PORTFOLIO BA FILM & TELEVISION LONDON COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION IN THE SPECIALIST ROLE
D I R E C T O R
GEVI DIMI
OF THE FILM O T T O F L O S S : F R E E L A N C E W A T C H E R
O T T O Â F L O S S : F R E E L A N C E Â W A T C H E R W H E R E Â T H E Â I D E A Â I S Â C O M I N G Â F R O M .
What  is  cinema,  if  not  a  mirror  of  our  society?  What  is  cinema  if  not  the  distinguishing  art  form  of  the  twentieth-first  century,  which  we  use  in  order  to  express  our  own  thoughts,  our  own  emotions,  our  own  selves? They  say  that  cinema  is  in  crisis,  due  to  the  fact  that  it  shows  only  fictional  realities  which  do  not  portrait  honestly  our  own  lives.  In  these  regards,  Otto  Floss:  Freelance  watcher  is  not  just  a  film,  Otto  is  a  need;  a  need  to  create  a  new  cinema,  an  honest  cinema,  a  cinema  which  will  reflect  back  to  every  viewer  their  real  self,  no  matter  who  he  is. Otto  Floss:Freelance  Watcher  is  written,  directed  and  edited  by  two  passionate  cinema-lovers,  Gevi  Dimitrakopoulou  and  Arturo  Bandinelli.  The  idea  does  not  rely  on  internal  truths,  rather  it  tries  to  translate  the  contemporary  sociological  issues  and  people’s  behaviors  into  an  appropriate  cinematic  language.  Therefore,  as  individuals  nowadays  tend  to  construct  their  identity  by  means  of  an  Other(i.e.  everybody  instead  of  just  being  the  person  they  are,  they  are  creating  internet  profiles  in  order  other  people  to  identify  and  accept  them  for  what  they  want  to  be  etc.),  in  Otto’s  world  everyone  is  invisible  unless  someone  else  is  looking  at  them.  In  these  regards,  Otto  Floss  is  a  freelance  watcher,  someone  who  is  hired  to  stare  at  people  and  give  them  the  opportunity  to  see  their  selves,  for  what  they  really  are. Being  one  of  the  director’s  of  Otto  Floss(  although  both  Arturo  Bandinelli  and  me  can  not  distinguish  any  individual  self  than  the  one  we  form  when  working  together)  gave  me  the  opportunity  not  only  to  create  a  film,  but  to  create  a  world;  a  world  which  tries  to  reflect  back  to  our  society  their  forgotten  human  characteristics. Â
I N F L U E N C E S Â
A Â M A N I F E S T O T O W A R D S Â A Â N E W Â C I N E M A
The  c i n e m a  is  in  crisis.  It  n e i t h e r  apprehends  our  reality  honestly  nor  does  it  aid  in  imagining  a  different  kind  of  future.  It  is  suffocated  by  a  set  of  anachronistic  conventions  dictated  by  the  agents  of  commerce.  The  new  cinema  doesn’t  concern  itself  with  technological  debates,  particularly  the  antagonisms  of  analogue  against  digital.  It  employs,  without  prejudice,  any  and  all  tools  available  to  it. The  new  cinema  can  exist  only  in  a  state  as  (un)finished  and  (in)  complete  as  the  world  it  intends  to  mirror  and  engage. The  new  cinema  refuses  to  recognize  national  borders.  It  identifies  itself  neither  as  fiction  nor  as  documentary.  Likewise,  it  is  unconcerned  with  genre,  which  is  useful  only  to  the  agents  of  commerce. The  new  cinema  will  strive  to  return  popular  culture  to  the  people  themselves. Above  all  else:  while  studying  the  old,  c r e a t e  t h e   new.
I N F L U E N C E S Â Â
LITERATURE T O W A R D S  A  B E T T E R  U N D E R S T A N D I N G  O F  ‘ S E L F ’  A N D  SOCIETY
SIGMUND Â FREUD
JACQUES  LACAN My  reflection,  my  other  self.
Whoever  Loves,  becomes  humble.  Those  who  love  have  p a w n e d  a  p a r t  o f  t h e i r  narcissism
MICHEL  FOUCAULT From  the  idea  that  the  self  is  not  given  to  us,  I  think  that  there  is  only  practical  consequence,  we  have  to  create  ourselves  as  a  work  of  art.
