photograph: locomotiv.tv
in the post 1 2 0 Filip Malasek
Filip Malasek 1 2 1 in the post
Back in the mid-90s when the production revolution exploded in Prague,
“boutique”, Malasek explains that, with just one suite, it’s as much a place
Czech editor Filip Malasek was there on the frontline. Part of the first
for collaboration as it is an official company.
generation to be computer-software literate, he was armed with the
And Malasek and Zacharias aren’t the only two school mates who still work
expertise to embrace the commercials industry that rapidly sprouted, as
together. “Ivan,” says Malasek, “also teams up quite often with the DP Jan
Prague became the destination to shoot. And so, since editing his first ad on
Velicky, who we went to school with too. I think it’s good when the crew are
the old Steinbeck editing system with director Ivan Zacharias, Malasek’s cut
friends and they can work together. Collaboration is very important because
for the likes of Stella, Levi’s, adidas, Nike, Audi and Honda.
it means you can talk more freely about the work.” Fellow film school
“I went into editing because I liked the combination of the music and the
graduate and director Martin Krejci is another of his collaborators, who also,
pictures,” says Malasek. “I’ve always been interested in music, and I started
like Malasek and Zacharias, still lives in Prague.
“I went into editing because I liked the combination of the music and pictures. My father was a composer and my brother is a pianist, but I wanted to do something different... ”
Before the revolution that formed the Czech Republic from communist Czechoslovakia in 1993, there was no local commercials production industry. But the know-how was out there, and so Malasek and his contemporaries were in prime position to reap the benefits. “We were lucky back then, everyone was really enthusiastic, and because the industry was new it was full of really fresh people. But I think it’s changing,” he adds, “because the Czech Republic is getting more and more expensive, and so the features are going to Hungary and Romania. But always there is a fashion of where is good to shoot, so I think this is normal.”
playing the flute at eight, and then, later, the bass. My father
With the Czech capital’s production
was a music composer and my brother is a pianist, but I wanted
industry now firmly established and
to do something different.”
flourishing, Malasek is keen to point out
After assisting on a 16mm film, Malasek signed up to Prague’s
the positive influence he thinks skilled
With his musical roots, finding a track to match the mood of a commercial is
prestigious Academy of Fine Arts’ film editing course. “It seems
directors such as Zacharias have had.
an integral part of the job for Malasek. Honda’s Impossible Dream, with its
funny nowadays, to spend five years studying editing, but I think
“Ivan is a very talented guy, and he was
swelling rendition of the Man of La Mancha classic, is a masterclass in how
it makes sense: it is a craft. And right from the first year I was
very successful from when he was
music can really elevate a commercial’s effect. On the other hand, the Honda
helping out as an assistant. But what’s really great about the
young, so his work helped people to
commercial Everyday demonstrates Malasek’s technical ability when it
school is that, from the first moment, you’re teamed up with
realise there was a strong film craft
comes to sound design, and in Nike’s Pretty the musical performance
other students — so you might work with a DP from the second
present in Prague. I was lucky to meet
enhances the comedy. “I try to do music research for all the stuff I edit,”
year and a director from the third year.”
him, too, because he is a DP and very
says Malasek. “Music is my hobby and so it’s very natural for me that when
And that was precisely how Malasek met Zacharias, who was
good editor as well. He might not be able
I’m editing I also look for some music for the commercial. Because of this,
one year above him, studying documentary film. The pair
to operate the system but he has a good
people then started asking me to do research and find music for them, so
worked on a project together and became good friends, and in
eye and I learnt a lot from him. I was in
that’s another part of what I do.”
2000 launched Robota. Styled as an editing “atelier”, or
the right place at the right time.”
We can’t wait to see and hear what’s next.
prints filip As one of Prague’s first generation of ad craft masters, editor Filip Malasek counts Ivan Zacharias as friend, co-founder and collaborator, and Nike and Honda as clients. Isobel Roberts doffs her cap
Repped by The Whitehouse and with a reel crammed full of creative gems, Malasek’s active in the local market as well as across Europe — everywhere from Germany to Finland and France.