**### Fuck ups not to make in a film production**

In this text I’ll show my choice of research method, and how the method will be executed throughout my MA-education at Art of Impact.\ I have made interviews with different directors on their methods, and you will also see quotes from directors derived from other interviews. I will in the text below also talk a bit about the project as a whole and display my angles in documenting my work.*__

My individual project reflects on the relation and conflict between authenticity and compromise in the making of a fiction film.

In this text I will referr to

_II On methods of directing - An interview with Carolina Jinde__

Im on a quest to find the most workable method of directing, in terms of keeping the intention of a story authentic throughout the entire process of filmmaking. One person that I became interested in was the sound engineer and director Carolina Jinde.

Jinde had previosly showed a sound drama, in the fall of 2022. The drama involves two women in the early 1900’s who fall in love and decide they want to have a child together.

The sound drama was presented in a big room with 5.1-sound at SKH. When I heard the audio drama, I was highly impressed on hos the language between the two actors in their roles could sound so authentic. It almost sounded as someone had done a hi def recording 100 years ago with hidden microphones, capturing a secret conversation between to women, who express forbidden love to eachother.

Carolina Jinde had also integrated sound landscapes, with illustrative sounds from trains, carriages and environments that placed the two women in different habitats that we as the audience easily can associate with a real live location, easy to vizualise.

I met Carolina Jinde at SKH on march 22nd 2023. Our meeting came to be an encounter of thrilling insight, due to the methods of directing that she had chose. In our meeting, Jinde was firm on the point that the is an sound engineer, and not a director.

Furthermore she stressed the notion that it was utterly important to have a non authoritarian view on the process, meaning Jinde did not want to “boss around” with the actors in the role as a director.

My interpretation was that since Jinde calls herself sound engineer, she has a respect for the profession of a director to such extent that she needs to reinvent the work processes and methods usuyally linked to a directors work, in order to make it on her own.

Regardless, the outcome from the process became excellent and I asked Jinde about the process.

Instead of working in a classic manner, with the director being determined to guide a team of actors to visualize the vision that he/she’s having, Jinde chose another path. Since Jinde has worked most of her life as a sound engineer (for example at the Swedish public service radio) she felt comfortable in the radio studios, with the sound, music and soundscapes. When meeting with the actors, Jinde hadn’t written any script beforehand, instead she began to discuss the roles with the actresses playing in the drama. The actresses then where recorded in the radio studio improvising, within their roles, with oneanother. While the actresses where improvising, they listened to a soundscape conducted, mixed and edited by Jinde. The soundscapes where made to build a backdrop in the envisioned scene, that hopefully could make it easier for the actors to “tune in” on their respective roles. Jinde then collected the recordings from the impro-sessions and started to write a script based on the recordings.

By doing this, Jinde makes it easier for the actors to use the same language as they have used before, making the script comfortable and easy to take to heart. Alongside with the sound playing while the actors are improvising, Jinde is making an integrated form of storytelling that I never had encountered before.

The result was a very intimate dialogue, that was very smooth and naturalistic between the actors. Eventhough the initial idea for Carolina Jinde was to let the actors voices perform on a theatre stage in front of an audience. Due to a lack of budget, the theatre was out of reach and the audio drama was instead performed through speakers in a film studio at SKH.

Jinde herself told me, in my interview with her, that she wanted to start from the “listening” “I wanted to see how I could use time, space and continuum. I made soundscapes, or sound rooms for the various dialogues. In the beginning I made rather ambitious soundscapes. One where Hjalmar Branting gives a speech. You hear horses and people walking and it starts to rain, and the actors had to listen to that. We read plays that the characters are based on. And so the actors had to improvise their meetings. We were sometimes in a park, or on a train.”

_II Scenes with no beginning or end - an interview with Ninja Thyberg__

On November 4th 2022, the Swedish director Ninja Thyberg was invited to the Art of Impact class at SKH to talk about her feature film Pleasure. In Pleasure, a Swedish young girl decides to move to Los Angeles in order to execute a new career as a porn star. In the film we then follow the girl through the river of obstacles where she’s trying to make a name for herself in a cynical, nihilistic and dark world.

