MEETING REPORT "APP TO YOU - TECHNOLOGIES AT THE SERVICE OF CINEMA"

Saturday 11 May at the Casale Garibaldi space – Common at work, the workshop “App to You – technologies at the service of the cinema” was held, the fourth meeting organized by Baburka Production for the Cartello degli Indipendenti project.

The theme chosen this year were the apps and software for cinema workers, fundamental tools that have made knowledge and tools pocket and sometimes free.

The form of the workshop represented a particular novelty. The previous meetings of the Cartel, after the initial cognitive call, took place in a frontal logic; in these the issues dealt with were the independent distribution and the sources of financing, necessities emerged precisely from the first meeting. This time we wanted to experiment with a completely different way of participating: after a short collective session, the participants were divided into 8 working tables, corresponding to as many in-depth sessions dedicated to: Script Supervising and Continuity; Cinematography; Director; Post Production Video; Production; Sound; Makeup, Costume and Set Design; App creation.

It was therefore a real practical workshop completely free, thanks to the voluntary participation of many professionals, who use technological tools every day and who have become available to share their experience and knowledge in a logic of collective growth.

The result was without doubt up to expectations. The spirit of the Cartel is in fact based on the free sharing of knowledge and networking for the purpose of a conscious growth of the world of Independent Cinema (both in terms of production and of individual professional figures). The workshop format has created an opportunity to explore the potential of the many technological tools present today and at the same time to compare and get to know each other, making mutual exchange deeper than the usual frontal sessions.

The choice to deal with this issue took place following a survey carried out among the participants of the previous Cartel edition. This is because often independent productions generally give more space to experiment, and being constituted by many young figures have a propensity to use technological facilities. This research is also dictated by the need to streamline the work of the individual and the collective, with the result of simplifying and reorganizing it to the benefit of the mental serenity and efficiency of the entire production machine that does not usually navigate the economic comforts of a classic production. Although most of the apps handled during the workshop sessions come from the great international production system (mainly American), often in large productions in Italy we are refractory to innovation, this unfortunately also due to the low propensity to update and average age of workers. We therefore believe that adaptation to technological innovation is a specific competitive advantage of independent productions.

The introductory session opened with the intervention of Alain Bindele, technology mentor and founder of the PC-go project, focused on the concept of Smart Work, or the ability to choose the best technology for himself and for his business. The almost total technologization of human activities is a fact. One of the negative consequences of this evolution is the imbalance of the relationship between people and technologies that is created when the technological tool is used passively and subtly to the point of making the relationship with technology frustrating. PC-go has the objective, through consultancy services, to create a more conscious and proactive use of technology, both for individuals and for companies, in order to optimize and make these tools effective resources. (more on: https://pc-go.it)

The second intervention was that of Gianfranco De Rosa, founder and CEO of Cinebooking, a free online platform that facilitates the meeting of demand and supply of work for the entire production chain of Cinema, television, advertising, events, radio, fashion, music and theater. cinebooking.com is a user-friendly tool, just register for free on the site, without needing to create a profile, then selecting from your account what you are looking for and/or proposing. In addition to professional positions and nominations, there is space for the demand and offer of rental of equipment and soundstages.

One of the major strengths of cinebooking.com is its algorithm that seeks to create consistent “matches” between open positions and competences of the candidates, avoiding submerging the email accounts of the subscribers with unsuitable proposals for their curricula.

cinebooking.com is also used by foreign productions that arrive in Italy, making it an indispensable tool for those who want to approach international productions. (more on: https://cinebooking.com)

Always in the spirit of sharing the Cartel of Independents, at the end of the day, the participants were asked to send us a report written by them on the topics covered in the various tables. Here are some extracts of the precious reports sent to Baburka’s email

DIRECTION DEPARTMENT
(Speaker David Ambrosini, assistant director)
“The subject of the meeting were the FINAL DRAFT and MOVIE MAGIC programs and specifically the use that makes the figure of the assistant director.

