsh, and the only way
to survive is to be very conscious about your
own strengths and weaknesses. If you do not
do what you are best at, but try to do something
that somebody else is much better at, you are in
a very weak position.
Transversality, however, is also a self-increasing
process. The projects you have already done
have a major effect on your future slate because
the profile becomes a decisive factor for others
when approaching you instead of another
producer and when choosing which projects
to send and it also becomes easier to finance
projects that are in line with things you have
earlier done, because that is what the financiers
and the networks you have developed expect
from you.
{hypo * thesis }
hypo or upo, stands for beneath,
as in “hyposensitivity”
So a conclusion could be that the crucial steps of
FROM THE TEACHERS
development and production, if you want to
achieve transversality, are a very conscious and
on-going analysis of your own strengths and
weaknesses, of your position and opportunities
in the market, of each of the projects in terms of
what they want to tell, who they want to tell it
to, if the “structure” of the project is the best for
achieving this, if you can improve it, who/what
is needed to help this improvement along, and
how you create the best possible frame for all of
this to happen. You have to try to do your best
at all levels, even if you will not always succeed.
Of course you should never forget the gut-feeling.
That is very important too and should always
come first. The head can kick in later.
{syn * thesis }
syn or sun, stands for together,
as in “synopses”
by Litsa Boudalika