Pleasure was Ninja Thybergs first long feature film. During the visit at SKH Ninja told us that she casted nearly 3 000 girls for the man role. She says she used the long process of casting to try out the script she had written. During the casting process, the script also evolved with Ninja integrating dialogue told by the actors while in casting sessions. In that way, Ninja believed she could come closer to a more authentic expression in the dialogue, since a few actors that participated in the casting also where porn actors.

Interviewed by my alter egos

What exploration, ideas, or questions drive or underpin your work? Everything below is derived from my beliefs. My beliefs are derived from what I’ve experienced. My experience are derived from choices I’ve made. The choices I’ve made has in the beginning of my life been in lack of experience, after that my choices has become more sound, and a bit more dull at the same time. Hence why I started this education.
In a way I’m a bit anxious that I’ve become my own voice of reason and therefore take excessive safety measures. I do not wish to be that person. On the other hand I would never like to head back to when I still had Christmas in my eyes but was dumb as a wagon wheel. The lack of experience tends to make one a bit more audacious. Which is nice, because you clear new paths with that kind of attitude. But as a director, I want my vision to be expressed in the film - but never at all costs. The audience comprehension of the film is the most important.

With all this said, how can I find my authentic voice as a director?

In an old interview, a then young director Paul Thomas Anderson reflects on his role with the actors. Anderson claims that his role is as a writer, not a director, towards his actors. If he writes a good enough script, the only thing he need to focus on as a director is to keep everyone at a good mood on set.

_II On boundaries and compromise - an interview with Ruben Östlund__

In the sound clip above, the Swedish director Ruben Östlund was interviewed in the 554th episode of the podcast Värvet on january 9th 2023. In the clip he talks about the work with his latest feature film “The Triangle of Sadness” and what sort of compromise he needed to make in order to push things forward. Close to when they where supposed to start filming, Ruben Östlund tells in the clip, they got a call from one of the financiers - telling him that the budget can be stretched any further. “And in those cases, boundaries can almost feel liberating, because otherwise you have limitless options”, Ruben Östlund says in the clip.

A quote from the interview above with Ruben Östlund (translated from Swedish) “I had harder time to work with a budget with no cieling. I can do compromises in my projects but yet again, my projects are so long and vast, so for me to make adjustments… in the long run you never come to think about it really, the compromises you’ve made and they really don’t matter because you have moved forward insetad. And maybe when someone tells you that ‘you can’t do this or that’, then I can just relax and move on.”

An interview with Kay Pollack During the spring of 2023, I’m making a radio documentary of the Swedish composer Stefan Nilsson. In my different interviews, I also talked to the director Kay Pollack. In the interview, mostly concerning the composer Stefan Nilsson, I believe that we get a interesting perspective on the relationship between the director and other creative occupations in the film.

** Exmaples from different acting performances and brief summary on authenticiy and compromise** Our world consists of different kinds of performances. My suspicion is that it relies on two major factors. The experience and talent of the actor, a well written script and the directors ability to create a save and trustful environment for the actors to perform in. Below I’ve collected a few clips that I will try to interpret and categorize based on the performance of the actors, based on the context of the performance.

Småstadsliv. This clip is collected from an Instagram account from Småstadsliv, a comedy concept consisting of a variety show performed in the country side of Sweden, all together with film production where short scetches are displayed on social media.

The acting is exaggerated, almost as you can see in animated performances. The characters are showing a few distinctive characteristics that are featured in the performance. Comedy acts like this could either be brought to life in order to make people laugh over some relatable features in everyday carachters or to prove a political point.

Which leads me to the next performance below. This clip is collected from Facebook where a Swedish comedian performs the same kind of exaggarated acting as in Småstadsliv, only this time, she’s trying to prove a social point on the conditions for teachers work environment. Aswell as in Småstadsliv, the comedian in the clip lifts a few selected features to prove a point. Both examples can not however show a good example of an authentic performance of an actor. That is problably not the intention either.

