Stuttgarter Zeitung

Suspense effect software for crime movies

Portrait: Swiss director Florian Froschmayer, who lives in Berlin, has changed the future of filmmaking.

When a director makes a melancholic romance and then a suspenseful crime series, this shows above all one thing: the man loves change. However, the meticulous preparation of the film is just as important to Florian Froschmayer. His being Swiss may account for that. He is sure that most of his colleagues have the same work habits as him and get annoyed that they have to spend night after night reworking plans as the start of filming approaches. "Of course, you base yourself on the screenplay," says Froschmayer, "but a film is not shot in chronological order. The plans change constantly prior to the start of filming. You have to start from the beginning every time." Some years ago he was looking for a way to simplify this process, and developed a rudimentary database that resorted his notes for the camera resolution and the figures every time plans changed.

Froschmayer, who graduated with a business degree in Switzerland, accomplished the programming much the same way as the filming. He had developed some small programs on his on gaming computer C 64 as a teen. His motto is "If it was easy, everyone would do it", and his self-assessment also fits: "I am unbelievably impatient on one hand, but on the other, very stubborn when it comes to achieving a breakthrough. Sometimes I didn’t make films for years."

That is why he hasn't "taken off", although ARD and ZDF broadcast three of his films this year: the social comedy "The New Life of Ina / Es kommt noch besser" in May, the first CRIME SCENE post-hiatus ("You will be judged") a few weeks ago and, recently, "Sweet September".
Froschmayer was happy that the CRIME SCENE from Lucerne resonated so wildly with audiences, "but I can't really grasp something like that. Nine million viewers - that's more than the population of Switzerland." The 42-year-old Zurich-born director found his home away from home in Berlin in 2002, and now has a German passport. He doesn't see his activity as "work". "Filmmaking is my passion. I am happy to have been doing what I love for twenty years. That is why I never accept projects only for the money."

This also applies to the software, which was created for his own needs at first. At one point, however, even Froschmayer's enthusiasm for technology reached its limits. That's when he asked himself whether it might be a good idea to get some money, get a project out there, and assign the programming to professionals. Since he is constantly taking on new challenges, the answer was clear. He applied for funding from the Media Board of Berlin-Brandenburg, launched a crowdfunding initiative, and eventually found a company around the corner to join him. The program called "Script to Movie" became a fact.

At first Froschmayer thought the software would only be helpful for directors, cameramen, director's assistants, recording directors and scene designers, but then he realized it should also be made accessible to costume designers, makeup artists, prop designers, etc. Now "Script to Movie" combines all the activities of filmmaking in a project-related network and can be used not only for television or cinema, but also for series or commercials. He has already produced and filmed three films with this software. Its "baptism of fire" was last year, when Froschmayer was getting ready for CRIME SCENE while still shooting "Sweet September". "I noticed that the effort was really worth it, because I could switch between the two projects easily. This realization was a real gain: I was able to concentrate on my work and still be informed about what was happening at the various departments."

Of course, the Swiss was not the first director to experience the problems described earlier. There are various programs on the international market that are quite similar in terms of approach, but they were not good enough for him "because they were mainly about logistics."
"Script to Movie" takes both logistical and creative needs into account; and everything is connected. Froschmayer is convinced that the software could completely change filmmaking, but doesn't know if he will make money off it. It almost seems as if that is not that important to him. He is just happy to have "a cool tool" for his own films.

original text by: Tilmann Gangloff

Outlet: Stuttgarter Zeitung (Germany) Date: October 8th, 2015
Circulation: 170.000 (daily newspaper)

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