JACQUES  DERRIDA The  question  of  the  self:  who  am  I  not  in  the  sense  of  who  am  I  but  rather  who  is  this  I  that  can  say  who?  What  is  the-  I  and  what  becomes  of  responsibility  once  the  identity  of  the  I  trembles  in  secret? Â
I N F L U E N C E S Â Â
LITERATURE INVESTIGATION Â OF Â ACADEMIC Â SOURCES
Since my intention was to create a new world, i had to research other imagined dystopian realities. Therefore, i started collecting and reading a plethora of different books which were talking for different environments, while revealing the truth of our society. Interestingly, no matter when the books were written, i have realized that the authors were facing the same problems and anxieties as us. Moreover, as they say ‘‘While reading a book one is able to direct every scene and every action’’, i was very inspired by the descriptions of each one of these realities and unconsciously my mind was building images and motives which later would be included in the film. Undoubtedly, film and literature are two different art forms. Therefore, in order to direct my self towards a cinematic pathway, i was at the same time researching other sources which were discussing about science fiction films and movies’ techniques. By doing so, i was able to keep a clear mind in my own film and always be conscious of the limitations of the film medium.
B e f o r e  c i n e m a ,  t h e  v i s u a l  representation  of  either  personal  thoughts  or  literature  adaptations  was  made  by  paintings.  Therefore,  i  was  very  interested  in  researching  the  w a y  t h a t  s o m e  p a i n t e r s  h a v e  translated  some  of  our  ideas  in  the  past.  In  effects,  my  artistic  knowledge  background  and  my  motivation  in  order  to  transform  all  of  these  hidden  ideas  of  the  still  paintings  into  moving  images  was  raising.
Michelangelo  Merisi  da  Caravaggio  NARCISSUS
Mark  A.  Webster  PAINTING  A  DAY
Salvador  Dali  Metamorphosis  of  Narcissus
MATTA Â ROBERTO Â LES Â ROSES Â SONT Â BELLES
I N F L U E N C E S Â Â
PA I N T I N G S
P R E - P R O D U C T I O N C R E A T I N G Â T H E Â W O R L D
In  order  to  create  this  imaginary  world,  we  first  established  the  basic  elements  of  the  film:  the  physics  of  this  reality,  our  protagonist,  the  plot  of  the  film  and  a  basic  guideline  of  the  style  which  we  had  in  our  minds
P R E - P R O D U C T I O N F I R S T Â W R I T I N G S
S Y N O P S I S  1 . Imagine  a  world  in  which  people  are  invisible  to  themselves  unless  they  are  visible  to  someone  else;  they  still  perceive  they  are  existing  and  relate  to  the  external  world  as  we  do,  though  they  literally  need  someone  watching  them  in  order  to  see  themselves.  In  such  a  surreal  reality,  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine,  define  and  formulate  the  existence  of  a  new  professional  figure.  New  only  to  our  knowledge,  but  rather  common,  maybe  also  disregarded  as  “too  commonâ€?  in  this  imaginary  world.  Someone  without  any  specific  qualification;  a  “magicianâ€?  that  knows  no  tricks.  In  short:  a  Watcher.   A  'freelance'  watcher  comes,  sits,  watches  and  then  leaves.  He  is  not  supposed  to  judge,  not  even  to  remember  if  possible.  He  is  silent.  He  is  his  own  eyes,  nothing  more. Â
 T H E  A P P O I N T M E N T S  1.The  first  appointment  will  take  place  in  the  beginning  of  the  short  film,  it  will  have  to  set  the  atmosphere  of  the  whole  movie,  funny  and  ambiguous.  It  will  also  give  insights  about  the  metaphysic  laws  of  this  reality,  without  fully  revealing  its  mechanisms. A  over-weighted  Black  Woman  sitting  on  a  chair:  big  lips,  deep  eyes  and  a  thick  make-up.  She  smiles  -  shy,  somehow  flirty  -  and  looks  in  front  of  her,  as  if  she  was  addressing  someone.  She  then  slowly  reclines  in  order  to  reach  her  foot,  her  body  size  make  the  whole  operation  funnily  mechanic.  She  finally  reaches  her  feet  and  starts  cutting  her  nails.  The  wide  shot  of  the  room  reveals  only  the  black  woman,  clumsily  doing  herself  a  pedicure,  and  an  empty  chair  (yes,  again!)  positioned  on  her  side. Â