We move in to a clip I’ve gathered from ViaPlays Instagram channel. Here we can see a snack bite from a scene derived from the TV-series Strandhotellet. Two women are talking in a sofa. The topic, an infected relationship. This performance is a bit more sad than the previous performances. Series like Strandhotellet could be considered as a classic TV-drama, where the archs of the narration is build around private relationships between the characters. People cheat, fall in love, die, kill eachother and so on. One might call this genre Gossip Drama. Just as in the comedy examples, the charachters features are not exhaggsrsted, instead the expression of the character is imprinted in the dialogue, and colors every line. Strandhotellet, as regarded as a gossip TV-drama, build archetypes instead of trustworthy characters that we can relate ourselves to. There’s still a sort of thin membrane between the people we see act on screen and who we are as human beings watching the drama. We as an audience might be transported into the story, but never to the inner lives of the characters; leaving us a bit hollow. ”What did I just watch? Was it worth while? Can I remember anything from what I saw?” If I would imagine what is lacking on set while shooting the Strandhotellet series, or at least this specific scene, it’s a lack of understanding for the characters own journey and were they are heading with themselves.

The same goes with the Swedish film UFO Sweden (2022), created by Crazy Pictures - a film collective in Norrköping. UFO Sweden is their second feature film. UFO Sweden is an action movie, therefore all scenes must be told in a fast pace. Unfortunately, the actors can’t keep up with the pace and they are not skilled enough to act authentic.

The next clip is from Beautiful Boy (2018). In the scene a father meets his son, who is a drug addict, at a café. They start to talk, the father tries to reconcile, forgive and maybe move on. The son is caught and hindered by his addiction, making him impossible to face and deal with. Beautiful Boy is written by the acclaimed writer, poet and script writer Luke Davies together with the movies director Felix van Groeningen. In this scene, you can really see the struggles within the characters, as the collide and try to come together. For every person hos has been in a family with drug abuse, the dialogue and goals of each person in the scene is highly relatable. There’s also a lot of subtext in the dialogue, where we as an audience easily can see that the relation is both intimate as it is infected.

The next clip is from Ruben Östlunds film The Triangle of Sadness (2022). A russian millionare talks with the captain on board the ship. The hand each other jokes on the USSR and the capitalism. The acting style almost seems improvised, as it could have been a nicley shot documentary. Östlund has talked in interviews that he usualy let actors repeat a scene a lot of times before they reach a satisfactory end result. I don’t know if this is the case here, but the dialogue is free spirited and tilted towards comedy, eventhough it’s a dark comedy since the ship is sinking and in the scene we as an audeince are not shure werther or not they to men will drown or not.

Summary In the book ”Directing Actors” by Judith Weston, the writer claims that there are a few stereotypes in directors that end up directing actors. I list three of the archetypes below. The photographer The writer The actor

In the clips from Småstad and the female comedian, you can clearly see that it’s the actor that is also the director. One person with something to say och display in forms of features to make a stand for a social issue or a feature that resembles an exaggerated person in real life.

Since Strandhotellet is a big franchise, an on going series with a ton of episodes, the organization around Strandhotellet consists of four different directors (2023) and five different script writers (apart from Camilla Läckberg who is credited as the ”creator”). Apart from this big team of creators and the four different producers, Daniel Ottoson is titled ”Creative producer” of the show. All these titles can sometimes be mashed up, and since I have not talked to the team I can only guess what a creative producer means. But if the series has a creative producer, that might be the same role as American producers often have, where they co-direct alongside with the director, supervise the script writers and hold the narrative together. Daniel Ottoson is credited on IMDB for have written and/or directed scetch formats for Swedish television as ”Aina 112”, ”Karatefylla” and ”Jävla klåpare”. Hence Ottosons experience in the creative field of film making is derived from the same formats as Småstadsliv. Short sketches with exaggerated characters. The experience is limited to sketch programs. And as soon as you have more than two people sharing the work the script, the authentic vision is at risk, in my humble opinion.

With UFO Sweden, it’s quite clear to me that the filmmakers are photographers in first hand, and not directors of actors. Every frame is delicately orchestrated in terms of grade, props and vision. The script does not seem to be regarded as a highly creative peace with enough value in relation to the cinematography. Victor Danell has directed, produced, edited and written the script for UFO Sweden. Victor Danell has also been one of the VFX Supervisors, together with his brother Daniel Danell. The VFX takes a big part in UFO Sweden, the VFX almost plays a role of its own in the film. Maybe that’s why the acting comes in second or third hand. The ambition with the movie wasn’t to make a Meryl Streep moment out of every scene, these guys wanted action! Nevertheless this is also why the movie never really catch a hold of the transportation for me as an audience.

