Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1436481
OUTLOOK DIRECTORS W hile time and money are always on a filmmaker's mind, COVID has added increased pressure to the produc- tion and post processes. Here, four leading directors share their insight into the current challenges filmmakers face, as well as their visions for the future of the film industry. JOE WRIGHT Cyrano, Darkest Hour, Atonement, Anna Karenina, Pride & Prejudice British director/producer Joe Wright first grabbed Hollywood's attention with his debut film, 2005's Pride & Prejudice, which won a raft of awards and four Oscar nominations. He followed that up with the Oscar-winning war drama Atonement, Anna Karenina, Pan, The Woman in the Window and the Oscar- winning Darkest Hour. STRENGTHS: "I think it was Robert Bresson who first said, 'You make a film three times — once in prep, once in the shoot and once in post', and I think that's very true. I think that unless you're extremely sensitive to all the internal rhythms of your film, even the greatest shoot with great raw material is noth- ing without post. Post is where the film ends up breathing and living, and post is everything really. It's simply the most fundamental and crucial element of the entire filmmaking process, and I love post. I love all the stages of filmmaking — developing a script, prep and shoot- ing. They're all great, but post is the key stage where the film decides what it wants to be, really. It's where you can play with space and time and rhythm, and move anything around, and shorten it or lengthen it, and totally transform it." WEAKNESSES: "I don't think there are any really, except that maybe now you have so many choices and possibilities available to you in post that unless you have a strong vision of what your film should be, it's easy to get sidetracked and go off in the wrong direction." OPPORTUNITIES: "There's all the new technology and tools, obviously, which present all these new opportunities in sound and VFX and so on. There's also this thing that happens in post that can be tough. I don't think I'm a particularly egotistical person, and so to shoot a movie and be able to walk on a set and tell 200 people what to do, I have to build myself up and believe in myself and my choices — even if they're wrong. So post is often a process of deconstruct- ing that ego again and facing up to who you really are, and being honest with yourself, and I think that's personally a very important part of the emotional process of making a movie. So post can be tricky in that respect. You're constant- ly faced with all your failings, but then, hopefully, something clicks in, and it's humbling because it's not of your mak- ing — it's somehow its own thing, and a very special moment, but odd. I'm a proficient technician and craftsman, but LOOKING TO 2022 TIME, BUDGETS, COVID AND CHANGING CONSUMPTION TRENDS ARE ALL ON THE MINDS OF TODAY'S FILMMAKERS BY IAIN BLAIR Joe Wright: Betting that film will continue to "grow and flourish."