Consequently it was shown how to analyze a screenplay based on the counting, what are the elements to pay attention to when reading and how to set the text formatting for easier analysis of the scenes and to more easily understand the length of the same.

Subsequently the basic functions of Movie Magic program were shown, the main categories in which the counting and the consequent construction of a day out of days (DUD) and an agenda are composed. “

(Stefano Ricco Filmmaker)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
(Speakers Matteo De Angelis – DoP and Giovanna Addivinola – electrician and professor of CineTV Rossellini)

“Important premise: the apps all have a free and / or demo version. The speakers explained how to best use the different apps without having to spend money. The advantages of full paid versions have also been explained.

The apps analyzed were:

MAGIC VIEWFINDER: perfect for location scouting, as it provides a faithful image of the camera.

SUN POSITION: probably the most important app for a cinematographer. It allows you to know the position of the sun in advance and exactly.

SHOT DESIGNER: app that allows you to digitally build sets with props, lights, actors, doors, etc.

KODAK CINEMA TOOLS: this app provides all the useful information for those who plan to shoot in film. The glossary and the mt/feet calculator are very useful.

ARRI PHOTOMETRICS: in the app the entire range of lights with Arri brand is outlined with all the useful features to know.

LEE SWATCH: Lee is one of the most important brands of jellies filters. The app makes the entire catalog available by providing all the information on each individual jelly.

DA VINCI: given the vastness of the program, the speakers focused on the concept of color correction, LUT and file compression. “

(Marco Valerio)

PRODUCTION
(Speakers: Tobia Calevi – production secretary and Francesca Andriani – 10D Film producer)

“Tobia Calevi opened the meeting, illustrating the MOVIE MAGIC program. He showed the functions suitable for the screening of the script and the general organization of the shooting. At the end of the break down of the script, which the program allows to do scene by scene, the general working plan is obtained. It was then explained how to obtain calendars subdivided by themes of interest from the work plan, useful to be able to share with the employees of other departments.

The second part of the meeting, led by Francesca Andriani, was dedicated to the new platform on the website of the General Directorate of Cinema called DGCOL, through which it is possible to apply for selective financing, tax relief and Italian nationality for the film work. . The long procedure to be carried out for the correct registration to the portal has been illustrated in detail, such as obtaining the actual documents for the request for financing and finally the methods of sending the request itself. “(Gaia Pistoiesi)

CREATE YOUR APP
(Speakers Ivan and Alessandro Specchio, founders of the KodiPlus app)

Ivan and Alessandro told the story of their app, the birth of the project and following which path an intuition has become a downloadable app on every smartphone. Kodi Plus is an app that lets you print 10 Polaroids a month for free and receive them at home by post. Photos can be selected from social accounts or from the mobile gallery. With Kodi Plus you can keep your memories in the safest way: keeping them in your hands. https://meetkodi.com/it

MAKEUP AND COSTUME
(Speaker Giulia Chimp Giorgi SFX make-up artist and president Baburka).

Organizing continuity on the set is an important part of the work of make-up, hairstyling, costume and set design departments and in the modern digital era there are several options that save time and paper. Good organization is the basis for a small or large set, these click-through apps allow greater fluidity in management and communication within your team and with other production departments. A complete review of the analyzed apps is included in volume one of the publication “EffectUs Journal”. Below are the apps and basic information:

CONTINUITY PRO
Cost 49.99 $

Devices: Apple iPad

Website: www.continuitypro.com/

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAghBhsl4Rc

Manual: downloadable from the website

SYNCONSET
Cost: when a project is created on SyncOnSet, 7 days of free use are automatically assigned, after which it is necessary to purchase one of the tariff plans ranging from $ 200 for 3 users for 4 weeks ($ 100 for each additional week up to a maximum of 8). To have a final price you need to contact the administration as the different possible prices are determined by different factors such as: production and department budget, number of users etc.