In Beautiful Boy, the director hired a skilled writer to help him tell the story. Every key role in the cast is carried out by different individuals, (presumably) forcing the director to a ”trial and error” dialogue with a lot of different creators in the pre production before the shooting starts. These kind of dialogues, I regard as crucial to make a quality outcome. Therefore, the authenticity and the vision in the filmmaker must be rock solid, as well as flexible (tough balance) in dialogue with other creators. The compromise is a poison, but the dialogue is paramount.

When the creator becomes the director with a terrible result - and why you should look out for them Recently I attended a creative class, where the teacher of the class used to be a creative person of her own. She used to make documentaries and write scripts. This led to her having a large body of work behind her, also leeding to insights on how the outcome of a creative idea should sound like. During the class I atended, all students were supposed to try out different ways of reading voice over from their own scripts. The teacher grabbed the microphone, stood close to the students, voice overed the text by herself and interrupted the students while speaking. Her ideas were very rigid, due to her own work experience as a reporter. The tension was slightly mounting at times, and one could sense intimidation in the air. I’m not claiming that she was wrong in her oppinions, eventhough it was only oppinions. I started to think about the director as a gardener. A good gardener makes sure to tend to the flowers, nurturing nature to grow. This form of gardening that I witnessed was more burtal, where the teacher pulled unwanted flowers from the soil. This technique does not qualify the students to really learn what they are doing wrong or right. Trying out different techniques in a trial and error-manner is beneficial, but not with another creator standing next to you with their own strong idea of the outcome. As Einstein put it, if you tell a frog it’s inabilities to fly, it will spend the rest of it’s life thinking that he’s useless.

Notes from discussion on the method in the class

MAX LANDERGÅRD

Right now Im making a short film in order to become better at the craft as a film maker. While Im making the short film Im also making a video with me telling every mistake I make throughout the whole process. I will try to make the dokumentation as available as possible, because it’s my ambition that hoppfull other poeple that are interested in becoming a filmmaker will benefit from looking at my dokumentation and they can become better artists by looking at it.

Since the budget is tight for the short film, and the ambition is audacious and bold, I am thinking about how I can shot it with a double camera. Because in feature films you often need to record dialogoue between two people two or three times in order to catch every angle of the dialogue, but I will try to and more cameras so we can move on more quickly with each take. Thats what Im thinking about now.

I think its a safety net for me as a filmmaker to adress my misstages and accentuate them in a documentary, in that regard I can vent it better instead of trying to hide it to make myself look better than I acutally am.

Ville: How do you define a mistake?

ANSWER: When your ignorance comes in the way of a brilliant result.

Johannes: How do you see that you can collect the mistakes, is it a TikTok account? How will you show them?

ANSWER: Through interviews I make with myself and others around me.

Ville: How do you have time for both? Both a short film and a documentary, how will you be able to manage that?

ANSWER: Yes. I like having a lot to do.

Johannes: What is the film that you want to make the project about?

ANSWER: It’s about a carpenter thats being interviewed by his daughter in a patronising way, that the father dont apporve of. While the interview is on going, a demon lurks in a dark room behind them.

Ville: So whats next about the project? Please tell me more

ANSWER: You just wait and see… ;)

Ville: What is your attitude towards yourself, when you are interviewing yourself?

ANSWER: I embody my inner critics when I interview myself. In that regard I can face the sides of myself that tries to ridicule my ambitions.

Johannes: The interviews of yourself? Are you gonna be a clone? Is it a part of the research catalogoue?

ANSWER: I’m leaning toward

Ville: Some sort of headline would help, what would be your headline?

ANSWER: It’s about a carpenter thats being interviewed by his daughter in a patronising way, that the father dont approve of. While the interview is on going, a demon lurks in a dark room behind them.

The Feature Short Film

In my individual project, the goal is to make both a feature short film, and a short documentary film about the making of the short film. That’s the desired outcome of my indiviudal project.

In this section, you’ll see screenshots from the mind map I’ve made that are planned to illustrate a sort of mood board and a misch masch of ideas on shapes, images and characteristics of both the feature and documentary short.

I’ve also made a list of questions asked in a seminar by the finnish artist Annette Arlander - where she discussed and displayed artistic research. These questions will be answered beneath the pictures.

Above you can see a mood board from the feature short. The scene is supposed to take place in a heavy duty environment. With the main charachter Lennart who is the team leader of a construction site, and his younger co-worker Stefan. As you can see I’m also eager to have a poet, with the aura-resemblance of the Swedish poet Bruno K. Öijer.