S Y N O P S I S  2 . Imagine  a  world  in  which  people  are  invisible  to  themselves  unless  they  are  visible  to  someone  else.   They  still  perceive  they  are  existing,  they  see  the  external  world  as  we  do  Â–  but  somehow,  without  another  existence  acknowledging  their  own,  they  are  not.  There  is  indeed  a  subtle,  though  relevant  difference  between  the  verbs  being  and  existing  Â–  one  is  something  (i.e  blue,  false,  alone  etc.)  whereas  one  exists  in  itself  (for  instance,  no  one  exists  blue). Imagining  this  reality,  certainly  a  metaphysic  one,  implies  the  differentiation  between  being  and  existing,  without  in  any  sense  creating  a  rigid  dichotomy  or  counter-opposition  between  the  two.  It  is  not  so  difficult  to  imagine  such  world,  especially  if  one  thinks  about  how  much  we  need  to  be  acknowledged,  recognised,  seen  and  ultimately  accepted  by  the  others.  In  this  regards,  the  fragmentation  of  our  identity,  something  that  is  part  of  every  human  being,  has  been  amplified,  or  rather  objectified,  by  the  presence  of  external  mediums  of  creation,  storage  and  definition  of  identity  such  as  the  social  media.  This  “imagine  ifâ€?  reality  would  then  become  the  occasion  to  investigate,  explore  and  show  certain  basic  mechanisms  constituting  our  existence  by  challenging  something  that  we  perceive  as  given  (the  possibility  of  being  on  our  own,  of  attributing  to  ourselves  an  external  appearance).
A  man,  40  years  old,  weird  face  and  tasteless  clothes,  gives  a  business  card  to  the  Black  Woman:  Otto  -  Watcher.  The  door  closes.  We  hear  steps,  but  the  spaces,  both  inside  and  outside,  are  empty. A  big  living  room  is  only  furnished  with  a  black  sofa  and  a  big  TV  screen,  switched  on.  No  one  is  visibly  sitting  on  the  sofa.  The  door  opens,  as  we  hear  a  couple  of  steps,  a  woman  about  the  same  age  as  Otto  appears  on  the  sofa.  She  lazily  turns  her  head,  making  Otto  appearing  too.  The  two  exchange  a  quick  glance,  then  The  Sister  turns  her  head  towards  the  television,  Otto  takes  his  look  away:  they  both  disappear,  the  room  is  now  empty  again.
2.The  second  appointment  will  take  place  at  the  middle  of  the  short  film  and  it  is  going  to  be  the  reversal  of  a  common  situation.  The  aim  of  this  particular  appointment  is  not  only  to  entertain  and  help  the  narration  but  also  to  underline  the  necessity  of  such  a  professional  figure,  portraying  the  concept  of  the  idea  and  reflecting  on  a  specific  event. 3.   The  third  appointment  will  be  a  more  extreme  situation  that  will  represent  o  dark Â
P R E - P R O D U C T I O N D I R E C T O R ’ S  N O T E S A  very  important  aspect  of  the  pre-production  phase,  was  the  notes  i  was  taking  in  order  to  see  how  we  could  develop  further  the  story  of  the  film.  By  writing  either  personal  thoughts,  or  the  feed-backs  from  both  the  seminars  and  the  tutorials,  we  gained  a  lot  of  insights  and  new  ideas,  which  played  a  vital  role  for  the  development  of  the  synopsis  into  a  coherent  script.
W A T C H E R Â & Â C H A R A C T E R S
T H E Â R E A L I T Y
Someone  is  living  with  the  Watcher,  possibly  a  family  member.  Someone  that  is  always  at  home.  His/her  function  would  be  that  of  allowing  the  watcher  to  be  visible  to  the  camera  as  well  as  to  create  a  dynamic  environment  in  the  house.
In  this  reality,  people  would  have  a  lot  of  mirrors,  so  when  they  are  visible  they  will  have  the  chance  to  watch  themselves  from  every  possible  angle.
Τhe  watcher  should  always  be  silent  and  staring  at  his  clients,  without  interacting  with  anything  that  they  are  doing The  watcher  loves  his  job,  because  he  feels  useful.
In  this  reality,  people  who  are  living  alone,  they  would  be  feel  very  lonely  and  alienated,  as  they  would  not  be  able  to  see  themselves  at  all,  In  this  case,  they  would  not  hire  a  watcher  just  to  make  them  visible,  but  also  in  order  to  talk  to  someone.
