WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION This comprehensive 2-day workshop is designed to demystify the world of Visual Effects (VFX) for experienced directors and producers. The aim is to enhance understanding and collaboration between filmmakers and VFX artists and companies, ensuring a more time and cost efficient process but also improve the creative process. Participants will gain insights into the possibilities, how to effectively communicate with VFX teams, and the best practices for integrating VFX into their projects. Day 1: Understanding the VFX Landscape Morning Session: VFX Fundamentals Introduction to VFX: An overview of what VFX entails, its various categories (CGI, compositing, motion capture, etc.), and its importance in modern filmmaking. History and Evolution: A brief history of VFX in cinema, highlighting key advancements and influential projects that have shaped the industry. VFX Pipeline: Understanding the VFX production pipeline from pre-production to post-production, including stages like concept design, previsualization, asset creation, animation, and rendering. Case Study 1 Project Breakdown: Analyzing the VFX production focusing on the collaboration between the director, producers, and VFX teams. Challenges and Solutions: Discussing the specific challenges faced during production and the innovative solutions that were implemented to overcome them. Afternoon Session: Pre-Production Planning Script Breakdown for VFX: How to identify and plan for VFX sequences during the script development phase. Budgeting and Scheduling: Strategies for budgeting and scheduling VFX work, understanding cost drivers, and ensuring efficient resource allocation. Storyboarding and Previsualization: The importance of visual planning tools like storyboards and previsualization in communicating the director’s vision to the VFX team. Case Study 2 Visual Planning: Exploring the previsualization and storyboarding processes that helped shape the visually stunning worlds Director-VFX Collaboration: Insights into how effective communication and planning ensured the seamless integration of VFX into the film. Day 2: Implementing and Managing VFX Morning Session: On-Set VFX Management VFX Supervision: The role of a VFX supervisor on set, including managing practical effects, green screens, and motion capture. Best Practices for Shooting VFX: Techniques for capturing footage that will integrate smoothly with VFX, including lighting, camera angles, and reference materials. Real-Time VFX Tools: Introduction to real-time VFX tools and how they can assist directors and producers in visualizing effects during the shoot. Case Study 3 Innovative Techniques: Discussing the innovative techniques used to capture complex VFX scenes, including the use of real-time tools and practical effects. Afternoon Session: Post-Production and Beyond Post-Production Workflow: Understanding the post-production workflow for VFX, including editing, compositing, and final rendering. Review and Feedback: Best practices for providing feedback to VFX artists and ensuring that the final product aligns with the director’s vision. Integration and Delivery: Strategies for integrating VFX seamlessly into the final cut and preparing deliverables for various distribution formats. Case Study 4 Collaborative Review: Examining the iterative review process between the director, producers, and VFX artists to achieve the film’s stunning visual effects. Conclusion: Moving Forward with VFX Future Trends in VFX: A look at emerging trends and technologies in the VFX industry and their potential impact on filmmaking. By the end of this workshop, participants will have a deeper understanding of the VFX process, enhanced communication skills with VFX teams, and practical knowledge to efficiently integrate VFX into their future projects, ensuring high-quality visual storytelling. ABOUT SEBASTIAN BARKER Sebastian Barker is a prominent force in the world of visual effects, co-founding the London-based visual effects boutique Automatik VFX. From his beginnings leading a small team out of hired space in the back of a nail salon, Sebastian has grown Automatik VFX into a facility of 100 across offices in London and Berlin. With more than 15 years of experience designing visual effects and growing businesses accross the visual effects and post-production industries, Sebastian has a breadth of knowledge that transcends visual effects alone. Establishing Automatik VFX 10 years ago, Sebastian quickly established the company as a leading boutique in the visual effects industry. As the Managing Director, he prioritizes quality and client satisfaction, overseeing a vast range of projects while thriving in the role of VFX Supervisor. His involvement in The Post Republic UK as a partner further cements his status as a key player in the post-production and visual effects landscape. Throughout his career, Sebastian has supervised and produced VFX for around 40 productions, recently playing a key role in high-profile projects such as Disney+'s Doctor Who, the Amazon Prime series The Wheel of Time, and Yorgos Lanthimos's Kinds of Kindness (2024). His work has also extended to feature films like The Wonder (2022) starring Florence Pugh, The Outfit (2022) with Mark Rylance, and Spencer (2021), where Kristen Stewart portrayed Princess Diana. Sebastian's diverse portfolio also includes The Girl with All the Gifts, Outside the Wire and The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself (2022), each showcasing his ability to adapt to different genres and visual effects challenges. Whether leading complex CG environments for fantasy epics like The Wheel of Time, designing period details for The Duke (2020), or bringing to life a world of military robots in Outside the Wire (2021), Barker's eye for detail and storytelling ensures that every frame is enriched with quality VFX work. In addition to his supervision roles, Barker has executive produced five films, demonstrating his comprehensive understanding of both the creative and production aspects of filmmaking. His growth from working solo on smaller projects to overseeing large-scale productions for global platforms like Amazon, Netflix, and Disney+, showcases his drive, creativity, and vision in the ever-evolving VFX industry. Sebastian Barker filmography speaks for itself and guarantees the high standards our participants have come to expect from FEST FILM LAB. PROFILE OF PARTICIPANT