**What does documentation mean to you in your practice? **_

It’s paramount to do documentation for me, since it is and will be the beacon to follow when I try my ways into unknown territory with a new skillset of ideas to experiment with in my role as a director. The documentation will consist of diaries, filmed interviews with myself, recorded interviews with others and behind the scene-documentation during set recordings.

Above: picture from the mood board with a few examples from what sort of music I wish to use in the feature short film. The choice of music is highly integrated in the process while I’m writing or reflecting upon life and work. The music is for me the purest of art forms. It’s the only art form that uninterpreted can reach the inner parts of our souls in a split second. It’s the closest we can come to a transcendental expreience. Music tells us about our legacy, our mood, our ambitions. It also leads the way in a scene.

Music to me plays a big role in my life. For example I’ve listened to this song while writing this text.

How do you go about putting your skillset into practice? First of all, I will need to dig a bit deeper in my own interpretations of the words I use to describe execution of a skillset. For example: What is authenticity? When does the team feel that I as a director use an authentic voice? Am I being authentic approaching the actors? Am I listening properly to the team and the actors? Am I able to detect an authentic voice? What is a good film? What is a good actor? What is a bad actor? The relationship between a film director and their actors is a crucial element in the film-making process. A director’s approach to working with actors can have a significant impact on the final product, as well as on the overall experience of the actors themselves. One common approach is for a director to have a hands-on, collaborative relationship with their actors. This can involve giving specific instructions and guidance on character development and performance, as well as working closely with actors on rehearsals and scene blocking. Some directors may also use improvisation and experimentation as a way of finding the most effective performance from their actors. Other directors take a more hands-off approach, allowing their actors more freedom to interpret their characters and bring their own ideas to the table. This can lead to a more organic, spontaneous performance, but it also requires a great deal of trust and communication between the director and the actors. Regardless of the specific approach, it is important for a director to have a clear vision for their film and to be able to effectively communicate this vision to their actors. This can involve providing context and background information on the characters and the story, as well as giving feedback on performance and making adjustments as needed. Ultimately, the most effective directors are those who are able to build a positive, collaborative relationship with their actors, and who are able to bring out the best in their performances through clear communication and a shared understanding of the film’s goals. So, the director’s relationship with the actors is a very important factor in the film-making process. There are several ways that a film director can bring out the best in an actor: Clear communication: It is important for a director to clearly communicate their vision for the film and the specific character that the actor is playing. This can involve providing context and background information, as well as giving specific feedback on performance. Rehearsals: Rehearsals can be an effective way for a director to work with actors to fine-tune their performances and ensure that they are consistent with the overall vision for the film. Collaboration: A director can foster a positive, collaborative relationship with their actors by inviting them to contribute their own ideas and by being open to their input. This can create a sense of trust and mutual respect, which can lead to better performances. Trust: Trust is an essential component of the director-actor relationship. A director who trusts their actors and allows them the freedom to interpret their characters in their own way can often bring out their best performances. Support: A director who provides support and encouragement to their actors can help to build their confidence and inspire them to give their best performances. This can include providing feedback, giving constructive criticism, and offering encouragement. Ultimately, the most effective directors are able to build positive, collaborative relationships with their actors and create an environment in which the actors feel comfortable and supported, which can lead to the best possible performances

ABOVE: Everywhere I go, I bring a notebook to draw scetches and write down ideas that come to mind.

What to document? Not everything… At first, I did document every step of my process. But that is of course unbearable to read. The idea now is to document the casting process, the process of making adjustments of the script and how I go about directing the actors on set. The documentation will consist of my journal, recorded interviews and the filming on set.

ABOVE: I try do draw scetches of every scene in order to create a storyboard.

For whom are you documenting? For what purpose? Where is the focus? The focus will lie on all the mistakes that I as a filmmaker will make throughout the entire process. I’m tired of reading, watching and listening to hero stories all the time. At the same time, I dont wish to tell a story from a losers perspective - and it should not be in the fashion of a resentful and bitter filmmaker who believes that all is lost - quite the contrary. The target group that I have in mind are other filmmakers that can sense all the obstacles that fills the path that they are going through. I would like to light a beam of hope in the end of that tunnel. That a lot can be achieved in spite of all hinders.