Devices: Apple iPad and iPhone, Android, web platform

Website: www.synconset.com

Video: https://vimeo.com/synconset

Manual: it is the site itself

DEPARTMENT HEAD
Cost: $ 159.99 (reduced version only $ 99 makeup)

Devices: Apple iPad – also available for Mac and PC platforms

Website: https://scriptesystems.weebly.com/

Video: https: //www.youtube.com/watch? V = 5_2yrqz0oPA

Manual: downloadable from the site

THE CONTINUITY APP (HILLCOOK)
Cost: $ 1.99

Website: http://hilcook.co.nz/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpLkmwPjA20

Manual: not present

CONTINUITY
(Speaker Giulia Suadoni, edition secretary)
The Apps and programs presented during the edition table were:

SCRIPT
It is the most used in the United States, where they even do in-depth courses. A complete app in which the script is loaded to have the counting automatically and a quotation of time. Then there are functions that help the preparation of the bulletin and the working diary in the recovery phase, being able to keep everything in sight. In Italy this app is difficult to use because it is based on the American method, for example, it does not recognize the Italian methodology of how the clapperboard is made. Another limitation is that it loads only and exclusively scripts in Final Draft, while in Italy they are often in Word or Celtx. It may be useful to compile newsletters, but is it worth buying a very expensive app to use half of its features?

Cost: about € 329.

Devices: Ipad.

Rating: Not recommended

SCRIPT LIGHT
Free version of Script, if you want to test the application. It automatically scans only screenplays in English.

RACCORDER
Created by a Spanish continuity girl, it allows you to fill out the bulletins, upload the pdfs and work on them, instead of the paper script.

Cost: free

Devices: Apple and Android

Findings: not recommended, the application often crashes

LOCKIT SCRIPT
Application not very intuitive to use, but once you understand how it works, it has several comforts. It is an app dedicated only to the preparation of bulletins, it has the stopwatch included, it can attach photos. Produces a synthetic DDL ..

Cost: € 50.00

Devices: Apple

Findings: Provable. Useful on films, less on series

CONTINUITY COSTUME PRO

It is an app designed for make-up and costume fittings that allows you to create folders for each character, shooting day, story day and the various changes within the same day. The details of the clothing or make-up can be written for each character. It’s convenient but it’s an extra app, so all in all avoidable.

Cost: € 55

Devices: Ipad

Findings: Provable. It may be good on movies, but on the series it’s extra work

Giulia Suadoni recommends writing her own bulletins with NUMBERS which also allows files to be converted to PDF, while PDF EXPERT is suggested for working on the script. If you use an Ipad it is important to remember that the data can always be recovered by automatic backup of ICLOUD. DROPBOX is instead recommended for the realization of the photographic archive, dividing it into folders for historical day, with the various scenes inside.

(Elisa Costa)

VIDEO POST PRODUCTION
(Speaker Victor Rosalini Spacek, post production supervisor)
During the session we discussed the main post-production software for color correction, file management and some small mention of Vfx integrations. The software covered were: AFTER EFFECT and DA VINCI RESOLVE. We then discussed more traditional methods and color correction plug-ins for image development and improvement, and then discussed Key Frames and the creation of animations from static images. Subsequently the question of render and codec for export was treated: H264 / mov / apple prores / dnx. Finally we moved on to the issue of display platforms such as youtube and vimeo, and the sending of files through: MyAirBridge, Dropbox, Wetransfer

FIELD RECORDING
(Speaker Celeste Frontino, live sound engineer. Sponsor Lambda srl)
During the workshop the applications were treated: WINGMAN (Sound Devices), F8 CONTROL (Zoom), A10 TXREMOTE (Audio Limited). Subsequently various Tests were carried out on the aforementioned and the new Audio Limited product, the latest generation of wireless microphones were analyzed, also analyzing the different use of capsules such as Sanken and DPA on the latter. We then spoke in general about the potential offered by the different audio materials on the market.

– Cristina Festa –