Maybe  the  watcher  has  a  twin  brother,  in  order  to  show  the  duality  of  identity. Â
Although  i  can  not  explain  why,  i  feel  that  the  characters  should  have  ‘‘Cartoon’’  Characteristics.
The  watcher  should  not  be  neither  serious  nor  funny.  He  has  to  be  a  proper  professional.  The  appointments  should  illustrate  how  different  people  perform  different  actions.  Maybe  one  wants  to  propose  to  his  girlfriend  to  get  married,  so  he  has  to  hire  a  watcher  in  order  to  be  visible  and  practice  in  the  mirror. In  this  reality,  people  who  are  living  alone,  they  would  be  feel  very  lonely  and  alienated,  as  they  would  not  be  able  to  see  themselves  at  all,  In  this  case,  they  would  not  hire  a  watcher  just  to  make  them  visible,  but  also  in  order  to  talk  to  someone.
T H E  F I L M THE  FILM  SHOULD  BE  A  MIRROR  OR  OUR  REALITY,  by  translating  events  from  our  world  to  the  Watcher’s. Beginning  in  media  res.  Short  time  of  the  story,  possibly  one/two  days. Showing  2-3  appointments. We  should  have  a  lot  of  different  genres.  Every  appointment,  should  have  a  different  action  so  we  can  go  from  Comedy,  to  Drama,  to  Adventure,  to  mystery  and  experience  how  each  one  of  the  characters  is  living  in  a  different  life  style,  comparing  life  with  cinema  genres.
The  houses  must  be  minimal  as  if  they  were  in  their  sense  invisible  too.
The  watcher  is  a  camera,  and  our  camera  should  function  as  a  camera  which  is  recording  another  camera(  i.e.  Jean  Luc  Godard).
The  reality  should  be  always  portrayed  as  a  dystopian  place,  something  that  no  one  has  ever  seen  before
We  should  have  both  very  intimate  and  intence  moments,  but  also  moments  i  which  nothing  specific  happens,  so  the  film  to  be  an  ‘‘Honest  mirror’’  of  our  reality.
P R E - P R O D U C T I O N T R E A T M E N T S Â A F T E R Â R E V I S I N G Â T H E Â N O T E S
S Y N O P S I S Â 3 .
TREATMENT
In  a  parallel  but  not  very  different  reality  from  ours,  everybody  is Â
A  day  of  Otto’s  life  starts  by  following  the  same  routine  as  every  other  day;Otto  is  waking  up,  moving  the  mirror Â
invisible  unless  there  is  someone  else  looking  at  them.   A  grey,  sterile  and  minimal  reality  full  of  screens  and  art  pieces  which  are  not Â
to  the  living  room  while  trying  to  make  Hilda  to  watch  him  in  order  to  become  visible.  Hilda  annoyed  turns  her  head  of  the  Screen.Otto  is  being  prepared-maybe  overdoing  it-  and  gets  ready  to  face  the  day  which  will Â
emphasizing  on  the  image  but  rather  on  the  description  of  the  possible  image.  In  this  reality,  there  is  Otto  Floss,  an  insecure  41  year  old  man. Â
change  his  way  of  seeing  things.
Otto  is  sharing  the  same  apartment  with  his  older  sister  Hilda.  The  two  of  them  have  a  speechless  relationship,  not  because  they  have  chosen Â
 The  first  appointment  is  that  of  a  groom  trying  to  rehearse  a  wedding  proposition.  The  man  is  trying  to  find  the  perfect  expression  which  will  make  his  girlfriend  unable  to  be  negative  towards  the  proposition. Â
to  do  so,  but  mostly  because  the  opportunity  to  establish  solid  foundations  to  their  brotherhood  was  never  given  to  them.    In  order  to Â
Obviously  tensed  and  afraid,  he  is  experimenting  with  his  facial  characteristics  which  seem  to  change  unpredictably  and  quickly.  Eventually,  he  seems  to  find  the  right  gesture  being  confident  and  positive.   He  looks Â
avoid  any  awkward  situation  they  have  adopted  habits  which  give  them  perfect  excuses  of  not   trying  to  communicate  with  each  otherË™Hilda  is Â
at  Otto,  who  seems  to  approve  this  final  version  as  an  almost  imperceptible  smile  appears  on  his  face.    His  second  appointment  is  that  of  a  physical  need,  a  businessman  has  to  become  visible  in  order  to  shave Â
constantly  staring  in  the  Tv  Screen  smoking  cigarettes,  whereas  Otto  tries  to  be  as  many  hours  as  possible  away  of  the  house.  Their Â
himself.  His  third  appointment  is  a  ballerina  dancer.  The  dancer  is  trying  to  accomplish  a  perfect  move,  but  keeps Â
relationship  is  portrayed  perfectly  by  the  two  turtles  they  have  in  their  living  room(...)