ABOVE: These are some of the guiding ideas of the short film. Since the feature is told from the perspective of a father and a daughter, the film covers the topic of longing and love.

The concept or idea, the process, the product, the experiences of viewers or participants, the effects? Hopefully, the effect of the documentation, together with the feature short, will make other filmmakers feel more confident in their role. The product will be a short film documentary about the fearture film.

ABOVE: The roles are changing in the feature film project and I’m uncertain wherter or not we will see all these characters in the end result. But the father and daughter will stay to the very end. The monster har transformed to an allegory instead of a real physichal being. I’ve alså typed down what sort of “tagline” that follows the group culture as a whole throughout this specific story, as you may see.

A work or an event? Additional material related to it? A series of works, an exhibition or collection, a ”body of work”?

I will work with the feature short film and use that as a stepping stone into my own examination. Since I’m a writing person, that used to be a journalist and a writer, I found it easier to sort out my own ideas if I write them down.

ABOVE: We have now, as the yellow color indicate, shifted to the building blocks of the documentary. Above you can see the suggested roles in the documentary.

An investigation? I strongly believe that there are not the human beings present in the room/in front of the camera, that play the major parts in a documentary. The camera, the room and the zeit geist might be more important than the other people surrounding you. If there is time, I will divide the documentary in chapters named after the different roles. But that demands a whole other level of investigation. But there are topics that triumph the zeit geist in this specific project - and that is how I evolve as a filmmaker. For far too long, I’ve been afraid. Afraid not to be able to make money of my passion, being unable to create stories that are strong enough, that even if I would make a great film, I wouldnt have the proper network to distribute it. Fears like these has restrainghned me from reaching perfection. Therefore I’m grateful that now I’m able to make some achievements by workning through this project.

ABOVE: As a filmmaker, you are expected to take charge, or at least to show which way everyone should be guided by. The history of film has been filled with a vast variation of leaders. I’ve been fascinated by Ingmar Bergman for many years, in the regard that he succeeded to make so many films in such a limitied time, and that he managed to raise money for relatively nisched films that never really caught a broader audience. And then theres Stanley Kubrick, with a persona that holds a lot of rumour and mystery.

Speaking of leadership. While shooting Sully (2016) Tom Hanks who played the main character as the heoric airplane pilot Sully, afterwards told some talkshow viewers how it was like working with the movies director, Mr. Clint Eastwood.

In the clip below, Tom Hanks says that Clint Eastwood treats his actors like horses and instead of saying “cut” when he’s satisfied with a scene, he just whispers “that’s enough of that”. Tom Hanks sarcasticlly says “thats a big encouragement as an actor to hear ‘thats enough of that’”. The clip below is from an interview at BBC2, The Graham Norton show.

How - text, sound, images, material traces, witness accounts? Why? Souvenirs from the past or messages to the future?

It’s easy to take the easy road and choose sound and text to present my work. Since I’m making a feature short film, I’m going to use moving images to a greater extent than I usually do.

ABOVE: Instead of making a linear process map, I liked to do it as a cloud of possibilities and obstacles accompaning me throughout the process. With this said, I really do like structure, and I got inspired by Christer Lindelövs process model, lifting the deadline PRE-JECT, PRO-JECT and POST-JECT. This model enables every step of the way equal in importance. Both to reflect and think about the work that lies ahead, aswell as it’s good to reflect and see which insights that could be of value to integrate in ones skill- or mindset for the future.

ABOVE: This is the topic that I’ve chosen to come back to in this project, the relation and conflict between authenticity and compromise. I’ve identified a few pro’s and con’s with a process being charactarized by compromise.

While accepting an award, the script writer Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation, Being John Malkovic etc) declares what he thinks a script writer should be and do. We are not here to please the producers, our own percieved fortune or even the audience who also been trained to know what to like. We are here to tell the truth about the world as it is - cutting through layers and layers of charades, taglines and commercial messages. I believe this to be the hardest and strongest form of compromise. And when you are collaboration, you will encounter people that brings up oppinions that they often don't know werther or not is honest. Do they believe in their hearts what they are saying to be true? Or are they just a representative of a zeit geist? As a filmmaker I've been struggling with these issues on almost every work of artistic character that I've made.

ABOVE: The same goes with authenticity. This conflict is something a reflect upon while I’m being interviewed by my alter egos.