The workshop designed for Directors and Producers, or filmmakers interested in better understanding how to work with and budget for VFX on a production. WORKSHOP LOCATION Berlin, Germany Duration: 2 days 10:00 - 18:00 Dates: 18th - 19th of January 2025 Location: Berlin, Germany Price: 599EUR (399EUR Until 15th of January) Maximum number of participants: 25 By registering to the workshop you agree with FFL terms and Conditions Please add our address to your email safe senders list, address book or contact list to avoid FEST e-mails in spam. REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP ON THE LINK BELOW

ABOUT MARK ULANO, CAS, AMPS Mark Ulano has been recording sound for film professionally since 1976 and has mixed over 150 film and television projects. He is a four times Oscar nominee, most recently for ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, AD ASTRA and INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. His work on TITANIC won him an Academy Award for Sound Mixing as well as the Cinema Audio Society Award for Best Sound mixing for a Feature Film. Most recently, his work can be heard on WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY and in 2023 on the new Martin Scorsese spring release: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, staring Robert DeNiro and Leonardo DiCaprio. He has had a 28 year collaboration with Quentin Tarantino. With many articles published, Mark is very active in the cinema mentoring world as a teacher of workshops and speaker at sound symposiums internationally; including Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Gold Program, American Film Institute, Digital Video Expo, AES and Cinema Audio Society and many others. Mr. Ulano has long been involved in leadership within the creative film sound community. He sat 30 years as a board member for the Cinema Audio Society and served the full two terms both as President and Vice President of the CAS. He also has served five terms as president of IATSE Local 695 (the film sound union in Los Angeles) and also served nine terms on the Sound Branch Executive Committee of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as well as various AMPAS subcommittees. ABOUT PATRUSHKHA MIERZWA Patrushkha Mierzwa is one of the first women boom operators in Hollywood. She has worked on 80+ movies and television shows for major directors including Robert Altman, James Gray, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese. She has also been a judge for the Emmys and was a Director on the Board of the sound union - IATSE Local 695. Patrushkha has spoken on multiple panels and given workshops at universities in China, Ireland, Norway, England, France, Los Angeles, and New York City on the duties and responsibilities of Boom Operators and Sound Utility Technicians. She has lectured on the performance work skills necessary to succeed under a fast production schedule with A-list talent. Patrushkha wrote the multiple award-winning best-selling book on sound, “Behind the Sound Cart: A Veteran’s Guide to Sound on the Set” and has contributed to film retrospectives and books, including “Nope, Nothing Wrong Here: The Making of Cujo” and is featured in “1000 Women in Horror.” She is currently writing a book on boom operating.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES-Sound for storytelling: The tools are not the artist, they are passive instruments until played by the creative practitioner. We do not come to the project with a preconceived ideology; We come to the project to discover, to learn, to interpret. We hope to create something new. This workshop is conducted primarily as a conversation and is fully interactive. We use case studies to teach a solution-based creative use of sound. Topics covered in the workshop will include: Using the sound palette for directorial intent. What is being transmitted to the audience at this specific moment? Connecting the characters to the audience Sound as a tool for emotional connection/truth/communication Character perspective, 1st person vs 3rd person, Like lenses and frame composition but not visible. Every shot is hand made by a team of artists Absence of understanding of the sound process on the set and beyond can limit the reach of the director Brief historical survey Not the Jazz Singer, but 40 years of evolving before the late 1920’s, when dialogue and sound-scape emerge. The creation of a film’s sound-scape begins in pre-production. The production sound team lays the bed of performance and most often are the primary liaison or decision maker of approach from pre-production through production. Including sound artists in the circle of trust. The production sound team performs the essential foundation in the creation of your film’s soundtrack. Capturing performance in collaboration with the artists in front of the camera in tandem with those behind the camera What is “good sound”? What does “technical” mean on a film set? Linking with the other departments PROFILE OF PARTICIPANT The workshop designed for, Sound Mixers, Sound Editors, Music Editors, Boom operators, ADR Editors, Directors, Film Students, or filmmakers serious about a career in the Film Industry in the area of Sound.

LOCATION OF THE WORKSHOP Berlin, Germany Duration: 2 days 10:00 - 18:00 Dates: 18th - 19th of January 2025 Location: Berlin, Germany Price: 599EUR (399EUR Until the 16th of January) Maximum number of participants: 25 By registering to the workshop you agree with FFL terms and Conditions Please add our address to your email safe senders list, address book or contact list to avoid FEST e-mails in spam.