Push the Boundaries of Your Creativity:
STUDY, a film by Paolo Benetazzo
Filmmaking is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.
When you can’t see the line between fiction and reality,
filmmaking becomes your lifestyle.
I was a psychology student when I came up with the concept behind
my feature film directorial debut Study. During the final year at
university I was involved in a number of film projects, including
short films and documentaries. I didn’t have full artistic
control. I had to compromise my vision for the sake of the team
and that was the only way to get it done.
When you don’t want to share your vision with others I think
you’re ready to make your full-length film, no matter what your
budget is. I rather make a low budget film instead of collecting
short films or waiting for the great opportunity that maybe will
never come. It’s going to be risky, painful and insane but that’s
how real indie films are made.
I’m a self-taught filmmaker, I’ve never attended a film school.
Watching films along with real life experience represent the film
school par excellence in my opinion. Films are the greatest
teachers of all; they are an endless source of learning.
The open screenplay.
Fascinated by the study of psychology and its impact on modern
life, I decided to explore my studies in a feature film. Once
graduated in Psychology, I moved to Ireland where I started
writing the script in English. I was discouraged by the Italian
film industry. There’s no such a thing as independent cinema in
Italy. All you can see is just the same old industry made by the
same filmmakers and actors. With the exception of a few rare
cases, Italian producers don’t usually invest in new ideas and
don’t really believe in new ways of making cinema.
I left the screenplay open for the entire production. That was
essential for my film. It gave me the chance to improvise during
the shots, fix bad acting and re-write scenes that would have
been too expensive to film.
Scientific journals, experiments and researches used in the film
are all fictional. I created them from scratch to avoid copyright
issues. The story and the characters are also original. It’s
getting really tough these days for an indie filmmaker, the
competition is just shocking, so writing something original was
extremely important to me. I don’t know if I did, but I badly
wanted to make a film distinguished by a unique expression of
creativity.
Synopsis.
Study is a psychological thriller drama film, which follows a
psychology student in the last week before his final exam,
discovering his life and exploring his mind. Starting on Monday,
in the middle of his room, the student tries to study surrounded
by his past and his present, obsessed by the concept of life and
death, and tortured by the eternal struggle between science and
religion. As the days go by, unexpected characters and situations
interfere with the student, turning what was meant to be a
regular week of study into a complete nightmare.
Shooting without a film crew.
I worked in a clothing store at the time I was writing the
script. Working full time and writing during the night was ok,
but when it came to shooting I had to quit my job and invest all
my savings. The film was produced on a budget of approximately
$10,000. Since rent and bills were the first obstacles, I got all
the shots I needed in Ireland and right after I moved back to my
house in Italy.
It took me almost a year to build the main set in the mansard
roof. It was the study room in the film. Most shots were taken
there. I literally lived, slept and created on that set. Even the
film score was composed there. I made two wall paintings
symbolizing two eyes. They appear in several scenes, including
the theatrical trailer. The study room was big enough for
steadicam and dolly shots.
The film was entirely shot without any film crew. When I really
needed someone behind the camera I called my mother or a friend,
otherwise I was always on my own. The standard procedure included
countless tests with me in the frame. I performed in front of the
camera and right away I checked the shot behind the camera. I
didn’t have a monitor on the set; I could properly view the
footage only in my editing suite. Many times I had to reshoot the
whole scene because of the blur or problems that I couldn’t
notice during the shot. That was extremely painful and
frustrating.
You spend a large amount of time shooting a scene, you’re
satisfied with performance and camera angle, but when you watch
it on a 23″ screen you discover things that ruin the shot. As it
wasn’t enough, at that time I was shooting in HD on an 8 minutes
P2 card with the Panasonic AG-HVX200. I was forced to stop
filming and downloading the card every 8 minutes of footage.
I shot my extreme close ups and body movements wearing a
steadicam vest, while I used a wheelchair for the dolly shots.
The camera was mounted on the wheelchair and was usually pushed
by my mother. She was in her 60’s, but she achieved some really
smooth shots at the end. When you can’t afford professionals,
it’s all about keep trying until you get the good shot. You need
time though, you can’t think of making a feature film in a few
months under these circumstances. Study comes from a long
introspective and experimental work developed over a period of
five years (development-post-production).
Influenced by unconventional filmmaking techniques, I used
unknown actors, friends and family in the cast. I found great
outdoor locations such as Trinity College and Garden of
Remembrance in Dublin, where I shot with a film permit at zero
cost.
Making this movie was like living a dream in hell: the budget was
ridiculous, the film crew was nonexistent and I had no connections
whatsoever. The experience was so extreme that I thought about
quitting on several occasions. However, in an era of independent
films made on high budgets with hundreds of people, my film is
distinguished by a profound cinematic individualism with one
person behind it. Study is a true independent film.
Music plays a vital role in Study.
Study does not rely on traditional techniques of narrative
cinema. I wanted the film to be a primarily visual and sound
experience in which music plays a vital role in evoking specific
atmospheres.
I spent a year composing the music and searching for the right
sound. At first I wanted to use famous modern songs, but the cost
was unaffordable. It was actually insane, minimum $60,000 for
less than a minute. At that point I decided to compose an
original score with two friends of mine. They were both musicians
and one of them owned a recording studio.
Since composing the music in the studio was too expensive,
initially we played and recorded in the film’s main set. My
friend played a Gibson Les Paul using a vintage Marshall amp plus
multi-effect pedal and I recorded into my laptop through a cheap
mixer. I was interested in a variety of music genres including
hard rock, psychedelic rock, new age, funk rock, gothic rock,
trash metal. We later added bass, Rhodes piano and a number of
sound effects in the studio.
The film also features several famous pieces of classical music
including Un Sospiro and Piano Concerto No. 2 by Liszt, Funeral
March and Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72 by Chopin, Prelude a
l’apres-midi d’un faune and Arabesque No. 1 by Debussy,
L’usignuolo by Respighi, Prelude to Act 1 Lohengrin by Wagner.
Some pieces were as usual too expensive, so I hired two pianists
and recorded the versions I needed. That way I owned the rights,
I could publish the music and it was still much cheaper than
buying a synchronization license for each track.
The soundtrack album was released on iTunes on October 1, 2013.
Film release.
Study premiered in London on September 1, 2012. The film has been
screened and awarded at several international film festivals
including the California Film Awards, Portobello Film Festival,
Indie Fest, Accolade Competition, Los Angeles Movie Awards, SoCal
Film Festival. Study has since developed a cult following, due to
underground popularity (over 16k fans on Facebook and Twitter).
As of 2014, the film is still screening at film festivals worldwide.
External links
Movie Site, Trailer and Awards
http://www.studythemovie.com
Film Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/studythemovie
Film Twitter page
Tweets by STUDYthemovie
Soundtrack album on iTunes:
Film production company and filmmaker site:
Video Production Company London – Corporate Video, Music Video
Paolo Benetazzo
info@arttouchesart.com
Copyright (c) 2014 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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