failing.  She  does  not  give  up.  The  more  she  falls,  the  more  she  hurts,  the  more  her  inner  desire  to  succeed  grows.  After  each  fall  in  the  ground  she  takes  a  look  at  Otto,  in  order  to  be  sure  that  he  does  not  judge  or  feel Â
Otto  is  working  for  a  Big  Corporation,  that  connects  individuals  who  are Â
pity  for  her.  Maybe  she  is  looking  for  an  emotion,  maybe  she  is  looking  for  judgment,  but  ‘’the  perfect  Watcher  must  never  criticize’’  Otto  is  constantly  thinking.  The  ballerina  finally  accomplish  the  movement.  She  proudly Â
in  need  of  someone’s  look   with  freelance  Watchers.  Although  being  a  watcher  in  this  reality  was  never  considered  as  a  professional  success, Â
takes  a  deep  breath  and  like  floating  in  the  air  full  of  glory  she  takes  a  slow  bow.   After  this  appointment,  Otto  goes  to  the  last  customer,  Walter.  From  the  very  first  moments  of  their Â
Otto  loves  his  job  because  he  gives  him  the  opportunity  to  feel  useful  and  at  the  same  time  to  feed  his  curiosity  about  people’s  needs.  Being  a Â
meeting,Walter  is  uncomfortable  and  nervous.  Otto  realizes  that  and  immediately  he  feels  the  whole  atmosphere  tense,  ready  to  erupt.  Walter  slowly  drags  a  chair  and  puts  it   in  the  middle  of  the  room  .  He  invites Â
watcher  is  something  very  easy.A  'freelance'  watcher  comes,  sits,  watches  and  then  leaves.  He  is  not  supposed  to  judge,  not  even  to Â
the  watcher  to  take  a  seat.  Both  of  them  are  looking   embarrassed.  Otto  sits  down.   Walter  starts  walking  towards  the  bed,  and  Otto  sees  an  aquarium  same  as  his  own,  with  the  only  difference  that  there  is  only  one Â
remember  if  possible.  He  is  silent.  He  is  his  own  eyes,  nothing  more.  Otto  is  trying  to  follow  the  rules  of  the  perfect  watcher  although Â
turtle  inside  instead  of  two.  Walter  starts  masturbating.  The  atmosphere  is  tense,  but..  A  perfect  watcher  never  criticizes.
sometimes  he  has  the  need  to  interfere,  help,  or  give  suggestions  to  his  appointments.
Otto  returns  to  his  house,he  finds  Hilda  sitting  in  the  same  position  and  suddenly  the  house  feels  like  home.  He  goes  to  the  aquarium,  takes  one  turtle  and  puts  it  to  the  aquarium  with  the  other.  Turtles  like  people  must  be  together.  He  turns  off  the  TV  screen.  Sits  next  to  Hilda,  takes  a  deep  breath.’‘Let’s  talk  for  a  bit?’’.
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The  rehearsals  with  the  actors  gave  me  the  opportunity  to  experience  different  methods  that  i  have  never  used  in  the  past.  First  of  all,  while  i  was  mistakenly  thinking  that  improvisation  is  the  key  to  achieve  a  good  performance,  i  have  understood  that  having  already  designed  a  plan  for  the  rehearsals,  wherein  you  have  carefully  created  questions,  exercises  and  conversation  topics,  makes  one  able  to  establish  a  deep  relationship  with  the  actor,  which  is  based  on  fears  or  confessions  linked  to  the  film’s  idea.  Therefore,  the  actor  is  directed  and  guided  from  the  beginning  towards  a  sentimental  condition  which  fit  the  film.