**David Lynch** once was invited to a radio show where listeners could call with qestions and reflections. David Lynch shares his thoughts on authenticiy and trueness that connects to the creative mind.
The father of the Star Wars saga, director George Lucas, was interviewed on storytelling, where he claims that no Hollywood corporations are risk averse. This really don't add up to the notion that all creative films are tightly linked to risk. In order to discover something new, you must take risks. Unfortunately, since everything is ruled by capitalism, all corporation - Hollywood or not - wants to walk in the paths that already have been discovered and proved to work in a market. To be a pioneer in a branch like that, where it's highly important to take risks, but no one can stand behind you - it's a tough decision to make. Every sane person, that wants a roof over their head, food to bring to the table, should leave it be. But the Swedish bransch of cinema can not only consist of rich kids spending their partents money to fulfill their dreams - we should create a climate where more creative people would be encouraged to endure.

How might your project relate to societal issues and concerns? The big issue that I had with the Blod, Tvätt & Dårar - project was a standpoint that was exaggerated in the book, that I was uncertain of in the making of the movie project. In the realm of books story, the society have turned their back on fathers of newly born children, where society have expectations of men both being vulnerable and strong at the same time. As a therapist told me: Women don’t really want men to express their emotions. If men do: it often end up with the man needing to console the woman after getting her upset when he showed her feelings in a more fluctuating manner. Therefore the discussion on women wanting men to be more vulnerable, is only a fashion statement embossed in the zeit geist. But in reality, women still want men to

Thoughts on individual project: Exploration, ideas and method

What is a good film? Below, I’ve listed some points from my point of view. A good film story is one that is engaging, original, and well-written. It should have a clear structure and a compelling plot that keeps the audience interested and invested in the characters and their journey. A good film story should also have well-developed characters who are relatable and believable, and who have clear goals, motivations, and conflicts. In addition to these core elements, a good film story may also have other qualities that make it stand out, such as a unique perspective, a fresh take on a familiar theme, or an unconventional structure. Ultimately, the best film stories are those that are able to capture the imagination of the audience and transport them to another world, while also resonating with them on a deeper level. When does magic struck in a film, and what is magic?

Throughout my career as a film maker, I have not that often encountered experienced actors. All of this due to two factors: Time. A lot of my project have had a sense of urgency to them, mostly because of point #2. Budget. Up to this point in my career, I have not had either the proper network, nor the budget, to hire a experienced actor. With these facts in perspective, I wonder whether or not I can be certain if I am a good enough director, able to use my authentic voice. Or is the matter of fact that I haven’t had the opportunity to work with good enough actors?

What is a good actor? There are many factors that can contribute to a person becoming a good actor. Some key things that can help an actor improve their craft include: Training: Acting training can help an actor develop their skills and techniques, and can be obtained through a variety of methods, including acting classes, workshops, and private coaching. Practice: Like any other skill, acting requires practice to improve. Actors can practice their craft by performing in plays, films, or other productions, or by working with other actors in rehearsals or workshops. Observation: Actors can also improve their craft by observing other actors and studying their performances. This can involve watching films or stage productions, or attending acting classes or workshops. Dedication: Becoming a good actor requires dedication and a willingness to put in the time and effort to improve. Actors who are committed to their craft and willing to work hard to develop their skills are more likely to succeed. Self-awareness: Actors who are self-aware and able to understand their own strengths and weaknesses are better able to identify areas for improvement and work to address them. This is, I would say, the major important matters of becoming a good actor.

And what is a bad actor? There are several characteristics that can contribute to an actor being perceived as “bad,” including: Lack of training or experience: Actors who have not received proper training or have limited experience may struggle to deliver a convincing performance. Poor preparation: Actors who are not adequately prepared for a role, either due to a lack of rehearsal or a lack of understanding of their character, may struggle to deliver a strong performance. Lack of range: Actors who are unable to play a variety of characters or convey different emotions may be perceived as one-dimensional or lacking depth. Poor delivery: Actors who struggle with their lines, delivery, or timing may come across as awkward or forced, which can undermine the credibility of their performance. Lack of commitment: Actors who are not fully committed to their roles or do not take their craft seriously may come across as wooden or unengaging. And in my experience, I would say that it has been the lack of range and the lack of delivery that has created obstacles in the processes that I’ve been engaged in. The question is, if it has been due to my lack if instructing abilities… maybe a bit of both. I would like to discover more of this in the casting process, where I can make some instructions and see if it is me or them that is lacking in capability.

