The Making of
UNTITLED PROJECT
Student Award winner in AIFVF 2011
The Idea & Pre-Production
 Svetoslav Atanasov (cinematographer, actor, choreographer
etc.), Radi Angelov (cinematographer, actor, choreographer etc.) and
I - Tsvetan Naydenov (director, cinematographer, actor, editor,
choreographer etc.) decided to create this film. We already had everything
we needed but a camera.
We already had the idea for the screenplay and a vision of the places where
we were going to shoot the film. We were looking for a good quality camera
but we didn't strike lucky. Then we decided to ask our professor Alexander
Iliev PhD (director, cinematographer, mime, anthropologist, writer, etc.)
for help. We owe him much gratitude for all he did for us. He gave us two
cameras and a few tips before we started.
Filming
 It was Sunday, 13:30 pm and we just finished our acting class
in NATFA (National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts). Svetoslav, Radi and
I took a car and went to place a few kilometers away from our city. These
two big pipes/tubes were perfect for our action scene. We did great shots
but also we had a few troubles: Svetoslav tripped and because the place was
steep, he slid a few meters down. It was dangerous because he was trying
to keep himself and the camera safe. Fortunately he was OK without any serious
injuries and the camera was intact. We continued filming and there were no
more troubles with our equipment.
Well, this was not actually true for us, because we had a few injuries (the
blood on our hands was real), and a few hard falls: in the beginning of the
fight when Svetoslav and I are rolling down the hill together and when Svetoslav
threw me against the pipe and then tried to get onto the pipe. He dropped
and fell down from about 1.50 meters onto his back. Of course he was OK and
we continued.
 Radi did amazing shots with two cameras. It was very difficult
for him because he had to start the cameras one by one as we didn't have
a remote control. So it was hard for him to control one of the cameras. Svetoslav
and I helped by shooting ourselves sometimes. Then we had to watch every
single shot just to be sure it worked. The pipe scene took us about 4 hours
and as soon as we were ready we went on to the forest part. There we shot
everything for less than an hour and we headed immediately for the last scene
next to the river. It was rush filming there because it was after sunset
and we didn't want to film in the dark. Besides, the camera batteries were
very low. Also we had to cross the river a few times for the right shot and
the water was very cold. We were wet and we started to feel the coldness.
All the shots there took us about hour and a half. We were wet, with small
wounds and scratches, exhausted, hungry and thirsty but satisfied and happy
at the same time because everything went well and we finished it.
Post-Production
 It took me few hours of converting, adding visual and sound
effects and editing everything. At the end of the next day we were ready
with the film.
... But what we have learned and we know and would like to share with everybody
is that good visual and sound effects and choreography are not so important
as the main idea and the reason to do it. It's always a strong and good idea
together with a team of several people who are dedicated to art and who believe
in this idea and are willing to give everything and even more… that
creates the film!
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