E X E R C I S E S  F O R  A C T O R S 1.Say  the  name,  profession  and  interests  of  your  character  in  five   different  psychological  condition;  excited,  sad,  bored,  nostalgic,  neutral
Q U E S T I O N S 1.What  do  you  think  about  the  notion  of  the  ‘self’? 2.Describe  your  personality/Self  by  using  three  words.
2.Act  another  character  of  the  film. 3.What  do  you  think  about  social  media? 3.Read  the  script,  and  then  direct  us  in  order  to  achieve  the  performance  which  you  have(as  an  actor  in  your  mind). 4. Play  your  character,  as  if  he  has  a  different  nationality. 5. Read  the  script  and  tell  us  the  three  first  words  which  come  into  your  mind  and  determine  the  character. 6.Your  character  has  a  speechless  role.  Can  you  please  translate  his  thoughts  into  words  and  perform  them  for  us?
4.What  is  personal  identity  according  to  you  belief? 5.If  you  were  not  your  self,  who  would  you  like  to  be? 6.Do  you  have  someone  that  know  everything  about  you? 7.Do  you  love  your  self? 8.  What  does  it  feel  to  be  invisible?
7. Can  you  describe  to  us  an  imaginary  story  which  you  think  fits  the  emotional  condition  of  the  character.
P R E - P R O D U C T I O N C H A R A C T E R S ’  P R O F I L E S After  the  notes  and  the  rehearsals  with  the  actors,  which  defined  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  each  role,  we  were  able  to  write  the  characters’  profiles.
O t t o  F l o s s Otto  is  a  40/45  years  old  man  working  as  a  freelance  watcher.  He  is  tall  and  skinny,  with  a  long  thin  nose,  short  dark  hair  and  blue  eyes.  He  is  shy  and  reserved,  also  as  a  consequence  of  his  job,  that  requires  him  to  watch  people  in  silence,  maintaining  an  emotional  and  physical  distance.  He  is  a  good  observer  and  a  sensitive  person,  though  he  could  appear  distant  and  disinterested  as  a  result  of  his  reticence  to  share  emotions  and  thoughts  with  the  rest  of  the  world. Â
H i l d a  F l o s s Hilda  is  a  40  years  old  woman,  overweighted,  rounded  red  face,  thick  glasses.  She  is  a  very  passive  person,  who  spends  most  of  her  day  lobotomized  in  front  of  the  TV.  She  perceives  that  something  isn’t  quite  right  in  her  life,  as  she  is  demotivated,  lazy,  emotionally  lonely,  but  can’t  figure  out  what  is  the  core  of  her  problems,  or  maybe  she  just  stopped  asking  herself;  her  relationship  with  Otto  is  quite  controversial  as  well,  she  doesn’t  really  understand  him  and  between  them  there  is  a  clear  lack  of  communication  and  human  affection. Â
Carl A  55  year  old  business  man,  short  gray  hair,  big  nose  and  a  serious  face.  Although  he  is  a  business  man,  when  he  is  alone  he  is  quite  eccentric,  taking  care  of  his  external  characteristics;  mustache,  hair  skin.
Ballerina A  twenty  five  year  old  dancer.  She  is  determined,  haughty,  ambitious  and  seems  to  be  very  self-centered.  Her  perfect  body  contrasts  with  a  rather  “picassian�  face.
The  actress A  65  year  old  actress.  Although  in  the  past  she  used  to  be  famous,  in  the  present  time  no  one  seems  to  remember  her.  She  is  alone;  nostalgic  and  romantic  she  wants  to  talk  about  the  glory  of  the  past.  She  wants  to  connect  with  people,  but  she  is  always  afraid  of  another  rejection.  Therefore,  instead  of  living,  when  she  is  visible,  she  acts.
Walter Thirty  five  year  old,  sad  face,  deep  green  eyes.  He  lives  on  his  own  and  doesn’t  allow  anyone  to  enter  his  personal  life,  possibly  as  a  result  of  a  previous  trauma  that  made  him  loosing  faith  in  the  others  and/or  himself.  He  is  a  watcher  too, Â
T H E Â C R E W I D E A Â & Â M O T I V A T I O N .