Is there a relationship between your content (exploration, ideas, questions) and how you go about exploring these? Why and how / why not? My interpretation, in hindsight, of authenticity has been tightly linked with the sense of control. In 2016, I made a series of fictional short films about the life of a high school teacher. While on set, I came in contact with a few good actors, a team consisting of DOP, director, editing folks, sound and light technicians, assistants, FAD… the whole bunch. The same year I released my first novel, called “Blod, Tvätt & Dårar” (“Blood, Laundry & Fools” (Storytel Original, 2016). I made a pilot episode, funded by my own production company, that I showed for SVT Drama. SVT approved of the pilot, granting me a development funding, where I hired a screen writer that I wanted to collaborate with. Until this moment, I had been struggling with me wanting to control every aspect of a film. Instead, in 2016, I let go of the control. I didn’t tell the screen writer whether or not his ideas was on spot or not, I just encouraged him. That led to an outcome that I did not really could visualize for myself, even though I had written the book that the script was based on. In hindsight, I think I foolishly replaced control with a lack of self confidence and a missguided humbleness to the craft. Apart from this it was hard to have a dialogue with the client, that did not have the time to talk to my team throughout the process before the deadline was due.
“Being the Director – Maintaining Your Vision while Swimming with Sharks” – is an artistic research project and video essay where director and former artistic research fellow Trygve Allister Diesen quite literally interviews himself and scrutinizes his own work and process to study the role of the film and TV director. In the documentary/video project that Trygve has made, he makes interviews with the acclaimed actor Brian Cox (with whom Trygve also made the film Red in 2008). In one of the interviews, Brian Cox claims the following: “When a director says ‘I can’t compromise’, then you go ‘well, that’s your problem’. And I would say it is a problem, because life is a compromise. To people getting together, werther it’s a marriage of a job relationship, they have to compromise with each other. /…/ That’s what a unit goes on about. You know, a lot of people working together; there has to be an area of compromise. There has to be a compromise with nature, you don’t know if it’s gonna be rain or sun. So you’re constantly making adjustments.” Do you see any ethical challenges or issues arising out of your work and/or your creation process? I would put it like this. I need to execute my ideas in order to track my progress. And since “the authentic voice” is evolving (in my head) to a process where I want to experiment with my own authenticity, compromise and collaboration - maybe team members could feel exploited taking part of an experiment there the roles might turn. One way to approach it, is to be utterly transparent - the risk with being transparent is that the people around you quit being authentic and just play their part. Another issue is the time. I would like to make a short fiction film (referred to as The Amsterdam Project ((working title)) where I go through (and document) the casting process, the process of building a team and getting them on board, the process of building a story from the original idea/vision that I have. I want do record everything in one of SKH:s studios, document the process of directing and ultimately collaborate with the editors to finish the short film.

How does this project contribute to your artistic field? Which knowledge would it create? There are many doubts and challenges that a filmmaker may encounter during the film-making process. If I were to type down some of the common ones it would be: Creative doubts: Filmmakers may have doubts about the overall vision for their film, including the story, characters, and style. They may question whether their ideas are original, compelling, or effective. Budget and financing: Filmmaking can be a costly endeavor, and filmmakers may have doubts about whether they have sufficient resources to bring their vision to life. Casting: Filmmakers may have doubts about whether they have chosen the right actors for their film, and whether they will be able to deliver the performances needed to bring the characters to life. Production challenges: Filmmakers may encounter unexpected challenges during the production process, such as weather delays, location issues, or technical problems, which can cause doubts about whether they will be able to complete the film on time and within budget. Distribution and marketing: Filmmakers may have doubts about how to get their film seen by a wide audience and whether it will be successful. Personal doubts: Filmmakers may also have personal doubts about their own abilities and whether they have the skills and experience needed to make a successful film. Every sane person, from my point of view, should encounter these doubts in every project they are engaged in. But the sheer passion and lust for the story must in the end triumph over these doubts. My goal is to create a deeper knowledge in casting, collaborations in the creative process and last but not least the personal doubts. I want to feel a bit more courageous in my approach to my own vision.