Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1530454
www.postmagazine.com 13 POST NOV/DEC 2024 OUTLOOK FILMMAKING in post — or not. Listen, it can be like anything, but it must stay a tool. If it starts to replace human beings, I'll be the saddest director, because the beauty of cinema is that it's a collaborative act of creativity. I'm amazed by what we can see online now made by AI images that are mind-blowing actually, and we are in a world that is changing very fast right now — faster than we can compute. And I think that we just saw the beginning of it. And it's frightening and exciting at the same time, and we'll see where it goes. But I think that at the end of the day, what brought us to cinema is the idea of, like at the beginning of mankind, when people were telling stories around a fire. It's another human sharing an experi- ence, a story with other humans. And that makes sense. If it's coming from a machine, it's meaningless." OUTLOOK: "We've been through a lot. First of all, the movie theatrical experi- ence was left in a vulnerable position be- cause of the growth of streaming. Then there was the pandemic. Then there were multiple strikes. We were under attack. It was an intense few years for filmmaking. Hopefully things will settle down a bit, and that we will go back into a more stable zone, where slowly, people are going back to the theaters more and more. But as a filmmaker, we have the responsibility to make the best films we can to bring people into those theaters, because it's expensive to go to the the- ater, and it's a privilege to have access to those screens, and we must honor that privilege by making great films you can enjoy on the big screen. I'm very aware that I made Dune: Part Two on Imax with amazing sound, and that so many young kids today watch movies on a phone or a little tablet, even though those movies are being made for the big-screen expe- rience. I can do nothing about that. But I feel that there's an appetite for the youth to watch movies on the big screen, and I do my best to make movies that will find their full potential in a theater. And that's my way to fight against the current of streaming on small screens." STEVE MCQUEEN Blitz, 12 Years A Slave, Widows, Shame, Hunger, Small Axe The British director/writer/producer began his career as a visual artist making videos and short films before his debut 2008 feature film, Hunger. He burst onto the international scene in 2013 when his harrowing slave drama 12 Years A Slave dominated awards season, winning the Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA for Best Picture. His new film is the WWII family drama Blitz. STRENGTHS: "After a long, hard shoot, the great thing about doing post is being out of the cold and the rain. (Laughs) I love the focus and the concentration of post. It's like a laboratory where you can improve the picture. And you're working with the best people in the business, and it's so creative." WEAKNESSES: "Sometimes post can be too long, so I would say that having shorter deadlines can help get things done. And another weakness of post is when sometimes things aren't available, like if a particular studio isn't available. I didn't have any problem on Blitz, as I had an amazing woman running the post schedule, and if you don't have someone like that, you can run into trouble quite quickly. Looking back, I wish I could have stayed longer working on the edit and post in Amsterdam, where I'm based most of the time, and that I didn't have to come to London to finish the edit and post, as it can be a bit hectic in London. So, just for one's peace of mind and try- ing to really focus on things in post, it's better if you can stay in one place. But that's about it in terms of weaknesses." OPPORTUNITIES: "Test screenings can be very helpful, and I did a few on Blitz, and they did help, for sure. I mean, grant- ed, it didn't change the movie in any major way, but what it did is sometimes just help with communication. It was the same thing with 12 Years. I think that was the first time I ever did a test screening, and it just communicated what the au- dience was thinking. 'Oh, they didn't un- derstand that bit? Okay. We can fix that.' You know, little things like that. Nothing big. It's almost like being a designer and you're making this amazing garment, and you put it on the model and you find out right away that the shoulders don't sit right, so okay, we can fix the shoulders." THREATS: "I suppose it's always when you don't have the time and the budget to do it justice. But if you don't have that Steve McQueen (shown on the set of Blitz) loves the focus that comes during post.