In  order  both  to  maintain  a  consistency  of  the  artistic  elements  of  the  film  and  to  motivate  the  crew  to  produce  unique  art  pieces,  i  had  to  be  sure  that  each  one  of  the  members  would  both  understand  and  at  the  same  time  ‘feel’  the  idea.  Moreover,  one  of  my  main  priorities  was  to  make  each  one  to  respect,  acknowledge  and  work  close  to  each  the  others  despite  their  heterogeneous  influences.  In  these  regards,  i  first  created  posters  and  photographs  where  every  department  was  invisible  unless  another  department  was  looking  at  them,  in  order  both  to  make  all  of  them  feel  a  part  of  the  reality  which  we  were  building  and  at  the  same  time  to  make  everyone  feel  that  all  of  us  need  each  other  in  order  to  achieve  the  best  results.  Moreover, Â
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from  the  beginning  of  the  pre-production  phase,  i  created  posters  of  the  film,  in  order  everyone  to  motivate  each  head  of  department  by  knowing  that  their  names  and  thus  their  artistic  signature  would  make  a  strong  influence  on  the  last  result.
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F I L M  I N S P I R A T I O N S Although  the  images  and  style  i  had  in  my  mind  did  not  bear  any  resemblance  to  any  other  movies  i  had  watched  in  the  past,  i  had  to  give  some  visual  inspirations  to  the  different  departments.  Unexpectedly,  when  i  actually  catalogued  the  films  which  their  combination  of  style  would  give  a  unique  identity  to  Otto  Floss,  i  have  gained  more  insights  and  technical  knowledge  about  different  genres,  which  was  vital  for  the  further  development  both  of  my  own  ideas  and  of  the  film’s  quality.  After  watching  these  films,  i  tried  to  design  a  universal  language  which  every  kind  of  audience  would  enjoy  and  be  able  to  identify  with.
H O L Y Â M O T O R S
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T H E Â S N I F F E R
T H X Â 1 1 3 8
P U L E T Â A U X Â P R U N E S
T H E Â T R I P L E T S Â O F Â B E L L E V I L L E
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FIRST
S K E TC H E S
In  my  past  experiences  as  a  film  director  i  have  never  used  either  sketches  or  storyboards.  Undoubtedly,  this  project  was  very  important  for  me,  therefore,  i  had  to  be  sure  that  i  could  precisely  communicate  to  everyone  in  our  international  crew  the  visual  ideas  we  (Arturo  and  myself)  had  in  our  mind.  By  working  closely  with  our  cinematographer,  we  adapted  the  conventions  of  film-drawings,  which  guided  us  through  the  journey  of  every  scene  and  revealed  to  us  the  alternative  pathways  which  we  could  take.
C R E A T I N G  T H E  W O R L D In  order  to  built  Otto’s  world,  i  had  done  some  research  which  went  beyond  the  scope  of  my  specialist  role:  the  development  of  minimal  architecture  through  the  last  centuries.  Although  we  had  a  clear  idea  about  the  stylistic  devices  of  the  film,  during  this  investigation  i  have  found  a  lot  of  interesting  Architects  which  influenced  me,  and  subsequently  played  an  important  role  to  my  directorial  suggestions  to  the  production  designer.
DIRECTORIAL  NOTES  TO  GIVEN  TO  THE  PRODUCTION  DESIGNER In  order  for  such  a  world  to  be  believable,  paradoxically  it  has  to  be  unbelievable  enough;  it  needs  the  perfect  balance  between  surreal  representation  and  realistic  elements,  between  uncommon  characters  and  universally  understandable  characteristics.  In  order  to  convey  this  grey  and  sterile  world  realistically,  production  design  and  costume  departments  will  work  in  synergy  to  develop  a  highly  stylised  environment  comprising  geometric  shapes,  block  tones  and  gradients  and  interesting  visual  textures.
Peter  Zumthor
Tadao  Ando
Alberto  Campo  Baeza
Antoine Predock
PRODUCTION Â DESING/CINEMATOGRAPHY A Â DIALOGUE
As  the  director  of  the  film,  i  was  acting  like  a  crucial  link  between  the  departments,  making  sure  that  there  is  a  consistency  between  both  the  creative  ideas  and  the  practical  needs. In  effects,  since  our  production  designer  was  building  a  set,  i  was  making  sure  that  our  cinematographer  would  design  a  camera  plan  for  each  of  the  locations  in  order  to  be  sure  that  each  space  would  allow  us  to  achieve  all  the  shots  and  camera  angles  we  had  in  our  minds.
Camera  plan  for  Candy’s  Scene(  this  scene  was  cut  in  the  editing  since  since  it  did  not  fit  the  narrative  of  the  film)
Camera  plan  For  Otto  Living  Room
Camera  plan  2  for  Otto’s  Living  Room
Camera  plan  for  Walter  scene
Camera  plan  for  a  very  difficult  camera  movement.
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FROM Â Â Â S K E T C H E S Â TO Â Â S TORYBOARDS Â TO Â Â Â F I N A L Â S H O T S Â
As  soon  as  we  designed  the  storyboard,  i  felt  more  confident  about  the  direction  of  the  film.  First  of  all,  having  the  film  drawn  in  papers,  i  was  able  to  judge,  discuss  and  make  changes  more  easily  if  i  felt  that  something  will  not  work.  Moreover,  i  was  able  to  organize  both  my  thoughts  and  in  effects  the  shots,  and  we  all  saved  a  lot  of  time  since  everyone  in  the  crew  was  already  knowing  the  visuals  of  each  shot,  and  thus  was  able  to  move  quickly  during  shooting.  Interestingly,  most  of  the  shots  were  filmed  as  we  have  designed  them  in  the  storyboard.
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While  filming  i  was  working  closely  with  the  cinematographer,  revising  the  already  planned  shots Â
F I L M I N G R E V I S I N G Â S H O T S
or  investigating  different  angels  and  camera  positions  which  we  had  not  think  before  going  to  the  actual  location.   Since  we  were  doing  the  editing  as  well,i  was   making  sure  that  all  the  angles  would  be  appropriately  cut  together. Â
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Being  one  of  the  writers  and  directors  of  Otto  Floss,  i  was  able  both  to  define  and  to  identify  all  the  elements  which  were  needed  in  order  the  film  to  reach  its  best  potentials.  Therefore,  i  had  to  be  always  focused  in  every  single  detail  regarding  the  production  design,  the  make  up/ costume  design  department  and  the  sound,  and  by  giving  directions  about  the  mise  en  scene  of  every  shot  to  make  sure  that  the  film  would  have  a  clear  and  consistent  identity.
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W O R K I N G  W I T H  A C T O R S For  an  actor,  working  in  a  set  is  very  stressful,  especially  when  one  knows  that  he  has  limited  time  in  order  to  reach  the   appropriate  psychological  condition.  Therefore,  i  was  always  trying  to  make  them  feel  confident  by  acknowledging  their  talent  and  peculiar  characteristics  which  the  film  was  needing.  Moreover,  i  was  aiming  in  making  them  forget  that  we  are  working  in  a  set,  by  adapting  techniques  which  i  have  found  while  researching  about  actor-director  relationship,  in  which  the  director  tries  to  touch  the  human  side  rather  than  the  performance  of  each  actor.
P O S T - P R O D U C T I O N C O N T I N U I T Y Â A N D Â C U T T I N G
The post production phase for us, started during the filming era. The reason behind that was that since we were the editors of the film as well, we knew exactly the shots, cuts and continuity devices we would use. Therefore, while being in the shootings, when i was not sure if one cut would work or not, i was importing during the breaks the footage into my computer and i was doing a very rough edit of the scene, making sure that we have all the shots that we would need during postproduction
P O S T - P R O D U C T I O N THE
STORY
When we have finished the first draft of the edit, we realized that some scenes did not fit the narrative of the film. Although i had a special relationship with every element of Otto Floss, as a director i had the responsibility to choose the best option for the film. In these regards, and by following the insightful suggestions of our crew Supervisor, we decided to sacrifice one of the scenes and change the editing techniques of some other parts of the movie.
P O S T - P R O D U C T I O N A F T E R Â E F F E C T S
Since in Otto Floss: Freelance Watcher is a film wherein people are appearing and disappearing, we had to use some special effects. In effects, we collaborated with professional effect artists, who where willing to work for free since they liked the idea of the film.
P O S T - P R O D U C T I O N R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S
As  the  director  of  the  film,  i  had  the  responsibility  to  overcome  any  difficulty  which  would  affect  negatively  the  final  product.  In  effects,  as  long  as  i  was  not  completely  sure  if  the  after-effects  artists  would  give  to  us  everything  we  need  on  time,  i  studied  both  after  effects  and  motion,  making  sure  that  even  in  the  worst  case  scenario,  the  film  would  remain  safe  and  protected.
F I N A L Â L O O K Â O F Â T H E Â F I L M